Resolving a blocked push
To resolve a blocked push, you must remove the secret from all of the commits it appears in.
- If the secret was introduced by your latest commit, see Removing a secret introduced by the latest commit on your branch.
- If the secret appears in earlier commits, see Removing a secret introduced by an earlier commit on your branch.
Removing a secret introduced by the latest commit on your branch
- Remove the secret from your code.
- To commit the changes, run
git commit --amend --all. This updates the original commit that introduced the secret instead of creating a new commit. - Push your changes with
git push.
Removing a secret introduced by an earlier commit on your branch
-
Examine the error message that displayed when you tried to push your branch, which lists all of the commits that contain the secret.
remote: —— GitHub Personal Access Token —————————————————————— remote: locations: remote: - commit: 8728dbe67 remote: path: README.md:4 remote: - commit: 03d69e5d3 remote: path: README.md:4 remote: - commit: 8053f7b27 remote: path: README.md:4 -
Next, run
git logto see a full history of all the commits on your branch, along with their corresponding timestamps.test-repo (test-branch)]$ git log commit 8053f7b27 (HEAD -> main) Author: Octocat <1000+octocat@users.noreply.github.com Date: Tue Jan 30 13:03:37 2024 +0100 my fourth commit message commit 03d69e5d3 Author: Octocat <1000+octocat@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue Jan 30 13:02:59 2024 +0100 my third commit message commit 8728dbe67 Author: Octocat <1000+octocat@users.noreply.github.com Date: Tue Jan 30 13:01:36 2024 +0100 my second commit message commit 6057cbe51 Author: Octocat <1000+octocat@users.noreply.github.com Date: Tue Jan 30 12:58:24 2024 +0100 my first commit message -
Focusing only on the commits that contain the secret, use the output of
git logto identify which commit comes earliest in your Git history.- In the example, commit
8728dbe67was the first commit to contain the secret.
- In the example, commit
-
Start an interactive rebase with
git rebase -i <COMMIT-ID>~1.- For
<COMMIT-ID>, use the commit identified in step 3. For example,git rebase -i 8728dbe67~1.
- For
-
In the editor, choose to edit the commit identified in step 3 by changing
picktoediton the first line of the text.edit 8728dbe67 my second commit message pick 03d69e5d3 my third commit message pick 8053f7b27 my fourth commit message -
Save and close the editor to start the interactive rebase.
-
Remove the secret from your code.
-
Add your changes to the staging area using
git add ..Nota:
The full command is
git add .:- There is a space between
addand.. - The period following the space is part of the command.
- There is a space between
-
Commit your changes using
git commit --amend. -
Run
git rebase --continueto finish the rebase. -
Push your changes with
git push.
Bypassing push protection
Nota:
If you don't see the option to bypass a block, you should remove the secret from the commit, or submit a request for "bypass privileges" in order to push the blocked secret. See Requesting bypass privileges.
-
Visit the URL returned by GitHub when your push was blocked, as the same user that performed the push. If a different user attempts to visit this URL, they will receive a
404error. -
Choose the option that best describes why you should be able to push the secret.
- If the secret is only used in tests and poses no threat, click It's used in tests.
- If the detected string is not a secret, click It's a false positive.
- If the secret is real but you intend to fix it later, click I'll fix it later.
-
Click Allow me to push this secret.
-
Reattempt the push on the command line within three hours. If you have not pushed within three hours, you will need to repeat this process.
Requesting bypass privileges
-
Visit the URL returned by GitHub when your push was blocked, as the same user that performed the push. If a different user attempts to visit this URL, they will receive a
404error. -
Under "Or request bypass privileges", add a comment. For example, you might explain why you believe the secret is safe to push, or provide context about the request to bypass the block.
-
Click Submit request.
-
Check your email notifications for a response to your request. Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive an email notifying you of the decision.
- If your request is approved, you can push the commit (or commits) containing the secret to the repository, as well as any future commits that contain the same secret.
- If your request is denied, you need to remove the secret from all commits before pushing again. For information on how to remove a blocked secret, see Resolving a blocked push.