Fix Git Push Rejected

What's Actually Happening

Git push is rejected by the remote repository. Local branch is behind remote, push rules are violated, or force push is restricted.

The Error You'll See

Non-fast-forward error:

```bash git push

To github.com:org/repo.git ! [rejected] main -> main (non-fast-forward) error: failed to push some refs to 'github.com:org/repo.git' ```

Protected branch error:

remote: error: GH013: Repository rule violations found for refs/heads/main.
remote: Reviewing push: required status checks not satisfied.

Force push rejected:

remote: error: refusing to update checked out branch: refs/heads/main

Why This Happens

1. 1.Behind remote - Local commits behind remote commits
2. 2.Diverged history - Local and remote have different commits
3. 3.Protected branch - Branch has protection rules
4. 4.Required checks - CI/CD checks not passed
5. 5.Force push blocked - Force push not allowed
6. 6.Permission denied - No push permission
7. 7.Hook rejection - Pre-receive hook rejected

Step 1: Check Remote Status

```bash git fetch --all

git status

git log --oneline origin/main..HEAD

git log --oneline HEAD..origin/main

git log --graph --oneline --all ```

Step 2: Pull and Merge

```bash git pull origin main

git pull --rebase origin main

# If conflicts: git status

# Resolve conflicts: # Edit conflicted files git add . git rebase --continue

# Or merge: git commit -m "Merge remote changes" ```

Step 3: Check Branch Protection

```bash # On GitHub: gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/main/protection

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/main/protection/required_status_checks

# On GitLab: glab api projects/PROJECT_ID/protected_branches/main

# Check if direct push allowed: gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/main/protection --jq '.allow_force_pushes' ```

Step 4: Handle Protected Branch

```bash # Create feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-change

git push origin feature/my-change

# Create pull request: gh pr create --title "My change" --body "Description"

# Or request temporary access: # Contact repository admin ```

Step 5: Check CI/CD Status

```bash gh pr checks

gh run list --branch main

gh run view RUN_ID

# Wait for checks to pass: gh run watch RUN_ID ```

Step 6: Handle Force Push

```bash # Force push (with caution): git push --force-with-lease origin main

git push --force origin main

# If force push blocked: # Use feature branch and PR instead ```

Step 7: Check Push Permissions

```bash gh auth status

git remote -v

# Check if you have write access: gh api repos/OWNER/REPO --jq '.permissions.push'

# Fork workflow: gh repo fork OWNER/REPO git remote add fork https://github.com/YOUR/REPO.git git push fork main ```

Step 8: Check Hooks

```bash # Check for pre-receive hooks: # On server side, hooks may reject push

# Check local hooks: ls -la .git/hooks/

# Check commit message format: git log --oneline -1

# Check signed commits: git log --show-signature -1 ```

Step 9: Resolve Conflicts

```bash git status

# List conflicting files: git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

# View conflict: cat conflicted-file.txt

# Accept ours/theirs: git checkout --ours conflicted-file.txt git checkout --theirs conflicted-file.txt

# After resolving: git add . git commit ```

Step 10: Verify Push

```bash git push origin main

git log --oneline origin/main -5

gh repo view --web

# Check CI status: gh run list --limit 5 ```

Git Push Rejected Checklist

Verify the Fix

```bash git push origin main

git log --oneline origin/main -3

git status

gh pr list

gh run list --limit 3 ```

Related Issues

• [Fix Git Merge Conflict](/articles/fix-git-merge-conflict)
• [Fix Git Authentication Failed](/articles/fix-git-authentication-failed)
• [Fix Git Branch Not Found](/articles/fix-git-branch-not-found)