Git error: failed to push some refs to remote

Question

I can't push now, though I could do it yesterday.

When I use git push origin master, I get an error:

git remote -v

Output:

origin https://github.com/REDACTED.git (fetch) origin https://github.com/REDACTED.git (push)

And:

git push origin master

Output:

Username for 'https://github.com': REDACTED Password for 'https://[email protected]': To https://github.com/REDACTED.git ! [rejected] master -> master (non-fast-forward) error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/REDACTED.git' hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind hint: its remote counterpart. Integrate the remote changes (e.g. hint: 'git pull ...') before pushing again. hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.

My working directory and remote repository looks like:

Screenshot of Windows file folder with these directories: .git, css, js. And these files: index.php, readme, setsu.php. The word "local" with an arrow points to the css-folder. Below, screenshot with heading "github", and a css-folder and index.php-file

looks like your local repo is not in sync with the git repo. did you try to do git pull ? — R11G
– R11G, Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 6:25
Do check this similar question - stackoverflow.com/questions/18588974/… — R11G
– R11G, Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 6:33
@R11G thank you sir! this link helped me stackoverflow.com/a/18589043/3626672 — leipzy
– leipzy, Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 6:42
I got that error on a new repo. This helped: stackoverflow.com/a/6518774/2067690 — HumanInDisguise
– HumanInDisguise, Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 20:38
hey, if you find this on Google at this time, check if GitHub is down -> githubstatus.com — eri0o
– eri0o, Commented Aug 10, 2021 at 15:59

VonC · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-12 11:27:26Z

(Note: starting Oct. 2020, any new repository is created with the default branch main, not master. And you can rename existing repository default branch from master to main.
The rest of this 2014 answer has been updated to use "main")

(The following assumes github.com itself is not down, as eri0o points out in the comments: see www.githubstatus.com to be sure)

If the GitHub repo has seen new commits pushed to it, while you were working locally, I would advise using:

git pull --rebase git push

The full syntax is:

git pull --rebase origin main git push origin main

With Git 2.6+ (Sept. 2015), after having done (once)

git config --global pull.rebase true git config --global rebase.autoStash true

A simple git pull would be enough.
(Note: with Git 2.27 Q2 2020, a merge.autostash is also available for your regular pull, without rebase)

That way, you would replay (the --rebase part) your local commits on top of the newly updated origin/main (or origin/yourBranch: git pull origin yourBranch).

See a more complete example in the chapter 6 Pull with rebase of the Git Pocket Book.

I would recommend a:

# add and commit first # git push -u origin main # Or git 2.37 Q2 2022+ git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true git push

That would establish a tracking relationship between your local main branch and its upstream branch.
After that, any future push for that branch can be done with a simple:

git push

Again, with Git 2.37+ and its global option push.autoSetupRemote, a simple git push even for the first one would do the same (I.e: establishing a tracking relationship between your local main branch and its upstream branch origin/main).

See "Why do I need to explicitly push a new branch?".

Since the OP already reset and redone its commit on top of origin/main:

git reset --mixed origin/main git add . git commit -m "This is a new commit for what I originally planned to be amended" git push origin main

There is no need to pull --rebase.

Note: git reset --mixed origin/main can also be written git reset origin/main, since the --mixed option is the default one when using git reset.

is it OK to execute your suggested git pull --rebase...? coz I already done > git reset --mixed origin/master > git add . > git commit -m "This is a new commit for what I originally planned to be an amendmend" > git push origin master suggested here stackoverflow.com/questions/18588974/… btw your answer looks helpful sir
Thanks, fixed a stupid issue with Git LFS, I've surrendered myself to having to use the command line from now on as a result haha.
Really super.. below commands worked for me... git reset --mixed origin/master git add . git commit -m "This is a new commit for what I originally planned to be amended" git push origin master Thank you @VonC

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-01 14:15:50Z

269

Try:

git push -f origin master

That should solve the problem.

Based on Mehdi‘s comment, a clarification about -force pushing: The Git command above works safely only for the first commit. If there were already commits, pull requests or branches in previous, this resets all of it and set it from zero. If so, please refer to VonC‘s detailed answer for a better solution.

edited Aug 1 at 14:15

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 18, 2017 at 13:41

cagcak

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4 Comments

Mehdi Over a year ago

Works but bad, please don't use it unless you know what you're doing. (probably you don't know what you're doing if you're looking in S.O)

Joshua Goldberg Over a year ago

If you're going to try -f/--force it's always safer to use --force-with-lease instead, which will abort if there are downstream changes that would get clobbered by the push. --force-with-lease is required for lots of everyday rebasing situations, but --force should almost never be needed.

Ala Eddine Menai Over a year ago

I don't recommend it.

Asad Ali Over a year ago

this one worked for me on Nginx Producntion Environment.

ironcladmvtm · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-22 18:57:27Z

165

If you just used git init and have added your files with git add . or something similar and have added your remote branch it might be that you just haven't committed (git commit -m 'commit message') anything locally to push to the remote... I just had this error and that was my issue.

answered May 22, 2015 at 18:57

ironcladmvtm

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3 Comments

jgritten Over a year ago

just ran into this. Commit command didn't work during the git add. good call. Thanks

tleo Over a year ago

Thanks man! That's it. I thought I committed my changes. Now git push -u origin master works fine.

Ricky Manalo Over a year ago

On my case, the commit failed because I haven't added my credentials yet on a fresh install. Running the commit command again after adding my credentials fixed my issue

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:01:13Z

81

I had the same problem. I was getting this problem because I had not made any commits, not even an initial commit and still I was trying to push.

Once I did git commit -m "your msg", everything worked fine.

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 12:01

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jan 4, 2017 at 13:16

pramodpxi

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10 Comments

GhostCat Over a year ago

That doesn't make much sense. The original question is about the local git being behind. In no way "being behind" can be resolved my making a local commit!

Shams Nahid Over a year ago

Oh I also forget to commit :p

mboy Over a year ago

This is also possible it won't allow you to push with an empty commit

Ivan Topić Over a year ago

I just had this problem and I forgot to commit. Error message should be more clear

Diego Fortes Over a year ago

It does apply to me since I was getting that exact error message and this solution fixed my problem.

|

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:20:55Z

71

It has worked for me with this combination of several command lines:

git reset git remote -v git pull --rebase git init git add -A git commit -m "Add your commit" git branch -M main git push origin main --force

Be careful. If they have a Readme file, the git reset deletes them.

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 13:20

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 5, 2021 at 10:54

Jose Alexander Rios 3Palacios

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3 Comments

Peter Mortensen Over a year ago

This sounds like dangerous advice. All implications and caveats ought to be explained in the answer.

Peter Mortensen Over a year ago

An explanation would be in order. E.g., what is the idea/gist? What is it supposed to do? What are all the risks? From the Help Center: "...always explain why the solution you're presenting is appropriate and how it works". Please respond by editing (changing) your answer, not here in comments (without "Edit:", "Update:", or similar - the answer should appear as if it was written today).

kaybrian Over a year ago

thi s was the right one

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-01 14:17:31Z

52

Rename your branch and then push, e.g.:

git branch -m new-name git push -u new-name

This worked for me.

edited Aug 1 at 14:17

Peter Mortensen

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answered Feb 1, 2018 at 5:47

p8ul

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3 Comments

cdabel Over a year ago

Wow, this actually worked, but why? I had a hyphen in my local branch name: my-branch_wont_push. Once I renamed it to my_branch_wont_push, then git push -u origin my_branch_wont_push worked for me.

Annie Lagang Over a year ago

Thanks. As @cdabel mentioned, the hyphen was the culprit. Changed it to underscore and my push went through.

PROgram52bc Over a year ago

I simply renamed my branch to something else (which contained a hyphen) and it also worked. Don't know why though.

papanito · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-18 14:44:38Z

40

git init
git remote add origin https://gitlab.com/crew-chief-systems/bot
git remote -v (for checking current repository)
git add -A(add all files)
git commit -m 'Added my project'
git pull --rebase origin master
git push origin master

edited Oct 18, 2019 at 14:44

papanito

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answered Sep 11, 2018 at 4:25

James Siva

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5 Comments

James Siva Over a year ago

before pushing the code you need to pull from repository

James Siva Over a year ago

you can simply write like git pull --rebase origin master

Elliot Wood Over a year ago

This worked for me, had a refs issue, which this fixed.

Deepak Keynes Over a year ago

error: cannot spawn sh: No such file or directory fatal: unable to fork

Kamlesh Over a year ago

git pull --rebase origin master solved my issue. Thanks a lot dear.

Rafael Tavares · Accepted Answer · 2021-08-12 18:45:56Z

I found the solution to this problem in GitHub help (Dealing with non-fast-forward errors):

You can fix this by fetching and merging the changes made on the remote branch with the changes that you have made locally:
$ git fetch origin # Fetches updates made to an online repository $ git merge origin branch # Merges updates made online with your local work 
Or, you can simply use git pull to perform both commands at once:
$ git pull origin branch # Grabs online updates and merges them with your local work 

This is the normal process whenever things are working as expected. It doesn't help anything when git thinks it is already up to date as @rubyandcoffee asked.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-01 14:24:19Z

22

I followed the following steps, and it worked for me.

rm -rf .git git init git add . git commit -m"The first message" git remote add origin "LINK" git push -u origin master

edited Aug 1 at 14:24

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jan 28, 2020 at 18:49

ASHISH R

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1 Comment

poojan mehta PM Over a year ago

This is the final solution for beginners

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:29:09Z

17

If you were using git push origin master, change it to git push origin main and vice versa.

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 13:29

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jan 15, 2022 at 11:05

Babatunde Mustapha

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2 Comments

Eric Aya Over a year ago

stackoverflow.com/a/64603615/2227743

Peter Mortensen Over a year ago

Presuming GitHub'ish?

vikiival · Accepted Answer · 2023-03-27 13:45:59Z

I got into this error today. The problem was that GitHub had an outage, and I could not push any changes, so before you start to mess up with the config, maybe check https://www.githubstatus.com.

remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (5/5), completed with 4 local objects. remote: fatal error in commit_refs To github.com:REDACTED.git ! [remote rejected] main -> main (failure) error: failed to push some refs to 'github.com:REDACTED.git'

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-01 14:19:46Z

I had faced the same problem and fixed it with the below steps.

git init
git add .
git commit -m 'Add your commit message'
git remote add origin https://[email protected]/User_name/sample.git

(The above URL, https://[email protected]/User_name/sample.git, refers to your Bitbucket project URL)
git push -u origin master

Hint

Check if your GitHub account links with your local Git repository by using:

git config --global user.email "[email protected]" git config --global user.name "Your Name"

KORLA GOUTHAM · Accepted Answer · 2022-10-18 22:03:49Z

11

I got this error because I tried to push without committing So tried

git add .

git commit -m "message"

git push -f

Then it worked well for me

answered Oct 18, 2022 at 22:03

KORLA GOUTHAM

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1 Comment

starball Over a year ago

this answer is similar to this answer, this answer, and this answer

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:00:02Z

9

Remember to commit your changes before pushing to the GitHub repository. This might fix your problem.

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 12:00

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 13, 2016 at 18:13

Alf Moh

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1 Comment

starball Over a year ago

this answer is expanded upon in this answer, this answer, and this answer (all later than this one was posted. moral of story: examples are valuable)

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:49:35Z

I created an empty repository in GitHub and have my code locally. I faced the same issue now, as I followed the below sequence,

git init git commit -m 'Initial Commit' git remote add origin https://github.com/kavinraju/Repo-Name.git git add . git push -u origin master

The issue was: I tried to commit before staging the files I have.

So we need to stage the files and then commit.

This is the correct sequence.

git init git add . git commit -m 'Initial Commit' git remote add origin https://github.com/kavinraju/Repo-Name.git git push -u origin master

Since I executed the wrong sequence first, I just executed the below commands:

git add . git commit -m 'Initial Commit' git push -u origin master

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:55:50Z

Because maybe it has nothing to push (really, nothing to push). Do it like this:

git remote add origin https://github.com/donhuvy/accounting133.git git remote -v git add . git commit -m"upload" git push --set-upstream origin master

Change the remote repository's URL in your case. You can skip command git remote -v, just for checking.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 11:58:52Z

If you are using Gerrit, this could be caused by an inappropriate Change-id in the commit. Try deleting the Change-Id and see what happens.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:05:03Z

GitHub changed the default branch name from master to main. So if you created the repo recently, try pushing the main branch.

git push origin main

This is a common mistake beginners can make.

GitHub article Renaming the default branch from master.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:15:34Z

Use:

git push origin {your_local_branch}:{your_remote_branch}

If your local branch and remote branch share the same name, then can you omit your local branch name. Just use git push {your_remote_branch}. Otherwise it will throw this error.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:43:36Z

5

Try this Git command,

git push origin master –f git push origin master --force

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 12:43

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 10, 2019 at 19:25

Zin Myo Swe

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2 Comments

Deepak Keynes Over a year ago

error: cannot spawn sh: No such file or directory fatal: unable to fork

Peter Mortensen Over a year ago

"–" in "–f" is an em dash, not ASCII 45 ("-"). I don't think it will work.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:59:14Z

Using a Git repository in Azure DevOps, the problem was a branch policy requiring that all changes to the branch must be made via a pull request (PR). Trying to push changes directly to the branch generated the error "failed to push some refs to ...".

I created a PR branch and pushed without problem.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:00:08Z

Just run these two commands if you are deploying your site on GitHub pages for the first time.

git commit -m "initial commit" git push origin +HEAD

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:07:01Z

4

Before push, you have to add and commit the changes or do git push -f origin master.

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 12:07

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 14, 2017 at 14:05

Kinnera Reddy

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Comments

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:54:05Z

4

The fact that GitHub changed master to main made me encounter this issue. So from now on, the solution to push to origin is:

git push -u origin main

edited Apr 10, 2022 at 12:54

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jun 29, 2020 at 19:41

Roland Lariotte

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1 Comment

VonC Over a year ago

Do you means the remote repo on GitHub has only a branch main, not master? I have created a brand new repo on GitHub, and its main branch remains... master (for now)

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:02:23Z

In my case there was a problem with a Git pre-push hook.

Run git push --verbose to see if there are any errors.

Double check your Git hooks in the directory .git/hooks or move them temporarily to another place and see if everything works after that.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 13:14:59Z

Due to the recent "replacing master with main in GitHub" action, you may notice that there is a refs/heads/main if you do git show-ref. As a result, the following command may change from

git push heroku master

to

git push heroku main

That will solve your issue.

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-01 14:31:52Z

In my case, these two lines solved the problem.

git add . git commit -m "Changes"

Actually, I forgot to add and commit to my changes and was just trying to push it for the first time.

git init git remote add origin https://github.com/anything/repo-name.git git add . git commit -m "Changes" git branch -M main git push -u origin main

Trần Thanh Phong · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-26 04:50:21Z

These steps worked for me:

Switch to current branch & pull latest code
Rename local branch

git branch -m [new-name]
Push local branch to server

git push origin [new-name]
Remove branch from server

git push origin --delete [old-name]

Peter Mortensen · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-10 12:39:33Z

In my case, the branch name prefix was already present at remote, so basically if you have a branch name 'fix' you cannot push another branch with name 'fix/new_branch_name'.

Renaming the branch solved my problem.

Ayush Jha · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-15 14:57:31Z

if you are using powershell i will recommend use git bash it is available in vs code

switch to git bash
check ls -a (it will show hidden file)
if you find .git file remove using rm -rf .git
then git init
git add .
git commit -m "message"
git remote add origin "https://.............."
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

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