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Protect main and release branches with a policy that requires pull requests, independent approvals, current passing checks, and—when appropriate—signed commits. Restrict push actors, block force pushes and branch deletion, and select Do not allow bypassing the above settings to include administrators. Use repository rulesets for sensitive paths such as .github/workflows, configure GitHub Actions policies separately, and audit the resulting policy through the protected-branch REST API.
What branch protection actually controls
A protected branch is a set of merge and reference-update controls applied to matching branch names. It determines what must be true before a change can land and who is allowed to update the branch directly. GitHub’s available controls include pull-request reviews, required status checks, conversation resolution, signed commits, linear history, merge queues, successful deployments, branch locking, push restrictions, force-push control, and deletion control.
Branch protection governs what lands in the branch; it does not, by itself, decide who may start a workflow or which workflow events are accepted. GitHub Actions policies handle execution. A secure design therefore has two layers:
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- Branch and ruleset controls: gate merges and direct reference updates.
- Actions policies: limit workflow actors and events, and protect action dependencies.
Apply the policy to main, every production or release branch, and any branch pattern that can be deployed. A rule that protects only main leaves a release branch exposed if that branch can ship code.
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How do I prevent direct pushes to main?
Create a branch-protection rule and restrict direct updates to an explicitly named set of users, teams, or installed GitHub Apps. GitHub documents the effect precisely: “When you enable branch restrictions, only users, teams, or apps that have been given permission can push to the protected branch.” Everyone else must use the pull-request path.
- Open the repository and choose Settings → Branches.
- Create a branch rule for
main. Add separate rules for release names or patterns if they follow different processes. - Enable Require a pull request before merging. Select the number of approvals your separation-of-duties policy requires.
- Enable the option that requires approval of the most recent reviewable push when an approval must remain independent of later changes. A new reviewable push can otherwise invalidate the intent of an earlier approval.
- Enable Restrict who can push to matching branches and add only the teams, users, or apps that genuinely need direct updates. Keep this list small; membership is the effective write permission for the branch.
- Turn off force pushes and branch deletion. These settings prevent destructive rewrites and accidental removal of the protected reference.
- Select Do not allow bypassing the above settings. Without this administrator-enforcement setting, administrators and other bypass roles can override protections even when ordinary contributors cannot.
Use pull requests for routine changes, including hotfixes. If an emergency process needs a bypass actor, define the smallest possible actor set and document when it may be used rather than granting broad administrator access.
Require review and reliable checks before a merge
Pull-request approvals
Review requirements make the pull request the controlled change boundary. Set an approval count that reflects the repository’s risk, and require approval of the latest reviewable push when the author and approver must be separate people. Reviewers should examine both application code and automation changes; a workflow edit can alter the checks that appear on the same pull request.
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Enable Require status checks to pass before merging and select the checks that represent build, test, security, and deployment readiness. Enable the up-to-date requirement when those checks must run against the latest base-branch commit rather than an older merge base.
A required check is satisfied only on the commit GitHub is evaluating for the merge. The accepted successful states are success, skipped, and neutral. A green result from an older commit does not satisfy a requirement for a newer commit.
Additional merge guarantees
- Conversation resolution: blocks merging while required review conversations remain unresolved.
- Signed commits: requires commits to carry a verifiable signature; use this where contributor identity and provenance justify the operational overhead.
- Linear history: prevents merge commits and keeps the protected branch’s history linear, if that matches the team’s integration model.
- Merge queue: batches approved changes and validates them in the order GitHub will merge them.
- Successful deployments: requires the deployment checks selected by the repository’s release process.
- Branch locking: makes the branch read-only for updates when a freeze is required.
Do not select every option automatically. Each requirement should correspond to a failure you intend to prevent and to a workflow your team can reliably maintain.
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How can I stop unauthorized changes to GitHub Actions workflows?
Protecting the branch prevents an unapproved workflow file from being merged, but it does not control every way a workflow can execute. Combine a pull-request rule with path-aware rulesets and Actions policy controls.
Require review for workflow files
Require a pull request and passing checks for changes to .github/workflows. Then require review from an appropriate team for those files. This keeps a contributor from changing a workflow’s permissions, triggers, or deployment commands without an independent review.
Where the repository plan supports it, create a ruleset that targets sensitive file paths. Give the ruleset the narrowest bypass set possible. A path restriction is especially useful when application code has a broad contributor base but workflow code is maintained by a smaller platform or security team.
Control workflow execution separately
Configure Actions policies for both who can trigger a workflow and which events are accepted. Actor rules can restrict workflow execution to approved users, teams, or apps. Event rules can limit high-risk triggers such as workflow_dispatch and pull_request_target, whose execution context can expose elevated permissions if configured carelessly.
Enable lockfile protection when the repository requires action dependencies to be pinned. Pinning reduces the chance that a moving action reference changes behavior without a corresponding review of the workflow file.
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Classic branch rules versus repository rulesets
Use classic branch protection for the essential merge gate and rulesets when policy must span paths, tags, or a repository’s fork network. The two mechanisms overlap on reviews and checks but differ in scope and policy composition.
| Capability | Classic branch-protection rule | Ruleset |
|---|---|---|
| Branch and tag scope | Matches the branches or patterns selected in the rule. | Can target broader branch or tag patterns and be combined with other rulesets. |
| Push versus merge coverage | Controls direct pushes, force pushes, deletion, and merge prerequisites for matching branches. | Can enforce push rules and merge requirements as a policy layer, depending on the ruleset type. |
| File-path restrictions | Not the general mechanism for path-specific restrictions. | Can restrict sensitive paths, such as .github/workflows, where the repository plan supports that feature. |
| Fork-network behavior | Primarily applies to the repository and its protected references. | Push rulesets can apply across a repository’s fork network. |
| Bypass actors | Uses branch-rule permissions and administrator bypass behavior; administrator enforcement must be enabled to close that path. | Defines bypass actors explicitly, allowing a smaller, named exception set. |
| Status checks and reviews | Provides the familiar required-review, required-check, conversation, signature, and history controls. | Can add policy layers while retaining required checks and review requirements appropriate to the targeted rule. |
| API and policy management | Exposed through the protected-branch REST representation and suitable for periodic drift checks. | Managed as repository policy objects; use the relevant ruleset APIs and audit their active enforcement state. |
Start with one clear rule for main and release branches. Add a path-focused ruleset only when it solves a defined gap, and keep bypass actors documented and minimal.
How to configure the complete policy
- Inventory protected references. List production, release, and deployment branches. Decide whether a single pattern or separate rules provide clearer ownership.
- Set the merge gate. Require pull requests, choose the approval count, and require approval of the latest reviewable push when separation of author and approver matters.
- Select checks deliberately. Require build, test, security, and deployment checks that actually report on every eligible change. Require branches to be up to date when latest-base testing is mandatory.
- Add process controls. Enable conversation resolution, signed commits, linear history, merge queue, or deployment requirements only where the repository’s process supports them.
- Close direct-update paths. Restrict push actors, disable force pushes, disable deletion, and enable Do not allow bypassing the above settings.
- Protect sensitive paths. Add a ruleset for workflow files and other high-impact configuration paths when available on the repository plan. Define the smallest bypass set.
- Constrain Actions. Review actor rules, event rules, untrusted triggers, and action lockfile requirements. Confirm that workflow permissions are no broader than needed.
- Test and audit. Attempt a direct push and a workflow-file change as a non-bypass user, then inspect the protected-branch API representation for drift.
Why is my required status check still pending?
The check ran on an older commit
Required checks must succeed on the commit being merged. Push a new commit or update the branch so the workflow runs again, then verify that the newly reported check is the one selected by the rule.
Path or branch filters skipped the workflow
A workflow filtered by paths or branches may not run for a particular change. If its check is required, GitHub can leave the requirement pending because no result was reported. Align the workflow filters with the protected-branch rule, or redesign the requirement so every eligible pull request produces a result.
A merge queue lacks the required trigger
When a merge queue is enabled, the workflow that supplies required checks must include the merge_group trigger. Without it, the queue cannot obtain the check result for its temporary merge group.
The check came from the wrong GitHub App
A protected branch can require a check from a specific GitHub App. If an identically named check is produced by another app, GitHub can reject it as an invalid source. Select the intended app and ensure the workflow or integration publishes through that identity.
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The branch is not current
If the rule requires an up-to-date branch, merge or rebase the latest protected-branch changes into the pull request and wait for the checks to complete again. A previous green result is not reusable after the required commit changes.
Test the policy without creating a bypass
Testing should model the least-privileged contributor, not an administrator. Use a non-bypass account or team and verify each expected denial:
- A direct push to
mainis rejected unless the actor is on the restricted push list. - A force push and branch deletion are rejected.
- A pull request cannot merge without the required approvals, current checks, and resolved conversations.
- A workflow-file modification follows the required review and path ruleset.
- An unauthorized user cannot start a restricted workflow event.
Also test the intended success path: an authorized reviewer approves the pull request, all checks report on the current commit, required conversations are resolved, and the merge completes without administrator intervention. Record the expected result for each test so a future policy change can be compared against it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Audit branch protection through the REST API
The protected-branch REST API exposes the policy GitHub is enforcing, including required checks, required reviews, administrator enforcement, force-push and deletion settings, branch-creation blocking, conversation resolution, branch locking, and push restrictions. Treat this representation as the audit record rather than relying only on screenshots of the Settings page.
A periodic audit can compare the live representation with a version-controlled policy document. Flag drift such as a missing required check, a newly permitted push actor, disabled administrator enforcement, or re-enabled force pushes. Run the audit after repository ownership changes, branch renames, Actions migrations, and changes to release practice.
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Keep API credentials restricted to read-only inspection where possible. The audit itself should not become an unreviewed route for modifying branch policy.
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Common design mistakes
- Protecting only the default branch: release or deployment branches may remain writable.
- Leaving administrator bypass enabled: ordinary contributors are blocked while the highest-impact account can still override the policy.
- Requiring checks that do not always report: path and branch filters create permanently pending pull requests.
- Assuming branch protection controls execution: workflow actor and event policy must be configured in Actions.
- Granting broad bypass access: a named emergency actor is safer than an entire administrator group.
- Ignoring workflow dependencies: unpinned actions can change behavior without a workflow-file diff; use lockfile protection when the repository requires pinned dependencies.
- Testing as an administrator: bypass privileges hide failures that a contributor will encounter.
Frequently asked questions
Can an authorized app push directly to a protected branch?
Yes. If branch restrictions are enabled, an installed GitHub App can be included among the explicitly permitted push actors. Keep that permission limited to the automation that needs it and retain pull-request gates for changes that do not require direct machine updates.
Do skipped checks count as passing?
GitHub treats success, skipped, and neutral as successful states for required checks. A skipped result still needs to be reported for the commit; a workflow that never runs can leave the requirement pending.
What should I do when an emergency fix cannot wait for review?
Use a documented, narrowly scoped bypass actor or emergency process rather than weakening the permanent rule. After the fix, review the change through the normal pull-request path and confirm that the policy and its bypass membership were restored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an authorized app push directly to a protected branch?
Yes. If branch restrictions are enabled, an installed GitHub App can be included among the explicitly permitted push actors. Keep that permission limited to the automation that needs it and retain pull-request gates for changes that do not require direct machine updates.
Do skipped checks count as passing?
GitHub treats success, skipped, and neutral as successful states for required checks. A skipped result still needs to be reported for the commit; a workflow that never runs can leave the requirement pending.
What should I do when an emergency fix cannot wait for review?
Use a documented, narrowly scoped bypass actor or emergency process rather than weakening the permanent rule. After the fix, review the change through the normal pull-request path and confirm that the policy and its bypass membership were restored.
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