Error failed to push some refs to git github com

Sometimes, Git can’t make your change to a remote repository without losing commits. When this happens, your push is refused.

If another person has pushed to the same branch as you, Git won’t be able to push your changes:

$ git push origin main
> To https://github.com/USERNAME/REPOSITORY.git
>  ! [rejected]        main -> main (non-fast-forward)
> error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/USERNAME/REPOSITORY.git'
> To prevent you from losing history, non-fast-forward updates were rejected
> Merge the remote changes (e.g. 'git pull') before pushing again.  See the
> 'Note about fast-forwards' section of 'git push --help' for details.

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 YOUR_BRANCH_NAME
# Merges updates made online with your local work

Or, you can simply use git pull to perform both commands at once:

$ git pull origin YOUR_BRANCH_NAME
# Grabs online updates and merges them with your local work

What is ‘failed to push some refs to’ error

failed to push some refs to is a Git error that many developers frequently face. It occurs when a developer attempts to push committed code to an external git repository. The ability to push code stopped working suddenly, despite it working yesterday or the day before. It can be a source of frustration and annoyance for many.

failed to push some refs to errors are often caused when changes are not committed before pushing, issues with Git pre-push hook, incorrect branch name, or the local repository not being in sync with the Git repository. It occurs most of the time because multiple contributors are working on the same branch and the remote repository is further along than what you currently have on your local machine.

It is easy for git pushes to overlap when working in teams or for ref heads to be in different positions. This overlap can cause the repository to be out of sync, which is why the failed to push some refs to error are so frequent.

What causes ‘failed to push some refs to’ error

When multiple developers work on the same branch, it can cause a sequencing issue in Git. A commit gets rejected and causes a failed to push some refs to error because the remote branch contains code that you do not have locally. What this means is that your local git repository is not compatible with the remote origin.

Here is an abstraction of what incompatibility looks like in Git:

A -- B -- C -- D (on the remote)
A -- B -- E (on your local machine)

Based on the above, your local machine is missing commits C and D. Meanwhile, you are trying to slot in your commit – E – between B and C on the remote.

Before Git lets you proceed, you will need to integrate the remote changes into your local repository. This step will fix any incompatibility issues and ensure that your version is up to date with the remote.

How can you fix ‘failed to push some refs to’ errors

Here are the scenarios that may cause the failed to push some refs error, and how to correct them:

1.Another developer pushed a commit to the same branch

The error in your terminal looks like this:

To [email protected]:sometest.git
! [rejected] your-branch -] your-branch (non-fast-forward)

When this occurs, the head sits at different positions on the same code timeline, and Git does not know how to handle it. This is because the origin repository is ahead of where you currently are. To fix this issue, run git pull on your local repository. This should allow you to push to origin again.

git pull origin [your-branch]
git push origin [your-branch]

2. You got a ‘master (non-fast-forward)’ error with a ‘failed to push some refs to’ error

A git fast-forward happens when the ref pointer gets moved forward in the commit history. However, if your code diverges before it reaches the latest commit, it can cause the non-fast-forward issue and lead to a failed to push some refs to error.

To solve this issue, you can pull with the --rebase flag. --rebase will let you move your intended files to commit over to the latest pull code.

Here is how to pull with --rebase:

git pull --rebase origin [branch]

3. You got a ‘master (fetch first)’ error with a ‘failed to push some refs to’ error

When this occurs, someone has pushed to the branch before you. Git wants you to pull first before you can push your committed changes.

To prevent the loss of your work during the pull, you can stash your local changes.

The common suggested fix is to use --force flag to push through the local changes. However, it is good practice to avoid using the --force flag as it can cause inconsistency issues. Instead, use --rebase to move the ref heads and update your local repository without causing a divergence in the remote repository.

Using --force to try and fix the failed to push some refs to error will only result in more errors in the long run. This occurs because --force uses a brute force method that puts your current code and its ref head as the source of truth.

As a result, the changes in the remote can be overwritten by what you have pushed, removing any features or updates that other developers may have committed.

Only use --force if you are comfortable with features not on your local being overwritten with what you’ve currently got. Use the --force flag if you are confident that your local repository in its current state is correct.

How to prevent ‘failed to push some refs to’ errors

To prevent failed to push some refs to errors in Git, it is good practice to avoid having multiple developers work on the same branch simultaneously. Instead, use feature branches that merge into a master branch or something equivalent.

If you get a failed to push some refs to error, the main thing to do is git pull to bring your local repo up to date with the remote. Avoid employing the --force flag when using git pull and prevent other developers’ accidental overwrites of committed features.

Use the --rebase flag instead to avoid other errors from occurring while fixing your original failed to push some refs to error.

Kubernetes Troubleshooting with Komodor

We hope that the guide above helps you better understand the troubleshooting steps you need to fix the failed to push some refs to error.

Keep in mind that this is just one of many Git errors that can pop up in your K8s logs and cause the system to fail. Due to the complex and distributed nature of k8s,
the search for the root cause of each such failure can be stressful, disorienting, and time-consuming.

This is why we created Komodor, which acts as a single source of truth (SSOT) to streamline and shorten your k8s troubleshooting processes. Among other features, it offers:

• Change intelligence: Every issue is a result of a change. Within seconds we can help you understand exactly who did what and when.
• In-depth visibility: A complete activity timeline, showing all code and config changes, deployments, alerts, code diffs, pod logs, etc. All within one pane of glass with easy drill-down options.
• Insights into service dependencies: An easy way to understand cross-service changes and visualize their ripple effects across your entire system.
• Seamless notifications: Direct integration with your existing communication channels (e.g., Slack) so you’ll have all the information you need, when you need it.

When working with Git, facing errors isn’t really uncommon. We run into random bugs and glitches just because we missed a slash here or a comma there. 

In this article, we’re taking a look at the “failed to push some refs to remote git” error, its causes and how you can fix the problem.

Also read: How to fix Gitignore not working issue?

Why does this error happen?

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause of the error “failed to push some refs to remote git” as it’s caused by several reasons, the most popular ones being:

• Incorrect change ID in the commit.
• Lack of text files.
• Incorrect branch name format.
• Out of sync local repository.
• Git pre-push hook issues.
• Not committing initial changes before pushing them.

How to solve this?

Here are a few solutions you can try to solve the error failed to push some refs to remote git.

Check the repository pair

First up, you should check if you’ve got an incorrect repository pair. This means that the name of your local repository should match that of the Git remote repository. 

If your Git repository is incorrectly named, follow this guide to delete the local repository and make a new one with the correct name.

Pull first

Before you can push new changes to a remote repository, you need to run a pull operation first. Run the following commands one at a time and try pushing to the repository again.

git pull -rebase origin [branch name]
git push origin [branch name]

Check branch names

Using incorrect branch names can also cause this error a lot of times. It’s not uncommon to make typos, so ensure you’ve got the branch’s name right, whether it’s a local or remote branch. 

This can also be extended to whether or not a branch exists before you start pushing. Check to make sure you’ve got the name right, the directory isn’t empty and that the branch actually exists.

Check the working directory

Some platforms like GitHub and BitBucket don’t allow users to commit to an empty directory. If you’re using these platforms, make sure to add a file or two before you start pushing your code. This should resolve the error failed to push some refs to remote git.

Also read: GitHub vs Git vs GitLab vs Bitbucket

This post talks about how to fix a git error.

error: src refspec master does not match any
error: failed to push some refs to ‘url.git’.

Possible causes for this error for the below use cases

• Create and commit changes to the remote repository
• Push the existing repository from the command line

Here are the steps and commands for creating and cloning and committing the repository

• git init
• git add README.md
• git commit -m “Initial Changes”.
• git remote add origin https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git
• git push -u origin master

error: src refspec master does not match any error: failed to push some refs to ‘url.git’

There are two use cases success and error flow.

Let’s see how we can reproduce these error use cases.

These are the not correct way of adding commits and pushing changes but given an example use case how we can reproduce this error?

• I have a local project created angular-crud-mock-api in the b:\githubwork directory.

• Create an empty repository in github.com my repository url.

https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git

• Now want to commit angular-curd-mock-api code changes into the Repository url
  existing local application created `angular-crud-mock-api which is not synced with the GitHub repository.
• Let’s see how to add these changes to the remote repository

:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git remote add origin https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git

• Issue git push command and throws an error

B:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git push -u origin master
error: src refspec master does not match any
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git'

That means, we have to add the first files or directory before pushing changes.

• Add the files and directories using the below command git add .

B:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git add .
warning: LF will be replaced by CRLF in angular-crud-mock-api/.browserslistrc.
The file will have its original line endings in your working directory.

It adds the changes to the local repository in git.

Now, Let’s try to push changes to the remote repository using the git push command.

• Next, push changes using the git push command.

B:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git push -u origin master
error: src refspec master does not match any
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git'

This error throws an error and you need to use the commit command before pushing the Command.

• commit changes
  Here are the committed changes to the local repository.

B:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git commit -m "Initial changes"
[master (root-commit) 96c6c0c] Initial changes
 29 files changed, 30724 insertions(+)

How to add add,commit push Success Flow in Github

Let’s see how we can reproduce these success use cases.

Here is a sequence of commands you need to run to avoid the error.

git remote add origin https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git
git add .
git commit -m "Initial changes".
git push -u origin master

Here is the output of push changes

B:githubworkangular-crud-mock-api>git push -u origin master
Enumerating objects: 38, done.
Counting objects: 100% (38/38), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (34/34), done.
Writing objects: 100% (38/38), 260.09 KiB | 5.20 MiB/s, done.
Total 38 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), done.
To https://github.com/intkiran/angular-mock-api-json.git
 * [new branch]      master -> master
Branch 'master' set up to track remote branch 'master' from 'origin'.

fix git error:src refspec origin does not match any

You have to carefully check the below things to avoid this error, if you create new repo or push an existing repository,

• You forgot to add the files before pushing changes to the master or branch

• Missing or skipping the git add .or git commit command throws an error

Here are steps for adding the files or directories

• git commit message enclosed in double quotes instead of single quotes

Valid

git commit -m "initial changes"

Invalid

git commit -m 'initial commit'

• Please check the branch name with the push command

Usually, we will push changes using the below command.

git push -U origin `branchame`

push command push changes from the local repo to the remote repository branchname
Please make sure that branchname exists.

‘master ‘ is the default branch.

Here is a correct command

git push -U origin master

Possible reasons

• Branch name not found
• Branch name spelling mistake or case insensitive

How to create a new repo to avoid this error in Git

here is a list of commands to avoid this error

git init
git add .
git commit -m 'message'
git push -u origin master

Conclusion

In this tutorial, Learn how to fix the git error:src refspec origin does not match any while working with git repositories.