| title: REST API endpoints for Git references | |
| shortTitle: References | |
| intro: >- | |
| Use the REST API to interact with references in your Git database on {% data | |
| variables.product.github %} | |
| versions: # DO NOT MANUALLY EDIT. CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN BY A 🤖 | |
| fpt: '*' | |
| ghec: '*' | |
| ghes: '*' | |
| topics: | |
| - API | |
| allowTitleToDifferFromFilename: true | |
| autogenerated: rest | |
| ## About Git references | |
| A Git reference (`git ref`) is a file that contains a Git commit SHA-1 hash. When referring to a Git commit, you can use the Git reference, which is an easy-to-remember name, rather than the hash. The Git reference can be rewritten to point to a new commit. A branch is a Git reference that stores the new Git commit hash. These endpoints allow you to read and write [references](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Internals-Git-References) to your Git database on {% data variables.product.github %}. | |
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