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The REST API is now versioned. For more information, see "About API versioning."

REST API endpoints for Git blobs

Use the REST API to interact with a Git blob (binary large object), the object type used to store the contents of each file in a repository.

About Git blobs

A Git blob (binary large object) is the object type used to store the contents of each file in a repository. The file's SHA-1 hash is computed and stored in the blob object. These endpoints allow you to read and write blob objects to your Git database on GitHub. Blobs leverage these custom media types. For more information about the use of media types in the API, see "Getting started with the REST API."

Create a blob

Fine-grained access tokens for "Create a blob"

This endpoint works with the following token types:

The token must have the following permission set:

  • contents:write

Parameters for "Create a blob"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
content string Required

The new blob's content.

encoding string

The encoding used for content. Currently, "utf-8" and "base64" are supported.

Default: utf-8

HTTP response status codes for "Create a blob"

Status codeDescription
201

Created

403

Forbidden

404

Resource not found

409

Conflict

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Create a blob"

Request example

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/blobs
curl -L \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \ https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/blobs \ -d '{"content":"Content of the blob","encoding":"utf-8"}'

Response

Status: 201
{ "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example/git/blobs/3a0f86fb8db8eea7ccbb9a95f325ddbedfb25e15", "sha": "3a0f86fb8db8eea7ccbb9a95f325ddbedfb25e15" }

Get a blob

The content in the response will always be Base64 encoded.

This endpoint supports the following custom media types. For more information, see "Media types."

  • application/vnd.github.raw+json: Returns the raw blob data.
  • application/vnd.github+json: Returns a JSON representation of the blob with content as a base64 encoded string. This is the default if no media type is specified.

Note This endpoint supports blobs up to 100 megabytes in size.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Get a blob"

This endpoint works with the following token types:

The token must have the following permission set:

  • contents:read

This endpoint can be used without authentication or the aforementioned permissions if only public resources are requested.

Parameters for "Get a blob"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
accept string

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
owner string Required

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repo string Required

The name of the repository without the .git extension. The name is not case sensitive.

file_sha string Required

HTTP response status codes for "Get a blob"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

403

Forbidden

404

Resource not found

409

Conflict

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Get a blob"

Request example

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/blobs/{file_sha}
curl -L \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \ https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/blobs/FILE_SHA

Response

Status: 200
{ "content": "Q29udGVudCBvZiB0aGUgYmxvYg==", "encoding": "base64", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/example/git/blobs/3a0f86fb8db8eea7ccbb9a95f325ddbedfb25e15", "sha": "3a0f86fb8db8eea7ccbb9a95f325ddbedfb25e15", "size": 19, "node_id": "Q29udGVudCBvZiB0aGUgYmxvYg==" }