Home / Git & GitHub / Conflicts & rejections

Push rejected (non-fast-forward / fetch first)

careful beginner #push#rejected#non-fast-forward#force

When to use this: git push fails with rejected because GitHub has commits you do not have.

Be careful with this one. Do not fix this with --force. That overwrites GitHub and can erase other work.

Before you start

Read the message: ! [rejected] main -> main (fetch first) or (non-fast-forward).

Steps

See the difference
terminal
```
git fetch
git status -sb
```
behind N means GitHub has N commits you lack. ahead and behind together means diverged.
Combine GitHub's commits with yours
terminal
```
git pull --no-rebase
```
Merges the remote changes into your branch. Resolve any conflicts (see the conflict scenario).
Push again
terminal
```
git push
```
Now your branch contains everything on GitHub, so the push is a fast-forward.

How to verify it worked

git push finishes with main -> main, and git status says up to date.

How to undo it

A pull that went wrong and is not pushed: git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD.

Common errors and fixes

You really did rewrite history (amend or rebase) and want to overwrite your own branch Use git push --force-with-lease and only on your own feature branch, never on main.

failed to push some refs ... hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind Same as above: pull first, then push.

Q&A

Why does Git refuse my push?

A push must only move the remote branch forward along your history. If GitHub has commits you lack, accepting the push would erase them.

What is the difference between --force and --force-with-lease?

--force overwrites no matter what. --force-with-lease aborts if the remote has commits you have not seen, so it will not silently destroy someone else's work.

Practice these as flashcards →

Terms in this scenario

Push Fast-forward Force push Merge

Related scenarios

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