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Protected branches (FREE)

In GitLab, permissions are fundamentally defined around the idea of having read or write permission to the repository and branches. To impose further restrictions on certain branches, they can be protected.

A protected branch controls:

  • Which users can merge into the branch.
  • Which users can push to the branch.
  • If users can force push to the branch.
  • If changes to files listed in the CODEOWNERS file can be pushed directly to the branch.
  • Which users can unprotect the branch.

The default branch for your repository is protected by default.

Who can modify a protected branch

Branch push permission changed to require GitLab administrators to also have the allowed permission in GitLab 16.0.

When a branch is protected, the default behavior enforces these restrictions on the branch.

Action Who can do it
Protect a branch At least the Maintainer role.
Push to the branch Anyone with Allowed permission. (1)
Force push to the branch No one. (3)
Delete the branch No one. (2)
  1. Users with the Developer role can create a project in a group, but might not be allowed to initially push to the default branch.
  2. No one can delete a protected branch using Git commands, however, users with at least Maintainer role can delete a protected branch from the UI or API.
  3. If the group_protected_branches feature flag is enabled and the same branch is protected at both the group and project levels, force push settings configured for that branch at the project level are ignored. All other protections continue to use project level settings.

When a branch matches multiple rules

When a branch matches multiple rules, the most permissive rule determines the level of protection for the branch. For example, consider these rules, which include wildcards:

Branch name pattern Allowed to merge Allowed to push and merge
v1.x Maintainer Maintainer
v1.* Maintainer + Developer Maintainer
v* No one No one

A branch named v1.x matches all three branch name patterns: v1.x, v1.*, and v*. As the most permissive option determines the behavior, the resulting permissions for branch v1.x are:

  • Allowed to merge: Of the three settings, Maintainer + Developer is most permissive, and controls branch behavior as a result. Even though the branch also matched v1.x and v* (which each have stricter permissions), users with the Developer role can merge into the branch.
  • Allowed to push and merge: Of the three settings, Maintainer is the most permissive, and controls branch behavior as a result. Even though branches matching v* are set to No one, branches that also match v1.x or v1.* receive the more permissive Maintainer permission.

To be certain that a rule controls the behavior of a branch, all other patterns that match must apply less or equally permissive rules.

If you want to ensure that No one is allowed to push to branch v1.x, every pattern that matches v1.x must set Allowed to push and merge to No one, like this:

Branch name pattern Allowed to merge Allowed to push and merge
v1.x Maintainer No one
v1.* Maintainer + Developer No one
v* No one No one

Set the default branch protection level

Administrators can set a default branch protection level in the Admin Area.

Add protection to existing branches

Configure protected branches for all projects in a group, or just for a project.

For one project

Prerequisites:

  • You must have at least the Maintainer role.
  • When granting a group Allowed to merge or Allowed to push and merge permissions on a protected branch, the group must be added to the project.

To protect a branch:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.

  2. Select Settings > Repository.

  3. Expand Protected branches.

  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.

  5. From the Allowed to merge list, select a role that can merge into this branch.

  6. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select a role that can push to this branch.

    NOTE: In GitLab Premium and Ultimate, you can also add groups or individual users to Allowed to merge and Allowed to push and merge.

  7. Select Protect.

The protected branch displays in the list of protected branches.

For all projects in a group (PREMIUM)

Introduced in GitLab 15.9 with a flag named group_protected_branches. Disabled by default.

FLAG: On self-managed GitLab, by default this feature is not available. To make it available, an administrator can enable the feature flag named group_protected_branches. On GitLab.com, this feature is not available.

Group owners can create protected branches for a group. These settings are inherited by all projects in the group and can't be overridden by project settings. If a specific branch is configured with Allowed to force push settings at both the group and project levels, the Allowed to force push setting at the project level is ignored in favor of the group level setting.

Prerequisite:

  • You must have the Owner role in the group.

To protect a branch for all the projects in a group:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your group.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. In the Branch text box, type the branch name or a wildcard.
  5. From the Allowed to merge list, select a role that can merge into this branch.
  6. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select a role that can push to this branch.
  7. Select Protect.

The protected branch is added to the list of protected branches.

Protect multiple branches with wildcard rules

When using wildcards, multiple rules can apply to a single branch. If more than one rule applies to a branch, the most permissive rule controls how the branch behaves. For merge controls to work properly, set Allowed to push and merge to a broader set of users than Allowed to merge.

Prerequisite:

  • You must have at least the Maintainer role.

To protect multiple branches at the same time:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.

  2. Select Settings > Repository.

  3. Expand Protected branches.

  4. From the Branch dropdown list, type the branch name and a wildcard. For example:

    Wildcard protected branch Matching branches
    *-stable production-stable, staging-stable
    production/* production/app-server, production/load-balancer
    *gitlab* gitlab, gitlab/staging, master/gitlab/production

  5. From the Allowed to merge list, select a role that can merge into this branch.

  6. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select a role that can push to this branch. In GitLab Premium or Ultimate, you can also add groups or individual users.

  7. Select Protect.

The protected branch displays in the list of protected branches.

Create a new branch with protections

Users with at least the Developer role can create new protected branches.

Prerequisites:

  • Allowed to push and merge is set to No one.
  • Allowed to merge is set to Developers.

You can create a protected branch by using the UI or API only. This prevents you from accidentally creating a branch from the command line or from a Git client application.

To create a new branch through the user interface:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Code > Branches.
  3. Select New branch.
  4. Fill in the branch name and select an existing branch, tag, or commit to base the new branch on. Only existing protected branches and commits that are already in protected branches are accepted.

Require everyone to submit merge requests for a protected branch

You can force everyone to submit a merge request, rather than allowing them to check in directly to a protected branch:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.
  5. From the Allowed to merge list, select Developers + Maintainers.
  6. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select No one.
  7. Select Protect.

Allow everyone to push directly to a protected branch

You can allow everyone with write access to push to the protected branch.

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.
  5. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select Developers + Maintainers.
  6. Select Protect.

Allow deploy keys to push to a protected branch

  • Introduced in GitLab 13.7.
  • This feature was selectively deployed in GitLab.com 13.7, and may not be available for all users.
  • This feature is available for all users in GitLab 13.9.

You can permit the owner of a deploy key to push to a protected branch. The deploy key works, even if the user isn't a member of the related project. However, the owner of the deploy key must have at least read access to the project.

Prerequisites:

  • The deploy key must be enabled for your project. A project deploy key is enabled by default when it is created. However, a public deploy key must be granted access to the project.
  • The deploy key must have write access to your project repository.

To allow a deploy key to push to a protected branch:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.
  5. From the Allowed to push and merge list, select the deploy key.
  6. Select Protect.

Deploy keys are not available in the Allowed to merge dropdown list.

Allow force push on a protected branch

You can allow force pushes to protected branches.

To protect a new branch and enable force push:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.
  5. From the Allowed to push and merge and Allowed to merge lists, select the settings you want.
  6. To allow all users with push access to force push, turn on the Allowed to force push toggle.
  7. To reject code pushes that change files listed in the CODEOWNERS file, turn on the Require approval from code owners toggle.
  8. Select Protect.

To enable force pushes on branches that are already protected:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. In the list of protected branches, next to the branch, turn on the Allowed to force push toggle.

Members who can push to this branch can now also force push.

When a branch matches multiple rules

When a branch matches multiple rules, the most permissive rule determines the level of protection for the branch. For example, consider these rules, which include wildcards:

Branch name pattern Allow force push
v1.x Yes
v1.* No
v* No

A branch named v1.x matches all three branch name patterns: v1.x, v1.*, and v*. As the most permissive option determines the behavior, the resulting permissions for branch v1.x are:

  • Allow force push: Of the three settings, Yes is most permissive, and controls branch behavior as a result. Even though the branch also matched v1.x and v* (which each have stricter permissions), any user that can push to this branch can also force push.

NOTE: Force push settings for a branch at the project level are overridden by group level settings if the group_protected_branches feature flag is enabled and a group owner has set group level protection for the same branch.

Require Code Owner approval on a protected branch (PREMIUM)

Introduced in GitLab 13.5, users and groups who can push to protected branches do not have to use a merge request to merge their feature branches. This means they can skip merge request approval rules.

For a protected branch, you can require at least one approval by a Code Owner. If a branch is protected by multiple rules, code owner approval is required if any of the applicable rules have Required approval from code owners enabled.

To protect a new branch and enable Code Owner's approval:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. From the Branch dropdown list, select the branch you want to protect.
  5. From the Allowed to push and merge and Allowed to merge lists, select the settings you want.
  6. Turn on the Require approval from code owners toggle.
  7. Select Protect.

To enable Code Owner's approval on branches that are already protected:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Settings > Repository.
  3. Expand Protected branches.
  4. In the list of protected branches, next to the branch, turn on the Code owner approval toggle.

When enabled, all merge requests for these branches require approval by a Code Owner per matched rule before they can be merged. Additionally, direct pushes to the protected branch are denied if a rule is matched.

Any user who is not specified in the CODEOWNERS file cannot push changes for the specified files or paths, unless they are specifically allowed to. You don't have to restrict developers from pushing directly to the protected branch. Instead, you can restrict pushing to certain files where a review by Code Owners is required.

In GitLab Premium 13.5 and later, users and groups who are allowed to push to protected branches do not need a merge request to merge their feature branches. Thus, they can skip merge request approval rules, Code Owners included.

Run pipelines on protected branches

The permission to merge or push to protected branches defines whether or not a user can run CI/CD pipelines and execute actions on jobs.

See Security on protected branches for details about the pipelines security model.

Delete a protected branch

Users with at least the Maintainer role can manually delete protected branches by using the GitLab web interface:

  1. On the left sidebar, at the top, select Search GitLab ({search}) to find your project.
  2. Select Code > Branches.
  3. Next to the branch you want to delete, select Delete ({remove}).
  4. On the confirmation dialog, enter the branch name and select Yes, delete protected branch.

Protected branches can only be deleted by using GitLab either from the UI or API. This prevents accidentally deleting a branch through local Git commands or third-party Git clients.

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