Repository files API

Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

You can fetch, create, update, and delete files in your repository with this API. You can also configure rate limits for this API.

Available scopes for personal access tokens

Personal access tokens support these scopes:

Scope Description
api Allows read-write access to the repository files.
read_api Allows read access to the repository files.
read_repository Allows read-access to the repository files.

Get file from repository

Allows you to receive information about file in repository like name, size, and content. File content is Base64 encoded. You can access this endpoint without authentication, if the repository is publicly accessible. 

GET /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fmodels%2Fkey%2Erb?ref=main"
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
file_path string yes URL encoded full path to new file, such as lib%2Fclass%2Erb.
ref string yes The name of branch, tag or commit.

Response

In the response, blob_id is the blob SHA. See Get a blob from repository in the Repositories API.

Example response: 

{
  "file_name": "key.rb",
  "file_path": "app/models/key.rb",
  "size": 1476,
  "encoding": "base64",
  "content": "IyA9PSBTY2hlbWEgSW5mb3...",
  "content_sha256": "4c294617b60715c1d218e61164a3abd4808a4284cbc30e6728a01ad9aada4481",
  "ref": "main",
  "blob_id": "79f7bbd25901e8334750839545a9bd021f0e4c83",
  "commit_id": "d5a3ff139356ce33e37e73add446f16869741b50",
  "last_commit_id": "570e7b2abdd848b95f2f578043fc23bd6f6fd24d",
  "execute_filemode": false
}

Get file metadata only

You can also use HEAD to fetch just file metadata. 

HEAD /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path

curl --head --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fmodels%2Fkey%2Erb?ref=main"

Example response: 

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
...
X-Gitlab-Blob-Id: 79f7bbd25901e8334750839545a9bd021f0e4c83
X-Gitlab-Commit-Id: d5a3ff139356ce33e37e73add446f16869741b50
X-Gitlab-Content-Sha256: 4c294617b60715c1d218e61164a3abd4808a4284cbc30e6728a01ad9aada4481
X-Gitlab-Encoding: base64
X-Gitlab-File-Name: key.rb
X-Gitlab-File-Path: app/models/key.rb
X-Gitlab-Last-Commit-Id: 570e7b2abdd848b95f2f578043fc23bd6f6fd24d
X-Gitlab-Ref: main
X-Gitlab-Size: 1476
X-Gitlab-Execute-Filemode: false
...

Get file blame from repository

Retrieve blame information. Each blame range contains lines and their corresponding commit information. 

GET /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path/blame
Attribute Type Required Description
file_path string yes URL-encoded full path to new file, such aslib%2Fclass%2Erb.
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
range[end] integer yes The last line of the range to blame.
range[start] integer yes The first line of the range to blame.
ref string yes The name of branch, tag or commit.
range hash no Blame range. 
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/path%2Fto%2Ffile.rb/blame?ref=main"

Example response: 

[
  {
    "commit": {
      "id": "d42409d56517157c48bf3bd97d3f75974dde19fb",
      "message": "Add feature\n\nalso fix bug\n",
      "parent_ids": [
        "cc6e14f9328fa6d7b5a0d3c30dc2002a3f2a3822"
      ],
      "authored_date": "2015-12-18T08:12:22.000Z",
      "author_name": "John Doe",
      "author_email": "john.doe@example.com",
      "committed_date": "2015-12-18T08:12:22.000Z",
      "committer_name": "John Doe",
      "committer_email": "john.doe@example.com"
    },
    "lines": [
      "require 'fileutils'",
      "require 'open3'",
      ""
    ]
  },
  ...
]

Get file metadata only

Use the HEAD method to return just file metadata, as in Get file from repository: 

curl --head --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/path%2Fto%2Ffile.rb/blame?ref=main"

Response

Example response: 

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
...
X-Gitlab-Blob-Id: 79f7bbd25901e8334750839545a9bd021f0e4c83
X-Gitlab-Commit-Id: d5a3ff139356ce33e37e73add446f16869741b50
X-Gitlab-Content-Sha256: 4c294617b60715c1d218e61164a3abd4808a4284cbc30e6728a01ad9aada4481
X-Gitlab-Encoding: base64
X-Gitlab-File-Name: file.rb
X-Gitlab-File-Path: path/to/file.rb
X-Gitlab-Last-Commit-Id: 570e7b2abdd848b95f2f578043fc23bd6f6fd24d
X-Gitlab-Ref: main
X-Gitlab-Size: 1476
X-Gitlab-Execute-Filemode: false
...

Request a blame range

To request a blame range, specify range[start] and range[end] parameters with the starting and ending line numbers of the file. 

curl --head --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/path%2Fto%2Ffile.rb/blame?ref=main&range[start]=1&range[end]=2"

Example response: 

[
  {
    "commit": {
      "id": "d42409d56517157c48bf3bd97d3f75974dde19fb",
      "message": "Add feature\n\nalso fix bug\n",
      "parent_ids": [
        "cc6e14f9328fa6d7b5a0d3c30dc2002a3f2a3822"
      ],
      "authored_date": "2015-12-18T08:12:22.000Z",
      "author_name": "John Doe",
      "author_email": "john.doe@example.com",
      "committed_date": "2015-12-18T08:12:22.000Z",
      "committer_name": "John Doe",
      "committer_email": "john.doe@example.com"
    },
    "lines": [
      "require 'fileutils'",
      "require 'open3'"
    ]
  },
  ...
]

Get raw file from repository 

GET /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path/raw
Attribute Type Required Description
file_path string yes URL-encoded full path to new file, such as lib%2Fclass%2Erb.
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
lfs boolean no Determines if the response should be Git LFS file contents, rather than the pointer. Ignored if the file is not tracked by Git LFS. Defaults to false.
ref string no The name of branch, tag or commit. Default is the HEAD of the project. 
curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fmodels%2Fkey%2Erb/raw?ref=main"
note
Like Get file from repository, you can use HEAD to get just file metadata.

Create new file in repository

Allows you to create a single file. For creating multiple files with a single request, see the commits API. 

POST /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path
Attribute Type Required Description
branch string yes Name of the new branch to create. The commit is added to this branch.
commit_message string yes The commit message.
content string yes The file’s content.
file_path string yes URL-encoded full path to new file. For example: lib%2Fclass%2Erb.
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
author_email string no The commit author’s email address.
author_name string no The commit author’s name.
encoding string no Change encoding to base64. Default is text.
execute_filemode boolean no Enables or disables the execute flag on the file. Can be true or false.
start_branch string no Name of the base branch to create the new branch from. 
curl --request POST \
  --header 'PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>' \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"branch": "main", "author_email": "author@example.com", "author_name": "Firstname Lastname",
            "content": "some content", "commit_message": "create a new file"}' \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fproject%2Erb"

Example response: 

{
  "file_path": "app/project.rb",
  "branch": "main"
}

Update existing file in repository

Allows you to update a single file. For updating multiple files with a single request, refer to the commits API. 

PUT /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path
Attribute Type Required Description
branch string yes Name of the new branch to create. The commit is added to this branch.
commit_message string yes The commit message.
content string yes The file’s content.
file_path string yes URL-encoded full path to new file. For example: lib%2Fclass%2Erb.
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user
author_email string no The commit author’s email address.
author_name string no The commit author’s name.
encoding string no Change encoding to base64. Default is text.
execute_filemode boolean no Enables or disables the execute flag on the file. Can be true or false.
last_commit_id string no Last known file commit ID.
start_branch string no Name of the base branch to create the new branch from. 
curl --request PUT \
  --header 'PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>' \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"branch": "main", "author_email": "author@example.com", "author_name": "Firstname Lastname",
       "content": "some content", "commit_message": "update file"}' \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fproject%2Erb"

Example response: 

{
  "file_path": "app/project.rb",
  "branch": "main"
}

If the commit fails for any reason we return a 400 Bad Request error with a non-specific error message. Possible causes for a failed commit include:

  • The file_path contained /../ (attempted directory traversal).
  • The commit was empty: new file contents were identical to the current file contents.
  • Someone updated the branch with git push while the file edit was in progress.

GitLab Shell has a Boolean return code, preventing GitLab from specifying the error.

Delete existing file in repository

Deletes a single file. To delete multiple files with a single request, see the commits API. 

DELETE /projects/:id/repository/files/:file_path
Attribute Type Required Description
branch string yes Name of the new branch to create. The commit is added to this branch.
commit_message string yes The commit message.
file_path string yes URL-encoded full path to new file. For example: lib%2Fclass%2Erb.
id integer or string yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project owned by the authenticated user.
author_email string no The commit author’s email address.
author_name string no The commit author’s name.
last_commit_id string no Last known file commit ID.
start_branch string no Name of the base branch to create the new branch from. 
curl --request DELETE \
  --header 'PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>' \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"branch": "main", "author_email": "author@example.com", "author_name": "Firstname Lastname",
       "commit_message": "delete file"}' \
  --url "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/13083/repository/files/app%2Fproject%2Erb"