How to resolve "refusing to allow an integration to create or update .github/workflows/main.yml" on GitHub Desktop?

This post was most recently updated on March 24th, 2023.

2 min read.

This article explains how to fix a weird and surprising error about GitHub Actions workflow file thrown at you when you try to push your changes using GitHub Desktop. The odd part is that you had no changes to the workflow file at all.

Problem

Table of Contents

Ran into this one when trying to push my merge from upstream. I was adhering to my own instructions (see below for a link), but got the error (further below) that stopped me from using GitHub Desktop to push (sync) at all.

Sync local repo with the original on GitHub (Git merge upstream)

So, the error I ran into:

! [remote rejected] master -> master (refusing to allow an integration to create or update .github/workflows/main.yml)
error: failed to push some refs to [repositoryname]

This was pretty weird – I hadn’t made any changes to said file, and I don’t think anyone else had, either.

This is likely an unintended feature of GitHub, and GitHub Desktop can’t do anything about it. However, there’s a nifty workaround available!

Solution

A number of GitHub issues propose that this issue can be circumvented by actually committing a change removing the yaml file in question from the repository. However, if you’re merging from an upstream repository, you don’t usually want to do this! And actually, if it’s an actual workflow file that you like, why would you remove it anyway?

So, we need to find another way.

Whereas GitHub Desktop is using OAuth, and running into this issue, Git Bash (the console application you use to merge upstream in my earlier example as well) doesn’t. And it’s also free from this issue, as it’s not considered “an integration”, and whatever it’s trying to do (or not do) to the yaml file just works.

So, in short – instead of using GitHub Desktop, open Git bash and run this:

cd [yourprojectpath] # after this, make sure the command line shows the right branch name!
git push

Et voila! You should be good.

References

https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/6526

https://github.com/cclauss/Upgrade-to-Python3/issues/1

Author
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Antti K. Koskela

Developer / Speaker / Consultant at Koskila / Precio Fishbone / Norppandalotti Software Co / Alter - Experience Ideas Ltd

Antti Koskela is a proud digital native nomadic millennial full stack developer (is that enough funny buzzwords? That's definitely enough funny buzzwords!), who works as Solutions Architect for Precio Fishbone, building delightful Digital Workplaces.

He's been a developer from 2004 (starting with PHP and Java), and he's been working on .NET projects, Azure, Office 365, SharePoint and a lot of other stuff. He's also Microsoft MVP for Azure.

This is his personal professional (e.g. professional, but definitely personal) blog.

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