---
title: REST API endpoints for Git references
shortTitle: References
intro: >-
  Use the REST API to interact with references in your Git database on {% data
  variables.product.github %}
versions: # DO NOT MANUALLY EDIT. CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN BY A 🤖
  fpt: '*'
  ghec: '*'
  ghes: '*'
topics:
  - API
allowTitleToDifferFromFilename: true
autogenerated: rest
---

## About Git references

A Git reference (`git ref`) is a file that contains a Git commit SHA-1 hash. When referring to a Git commit, you can use the Git reference, which is an easy-to-remember name, rather than the hash. The Git reference can be rewritten to point to a new commit. A branch is a Git reference that stores the new Git commit hash. These endpoints allow you to read and write [references](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Internals-Git-References) to your Git database on {% data variables.product.github %}.

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