How to use it
- Read the live status above. It tests GitHub from outside your network.
- Open the official GitHub Status page for confirmed incidents.
- If GitHub is up, work through the fixes below, cheapest first.
- Press the report button if it still fails, so other visitors see it.
Is GitHub down for everyone or only for you?
GitHub is several services behind one name. The official status page lists Git Operations, Webhooks, API Requests, Issues, Pull Requests, Actions, Packages, Pages, Copilot and Codespaces as separate components. One can degrade while the others work. A page that loads does not prove that git push will succeed, and a working push does not mean Actions will run.
Our check requests github.com and api.github.com from outside your network. If both answer, the platform is reachable and your problem is more likely a token, an SSH key, a rate limit, a proxy or a repository setting. Always compare with githubstatus.com for the component you use.
The live check on this page requests github.com and api.github.com from our servers every few minutes. A normal answer from those addresses means the service is reachable from outside your network. It does not prove that every feature inside GitHub works, which is why the problem reports and the fixes below matter.
What usually breaks with GitHub
Website and pull requests
Pages load slowly, show a server error or fail to save a comment. This usually hits Issues or Pull Requests rather than the whole site.
Git operations
git clone, fetch or push hangs or fails over HTTPS or SSH. It can be a platform issue or a local credential problem.
Actions
Workflows stay queued, start late or fail on runner start-up. Actions is its own component and has its own incidents.
API and webhooks
API calls return errors or webhooks arrive late. Tools that depend on them, such as CI and bots, then look broken.
Pages and Packages
A GitHub Pages site shows old content or a package download fails. Both are separate services.
How to fix GitHub when it only fails for you
Start at the top. The first steps are the cheapest and fix most cases that are not a real outage.
- Check the right component. Open githubstatus.com and look at Git Operations, API Requests or Actions, not only the headline.
- Test your credentials. Run ssh -T git@github.com to test SSH. For HTTPS use a personal access token, since account password login for git is not supported.
- Update stored credentials. In Windows open Credential Manager and remove old github.com entries. On macOS open Keychain Access and do the same.
- Check the rate limit. Look at the x-ratelimit-remaining header on API responses. If it is 0, wait until the reset time in x-ratelimit-reset.
- Retry with a smaller request. Ask the API for fewer items per page. A request that takes over 10 seconds is ended with a Server Error.
- Try SSH over port 443. If port 22 is blocked on your network, use the ssh.github.com host on port 443 in your ~/.ssh/config.
- Re-run failed jobs. On the Actions tab choose Re-run failed jobs. A one-off runner problem often clears on the second run.
- Hard refresh and extensions. Press Ctrl+Shift+R. Disable extensions that rewrite GitHub pages and try another browser.
If none of this helps and the live check above shows the service as up, read our guide on why a website is not loading, or see how to flush DNS.
Common GitHub error messages
| Message or code | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 403 or 429 with x-ratelimit-remaining: 0 | GitHub documents this as the primary rate limit: you used your quota for the period. | Wait for the time in x-ratelimit-reset, or authenticate for a higher limit. |
| 404 Not Found | GitHub documents that this often means a private resource was requested without valid authentication, or the URL is wrong. | Check the URL and that your token has access to the repository. |
| Server Error | GitHub documents this for an API request that took over 10 seconds and was ended. | Request fewer items or simplify the query, then retry. |
| Resource not accessible by personal access token | The token lacks the permission the endpoint needs. | Edit the token and add the required repository permission. |
Official GitHub status and support
The company itself has the final word on outages. Check GitHub Status for confirmed incidents and use GitHub Support if your account has a problem that is not an outage. We are not affiliated with GitHub.
Facts and menu names on this page were checked against the official sources below on October 25, 2026. Apps change their menus, so a setting may sit in a slightly different place in your version.
- www.githubstatus.com
- docs.github.com/en/rest/using-the-rest-api/troubleshooting-the-rest-api
- support.github.com
Other services people check
- Is Slack down?
- Is Amazon Web Services down?
- Is Cloudflare down?
- Is Microsoft Copilot down?
- Is Google Search down?
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if GitHub is down or only me?
Run the live check, then open githubstatus.com for the component you use. If both look healthy, test with another network and check your token or SSH key.
Where is the official GitHub status page?
githubstatus.com. It lists Git Operations, API Requests, Actions, Pages, Packages, Copilot and other components.
Why does GitHub load but my push fails?
The website and Git Operations are separate. A bad token, a blocked port or a stale credential can also cause it.
Why are my Actions queued?
Runners may be busy or Actions may have an incident. Check the status page and your plan limits.
What does the API return when I send too many requests?
A 403 or 429 status. Wait and slow down. Respect the retry-after header if it is present.