I’m facing difficulties while attempting to push my code to GitHub and receiving an unclear error message.
Every time I try to push my local changes, I encounter this error:
Pushing to [email protected]:519ebayproject/519ebayproject.git
To [email protected]:519ebayproject/519ebayproject.git
! [rejected] master -> master (non-fast-forward)
error: failed to push some refs to '[email protected]:519ebayproject/519ebayproject.git'
hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind
hint: its remote counterpart. Merge the remote changes (for instance, 'git pull')
hint: before pushing again.
hint: See the 'Note about fast-forwards' in 'git push --help' for details.
It’s quite perplexing since I haven’t pushed any code to this repository previously. Why does Git prompt me to pull changes when there seems to be nothing in the remote repository? What could be the issue here?
Been there way too many times. This happens when GitHub auto-creates commits during repo setup - like when you add a README or other default files.
I got tired of fighting git commands every time, so I automated it. Built a workflow that handles repo setup, syncing, and pushes without the drama.
I use Latenode for workflows that auto-check for remote changes and handle merge logic. It connects to GitHub’s API and deals with all the edge cases that cause these annoying errors.
The workflow spots initialization commits, pulls them automatically, merges cleanly, and pushes your code. No more manual git pulls or risky force pushes.
Saved me tons of time across multiple projects. Set it once, then pushing code is completely hands-off.
This situation often arises in GitHub repositories when the remote appears empty but contains default files created during initialization, such as a README or .gitignore. The error indicates that the remote has commits that your local branch lacks. I recommend running git pull origin master to incorporate any remote changes before you push. If you are certain your local version is the correct one and you wish to overwrite the remote content, consider using git push --force-with-lease, as it offers a safer approach compared to a standard force push.
Issues like this arise when your remote repository contains commits that your local repository is unaware of, despite its appearance of being empty. This often occurs if the GitHub repository was initialized with a README, a license, or a .gitignore file, all of which create the first commit. It could also be due to someone else pushing changes beforehand. To resolve this, run git pull origin master to retrieve those changes before attempting to push yours. However, if you’re confident that the remote repository should be empty and wish to overwrite it, you can use git push --force, but proceed with caution, as this will remove any existing commits.