Are GitHub Pull Requests Down? Status Check & Troubleshooting Guide
⚡ Quick Answer
If you suspect GitHub pull requests are down, first check the official status page at githubstatus.com. During an actual platform outage, you might encounter 500 internal server errors when trying to create a PR or experience elevated delays in workflow status updates. However, if the platform is fully operational but your PR is blocked, the issue is likely local: ensure your required status checks have successfully passed on the latest commit SHA and that your branch is fully up-to-date.
Is It a Global GitHub Outage or a Local Merge Block?
Nothing derails a sprint faster than an inability to merge critical code. When a pull request fails to load or the “Merge” button is grayed out, developers need to quickly identify if the issue is a platform-wide server crash or a configuration issue within their own repository.
Symptoms of a Global Pull Request Outage
When GitHub’s infrastructure experiences disruptions, the symptoms are usually universal across repositories.
- Error 500 on Creation: During backend incidents, users often encounter a 500 error that completely prevents the creation of new pull requests.
- Gateway Timeouts: Widespread service degradations can trigger 504 gateway timeout errors that heavily impact service availability.
- Status Update Delays: You may notice elevated delays in Actions workflow runs, which prevents pull request status checks from updating in real-time.
- Verification: You can always verify these platform-wide issues by visiting the official GitHub Status Page.
Local Branch Blocks (Status Check Failures)
If GitHub is fully operational, your pull request is likely blocked by your repository’s branch protection rules.
- GH006 Error: If required status checks have not passed, attempting to push to a protected branch will return an error similar to “GH006: Protected branch update failed”.
- Latest Commit SHA: Required checks must pass specifically on the latest commit SHA; checks from earlier commits will not satisfy the branch protection requirement.
- 7-Day Expiration: A required status check must have successfully completed in the repository during the past seven days to remain valid.
- Branch Up-to-Date: If branch protection requires your working branch to be up-to-date, you must merge or rebase the base branch into your branch before merging.
- Skipped Workflows: If a required workflow is skipped due to path filtering, the check will stay in a “Pending” state and permanently block the merge.
Developer Tip: If your workflow depends on complex triggers, consider reviewing our Comprehensive DevOps CI/CD Troubleshooting Guide to prevent skipped workflow traps.
Related Topics
| Topics | Explanation & Short Answer |
|---|---|
| github pull requests down today | Answer: Check githubstatus.com for official operational updates. Independent monitors also track platform issues and 500 errors across GitHub services. |
| cannot create pull requests due to error 500 | Answer: This specifically indicates a confirmed backend disruption on GitHub’s servers affecting the creation of new pull requests. |
| GH006 protected branch update failed | Answer: This error surfaces locally when you try to push to a protected branch without passing the required status checks. |
| github actions required check pending | Answer: This commonly occurs if a workflow is skipped via path filtering, which leaves the required check perpetually stuck in a “Pending” state. |
| github pr status checks delayed | Answer: GitHub Actions can suffer from elevated delays during partial outages, causing Pull Request status updates to severely lag behind your actual commits. |
📌 TL;DR Summary
- Global GitHub outages can cause 500 errors when creating PRs or result in 504 gateway timeouts.
- Official platform uptime and incident reports can be monitored directly at githubstatus.com.
- If no global outage is reported, your PR might be blocked by failing required status checks, generating a GH006 error.
- To fix local blocks, ensure all required checks pass specifically on the most recent commit SHA.
- Update your branch via a merge or rebase if your repository’s branch protection rules require the branch to be fully up-to-date.
