Fix GitHub 403 Error: Write Access to Repository Not Granted

remote: Write access to repository not granted. fatal: unable to access ‘https://github.com/USER/REPOSITORY.git/': The requested URL returned error: 403

This happens because GitHub no longer accepts account passwords for Git operations. Instead, you must authenticate using a Personal Access Token (PAT) or SSH keys. Below is the clean step-by-step fix using HTTPS and PAT.

1. Verify your remote

Check your current remote:

git remote -v

If the URL is incorrect, fix it:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/USER/REPOSITORY.git

2. Configure Git credential helper

Store credentials so you don’t need to re-enter them:

git config --global credential.helper store

On macOS you may also use the Keychain:

git config --global credential.helper osxkeychain

For per-repo credentials (safer):

git config credential.useHttpPath true

3. Clear cached or broken credentials (⚠️ Destructive Step)

Before doing this, make sure you have a copy of your GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) saved somewhere safe.
Once you clear credentials, they are gone permanently, and you will need the token to log in again.

Remove old entries so Git will prompt you fresh:

git credential reject <<EOF
protocol=https
host=github.com
EOF

Also delete any saved credentials file (⚠️ destructive):

rm -f ~/.git-credentials

On macOS, also check Keychain Access for old GitHub entries.

4. Generate a GitHub Personal Access Token

Go to: GitHub → Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens

• Use Fine-grained tokens (preferred) or Classic tokens

• Grant Contents: Read and Write permissions for your repository

• Copy the token (it will look like ghp_xxx...)

5. Re-authenticate with GitHub

Run:

git ls-remote origin

Git will prompt for credentials:

• Username → your GitHub username
• Password → paste your PAT

Since credential.helper store is enabled, Git saves this in ~/.git-credentials for future use.

🔧 Additional tips for super project (submodules)

If your repository uses Git submodules, you should resync them after fixing credentials to avoid stale or broken URLs:

git submodule sync --recursive
git submodule update --init --remote --recursive --force

This ensures that all nested repositories (submodules) are aligned with the correct authentication and remote configuration.

6. Test pushing

Finally, push your branch:

git push origin main

or whichever branch you’re working on.

✅ After these steps, both git ls-remote origin and git push will work without the 403 error.