[FIXED] GitHub Error: The Requested URL Returned Error 403 (2026)

Fixing GitHub’s “The requested URL returned error: 403”

The video demonstrates how to resolve this error when pushing to a GitHub repository. The method applies whether you own the repository or have been granted access.

Steps

1. In GitHub, go to Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens, then generate a token.
2. Select the repository you need to push to.
3. Under Add permissions, grant Contents permission with Read and write access. This permission is required to push.
4. Generate the token and copy it to a secure location. GitHub won’t show it again.
5. Authenticate with the token and push to the desired branch.
6. To avoid entering the token each time, set the repository’s remote URL to the token-authenticated URL:

bash git remote set-url origin <token-authenticated-repository-url>

Then push normally, for example:

bash git push origin master

Security note: A token embedded in a remote URL may be exposed if the URL is shared or stored insecurely. Treat the token like a password and store it securely.

Main source: The presenter from The Code City.