What it means
Push protection attempts to stop supported secrets from entering a repository or can warn about them in GitHub's UI. Token revocation makes a credential unusable for future authenticated requests. A blocked push may leave the secret in local Git history or other logs, and a successful push may contain a type the detector did not recognize. Detection and credential invalidation solve different parts of the problem.
A real-world example
A developer commits a token and GitHub blocks the push. They remove it from the latest file but keep an earlier local commit and retry. The blocked value may still be exposed through another remote or a shared patch; changing the secret at its issuer is the stronger containment step.
What to do
Determine whether the secret ever left your device. If exposure cannot be ruled out, revoke or rotate it, update the secret store, remove it from current files and address reachable history. Inspect alerts and affected workflows rather than choosing a bypass just to make a push succeed.
The distinction that matters
Push protection cannot promise detection of every secret or elimination of every old copy. Revocation can break legitimate automation until a replacement is installed. A history rewrite may reduce accidental rediscovery but cannot recall copies already fetched. Record both the security action and the cleanup action.
GitHub push protection GitHub credential revocation
