Does the GitHub API not respect branch protection rule bypass for file deletion in protected branches?

[capa0soluciones]

Hello!

I'm encountering an odd behavior when using the GitHub API to delete files from a repository that has branch protection rules in place. When attempting to delete a file in a protected path via the API, the operation fails, even though the user has the correct permissions, is in the bypass list for the protection rule, and is using a Personal Access Token (PAT) with the appropriate permissions (repo and write:repo).

However, when performing the same action via the GitHub web interface, I am able to delete the file without issues, as the user is in the bypass list of the branch protection rules, which should allow modifying the branch even when there are protection rules on that path.

This behavior leads me to ask: Is it a bug that the GitHub API does not respect branch protection rule bypass when attempting to delete files? Based on my experience, the API should allow bypassing protection rules for actions like this, given that the user has the correct permissions. What’s curious is that the bypass works for all other actions via the API (e.g., commits, pushes, etc.), but not for deleting files specifically in protected paths.

As a temporary workaround, I’ve found that disabling the branch protection rule allows the API to delete the file without issue. However, this isn't ideal, and I’d prefer to understand whether this behavior is a limitation of the API or something that’s expected to be fixed.

Has anyone else experienced this behavior, or could provide more clarity on why this is happening?

Thank you in advance for any responses or updates.

[github-actions[bot]]

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