BloopAI/vibe-kanban · error

Branch '{}' does not exist in repository '{}'

Error message

Branch '{}' does not exist in repository '{}'

What it means

map_workspace_manager_error converts WorkspaceError::BranchNotFound into this message, interpolating the requested branch and repository names. It is thrown when an operation needs a branch (e.g. creating a workspace worktree or starting an execution) and git lookup shows the branch does not exist in that repository. It is a git-level precondition failure surfaced as ContainerError::Other.

Source

Thrown at crates/local-deployment/src/container.rs:151

    }

    fn map_workspace_manager_error(err: WorkspaceError) -> ContainerError {
        match err {
            WorkspaceError::Database(err) => ContainerError::Sqlx(err),
            WorkspaceError::Worktree(err) => ContainerError::Worktree(err),
            WorkspaceError::GitService(err) => ContainerError::GitServiceError(err),
            WorkspaceError::Io(err) => ContainerError::Io(err),
            WorkspaceError::NoRepositories => {
                ContainerError::Other(anyhow!("No repositories provided"))
            }
            WorkspaceError::Repo(err) => ContainerError::Other(anyhow!(err)),
            WorkspaceError::WorkspaceNotFound => {
                ContainerError::Other(anyhow!("Workspace not found"))
            }
            WorkspaceError::RepoAlreadyAttached => {
                ContainerError::Other(anyhow!("Repository already attached to workspace"))
            }
            WorkspaceError::BranchNotFound { repo_name, branch } => ContainerError::Other(anyhow!(
                "Branch '{}' does not exist in repository '{}'",
                branch,
                repo_name
            )),
            WorkspaceError::PartialCreation(msg) => ContainerError::Other(anyhow!(msg)),
        }
    }

    async fn workspace_repo_inputs(
        &self,
        workspace_id: Uuid,
    ) -> Result<(Vec<Repo>, Vec<RepoWorkspaceInput>), ContainerError> {
        let workspace_repos =
            WorkspaceRepo::find_by_workspace_id(&self.db.pool, workspace_id).await?;
        if workspace_repos.is_empty() {
            return Err(ContainerError::Other(anyhow!(
                "Workspace has no repositories configured"
            )));

View on GitHub (pinned to 4deb7eca8f)

Solutions

1. Verify the branch exists: run `git branch --list <branch>` (or `git ls-remote origin <branch>`) in the repo.
2. Fetch the remote branch first (`git fetch origin <branch>:<branch>`) so it exists locally, then retry.
3. Correct the target_branch value in the workspace/project configuration to an existing branch.
4. Create the branch if intended: `git branch <branch> <base-ref>`.

Example fix

// before
let input = RepoWorkspaceInput::new(repo, "feature/fix"); // branch never fetched
// after
repo.git_fetch_branch("feature/fix").await?; // ensure local branch exists
let input = RepoWorkspaceInput::new(repo, "feature/fix");

let ok = tokio::process::Command::new("git")
    .args(["rev-parse", "--verify", &format!("refs/heads/{branch}")])
    .current_dir(&repo.path)
    .status().await?.success();
if !ok { return Err(anyhow!("branch {branch} missing in {}", repo.name)); }

match container.create(&req).await {
    Err(ContainerError::Other(e)) if e.to_string().contains("does not exist in repository") => {
        // parse branch/repo from message, fetch or fix config, retry once
        Err(e)
    }
    other => other,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating a workspace whose target_branch for a repo does not exist locally in that repo; starting an execution pinned to a branch that was never fetched or was deleted.

Common situations: Typo'd branch name in workspace/project config; branch exists only on the remote and was never fetched; branch was force-deleted or rebased away; stale config after a repo switch.

Related errors

• branch_fetch_failed
• {err}
• Container reference not found
• result.error
• Force push required. The remote branch has diverged.

AI-assisted analysis of BloopAI/vibe-kanban@4deb7eca8f (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f54f5dcf78e58d99. Report an issue: GitHub.