alibaba/open-code-review · error

%s value %q is not a valid commit ref: %s

Error message

%s value %q is not a valid commit ref: %s

What it means

validateReviewRefs verifies each non-empty --from/--to/--commit value with `git rev-parse --verify --end-of-options <ref>^{commit}`. When git rejects the ref and prints a message, that message is surfaced as "%s value %q is not a valid commit ref: <git output>". This means the value is syntactically fine but git cannot resolve it to a commit.

Source

Thrown at cmd/opencodereview/review_cmd.go:480

	refs := []struct {
		flag string
		ref  string
	}{
		{"--from", opts.from},
		{"--to", opts.to},
		{"--commit", opts.commit},
	}
	for _, item := range refs {
		if item.ref == "" {
			continue
		}
		if strings.HasPrefix(item.ref, "-") {
			return fmt.Errorf("%s value %q is not a valid git ref: refs must not start with '-'", item.flag, item.ref)
		}
		if out, err := runGitCmd(repoDir, "rev-parse", "--verify", "--end-of-options", item.ref+"^{commit}"); err != nil {
			msg := strings.TrimSpace(string(out))
			if msg != "" {
				return fmt.Errorf("%s value %q is not a valid commit ref: %s", item.flag, item.ref, msg)
			}
			return fmt.Errorf("%s value %q is not a valid commit ref", item.flag, item.ref)
		}
	}
	return nil
}

func runPreviewContext(ctx context.Context, cc *commonContext, opts reviewOptions, out io.Writer) error {
	preview, err := agent.Preview(ctx, agent.Args{
		RepoDir:    cc.RepoDir,
		From:       opts.from,
		To:         opts.to,
		Commit:     opts.commit,
		FileFilter: cc.FileFilter,
		GitRunner:  cc.GitRunner,
	})
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("preview failed: %w", err)

View on GitHub (pinned to 5cf97d0d15)

Solutions

1. Read the trailing git message — it names the exact resolution problem (unknown revision, ambiguous ref, etc.).
2. Run `git rev-parse --verify <ref>^{commit}` yourself to confirm the ref resolves.
3. `git fetch` to bring in remote refs that are missing locally.
4. Use the full 40-char SHA to disambiguate short/ambiguous refs.

Example fix

// before
ocr review --from feature-x  # deleted locally
// after
git fetch origin && ocr review --from origin/feature-x --to HEAD

if out, err := exec.Command("git", "rev-parse", "--verify", ref+"^{commit}").Output(); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("ref %q does not resolve to a commit", ref)
}

if err := validateReviewRefs(repoDir, opts); err != nil {
    var refErr *RefError
    if errors.As(err, &refErr) {
        fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "check %s: try git fetch\n", refErr.Flag)
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a branch/tag/SHA that does not exist in the repo, an ambiguous ref, or a tree/annotated-tag-only expression to --from/--to/--commit.

Common situations: Reviewing after a rebase removed the commit; typo in a SHA; ref exists only on a remote not fetched locally; using a branch name deleted from origin.

Related errors

• %s value %q is not a valid commit ref
• preview failed: %w
• git log failed: %w
• resolve current input identity: %w
• %s is not a git repository, code review requires a valid git

AI-assisted analysis of alibaba/open-code-review@5cf97d0d15 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/48cf20af19b72f70. Report an issue: GitHub.