charmbracelet/crush · error

session ID %q is ambiguous (%d matches)

Error message

session ID %q is ambiguous (%d matches)

What it means

Returned by resolveWorkspaceSessionID when the provided ID is a prefix that matches more than one session. The resolver only accepts an exact ID or an unambiguous prefix; a shared prefix is rejected to avoid resuming the wrong conversation.

Source

Thrown at internal/cmd/root.go:965

	if err != nil {
		return session.Session{}, err
	}

	var matches []session.Session
	for _, s := range sessions {
		hash := session.HashID(s.ID)
		if hash == id || strings.HasPrefix(hash, id) {
			matches = append(matches, s)
		}
	}

	switch len(matches) {
	case 0:
		return session.Session{}, fmt.Errorf("session not found: %s", id)
	case 1:
		return matches[0], nil
	default:
		return session.Session{}, fmt.Errorf("session ID %q is ambiguous (%d matches)", id, len(matches))
	}
}

func ResolveCwd(cmd *cobra.Command) (string, error) {
	cwd, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("cwd")
	if cwd != "" {
		err := os.Chdir(cwd)
		if err != nil {
			return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to change directory: %v", err)
		}
		return cwd, nil
	}
	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
	if err != nil {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get current working directory: %v", err)
	}
	return cwd, nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 7944b8e522)

Solutions

1. Pass the full session ID instead of a prefix
2. List sessions and pick the exact one you intend to resume
3. Delete or archive stale duplicate sessions to shorten unique prefixes
4. Use the session title if the CLI supports resolving by name

Example fix

// before: ambiguous prefix
crush run -s abc1 "continue"
// after: full unambiguous ID
crush run -s abc1def2-3a4b-5c6d-7e8f-90a1b2c3d4e5 "continue"

matches := filterByPrefix(sessions, shortID)
if len(matches) > 1 {
	return fmt.Errorf("prefix %s is ambiguous; use the full ID", shortID)
}

sess, err := resolveWorkspaceSessionID(id)
if err != nil {
	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "ambiguous") {
		slog.Error("Session prefix matches multiple sessions; pass the full ID")
	}
	return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a short prefix like `abc1` when two session IDs both start with `abc1` (common when many sessions share a naming pattern or were created in bulk).

Common situations: Scripts that truncate session IDs to a fixed length; many sessions auto-created during testing; copy-pasting only the first characters of a UUID.

Related errors

• session ID %q is ambiguous (%d matches)
• ${sessionList} Use more characters or the full hash
• cannot continue an agent tool session: %s
• session not found: %s
• cannot continue a child session: %s

AI-assisted analysis of charmbracelet/crush@7944b8e522 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a8a692565f46ef6d. Report an issue: GitHub.