elastic/elasticsearch · error · InvalidUserDataException

Branch {branch} does not exist

Error message

Branch {branch} does not exist

What it means

Thrown by UpdateBranchesJsonTask.executeTask() in the removeBranch path when no branch with the given name exists in branches.json.

Source

Thrown at build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/release/UpdateBranchesJsonTask.java:134

    @TaskAction
    public void executeTask() throws IOException {
        List<DevelopmentBranch> developmentBranches = readBranches(branchesFile);

        if (addBranch == null && removeBranch == null && updateBranch == null) {
            throw new InvalidUserDataException("At least one of add-branch, remove-branch or update-branch must be specified");
        }

        if (addBranch != null) {
            LOGGER.info("Adding branch {} with version {}", addBranch.name(), addBranch.version());
            if (developmentBranches.stream().anyMatch(developmentBranch -> developmentBranch.name().equals(addBranch.name()))) {
                throw new InvalidUserDataException("Branch " + addBranch.name() + " already exists");
            }
            developmentBranches.add(addBranch);
        }
        if (removeBranch != null) {
            LOGGER.info("Removing branch {}", removeBranch);
            if (developmentBranches.stream().noneMatch(developmentBranch -> developmentBranch.name().equals(removeBranch))) {
                throw new InvalidUserDataException("Branch " + removeBranch + " does not exist");
            }
            developmentBranches.removeIf(developmentBranch -> developmentBranch.name().equals(removeBranch));
        }
        if (updateBranch != null) {
            LOGGER.info("Updating branch {} with version {}", updateBranch.name(), updateBranch.version());
            if (developmentBranches.stream().noneMatch(developmentBranch -> developmentBranch.name().equals(updateBranch.name()))) {
                throw new InvalidUserDataException("Branch " + updateBranch.name() + " does not exist");
            }
            developmentBranches.removeIf(developmentBranch -> developmentBranch.name().equals(updateBranch.name()));
            developmentBranches.add(updateBranch);
        }

        developmentBranches.sort(Comparator.comparing(DevelopmentBranch::version).reversed());

        JsonNode jsonNode = objectMapper.readTree(new FileInputStream(branchesFile));
        ArrayNode updatedBranches = objectMapper.createArrayNode();
        for (DevelopmentBranch branch : developmentBranches) {
            ObjectNode objectNode = objectMapper.createObjectNode();

View on GitHub (pinned to db6a809a66)

Solutions

1. Check the branch names currently in branches.json and correct the --remove-branch argument.
2. If the branch is genuinely gone, no further action is needed.

Example fix

// before
./gradlew updateBranches --remove-branch=8.x   # actual name is 8.10

// after
./gradlew updateBranches --remove-branch=8.10

// Confirm the branch exists before issuing --remove-branch
static boolean branchExists(Path branchesFile, String name) throws IOException {
    return new ObjectMapper().readTree(branchesFile.toFile())
        .path("branches").findValuesAsText("branch").contains(name);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running --remove-branch=<name> for a name not present in branches.json (typo, already removed, wrong repo state).

Common situations: Operator typo in the branch name; the branch was never added; a prior remove already succeeded; the local branches.json is stale.

Related errors

• Branch {branch} already exists
• File branches.json has not been found in {path}
• Release version not specified
• No version tags specified
• Unknown version type {key}

AI-assisted analysis of elastic/elasticsearch@db6a809a66 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/02e4eab3e5643de2. Report an issue: GitHub.