What causes "failed to get current branch: %w" in gastownhall/beads?

Make at least one commit (`git commit --allow-empty -m init`) so HEAD resolves, then re-run `bd init --team`

failed to get current branch: %w

Error message

failed to get current branch: %w

What it means

During `bd init --team`'s wizard (runTeamWizard), after confirming the working directory is a git repo, bd calls getGitBranch() to learn the current branch name. If that command fails (git errors, detached/unparseable output), the error is wrapped as 'failed to get current branch: %w' and aborts the wizard. It indicates git itself could not report the current branch.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/init_team.go:40

		ctx = context.Background()
	}
	reader := bufio.NewReader(os.Stdin)

	// Step 1: Check if we're in a git repository
	fmt.Printf("%s Detecting git repository setup...\n", ui.RenderAccent("▶"))

	if !isGitRepo() {
		fmt.Printf("%s Not in a git repository\n", ui.RenderWarn("⚠"))
		fmt.Println("\n  Initialize git first:")
		fmt.Println("  git init")
		fmt.Println()
		return fmt.Errorf("not in a git repository")
	}

	// Get current branch
	currentBranch, err := getGitBranch()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get current branch: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Printf("%s Current branch: %s\n", ui.RenderPass("✓"), currentBranch)

	// Step 2: Check for protected main branch
	fmt.Printf("\n%s Checking branch configuration...\n", ui.RenderAccent("▶"))

	fmt.Println("\nIs your main branch protected (prevents direct commits)?")
	fmt.Println("  GitHub: Settings → Branches → Branch protection rules")
	fmt.Println("  GitLab: Settings → Repository → Protected branches")
	fmt.Print("\nProtected main branch? [y/N]: ")

	response, err := readLineWithContext(ctx, reader, os.Stdin)
	if err != nil {
		if isCanceled(err) {
			return err
		}
		response = ""

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

Make at least one commit (`git commit --allow-empty -m init`) so HEAD resolves, then re-run `bd init --team`
Run `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` manually to see the underlying git error
Verify git is installed and the .git directory is not corrupted (`git status`)
Check file permissions on .git/HEAD

Example fix

// before (repo with unborn HEAD)
$ bd init --team
failed to get current branch: fatal: ambiguous argument 'HEAD'...
// after
$ git commit --allow-empty -m "initial commit"
$ bd init --team

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if !isGitRepo() { return errors.New("not in a git repository") }
out, err := exec.Command("git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD").Output()
if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("git branch detection failed, commit first: %w", err) }

Try / catch

if err := runTeamWizard(ctx, st); err != nil {
    var ge *exec.ExitError
    if errors.As(err, &ge) { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "git failure:", string(ge.Stderr)) }
    os.Exit(1)
}

Prevention

Always make an initial commit before running bd init --team so HEAD exists
Run `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` as a pre-check in scripts
Avoid running bd inside bare repositories

When it happens

Trigger: Running `bd init --team` in a directory that is a git repo but where `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD` fails: bare repository, repo with no commits yet (unborn HEAD), corrupted .git, or git not functioning in the environment.

Common situations: Freshly `git init`-ed repo with zero commits; running bd inside a bare clone; broken or partial .git directory; CI containers with unusual git configs; permission problems reading .git/HEAD.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/286071f967efb820. Report an issue: GitHub.