--merged-into object ID %q is the target HEAD itself; use a

Error message

--merged-into object ID %q is the target HEAD itself; use a ref or descendant commit that independently proves containment

What it means

The `--merged-into` comparator must independently prove that the worktree's HEAD is contained in (i.e. is an ancestor of) some other commit. If the resolved OID equals the target worktree's HEAD OID, no such independent proof exists, so bd rejects the selector with this error.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/worktree_cmd.go:1752

		return pinWorktreeComparatorRef(ctx, git, executionRoot, target, selector, matches[0], true)
	}
	if !fullOID {
		return pinnedWorktreeComparator{}, fmt.Errorf(
			"--merged-into value %q does not name an existing unambiguous ref",
			selector,
		)
	}

	oid, err := resolveWorktreeCommitOID(ctx, git, executionRoot, selector)
	if err != nil {
		return pinnedWorktreeComparator{}, fmt.Errorf(
			"--merged-into object ID %q does not resolve to a commit: %w",
			selector,
			err,
		)
	}
	if oid == target.headOID {
		return pinnedWorktreeComparator{}, fmt.Errorf(
			"--merged-into object ID %q is the target HEAD itself; use a ref or descendant commit that independently proves containment",
			selector,
		)
	}
	return pinnedWorktreeComparator{
		selector: selector,
		explicit: true,
		oid:      oid,
	}, nil
}

func gitRefNameIsValid(
	ctx context.Context,
	git *worktreeRemovalGit,
	executionRoot string,
	ref string,
	allowOneLevel bool,
) (bool, error) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

Pass a ref or commit that is a strict descendant of the worktree HEAD, e.g. the branch it was merged into (`refs/heads/main`)
Run `git log --oneline` to pick a commit after the worktree's HEAD
Use the merge-target branch name rather than the worktree's own HEAD

Example fix

// before
bd worktree remove --merged-into $(git -C ../wt rev-parse HEAD)
// after
bd worktree remove --merged-into refs/heads/main

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// shell pre-check: OID must differ from the worktree HEAD
wt_head=$(git -C "$WORKTREE" rev-parse HEAD)
[ "$OID" != "$wt_head" ] || echo "--merged-into equals target HEAD; pick a descendant"

Prevention

Never pass the worktree's own HEAD or its checked-out branch as --merged-into
Pick the merge-target branch (e.g. main) as the comparator
Verify ancestry with `git merge-base --is-ancestor <head> <selector>` first

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `--merged-into <oid>` where the full resolved OID is exactly the target worktree's current `headOID`.

Common situations: Copy-pasting `git rev-parse HEAD` from inside the target worktree; scripting `--merged-into $(git rev-parse <branch>)` where the branch is checked out at HEAD in that worktree.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fade04d4a20aae47. Report an issue: GitHub.