gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error

Aborting due to empty PR title

Error message

Aborting due to empty PR title

What it means

When creating/updating reviews without an explicit message, `but review` opens your editor with a template whose FIRST LINE becomes the PR title (HTML comment lines are stripped first). `parse_review_message` takes that first line, trims it, and bails when it is empty — forges require a title, so the operation aborts before anything is created.

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/forge/review.rs:889

            || (!is_selected_branch && selected_branch_message.is_some()),
        message: is_selected_branch
            .then_some(selected_branch_message)
            .flatten(),
    }
}

#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
pub struct ForgeReviewMessage {
    pub title: String,
    pub body: String,
}

pub fn parse_review_message(content: &str) -> anyhow::Result<ForgeReviewMessage> {
    let mut lines = content.lines();
    let title = lines.next().unwrap_or("").trim().to_string();

    if title.is_empty() {
        anyhow::bail!("Aborting due to empty PR title");
    }

    // Skip any leading blank lines after the title, then collect the rest as description
    let body = lines
        .skip_while(|l| l.trim().is_empty())
        .collect::<Vec<_>>()
        .join("\n")
        .trim()
        .to_string();

    Ok(ForgeReviewMessage { title, body })
}

#[expect(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
async fn publish_review_for_branch(
    ctx: &mut Context,
    stack_id: Option<StackId>,
    branch_name: &str,

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Re-run and make the first line of the buffer a non-empty title; blank lines and comments after it are fine.
2. If the editor opened empty or closed instantly, fix `$EDITOR` / `$GIT_EDITOR`.
3. Skip the editor entirely: pass `-m/--message "Title"` (multi-line supported) or `-t/--default` to derive title and body from the commit message.

Example fix

# before
EDITOR=true but review create   # editor writes nothing -> Aborting due to empty PR title

# after
but review create -m 'Add retry to sync client'
but review create -t              # title/body from the commit message, no editor

# Non-interactive: always pass the title explicitly instead of relying on an editor
but review create -m 'Fix pagination in sync client'
but review create -t   # or derive title/body from the commit message

fn has_title(content: &str) -> bool {
    content.lines().next().map(|l| !l.trim().is_empty()).unwrap_or(false)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Saving the editor buffer with an empty or blank first line (title deleted or left empty); a misconfigured `$EDITOR`/`$GIT_EDITOR` that writes nothing or exits instantly (e.g. `true`); automation running where no real editor can open; putting the title below a leading blank line.

Common situations: Editor template left untouched except comments (the template itself warns 'Leaving it empty ABORTS the operation'); `EDITOR=true` in scripts/CI; editor failures in terminal multiplexers or over broken ssh sessions.

Related errors

• No branch found for ID: {branch_id}
• Failed to parse diff header
• The updated review was missing from the response.
• Invalid source: expected an uncommitted file or branch
• No diffs to show.

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7c4f480491cfea8a. Report an issue: GitHub.