What causes "cannot mark files from multiple commits" in gitbutlerapp/gitbutler?

Complete the operation with files from one commit, then repeat for the next commit.

cannot mark files from multiple commits

Error message

cannot mark files from multiple commits

What it means

At crates/but/src/command/legacy/status/tui/app/mark.rs:430, the CommittedFiles variant enforces a second invariant: all marked CommittedFileIds must come from the same commit (files.head.commit_id != mark.commit_id bails 'cannot mark files from multiple commits'). Marking files across commits in one operation is not supported because the resulting operation would be ambiguous.

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/status/tui/app/mark.rs:430

}

impl MarkStore<CommittedFileId> for Marks {
    type Error = anyhow::Error;

    fn contains_mark(&self, mark: &CommittedFileId) -> bool {
        self.as_committed_files()
            .is_some_and(|files| files.iter().any(|file| file == mark))
    }

    fn insert_mark(&mut self, mark: CommittedFileId) -> Result<(), Self::Error> {
        if self.contains_mark(&mark) {
            return Ok(());
        }
        match self {
            Self::Empty => *self = Self::CommittedFiles(NonEmpty::new(mark)),
            Self::CommittedFiles(files) => {
                if files.head.commit_id != mark.commit_id {
                    anyhow::bail!("cannot mark files from multiple commits");
                }
                files.push(mark);
            }
            _ => anyhow::bail!("cannot mix mark sources"),
        }
        Ok(())
    }

    fn remove_mark(&mut self, mark: &CommittedFileId) {
        let Self::CommittedFiles(files) = self else {
            return;
        };

        if remove_from_non_empty(files, |marked| marked == mark) {
            *self = Self::Empty;
        }
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

Complete the operation with files from one commit, then repeat for the next commit.
If multi-commit file moves are genuinely needed, first move/squash the commits so the files share one commit.
Fix the TUI selection so files from other commits are not selectable while a committed-file mark session is active.

Example fix

// before: marks hold files from commit A, user marks file from commit B
marks.insert_mark(CommittedFileId { commit_id: b, .. })?; // cannot mark files from multiple commits

// after: scope the session to one commit
assert_eq!(files.head.commit_id, mark.commit_id, "single-commit mark session");

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if let Marks::CommittedFiles(files) = &marks {
    if files.head.commit_id != mark.commit_id {
        anyhow::bail!("finish the current commit's file marks before marking another commit");
    }
}
marks.insert_mark(mark)?;

Type guard

fn same_commit_as_marks(marks: &Marks, commit_id: &CommitId) -> bool {
    match marks {
        Marks::Empty => true,
        Marks::CommittedFiles(files) => &files.head.commit_id == commit_id,
        _ => false,
    }
}

Try / catch

if let Err(err) = marks.insert_mark(file_id) {
    if err.to_string().contains("multiple commits") {
        // flush the current operation, reset marks, restart from the new commit
    } else { return Err(err); }
}

Prevention

Treat each commit's file marks as one session; complete or clear before switching commits.
Make files under other commits non-selectable while a committed-file session is active.
Add tests for cross-commit marking attempts.

When it happens

Trigger: Marking a file from commit B while files from commit A are already marked (e.g. marking a file shown under a different commit's section in the TUI).

Common situations: Users trying to gather files from several commits for one action; UI lists where commit boundaries are not obvious; new operations that would legitimately need multi-commit file selections.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2afed5bdb4af8cd9. Report an issue: GitHub.