gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error

Cannot push branch '{}': the push would include {} conflicte

Error message

Cannot push branch '{}': the push would include {} conflicted commit{}.
Conflicted commits: {}
Please resolve conflicts before pushing using 'but resolve <commit>'.

What it means

Before pushing, the CLI checks the branch and its stack ancestors for conflicted commits; any hit aborts the push with the count (pluralized) and a short-id list (change ids where the IdMap knows them, otherwise shortened oids). The message directs to `but resolve <commit>` because publishing conflict markers to a remote is never wanted.

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/push.rs:1264

                .map(|c| c.id)
                .collect();
            // Only pay for the map when the error actually prints.
            let id_map = (!conflicted.is_empty())
                .then(|| crate::IdMap::legacy_new_from_context(ctx).ok())
                .flatten();
            let conflicted_commits: Vec<String> = conflicted
                .iter()
                .map(|id| {
                    id_map
                        .as_ref()
                        .and_then(|id_map| id_map.change_id_ref(*id))
                        .map(|change_id| change_id.padded_short_id())
                        .unwrap_or_else(|| shorten_object_id(&repo, *id))
                })
                .collect();

            if !conflicted_commits.is_empty() {
                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                    "Cannot push branch '{}': the push would include {} conflicted commit{}.\n\
                         Conflicted commits: {}\n\
                         Please resolve conflicts before pushing using 'but resolve <commit>'.",
                    branch_name,
                    conflicted_commits.len(),
                    if conflicted_commits.len() == 1 {
                        ""
                    } else {
                        "s"
                    },
                    conflicted_commits.join(", ")
                ));
            }

            return Ok(());
        }
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Run `but resolve <commit>` for each commit listed in the error and complete conflict resolution
2. Verify the stack is clean with `but status` and `but push --dry-run`
3. Push again once no conflicted commits remain

Example fix

# before
but push feature-x
# error: Cannot push branch 'feature-x': the push would include 2 conflicted commits...

# after
but resolve <short-id-from-error>   # repeat for each listed commit
but push feature-x

# Preview before pushing — dry-run surfaces conflicts without touching the remote
but push --dry-run || { echo 'resolve conflicts first: but resolve <commit>' >&2; exit 1; }

# Extract the conflicted-commit list and drive resolution
out=$(but push 2>&1); rc=$?
if [ $rc -ne 0 ] && [[ "$out" == *"conflicted commit"* ]]; then
  # ids follow 'Conflicted commits:' in the message — feed each to `but resolve`
  echo "$out" | sed -n 's/.*Conflicted commits: //p'
fi

When it happens

Trigger: Pushing a branch whose stack contains commits still marked conflicted — typically after `but pull` integrated upstream changes and the conflicts were left unresolved.

Common situations: Pull brought conflicting upstream changes and the user pushed without finishing resolution; long-lived stacks integrated onto a moved target; CI attempting to push mid-conflict.

Related errors

• Could not find stack containing commit {commit_ref}
• No stack selected!
• push failed
• push failed after {MAX_RETRIES} attempts
• Could not restore all review targets after the push failed:

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9da6ab1663eed68d. Report an issue: GitHub.