gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error

Conflicted uncommitted files can only be marked as resolved:

Error message

Conflicted uncommitted files can only be marked as resolved: `but resolve <path>...`

What it means

AI resolution (`--ai`) works on commit conflicts only. When the targets are conflicted uncommitted files (worktree conflicts), `but resolve` can only mark them as resolved — you edit the content yourself — so combining those paths with `--ai` bails with this guidance (resolve.rs:45-51).

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/resolve.rs:48

    ai: bool,
) -> Result<()> {
    // Conflicted uncommitted files are marked resolved; anything else is a commit.
    let conflicted_paths = if targets.is_empty() {
        Vec::new()
    } else {
        conflicted_worktree_paths(ctx)?
    };
    let commit_id = match targets.as_slice() {
        [] => None,
        [target] if !conflicted_paths.contains(target) => Some(target.clone()),
        _ => {
            if let Some(other) = targets.iter().find(|t| !conflicted_paths.contains(t)) {
                bail!(
                    "'{other}' is not a conflicted uncommitted file; `but resolve` takes either one commit or only conflicted files (see `but status`)."
                );
            }
            if ai {
                bail!(
                    "Conflicted uncommitted files can only be marked as resolved: `but resolve <path>...`"
                );
            }
            return mark_worktree_conflicts_resolved(ctx, out, targets);
        }
    };
    if ai {
        if cmd.is_some() {
            bail!(
                "--ai cannot be combined with a resolve subcommand. For one conflict, use `but resolve apply <path>[:<N>] --ai` instead."
            );
        }
        return resolve_with_ai(ctx, out, commit_id.as_deref());
    }
    match cmd {
        Some(Subcommands::Conflicts { commit }) => list_conflicts(ctx, out, commit.as_deref()),
        Some(Subcommands::Apply {
            target,

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Drop `--ai`: edit the files, then `but resolve <path>...` to mark them resolved.
2. If the conflicts belong to a commit, target the commit instead: `but resolve --ai <commit-id>`.
3. For a single conflict inside a commit, use `but resolve apply <path>[:<N>] --ai`.

Example fix

# before
but resolve --ai src/lib.rs   # uncommitted conflict -> can only be marked resolved

# after
but resolve src/lib.rs         # mark resolved after editing the file
but resolve --ai 4z            # AI-resolve a conflicted commit

# --ai only for commit targets; if your target is listed as a conflicted file, do not pass --ai
but resolve conflicts

When it happens

Trigger: `but resolve --ai <conflicted-file-path>...` — the global AI flag together with worktree-conflict paths instead of a single commit ID.

Common situations: Assuming `--ai` applies to merge-conflict markers in uncommitted files; re-running an old command line after the conflict moved from a commit into the worktree.

Related errors

• --ai cannot be combined with a resolve subcommand. For one c
• '{other}' is not a conflicted uncommitted file; `but resolve
• In resolution mode, edit the files and run `but resolve fini
• Commit '{commit_id_str}' not found. Try running 'but status'
• Commit ID '{commit_id_str}' is ambiguous. Please provide mor

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9fa18d169e26d251. Report an issue: GitHub.