What causes "Could not find stack containing commit {commit_ref}" in gitbutlerapp/gitbutler?

Confirm the commit sits in an applied stack: `but status` (apply the stack if not)

Could not find stack containing commit {commit_ref}

Error message

Could not find stack containing commit {commit_ref}

What it means

`but resolve <commit>` locates the commit by iterating applied stacks and traversing their commits for a matching oid; if no applied stack contains it, the search stays `None` and this error fires before edit mode is entered. Resolution only works for commits inside an applied workspace stack, because the fix happens through the stack's edit session.

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/resolve.rs:239

            let traversal = head
                .tip
                .attach(&repo)
                .ancestors()
                .sorting(Sorting::BreadthFirst)
                .all()?;

            for info in traversal {
                let info = info?;
                if info.id == commit_gix_oid {
                    found_stack_id = stack.id;
                    break 'outer;
                }
            }
        }
    }

    let stack_id = found_stack_id
        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Could not find stack containing commit {commit_ref}"))?;

    drop(commit);
    drop(repo);

    // Enter edit mode
    enter_edit_mode(ctx, commit_gix_oid, stack_id).context("Failed to enter edit mode")?;

    // Show checkout message
    if let Some(out) = out.for_human() {
        writeln!(
            out,
            "{} {}",
            t.important.paint("Checking out conflicted commit"),
            commit_ref
        )?;
    }

    // Now show the same status as `but resolve status` would show

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

Confirm the commit sits in an applied stack: `but status` (apply the stack if not)
If the commit already landed, there is nothing to resolve in the workspace
Double-check the sha belongs to this repository and use the full oid
Retry `but resolve <full-sha>` once the stack is applied

Example fix

# before
but resolve 4a2f9c1
# error: Could not find stack containing commit 4a2f9c1

# after
but status                   # locate the commit's stack; apply it if unapplied
but resolve 4a2f9c1...

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Verify the commit is reachable in an applied stack before resolving
but status   # the commit must belong to an applied stack, not a landed or plain-git branch
but oplog    # confirms the commit exists in this workspace's history

Try / catch

let out = Command::new("but").args(["resolve", sha]).output()?;
if !out.status.success()
    && String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).contains("Could not find stack containing commit")
{
    // hint: apply the stack that owns the commit, or the commit already landed
}

Prevention

Only resolve commits that live in applied stacks — check `but status` first
Use full oids copied from workspace output, not abbreviated foreign shas
Apply or unarchive the owning stack before attempting resolution

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a commit that belongs to an unapplied or archived stack, to an already landed branch, or made outside the workspace directly on a Git branch; also a valid oid from a different repository.

Common situations: Stack unapplied to work on something else; commit already landed upstream; sha grabbed from `git log` of a real branch instead of workspace state.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f7808e87247a652c. Report an issue: GitHub.