gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error · Error

No branch selected!

Error message

No branch selected!

What it means

Thrown in the new-commit flow when finalBranchName is falsy after stack resolution. The name normally comes from the draft branch name state (uiState.global.draftBranchName) or from the freshly created stack's heads[0].name; when both are absent there is no head branch to commit onto.

Source

Thrown at apps/desktop/src/components/commit/NewCommitView.svelte:85

			const parentId = commitAction?.parentCommitId;
			const insertBelow = commitAction?.insertBelow;

			if (!finalStackId) {
				const stack = await createNewStack({
					projectId,
					branch: { name: finalBranchName, order: 0 },
				});
				finalStackId = stack.id ?? undefined;
				finalBranchName = stack.heads[0]?.name; // Updated to access the name property
				uiState.global.draftBranchName.set(undefined);
			}

			if (!finalStackId) {
				throw new Error("No stack selected!");
			}

			if (!finalBranchName) {
				throw new Error("No branch selected!");
			}

			// Run commit-msg hook if hooks are enabled
			let finalMessage = message;
			if ($runCommitHooks) {
				const messageHookResult = await runMessageHook({ projectId, message });
				if (messageHookResult?.status === "failure") {
					showWarning("Commit message hook failed", messageHookResult.error);
					return;
				} else if (messageHookResult?.status === "message") {
					finalMessage = messageHookResult.message;
				}
			}

			const worktreeChanges = await uncommittedService.worktreeChanges(projectId, stackId);

			// Get current editor mode from the component instance
			const isRichTextMode = input?.isRichTextMode?.() || false;

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Provide/confirm a branch name in the commit form before saving (pick a target branch in the UI).
2. Check that the target stack actually has head branches; if it is empty, delete it and let GitButler create a fresh one.
3. In code, validate stack.heads[0]?.name right after createNewStack and retry or surface the error there.
4. Reload the project view so branch state is re-synced from the backend.

Example fix

// before
if (!finalBranchName) {
  throw new Error("No branch selected!");
}

// after
if (!finalBranchName) {
  showWarning("No branch to commit to", "The stack has no head branches; create a branch first");
  return;
}

const draftName = $uiState.global.draftBranchName ?? stack.heads[0]?.name;
if (!draftName) {
  showWarning("No branch to commit to", "Create a branch in this stack first");
  return;
}

function hasBranchName(b: string | null | undefined): b is string {
  return typeof b === "string" && b.trim().length > 0;
}

try {
  await createCommit(/* ... */);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message === "No branch selected!") {
    showToast({ message: "Pick a target branch, then commit again", style: "danger" });
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Committing with no draft branch name set and the existing/created stack exposing an empty heads array (heads[0]?.name is undefined); stack exists with an id but zero head branches.

Common situations: A stack left in a headless state after all its branches were deleted or merged; the draft-branch state was cleared (uiState.global.draftBranchName.set(undefined)) while the commit form stayed open; backend returned a stack DTO without heads.

Related errors

• No branch selected!
• No stack selected!
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AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/77df7467483eb584. Report an issue: GitHub.