gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · warning

There are changes that differ from the original commit you w

Error message

There are changes that differ from the original commit you were editing. Canceling will drop those changes.

If you want to go through with this, please re-run with `--force`.

If you want to keep the changes you have made, consider finishing the resolution and then moving the changes with `but squash`.

What it means

`but resolve cancel` refuses to abort edit mode when changes_from_initial() reports edits relative to the commit being edited, unless --force is passed. It is a destructive-action guard: canceling would silently drop the user's resolutions/edits.

Source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/resolve.rs:619

        .collect();
    paths.sort();
    Ok(paths)
}

fn cancel_resolution(ctx: &mut Context, out: &mut OutputChannel, force: bool) -> Result<()> {
    let t = theme::get();
    // Check if we're in edit mode
    let mode = operating_mode(ctx)?.operating_mode;
    if !matches!(mode, OperatingMode::Edit(_)) {
        // Not in edit mode, show the workflow help instead
        return show_workflow_help(out);
    }

    if !force && {
        let guard = ctx.shared_worktree_access();
        !changes_from_initial(ctx, guard.read_permission())?.is_empty()
    } {
        bail!(
            "There are changes that differ from the original commit you were editing. Canceling will drop those changes.\n\nIf you want to go through with this, please re-run with `--force`.\n\nIf you want to keep the changes you have made, consider finishing the resolution and then moving the changes with `but squash`."
        )
    }

    // Abort and return to workspace
    abort_edit_and_return_to_workspace(ctx, force)
        .context("Failed to cancel resolution and return to workspace")?;

    if let Some(out) = out.for_human() {
        writeln!(
            out,
            "{}",
            t.attention.paint("Conflict resolution cancelled.")
        )?;
        writeln!(
            out,
            "All changes made during resolution have been discarded."
        )?;

View on GitHub (pinned to caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Run `but resolve finish` if you want to keep the changes — that is the non-destructive exit
2. Run `but resolve cancel --force` if you really want to drop the edits
3. To move the edits elsewhere instead: finish the resolution, then relocate them with `but squash`

Example fix

# before
but resolve cancel
# error: There are changes that differ from the original commit...

# after
but resolve finish        # keep changes
# or
but resolve cancel --force  # deliberately drop changes

# see whether edits exist relative to the edited commit
but resolve status   # inspect 'changes from initial' before canceling

but resolve cancel; rc=$?
if [ $rc -ne 0 ] && ! grep -q 're-run with `--force`' err.log; then
  exit $rc  # real failure, do not force
fi
# guard tripped: decide explicitly
but resolve cancel --force || but resolve finish

When it happens

Trigger: Running `but resolve cancel` (no --force) while in edit mode with uncommitted modifications relative to the initial commit — e.g. you edited files or accepted hunks inside resolution mode, then changed your mind about canceling.

Common situations: Long resolution session with manual edits; scripting `but resolve cancel` in automation that hits a workspace left half-eded; muscle-memory cancel after partially fixing conflicts.

Related errors

• Commit {commit_ref} is not in a conflicted state. Only confl
• Branch "{name}" has no conflicted commits.
• Failed to communicate with LM Studio server: ${error instanc
• Invalid response: ${JSON.stringify(result)}
• When using GitButler's API to summarize code, you must be lo

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a4243f981ae46263. Report an issue: GitHub.