What causes "checkpoint {} has no content snapshot" in jdx/mise?

Omit --files and use the journal output instead for that checkpoint

checkpoint has no content snapshot

Error message

checkpoint {} has no content snapshot

What it means

`mise dotfiles history show --files` lists the file tree captured in the checkpoint. Some checkpoints only record journal/metadata without a content snapshot (snapshot is None); asking for --files on such a checkpoint bails with the checkpoint id.

Solutions

Omit --files and use the journal output instead for that checkpoint
Pick a newer checkpoint that includes a content snapshot (check `mise dotfiles history ls`)
Recreate a checkpoint by touching/saving the file so a fresh snapshot is taken

Example fix

// before
mise dotfiles history show ckpt123 --files   // no snapshot
// after
mise dotfiles history show ckpt123           # journal only
# or pick a snapshot-bearing checkpoint
mise dotfiles history ls

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

mise dotfiles history ls | grep "$ckpt"   # confirm checkpoint age/features

Try / catch

match Err(msg) if msg.contains("has no content snapshot") => retry without --files and use journal output

Prevention

Prefer recent checkpoints created after snapshot support
Keep the store intact so snapshot references are not lost
Create fresh checkpoints before experimenting

When it happens

Trigger: `mise dotfiles history show <id> --files` where c.tree.snapshot is None for that checkpoint — e.g. checkpoints created before snapshot capture was enabled or for operations that did not snapshot content.

Common situations: Old checkpoints from before the snapshot feature; large files configured to skip snapshots; corrupted store where the snapshot tree reference was lost.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@533346cc37 (2026-09-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2954f56c22da0c01. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/cli/dotfiles/history/show.rs:145

        }
        for omitted in &coverage.omitted {
            miseprintln!("  omitted: {} ({})", omitted.path, omitted.reason);
        }
        for incomplete in &coverage.incomplete {
            miseprintln!("  incomplete: {} ({})", incomplete.path, incomplete.reason);
        }
        if let Some(operation) = &c.operation
            && !operation.journal.is_empty()
        {
            miseprintln!("");
            miseprintln!("Journal:");
            for line in journal::render(&operation.journal) {
                miseprintln!("  - {line}");
            }
        }
        if self.files {
            let Some(tree) = &c.tree.snapshot else {
                bail!("checkpoint {} has no content snapshot", entry.id);
            };
            let Some(repo) = store.repo() else {
                bail!("listing snapshot files requires git");
            };
            miseprintln!("");
            miseprintln!("Files:");
            for file in repo.ls_tree(tree)? {
                let size = file.size.map(|size| size.to_string()).unwrap_or_default();
                miseprintln!(
                    "  {} {:>8} {}",
                    file.mode,
                    size,
                    crate::system::history::tracked::tree_path_to_display(&file.path)
                );
            }
        }
        Ok(())
    }

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