This branch doesn't exist on remote. You need to push it to

Error message

This branch doesn't exist on remote. You need to push it to remote first.

What it means

Returned by BranchesController.getPullRequestURL (branches_controller.go:473) via Tr.NoBranchOnRemote. Even with a tracking config, the PR URL is built from the branch's remote existence; Git.Remote.CheckRemoteBranchExists (ls-remote style check) reports the branch is absent on the remote, so lazygit refuses because the hosting service would 404.

Source

Thrown at pkg/gui/controllers/branches_controller.go:473

	return self.createPullRequest(selectedBranch.UpstreamBranch, "")
}

func (self *BranchesController) handleCreatePullRequestMenu(selectedBranch *models.Branch) error {
	checkedOutBranch := self.c.Helpers().Refs.GetCheckedOutRef()

	return self.createPullRequestMenu(selectedBranch, checkedOutBranch)
}

func (self *BranchesController) getPullRequestURL() (string, error) {
	branch := self.context().GetSelected()
	if pr, ok := self.c.Model().PullRequestsMap[branch.Name]; ok {
		return pr.Url, nil
	}

	branchExistsOnRemote := self.c.Git().Remote.CheckRemoteBranchExists(branch.Name)

	if !branchExistsOnRemote {
		return "", errors.New(self.c.Tr.NoBranchOnRemote)
	}

	return self.c.Helpers().Host.GetPullRequestURL(branch.Name, "")
}

func (self *BranchesController) copyPullRequestURL() error {
	url, err := self.getPullRequestURL()
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	self.c.LogAction(self.c.Tr.Actions.CopyPullRequestURL)
	if err := self.c.OS().CopyToClipboard(url); err != nil {
		return err
	}

	self.c.Toast(self.c.Tr.PullRequestURLCopiedToClipboard)

	return nil

View on GitHub (pinned to c477a2959b)

Solutions

Push the branch: 'git push origin <branch>', then retry
If the remote branch was deleted on purpose and you still want a PR, re-push or recreate the remote branch
Fix a stale upstream name with 'git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/<actual-remote-branch>'
Verify with 'git ls-remote --heads origin' that the branch is present

Example fix

# shell fix
git ls-remote --heads origin | grep $(git branch --show-current) || git push origin $(git branch --show-current)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Verify remote existence before offering the PR action:
// git ls-remote --heads origin <branch> returning a hash means it exists
func remoteBranchExists(remote, branch string) bool {
    out, err := exec.Command("git", "ls-remote", "--heads", remote, branch).Output()
    return err == nil && len(strings.Fields(string(out))) > 0
}

Try / catch

if _, err := getPullRequestURL(); err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "doesn't exist on remote") {
    // push then retry
    _ = pushBranch()
}

Prevention

Push immediately after creating branches you intend to PR
Use 'git ls-remote --heads origin' to confirm remote state when in doubt
Fix stale upstream names after remote branch renames

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking view/copy PR URL ('o' variants) on a branch whose remote-tracking ref exists locally but that CheckRemoteBranchExists cannot find on the actual remote — e.g. the remote branch was deleted, the upstream points to a stale name, or the push never happened.

Common situations: Branch deleted on the remote via the hosting UI but tracked locally; upstream renamed; shallow/limited-fetch clones where remote refs are missing; network hiccup making the remote check fail closed.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jesseduffield/lazygit@c477a2959b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bed6947e66f07c23. Report an issue: GitHub.