What causes "Can't find remote for %s" in mislav/hub?

Set an upstream for the branch: git branch --set-upstream-to= / , or push once with `git push -u origin ` then rerun.

Can't find remote for %s

Error message

Can't find remote for %s

What it means

gh pulls the head branch's tracking remote to build the "from" side of a pull request. When `--push` is requested but no remote that tracks the head branch exists, `remote` is nil and pullRequest aborts with this error, since pushing to create the head ref is impossible without a remote.

Source

Thrown at commands/pull_request.go:244

		Title:    "pull request",
	}

	baseTracking := base
	headTracking := head

	remote := baseRemote
	if remote != nil {
		baseTracking = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", remote.Name, base)
	}
	if remote == nil || !baseProject.SameAs(headProject) {
		remote, _ = localRepo.RemoteForProject(headProject)
	}
	if remote != nil {
		headTracking = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", remote.Name, head)
	}

	if flagPullRequestPush && remote == nil {
		utils.Check(fmt.Errorf("Can't find remote for %s", head))
	}

	messageBuilder.AddCommentedSection(fmt.Sprintf(`Requesting a pull to %s from %s

Write a message for this pull request. The first block
of text is the title and the rest is the description.`, fullBase, fullHead))

	flagPullRequestMessage := args.Flag.AllValues("--message")
	flagPullRequestEdit := args.Flag.Bool("--edit")
	flagPullRequestIssue := args.Flag.Value("--issue")
	if !args.Flag.HasReceived("--issue") && args.ParamsSize() > 0 {
		flagPullRequestIssue = parsePullRequestIssueNumber(args.GetParam(0))
	}

	if len(flagPullRequestMessage) > 0 {
		messageBuilder.Message = strings.Join(flagPullRequestMessage, "\n\n")
		messageBuilder.Edit = flagPullRequestEdit
	} else if args.Flag.HasReceived("--file") {

View on GitHub (pinned to 5c547ed804)

Solutions

Set an upstream for the branch: git branch --set-upstream-to=<remote>/<branch>, or push once with `git push -u origin <head>` then rerun.
Run without `--push` after pushing the branch manually with git push -u.
Verify remotes with `git remote -v` and re-add the missing remote (`gh repo set-default` / `git remote add origin ...`).

Example fix

// before (branch has no tracking remote)
gh pr create --push
// after
git push -u origin feature-branch
gh pr create --push

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

remote := git.RemoteForBranch(head)
if remote == nil {
    fmt.Println("no tracking remote for", head, "— run: git push -u origin", head)
    os.Exit(1)
}

Prevention

Always push new branches with -u to set upstream tracking.
Run `git remote -v` before scripted PR creation.
Avoid --push in scripts unless the branch is known to have an upstream.

When it happens

Trigger: Running `gh pr create --push` (flagPullRequestPush true) while `remote` resolved to nil — i.e. the current branch has no configured tracking remote / no remote named matching the head ref in the repository config.

Common situations: Branch created locally without ever pushing it and without an upstream set; repo has a single 'origin' but config points the branch tracking elsewhere; remotes were renamed or removed after cloning.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of mislav/hub@5c547ed804 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f68466a9872f8905. Report an issue: GitHub.