What causes "%s\n(use `-f` to force submit a pull request anyway)" in mislav/hub?

git push to publish the pending commits, then retry

\n(use `-f` to force submit a pull request anyway)

Error message

%s\n(use `-f` to force submit a pull request anyway)

What it means

The wrapped second error of the unpushed-commits abort: hub wraps the 'Aborted: %d commits are not yet pushed to %s' error with the hint line "(use `-f` to force submit a pull request anyway)" and passes it to utils.Check, so the printed message ends with this guidance.

Solutions

git push to publish the pending commits, then retry
Use hub pull-request -f to force submit regardless
Add a pre-submit check (git cherry / git log @{u}..HEAD) in scripts before calling hub

Example fix

# before
hub pull-request -m "msg"   # aborts with N commits not pushed
# after
git push && hub pull-request -m "msg"

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

[ -z "$(git rev-list @{u}..HEAD 2>/dev/null)" ] || git push

Prevention

Same as the base error: ensure the branch is fully pushed before hub pull-request
Avoid amending pushed commits without pushing again
Prefer pushing over using -f so reviewers see all commits

When it happens

Trigger: Same as error 38 — trackedBranch exists, git.RefList(trackedBranch.LongName(), "") returns at least one commit, and no -f flag — producing the multi-line message ending in this hint.

Common situations: Same as 38: local commits ahead of the upstream at PR-creation time, commonly after amending a pushed commit or forgetting a final push.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of mislav/hub@5c547ed804 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/650cfc29f39002bb. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at commands/pull_request.go:219

			head = currentBranch.ShortName()
		} else {
			head = trackedBranch.ShortName()
		}
	}

	if headRepo, err := client.Repository(headProject); err == nil {
		headProject.Owner = headRepo.Owner.Login
		headProject.Name = headRepo.Name
	}

	fullBase := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", baseProject.Owner, base)
	fullHead := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", headProject.Owner, head)

	if !force && trackedBranch != nil {
		remoteCommits, err := git.RefList(trackedBranch.LongName(), "")
		if err == nil && len(remoteCommits) > 0 {
			err = fmt.Errorf("Aborted: %d commits are not yet pushed to %s", len(remoteCommits), trackedBranch.LongName())
			err = fmt.Errorf("%s\n(use `-f` to force submit a pull request anyway)", err)
			utils.Check(err)
		}
	}

	messageBuilder := &github.MessageBuilder{
		Filename: "PULLREQ_EDITMSG",
		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)

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