issue %s is in the %q column but %s is in %q; move one with

Error message

issue %s is in the %q column but %s is in %q; move one with `multica issue status` first, or pick a target in the same column

What it means

Error "issue %s is in the %q column but %s is in %q; move one with `multica issue status` first, or pick a target in the same column" thrown in multica-ai/multica.

Source

Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_issue.go:1691

			issueDisplayKey(issue),
			strVal(issue, "title"),
			strVal(issue, "status"),
			strVal(issue, "priority"),
		}}
		cli.PrintTable(os.Stdout, headers, rows)
		return nil
	}
	return cli.PrintJSON(os.Stdout, issue)
}

// reorderTargetNotInColumnError explains why a --before/--after target could
// not be used. It fetches the target only to report its actual column in the
// message, so the common mistake (target lives in a different column) gets a
// precise, actionable error instead of a bare "not found".
func reorderTargetNotInColumnError(ctx context.Context, client *cli.APIClient, otherRef, issueRef resolvedID, status string) error {
	if other, err := fetchIssue(ctx, client, otherRef.ID); err == nil {
		if otherStatus := strVal(other, "status"); otherStatus != "" && otherStatus != status {
			return fmt.Errorf("issue %s is in the %q column but %s is in %q; move one with `multica issue status` first, or pick a target in the same column", otherRef.Display, otherStatus, issueRef.Display, status)
		}
	}
	return fmt.Errorf("issue %s was not found in the %q column", otherRef.Display, status)
}

// fetchIssue retrieves a single issue by canonical ID.
func fetchIssue(ctx context.Context, client *cli.APIClient, id string) (map[string]any, error) {
	var issue map[string]any
	if err := client.GetJSON(ctx, "/api/issues/"+url.PathEscape(id), &issue); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return issue, nil
}

// fetchIssueColumn returns every issue in a status column ordered by position
// ascending, paginating through the list endpoint so columns larger than one
// page (the server caps a page at 100) still produce a complete, correctly
// ordered set. A non-empty projectID scopes the column to that project,

View on GitHub (pinned to 2c0912b6ec)

Solutions

Move one issue to the other's column with 'multica issue status' first, or pick a target in the same column.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_issue.go:1691 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of multica-ai/multica@2c0912b6ec (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bbd7c7172fc44a8f. Report an issue: GitHub.