nikivdev/code · error

could not determine repo name (use --repo)

Error message

could not determine repo name (use --repo)

What it means

run_mirror_push resolves the target repo name from --repo, or by deriving it from the repo root directory and upstream/origin remote URLs. If every source yields an empty string, it bails asking for --repo. Without a name, the tool cannot construct the fork's GitHub URL.

Source

Thrown at src/push.rs:39

    let current_branch = current_branch(&repo_root)?;

    let upstream_url = git_capture_in(&repo_root, &["remote", "get-url", "upstream"])
        .ok()
        .map(|s| s.trim().to_string())
        .filter(|s| !s.is_empty());
    let origin_url = git_capture_in(&repo_root, &["remote", "get-url", "origin"])
        .ok()
        .map(|s| s.trim().to_string())
        .filter(|s| !s.is_empty());

    let owner = resolve_push_owner(cmd.owner.as_deref())?;
    let repo_name = if let Some(repo) = cmd.repo.as_deref() {
        repo.trim().to_string()
    } else {
        derive_repo_name(&repo_root, upstream_url.as_deref(), origin_url.as_deref())?
    };
    if repo_name.is_empty() {
        bail!("could not determine repo name (use --repo)");
    }

    let target_url = choose_github_remote_url(&owner, &repo_name, &cmd)?;

    if cmd.dry_run {
        println!("Repo: {}", repo_root.display());
        println!("Branch: {}", current_branch);
        println!("Remote: {}", cmd.remote);
        println!("Target: {}", target_url);
        return Ok(());
    }

    ensure_remote_points_to_target(
        &repo_root,
        &cmd.remote,
        &target_url,
        upstream_url.as_deref(),
        cmd.force,

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Pass --repo <name> explicitly
2. Set a parseable remote: `git remote add upstream <github-url>` (or fix origin) so the name can be derived
3. Ensure origin/upstream URLs are standard GitHub forms (git@github.com:owner/name.git or https://github.com/owner/name)

Example fix

// before
f push  ->  could not determine repo name
// after
f push --repo my-fork-name
# or
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/original.git

let url = std::process::Command::new("git")
    .args(["remote","get-url","origin"]).output().ok();
let has_name = url.map(|o| o.status.success() && !o.stdout.is_empty()).unwrap_or(false);
if !has_name {
    eprintln!("pass --repo <name> or add a GitHub origin/upstream remote");
    std::process::exit(1);
}

match run_push(cmd) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("could not determine repo name") => {
        eprintln!("add --repo <name> or set a parseable GitHub remote");
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: No --repo flag, and derive_repo_name returns empty: the directory basename is unusable and neither the `upstream` nor `origin` remote URL exists or parses to a repo name (e.g. remotes unset or pointing at non-GitHub URLs).

Common situations: Forked repos cloned without remotes (downloaded zip → git init); origin pointing to a bare SSH alias the parser doesn't recognize; running in a repo whose folder name is empty/unexpected; CI checkouts where remotes were stripped.

Understand the failure class

Background: "X is required", "must be set", "cannot be empty": the missing-required-config error family, from Vertex AI project/location to WeChat keys — this error's family across 18 libraries.

Related errors

• unable to determine GitHub repo (origin URL not GitHub, and
• No git remotes configured; cannot push PR head {}
• repo URL is required
• Could not determine GitHub owner. Configure it via: [git]
• No upstream remote. Use: f upstream setup --url <upstream-re

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/48264df7cb683fd6. Report an issue: GitHub.