paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Could not resolve worktree "${selector}". Use a path, a list

Error message

Could not resolve worktree "${selector}". Use a path, a listed worktree directory name, branch name, or "current".

What it means

Thrown by resolveWorktreeEndpointFromSelector when the selector is non-empty, does NOT resolve to an existing path, and does not match any listed worktree by worktree dir, directory basename, or branch label. The resolver checks `git worktree list`-derived choices (toMergeSourceChoices) and falls back to this error when nothing matches. The message lists the accepted selector shapes.

Source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/worktree.ts:2860

    if (!existsSync(configPath)) {
      throw new Error(`Resolved worktree path ${directPath} does not contain .paperclip/config.json.`);
    }
    return {
      rootPath: directPath,
      configPath,
      label: path.basename(directPath),
      isCurrent: false,
    };
  }

  const matched = choices.find((choice) =>
    (allowCurrent || !choice.isCurrent)
    && (choice.worktree === directPath
      || path.basename(choice.worktree) === trimmed
      || choice.branchLabel === trimmed),
  );
  if (!matched) {
    throw new Error(
      `Could not resolve worktree "${selector}". Use a path, a listed worktree directory name, branch name, or "current".`,
    );
  }
  if (!matched.hasPaperclipConfig && !matched.isCurrent) {
    throw new Error(`Resolved worktree "${selector}" does not look like a Paperclip worktree.`);
  }
  return resolveEndpointFromChoice(matched);
}

async function promptForSourceEndpoint(excludeWorktreePath?: string): Promise<ResolvedWorktreeEndpoint> {
  const excluded = excludeWorktreePath ? path.resolve(excludeWorktreePath) : null;
  const currentEndpoint = resolveCurrentWorktreeEndpoint();
  const choices = toMergeSourceChoices(process.cwd())
    .filter((choice) => choice.hasPaperclipConfig || choice.isCurrent)
    .filter((choice) => path.resolve(choice.worktree) !== excluded)
    .map((choice) => ({
      value: choice.isCurrent ? "__current__" : choice.worktree,
      label: choice.branchLabel,

View on GitHub (pinned to 67001ec6eb)

Solutions

List valid worktrees: `paperclipai worktree:list` and use one of the shown directories/branches.
Use 'current' to target the worktree you're inside.
Check for typos and that the path/branch actually exists in this repo.
If the worktree was removed, recreate it (`worktree:make`) before referencing it.

Example fix

// before
paperclipai worktree:merge-history --source feat-xyz   # no such worktree
// after
paperclipai worktree:list   # see valid names
paperclipai worktree:merge-history --source feat-x

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const choices = toMergeSourceChoices(process.cwd());
const ok = existsSync(path.resolve(selector))
  || choices.some((c) => c.worktree === path.resolve(selector) || path.basename(c.worktree) === selector || c.branchLabel === selector);
if (!ok) throw new Error(`Selector '${selector}' matches no worktree; see worktree:list`);

Type guard

function selectorResolvable(selector: string, choices: MergeSourceChoice[]): boolean {
  const d = path.resolve(selector);
  return existsSync(d) || choices.some((c) => c.worktree === d || path.basename(c.worktree) === selector || c.branchLabel === selector);
}

Prevention

Run `worktree:list` and copy a valid directory/branch from its output.
Use 'current' when operating inside a worktree.
Double-check branch/path names for typos.

When it happens

Trigger: Typo in a branch name or directory name; referencing a worktree that was already removed/cleaned; selector is a path that doesn't exist; branch name from a different repository.

Common situations: Stale memory of a worktree name; cleaned worktree still referenced by an old command; cross-repo branch name confusion.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@67001ec6eb (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/eecc8c7f4cf5fbf6. Report an issue: GitHub.