paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Only GitHub URLs and local paths are supported for import. G

Error message

Only GitHub URLs and local paths are supported for import. Generic HTTP URLs are not supported. Use a GitHub or GitHub Enterprise URL (https://github.com/... or https://ghe.example.com/...) or a local directory path.

What it means

Thrown when the import source is detected as an HTTP URL (isHttpUrl true) but it is neither a recognized GitHub repo URL nor GitHub shorthand. The importer only supports GitHub/GitHub-Enterprise URLs and local paths; arbitrary HTTP(S) URLs are rejected to avoid unsupported remote fetching. The companion looksLikeRepoUrl/isGithubShorthand predicates failed to match.

Source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/client/company.ts:1707

                  mode: "new_company" as const,
                  newCompanyName: opts.newCompanyName?.trim() || null,
                };

          if (targetPayload.mode === "existing_company" && !targetPayload.companyId) {
            throw new Error("Target existing company requires --company-id (or context default companyId).");
          }

          let sourcePayload:
            | { type: "inline"; rootPath?: string | null; files: Record<string, CompanyPortabilityFileEntry> }
            | { type: "github"; url: string };
          let chunkedZip: { zipBytes: Uint8Array; rootPath: string } | null = null;

          const treatAsLocalPath = !isHttpUrl(from) && await pathExists(from);
          const isGithubSource = looksLikeRepoUrl(from) || (isGithubShorthand(from) && !treatAsLocalPath);

          if (isHttpUrl(from) || isGithubSource) {
            if (!looksLikeRepoUrl(from) && !isGithubShorthand(from)) {
              throw new Error(
                "Only GitHub URLs and local paths are supported for import. " +
                "Generic HTTP URLs are not supported. Use a GitHub or GitHub Enterprise URL (https://github.com/... or https://ghe.example.com/...) or a local directory path.",
              );
            }
            sourcePayload = { type: "github", url: normalizeGithubImportSource(from, opts.ref) };
          } else {
            if (opts.ref?.trim()) {
              throw new Error("--ref is only supported for GitHub import sources.");
            }
            chunkedZip = await resolveChunkedImportZip(
              from,
              target === "existing"
                ? EXISTING_COMPANY_CHUNKED_IMPORT_THRESHOLD_BYTES
                : CHUNKED_IMPORT_THRESHOLD_BYTES,
            );
            if (chunkedZip) {
              // Too large for one request: the zip travels as a chunked
              // transfer, so the inline files map is never built or sent.

View on GitHub (pinned to 67001ec6eb)

Solutions

1. Clone/download the source to a local directory and import the local path: `paperclipai company import ./local-dir`.
2. If the source is on GitHub/GitHub Enterprise, ensure the URL matches the repo URL pattern (https://github.com/org/repo or https://ghe.example.com/org/repo).
3. Mirror the non-GitHub repo to GitHub first, then import by URL.

Example fix

# before
paperclipai company import https://gitlab.com/acme/export
# after
git clone https://gitlab.com/acme/export /tmp/acme-export
paperclipai company import /tmp/acme-export

function classifyImportSource(raw: string): { kind: "github" | "local"; value: string } {
  const s = raw.trim();
  if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(s)) {
    if (/github\.com|ghe\./i.test(s) || /\/[^/]+\/[^/]+(?:\.git)?$/.test(s)) {
      return { kind: "github", value: s };
    }
    throw new Error("HTTP source must be a GitHub/GitHub-Enterprise URL; clone to a local path instead.");
  }
  return { kind: "local", value: s };
}

function isGithubUrl(v: string): boolean {
  return /^https:\/\/([^/]+\.)?github\.com\//i.test(v) || /\bgithub\.enterprise\b/i.test(v);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a GitLab, Bitbucket, or raw file URL (e.g. https://gitlab.com/... or https://example.com/archive.zip); passing a generic https:// URL that is not under github.com or a GitHub Enterprise host.

Common situations: Developer hosts their company export on GitLab/internal Git server; attempting to import from a signed S3 URL or a direct .zip download link; confusion between 'any URL' and 'GitHub URL' support.

Related errors

• Source path or URL is required.
• Invalid --collision value. Use: rename, skip, replace
• Invalid --target value. Use: new | existing
• Target existing company requires --company-id (or context de
• --ref is only supported for GitHub import sources.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@67001ec6eb (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fe18719c861c868d. Report an issue: GitHub.