paperclipai/paperclip · error · Error

Source and target Paperclip configs are the same. Choose…

Error message

Source and target Paperclip configs are the same. Choose different --from/--to worktrees.

What it means

Self-merge guard in worktree merge-history: the resolved --from and --to endpoints point at the same Paperclip config file, so source and target databases are identical and merging would be a no-op at best and a duplication bug at worst.

Solutions

1. Choose different --from and --to worktrees so source and target configs differ.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cli/src/commands/worktree.ts:3309 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@01ad858492 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1f70b9127f865c27. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/src/commands/worktree.ts:4124

  if (opts.apply && opts.dry) {
    throw new Error("Use either --apply or --dry, not both.");
  }

  if (sourceArg && opts.from) {
    throw new Error("Use either the positional source argument or --from, not both.");
  }

  const targetEndpoint = opts.to
    ? resolveWorktreeEndpointFromSelector(opts.to, { allowCurrent: true })
    : resolveCurrentWorktreeEndpoint();
  const sourceEndpoint = opts.from
    ? resolveWorktreeEndpointFromSelector(opts.from, { allowCurrent: true })
    : sourceArg
      ? resolveWorktreeEndpointFromSelector(sourceArg, { allowCurrent: true })
      : await promptForSourceEndpoint(targetEndpoint.rootPath);

  if (path.resolve(sourceEndpoint.configPath) === path.resolve(targetEndpoint.configPath)) {
    throw new Error("Source and target Paperclip configs are the same. Choose different --from/--to worktrees.");
  }

  const scopes = parseWorktreeMergeScopes(opts.scope);
  const sourceHandle = await openConfiguredDb(sourceEndpoint.configPath);
  const targetHandle = await openConfiguredDb(targetEndpoint.configPath);
  const sourceStorages = resolveAttachmentLookupStorages({
    sourceEndpoint,
    targetEndpoint,
  });
  const targetStorage = openConfiguredStorage(targetEndpoint.configPath);

  try {
    const company = await resolveMergeCompany({
      sourceDb: sourceHandle.db,
      targetDb: targetHandle.db,
      selector: opts.company,
    });
    let collected = await collectMergePlan({

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