pcottle/learnGitBranching · error · GitError

git-error-options

Error message

git-error-options

What it means

The commit command rejects combining -am with -a, --all, or -m. Real git treats -am as shorthand, so this guard throws git-error-options when both the compound flag and its components are present.

Source

Thrown at src/js/git/commands.js:143

var commandConfig = {
  commit: {
    sc: /^(gc|git ci)($|\s)/,
    regex: /^git +commit($|\s)/,
    description: 'Record changes to the repository',
    options: [
      '--amend',
      '-a',
      '--all',
      '-am',
      '-m'
    ],
    execute: function(engine, command) {
      var commandOptions = command.getOptionsMap();
      command.acceptNoGeneralArgs();

      if (commandOptions['-am'] && (
          commandOptions['-a'] || commandOptions['--all'] || commandOptions['-m'])) {
        throw new GitError({
          msg: intl.str('git-error-options')
        });
      }

      var msg = null;
      var args = null;
      var stageAll = !!(commandOptions['-a'] || commandOptions['--all'] ||
        commandOptions['-am']);
      if (stageAll && !engine.changesModelEngaged) {
        // classic levels have no real staging, so -a is a no-op worth flagging
        command.addWarning(intl.str('git-warning-add'));
      }

      if (commandOptions['-am']) {
        args = commandOptions['-am'];
        command.validateArgBounds(args, 1, 1, '-am');
        msg = args[0];
      }

View on GitHub (pinned to 5b09d0ff96)

Solutions

1. Use only -am 'msg' and drop the duplicate flags
2. Or use plain -m with a separate git add

Example fix

// before
git commit -am 'msg' -m 'extra'
// after
git commit -am 'msg'

if (opts['-am'] && (opts['-a'] || opts['--all'] || opts['-m'])) { delete opts['-a']; delete opts['--all']; delete opts['-m']; }

When it happens

Trigger: git commit -am 'msg' -m 'other' or git commit -am --all 'msg' in the simulator.

Common situations: Shell alias or script that already passes -am and appends extra flags; copying long commands from docs.

Related errors

• git-status-nothing-staged
• git-error-exist
• cannot fetch to ' + ref + ' when checked out on ' + ref
• ' + ref + ' is not a branch
• ' + ref + ' is not a remote branch

AI-assisted analysis of pcottle/learnGitBranching@5b09d0ff96 (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f330b6e90573c805. Report an issue: GitHub.