phacility/phabricator · error · Exception

This repository ("%s") is not a Mercurial repository. Use "%

Error message

This repository ("%s") is not a Mercurial repository. Use "%s" to interact with this repository.

What it means

Mirror of the Git guard: DiffusionMercurialServeSSHWorkflow raises this when the repository resolved from the SSH path exists but is not a Mercurial repository; the message names the repository's actual VCS so the correct client can be used.

Source

Thrown at src/applications/diffusion/ssh/DiffusionMercurialServeSSHWorkflow.php:109

      $cmds = idx($message['arguments'], 'cmds');
      if (DiffusionMercurialWireProtocol::isReadOnlyBatchCommand($cmds)) {
        $is_readonly = true;
      }
    } else if (DiffusionMercurialWireProtocol::isReadOnlyCommand($command)) {
      $is_readonly = true;
    }

    if (!$is_readonly) {
      $this->requireWriteAccess();
      $this->didSeeWrite = true;
    }

    return $message['raw'];
  }

  protected function raiseWrongVCSException(
    PhabricatorRepository $repository) {
    throw new Exception(
      pht(
        'This repository ("%s") is not a Mercurial repository. Use "%s" to '.
        'interact with this repository.',
        $repository->getDisplayName(),
        $repository->getVersionControlSystem()));
  }

}

View on GitHub (pinned to 5720a38cfe)

Solutions

Use the client matching the repository (git or svn) with the URI shown on the repository page
Fix the repository's VCS setting if it was created wrong (only sensible before import)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Confirm VCS matches before launching the Mercurial SSH workflow
if ($repository->getVersionControlSystem() !==
    PhabricatorRepositoryType::REPOSITORY_TYPE_MERCURIAL) {
  // tell the client to use the VCS-appropriate tool
}

Prevention

Copy clone URIs from the repository's Diffusion page
Verify the VCS type setting when creating repositories
Remember hg SSH paths look identical to git ones — the repo decides the client

When it happens

Trigger: Running hg clone ssh://<user>@<host>/diffusion/<CALLSIGN>/ against a Git or Subversion repository.

Common situations: Wrong clone URL copied from a Git repository; repository VCS type misconfigured at creation time.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of phacility/phabricator@5720a38cfe (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/750c4592ec96f622. Report an issue: GitHub.