plandex-ai/plandex · error

Error creating branch:

Error message

Error creating branch: 

What it means

CreateBranchHandler executes the actual branch creation inside a transaction (db.WithTx -> db.CreateBranch) under a write-locked repo operation, and returns HTTP 500 'Error creating branch: <err>' if any step fails. The inner code already wraps errors as 'error creating branch: %v', so the response contains the nested cause (git operation, insert, or lock failure).

Source

Thrown at app/server/handlers/branches.go:153

		CancelFn: cancel,
	}, func(repo *db.GitRepo) error {

		err := db.WithTx(ctx, "create branch", func(tx *sqlx.Tx) error {
			_, err = db.CreateBranch(repo, plan, parentBranch, req.Name, tx)

			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error creating branch: %v", err)
			}

			return nil
		})

		return err
	})

	if err != nil {
		log.Printf("Error creating branch: %v\n", err)
		http.Error(w, "Error creating branch: "+err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
		return
	}

	log.Println("Successfully created branch")
}

func DeleteBranchHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
	log.Println("Received request for DeleteBranchHandler")

	auth := Authenticate(w, r, true)
	if auth == nil {
		return
	}

	vars := mux.Vars(r)
	planId := vars["planId"]
	branch := vars["branch"]

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d772072e)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped error in the 500 body/logs — 'already exists' means pick a different branch name
2. Ensure no stale git lock files (repo/.git/index.lock) remain from a crashed operation
3. Retry if the write lock was contended by another in-flight plan operation
4. Verify disk space on the plans volume if git write operations fail

Example fix

// before
req := shared.CreateBranchRequest{Name: "main"} // may already exist
// after
branches, _ := client.ListBranches(planId)
if !contains(branches, "my-branch") {
    req := shared.CreateBranchRequest{Name: "my-branch"}
    _ = client.CreateBranch(planId, "main", req)
}

// client: check name uniqueness before creating
branches, _ := listBranches(planId)
if slices.Contains(branches, newName) {
    return fmt.Errorf("branch %q already exists", newName)
}
if newName == "" || strings.ContainsAny(newName, " ~^:?*[\\") {
    return errors.New("invalid branch name")
}

// handle 500 with wrapped cause; treat 'already exists' as non-retryable
if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusInternalServerError {
    if strings.Contains(respBody, "already exists") { return errConflict }
    return retryWithBackoff(...)
}

When it happens

Trigger: POST creating a branch when: the branch name already exists (git ref or DB unique constraint), the git repo write operation fails, the DB transaction fails/rolls back, or the write lock on 'main' can't be acquired / context cancelled mid-operation.

Common situations: Attempting to create a branch name that already exists on the plan; concurrent branch creation racing on the same name; repo storage full or git lock file (index.lock) left behind from a crash; DB constraint violation after schema changes.

Related errors

• Error getting branches:
• error starting transaction: %v
• error removing expired locks: %v
• Error deleting branch:
• Error inviting user:

AI-assisted analysis of plandex-ai/plandex@e2d772072e (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/72dfdd48d6826cb0. Report an issue: GitHub.