What causes "error getting current git branch for dir: %s, err: %v" in plandex-ai/plandex?

Run `git -C branch --show-current` manually as the server user to see the raw error.

error getting current git branch for dir: %s, err: %v

Error message

error getting current git branch for dir: %s, err: %v

What it means

gitCheckoutBranch first queries the currently checked-out branch with `git -C repoDir branch --show-current` so it can no-op when the target branch is already active (checking out the same branch would error). If that query command itself fails to run or exits non-zero, this error wraps the directory and underlying error. Callers include lockRepoDB, so this can block repo locking flows.

Source

Thrown at app/server/db/git.go:441

	}
	return nil

}

func gitCheckoutBranch(repoDir, branch string) error {
	log.Printf("[Git] gitCheckoutBranch - repoDir: %s, branch: %s", repoDir, branch)
	if err := gitRemoveIndexLockFileIfExists(repoDir); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error removing lock file before checkout: %v", err)
	}

	// get current branch and only checkout if it's not the same
	// trying to check out the same branch will result in an error
	var out bytes.Buffer
	cmd := exec.Command("git", "-C", repoDir, "branch", "--show-current")
	cmd.Stdout = &out
	err := cmd.Run()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error getting current git branch for dir: %s, err: %v", repoDir, err)
	}

	currentBranch := strings.TrimSpace(out.String())
	log.Printf("[Git] gitCheckoutBranch - currentBranch: %s", currentBranch)

	if currentBranch == branch {
		log.Printf("[Git] gitCheckoutBranch - already on branch %s, skipping", branch)
		return nil
	}

	log.Println("[Git] gitCheckoutBranch - checking out branch:", branch)
	res, err := exec.Command("git", "-C", repoDir, "checkout", branch).CombinedOutput()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error checking out git branch for dir: %s, err: %v, output: %s", repoDir, err, string(res))
	}
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d772072e)

Solutions

Run `git -C <repoDir> branch --show-current` manually as the server user to see the raw error.
Verify repoDir exists and contains .git; recreate or repair the repo if missing.
Install/repair git and ensure PATH for the service process includes it.
Note: on a detached HEAD this command exits 0 with empty output — if you also see [367]-style empty results, handle the empty currentBranch case rather than assuming a failure.

Example fix

// before
cmd := exec.Command("git", "-C", repoDir, "branch", "--show-current")
cmd.Stdout = &out
err := cmd.Run()
// after (fail fast, clearer diagnostics)
if _, err := exec.LookPath("git"); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("git not found in PATH: %w", err)
}
if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(repoDir, ".git")); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("not a git repo (%s): %w", repoDir, err)
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

func ensureCheckoutable(repoDir string) error {
    if _, err := exec.LookPath("git"); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("git not in PATH")
    }
    fi, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(repoDir, ".git"))
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("%s is not a git repo: %w", repoDir, err)
    }
    _ = fi
    return nil
}

Try / catch

if err := gitCheckoutBranch(repoDir, branch); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "error getting current git branch") {
        // environment/repo problem, not a branch problem: check git + repo dir, then retry once
        log.Printf("cannot query current branch in %s: %v", repoDir, err)
    }
}

Prevention

Install git in all deployment images and verify PATH for the service user.
Assert repo directories exist and contain .git before any git operation.
Watch for detached-HEAD states: `branch --show-current` returns empty there; handle empty output explicitly.
Keep repo dirs on stable mounts with consistent ownership.

When it happens

Trigger: exec of `git branch --show-current` fails: git not installed/not on PATH, repoDir does not exist or is not a git repo, permission denied, or the process environment cannot exec git (missing libs, sandbox).

Common situations: Detached HEAD state (show-current prints empty — not an error, but check surrounding logic); repo directory deleted or moved; git binary missing in container images; path permission issues after volume remounts.

Understand the failure class

Background: "git command failed": what it means when a tool shells out to git and git exits non-zero — this error's family across 21 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of plandex-ai/plandex@e2d772072e (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c58ac722ce7eaa6d. Report an issue: GitHub.