theonedev/onedev · info · NotAcceptableException

Another pull request already merged the change

Error message

Another pull request already merged the change

What it means

DefaultPullRequestService.open() throws this when findEffective(target, source) returns a PR that is not open — meaning the same source->target change was already merged (or otherwise closed as effective). Creating a new PR would be pointless because the target already contains the change.

Source

Thrown at server-core/src/main/java/io/onedev/server/service/impl/DefaultPullRequestService.java:447

				"Pull request target must be set before calling open");
		var source = Preconditions.checkNotNull(request.getSource(),
				"Pull request source must be set before calling open");
		Preconditions.checkNotNull(request.getSubmitter(),
				"Pull request submitter must be set before calling open");

		if (target.equals(source))
			throw new NotAcceptableException("Source and target are the same");

		PullRequest existing = findOpen(target, source);
		if (existing != null)
			throw new NotAcceptableException("Another pull request already opened for this change");

		existing = findEffective(target, source);
		if (existing != null) {
			if (existing.isOpen())
				throw new NotAcceptableException("Another pull request already opened for this change");
			else
				throw new NotAcceptableException("Another pull request already merged the change");
		}

		if (request.getBaseCommitHash() == null) {
			ObjectId baseCommitId = gitService.getMergeBase(
					target.getProject(), target.getObjectId(),
					source.getProject(), source.getObjectId());
			if (baseCommitId == null)
				throw new NotAcceptableException("No common base for target and source");
			request.setBaseCommitHash(baseCommitId.name());
		}

		if (request.getBaseCommitHash().equals(source.getObjectName()))
			throw new NotAcceptableException("Target already up to date with source");

		if (request.getUpdates().isEmpty()) {
			PullRequestUpdate update = new PullRequestUpdate();
			request.getUpdates().add(update);
			request.setUpdates(request.getUpdates());

View on GitHub (pinned to d44925c47c)

Solutions

1. Check the existing effective PR and inform the user the change was already merged (link to it)
2. Fast-forward/delete the source branch or sync it with target so it no longer differs
3. Skip PR creation in automation when findEffective returns a merged PR
4. If a partial change remains, push new commits and a new branch before opening a PR

Example fix

// before
pullRequestService.open(request);
// after
PullRequest effective = pullRequestService.findEffective(target, source);
if (effective != null && !effective.isOpen())
    throw new SkipException("Change already merged in PR #" + effective.getNumber());
pullRequestService.open(request);

PullRequest effective = pullRequestService.findEffective(target, source);
if (effective != null && !effective.isOpen())
    throw new SkipException("Already merged: PR #" + effective.getNumber());

try {
    pullRequestService.open(request);
} catch (NotAcceptableException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().contains("already merged the change"))
        logger.info("Skipping: change already merged");
    else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling open() for a source branch whose changes were already merged into the target via a prior pull request (findEffective returns a closed/merged PR).

Common situations: CI auto-creating PRs from long-lived branches after the change was merged; user rebases a merged branch and retries; backport scripts re-opening PRs for already-merged commits.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

• Reviewer not found:
• Pull request submitter cannot be reviewer
• Assignee not found:
• No permission to read code of source project:
• No permission to read code of target project:

AI-assisted analysis of theonedev/onedev@d44925c47c (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fbd50ca4e206a8d0. Report an issue: GitHub.