tinyhumansai/openhuman · error · Error

Could not resolve latest GitHub Release tag for ${repo}

Error message

Could not resolve latest GitHub Release tag for ${repo}

What it means

Thrown by resolveStartRef() when --from latest-release (the default) is used: it runs `gh release view --repo <repo> --json tagName --jq .tagName` to find the previous release tag that bounds the commit range. runGh uses execFileSync, so a hard gh failure (no releases at all) throws its own exec error with gh's stderr; this specific error fires when gh exits 0 but the resolved tag string is empty, leaving the script without a start ref.

Source

Thrown at scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs:152

  if (to !== 'latest-tag') {
    return to;
  }

  const tag = runGit(['describe', '--tags', '--abbrev=0']);
  if (!tag) {
    throw new Error('Could not resolve latest tag');
  }
  return tag;
}

function resolveStartRef(repo, from) {
  if (from !== 'latest-release') {
    return from;
  }

  const tag = runGh(['release', 'view', '--repo', repo, '--json', 'tagName', '--jq', '.tagName']);
  if (!tag) {
    throw new Error(`Could not resolve latest GitHub Release tag for ${repo}`);
  }
  return tag;
}

function assertRefExists(ref, label) {
  try {
    runGit(['rev-parse', '--verify', `${ref}^{commit}`], { allowFailure: true });
  } catch {
    throw new Error(`${label} ref not found: ${ref}`);
  }
}

export function extractPullRequestNumbers(subject) {
  const matches = [...String(subject || '').matchAll(/\(#(\d+)\)/g)];
  return [...new Set(matches.map((match) => Number(match[1])).filter(Number.isInteger))];
}

export function parseGitLog(logText) {

View on GitHub (pinned to a221052e0d)

Solutions

1. Pass an explicit start ref instead: --from <previous-tag> (e.g. --from v0.57.18) — this is also what the script's own usage examples do for first cuts
2. Check what gh actually returns: gh release view --repo <owner/repo> --json tagName --jq .tagName — an error or empty output reproduces the script's view
3. Verify repo resolution: the script prefers --repo then GITHUB_REPOSITORY then the upstream/origin remotes; make sure they agree
4. If the latest release is still a draft, publish it (gh release edit <tag> --draft=false) so latest-release can resolve it

Example fix

# before
node scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs --from latest-release   # first release, nothing to resolve

# after — pin the start ref explicitly
node scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs --from v0.57.18 --to main

# preflight before invoking the script
tag=$(gh release view --repo "$REPO" --json tagName --jq '.tagName' 2>/dev/null)
if [ -z "$tag" ]; then
  echo "no published release on $REPO — pass --from <ref> explicitly" >&2
  exit 1
fi
node scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs --repo "$REPO" --from latest-release

if ! node scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs --from latest-release; then
  echo 'latest-release unresolvable; retrying with pinned tag' >&2
  node scripts/release/generate-release-notes.mjs --from "${LAST_KNOWN_TAG:?set LAST_KNOWN_TAG}"
fi

When it happens

Trigger: Running generate-release-notes.mjs with --from latest-release where the latest GitHub Release has no tagName resolvable by the jq filter, or where gh succeeds but prints empty output (edge states like a release whose tag object is missing). The practical neighborhood: first-ever release cut on a repo (no Release object), only-draft releases (gh release view then fails non-zero, producing the execFileSync error instead), or --repo/GITHUB_REPOSITORY pointing at a repo whose releases are not visible to the authenticated gh.

Common situations: Cutting the first release of a new repository; GITHUB_REPOSITORY env leaking a different slug in CI; gh authenticated to an org without release read scope; transferred/renamed repos where the old slug still resolves but shows no releases.

Related errors

• OPENAI_API_KEY is required unless --no-ai or --dry-run is us
• Invalid ${paramName}: '${value}'. Must be a valid integer ID
• Invalid ${paramName}: ${String(value)}. Type must be an inte
• RPC envelope contains undefined data
• RPC ${method} returned non-JSON HTTP ${res.status}: ${text.s

AI-assisted analysis of tinyhumansai/openhuman@a221052e0d (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1ddcac4a94dd42cc. Report an issue: GitHub.