yarnpkg/yarn · error · MessageError

couldntFindMatch

Error message

couldntFindMatch

What it means

Error "couldntFindMatch" thrown in yarnpkg/yarn.

Source

Thrown at src/util/git.js:502

  }

  /**
   * Resolves the input hash / ref / semver range to a valid commit sha
   * If possible also resolves the sha to a valid ref in order to use "git archive"
   */

  async setRef(refs: GitRefs): Promise<string> {
    // get commit ref
    const {hash: version} = this;

    const resolvedResult = await resolveVersion({
      config: this.config,
      git: this,
      version,
      refs,
    });
    if (!resolvedResult) {
      throw new MessageError(
        this.reporter.lang('couldntFindMatch', version, Array.from(refs.keys()).join(','), this.gitUrl.repository),
      );
    }

    this.hash = resolvedResult.sha;
    this.ref = resolvedResult.ref || '';
    return this.hash;
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to c2dda503f3)

Solutions

1. The requested commit, tag, branch, or semver range could not be resolved to any ref in the git repository. Check the fragment after the # in the dependency URL for typos.
2. Run `git ls-remote <repo-url>` and pick one of the listed refs or a valid 40-char commit sha, then update package.json.
3. If the commit exists locally but not on the remote, push it to the remote repository first.

Example fix

git ls-remote https://github.com/user/repo.git | grep <ref>  # then fix the #<ref> in package.json

When it happens

Trigger: Yarn cannot find a git ref, branch, or tag matching the requested commit-ish in src/util/git.js.

Common situations: Occurs when a package.json git dependency references a non-existent branch, tag, or commit, or the remote no longer advertises the ref.

AI-assisted analysis of yarnpkg/yarn@c2dda503f3 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d95d2944174f019a. Report an issue: GitHub.