branch: suggest <remote>/<branch> on upstream slip
When setting the upstream of the current branch to the 'main' branch of the remote 'origin', i.e., $ git branch --set-upstream-to origin/main it is easy to mistakenly write $ git branch --set-upstream-to origin main That is parsed as a request to set the upstream of the local branch 'main' to 'origin'. When 'main' does not exist, the command dies with: fatal: branch 'main' does not exist pointing at a branch the user never meant to name. When 'main' does exist, it instead dies with: fatal: the requested upstream branch 'origin' does not exist leaving the user equally puzzled. When the operated-on branch is missing and '<remote>/<branch>' names a real remote-tracking ref, suggest the intended form: $ git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main The suggestion is gated on '<remote>/<branch>' existing so it only appears when a slipped slash is the likely explanation. Signed-off-by: Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Harald Nordgren committed
Jun 27, 2026 at 18:02 UTC
2faf0f0256cbf4cef447202276ca57d36e1d9380
2 files changed
+70
builtin/branch.c
+32
@@ -706,6 +706,29 @@ static int edit_branch_description(const char *branch_name)
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return 0;
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}
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+static void die_if_upstream_looks_like_remote(const char *new_upstream, const char *branch_name)
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+{
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+ struct strbuf remote_ref = STRBUF_INIT;
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+ int code;
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+
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+ if (strchr(new_upstream, '/') ||
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+ !remote_is_configured(remote_get(new_upstream), 0))
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+ return;
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+
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+ strbuf_addf(&remote_ref, "refs/remotes/%s/%s", new_upstream, branch_name);
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+ if (!refs_ref_exists(get_main_ref_store(the_repository), remote_ref.buf)) {
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+ strbuf_release(&remote_ref);
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+ return;
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+ }
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+
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+ code = die_message(_("--set-upstream-to takes a single <remote>/<branch> argument"));
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+ advise_if_enabled(ADVICE_SET_UPSTREAM_FAILURE,
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+ _("Did you mean to use: git branch --set-upstream-to=%s/%s?"),
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+ new_upstream, branch_name);
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+ strbuf_release(&remote_ref);
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+ exit(code);
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+}
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+
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int cmd_branch(int argc,
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const char **argv,
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const char *prefix,
@@ -957,6 +980,15 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
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if (!refs_ref_exists(get_main_ref_store(the_repository), branch->refname)) {
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if (!argc || branch_checked_out(branch->refname))
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die(_("no commit on branch '%s' yet"), branch->name);
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+ /*
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+ * Check the advice up front to avoid the ref
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+ * lookups when the hint is off. The helper still
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+ * calls advise_if_enabled() so the hint carries the
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+ * standard "disable this message" instructions.
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+ */
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+ if (argc == 1 &&
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+ advice_enabled(ADVICE_SET_UPSTREAM_FAILURE))
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+ die_if_upstream_looks_like_remote(new_upstream, argv[0]);
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die(_("branch '%s' does not exist"), branch->name);
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}
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t/t3200-branch.sh
+38
@@ -1022,6 +1022,44 @@ test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to fails on a missing dst branch' '
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test_cmp expect err
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'
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+test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to suggests <remote>/<branch> on slip' '
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+ test_when_finished "git remote remove slip-remote" &&
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+ git remote add slip-remote . &&
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+ git update-ref refs/remotes/slip-remote/slip-feature HEAD &&
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+ test_must_fail git branch --set-upstream-to slip-remote slip-feature 2>err &&
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+ test_grep "takes a single <remote>/<branch> argument" err &&
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+ test_grep "hint: Did you mean to use: git branch --set-upstream-to=slip-remote/slip-feature?" err &&
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+ test_must_fail git -c advice.setUpstreamFailure=false \
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+ branch --set-upstream-to slip-remote slip-feature 2>err &&
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+ test_grep ! "Did you mean" err
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+'
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+
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+test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to does not suggest when no matching remote ref' '
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+ test_when_finished "git remote remove slip-remote" &&
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+ git remote add slip-remote . &&
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+ test_must_fail git branch --set-upstream-to slip-remote no-such-branch 2>err &&
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+ test_grep "branch ${SQ}no-such-branch${SQ} does not exist" err &&
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+ test_grep ! "Did you mean" err
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+'
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+
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+test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to to a local branch is not mistaken for a slip' '
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+ git branch slip-local-upstream &&
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+ git branch slip-local-target &&
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+ git branch --set-upstream-to=slip-local-upstream slip-local-target 2>err &&
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+ test_grep ! "Did you mean" err &&
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+ echo refs/heads/slip-local-upstream >expect &&
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+ git config branch.slip-local-target.merge >actual &&
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+ test_cmp expect actual
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+'
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+
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+test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to slip suggestion keeps a slashed branch name' '
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+ test_when_finished "git remote remove slip-remote" &&
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+ git remote add slip-remote . &&
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+ git update-ref refs/remotes/slip-remote/slip/feature HEAD &&
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+ test_must_fail git branch --set-upstream-to slip-remote slip/feature 2>err &&
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+ test_grep "hint: Did you mean to use: git branch --set-upstream-to=slip-remote/slip/feature?" err
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+'
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+
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test_expect_success '--set-upstream-to fails on a missing src branch' '
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test_must_fail git branch --set-upstream-to does-not-exist main 2>err &&
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test_grep "the requested upstream branch '"'"'does-not-exist'"'"' does not exist" err