Re: Automagic `git checkout branchname` mysteriously fails

From: Kevin Daudt <me@ikke.info>
Date: Oct 14, 2016, 20:58 UTC
Message-ID: <20161014205842.GA6350@ikke.info>
In-Reply-To: <CACPiFC+8+wVEcDt9JZgTW1dwCCFKszyXD6ysDxNQorcNkom7Lw@mail.gmail.com>

On Fri, Oct 14, 2016 at 04:25:49PM -0400, Martin Langhoff wrote:

Show 26 quoted lines

> In a (private) repo project I have, I recently tried (and failed) to do:
> 
>   git checkout v4.1-support
> 
> getting a "pathspec did not match any files known to git" error.
> 
> There's an origin/v4.1-support, there is no v4.1-support "local"
> branch. Creating the tracking branch explicitly worked.
> 
> Other similar branches in existence upstream did work. Autocomplete
> matched git's own behaviour for this; where git checkout foo woudn't
> work, autocomplete would not offer a completion.
> 
> Why is this?
> 
> One theory I have not explored is that I have other remotes, and some
> have a v4.1-support branch. If that's the case, the error message is
> not very helpful, and could be improved.
> 
> git --version
> 2.7.4
> 
> DWIM in git is remarkably good, even addictive... when it works :-)
> 
> cheers,
>

Correct, this only works when it's unambiguous what branch you actually mean.

if remote_a/branch and remote_b/branch exists, git cannot guess which one you actually mean.

The message you get is because git checkout can be followed by several things. Either a branch/commit or a file. Git complaining it cannot find a file with that name is because it has exhausted all other options.

I do agree that message could be a bit more clear.