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Re: Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400

From
WBWill Beason <willbeason@google.com>
Date
Dec 6, 2021, 17:36 UTC
Message-ID
<CAO6o7k+hphmVKtZtrJEvkZq7TQv8HRCMBSFQ-5JARK2fRoq4sQ@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To
<CAPig+cQr27ra4DTjC1gyZO7YdV81Jq5J3s-LcAf+wePP=+n59g@mail.gmail.com>

I'm going to bet you're absolutely correct. Yeah, the error message could be clearer.

After using "git checkout [branch]" for a while, I reflexively typed "git checkout -" and it worked again.

- Will Beason
On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 11:17 AM Eric Sunshine <sunshine@sunshineco.com> wrote:
Show 25 quoted lines
>
> On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 12:04 PM Will Beason <willbeason@google.com> wrote:
> > I typed "git checkout -"
> > error: pathspec '-' did not match any file(s) known to git
> >
> > I expected the previously-working behavior of switching to previous branch to
> > work, but it didn't.
>
> If I recall correctly, for `-` to work it consults the reflog, but if
> the reflog has been cleared or expired, it won't be able to determine
> the previous branch. For instance, try this:
>
>     % git init foo
>     % cd foo
>     % echo data >data
>     % git add data
>     % git commit -m data
>     % git checkout -b other
>     % git checkout -
>     % git reflog expire --expire=now --all
>     % git checkout -
>     error: pathspec '-' did not match any file(s) known to git
>
> So, this is probably expected behavior, though the error message isn't
> very helpful and perhaps could be improved.
Previous: Eric Sunshine
Message 3 of 3 in “Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400”
  1. Will BeasonDec 6, 2021
  2. Eric SunshineDec 6, 2021
  3. Will BeasonDec 6, 2021

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