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Re: [PATCH] worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch name

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
Aug 8, 2026, 21:57 UTC
Message-ID
<xmqqo6fc9swz.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To
<xmqqzeywa6ol.fsf@gitster.g>
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> writes:
Show 30 quoted lines
>> +static const char message_advice_ambiguous_remote_tracking_branch[] =
>> +	N_("If you meant to create a worktree from a remote tracking branch on,\n"
>> +	   "e.g. 'origin', you can do so by fully qualifying the name:\n"
>> +	   "\n"
>> +	   "    git worktree add <path> origin/<name>\n"
>> +	   "\n"
>> ...
>> +		char *remote = unique_tracking_name(*new_branch, &oid, &num_matches);
>> +		if (!opts->quiet && !remote && num_matches > 1) {
>> +			if (advice_enabled(ADVICE_CHECKOUT_AMBIGUOUS_REMOTE_BRANCH_NAME))
>> +				advise(_(message_advice_ambiguous_remote_tracking_branch));
>> +			warning(_("'%s' matched multiple (%d) remote tracking branches\n"), branchname, num_matches);
>> +		}
>>  		return remote;
>>  	}
>
> The worktree.guessremote configuration is set.  dwim_branch() is
> called when "git worktree add A/B/X" is run with a single argument
> "A/B/X", which comes here as "path", and that is munged into the
> branchname "X".
>
> We used to pass NULL as the second parameter to unique_tracking_name(),
> so we were only interested in the case where we have exactly one
> matching remote, and if there is 0 or multiple remotes with the
> named branch, we returned NULL from here.
>
> The patch does not change that, but using the branch name, we try to
> see if there are multiple matches, in that case, we give the advice
> message to say "hey, don't be so lazy, as X appears in more than one
> remote, so tell me which one you mean".

Stepping back a bit, I think what I find lacking in the proposed warning message is not that we lose what the user gave us, such as '-b <branch>' or '-t'. While this loss makes it impossible to simply copy and paste to reproduce what the user may have intended, it is not the end of the world.

What disturbs me more is that the code holds back information only it possesses, which would immediately help the user if we shared it.

The reason we got this error may not be that the user did not know exactly how to spell out the necessary information (such as which branch to use from which remote) on the command line. It may be that the user did not remember some of the necessary details (such as which remotes have the branch they have in mind). Displaying the command line and advising them to use the fully qualified name might not be the best approach in that case. Telling them that they may have meant 'origin', 'upstream', or 'home' (all of which are remotes with the named branch, though we could not guess which one of the three to choose) may be much more helpful.

Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Harald Nordgren
Message 3 of 62 in “worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch name”
  1. worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 8, 2026
  2. Junio C HamanoAug 8, 2026
  3. Junio C HamanoAug 8, 2026
  4. Harald NordgrenAug 9, 2026
  5. Junio C HamanoAug 9, 2026
  6. Harald NordgrenAug 10, 2026
  7. Junio C HamanoAug 9, 2026
  8. Yoichi NakayamaAug 10, 2026
  9. Yoichi NakayamaAug 10, 2026
  10. D. Ben KnobleAug 10, 2026
  11. Yoichi NakayamaAug 10, 2026
  12. Junio C HamanoAug 10, 2026
  13. Yoichi NakayamaAug 10, 2026
  14. Ben KnobleAug 11, 2026
  15. Yoichi NakayamaAug 12, 2026
  16. worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 10, 2026
  17. worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 10, 2026
  18. Junio C HamanoAug 11, 2026
  19. Yoichi NakayamaAug 11, 2026
  20. Junio C HamanoAug 12, 2026
  21. Yoichi NakayamaAug 15, 2026
  22. worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 11, 2026
  23. 0/2 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 19, 2026
  24. 1/2 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 19, 2026
  25. D. Ben KnobleAug 19, 2026
  26. Junio C HamanoAug 20, 2026
  27. Yoichi NakayamaAug 20, 2026
  28. 2/2 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 19, 2026
  29. 0/3 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 20, 2026
  30. 1/3 checkout: extract function to display advice for ambiguous remotesYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 20, 2026
  31. 2/3 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 20, 2026
  32. 3/3 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 20, 2026
  33. Junio C HamanoAug 21, 2026
  34. Yoichi NakayamaAug 21, 2026
  35. Junio C HamanoAug 21, 2026
  36. Yoichi NakayamaAug 22, 2026
  37. Junio C HamanoAug 22, 2026
  38. Yoichi NakayamaAug 24, 2026
  39. 0/3 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 22, 2026
  40. 1/3 checkout: extract function to display advice for ambiguous remotesYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 22, 2026
  41. 2/3 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 22, 2026
  42. 3/3 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 22, 2026
  43. Junio C HamanoAug 22, 2026
  44. 0/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 25, 2026
  45. 1/4 checkout: extract function to display advice for ambiguous remotesYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 25, 2026
  46. 2/4 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 25, 2026
  47. 3/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 25, 2026
  48. 4/4 worktree add: treat multiple matches with --guess-remote as an errorYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 25, 2026
  49. Junio C HamanoAug 25, 2026
  50. 0/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 26, 2026
  51. 1/4 checkout: extract function to display advice for ambiguous remotesYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 26, 2026
  52. Junio C HamanoAug 26, 2026
  53. 2/4 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 26, 2026
  54. Junio C HamanoAug 26, 2026
  55. 3/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 26, 2026
  56. 4/4 worktree add: treat multiple matches with --guess-remote as an errorYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 26, 2026
  57. 0/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 27, 2026
  58. 1/4 checkout: extract function to display advice for ambiguous remotesYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 27, 2026
  59. 2/4 checkout: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 27, 2026
  60. 3/4 worktree add: improve message for ambiguous remote branch nameYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 27, 2026
  61. 4/4 worktree add: treat multiple matches with --guess-remote as an errorYoichi NAKAYAMA via GitGitGadget, Aug 27, 2026
  62. Junio C HamanoAug 27, 2026

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