# [PATCH] checkout: Better error message on invalid branch name 3 messages from 2010-06-21 to 2010-06-21. Participants: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/24159 ## Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, 2010-06-21 18:53 Subject: [PATCH] checkout: Better error message on invalid branch name Message-ID: <1277146419-19507-1-git-send-email-avarab@gmail.com> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/1277146419-19507-1-git-send-email-avarab%40gmail.com ``` Change the error message for `git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU"' and other invalid branch names to say what branch names are invalid, rather than just saying we don't like it. Before: $ git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU" fatal: git checkout: we do not like 'I LOVE YOU' as a branch name. After: $ git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU" fatal: git checkout: The name "I LOVE YOU" is not a valid Git branch name. A branch name can not: - Have a path component that begins with "." - Have a double dot ".." - Have an ASCII control character, "~", "^", ":" or SP, anywhere - End with a "/" - End with ".lock" - Contain a "\" (backslash Signed-off-by: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason --- Git didn't like my branch name, but I didn't like its error message. Here's a fix for it. builtin/checkout.c | 10 +++++++++- 1 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-) diff --git a/builtin/checkout.c b/builtin/checkout.c index 1994be9..fec8335 100644 --- a/builtin/checkout.c +++ b/builtin/checkout.c @@ -856,7 +856,15 @@ no_reference: if (opts.new_branch) { struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT; if (strbuf_check_branch_ref(&buf, opts.new_branch)) - die("git checkout: we do not like '%s' as a branch name.", + die("git checkout: The name \"%s\" is not a valid branch name.\n" + "A branch name can not:\n" + /* From the comment for bad_ref_char in refs.c */ + " - Have a path component that begins with \".\"\n" + " - Have a double dot \"..\"\n" + " - Have an ASCII control character, \"~\", \"^\", \":\" or SP, anywhere\n" + " - End with a \"/\"\n" + " - End with \".lock\"\n" + " - Contain a \"\\\" (backslash)", opts.new_branch); if (!get_sha1(buf.buf, rev)) die("git checkout: branch %s already exists", opts.new_branch); -- 1.7.1.251.g92a7 ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2010-06-21 20:58 Subject: Re: [PATCH] checkout: Better error message on invalid branch name Message-ID: <7vd3vkgl0y.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/7vd3vkgl0y.fsf%40alter.siamese.dyndns.org In-Reply-To: <1277146419-19507-1-git-send-email-avarab@gmail.com> ``` Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason writes: > Change the error message for `git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU"' and other > invalid branch names to say what branch names are invalid, rather than > just saying we don't like it. > > Before: > > $ git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU" > fatal: git checkout: we do not like 'I LOVE YOU' as a branch name. > > After: > > $ git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU" > fatal: git checkout: The name "I LOVE YOU" is not a valid Git branch name. > A branch name can not: > - Have a path component that begins with "." > - Have a double dot ".." > - Have an ASCII control character, "~", "^", ":" or SP, anywhere > - End with a "/" > - End with ".lock" > - Contain a "\" (backslash Cluttering the output without protecting it with "advice" does not look like a "fix" nor improvement. ``` ## Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason, 2010-06-21 21:09 Subject: Re: [PATCH] checkout: Better error message on invalid branch name Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/AANLkTino4Dz_nMSV_4HHKD3K185t7spE22d5chLdo960%40mail.gmail.com In-Reply-To: <7vd3vkgl0y.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org> ``` On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 20:58, Junio C Hamano wrote: > Cluttering the output without protecting it with "advice" does not look > like a "fix" nor improvement. The short version of the message would also need to be fixed then, to do that properly would require bigger changes in the return code of bad_ref_char and the functions that call it. Then we could have e.g.: $ git checkout -b "I LOVE YOU" fatal: git checkout: Branch name cannot contain ' '; marked by <-- HERE in 'I ' <-- HERE Similar to what you get from: $ perl -e '/I LOVE [/' That would also make the long version unnecessary, and maybe improve some other error messages that deal with ref names. ```