# Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400 3 messages from 2021-12-06 to 2021-12-06. Participants: Will Beason, Eric Sunshine. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/57039 ## Will Beason, 2021-12-06 16:52 Subject: Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400 Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAO6o7kKXZg37ydC145yf5uZt%2BtsKdYADnVfinO0sHAN%3DcHo-FA%40mail.gmail.com ``` Thank you for filling out a Git bug report! Please answer the following questions to help us understand your issue. What did you do before the bug happened? (Steps to reproduce your issue) I typed "git checkout -" What did you expect to happen? (Expected behavior) I expected the previous branch to be checked out What happened instead? (Actual behavior) error: pathspec '-' did not match any file(s) known to git What's different between what you expected and what actually happened? I expected the previously-working behavior of switching to previous branch to work, but it didn't. Anything else you want to add: Please review the rest of the bug report below. You can delete any lines you don't wish to share. [System Info] git version: git version 2.34.1.400.ga245620fadb-goog cpu: x86_64 no commit associated with this build sizeof-long: 8 sizeof-size_t: 8 shell-path: /bin/sh uname: Linux 5.10.46-5rodete1-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.10.46-5rodete1 (2021-09-28) x86_64 compiler info: gnuc: 10.3 libc info: glibc: 2.32 $SHELL (typically, interactive shell): /bin/bash [Enabled Hooks] commit-msg post-checkout post-commit post-merge pre-commit pre-push prepare-commit-msg - Will Beason ``` ## Eric Sunshine, 2021-12-06 17:17 Subject: Re: Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400 Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAPig%2BcQr27ra4DTjC1gyZO7YdV81Jq5J3s-LcAf%2BwePP%3D%2Bn59g%40mail.gmail.com In-Reply-To: ``` On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 12:04 PM Will Beason 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. ``` ## Will Beason, 2021-12-06 17:36 Subject: Re: Checkout previous branch command not working on ​2.34.1.400 Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAO6o7k%2BhphmVKtZtrJEvkZq7TQv8HRCMBSFQ-5JARK2fRoq4sQ%40mail.gmail.com In-Reply-To: ``` 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 wrote: > > On Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 12:04 PM Will Beason 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. ```