git checkout ai_generated true

error: pathspec 'branch-name' did not match any file(s) known to git

ID: git/pathspec-did-not-match

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
96%Fix Rate
97%Confidence
50Evidence
2023-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
2 active — — —

Root Cause

Git cannot find the branch, tag, or file path specified in the command.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 96% success Fetch from remote first: git fetch origin then git checkout <branch> 
    Remote branches must be fetched before they can be checked out

    Sources: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-fetch

  2. 93% success Check exact branch name: git branch -a to list all local and remote branches 
    Branch names are case-sensitive; verify spelling

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Creating the branch locally with the same name 55% fail

    May create an unrelated branch that doesn't track the remote

  2. Using --force to override 85% fail

    checkout --force doesn't create branches; still fails

Error Chain

Frequently confused with: