Remove move branch manual metadata work by Caleb-T-Owens · Pull Request #16309 · gitbutlerapp/gitbutler

Caleb-T-Owens · 2026-10-13T14:10:07Z

There were some tests that only asserted metadata. I don't think we should need to assert metadata at this level, so I've changed it to assert workspace outcomes.

Note

High Risk
Changes core branch creation, reordering, and HEAD checkout across API, transactions, and rebase materialization—behavior users depend on for stack projection and ad-hoc workspaces.

Overview
Branch create, move, and tear-off now run entirely through the graph rebase Editor and materialize, instead of overlay graph rebuilds plus separate metadata and checkout steps.

create_reference takes an Editor, places refs in the step graph (including independent stacks as parents of the workspace commit), and returns a SuccessfulRebase. API, transaction, action, and legacy virtual-branch callers were updated to use that path and drop the old new_stack_id / recording-metadata wrappers. Move/tear-off no longer return Outcome with branch_stack_order and new_tip; ad-hoc reordering updates HEAD via new set_head_checkout so materialization keeps the stack projected. Related editor work adds insert_parent, workspace ref/commit selectors, and stricter HEAD checkout change detection.

Graph init adjusts ad-hoc segment splitting at the target (unnamed segments get ref metadata before split). Tests now assert workspace graphs and HEAD rather than persisted branch-order metadata alone.

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 99bf5b1. Bugbot is set up for automated code reviews on this repo. Configure here.}

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-13T14:10:24Z

Codex Review Summary

This comment shows the latest Codex review activity on this pull request.

Review	Status	Commit	Review trigger
📝 Code Review	✅ Completed 2026-10-13T14:16:02.346131Z	`a8be402`	PR opened
🔒 Security Review	✅ Completed 2026-10-13T14:13:51.058303Z	`a8be402`	PR opened

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Copilot

🟡 Changes recommended

Materialization can discard ordering for branches not reachable below the current editor checkout.

1 open finding

Preserve disconnected stack when persisting torn-off branch · New

What changed in this PR

Moves branch ordering responsibility from callers to graph rebase materialization.

Changes:

Removes branch_stack_order from move outcomes.
Uses graph mutations to derive and persist ordering.
Replaces metadata-focused tests with workspace snapshots.

File	Description
`crates/but-workspace/src/branch/move_branch.rs`	Derives ordering through graph edits.
`crates/but-workspace/tests/workspace/branch/move_branch.rs`	Asserts projected workspace outcomes.
`crates/but-transaction/src/lib.rs`	Removes queued ordering updates.
`crates/but-api/src/branch.rs`	Removes manual API persistence and preview overrides.

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

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        } else {
            // There is no workspace commit to connect to the torn-off branch. Attach only
            // its first parent at the target, leaving the remaining stack independent.
            editor.add_edge(subject_delimiter.parent, target_selector, 0)?;
-            Some(
-                existing_order
-                    .unwrap_or_else(|| stack_branch_order(source_stack))
-                    .into_iter()
-                    .filter(|name| name.as_ref() != subject_branch_name)
-                    .collect(),
-            )
-        };
+        }

        Ok(Outcome {
            rebase: editor.rebase()?,
            new_tip: None,


chatgpt-codex-connector

💡 Codex Review

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Reviewed commit: a8be40220b

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-13T14:15:59Z

+        return Ok(Outcome {
+            rebase: editor.rebase()?,
            new_tip,
-            branch_stack_order: Some(new_order),
-        })
+        });


Preserve the full order before checking out the new tip

When an ad-hoc move takes the checked-out top branch downward (for example, C above A producing B, C, A), this outcome no longer carries new_order. The rebase is materialized while its checkout selector still points to C, so SuccessfulRebase::branch_stacks() sees only C, A and replaces the persisted chain with that truncated order; the API and transaction paths check out B only afterward, without re-persisting metadata. This breaks the existing contract that the successful move persists B, C, A, and can lose ordering that Git cannot reconstruct for empty branches. Preserve the computed order until materialization, or make the rebase checkout follow new_tip before branch stacks are recorded.

AGENTS.md reference: crates/AGENTS.md:L46-L54

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-10-13T14:15:59Z

        } else {
            // There is no workspace commit to connect to the torn-off branch. Attach only
            // its first parent at the target, leaving the remaining stack independent.
            editor.add_edge(subject_delimiter.parent, target_selector, 0)?;


Retain the remaining stack when tearing off HEAD

When the torn-off branch is the current ad-hoc checkout, this branch makes it independent but leaves the editor checkout on that branch. Materialization therefore derives only the singleton checked-out stack, and set_branch_stack_order([subject]) replaces the former chain, deleting the order of all branches left behind; with an empty C, B, A chain, tearing off C loses the otherwise non-reconstructible B, A order. The removed code explicitly persisted the old chain minus the subject, so that remaining order still needs to be supplied or otherwise recorded.

AGENTS.md reference: crates/AGENTS.md:L46-L54

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Copilot

🟡 Changes recommended

Earlier transaction metadata updates can overwrite the final graph-derived branch order.

3 open findings

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

Copilot

🟡 Changes recommended

Explicit local branch creation incorrectly rejects names shared only by remote-tracking refs.

2 open findings

2 resolved since last review

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

+        let available = find_unique_refname_excluding(editor.repo(), ref_name, |name| {
+            editor.try_select_reference(name).is_some()
+        })?;
+        if available.as_ref() != ref_name {
+            bail_precondition!("Reference '{}' already exists", ref_name.shorten());


…d order

Copilot

🔵 Needs a closer look

Reference creation can lose ad-hoc ordering and incorrectly rejects local names matching remote-tracking branches.

2 open findings

Previously missed (1)

In code that hasn't changed since last review

Restore precondition for non-persistable branch order

crates/but-workspace/src/branch/create_reference.rs:122

Ad-hoc relative placement now succeeds even when M::can_persist_branch_stack_order() is false. BranchStacks::persist skips ad-hoc order in that case (but-rebase/src/graph_rebase/branch_stacks.rs:93-101), so two refs placed on the same commit lose their relative order as soon as the workspace is reloaded. The removed requires_branch_order_metadata test previously guarded this exact case, and move_branch_in_single_branch_mode still rejects it. Restore that precondition for placements whose ordering is not representable in Git, or provide another durable encoding before creating the ref.

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

Copilot

🟡 Changes recommended

Ad-hoc tear-off can erase remaining branch order, and explicit local names matching remote-tracking branches are incorrectly rejected.

3 open findings

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

        } else {
            // There is no workspace commit to connect to the torn-off branch. Attach only
            // its first parent at the target, leaving the remaining stack independent.
            editor.add_edge(subject_delimiter.parent, target_selector, 0)?;
-            Some(
-                existing_order
-                    .unwrap_or_else(|| stack_branch_order(source_stack))
-                    .into_iter()
-                    .filter(|name| name.as_ref() != subject_branch_name)
-                    .collect(),
-            )
-        };
+        }


Copilot

🔵 Needs a closer look

Explicit local branch creation now incorrectly rejects names shared with remote-tracking branches.

3 open findings

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

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cursor · 2026-10-14T12:25:38Z

                }
+                let reference = editor.add_step(reference)?;
+                editor.add_edge(reference, base, 0)?;
+                editor.insert_parent(workspace_commit, reference, order.into())?;


Workspace commit creation drops stacks

High Severity

ensure_workspace_commit runs for every create_reference, including dependent placement, and a minted workspace commit only parents below. branch_stacks persist then records only those parents, so other applied stacks can disappear from the workspace.

Additional Locations (1)

crates/but-workspace/src/branch/create_reference.rs#L323-L344

^{Reviewed by Cursor Bugbot for commit 4d0849b. Configure here.}

… name

Copilot

🟡 Changes recommended

Reference creation can incorrectly reject valid local names and lose ad-hoc ordering on unsupported metadata backends.

4 open findings

🧠 Review effort: Balanced

-                        ref_name: new_ref.to_owned(),
-                        archived: false,
+            Some(
+                Anchor::AtReference { ref_name, position }


Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings October 13, 2026 14:10

Caleb-T-Owens added this pull request to stack #16310 October 13, 2026 14:10

github-actions Bot added the rust Pull requests that update Rust code label Oct 13, 2026

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Comment thread crates/but-transaction/src/lib.rs Outdated

Comment thread crates/but-workspace/src/branch/move_branch.rs

Base automatically changed from caleb/drop-branch-move-meta-1 to master October 13, 2026 15:25

Caleb-T-Owens force-pushed the caleb/drop-branch-move-meta branch from beb1278 to 25f4ab5 Compare October 13, 2026 15:25

Caleb-T-Owens added 10 commits October 13, 2026 23:52

Start dropping branch meta

715141b

Move away from testing metadata

401e3ee

Editor can find the workspace reference and commit

ea11371

Editor can insert a parent at a position

6d10d16

create_reference inserts the reference with the editor

fe96cff

Editor can set the HEAD checkout

c046a53

Materialization notices HEAD moving to a branch on the same commit

760159a

move_branch checks out the new tip in the editor

719b84a

Ad-hoc branch order names an anonymous segment at the target

8ee9f49

The first independent branch replaces the placeholder workspace parent

fb5d16b

Caleb-T-Owens removed this pull request from stack #16310 October 13, 2026 22:02

Caleb-T-Owens force-pushed the caleb/drop-branch-move-meta branch from 25f4ab5 to fb5d16b Compare October 13, 2026 22:02

Caleb-T-Owens requested review from davidpdrsn, jonathantanmy2 and krlvi as code owners October 13, 2026 22:02

Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings October 13, 2026 22:02

github-actions Bot added the CLI The command-line program `but` label Oct 13, 2026

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Caleb-T-Owens added 2 commits October 14, 2026 00:19

Segment reparenting and insert_parent share one parent insertion

94eca6d

Single-branch move_branch picks HEAD from the stack, not the persiste…

df3a197

…d order

davidpdrsn approved these changes Oct 14, 2026

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Caleb-T-Owens added 2 commits October 14, 2026 11:45

Editor follows a detached HEAD

4ac5ad0

create_reference works from a detached HEAD

486adf6

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LIne no updates

e18e0b4

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create_virtual_branch returns an existing workspace stack of the same…

99bf5b1

… name

Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings October 14, 2026 12:39

Caleb-T-Owens force-pushed the caleb/drop-branch-move-meta branch from 4d0849b to 99bf5b1 Compare October 14, 2026 12:39

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Comment thread crates/but-workspace/src/branch/create_reference.rs

ref_name: new_ref.to_owned(),

archived: false,

Some(

Anchor::AtReference { ref_name, position }

Caleb-T-Owens merged commit 2d95f37 into master Oct 14, 2026
62 of 92 checks passed

Caleb-T-Owens deleted the caleb/drop-branch-move-meta branch October 14, 2026 12:56

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