anthropics / anthropics/claude-code-action
Fork PRs fail: action fetches branch by name instead of using refs/pull/N/head
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 8.9k
- Forks
- 2.1k
- Avg merge
- 3d 9h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 10
Description
## Bug
When `@claude` is tagged on a PR that originates from a fork, the action fails with:
```
fatal: couldn't find remote ref
```
## Root Cause
In `src/modes/tag/index.ts` / `src/github/data/fetcher.ts`, the action runs:
```
git fetch origin --depth=20
```
For fork PRs, the branch only exists on the fork's remote, not on `origin`. GitHub exposes fork PR content at `refs/pull//head`, but the action doesn't use this ref.
## Reproduction
1. Have a repo with a PR from an external fork
2. Comment `@claude` on that PR
3. Action crashes at the `git fetch` step
## Expected Behavior
The action should detect fork PRs and fetch using `refs/pull//head` instead of the branch name. For example:
```bash
git fetch origin "pull/${PR_NUMBER}/head:${BRANCH_NAME}"
```
## Attempted Workarounds (all failed)
We tried pre-fetching the branch in a workflow step before the action runs:
```yaml
- name: Pre-fetch fork PR branch
run: |
git fetch origin "pull/$PR_NUMBER/head:$HEAD_REF"
git fetch origin "pull/$PR_NUMBER/head:refs/remotes/origin/$HEAD_REF"
```
Both the local branch and `refs/remotes/origin/` are successfully created, but the action still explicitly runs `git fetch origin --depth=20 ` which contacts the remote and fails because the branch name doesn't exist there.
## Additional Issue
When the action crashes during this setup phase, it does not update the initial comment it created to indicate the failure. The comment remains in a "working" state permanently.
## Environment
- `anthropics/claude-code-action@v1` (SHA: `1c8b699d43e9bfed42b48ef15da85d89bab70960`)
- Using Vertex AI provider
- Triggered via `issue_comment` event on a fork PR
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start in src/modes/tag/index.ts and src/github/data/fetcher.ts, tracing the setup-phase git fetch for pull requests from forks. Verify the action uses refs/pull//head rather than a branch name, and check the failure path so the initial working comment is updated when setup fails. Reproduce with an issue_comment event on a fork PR.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- git, github-actions, typescript
- Domain
- ci-cd, devtools
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 65/100