[JENKINS-10571] Git Plugin crashes when remote branch gets deleted, and its commit is not available.

I have a repository which Jenkins builds. At some point I added a remote branch, with a certain commit. Jenkins built it successfully (checking it out in the process).

However, after I deleted the remote branch without merging the commit to anywhere (practically throwing it away), Jenkins fails:

```
Checking out Revision eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524 (infinipy/conf, origin/conf)
FATAL: Could not checkout null with start point eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524
hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Could not checkout null with start point eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524
at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.checkoutBranch(GitAPI.java:831)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM$4.invoke(GitSCM.java:1145)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM$4.invoke(GitSCM.java:1129)
at hudson.FilePath.act(FilePath.java:758)
at hudson.FilePath.act(FilePath.java:740)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM.checkout(GitSCM.java:1129)
at hudson.model.AbstractProject.checkout(AbstractProject.java:1184)
at hudson.model.AbstractBuild$AbstractRunner.checkout(AbstractBuild.java:537)
at hudson.model.AbstractBuild$AbstractRunner.run(AbstractBuild.java:425)
at hudson.model.Run.run(Run.java:1376)
at hudson.model.FreeStyleBuild.run(FreeStyleBuild.java:46)
at hudson.model.ResourceController.execute(ResourceController.java:88)
at hudson.model.Executor.run(Executor.java:175)
Caused by: hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Error performing command: git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524
Command "git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524" returned status code 128: fatal: reference is not a tree: eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommandIn(GitAPI.java:744)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommand(GitAPI.java:709)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommand(GitAPI.java:719)
at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.checkoutBranch(GitAPI.java:818)
... 12 more
Caused by: hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Command "git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524" returned status code 128: fatal: reference is not a tree: eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommandIn(GitAPI.java:739)
... 15 more

```

---
Originally reported by vmalloc, imported from: Git Plugin crashes when remote branch gets deleted, and its commit is not available.

• status: Open
  
• priority: Major
  
• component(s): git-plugin
  
• resolution: Unresolved
  
• votes: 6
  
• watchers: 8
  
• imported: 2025-12-02
  

Raw content of original issue

I have a repository which Jenkins builds. At some point I added a remote branch, with a certain commit. Jenkins built it successfully (checking it out in the process).


However, after I deleted the remote branch without merging the commit to anywhere (practically throwing it away), Jenkins fails:



Checking out Revision eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524 (infinipy/conf, origin/conf)

FATAL: Could not checkout null with start point eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Could not checkout null with start point eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.checkoutBranch(GitAPI.java:831)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM$4.invoke(GitSCM.java:1145)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM$4.invoke(GitSCM.java:1129)

	at hudson.FilePath.act(FilePath.java:758)

	at hudson.FilePath.act(FilePath.java:740)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitSCM.checkout(GitSCM.java:1129)

	at hudson.model.AbstractProject.checkout(AbstractProject.java:1184)

	at hudson.model.AbstractBuild$AbstractRunner.checkout(AbstractBuild.java:537)

	at hudson.model.AbstractBuild$AbstractRunner.run(AbstractBuild.java:425)

	at hudson.model.Run.run(Run.java:1376)

	at hudson.model.FreeStyleBuild.run(FreeStyleBuild.java:46)

	at hudson.model.ResourceController.execute(ResourceController.java:88)

	at hudson.model.Executor.run(Executor.java:175)

Caused by: hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Error performing command: git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

Command "git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524" returned status code 128: fatal: reference is not a tree: eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524


	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommandIn(GitAPI.java:744)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommand(GitAPI.java:709)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommand(GitAPI.java:719)

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.checkoutBranch(GitAPI.java:818)

	... 12 more

Caused by: hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Command "git checkout -f eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524" returned status code 128: fatal: reference is not a tree: eb81dffc5098004d7508aa0ddd398117d9baa524

	at hudson.plugins.git.GitAPI.launchCommandIn(GitAPI.java:739)

	... 15 more