fix(server): find the open PR when the only remote is not origin

[Mnigos]

Fixes #15373

Problem

PR lookup treated the remote literally named origin as the repository PRs target. When a repository's only remote has another name (for example fork), there was no origin to compare against, so the fallback marked the branch as cross-repository. gh pr list returned the open same-repository PR, but the lookup discarded it: the PR badge stayed empty, and Commit, push & PR called gh pr create again, which failed with "already exists".

Change

GitManager now picks the target remote with resolveTargetRemoteName: origin if it exists, otherwise the only remote, otherwise null. A lone remote is also the default gh uses as the base (see selectGitHubBaseRepository). With several remotes and no origin, the result stays null and the previous behavior is kept: every remote counts as a fork, and the head selector stays owner:branch. Both PR lookup paths (resolvePrLookupRepositoryIdentity and resolveBranchHeadContext) use it. If git remote fails, it falls back to origin, the old behavior.

I did not reuse resolvePrimaryRemoteName, because it falls back to the first remote. With fork plus upstream and no origin, that would pick fork as the target. A branch pushed to fork would then count as same-repository and lose the owner:branch head selector, which breaks PR creation from forks. The three #788 tests that used a lone fork-seed remote to stand for a fork now add an explicit origin. Under the new rule a lone remote is the target, so they need a separate base.

Cost: one extra git remote subprocess each time PR context is resolved. This happens behind the PR cache, not on every status broadcast.

Not covered: gh repo set-default / remote.*.gh-resolved (the fuller direction of #7382) and GH_REPO overrides.

Verification

Observed result. Real web client on main at a976f8c74c and this branch at c1a439d4b8, with one remote named fork, real Git commits/pushes to local bare repositories, and a stand-in gh reporting open same-repository PR #3. No real provider turn or external GitHub write.

	Main	This branch
PR badge	Empty	#3: Update demo feature
Available git action	Commit, push & PR	Commit & push, because the PR is already found
Web result	Commit/push succeed, then createChangeRequest fails	Commit/push succeed; existing PR stays visible
gh pr create calls	1	0

The UI changes its action once it finds the PR. To verify the exact commit_push_pr path too, a separate request to the running AFTER server's public git.runStackedAction RPC, with an uncommitted file, returned commit: created, push: pushed, pr: opened_existing, number 3, and Opened PR #3.

Before gh argv · After gh argv · Exact stacked-action result

Tests. Separate status and action cases prove the lone-remote fix. A fork plus upstream case confirms that fork filtering and owner-qualified creation still work. With the implementation reverted, both lone-remote cases fail and the two-remote guard passes. All 134 focused git tests pass with the fix. Server typecheck has no TS errors or warnings; targeted lint, format and knip pass. Implementation and lockfile unchanged after verification. Servers, browser, temporary homes and BEFORE worktree removed.

Not checked: live GitHub, gh repo set-default / remote.*.gh-resolved, GH_REPO overrides, issue #7382, other hosting providers, desktop/mobile, remote connection modes, runtime Git failure injection, and performance benchmarks. GraphQL batch requests used the real CLI fallback against the stand-in.

Implemented with Claude Opus 5.5, verified with GPT-6 Astra, coordinated by Claude Fable 5.1 in Claude Code.

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Approved at f13a1eb

Macroscope's review found this PR approvable — This is a focused GitManager bug fix that corrects PR discovery and reuse for repositories whose sole remote is not named origin, while preserving existing multi-remote fork behavior. The production change is localized and backed by targeted regression tests covering status, PR reuse, creation selectors, and gh-resolved remotes.

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

GitManager now selects a target remote when origin is absent and uses its repository identity for pull-request lookup and branch-head matching. Tests cover same-repository and fork pull-request selection and creation with non-origin remotes.

Changes

Target remote resolution

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Resolve target repository and branch context apps/server/src/git/GitManager.ts	GitManager selects origin or the sole configured remote. A valid remote.<name>.gh-resolved value can provide the target repository identity. Pull-request lookup and branch-head matching use the selected remote.
Test lookup and creation with non-origin remotes apps/server/src/git/GitManager.test.ts	Tests cover same-repository pull-request reuse and fork pull-request selection and creation with non-origin remotes. A helper configures a local base origin for existing fork tests.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Low

Suggested reviewers: juliusmarminge

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to f13a1

The change finds an existing same-repository PR when the only remote is not named origin, so it no longer tries to create a duplicate PR. Fork handling is preserved and covered by tests. One known gap remains: with several remotes, no origin and a gh-resolved mark, lookup behaves as it did before this PR. This is acceptable to merge.

Security Architecture Review

Security architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to f13a1

Common single-remote configurations are handled more accurately. However, an explicit GH_REPO override can now cause PR creation to use a different branch than the one just pushed. No new credential authority or confirmed unauthorized access was established.

Retained concerns

• Low · architecture · inferred: With a sole remote pointing to contributor/demo and GH_REPO pointing to acme/demo, the new rule classifies the branch as same-repository and submits a bare head such as dev instead of contributor:dev. If no matching fork PR exists, creation can fail or, when acme/demo has that branch, create a PR for a different head than the branch pushed locally. The post-create lookup does not make verification a condition of reporting creation. This weakens identity binding for the external write; attacker control and unauthorized access are not established.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

• observed — The relevant external write is PR creation at the independently resolved GitHub host and repository, with the supplied head selector and generated content. The changed target classification does not select the Git push destination.

Security Findings and Attack Paths

• inferred — The supported failure path requires a sole non-origin remote, a different GH_REPO target, and no existing matching PR. A colliding branch in the override repository can then receive the PR instead of the pushed fork branch. This is a conditional write-integrity failure, not a verified attacker path; access to configuration and effective credentials is unresolved.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

• observed — PR reuse checks branch name and available head repository and owner metadata. A matching fork PR can still pass when the new context is classified same-repository, so incorrect rejection of every existing fork PR is not supported. These checks protect reuse but are not a precondition on the creation request.

Hardening Proposals

• proposed — Resolve one authoritative repository identity, including explicit overrides, and carry it through lookup and creation so the head selector is checked against the repository receiving the write.

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Caution

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❌ Failed checks (1 error)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Approvability	❌ Error	The pull request changes GitHub-facing behavior in apps/server/src/git/GitManager.ts. The new target-remote resolution changes PR lookup selectors and cross-repository classification (`resolveBranch…	A maintainer must review the GitHub-facing changes in apps/server/src/git/GitManager.ts, including the changed PR lookup behavior and the resulting conditions and selectors for PR creation.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: finding an open PR when the repository’s only remote is not named origin.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description covers the problem, change, linked issue and scope, and detailed verification results. It also identifies untested cases and limitations.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Issue #15373 requires the action to find an open same-repository PR when the only remote is not named origin. The current change selects that sole remote as the PR target. The reported status and ac…
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The target identity resolution and its tests directly support issue #15373. The gh-resolved handling, where present, supports the same target-resolution behavior and follows a method suggested by th…

Full details: Approvability

Explanation

The pull request changes GitHub-facing behavior in apps/server/src/git/GitManager.ts. The new target-remote resolution changes PR lookup selectors and cross-repository classification (resolveBranchHeadContext, lines 1509–1559). That context controls findOpenPr and runPrStep; the action can now return opened_existing instead of calling createChangeRequest, and it can use a different head selector when creating a PR (lines 2124–2195). This matches the rule: “Adds or changes an external side effect, such as acting on GitHub.” The pull request needs a maintainer's review.

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @apps/server/src/git/GitManager.ts:
- Line 1399: Update resolveTargetRemoteName and the related
resolveBranchHeadContext classification so a sole fork remote is not treated as
the PR base when GitHub CLI has selected its parent; retain the owner-qualified
fork head unless the selected base is known to be that fork, so runPrStep does
not pass a bare branch name for a cross-repository head.

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[ScottN-PV]

I checked this branch at fd5016a8 against a real GitHub repository, to add to the stand-in gh evidence. An agent drove the web dev client on Windows. The setup matches #15373: fork is the only remote, gh repo set-default points at it, and dev has an open same-repository PR.

• On main (2d81e4c2), the panel offered Create PR while the PR was open. Commit, push & PR then committed, pushed, and failed with "Source control provider github failed in createChangeRequest: GitHub CLI command failed."
• On this branch, the panel shows the open PR, and Commit & push pushes to it with no error. The repository still has one PR.

GitManager.test.ts also passes on Linux, 119 of 119.

On the PR's stated limit for several remotes without origin, I confirmed with a unit test only, not in the client, that the open PR is still missed when gh repo set-default marks the branch's own remote.

Written by Claude Fable 5.1 on behalf of ScottN-PV.

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