How to fix The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited with 128 in Git

What this error means

The "git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/X/merge: exited with 128" error indicates that Git failed with a fatal error (exit code 128) while trying to fetch a pull request merge reference from the remote repository. When CI/CD platforms like Travis CI, GitHub Actions, or Jenkins build pull requests, they fetch a special merge commit reference (refs/pull/X/merge) that represents the result of merging the PR branch into the base branch. This reference is temporary and managed by the Git hosting provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket). Exit code 128 in Git signifies a fatal error, and in this context, it means "fatal: Couldn't find remote ref refs/pull/X/merge". The merge reference doesn't exist because: - The PR was merged or closed, causing GitHub to delete the merge ref - There was a race condition between merging and the CI build starting - The PR branch was force-pushed, invalidating the previous merge ref - The repository's PR merge refs were not fetched due to shallow clone depth limitations

Typical symptoms

• CI/CD build fails during the Git fetch or checkout step
• Error message contains 'exited with 128' and mentions refs/pull/X/merge
• Build worked previously for the same PR but suddenly fails
• Error occurs after merging or closing a pull request
• Restarted builds for merged PRs consistently fail with this error
• Multiple retry attempts all fail with the same error
• The error appears specifically for pull request builds, not branch builds

Common causes

1. Pull request was merged before the CI build completed (most common)
2. Pull request was closed or abandoned after build was triggered
3. Force push to the PR branch invalidated the merge reference
4. Race condition between merge button click and CI job start
5. Shallow clone depth doesn't include the merge commit
6. GitHub/GitLab temporarily unavailable when creating merge ref
7. Repository permissions changed during the build process
8. Network timeout during ref advertisement from the server

How to fix "The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited with 128"

# In your .travis.yml, add branch protection awareness
branches:
  only:
    - main
    - master
    - /^v\d+\.\d+(\.\d+)?(-\S*)?$/

# Example workflow that builds on push to main
on:
  push:
    branches: [main, master]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, master]

# .travis.yml
git:
  depth: 100  # Increase from default 50

# Or disable shallow cloning entirely (slower but more reliable)
git:
  depth: false

- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    fetch-depth: 0  # Fetch all history

variables:
  GIT_DEPTH: 0  # Full clone

# .travis.yml - build the PR branch directly
git:
  depth: 50

# Optionally, configure to not build merge commits
# This is controlled by Travis settings, not YAML

- uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}

# Check if the PR merge ref exists
gh pr view 123 --json state,merged

# Or using git directly
git ls-remote origin refs/pull/123/merge
git ls-remote origin refs/pull/123/head

# .travis.yml with fallback
before_install:
  - |
    if ! git fetch origin +refs/pull/${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST}/merge: 2>/dev/null; then
      echo "Merge ref not found, PR may have been merged"
      if [ "${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST}" != "false" ]; then
        echo "Building head commit instead"
        git fetch origin +refs/pull/${TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST}/head:
      fi
    fi

- name: Checkout with fallback
  run: |
    git fetch origin +refs/pull/${{ github.event.number }}/merge: || \
    git fetch origin +refs/pull/${{ github.event.number }}/head:

git commit --allow-empty -m "Trigger CI rebuild"
   git push

# You can also use GitHub CLI to configure this
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection -X PUT \
  -F required_status_checks='{"strict":true,"contexts":["continuous-integration/travis-ci/pr"]}'

Advanced notes

# What Travis CI actually runs
git clone --depth=50 --branch=main https://github.com/user/repo.git
git fetch origin +refs/pull/123/merge:

# List all pull request refs
git ls-remote origin 'refs/pull/*'

# Check a specific PR
git ls-remote origin refs/pull/123/head refs/pull/123/merge

# In CI, log available refs
git fetch --dry-run origin '+refs/pull/*:refs/pull/*' 2>&1

Frequently asked questions

What does "The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited w" mean?

The "git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/X/merge: exited with 128" error indicates that Git failed with a fatal error (exit code 128) while trying to fetch a pull request merge reference from the remote repository. When CI/CD platforms like Travis CI, GitHub Actions, or Jenkins build pull requests, they fetch a special merge commit reference (refs/pull/X/merge) that represents the result of merging the PR branch into the base branch. This reference is temporary and managed by the Git hosting provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).

How do I fix "The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited w"?

The 'git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/X/merge exited with 128' error occurs in CI/CD pipelines when Git cannot find the pull request merge reference. This typically happens when a PR is merged or closed before the build completes.

What causes "The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited w"?

Pull request was merged before the CI build completed (most common) Pull request was closed or abandoned after build was triggered Force push to the PR branch invalidated the merge reference

Is the "The command git fetch --depth=50 origin +refs/pull/123/merge: exited w" error serious?

It is a medium-severity error — more of a blocker than a risk. The steps above resolve it.

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Official resources & further reading

• 📚Git Official Documentation
• 💬
  The command 'eval git fetch origin +refs/pull/7/merge:' failed - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 💬
  Error in Travis CI build - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 🐙
  The command eval git fetch origin +refs/pull/8/merge failed - Travis CI GitHub Issue(GitHub)
• 🐙
  Travis can't fetch refs - Travis CI GitHub Issue(GitHub)
• 📖
  Travis CI - Git Clone Depth Documentation(Official Docs)
• 📖
  git-fetch Documentation - Git(Official Docs)