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[bug] Repository sync silently succeeds but indexed content is stale after branch rename/deletion #1025
After renaming or deleting a branch on the remote (GitHub/GitLab), Sourcebot's
next sync cycle completes without any errors in the logs, but the old branch
name continues to appear in the code search UI and the file explorer. The stale
branch remains fully searchable and navigable as if it still exists, with no
indication to the user that it has been removed upstream.
This is different from #248 (token rotation not reflected in cached remotes) —
here authentication is fine, the sync job runs successfully, but the
branch-level index is not pruned after a remote ref disappears.
Logs: Backend logs during the affected sync cycle (no errors shown despite stale
branch remaining):
Deploy Sourcebot via docker compose up with a GitHub connection indexing
at least one repo that has multiple branches configured.
Confirm the branch (e.g. feature/old-name) is visible and searchable in
the Sourcebot UI.
On GitHub/GitLab, rename or delete that branch.
Wait for the next sync cycle to complete (or trigger a manual re-index).
Observe the logs — sync completes with no errors.
Return to the Sourcebot UI and search for content that only exists on the
deleted/renamed branch.
Sourcebot deployment information
Sourcebot version (e.g. v3.0.1): latest (v4.10.30)
Additional information
The issue persists across container restarts — the stale branch is still
indexed after a full restart of the stack.
Workaround: manually deleting the Zoekt index data under the /data/.sourcebot volume and allowing a full re-index clears the stale
branch, but this is disruptive for large repos.
This may be related to how git fetch is called during sync — if --prune is not passed, deleted remote refs are not removed from the
local clone's ref list, and Zoekt re-indexes whatever refs it finds locally.
Activity
aryansaxena1210 commentedon Aug 20, 2026
Hi @Akhilesh29 @brendan-kellam - please let me know if this issue is still up for grabs!