What causes GIT_COMMIT_REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND?

The branch configured in the job definition was deleted or renamed after a merge. A specific commit SHA was pinned in the job and a force-push rewrote that part of history. A tag was deleted from the remote repository after the job was configured

How do I fix GIT_COMMIT_REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND?

Step 1: Open the Workflows job definition and check the Git source branch or tag.. Step 2: Confirm the branch still exists in the remote provider; re-create or rename it if needed.. Step 3: If using a pinned commit SHA, update the job to reference a living branch instead.. Step 4: Re-run the job manually after updating the reference to confirm resolution.

High severityconfiguration

Power BI Refresh Error:
GIT_COMMIT_REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND

What does this error mean?

A Databricks Workflows job or Repos checkout fails because the specified branch, tag, or commit SHA no longer exists in the remote Git repository.

Common causes

1The branch configured in the job definition was deleted or renamed after a merge
2A specific commit SHA was pinned in the job and a force-push rewrote that part of history
3A tag was deleted from the remote repository after the job was configured

How to fix it

1Step 1: Open the Workflows job definition and check the Git source branch or tag.
2Step 2: Confirm the branch still exists in the remote provider; re-create or rename it if needed.
3Step 3: If using a pinned commit SHA, update the job to reference a living branch instead.
4Step 4: Re-run the job manually after updating the reference to confirm resolution.

Frequently asked questions

Why does this only break after a branch merge?

Many teams delete feature branches after merging. If the Databricks job was pointed at that branch and not updated to main or the release branch, the next run will fail with this error.

Is it safer to pin a branch or a commit SHA?

Pinning a branch is more resilient for recurring jobs because it always resolves to the latest commit. Commit SHAs are safer for reproducibility but require manual updates after each deploy.