fix(init): don't recreate projects linked without git by domitriusclark · Pull Request #8646 · netlify/cli

domitriusclark · 2026-10-21T07:26:52Z

Summary

Problem: Rerunning netlify init in a folder linked to a project with no git remote asks "create a Netlify project without a git repository?" again, and answering yes creates a second project and relinks the folder. Agents rerun init often, and projects started from netlify.ai usually have no git, so this hits the main setup path.

Approach:

Linked, no git remote: init prints the project name and URL, netlify deploy as the next step, and how to switch projects (netlify unlink, then netlify init), then exits without prompting.
Linked, remote can't be read (unknown --git-remote-name, unparseable URL): same exit, after a warning with the reason. Credentials in the remote URL are redacted.
Linked project returns 403 or 404: init warns, sends sites_unlinked, and runs the normal create/link flow, ignoring the old link for this run. .netlify/state.json changes only when a new project is saved, so aborting keeps the old id.
Any other error loading the linked project: init stops with the project id and status instead of continuing, so a brief outage can't lead to a duplicate project.
Unchanged: a linked project with no repo still goes on to repo setup once a remote exists, a linked project with a repo still prints "This project has been initialized", and prompts for new folders are the same.

Supporting changes: getRepoData errors now carry a reason (no-remote, unknown-remote, invalid-url, unreadable) and it looks for .git before reading the git config. BaseCommand.refreshAccounts is public, so the create flow can load teams after config falls back offline for a missing project.

Tests: npm exec vitest -- run tests/integration/commands/init/init.test.ts: 17 passed, 8 of them new: rerun after a manual create, linked project plus new remote, unreadable remote, 403, 404, 500, and a deleted project with a git remote for both create and connect. The rerun and stale-id tests fail on main. tests/unit/utils/get-repo-data.test.ts: 9 passed, including credential redaction. typecheck, lint, format:check and docs are clean.

Risk: init makes one extra getSite call when config resolved the site offline. If a deleted project's id comes from NETLIFY_SITE_ID rather than state.json, the warning still blames the folder's link, and the next run offers to create another project. Left as is because it's an unlikely setup.

Rollback: revert this PR.

Update or add tests
Make sure the status checks below are successful

Rerunning init in a folder linked to a site with no repo and no git remote created a second site. Treat it as done, and ignore a linked site that returns 404 so the normal create/link flow runs.

coderabbitai · 2026-10-21T07:27:25Z

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Summary

Summary by CodeRabbit

New Features
- Initialization now checks linked project details before inspecting Git remotes, reusing or configuring an existing project when possible.
- If a linked project has no usable repository URL and no Git remote is found, initialization reports the linked project and exits.
Bug Fixes
- Handles inaccessible or deleted linked projects by clearing the stale link and continuing when possible; other lookup errors are reported.
- Git repository errors now distinguish missing or unknown remotes, invalid URLs, and unreadable data. Invalid-URL errors redact credentials.

The init command now resolves linked-site information before checking repository data. It handles inaccessible or missing linked sites, and reports linked-project instructions when Git metadata is unavailable. Repository lookup returns structured errors for missing or unknown remotes, invalid URLs, and unreadable data. Invalid-URL messages redact credentials. Tests cover linked-project reruns, stale links, Git-backed initialization, and API errors.

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

Change: Bug fix

Suggested reviewers: serhalp

Merge Risk: Minimal · previous review 67800

The change is ready to merge after normal checks; no actionable issue remains.

Security architecture risk: Low · up to fc0c9

The change reduces unintended project creation without demonstrating new privilege exposure. One recovery path remains inconsistent: choosing an existing project after a stale link is detected can retain the deleted project identity instead of establishing a replacement link.

Retained concerns

Low · reliability · inferred: The new stale-link recovery invalidates only init's local linkedSiteInfo value, leaving command.netlify.siteInfo populated. With a Git remote, choosing to connect an existing project invokes link, which treats the stale object as an existing link and returns it without project selection. Init then persists and configures that deleted identity. The newly offered recovery transition therefore does not establish consistent project identity across components.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

inferred — The changed flow affects the current working directory's project binding and project operations available through the current API client. The inspected change introduces no new credential source or broader account authority; remote authorization remains dependent on the service.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

observed — Init authenticates before resolving linked metadata. The newly reachable account refresh calls listAccountsForUser without accepting a caller-supplied identity. Project creation selects a team from the available account collection and submits that team's slug through the API.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

observed — The recovery caller refreshes accounts only when the collection is empty. Refresh failure leaves it empty, and team resolution rejects an empty collection before project creation. This bounds the refresh-failure path without granting fallback authority.

Pre-merge checks: 4

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check		The title clearly identifies the main change: preventing project recreation when init reruns for a project linked without Git.
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Description check		The description states the problem (rerunning `netlify init` in a folder linked to a project without a git remote re-prompts for creation and can create a duplicate project), the approach for each lin…

Full details: Description check

Explanation

The description states the problem (rerunning netlify init in a folder linked to a project without a git remote re-prompts for creation and can create a duplicate project), the approach for each linked-project case, the supporting changes to getRepoData and BaseCommand.refreshAccounts, the tests run, and the risks and rollback. It is specific and directly matches the changeset in init.ts, get-repo-data.ts, base-command.ts, and the init tests, so the check passes.

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between `3a23cde` and `6780088`.

Files selected for processing: 5

`eslint-suppressions.json`

`src/commands/init/init.ts`

`src/utils/get-repo-data.ts`

`tests/integration/commands/init/init.test.ts`

`tests/unit/utils/get-repo-data.test.ts`

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github-actions · 2026-10-21T07:28:07Z

📊 Benchmark results

Comparing with bab9b28

Dependency count: 969 (no change)
Package size: 360 MB (no change)
Number of ts-expect-error directives: 281 (no change)

pkg-pr-new · 2026-10-21T07:28:58Z

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npm i https://pkg.pr.new/netlify-cli@8646

commit: 2fd9e5b

seancdavis · 2026-10-22T10:10:23Z

+    return (await api.getSite({ siteId: siteInfo.id })) as unknown as SiteInfo
+  } catch (error_) {
+    if ((error_ as APIError).status === 404) {
+      warn(`The Netlify project ${siteInfo.id} linked to this folder no longer exists. Continuing without it.`)


[blocking] After this warning, command.netlify.siteInfo and the linked siteId still point at the deleted project, so the rest of init doesn't actually continue without it.

With a git remote, picking "Connect this directory to an existing Netlify project" lands in link(), which sees a non-empty siteInfo, prints Project already linked to "undefined" and hands back the deleted { id }. init saves that id again and runs configureRepo against it. Creating a new project gets through, but the link() call inside sitesCreate prints the same already linked to "undefined" line. The stale-id test hits that too, it just doesn't check for it.

Fixed in 3a23cde. On a 403 or 404, init now removes siteId from .netlify/state.json, clears command.siteId and resets siteInfo to {}, so link() and sitesCreate see an unlinked folder. The stale-id tests now assert no "already linked" line and that the saved id is the new project's. A new test covers a git remote plus create-new; it PATCHes only the new site.

The connect-existing test can't drive link()'s prompt without a TTY, so it stops at the non-interactive link error. It still shows there is no "already linked" line and that siteId is cleared. On the previous commit it hangs.

On a 403 this deletes siteId from a state.json a teammate may have committed. Creating or linking a project overwrites that value anyway.

seancdavis · 2026-10-22T10:10:23Z

+      }
+      return undefined
+    }
+    throw error_


[consider] Anything other than a 404 here now ends init with the raw API error, where before it carried on with the bare { id }. Intended? It's not in the description and no test reaches it.

Intended, and changed in c1211a7. A 403 now continues like a 404, with its own warning. Any other error stops init with the project id and status rather than continuing, so a transient 5xx can't lead to a duplicate create. The 500 test checks the error and that nothing is created.

seancdavis · 2026-10-22T10:10:23Z

  // Look for local repo
  const repoData = await getRepoData({ workingDir: command.workingDir, remoteName: options.gitRemoteName })
  if ('error' in repoData) {
+    if (linkedSiteInfo) {


[consider] Every getRepoData error ends up here, not only a missing remote. A --git-remote-name that doesn't exist, or a remote URL that won't parse, gets "already linked, run deploy" with nothing about the remote.

Fixed in 3a23cde. If the remote can't be read, a linked folder now prints the remote error and how to fix it before the "already linked" message. A new test uses --git-remote-name upstream.

I kept this exit rather than main's path, because on main these errors reach the "create without git" prompt, which is how the duplicate happens. This also fixed a no-git folder reporting "no gitconfig to be found": getRepoData now looks for .git before reading the git config.

seancdavis · 2026-10-22T10:10:24Z

+        t.expect(second.stdout).not.toContain(NO_GIT_PROMPT)
+        t.expect(second.stdout).toContain('This folder is already linked to the Netlify project test-site-name')
+        t.expect(second.stdout).toContain('https://test-site-name.netlify.app/')
+        t.expect(second.stdout).toContain('deploy')


[nit] Almost any output contains deploy. customizeExitMessage on the new exit path isn't covered either.

Fixed in 3a23cde. The rerun test now asserts the full deploy line and the unlink hint.

I removed customizeExitMessage from this exit rather than test it. Its only caller, netlify dev, calls init only when no project is linked, so it can't reach this path. I'll restore it with a test if you'd rather keep it.

A 403 now continues like a 404. Other errors stop init with the project id and status instead of risking a duplicate create on a transient failure. The linked-folder message also says how to switch projects.

A 403 or 404 linked project is now removed from state and memory, so link and create treat the folder as unlinked. A linked folder whose git remote can't be read reports the remote error instead of only deploy.

seancdavis

Some comments for consideration. Take a look and I'll approve if you don't want to adjust anything.

seancdavis · 2026-10-23T14:07:09Z


+const logLinkedWithoutGitAndExit = ({ siteInfo, repoError }: { siteInfo: SiteInfo; repoError: string }): never => {
+  if (repoError !== NO_GIT_REMOTE_ERROR) {
+    warn(`Could not read the git remote: ${repoError}`)


[consider] When the remote URL doesn't parse, repoError carries the whole URL from .git/config, so any credentials in it land in the terminal or a CI log. Main never printed this error.

Fixed in 6780088. getRepoData now strips anything before @ in the URL, so the error shows https://***@.... The fix is in getRepoData itself, so any caller that prints the error gets it too. A unit test covers a URL with a password.

seancdavis · 2026-10-23T14:07:09Z

+      )
+    }
+    warn(unusableLinkWarning)
+    command.netlify.state.delete('siteId')


[consider] On a 403 this removes the saved link before anything's been asked, so Ctrl+C at the next prompt leaves a teammate's committed siteId gone.

Fixed in 6780088. init no longer deletes siteId from state.json. It ignores the linked project for this run only, and the file changes only when a new project is linked or created. Ctrl+C now leaves the teammate's siteId in place. The connect-existing test now checks that an aborted run keeps the old id.

seancdavis · 2026-10-23T14:07:09Z

+    }
+    warn(unusableLinkWarning)
+    command.netlify.state.delete('siteId')
+    command.siteId = undefined


[consider] The unlink command sends sites_unlinked when it drops siteId. This path doesn't, so these unlinks won't show up there.

Fixed in 6780088. init now sends sites_unlinked with kind: 'init' and reason: 'forbidden' or 'not_found' when it stops using the link. It's sent when init drops the link for the run, so an aborted run still counts, even though state.json keeps the id.

seancdavis · 2026-10-23T14:07:09Z

+
+  test('netlify init ignores a linked project that no longer exists', async (t) => {
+    await withSiteBuilder(t, async (builder) => {
+      await builder.withStateFile({ siteId: 'deleted_site_id' }).build()


[nit] These 404s come from the mock API's fallback for an unknown route, not a declared response like the 403 and 500 tests have.

Fixed in 6780088. The deleted-project tests now declare sites/deleted_site_id as a 404 route, the same way the 403 and 500 tests do.

seancdavis · 2026-10-23T14:07:09Z

 }

+const logLinkedWithoutGitAndExit = ({ siteInfo, repoError }: { siteInfo: SiteInfo; repoError: string }): never => {
+  if (repoError !== NO_GIT_REMOTE_ERROR) {


[nit] This tells "no remote" apart from the other errors by matching the message text.

Fixed in 6780088. getRepoData errors now carry a reason (no-remote, unknown-remote, invalid-url or unreadable), and init checks reason !== 'no-remote' instead of the message.

An unusable linked project is now ignored for the run instead of deleted from state.json, so aborting keeps it, and init reports sites_unlinked. getRepoData returns a reason code and hides URL credentials in its error.

seancdavis

The description still only covers the first commit. Worth a refresh before merge.

seancdavis · 2026-10-27T15:08:43Z

+    }
+    warn(unusableLink.warning)
+    await track('sites_unlinked', { siteId: siteInfo.id, kind: 'init', reason: unusableLink.reason })
+    ignoreLinkedSiteForThisRun(command)


[consider] When the dead id comes from NETLIFY_SITE_ID, this still says the folder's link is the problem, and picking create saves the new project over whatever state.json had.

LocalState.get('siteId') returns the env var ahead of state.json, so the next run resolves the dead id again and offers to create another one.

seancdavis · 2026-10-27T15:08:43Z

+      `${netlifyCommand()} unlink`,
+    )}, then ${chalk.cyanBright.bold(`${netlifyCommand()} init`)}.`,
+  )
+  return exit()


[nit] This exits 0 even when the remote couldn't be read, so an agent running init --git-remote-name upstream sees success and moves on without the repo connected.

seancdavis · 2026-10-27T15:08:43Z

+  return exit()
+}
+
+const ignoreLinkedSiteForThisRun = (command: BaseCommand): void => {


[nit] This rebuilds BaseCommand's site object by hand, so anything added to site there later won't show up here. The id setter isn't called anywhere on these paths either.

…-no-git

fix(init): don't recreate projects linked without git

fc0c90a

Rerunning init in a folder linked to a site with no repo and no git remote created a second site. Treat it as done, and ignore a linked site that returns 404 so the normal create/link flow runs.

domitriusclark requested a review from a team as a code owner October 21, 2026 07:26

seancdavis requested changes Oct 22, 2026

View reviewed changes

domitriusclark added 2 commits October 22, 2026 13:23

fix(init): stop on linked project load errors

c1211a7

A 403 now continues like a 404. Other errors stop init with the project id and status instead of risking a duplicate create on a transient failure. The linked-folder message also says how to switch projects.

fix(init): unlink unusable projects, report bad remotes

3a23cde

A 403 or 404 linked project is now removed from state and memory, so link and create treat the folder as unlinked. A linked folder whose git remote can't be read reports the remote error instead of only deploy.

domitriusclark requested a review from seancdavis October 22, 2026 18:43

domitriusclark mentioned this pull request Oct 22, 2026

feat(init): set up the Netlify MCP server for the project #8638

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4 of 5 tasks

seancdavis reviewed Oct 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

fix(init): keep link until replaced, redact remotes

6780088

An unusable linked project is now ignored for the run instead of deleted from state.json, so aborting keeps it, and init reports sites_unlinked. getRepoData returns a reason code and hides URL credentials in its error.

seancdavis approved these changes Oct 27, 2026

View reviewed changes

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into fix/init-rerun-linked…

2fd9e5b

…-no-git

domitriusclark merged commit d0bd793 into main Nov 4, 2026
37 checks passed

domitriusclark deleted the fix/init-rerun-linked-no-git branch November 4, 2026 18:14

token-generator-app Bot mentioned this pull request Nov 4, 2026

chore(main): release 27.16.3 #10171

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