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docs(workspace): compare the merge base with the full SHA (N2) #466

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Merged
d6g8k5htny-coder merged 5 commits into from
Oct 20, 2026
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docs(workspace): compare the merge base with the full SHA (N2) #466

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ee61698
docs(workspace): compare the merge base with the full SHA (N2)
claude Oct 20, 2026
75698a1
docs(workspace): rewrap the N2 paragraph
claude Oct 20, 2026
739d9f3
docs(workspace): finish rewrapping the N2 paragraph
claude Oct 20, 2026
8ba9bf2
docs(workspace): finish rewrapping the N2 paragraph (last line)
claude Oct 20, 2026
3dd0be2
Merge branch 'main' into claude/workspace-full-sha-n2-20261020
d6g8k5htny-coder Oct 20, 2026
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14 changes: 8 additions & 6 deletions docs/WORKSPACE.md
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Expand Up @@ -140,12 +140,14 @@ Where `--unshallow` is refused, deepen in steps with
`git rev-parse --is-shallow-repository` prints `false`, a "yes" from
`--is-ancestor` is reliable but a "no" is not.

The commit is in `main` exactly when that merge base equals `<sha>` (status
`ahead` or `identical`). A 404 alone proves nothing: GitHub also answers 404 for
a mistyped SHA, a missing branch or a repository the caller cannot see. Treat an
unexplained 404 as inconclusive. To establish unrelated history, use a complete
clone in which both commits resolve (`git cat-file -e <sha>^{commit}`) and
`git merge-base <sha> origin/main` prints nothing.
The commit is in `main` exactly when that merge base equals the full
40-character SHA of the commit (status `ahead` or `identical`). The API always
returns the full SHA, so compare it with `git rev-parse <sha>`: an abbreviated
`<sha>` never matches and would read as a false "not in `main`". A 404 alone
proves nothing: GitHub also answers 404 for a mistyped SHA, a missing branch or
a repository the caller cannot see. Treat an unexplained 404 as inconclusive. To
establish unrelated history, use a complete clone in which both commits resolve
(`git cat-file -e <sha>^{commit}`) and `git merge-base <sha> origin/main` prints nothing.

Ancestry shows only that a commit landed. Work carried onto `main` in a new
commit, such as a refresh, has a new SHA, so compare its blobs instead:
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