Fix tag handling: preserve annotations and explicit fetch-tags by ericsciple · Pull Request #2356 · actions/checkout

ericsciple · 2026-01-08T20:01:27Z

Summary

Fixes multiple issues with tag handling in the checkout action.

Issues Fixed

1. `fetch-tags: true` doesn't fetch tags (#1471)

Previously, when using fetch-tags: true on a branch checkout, tags were not actually fetched. Now tags are properly included in the fetch refspec.

2. Annotated tags converted to lightweight (#290)

When checking out an annotated tag, the tag annotation was lost because the action fetched by commit hash rather than by tag reference. Now tags are fetched via explicit refspec (+refs/tags/*:refs/tags/*), which fetches the actual tag objects and preserves annotations.

3. Fatal error with tag + `fetch-tags: true` (#1467)

Checking out a tag with fetch-tags: true caused a fatal error due to duplicate refspecs. Now only the wildcard refspec is used (the specific tag is redundant when fetching all tags).

Testing

Unit Tests

Added new unit tests.

E2E Tests

Scenario	Result
Tag + fetch-tags: true	✅ Pass
Tag + fetch-tags: false	✅ Pass
Branch + fetch-tags: true	✅ Pass
Branch + fetch-tags: false	✅ Pass
Shallow clone + tags	✅ Pass
Full clone + tags	✅ Pass
Cross-platform (Ubuntu, Windows, macOS)	✅ Pass
Annotated tag moved after trigger	✅ Fails with clear error
Lightweight tag moved after trigger	✅ Fails with clear error

Copilot

Pull request overview

This pull request fixes multiple tag handling issues in the checkout action by changing how tags are fetched and verified.

Tags are now fetched by reference (not commit hash) to preserve annotations
The fetch-tags option now properly controls tag fetching via explicit refspecs
Added validation to detect when tags have been moved after workflow trigger (for shallow fetches)

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/ref-helper.ts	Modified `getRefSpec` to accept `fetchTags` parameter and fetch tags by ref instead of commit; updated `testRef` to use `^{commit}` for annotated tag dereferencing
src/git-source-provider.ts	Removed `fetchTags` from fetch options (now in refspec); added tag movement validation for shallow fetches
src/git-command-manager.ts	Removed `fetchTags` option from fetch method; always use `--no-tags` with explicit tag control via refspecs
test/ref-helper.test.ts	Added comprehensive tests for new `fetchTags` parameter behavior
test/git-command-manager.test.ts	Updated tests to reflect new fetch behavior with `--no-tags` always present
test/verify-fetch-tags.sh	New script to verify tags are properly fetched in E2E tests
.github/workflows/test.yml	Added E2E test for `fetch-tags: true` functionality
dist/index.js	Compiled changes matching source modifications

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This PR fixes several issues with tag handling in the checkout action: 1. fetch-tags: true now works (fixes #1471) - Tags refspec is now included in getRefSpec() when fetchTags=true - Previously tags were only fetched during a separate fetch that was overwritten by the main fetch 2. Tag checkout preserves annotations (fixes #290) - Tags are fetched via refspec (+refs/tags/*:refs/tags/*) instead of --tags flag - This fetches the actual tag objects, preserving annotations 3. Tag checkout with fetch-tags: true no longer fails (fixes #1467) - When checking out a tag with fetchTags=true, only the wildcard refspec is used (specific tag refspec is redundant) Changes: - src/ref-helper.ts: getRefSpec() now accepts fetchTags parameter and prepends tags refspec when true - src/git-command-manager.ts: fetch() simplified to always use --no-tags, tags are fetched explicitly via refspec - src/git-source-provider.ts: passes fetchTags to getRefSpec() - Added E2E test for fetch-tags option Related #1471, #1467, #290

ben-manes · 2026-01-11T20:59:51Z

@ericsciple This is fixed in v6.0.2 but that is marked as a pre-release. Was that a mistake and, if not, why not mark it as -beta? This is causing action updates tools to skip/flag it, so I wanted to make sure you were aware of that release marker.

ericsciple · 2026-01-22T16:46:09Z

@ben-manes thanks! I just now removed the pre-release flag (I had originally planned to remove it sooner).

I will watch for issues, then bump the v6 tag to match next week.

This PR contains the following updates: | Package | Type | Update | Change | |---|---|---|---| | [actions/checkout](https://github.com/actions/checkout) | action | patch | `v6.0.1` → `v6.0.2` | --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>actions/checkout (actions/checkout)</summary> ### [`v6.0.2`](https://github.com/actions/checkout/blob/HEAD/CHANGELOG.md#v602) [Compare Source](actions/checkout@v6.0.1...v6.0.2) - Fix tag handling: preserve annotations and explicit fetch-tags by [@ericsciple](https://github.com/ericsciple) in [#2356](actions/checkout#2356) </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: Branch creation - At any time (no schedule defined), Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined). 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR is behind base branch, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box --- This PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).  Reviewed-on: https://git.tainton.uk/luke/instant-msg-api/pulls/238 Reviewed-by: Luke Tainton <luke@tainton.uk> Co-authored-by: renovate[bot] <renovate-bot@git.tainton.uk> Co-committed-by: renovate[bot] <renovate-bot@git.tainton.uk>

This PR contains the following updates: | Package | Type | Update | Change | |---|---|---|---| | [actions/checkout](https://github.com/actions/checkout) | action | patch | `v6.0.1` → `v6.0.2` | --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>actions/checkout (actions/checkout)</summary> ### [`v6.0.2`](https://github.com/actions/checkout/blob/HEAD/CHANGELOG.md#v602) [Compare Source](actions/checkout@v6.0.1...v6.0.2) - Fix tag handling: preserve annotations and explicit fetch-tags by [@ericsciple](https://github.com/ericsciple) in [#2356](actions/checkout#2356) </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: Branch creation - At any time (no schedule defined), Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined). 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever PR is behind base branch, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this PR, check this box --- This PR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).  Reviewed-on: https://git.tainton.uk/actions/gha-workflows/pulls/58 Co-authored-by: renovate[bot] <renovate-bot@git.tainton.uk> Co-committed-by: renovate[bot] <renovate-bot@git.tainton.uk>

shanta4100

Thank you

ericsciple force-pushed the users/erisciple/26-01-tags branch 7 times, most recently from f12cf15 to a70240b Compare January 8, 2026 23:59

ericsciple commented Jan 9, 2026

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ericsciple force-pushed the users/erisciple/26-01-tags branch from a70240b to 849c4d7 Compare January 9, 2026 00:26

ericsciple commented Jan 9, 2026

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Comment thread src/git-source-provider.ts

ericsciple marked this pull request as ready for review January 9, 2026 00:28

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ericsciple force-pushed the users/erisciple/26-01-tags branch from 849c4d7 to dc12339 Compare January 9, 2026 01:45

TingluoHuang reviewed Jan 9, 2026

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ericsciple merged commit de0fac2 into main Jan 9, 2026
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ericsciple deleted the users/erisciple/26-01-tags branch January 9, 2026 19:42

This was referenced Jan 9, 2026

fetch-tags: true doesn't actually fetch any tags #1471

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Preserve tag annotations #290

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Can't fetch with fetch-tags when triggered by tag #1467

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chore(deps): update actions/checkout action to v6.0.3 koki-develop/koki.me#11

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Fix tag handling: preserve annotations and explicit fetch-tags#2356

Fix tag handling: preserve annotations and explicit fetch-tags#2356
ericsciple merged 1 commit into
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ericsciple commented Jan 8, 2026 •

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ericsciple commented Jan 8, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Summary

Issues Fixed

1. fetch-tags: true doesn't fetch tags (#1471)

2. Annotated tags converted to lightweight (#290)

3. Fatal error with tag + fetch-tags: true (#1467)

Testing

Unit Tests

E2E Tests

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Pull request overview

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ben-manes commented Jan 11, 2026

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ericsciple commented Jan 8, 2026 •

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1. `fetch-tags: true` doesn't fetch tags (#1471)

3. Fatal error with tag + `fetch-tags: true` (#1467)