Coding⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-30

How to Fix: Bitbucket Pipeline fails with "fatal: Not a valid object name HEAD"

Bitbucket Pipeline fails with "fatal: Not a valid object name HEAD". Solution involves configuring Git LFS properly.

Quick Answer: Add `--lfs` flag to `git ls-files` command in your script.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 💡 Why You Are Getting This Error
  2. ✅ Best Solutions to Fix It
  3. ✨ Wrapping Up

The issue you're encountering in Bitbucket Pipelines is caused by the fact that git-lfs doesn't allow for dynamic reference resolution. When a script generates a runtime file, it creates a new object each time it's referenced, which can lead to issues when trying to resolve references.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • [Cause]

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Method 1: Disable LFS for Runtime Files

  1. Step 1: Update your .gitattributes to exclude runtime files from LFS, e.g. *.runtime filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text

Method 2: Use a Fixed Reference for Runtime Files

  1. Step 1: Update your script to use a fixed reference for runtime files, e.g. git lfs add --include=.runtime

✨ Wrapping Up

By implementing one of these solutions, you should be able to resolve the issue and get your automated build steps working smoothly in Bitbucket Pipelines.

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