Do Not Fall Back to Git for JJ Issues

VCS-DO-NOT-FALL-BACK-TO-GIT-FOR-JJ-ISSUES

Summary

Diagnose jj locks, pager issues, and state problems through jj before switching tools. Git bypasses jj change-graph semantics, so use it only for transport after jj state is coherent.

Rule

Do not switch to Git because a jj command hits a transient lock or sandbox issue.

Why

In a jj repo, Git does not represent the full working-copy and change graph semantics. Switching to Git because of a jj lock, pager, or sandbox issue can bypass jj state and make recovery harder.

Helps

Keeps jj as the source of truth and avoids mixed-tool corruption or confusion.

Limits

Use Git for transport-level operations that the workflow requires, such as GitHub interop, after jj state is coherent. Do not use Git as a substitute for jj recovery.

Agent Instruction

Stay in jj for transient jj lock or sandbox issues; Git does not represent the full jj change graph.

Mechanisms

Supported by retrying after lock inspection, jj op log, jj st, jj git subcommands, and reading jj help or config before switching tools.