commit - e560b7e0e2efbbf43870b8d112d4279ca7df5535
commit + bd5895f3726fd0edc272b4c44727f60b5a5132c9
blob - ef77dfcd0650f8cb98621ee08d6b464d4f080d0d
blob + 5541936d50a60c79cffb25e28117f4814c40512a
--- got/got.c
+++ got/got.c
@@ -655,12 +655,12 @@ cmd_import(int argc, char *argv[])
 		return error;
 
 	/*
-	 * Don't let the user create a branch named '-'.
+	 * Don't let the user create a branch name with a leading '-'.
 	 * While technically a valid reference name, this case is usually
 	 * an unintended typo.
 	 */
-	if (branch_name[0] == '-' && branch_name[1] == '\0')
-		return got_error_path(branch_name, GOT_ERR_BAD_REF_NAME);
+	if (branch_name[0] == '-')
+		return got_error_path(branch_name, GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS);
 
 	if (asprintf(&refname, "refs/heads/%s", branch_name) == -1) {
 		error = got_error_from_errno("asprintf");
@@ -3096,12 +3096,12 @@ add_ref(struct got_repository *repo, const char *refna
 	struct got_reference *ref = NULL;
 
 	/*
-	 * Don't let the user create a reference named '-'.
+	 * Don't let the user create a reference name with a leading '-'.
 	 * While technically a valid reference name, this case is usually
 	 * an unintended typo.
 	 */
-	if (refname[0] == '-' && refname[1] == '\0')
-		return got_error_path(refname, GOT_ERR_BAD_REF_NAME);
+	if (refname[0] == '-')
+		return got_error_path(refname, GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS);
 
 	err = got_repo_match_object_id_prefix(&id, target, GOT_OBJ_TYPE_ANY,
 	    repo);
@@ -3139,12 +3139,12 @@ add_symref(struct got_repository *repo, const char *re
 	struct got_reference *target_ref = NULL;
 
 	/*
-	 * Don't let the user create a reference named '-'.
+	 * Don't let the user create a reference name with a leading '-'.
 	 * While technically a valid reference name, this case is usually
 	 * an unintended typo.
 	 */
-	if (refname[0] == '-' && refname[1] == '\0')
-		return got_error_path(refname, GOT_ERR_BAD_REF_NAME);
+	if (refname[0] == '-')
+		return got_error_path(refname, GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS);
 
 	err = got_ref_open(&target_ref, repo, target, 0);
 	if (err)
@@ -3430,12 +3430,12 @@ add_branch(struct got_repository *repo, const char *br
 	char *base_refname = NULL, *refname = NULL;
 
 	/*
-	 * Don't let the user create a branch named '-'.
+	 * Don't let the user create a branch name with a leading '-'.
 	 * While technically a valid reference name, this case is usually
 	 * an unintended typo.
 	 */
-	if (branch_name[0] == '-' && branch_name[1] == '\0')
-		return got_error_path(branch_name, GOT_ERR_BAD_REF_NAME);
+	if (branch_name[0] == '-')
+		return got_error_path(branch_name, GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS);
 
 	if (asprintf(&refname, "refs/heads/%s", branch_name) == -1) {
 		 err = got_error_from_errno("asprintf");
@@ -3849,12 +3849,12 @@ add_tag(struct got_repository *repo, const char *tag_n
 	int preserve_tagmsg = 0;
 
 	/*
-	 * Don't let the user create a tag named '-'.
+	 * Don't let the user create a tag name with a leading '-'.
 	 * While technically a valid reference name, this case is usually
 	 * an unintended typo.
 	 */
-	if (tag_name[0] == '-' && tag_name[1] == '\0')
-		return got_error_path(tag_name, GOT_ERR_BAD_REF_NAME);
+	if (tag_name[0] == '-')
+		return got_error_path(tag_name, GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS);
 
 	err = get_author(&tagger, repo);
 	if (err)
blob - 4e252ffbac5584645f2d0ce7bd4ba2688825f65d
blob + e2e96e4065e6d735452b5a23c4eb1ad179abfa67
--- include/got_error.h
+++ include/got_error.h
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@
 #define GOT_ERR_GIT_REPO_FORMAT	110
 #define GOT_ERR_REBASE_REQUIRED	111
 #define GOT_ERR_REGEX		112
+#define GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS	113
 
 static const struct got_error {
 	int code;
@@ -258,6 +259,7 @@ static const struct got_error {
 	{ GOT_ERR_GIT_REPO_FORMAT,"unknown git repository format version" },
 	{ GOT_ERR_REBASE_REQUIRED,"specified branch must be rebased first" },
 	{ GOT_ERR_REGEX, "regular expression error" },
+	{ GOT_ERR_REF_NAME_MINUS, "reference name may not start with '-'" },
 };
 
 /*