Branch won't export

[notsilverhoft]

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I am a student. I have a long term project I have been working on, and I use a mix of cloud, and physical development, meaning I usually use Codespaces, and my computer, and switch off during building, usually I just export to the main branch, but I fell asleep with Codespaces open, and drained the rest of my resources. I saw the option to export to a branch, but when pressing the create branch button, it turns grey, and and the loading sign stays there. I left it for an hour, and it had no change, I really need to get this project back.

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[Rocky-Dewan]

This seems like a bug in Codespaces' UI, especially if the button stays greyed out for so long.

Steps to try quickly:

• Try again after refreshing

To hard refresh the Codespaces page in your browser, press Ctrl + Shift + R or Cmd + Shift + R. Sometimes it's just a temporary problem.

• Export Manually Using the Terminal via Git bash

git checkout -b emergency-backup git push origin emergency-backup

You can force the creation of a branch through the terminal if the UI is stuck. This makes a new branch with your work and sends it.

• Directly Download Your Project
  In VS Code, go to the Files sidebar, right-click on your project folder, and choose Download. It will save a zip file to your computer.

If those don't work, get in touch with GitHub Support directly. They can help you get your workspace or resources back, especially since you're out of them.

[Rocky-Dewan]

1. Install & authenticate gh :

2. check
   gh --version

3. login
   gh auth login

If your org uses SAML/SSO you may need to re-authorize gh after login.

4. List your codespaces and note the NAME column:
   gh codespace list

Use that NAME in the next commands.
Copy the repository workspace from the codespace to a local folder:

type-1 (explicit codespace flag)
gh codespace cp -r --codespace "<CODESPACE_NAME>" "remote:/workspaces/<REPO_DIR>" ./codespace-recovery

or type-2 (common community example)
gh codespace cp -e -r "remote:/workspaces/<REPO_DIR>" ./codespace-recovery

Inspect & push:

cd codespace-recovery
# If there is a .git directory (the repo metadata came with it):
git status
git checkout -b emergency-backup
git add -A
git commit -m "Emergency backup from Codespace"
git push -u origin emergency-backup

# If there is NO .git (just files), initialize and push:
git init
git remote add origin git@github.com:<YOUR_USER>/<YOUR_REPO>.git   # or https URL
git add -A
git commit -m "Recovered files from Codespace"
git branch -M emergency-backup
git push -u origin emergency-backup

If git push asks for auth, gh auth login (HTTPS) or SSH keys will handle it.

[Rocky-Dewan]

Another Approach is :

1. List and pick the name:
   bash command
   gh codespace list
2. SSH in:
   gh codespace ssh -c "<CODESPACE_NAME>"
3. Inside the codespace shell, run the same git commands:
   git status git checkout -b emergency-backup git add -A git commit -m "Emergency backup from codespace" git push -u origin emergency-backup

[notsilverhoft]

gh codespace cp -r --codespace "FlashWASM" "remote:/workspaces/Flash-For-WASM" ./codespace-recovery
getting full codespace details: HTTP 404: Not Found (https://api.github.com/user/codespaces/FlashWASM?internal=true&refresh=true)

This happens for SSH too.

[Rocky-Dewan]

If that returns 404, it means one of these:

• The Codespace was deleted (e.g., timed out or manually deleted).
• The Codespace is owned by a different account or organization where your token has no access.
• You are not authenticated under the same GitHub account that created it.
• The name you used is not the full codespace name (e.g., FlashWASM instead of flashwasm-username-xxxxxx).

Step 1 : Check your login identity

Run:
gh auth status
You should see something like:

Logged in to github.com as <your-username>

If not logged in or it’s the wrong user:

gh auth logout
gh auth login

Choose GitHub.com, then HTTPS, then authenticate via your browser.

Step 2 — List all your active and stopped codespaces
gh codespace list

You’ll see a table like (Example):

NAME REPOSITORY STATE CREATED
flashwasm-rockydewan-9gh2 Rocky-Dewan/Flash-For-WASM Stopped 2025-10-22T17:00Z

IF:

• You see nothing → your Codespace was deleted.
• You see one but it’s stopped → restart it first.
• You see it but under another org → make sure you’re using the same GitHub account/org.

Step 3 Try to restart it

If the Codespace shows STATE = Stopped:

gh codespace start -c <NAME>

Example:

gh codespace start -c flashwasm-rockydewan-9gh2

Wait for it to start, then confirm:

gh codespace list
Now STATE should say Available.

Step 4 : Access it (SSH or copy files)

Option A: SSH directly in
gh codespace ssh -c flashwasm-rockydewan-9gh2
You should now get a shell inside the Codespace.

Then run:

git status
git checkout -b emergency-backup
git add -A
git commit -m "Emergency backup from Codespace"
git push -u origin emergency-backup

Option B: Copy files to your computer
gh codespace cp -r --codespace flashwasm-rockydewan-9gh2 "remote:/workspaces/Flash-For-WASM" ./codespace-recovery

Step 5 : If gh codespace list shows nothing

Then unfortunately the Codespace VM and filesystem are gone.

At that point:

1. Go to
   — verify if the Codespace is listed there.
2. If not listed : it was deleted (either timed out or removed automatically after resource exhaustion).

• GitHub does not retain deleted Codespace files.
• You can only recover what was previously committed or pushed to your repo.

You can still check your repo’s commits:

git log --oneline

Or via GitHub UI → Branches → see if any autosave/export branch exists (like codespace-rockydewan-flashwasm-XXXX).

Step 6 : Contact GitHub Support (optional)

If this was a major loss and you suspect the Codespace shouldn’t have been deleted:

1. Go to: https://support.github.com/contact

2. Choose Codespaces → I lost files or access

3. Include:

• Repo name
  

• Approximate time last active
  

• Codespace name (FlashWASM)
  

• Screenshot or URL if possible
  

• Mention: “gh codespace cp returns 404”
  

GitHub Support can confirm if the Codespace was auto-deleted and whether any backups exist.

[notsilverhoft]

I asked them and they said to wait till the next period or put a small allowance on the budget, I added a dollar just to get in, and I am still not allowed access.