Overview

When adding a Git repository branch for Supply Chain Security scanning, Aqua may reject the branch name as invalid. Branch names that include unsupported special characters cannot be registered. This article lists supported characters and how to rename branches for compatibility with Aqua and CI/CD integrations.


Symptoms

  • Error or invalid response when adding a branch in Supply Chain Security
  • Branch exists in the Git provider but cannot be selected or saved in Aqua
  • Pipeline blocked from scanning a production branch until the branch is registered

Cause

Branch names are validated for compatibility across Aqua services and CI/CD pipelines. Certain characters that are valid in some Git workflows are not supported in Aqua branch registration.

A common failure is the ampersand (&) character in the branch name.


Supported Characters

Use only the following in branch names intended for Aqua Supply Chain Security:


CategoryCharacters
Lettersa-z, A-Z
Numbers0-9
Hyphen-
Underscore_
Period.
Path separator/ (for grouping, e.g. feature/my-branch)


Not supported (example): & in branch names such as release&hotfix.

Resolution

  • Rename the branch in your Git provider to an equivalent name using only supported characters (for example, replace & with - or _).
  • Update CI/CD references (pipeline triggers, protection rules) to the new branch name.
  • Add the renamed branch in Aqua Supply Chain Security and run the scan.
  • Confirm scan completion and policy results on the new branch.

Verification

  • Branch saves successfully in the Aqua Supply Chain Security UI without an invalid-name error.
  • A scan run completes for the renamed branch.
  • Build and deployment pipelines reference the updated branch name.

Best Practices

  • Avoid special characters beyond the supported set when naming branches that will be scanned by Aqua.
  • Prefer feature/, release/, or hotfix/ path-style names instead of punctuation-heavy labels.
  • Document branch naming standards for teams that connect repositories to Aqua.

Platform Coverage

  • Component: Supply Chain Security (repository/branch integration)
  • Platform: Aqua SaaS and self-hosted (branch validation is consistent)