diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5db0582..d9f5dfa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          # Fetch tags and refs to get full history including force-pushed commits
+          fetch-tags: true
 
       - name: Set up Python
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
@@ -83,6 +85,13 @@ jobs:
             echo "First push -- linting HEAD commit only"
             python lint_local.py --last 1 --model qwen2.5:0.5b
           else
-            echo "Linting commits ${BEFORE:0:8}..${AFTER:0:8}"
-            python lint_local.py --range "${BEFORE}..${AFTER}" --model qwen2.5:0.5b
+            # Check if the BEFORE commit exists (could be missing after force push)
+            if git cat-file -t "$BEFORE" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+              echo "Linting commits ${BEFORE:0:8}..${AFTER:0:8}"
+              python lint_local.py --range "${BEFORE}..${AFTER}" --model qwen2.5:0.5b
+            else
+              echo "WARNING: Base commit $BEFORE does not exist (possibly force-pushed)."
+              echo "Falling back to linting the last commit only."
+              python lint_local.py --last 1 --model qwen2.5:0.5b
+            fi
           fi
diff --git a/lint_local.py b/lint_local.py
index 6b30e9b..ffd1f88 100644
--- a/lint_local.py
+++ b/lint_local.py
@@ -199,7 +199,27 @@ def git_log(revision_range: str | None = None, last_n: int | None = None) -> lis
     else:
         cmd.extend(["-n", "5"])
 
-    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as exc:
+        # Common issue: base commit doesn't exist (force push, wrong branch, etc.)
+        if revision_range and exc.returncode == 128:
+            stderr = exc.stderr.strip()
+            print(
+                f"ERROR: git log failed for range '{revision_range}'.\n"
+                f"Git error: {stderr}\n"
+                f"\n"
+                f"Common causes:\n"
+                f"  - The base commit was force-pushed over and no longer exists\n"
+                f"  - Shallow clone in CI (need fetch-depth: 0)\n"
+                f"  - The base commit is from a different branch\n"
+                f"\n"
+                f"Suggestion: Check if the base commit exists with:\n"
+                f"  git cat-file -t {revision_range.split('..')[0] if '..' in revision_range else 'BASE_SHA'}\n",
+                file=sys.stderr
+            )
+        raise
+    
     raw = result.stdout.strip()
     if not raw:
         return []