diff --git a/internal/git/git.go b/internal/git/git.go
index d8392410..7494b61d 100644
--- a/internal/git/git.go
+++ b/internal/git/git.go
@@ -315,26 +315,6 @@ func (g *Git) resetWorktree(worktree *git.Worktree, branchName string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (g *Git) cherryPick(commitHash string) error {
-	logging.Info("Cherry-picking commit %s", commitHash)
-
-	workDir := filepath.Join(environment.GetWorkspace(), "repo", environment.GetWorkingDirectory())
-
-	// Use -c flags to set identity temporarily for just this command
-	cmd := exec.Command("git",
-		"-c", "user.name="+speakeasyBotName,
-		"-c", "user.email=bot@speakeasyapi.dev",
-		"cherry-pick", "--allow-empty", commitHash)
-	cmd.Dir = workDir
-	cmd.Env = os.Environ()
-	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error cherry-picking commit %s: %w %s", commitHash, err, string(output))
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
-
 func (g *Git) FindOrCreateBranch(branchName string, action environment.Action) (string, error) {
 	if g.repo == nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("repo not cloned")
@@ -366,6 +346,21 @@ func (g *Git) FindOrCreateBranch(branchName string, action environment.Action) (
 				return "", err
 			}
 
+			// If there are non-CI commits, fail immediately with an error
+			if len(nonCICommits) > 0 {
+				logging.Info("Found %d non-CI commits on branch %s", len(nonCICommits), branchName)
+
+				// Try to find the associated PR to provide a direct link
+				_, pr, prErr := g.FindExistingPR(branchName, action, false)
+				if prErr == nil && pr != nil {
+					prURL := pr.GetHTMLURL()
+					return "", fmt.Errorf("external changes detected on branch %s. The action cannot proceed because non-automated commits were pushed to this branch.\n\nPlease either:\n- Merge the PR: %s\n- Close the PR and delete the branch\n\nAfter merging or closing, the action will create a new branch on the next run", branchName, prURL)
+				}
+
+				// Fallback error if PR not found
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("external changes detected on branch %s. The action cannot proceed because non-automated commits were pushed to this branch.\n\nPlease either:\n- Merge the associated PR for this branch\n- Close the PR and delete the branch\n\nAfter merging or closing, the action will create a new branch on the next run", branchName)
+			}
+
 			// Reset to clean baseline from main
 			origin := fmt.Sprintf("origin/%s", defaultBranch)
 			if err = g.Reset("--hard", origin); err != nil {
@@ -373,17 +368,6 @@ func (g *Git) FindOrCreateBranch(branchName string, action environment.Action) (
 				logging.Info("failed to reset branch: %s", err.Error())
 			}
 
-			// We will attempt to cherry-pick non Speakeasy generated commits onto the fresh branch
-			if len(nonCICommits) > 0 {
-				logging.Info("Cherry-picking %d non-CI commits onto fresh branch", len(nonCICommits))
-				// Reverse the order since git log returns newest first, but we want to apply oldest first
-				for i := len(nonCICommits) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
-					if err := g.cherryPick(nonCICommits[i]); err != nil {
-						return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to cherry-pick commit %s: %w\n\nThis likely means manual changes are modifying a generated portion of the SDK.", nonCICommits[i][:8], err)
-					}
-				}
-			}
-
 			return existingBranch, nil
 		}
 
diff --git a/internal/git/git_test.go b/internal/git/git_test.go
index 4516e589..67269031 100644
--- a/internal/git/git_test.go
+++ b/internal/git/git_test.go
@@ -456,26 +456,17 @@ func TestGit_FindOrCreateBranch_NonCIPendingCommits(t *testing.T) {
 	repo, err := git.PlainOpen(repoPath)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	g := Git{repo: repo}
+	g := New("test-token")
+	g.repo = repo
 	runGitCLI(t, repoPath, "config", "pull.rebase", "false")
 
 	t.Setenv("GITHUB_WORKSPACE", workspace)
 	t.Setenv("INPUT_WORKING_DIRECTORY", "")
 
-	branchName, err := g.FindOrCreateBranch("regen", environment.ActionRunWorkflow)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "regen", branchName)
-
-	// Verify the manual commit was cherry-picked onto the fresh branch
-	runGitCLI(t, repoPath, "checkout", "regen")
-	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(repoPath, "manual.txt"))
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "manual change\n", string(content), "manual commit should be preserved via cherry-pick")
-
-	// Verify CI commit was discarded (generated.txt should be back to main's version)
-	generatedContent, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(repoPath, "generated.txt"))
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, "original\n", string(generatedContent), "CI commit should be discarded, file should match main")
+	_, err = g.FindOrCreateBranch("regen", environment.ActionRunWorkflow)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	expectedError := "external changes detected on branch regen. The action cannot proceed because non-automated commits were pushed to this branch.\n\nPlease either:\n- Merge the associated PR for this branch\n- Close the PR and delete the branch\n\nAfter merging or closing, the action will create a new branch on the next run"
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedError, err.Error())
 }
 
 func TestGit_FindOrCreateBranch_BotCommitAllowed(t *testing.T) {