diff --git a/src/components/common/ArtifactForm.tsx b/src/components/common/ArtifactForm.tsx
index be879b92d..814f3bd07 100644
--- a/src/components/common/ArtifactForm.tsx
+++ b/src/components/common/ArtifactForm.tsx
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import { Input } from "../ui/input";
 import Callout from "./Callout";
 
 import { validateArtifactNameAgainstPurlSpec } from "../../utils/common";
+import { documentationLinks } from "@/const/documentationLinks";
 import { Alert, AlertDescription } from "../ui/alert";
 
 interface Props {
@@ -41,7 +42,11 @@ const ArtifactForm = ({ form, isEditMode = false }: Props) => {
       <FormField
         control={form.control}
         name="artifactName"
-        rules={{ required: "Artifact name is required" }}
+        rules={{
+          required: "Artifact name is required",
+          validate: (value) =>
+            !value?.includes("@") || "You shall not enter a version/branch",
+        }}
         render={({ field }) => (
           <FormItem>
             <FormLabel>Artifact Name</FormLabel>
@@ -76,6 +81,21 @@ const ArtifactForm = ({ form, isEditMode = false }: Props) => {
               {"). Any Qualifiers can be added straight to the artifact name."}
             </FormDescription>
             <FormMessage />
+            {field.value?.includes("@") && (
+              <p className="mt-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                DevGuard automatically appends the branch or version (the ref)
+                to the artifact name, so adding it here yourself causes a
+                duplicated reference (e.g. <code>@main@main</code>).{" "}
+                <Link
+                  target="_blank"
+                  className="underline"
+                  href={documentationLinks.artifactVersioning}
+                >
+                  Learn why
+                </Link>
+                .
+              </p>
+            )}
           </FormItem>
         )}
       />
diff --git a/src/const/documentationLinks.ts b/src/const/documentationLinks.ts
index 6e535615f..9e9af69cc 100644
--- a/src/const/documentationLinks.ts
+++ b/src/const/documentationLinks.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ export const documentationLinks = {
     "https://devguard.org/explanations/compliance/csaf-vex-explained",
   artifactExplaining:
     "https://devguard.org/explanations/core-concepts/artifacts",
+  artifactVersioning:
+    "https://docs.devguard.org/how-to-guides/scanning/branches-tags-and-artifacts/",
   acceptRisk:
     "https://devguard.org/explanations/vulnerability-management/vulnerability-events#4-accept-risk",
   riskCalculation: