| Git SSL certificate problem |
fatal: unable to access 'https://…': SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate |
Git doesn’t trust the HTTPS server’s certificate — corporate proxy, self-hosted Git with an internal CA, or o… |
| unfinished merge |
fatal: You have not concluded your merge (MERGE_HEAD exists). Please, commit your changes before you merge. |
A merge is still in progress — conflicts were resolved (or not) but not committed. |
| kex_exchange_identification |
kex_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host |
The SSH connection was closed before the handshake — server overload, rate limiting, or a proxy/firewall inte… |
| rebase in progress |
fatal: It seems that there is already a rebase-merge directory, and I wonder if you are in the middle of another rebase. |
A previous rebase is still in progress (or was interrupted). |
| Filename too long |
error: unable to create file x: Filename too long (Windows) |
Windows’ 260-character path limit blocked Git from creating a file. |
| github-actions[bot] 403 |
remote: Permission to owner/repo.git denied to github-actions[bot]. fatal: unable to access … The requested URL returned error: 403 |
A GitHub Actions workflow tried to push but the GITHUB_TOKEN doesn’t have write permission. |
| untracked files overwritten |
error: The following untracked working tree files would be overwritten by checkout/merge |
Untracked local files have the same paths as files coming from the other branch. |
| Could not resolve host |
fatal: unable to access 'https://github.com/…': Could not resolve host: github.com |
DNS lookup for the Git host failed from this machine. |
| protected branch |
remote: error: GH006: Protected branch update failed / pre-receive hook declined |
The server rejected your push because of branch protection rules or a server-side hook. |
| Repository not found |
remote: Repository not found. fatal: repository 'https://github.com/x/y.git/' not found |
GitHub/GitLab says the repository doesn’t exist — or you lack access to a private repo. |
| cannot rebase |
error: cannot pull with rebase: You have unstaged changes. Please commit or stash them. |
A rebase (or pull --rebase) needs a clean working tree. |
| gpg failed to sign |
error: gpg failed to sign the data — fatal: failed to write commit object |
Commit signing is enabled but GPG couldn’t sign — no TTY for the passphrase, wrong key, or agent not running. |
| corrupt object |
error: object file .git/objects/x is empty / fatal: loose object is corrupt |
The local Git object database is corrupted — usually after a crash, disk full or sync tool interference. |
| overwritten by checkout |
error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by checkout |
Switching branches would discard uncommitted changes in files that differ between branches. |
| early EOF |
fatal: early EOF — fatal: index-pack failed |
A clone or fetch was cut off mid-transfer. |
| divergent branches |
hint: You have divergent branches and need to specify how to reconcile them. |
Git 2.27+ asks you to choose merge, rebase or fast-forward-only when local and remote both have new commits. |
| workflow scope |
! [remote rejected] … (refusing to allow a Personal Access Token to create or update workflow `.github/workflows/x.yml` without `workflow` scope) |
Your token can’t modify GitHub Actions workflow files without the workflow scope. |
| merge commit revert |
error: commit x is a merge but no -m option was given. |
git revert or cherry-pick on a merge commit needs to know which parent is the mainline. |
| pathspec did not match |
error: pathspec 'x' did not match any file(s) known to git |
Git couldn’t find the file or branch name you referenced. |
| origin not a repository |
fatal: 'origin' does not appear to be a git repository |
No remote named origin is configured (or it points nowhere valid). |
| branch exists |
fatal: a branch named 'x' already exists |
You tried to create a branch whose name is already taken locally. |
| unknown revision HEAD |
fatal: ambiguous argument 'HEAD': unknown revision or path not in the working tree. |
The repository has no commits yet (or the ref doesn’t exist), so HEAD can’t be resolved. |
| not a valid object name |
fatal: Not a valid object name: 'main'. |
The branch or commit doesn’t exist yet — typically in a new repo before the first commit. |
| no upstream branch |
fatal: The current branch x has no upstream branch. |
The local branch isn’t linked to a remote branch yet, so a bare git push doesn’t know where to go. |
| CONFLICT |
Git: CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in file — Automatic merge failed |
Both branches changed the same lines; Git needs you to choose the final content before completing the merge/r… |
| publickey |
Git: Permission denied (publickey). fatal: Could not read from remote repository. |
SSH authentication to GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket failed — no key, wrong key, or the key isn’t added to your acco… |
| shallow update not allowed |
! [remote rejected] main -> main (shallow update not allowed) |
You pushed from a shallow clone to a remote that doesn’t accept shallow history. |
| author identity unknown |
Author identity unknown *** Please tell me who you are. |
Git doesn’t know your name and email for commits. |
| couldn't find remote ref |
fatal: couldn't find remote ref main |
The branch you tried to pull/fetch doesn’t exist on the remote. |
| submodule url |
fatal: No url found for submodule path 'x' in .gitmodules |
A submodule entry exists in the index but its URL is missing from .gitmodules. |
| unrelated histories |
Git: fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories |
The two branches have no common ancestor — typically a local repo and a remote that were both initialized sep… |
| GH001 large files |
remote: error: GH001: Large files detected. File x is 120 MB; this exceeds GitHub's file size limit of 100.00 MB |
GitHub rejected the push because a file over 100 MB is in your commits — even if you deleted it later. |
| LF/CRLF warning |
warning: in the working copy of 'x', LF will be replaced by CRLF the next time Git touches it |
Git’s line-ending conversion (core.autocrlf) will change line endings in your working copy. |
| not possible to fast-forward |
fatal: Not possible to fast-forward, aborting. |
pull is configured to fast-forward only, but your branch and the remote have diverged. |
| password auth removed |
remote: Support for password authentication was removed on August 13, 2021. Please use a personal access token instead. |
GitHub no longer accepts account passwords for Git over HTTPS. |
| port 22 timed out |
ssh: connect to host github.com port 22: Connection timed out |
Outbound SSH on port 22 is blocked (firewall, corporate or public Wi-Fi). |
| gc warning |
warning: There are too many unreachable loose objects; run 'git prune' to remove them. |
Git’s automatic garbage collection found many unreachable objects and is asking you to prune. |
| LFS smudge error |
Error downloading object: x: Smudge error / This repository is over its data quota |
Git LFS couldn’t download a large file — missing LFS install, auth problems, or the LFS bandwidth/storage quo… |
| cannot lock ref |
error: cannot lock ref 'refs/remotes/origin/x': is at … but expected … / unable to update local ref |
Git couldn’t update a reference — stale remote-tracking refs, case-only branch name clashes, or a leftover lo… |
| src refspec |
error: src refspec main does not match any |
You pushed a branch name that doesn’t exist locally — usually no commits yet, or the branch is called master… |
| changes overwritten |
error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge |
git pull/merge would modify files you’ve changed but not committed. |
| non-fast-forward |
Git: ! [rejected] … (fetch first) — error: failed to push some refs |
The remote branch has commits you don’t have locally, so Git refuses to overwrite them. Pull (merge or rebase… |
| detached HEAD |
You are in 'detached HEAD' state. |
HEAD points at a commit instead of a branch, so new commits won’t belong to any branch. |
| remote origin exists |
error: remote origin already exists. |
A remote named origin is already configured. |
| Authentication failed |
fatal: Authentication failed for 'https://github.com/x/y.git/' |
HTTPS authentication to the Git host failed — wrong or expired credentials, or a password used where a token… |
| not a git repository |
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git |
You ran a Git command outside a Git working tree. |
| non-bare push |
! [remote rejected] main -> main (branch is currently checked out) |
You pushed to a non-bare repository whose working tree has that branch checked out. |
| index.lock exists |
fatal: Unable to create '.git/index.lock': File exists. Another git process seems to be running in this repository |
A lock file from another (or crashed) Git process blocks this command. |
| Host key verification failed |
Host key verification failed. fatal: Could not read from remote repository. |
SSH doesn’t trust the server’s host key — first connection in a non-interactive environment, or the key chang… |
| RPC failed |
error: RPC failed; HTTP 400 curl 22 / curl 92 HTTP/2 stream was not closed cleanly — the remote end hung up unexpectedly |
A large HTTPS push/clone broke mid-transfer — size limits, proxies or flaky HTTP/2. |
| broken ref |
warning: ignoring broken ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD |
A ref file is empty or points to a missing object — usually refs/remotes/origin/HEAD after the default branch… |