facebook/docusaurus · error · GitNotFoundError

Failed to retrieve git history for "${file}" because git is

Error message

Failed to retrieve git history for "${file}" because git is not installed.

What it means

Thrown as a GitNotFoundError by getFileCommitDate() when hasGit() returns false — i.e. running `git --version` did not exit 0 (git binary missing from PATH). getFileCommitDate is the engine behind showLastUpdateTime / showLastUpdateAuthor / enableUpdateTimepot features, all of which require git. The custom error class lets upstream code (getGitCommitInfo) detect this specific case and emit a single warning instead of crashing.

Source

Thrown at packages/docusaurus-utils/src/vcs/gitUtils.ts:131

  author: string;
}>;

export async function getFileCommitDate(
  file: string,
  {
    age = 'oldest',
    includeAuthor = false,
  }: {
    age?: 'oldest' | 'newest';
    includeAuthor?: boolean;
  },
): Promise<{
  date: Date;
  timestamp: number;
  author?: string;
}> {
  if (!hasGit()) {
    throw new GitNotFoundError(
      `Failed to retrieve git history for "${file}" because git is not installed.`,
    );
  }

  if (!(await fs.pathExists(file))) {
    throw new Error(
      `Failed to retrieve git history for "${file}" because the file does not exist.`,
    );
  }

  // We add a "RESULT:" prefix to make parsing easier
  // See why: https://github.com/facebook/docusaurus/pull/10022
  const resultFormat = includeAuthor ? 'RESULT:%ct,%an' : 'RESULT:%ct';

  const result = (await GitCommandQueue.add(() => {
    return execa(
      'git',
      [

View on GitHub (pinned to 3f483e80e3)

Solutions

1. Install git in the build environment (e.g. apt-get install git, apk add git, dnf install git) and confirm `git --version` succeeds.
2. If git is not needed, disable the features that trigger it: set showLastUpdateTime, showLastUpdateAuthor, and enableUpdateTimepot to false in plugin options.
3. Ensure the build container's PATH includes the directory containing the git binary.
4. Re-run the build; hasGit is memoized per-process so a fresh process is required after installing git.

Example fix

# before — Dockerfile omits git
FROM node:20-alpine
RUN pnpm build

# after
FROM node:20-alpine
RUN apk add --no-cache git
RUN pnpm build

import { execaSync } from 'execa';

function isGitAvailable(): boolean {
  try { return execaSync('git', ['--version']).exitCode === 0; }
  catch { return false; }
}

if (!isGitAvailable() && siteConfig.showLastUpdateTime) {
  console.warn('Git not found; disabling showLastUpdateTime for this build.');
}

try {
  await getFileCommitDate(file, { age: 'newest' });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof GitNotFoundError) {
    // git missing: warn once and disable time-related features for the build
  }
  throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Building Docusaurus with showLastUpdateTime: true (or similar) in an environment without git installed: a fresh CI image, a minimal Docker container, a sandboxed server. hasGit() is memoized so once it returns false every subsequent call short-circuits to this throw.

Common situations: Alpine-based Docker images that do not include git by default. CI containers where git is installed in a later stage but the build runs in an earlier stage. Local machines where git is not on PATH. Detached environments (some serverless build runners) that omit git intentionally.

Related errors

• Couldn't check if this directory is within a Git worktree: $
• Failed to retrieve the git history for file "${file}" with e
• To enable Docusaurus Faster options, your site must add the
• Docusaurus MDX partial files should not contain front matter
• Failed to retrieve git history for "${file}" because the fil

AI-assisted analysis of facebook/docusaurus@3f483e80e3 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c2c8e3835c9d87c2. Report an issue: GitHub.