gastownhall/beads · error

git ls-remote %s failed: %s: %w

Error message

git ls-remote %s failed: %s: %w

What it means

lsRemoteDoltDataRefs runs 'git ls-remote <url> <dolt-data-ref> <dolt-info-ref>' with a 60-second timeout to discover Dolt data refs on a git-backed remote, and wraps any non-zero exit (including timeout) into this error with the combined stdout/stderr from git. The wrapped output usually contains git's real diagnosis (auth failure, unknown host, no repository).

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/dolt_remote_reset_data.go:126

func resetDataGitURL(url string) string {
	if trimmed := strings.TrimPrefix(url, "git+"); trimmed != url {
		return trimmed
	}
	if path, isFile := resetDataFilePath(url); isFile && !strings.HasPrefix(url, "file://") {
		return "file://" + path
	}
	return url
}

// lsRemoteDoltDataRefs returns which of the Dolt data-plane refs currently
// exist on the git remote at gitURL.
func lsRemoteDoltDataRefs(ctx context.Context, gitURL string) ([]string, error) {
	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 60*time.Second)
	defer cancel()
	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "git", "ls-remote", gitURL, gitDoltDataRef, gitDoltInfoRef) // #nosec G204 -- URL from configured remote
	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("git ls-remote %s failed: %s: %w", gitURL, strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), err)
	}
	var refs []string
	for _, line := range strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), "\n") {
		fields := strings.Fields(line)
		if len(fields) == 2 {
			refs = append(refs, fields[1])
		}
	}
	return refs, nil
}

// deleteGitDoltDataRefs deletes refs on the git remote at gitURL. Git
// client-side hooks are disabled for the push, same as bd's other internal
// git invocations (GH#3724 class: a user's templated pre-push hook must not
// break — or observe — bd's data-plane plumbing).
func deleteGitDoltDataRefs(ctx context.Context, gitURL string, refs []string) error {
	args := []string{"push", gitURL}
	for _, ref := range refs {

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Run 'git ls-remote <url>' manually to see the raw git error and fix that (credentials, URL, network)
2. Ensure credentials are available: configure SSH keys (ssh-add) or a credential helper/token for HTTPS
3. Confirm the remote URL is correct with git remote -v / bd dolt remote -v
4. Check network/VPN connectivity; if operations are slow, note the 60-second timeout may need the underlying network fixed rather than retried blindly

Example fix

// before
remote = git@host:org/repo.git  # SSH key not loaded -> permission denied
// after
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 && bd dolt remote reset-data origin

ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 10*time.Second)
out, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "git", "ls-remote", url).CombinedOutput()
if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("pre-flight ls-remote failed: %s", out) }

refs, err := lsRemoteDoltDataRefs(ctx, gitURL)
if err != nil {
    var netErr error
    if errors.As(err, &netErr) && ctx.Err() == context.DeadlineExceeded {
        // retry once after checking connectivity
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: bd dolt remote reset-data against a git-backed remote where git ls-remote fails: bad URL, missing/invalid credentials, SSH key not loaded, network outage, or the 60s context timeout elapsing on a hung connection.

Common situations: CI lacking deploy-key access to the remote; HTTPS remote requiring a token that isn't configured; private remote behind VPN that's down; typo'd remote URL; very slow network exceeding the 60s timeout.

Related errors

• git push (delete %s) failed: %s: %w
• fetch from %s/%s: %w
• server not reachable: %w
• failed to install hooks: %w
• git config --unset core.hooksPath failed: %w (output: %s)

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/49503c6e3af0306e. Report an issue: GitHub.