git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager · error · Exception

Can only use the ' ' credential store on Linux. See for…

Error message

Can only use the '{StoreNames.SecretService}' credential store on Linux.
See {Constants.HelpUrls.GcmCredentialStores} for more information.

What it means

ValidateSecretService throws this Exception when the credential store is set to '{secretService}' (the freedesktop.org Secret Service / libsecret API) on a non-Linux platform. The Secret Service D-Bus API only exists on Linux, so GCM rejects the configuration up front in EnsureBackingStore.

Solutions

Change credential.store / GCM_CREDENTIAL_STORE to a store valid for the current OS (e.g. 'gpg', 'cache', or the default).
Remove the setting entirely to let GCM choose the platform default.
On WSL, either use the Windows store via GCM for Windows or configure gpg/pass inside the WSL distro.

Example fix

// before (macOS ~/.gitconfig)
[credential]
	store = secretservice
// after
[credential]
	store = macOSkeychain

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (storeType === 'secretservice' && process.platform !== 'linux') {
  console.warn('secretservice store is Linux-only; falling back to default');
}

Type guard

const isSecretServiceUsable = (store: string, platform: string) =>
  store === 'secretservice' ? platform === 'linux' : true;

Prevention

Check the target OS before copying Linux credential configs to other machines
Prefer omitting credential.store and using GCM auto-detection
Document per-OS store choices in team setup guides

When it happens

Trigger: Setting credential.store / GCM_CREDENTIAL_STORE to StoreNames.SecretService on macOS or Windows; EnsureBackingStore calls ValidateSecretService and PlatformUtils.IsLinux() is false.

Common situations: Linux-tuned CI configs reused on macOS dev machines; WSL users assuming Secret Service works under Windows; docs recommending 'secretservice' without OS caveats.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unsupported platform" / "not supported on this platform" errors: what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager@e8ce762cd0 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2412fe0206934f2f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Core/CredentialStore.cs:259

        private void ValidateMacOSKeychain()
        {
            if (!PlatformUtils.IsMacOS())
            {
                var message = $"Can only use the '{StoreNames.MacOSKeychain}' credential store on macOS.";
                _context.Trace2.WriteError(message);
                throw new Exception(message  + Environment.NewLine +
                                    $"See {Constants.HelpUrls.GcmCredentialStores} for more information."
                );
            }
        }

        private void ValidateSecretService()
        {
            if (!PlatformUtils.IsLinux())
            {
                var message = $"Can only use the '{StoreNames.SecretService}' credential store on Linux.";
                _context.Trace2.WriteError(message);
                throw new Exception(message + Environment.NewLine +
                                    $"See {Constants.HelpUrls.GcmCredentialStores} for more information."
                );
            }

            if (!_context.SessionManager.IsDesktopSession)
            {
                var message = $"Cannot use the '{StoreNames.SecretService}' credential backing store without a graphical interface present.";
                _context.Trace2.WriteError(message);
                throw new Exception(message + Environment.NewLine +
                                    $"See {Constants.HelpUrls.GcmCredentialStores} for more information."
                );
            }
        }

        private void ValidateGpgPass(out string storeRoot, out string execPath)
        {
            if (!PlatformUtils.IsPosix())
            {

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