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

Failed to enter raw console mode on

Error message

Failed to enter raw console mode on {ConsoleInName}.

What it means

EnterRawMode strips LineInput, EchoInput, and ProcessedInput from the saved console mode via Kernel32.SetConsoleMode so keystrokes (Ctrl+C, arrows) reach GCM unprocessed. If SetConsoleMode fails, it throws IOException because raw-mode reads cannot be performed reliably on the handle.

Solutions

1. Retry the credential prompt in a standard console (Windows Terminal or conhost).
2. Avoid wrapper layers that proxy console handles; run git directly or use winpty.
3. Fall back to non-raw authentication: GCM_INTERACTIVE=never plus a pre-provisioned credential store.
4. If reproducible, check Windows/console-emulator version and update the terminal emulator.

Example fix

// before
// IDE embedded terminal intercepting CONIN$
// after
// run from Windows Terminal, or:
set GCM_INTERACTIVE=never

if (!Kernel32.GetConsoleMode(h, out var m)) return false; // can't even read mode
if ((m & (ConsoleMode.LineInput | ConsoleMode.EchoInput)) == 0) return false;

static bool SupportsRawMode(SafeFileHandle h) =>
    Kernel32.GetConsoleMode(h, out var mode) &&
    Kernel32.SetConsoleMode(h, mode) && Kernel32.SetConsoleMode(h, mode);

try { input.AcquireRawMode(); ... }
catch (IOException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("raw console mode"))
{ logger.Warn("Raw mode unavailable; using line-based input or fallback store."); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling AcquireRawMode (during a keystroke read) when SetConsoleMode on the CONIN$ handle returns false — the handle lost console status, was closed by another thread, or the console host rejected the mode change.

Common situations: Terminal host (ConPTY-based emulators, some IDE terminals) rejecting mode changes; the input handle invalidated between open and raw-mode entry; running under process wrappers that intercept console APIs; rare Windows console substitution.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Invalid state transition" errors: "status must be X, actually Y", "already rejected/charging/uninstalled", "cannot ... while running" — what they mean when a library rejects your call — this error's family across 31 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to open for reading.
• Failed to read initial console mode on
• Failed to open for writing.
• Failed to read initial terminal settings.
• Failed to enter raw terminal mode.

AI-assisted analysis of git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager@e8ce762cd0 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/213f00e68157e19a. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Core/Interop/Windows/WindowsAnsiConsoleInput.cs:105

        // The console is left in its normal (cooked) mode except during an
        // active keystroke read (see ReadKey). That is what keeps Ctrl+C working
        // when GCM is doing other work — MSAL polling, a GUI, the network — and
        // not just while a Spectre prompt happens to be reading: with
        // ProcessedInput on, Ctrl+C raises CTRL_C_EVENT and the runtime's
        // default handler terminates the process.
    }

    // Switch the console into raw mode (no echo, no line input, no system Ctrl+C
    // handling) for the duration of a read. Caller must hold _modeLock.
    private void EnterRawMode()
    {
        ConsoleMode rawMode = _originalMode
            & ~(ConsoleMode.LineInput | ConsoleMode.EchoInput | ConsoleMode.ProcessedInput);

        if (!Kernel32.SetConsoleMode(_handle, rawMode))
        {
            throw new IOException($"Failed to enter raw console mode on {ConsoleInName}.");
        }

        _inRawMode = true;
    }

    // Restore the original (cooked) console mode after a read. Idempotent.
    // Caller must hold _modeLock.
    private void RestoreMode()
    {
        if (!_inRawMode)
        {
            return;
        }

        if (!_handle.IsInvalid && !_handle.IsClosed)
        {
            Kernel32.SetConsoleMode(_handle, _originalMode);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to e8ce762cd0)