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

Failed to search for credentials

Error message

Failed to search for credentials

What it means

Enumerate calls secret_service_search_sync (libsecret) to find matching credentials in the GNOME keyring / Secret Service. If the call returns a GError, the error code and message are wrapped in an InteropException with this fixed message and thrown, so the underlying D-Bus/keyring failure is preserved as the inner exception.

Solutions

1. Read the inner Exception message (the GError message) for the real cause from the D-Bus daemon
2. Ensure a Secret Service provider is running (e.g. start gnome-keyring-daemon or gnome-keyring --components)
3. Unlock the keyring/session (e.g. via seahorse or logging into the desktop session)
4. Verify you are running in a desktop session with D-Bus session bus available (DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS set)

Example fix

// before
var accounts = collection.GetAccounts(); // InteropException with hidden D-Bus error
// after
try { var accounts = collection.GetAccounts(); }
catch (InteropException ex) { Log(ex.InnerException?.Message ?? ex.Message); }

bool SecretServiceAvailable() =>
    Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS") != null;
if (!SecretServiceAvailable()) throw new InvalidOperationException("No D-Bus session for Secret Service");

try { return collection.GetAccounts(); }
catch (InteropException ex) { throw new CredentialStoreException($"Keyring search failed: {ex.InnerException?.Message}", ex); }

When it happens

Trigger: GetAccounts() or Get(service/account) when the Secret Service search D-Bus call fails: keyring daemon not running, service locked, schema/attribute mismatch errors returned by the daemon.

Common situations: Running on a system without gnome-keyring or a Secret Service implementation (bare servers, WSL without keyring integration); keyring daemon crashed; searching a collection that does not exist.

Understand the failure class

Background: Database query failed: Internal Server Error 500s wrapping SQL, Prisma, and connection failures — what to check first — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to store credentials
• -1
• Failed to erase credentials
• Cannot use the ' ' credential backing store without a…
• Failed to unlock item

AI-assisted analysis of git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager@e8ce762cd0 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cbd665ad035e0f58. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Core/Interop/Linux/SecretServiceCollection.cs:79

                queryAttrs = CreateSearchQuery(service, account);

                SecretSchema schema = GetSchema();

                // Execute search query and return all results
                results = secret_service_search_sync(
                    secService,
                    ref schema,
                    queryAttrs,
                    SecretSearchFlags.SECRET_SEARCH_UNLOCK | SecretSearchFlags.SECRET_SEARCH_ALL,
                    IntPtr.Zero,
                    out error);

                if (error != null)
                {
                    int code = error->code;
                    string message = Marshal.PtrToStringAuto(error->message)!;
                    throw new InteropException("Failed to search for credentials", code, new Exception(message));
                }

                var credentials = new List<ICredential>();

                GList* itemPtr = results;
                while (itemPtr != null && itemPtr->data != IntPtr.Zero)
                {
                    SecretItem* item = (SecretItem*) itemPtr->data;

                    // Although we've unlocked the collection during the search call,
                    // an item can also be individually locked within a collection.
                    // If the item is locked we should try and unlock it.
                    if (secret_item_get_locked(item))
                    {
                        var toUnlockList = new GList
                        {
                            data = (IntPtr) item,
                            next = IntPtr.Zero,

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