What causes "Failed to unset all Git configuration multi-valued entries '{name}'" in git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager?

Test with `git config --unset-all ` manually to capture git's error

git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager · error · Trace2Exception

Failed to unset all Git configuration multi-valued entries

Error message

Failed to unset all Git configuration multi-valued entries '{name}'

What it means

Thrown when `git config --unset-all <name> <valueRegex>` exits with an unexpected code. Exit 0 and exit 5 (nothing matched) are both treated as success; this error fires on invalid key/regex syntax or when git cannot rewrite the config file.

Solutions

Test with `git config --unset-all <name> <valueRegex>` manually to capture git's error
Validate key format ('section.key') and fix regex escaping in valueRegex
Check write permissions/locks on the config file
Treat 'nothing to unset' as fine — exit 5 does not throw, so this error means a genuine failure

Example fix

// before
config.UnsetAll(level, "remote.origin.url", "https://*"); // '*' quantifier error
// after
config.UnsetAll(level, "remote.origin.url", "https://.*"); // valid regex

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

static bool IsValidPosixRegex(string pattern) {
    try { _ = new System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex(pattern); return true; }
    catch (ArgumentException) { return false; }
}
// and static bool IsValidConfigKey(string n) => n.Split('.').Length >= 2;

Try / catch

try { cfg.UnsetAll(level, name, valueRegex); }
catch (GitException ex) { log.Error($"UnsetAll '{name}' failed: {ex.Message}"); }

Prevention

Remember 'nothing matched' (exit 5) does not throw — a throw means bad syntax or unwritable file
Escape regex metacharacters when patterns are built from user input
Check config write permissions before bulk unset operations
Test the exact command with plain git first when regexes come from external sources

When it happens

Trigger: Calling UnsetAll(level, name, valueRegex) with an invalid key name, a malformed value regex, or when the config file is read-only/locked/malformed and cannot be rewritten.

Common situations: Bulk-removing mirror URLs with a regex containing unescaped special chars; removing an unknown key whose name is malformed; enterprise-managed read-only global .gitconfig.

Understand the failure class

Background: "git command failed": what it means when a tool shells out to git and git exits non-zero — this error's family across 21 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of git-ecosystem/git-credential-manager@e8ce762cd0 (2026-09-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/af7331f0609cd102. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Core/GitConfiguration.cs:797

            if (valueRegex != null)
            {
                gitArgs += $" {QuoteCmdArg(valueRegex)}";
            }

            using (ChildProcess git = _git.CreateProcess(gitArgs))
            {
                git.Start(Trace2ProcessClass.Git);
                git.WaitForExit();

                switch (git.ExitCode)
                {
                    case 0: // OK
                    case 5: // Trying to unset a value that does not exist
                        InvalidateCache();
                        break;
                    default:
                        _trace.WriteLine($"Failed to unset all multivar '{name}' with value regex '{valueRegex}' (exit={git.ExitCode}, level={level})");
                        throw GitProcess.CreateGitException(git, $"Failed to unset all Git configuration multi-valued entries '{name}'");
                }
            }
        }

        private static void EnsureSpecificLevel(GitConfigurationLevel level)
        {
            if (level == GitConfigurationLevel.All)
            {
                throw new InvalidOperationException("Must have a specific configuration level filter to modify values.");
            }
        }

        private static string GetLevelFilterArg(GitConfigurationLevel level)
        {
            switch (level)
            {
                case GitConfigurationLevel.System:
                    return "--system";

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