No AI credentials found. Configure in GitButler settings or…

Error message

No AI credentials found. Configure in GitButler settings or set OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.

What it means

`but branch show --summary` (generate_branch_summary) needs an LLM client. `LLMProvider::from_git_config` tries GitButler proxied credentials, a user's own key in git config, then OPENAI_API_KEY; if all are absent it returns None and the code raises this anyhow error instead of generating the AI summary.

Solutions

Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable before running the command
Configure a provider key in GitButler settings (or git config) via `but config ai`
Sign in / authenticate with GitButler so the proxied Butler API can be used
Check the key actually reaches the process (export in the same shell, not just .bashrc when run from CI)

Example fix

// before
but branch show main --summary
// Error: No AI credentials found...

// after
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
but branch show main --summary

Defensive patterns

Strategy: fallback

Validate before calling

if [ -z "$OPENAI_API_KEY" ]; then
  git config --get gitbutler.aiKey >/dev/null || { echo "No AI credentials configured"; exit 1; }
fi

Try / catch

match result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("No AI credentials found") => {
        eprintln!("Skipping AI summary: configure credentials or set OPENAI_API_KEY.");
    }
    r => r?,
}

Prevention

Export OPENAI_API_KEY in shells/CI that run summary commands
Complete `but config ai` once per machine
Check env inheritance when using systemd/docker/CI wrappers

When it happens

Trigger: Running a branch-summary feature with no AI credentials anywhere: no GitButler account/proxy auth, no ai key in git config, and OPENAI_API_KEY unset in the environment.

Common situations: Fresh machine or CI without credentials configured; users who never signed into GitButler; environments that strip env vars (systemd, docker, CI runners) so OPENAI_API_KEY is missing; rotating/revoked keys removed from config.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@58e5313667 (2026-09-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/db09aca9f63d2a00. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/but/src/command/legacy/branch/show.rs:420

    author_email: String,
    timestamp: i64,
    files_changed: usize,
    insertions: usize,
    deletions: usize,
    files: Vec<FileChange>,
}

#[instrument(skip(commits, git_config))]
fn generate_branch_summary(
    branch_name: &str,
    commits: &[CommitInfo],
    git_config: &gix::config::File,
) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
    use but_llm::LLMProvider;

    // Get OpenAI provider (tries GitButler proxied, own key, then env var)
    let llm = LLMProvider::from_git_config(git_config).ok_or_else(|| {
        anyhow::anyhow!(
            "No AI credentials found. Configure in GitButler settings or set OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable."
        )
    })?;

    // Build the prompt with commit information
    let mut prompt = format!(
        "Please provide a concise summary (2-3 sentences) of what this branch '{branch_name}' accomplishes based on the following commits:\n\n"
    );

    for commit in commits {
        prompt.push_str(&format!("- {}: {}\n", commit.short_sha, commit.message));
        if !commit.files.is_empty() {
            prompt.push_str("  Files changed:\n");
            for file in &commit.files {
                prompt.push_str(&format!(
                    "    {} ({}, +{}, -{})\n",
                    file.path, file.status, file.insertions, file.deletions
                ));

View on GitHub (pinned to 58e5313667)