gitbutlerapp/gitbutler · error · anyhow::Error

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

generate_branch_summary builds an LLM prompt from a branch's commits; LLMProvider::from_git_config returns None when AI is unusable — per but-llm, that happens when the gitbutler.aiModelProvider setting is absent, the configured provider is unsupported, or provider init fails (e.g. bring-your-own-key chosen but no key resolvable, including the OPENAI_API_KEY env fallback). This anyhow error turns that Option into an explicit failure with setup guidance.

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 caf1f223d3)

Solutions

1. Run the AI configuration flow (`but config` → Select an AI provider) and provide credentials or pick GitButler API.
2. Or export OPENAI_API_KEY (the documented env-var fallback named in the message) and retry.
3. For local LLMs pick Ollama/LM Studio and ensure the server is reachable at its default port.
4. If you don't want AI summaries, run the command without the summary flag instead of fixing credentials.

Example fix

# before
$ but branch show feat --summary
Error: No AI credentials found. Configure in GitButler settings or set OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.

# after
$ export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
$ but branch show feat --summary

// Check AI availability before requesting a summary
use but_llm::LLMProvider;
if LLMProvider::from_git_config(&git_config).is_none() {
    // skip the --summary flag or guide the user to `but config` AI setup
    return print_plain_summary(commits);
}

match LLMProvider::from_git_config(git_config) {
    Some(llm) => generate_summary(llm, commits).await,
    None => print_plain_summary(commits), // degrade gracefully without AI
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `but branch show --summary` (summary generation) on a machine that never ran `but config` AI setup: no gitbutler.aiModelProvider in git config, no stored API key, and OPENAI_API_KEY unset. Also when the provider is set to a kind whose credentials expired/were removed.

Common situations: Fresh clone/CI machine expecting AI features without configuration; user configured Ollama but the local server isn't running so init fails; key removed from keychain/secret store after configuration.

Understand the failure class

Background: "API key is required" / "API key not found" / "No API key was set": the missing-api-key error family across 16 libraries — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

• No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler Op
• No OpenAI own key configured. Add this through the GitButler
• Environment variable OPENAI_API_KEY is not set
• No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler An
• No Anthropic own key configured. Add this through the GitBut

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@caf1f223d3 (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/db09aca9f63d2a00. Report an issue: GitHub.