No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler…

Error message

No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler OpenAI provider

What it means

Thrown by `gitbutler_proxied_creds` in the OpenAI provider when the GitButler access token cannot be retrieved from the OS secret store (`secret::retrieve(GITBUTLER_ACCESS_TOKEN_HANDLE, ...)` returns Ok(None)). Without a logged-in GitButler account token, the proxied OpenAI endpoint cannot authenticate the user, so the provider raises this error before making any request.

Solutions

Log in to GitButler (via the app or `but login`) so the access token is stored in the OS secret store
If already logged in on another machine, sign in on this one to provision the local token
Fall back to a different credential kind: set OPENAI_API_KEY or configure an own OpenAI key in settings
Verify the OS keychain is accessible/unlocked (e.g. after headless/SSH sessions)

Example fix

// before
$ but ai ...
Error: No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler OpenAI provider

// after
$ but login
$ but ai ...

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

match provider_result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("No GitButler token") => {
        prompt_login(); // run `but login` or open the app's sign-in
    }
    other => other?,
}

Prevention

Log in once per machine after installing GitButler
After OS migration or keychain reset, re-authenticate
On headless hosts, ensure the keyring service is available or fall back to API keys
Check login state (whoami/account command) before invoking AI features

When it happens

Trigger: Selecting the GitButler-proxied OpenAI provider while the secret store has no entry for the GitButler access token handle — i.e. the user never logged in, logged out, or the token was deleted from the keychain.

Common situations: Fresh install with no GitButler login; using the CLI without `but login`; logging out or clearing keychain entries; secret-store access denied causing a None-style result after migration to a new machine.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@58e5313667 (2026-09-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/56a6680ace525c47. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/but-llm/src/openai.rs:84

        }
    }

    /// Configure a custom endpoint if set in the provider, if any.
    fn configure_custom_endpoint(&self, config: OpenAIConfig) -> OpenAIConfig {
        if let Some(custom_endpont) = &self.custom_endpoint {
            config.with_api_base(custom_endpont)
        } else {
            config
        }
    }

    pub fn credentials_kind(&self) -> CredentialsKind {
        self.credentials.0.clone()
    }

    fn gitbutler_proxied_creds() -> Result<(CredentialsKind, Sensitive<String>)> {
        let creds = secret::retrieve(GITBUTLER_ACCESS_TOKEN_HANDLE, secret::Namespace::BuildKind)?
            .ok_or(anyhow::anyhow!(
                "No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler OpenAI provider"
            ))?;
        Ok((CredentialsKind::GitButlerProxied, creds))
    }

    fn openai_own_key_creds() -> Result<(CredentialsKind, Sensitive<String>)> {
        let creds = secret::retrieve(AI_OPENAI_SECRET_HANDLE, secret::Namespace::Global)?.ok_or(
            anyhow::anyhow!(
                "No OpenAI own key configured. Add this through the GitButler settings"
            ),
        )?;
        Ok((CredentialsKind::OwnOpenAiKey, creds))
    }

    fn openai_env_var_creds() -> Result<(CredentialsKind, Sensitive<String>)> {
        let creds = Sensitive(
            std::env::var_os("OPENAI_API_KEY")
                .ok_or(anyhow::anyhow!(

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