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

Error message

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

What it means

gitbutler_proxied_creds retrieves the GitButler access token from the OS secret store (handle GITBUTLER_ACCESS_TOKEN_HANDLE) to use the Anthropic provider proxied through GitButler. When no token is stored, it throws "No GitButler token available. Log-in to use the GitButler Anthropic provider". It is an authentication precondition, not a network failure.

Solutions

Log in to GitButler (but login / the desktop app sign-in) so an access token is stored
Check the OS keychain/keyring is accessible (unlock gnome-keyring/login keychain)
Verify the token handle exists in the secret store after login
Alternatively configure your own Anthropic API key and switch providers

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

// check for a stored token before selecting the provider
let has_token = secret::retrieve(GITBUTLER_ACCESS_TOKEN_HANDLE, secret::Namespace::BuildKind)
    .map(|t| t.is_some()).unwrap_or(false);
if !has_token { eprintln!("log in to GitButler first"); }

Try / catch

// fall back to another provider or prompt for login
match select_anthropic_provider().await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("No GitButler token available") => {
        prompt_gitbutler_login()?;
    }
    other => other?,
}

Prevention

Run `but login` (or app sign-in) before using LLM features
In CI, provision a token in the keyring or use an env-var-based provider
After logout, re-authenticate before invoking proxied providers

When it happens

Trigger: Selecting the GitButler-proxied Anthropic provider while secret::retrieve returns None because the user has never logged in to GitButler or the token was removed from the keyring.

Common situations: Fresh machine/install without login, keychain/keyring access denied or cleared, CI containers with no stored credentials, or logging out then invoking LLM features.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gitbutlerapp/gitbutler@58e5313667 (2026-09-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/946d05c53e607687. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/but-llm/src/anthropic.rs:138

            Err(e) => {
                tracing::error!("Failed to retrieve Anthropic credentials: {}", e);
                None
            }
        }
    }

    pub fn client(&self) -> Result<AnthropicClient> {
        let credentials = &self.credentials.1;
        let kind = self.credentials.0.clone();
        AnthropicClient::new(kind, credentials)
    }

    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 Anthropic provider"
            ))?;
        Ok((CredentialsKind::GitButlerProxied, creds))
    }

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

    fn anthropic_env_var_creds() -> Result<(CredentialsKind, Sensitive<String>)> {
        let creds = Sensitive(
            std::env::var_os("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")
                .ok_or(anyhow::anyhow!(
                    "Environment variable ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not set"

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