golangci/golangci-lint · error

clone golangci-lint

Error message

clone golangci-lint: %w

What it means

Builder.Build (used by `golangci-lint custom`) starts by cloning the golangci-lint repository at the configured version into a temp directory. A clone failure is wrapped as "clone golangci-lint: %w" — typically a git/network/clone-target problem, before any plugin or build steps run.

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped cause for the underlying git error (auth, DNS, tag not found).
2. Verify the version exists: git ls-remote --tags https://github.com/golangci/golangci-lint.
3. Ensure git is installed and network/proxy (HTTP(S)_PROXY) allows github.com access.
4. If behind a proxy, configure go env GOPROXY and git insteadOf/credentials appropriately.

Example fix

// before (.custom-gcl.yml)
version: master-unknown
// after
version: v1.61.0  # existing tag
// plus ensure git present: which git

if _, err := exec.LookPath("git"); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("git not installed") }
// network + tag check before building the custom binary
if err := exec.Command("git", "ls-remote", "--exit-code",
  "https://github.com/golangci/golangci-lint", "refs/tags/"+version).Run(); err != nil {
  return fmt.Errorf("cannot reach repo or tag %s missing", version)
}

if err := customCmd.Run(); err != nil {
  if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "clone golangci-lint") {
    log.Fatalf("clone failed, check git/network/version: %v", errors.Unwrap(err))
  }
  return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `golangci-lint custom` when b.clone(ctx) fails: invalid or nonexistent version tag, unreachable github.com, missing git binary, proxy/firewall blocking, or shallow-clone/SSH auth issues.

Common situations: Specifying a version that doesn't exist in .custom-gcl.yml; corporate proxy or offline environment; git not installed in CI image; SSH-only git config when HTTPS is required.

Related errors

• build process
• update plugin file
• a rule cannot be enabled and disabled at the same time
• analyzer doesn't have settings
• at least of (text, source, path[-except], linters) should…

AI-assisted analysis of golangci/golangci-lint@ed7a235d2d (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/45c2716ae1db258b. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at pkg/commands/internal/builder.go:48

}

// NewBuilder creates a new Builder.
func NewBuilder(logger logutils.Log, cfg *Configuration, root string) *Builder {
	return &Builder{
		cfg:  cfg,
		log:  logger,
		root: root,
		repo: filepath.Join(root, "golangci-lint"),
	}
}

// Build builds the custom binary.
func (b Builder) Build(ctx context.Context) error {
	b.log.Infof("Cloning golangci-lint repository")

	err := b.clone(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("clone golangci-lint: %w", err)
	}

	b.log.Infof("Adding plugin imports")

	err = b.updatePluginsFile()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("update plugin file: %w", err)
	}

	b.log.Infof("Adding replace directives")

	err = b.addToGoMod(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("add to go.mod: %w", err)
	}

	b.log.Infof("Running go mod tidy")

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