google-gemini/gemini-cli · error · Error

Unable to find any remotes for repo ${installMetadata.source

Error message

Unable to find any remotes for repo ${installMetadata.source}

What it means

Thrown by cloneFromGit() after git.clone succeeds but git.getRemotes(true) returns an empty array. A normal clone registers an 'origin' remote, so zero remotes indicates the clone did not actually fetch a real repository (empty repo, intercepted clone, or a source that produced a working tree without remote config).

Source

Thrown at packages/cli/src/config/extensions/github.ts:60

        if (
          parsedUrl.protocol === 'https:' &&
          parsedUrl.hostname === 'github.com'
        ) {
          if (!parsedUrl.username) {
            parsedUrl.username = token;
          }
          sourceUrl = parsedUrl.toString();
        }
      } catch {
        // If source is not a valid URL, we don't inject the token.
        // We let git handle the source as is.
      }
    }
    await git.clone(sourceUrl, './', ['--depth', '1']);

    const remotes = await git.getRemotes(true);
    if (remotes.length === 0) {
      throw new Error(
        `Unable to find any remotes for repo ${installMetadata.source}`,
      );
    }

    const refToFetch = installMetadata.ref || 'HEAD';

    await git.fetch(remotes[0].name, refToFetch);

    // After fetching, checkout FETCH_HEAD to get the content of the fetched ref.
    // This results in a detached HEAD state, which is fine for this purpose.
    await git.checkout('FETCH_HEAD');
  } catch (error) {
    throw new Error(
      `Failed to clone Git repository from ${installMetadata.source} ${getErrorMessage(error)}`,
      {
        cause: error,
      },
    );

View on GitHub (pinned to 5024443c72)

Solutions

1. Verify the source repository is non-empty and the token (getGitHubToken) grants read access.
2. Retry the clone; transient empty-remote results can occur under network instability.
3. If maintaining a custom mirror, ensure an 'origin' remote is configured with git remote add.

Example fix

// before
const remotes = await git.getRemotes(true);
if (remotes.length === 0) throw new Error(...);
// after
const remotes = await git.getRemotes(true);
if (remotes.length === 0) {
  await git.addRemote('origin', installMetadata.source);
  remotes = await git.getRemotes(true);
}

async function hasRemotes(dest: string): Promise<boolean> {
  const g = simpleGit(dest); const r = await g.getRemotes(true); return r.length > 0;
}

try { await cloneFromGit(meta, dest); } catch (e) { if (/Unable to find any remotes/.test(String(e))) { await simpleGit(dest).addRemote('origin', meta.source); /* retry once */ await cloneFromGit(meta, dest); } else throw e; }

When it happens

Trigger: cloneFromGit installs an extension whose source is an empty/private repo that clones but has no configured remote, or an environment where the clone is stubbed/mocked and returns no remote metadata.

Common situations: Private repo returning an empty clone due to partial auth; a mirror or bundled repo without remote config; CI with a git cache/shallow clone that strips remote metadata; flaky networks where getRemotes returns [] transiently.

Related errors

• Failed to clone Git repository from ${installMetadata.source
• Installing extensions from remote sources is disallowed by y
• Failed to install extension ${installMetadata.source}: ${res
• Invalid repo URL: ${source}
• Invalid GitHub repository source: ${source}. Expected "owner

AI-assisted analysis of google-gemini/gemini-cli@5024443c72 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0ac11ee9688bbf9e. Report an issue: GitHub.