imathis/octopress · error · ArgumentError

GitHub replied with a 302 but didn't provide a location in t

Error message

GitHub replied with a 302 but didn't provide a location in the response headers.

What it means

ArgumentError raised in handle_gist_redirecting (gist_tag.rb:96-100) when a response arrives with code 301/302 but the Location header is nil or empty. Something announced a redirect yet gave no destination, so the plugin cannot follow it. Genuine GitHub responses always carry a Location header, so this almost always implicates an intermediary: the ENV['http_proxy'] proxy wired in by get_web_content, a captive portal, or an SSL-inspecting middlebox — the plugin sets verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE (line 115), so interception is accepted silently. It propagates out of the Liquid tag and aborts the Jekyll build.

Source

Thrown at plugins/gist_tag.rb:99

      locations = Array.new
      while (data.code.to_i == 301 || data.code.to_i == 302)
        data = handle_gist_redirecting(data)
        break if locations.include? data.header['Location']
        locations << data.header['Location']
      end

      if data.code.to_i != 200
        raise RuntimeError, "Gist replied with #{data.code} for #{gist_url}"
      end

      cache(gist, file, data.body) unless @cache_disabled
      data.body
    end

    def handle_gist_redirecting(data)
      redirected_url = data.header['Location']
      if redirected_url.nil? || redirected_url.empty?
        raise ArgumentError, "GitHub replied with a 302 but didn't provide a location in the response headers."
      end

      get_web_content(redirected_url)
    end

    def get_web_content(url)
      raw_uri           = URI.parse url
      proxy             = ENV['http_proxy']
      if proxy
        proxy_uri       = URI.parse(proxy)
        https           = Net::HTTP::Proxy(proxy_uri.host, proxy_uri.port).new raw_uri.host, raw_uri.port
      else
        https           = Net::HTTP.new raw_uri.host, raw_uri.port
      end
      https.use_ssl     = true
      https.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE
      request           = Net::HTTP::Get.new raw_uri.request_uri
      data              = https.request request

View on GitHub (pinned to 5717a50f4e)

Solutions

1. Unset or fix the proxy before building: env -u http_proxy -u https_proxy jekyll build (also check CI environment variable settings)
2. Confirm direct reachability: curl -sI https://gist.githubusercontent.com/raw/<id>/<file> should show 301/302 WITH a Location line
3. Commit a populated .gist-cache so builds take the cached path and never follow redirects
4. Patch the redirect loop to skip Location-less redirects (see exampleFix) or switch to an HTTP client that follows redirects safely

Example fix

# before (plugins/gist_tag.rb:82-86)
while (data.code.to_i == 301 || data.code.to_i == 302)
  data = handle_gist_redirecting(data)
  break if locations.include? data.header['Location']
  locations << data.header['Location']
end

# after - a 302 with no Location is treated as a normal non-200 response
while (data.code.to_i == 301 || data.code.to_i == 302) && !data.header['Location'].to_s.empty?
  data = handle_gist_redirecting(data)
  break if locations.include? data.header['Location']
  locations << data.header['Location']
end

# Check a redirect actually goes somewhere before following it
def followable_redirect?(response)
  return false unless [301, 302].include?(response.code.to_i)
  loc = response.header['Location'].to_s
  return false if loc.strip.empty?
  uri = URI.parse(loc) rescue nil
  !uri.nil?
end

begin
  data = get_web_content(gist_url)
rescue ArgumentError => e
  raise unless e.message.include?("didn't provide a location")
  warn "Redirect without Location (proxy interference?) for #{gist_url}"
  next # or return "<!-- gist #{gist} skipped: malformed redirect -->"
end

When it happens

Trigger: ENV['http_proxy'] pointing at a proxy that answers 302 without a Location header; a captive portal or transparent proxy intercepting the HTTPS request to gist.githubusercontent.com; any garbled or truncated response where data.header['Location'] resolves to nil. Only reachable when the first or a chained response's code is 301/302.

Common situations: CI runners exporting a generic http_proxy; corporate networks with SSL-inspecting appliances; building the site on hotel/airport wifi behind a captive portal; rare load-balancer misconfigurations during a GitHub incident.

Related errors

• Gist replied with #{data.code} for #{gist_url}
• Error in tag 'include_array' - Valid syntax: include_array [

AI-assisted analysis of imathis/octopress@5717a50f4e (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a2786388196fc43c. Report an issue: GitHub.