jesseduffield/lazygit · error

Git command failed. Check command log for details

Error message

Git command failed. Check command log for details (open with %s)

What it means

GpgHelper.runAndStream (pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/gpg_helper.go) runs a git command with streamed output inside WithWaitingStatus (used for signing operations like creating a signed commit or tag). If the command exits non-zero it refreshes with failure options and returns the translated GitCommandFailed message pointing at the command log, which is opened with the ExtrasMenu keybinding.

Solutions

1. Open the command log with the extras menu key (shown in the error, default '@') and read the actual git stderr.
2. If it is a key problem: gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format long, ensure the key exists and git config user.signingkey points at it.
3. Test outside lazygit with the same command (e.g. git commit -S --amend --no-edit) to reproduce and fix the gpg error.
4. For SSH sessions, enable gpg-agent forwarding or use pinentry-tty; as a stopgap, temporarily unset commit.gpgsign for the repo.

Example fix

# terminal
# verify a signing key exists and is usable
gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format long
git config --global user.signingkey <KEYID>
git commit -S --allow-empty -m test  # reproduce outside lazygit

// Precondition check before a signed operation:
if signingKey, _ := gitConfig("user.signingkey"); signingKey == "" {
	return errors.New("user.signingkey unset; signed commits will fail")
}

if err := runSignedGitCmd(); err != nil {
	log.Debugf("stderr captured in command log: %v", err)
	return fmt.Errorf("git failed; open the command log with %s", extrasKey)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Creating/adjusting a signed commit or tag when the underlying `git commit -S` / `git tag -s` fails: missing GPG secret key, expired key, gpg not installed, pinentry cannot ask for the passphrase in the TUI, or commit.gpgsign=true with no signing key configured.

Common situations: Fresh machines without the signing key imported; ssh/gpg-agent forwarding not set up over SSH; commit.gpgsign enabled globally while working on a repo without signing configured; pinentry-tty vs pinentry mismatches.

Related errors

• Feature not available for users using GPG. If you are…
• No files staged
• You cannot commit without a commit message
• A remote named ' ' does not exist
• Base commit is not in current view

AI-assisted analysis of jesseduffield/lazygit@c477a2959b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6c14e4757c6603c3. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/gpg_helper.go:92

		return err
	}

	return self.runAndStream(
		cmdObj, waitingStatus, onSuccess, failureRefreshOptions, successRefreshOptions)
}

func (self *GpgHelper) runAndStream(
	cmdObj *oscommands.CmdObj,
	waitingStatus string,
	onSuccess func() error,
	failureRefreshOptions types.RefreshOptions,
	successRefreshOptions types.RefreshOptions,
) error {
	return self.c.WithWaitingStatus(waitingStatus, func(gocui.Task) error {
		if err := cmdObj.StreamOutput().Run(); err != nil {
			self.c.RefreshFromWorker(failureRefreshOptions)
			return fmt.Errorf(
				self.c.Tr.GitCommandFailed, self.c.UserConfig().Keybinding.Universal.ExtrasMenu,
			)
		}

		if onSuccess != nil {
			if err := onSuccess(); err != nil {
				return err
			}
		}

		self.c.RefreshFromWorker(successRefreshOptions)
		return nil
	})
}

View on GitHub (pinned to c477a2959b)