laurent22/joplin · error · Error

Failed to extract a valid remote commit hash.

Error message

Failed to extract a valid remote commit hash.

What it means

Thrown by verifyGitState when the first whitespace-split part of the ls-remote output (the remote SHA) is not exactly 40 characters. This means ls-remote returned a line but the hash field is malformed — e.g. a short hash, a non-hash token, or a git server returning abbreviated refs.

Source

Thrown at packages/generator-joplin/generators/app/templates/script/publish/steps/verifyGitState.ts:59

	const currentBranch = await runGit('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD', 'Failed to retrieve current branch name. Ensure git is configured correctly.');
	if (currentBranch === 'HEAD') {
		throw new Error('You are in a detached HEAD state. Checkout a branch (e.g. git checkout main) and push before publishing.');
	}

	const remoteHeadLine = await runGit(`git ls-remote origin ${currentBranch}`, 'Could not retrieve remote HEAD. Make sure you have pushed your changes and have an internet connection.');
	if (!remoteHeadLine) {
		throw new Error('Remote HEAD is empty. Make sure you have pushed your changes.');
	}

	const parts = remoteHeadLine.split('\n')[0].split(/\s+/);
	if (parts.length < 2) {
		throw new Error(`Unexpected git ls-remote output: "${remoteHeadLine}". Make sure your git remote and branch are configured correctly.`);
	}

	const remoteHash = parts[0];
	if (remoteHash.length !== 40) {
		throw new Error('Failed to extract a valid remote commit hash.');
	}

	if (remoteHash !== commitHash) {
		throw new Error('Your local commit has not been pushed to GitHub. Run git push then try publishing again.');
	}
	logger.success('Local commit is synced with remote.');

	return commitHash;
};

export default verifyGitState;

View on GitHub (pinned to 2654b33620)

Solutions

1. Run `git ls-remote origin <branch>` manually and verify the first token is a 40-char hex SHA.
2. If the server advertises short hashes, switch to a standard remote (GitHub/GitLab) or upgrade the server git.
3. Ensure no extra stdout (credentials, banners) precedes the ref line.

Example fix

# inspect
git ls-remote origin main | head -1
# expect: <40 hex>\trefs/heads/main
# if short, switch remote to a standard host:
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/repo.git

const out = execSync(`git ls-remote origin ${branch}`, { encoding: 'utf8' }).trim();
const hash = out.split('\n')[0].split(/\s+/)[0];
if (!/^[0-9a-f]{40}$/.test(hash)) {
  throw new Error(`Invalid remote hash: ${hash}`);
}

function isValidRemoteHash(h) { return /^[0-9a-f]{40}$/.test(h); }

When it happens

Trigger: A git server configured to advertise abbreviated hashes; ls-remote output where the first token is a symbolic-ref or capability advertisement rather than a SHA; a remote helper returning unexpected leading content; a mirror/gateway rewriting the ref line.

Common situations: Non-standard git server (some older Gerrit/Bitbucket configs) advertising short SHAs; a custom remote helper; ls-remote included an extra leading line that was captured as parts[0].

Related errors

• Remote HEAD is empty. Make sure you have pushed your changes
• Unexpected git ls-remote output: "${remoteHeadLine}". Make s
• Your local commit has not been pushed to GitHub. Run git pus
• Failed to extract a valid commit hash. Ensure that git is pr
• You are in a detached HEAD state. Checkout a branch (e.g. gi

AI-assisted analysis of laurent22/joplin@2654b33620 (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a2a5d4b8abfb1a42. Report an issue: GitHub.