What causes "'create' must be run from inside a git repository" in mislav/hub?

Initialize a repo first: `git init && git add -A && git commit -m "initial"`, then `hub create`.

'create' must be run from inside a git repository

Error message

'create' must be run from inside a git repository

What it means

In commands/create.go create, the command starts by calling git.Dir(); if that fails, the working directory is not inside a git repository. Because creating a repo defaults to using the current directory as the project name/source, the command aborts with "'create' must be run from inside a git repository".

Source

Thrown at commands/create.go:66

		$ hub create sinatra/recipes
		[ repo created in GitHub organization ]
		> git remote add -f origin git@github.com:sinatra/recipes.git

## See also:

hub-init(1), hub(1)
`,
}

func init() {
	CmdRunner.Use(cmdCreate)
}

func create(command *Command, args *Args) {
	_, err := git.Dir()
	if err != nil {
		err = fmt.Errorf("'create' must be run from inside a git repository")
		utils.Check(err)
	}

	var newRepoName string
	if args.IsParamsEmpty() {
		dirName, err := git.WorkdirName()
		utils.Check(err)
		newRepoName = github.SanitizeProjectName(dirName)
	} else {
		newRepoName = args.FirstParam()
		if newRepoName == "" {
			utils.Check(command.UsageError(""))
		}
	}

	config := github.CurrentConfig()
	host, err := config.DefaultHost()
	if err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 5c547ed804)

Solutions

Initialize a repo first: `git init && git add -A && git commit -m "initial"`, then `hub create`.
Change into the existing project directory that is already a git repo.
Or pass an explicit name if your hub version supports it, e.g. `hub create user/newrepo`, avoiding workdir deduction.
Check env (GIT_DIR) is not pointing to an invalid location.

Example fix

// before
~/newproject$ hub create   // 'create' must be run from inside a git repository
// after
~/newproject$ git init
~/newproject$ hub create

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# only run hub create inside a git repo
git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
  { echo "run 'git init' first"; exit 1; }

Try / catch

if _, err := git.Dir(); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("cd into a git repository (or git init) before 'create'")
}

Prevention

Always `git init` + initial commit before `hub create` in a new project
Check `git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree` in wrappers around hub
Avoid running hub create from home/tmp directories
Don't override GIT_DIR to a nonexistent path

When it happens

Trigger: Running `hub create` in a plain directory (no .git), in a subdirectory of a non-repo, or with a broken GIT_DIR so git.Dir() returns an error.

Common situations: Setting up a new project and running `hub create` before `git init`; running the command in a home or temp directory; GIT_DIR pointing to a missing path in the environment.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of mislav/hub@5c547ed804 (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/948c41d05b1aa13e. Report an issue: GitHub.