nikivdev/code · error

gh failed

Error message

gh {} failed: {}

What it means

Generic failure wrapper for `gh_capture_in`: when a spawned `gh <args>` command exits non-zero, the tool bails with the command name and gh's trimmed stderr. Because gh prints actionable errors (auth, permissions, rate limits), the appended text is the primary diagnostic.

Solutions

1. Read the gh stderr in the message and run `gh auth status`
2. Authenticate: `gh auth login` (or fix GH_TOKEN/GITHUB_TOKEN)
3. Re-run the exact gh command manually to confirm the cause
4. Check network/proxy access to api.github.com

Example fix

// before
Error: gh pr view failed: gh: To use GitHub CLI in a GitHub Actions workflow, set the GH_TOKEN environment variable
// after
$ export GH_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)  # or run `gh auth login`
$ tool create-review

let auth = Command::new("gh").args(["auth", "status"]).output()?;
if !auth.status.success() {
    return Err(anyhow!("gh not authenticated; run `gh auth login`"));
}

let msg = e.to_string();
if msg.contains("gh auth") || msg.contains("authentication") {
    eprintln!("run `gh auth login` or set GH_TOKEN");
} else if msg.contains("rate limit") {
    eprintln!("wait for rate-limit reset or use a token with higher limits");
}
return Err(e);

When it happens

Trigger: Any captured gh call (e.g. `gh pr view`, `gh repo view`, `gh api`) that exits non-zero — typically unauthenticated sessions (`gh auth status` failing), missing scopes, nonexistent PR/repo, or network failures.

Common situations: Running `gh auth login` never done or token expired; GH_TOKEN/GITHUB_TOKEN env var pointing at a revoked token; operating in a directory with no git remote so gh can't infer the repo; corporate proxy blocking api.github.com.

Related errors

• failed to create private repo
• failed to create repo via gh (is it…
• Could not determine GitHub username
• Failed to create repository
• failed to determine PR URL after creation (gh output had no…

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cc6ff8a96363fc39. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/commit.rs:8515

        .args(["--version"])
        .stdout(Stdio::null())
        .stderr(Stdio::null())
        .status()
        .context("failed to run `gh` (GitHub CLI)")?;
    if !status.success() {
        bail!("`gh` is installed but not working");
    }
    Ok(())
}

fn gh_capture_in(repo_root: &Path, args: &[&str]) -> Result<String> {
    let output = Command::new("gh")
        .current_dir(repo_root)
        .args(args)
        .output()
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to run gh {}", args.join(" ")))?;
    if !output.status.success() {
        bail!(
            "gh {} failed: {}",
            args.join(" "),
            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr).trim()
        );
    }
    Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).to_string())
}

fn github_repo_from_remote_url(url: &str) -> Option<String> {
    let trimmed = url.trim().trim_end_matches('/');
    if trimmed.is_empty() {
        return None;
    }

    // https://github.com/owner/repo(.git)
    if let Some(rest) = trimmed.strip_prefix("https://github.com/") {
        return Some(rest.trim_end_matches(".git").to_string());
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)