nikivdev/code · error

`gh` is installed but not working

Error message

`gh` is installed but not working

What it means

ensure_gh_available runs `gh --version` (with output discarded) before syncing secrets. If gh is found but exits non-zero, the tool concludes the GitHub CLI is broken and bails. It is distinct from the 'gh not installed' case, which fails earlier with a different error.

Source

Thrown at src/release_signing.rs:225

    ensure_gh_available()?;
    for key in SIGNING_KEYS {
        let value = vars.get(key).expect("checked above");
        gh_secret_set(opts.repo.as_deref(), key, value)?;
        println!("✓ Set GitHub secret: {}", key);
    }

    Ok(())
}

fn ensure_gh_available() -> Result<()> {
    let status = Command::new("gh")
        .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_secret_set(repo: Option<&str>, name: &str, value: &str) -> Result<()> {
    let mut cmd = Command::new("gh");
    cmd.args(["secret", "set", name]);
    if let Some(repo) = repo {
        cmd.args(["--repo", repo]);
    }
    // Avoid passing secrets via argv (ps); `gh secret set` reads from stdin when --body is omitted.

    let mut child = cmd
        .stdin(Stdio::piped())
        .stdout(Stdio::null())
        .spawn()
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to spawn `gh secret set {}`", name))?;

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Reinstall/upgrade gh (`brew upgrade gh` or your package manager's equivalent)
2. Run `gh --version` and `gh auth status` manually to see the failure
3. Check PATH for shadowing/broken `gh` binaries (`which -a gh`)

const { status } = spawnSync("gh", ["--version"], { stdio: "ignore" });
if (status !== 0) throw new Error("gh is broken; reinstall before syncing signing secrets");

try {
  run(["f", "release", "signing", "sync"]);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e).includes("not working") || String(e).includes("failed to run `gh`")) {
    console.error("Reinstall the GitHub CLI (brew upgrade gh) and run `gh auth login`.");
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: `gh --version` returns a non-zero exit status during `f release signing sync`.

Common situations: Broken or partially upgraded gh binary; incompatible gh installed via mismatched package manager; permissions/exec issues; corrupted PATH entry pointing to a stub.

Related errors

• `gh secret set {}` failed
• native session bridge warm command failed with status {}
• pbcopy exited with status {}
• clipboard command exited with status {}
• AI task '{}' failed with status {}

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/00d7f49f76099bcb. Report an issue: GitHub.