nikivdev/code · error

git {} failed

Error message

git {} failed

What it means

git_capture_in runs a git command in the repo root and captures stdout; a non-zero exit status produces this bail with the joined arguments. Used by prepare_source_workspace to inspect the colocated git side of the source workspace.

Source

Thrown at src/ext.rs:405

    let output = Command::new("jj")
        .current_dir(repo_root)
        .args(args)
        .output()
        .with_context(|| format!("failed to run jj {}", args.join(" ")))?;
    if !output.status.success() {
        bail!("jj {} failed", args.join(" "));
    }
    Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).to_string())
}

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

fn prompt_yes_no(message: &str, default_yes: bool) -> Result<bool> {
    let prompt = if default_yes { "[Y/n]" } else { "[y/N]" };
    print!("{message} {prompt}: ");
    io::stdout().flush()?;
    if !io::stdin().is_terminal() {
        bail!("Non-interactive session; cannot confirm action.");
    }
    let mut input = String::new();
    io::stdin().read_line(&mut input)?;
    let answer = input.trim().to_ascii_lowercase();
    if answer.is_empty() {
        return Ok(default_yes);
    }
    Ok(answer == "y" || answer == "yes")

View on GitHub (pinned to a747e741ae)

Solutions

1. Run the same git command manually in the source repo to see the real git error.
2. Ensure git is installed and on PATH (`git --version`).
3. If the source lacks .git, recreate the workspace with `jj git init --colocate`.

Example fix

// before
let out = git_capture_in(&repo_root, &["status", "--porcelain"])?;
// after (shell diagnosis first)
// cd <source> && git status --porcelain   # observe the actual git error
let out = git_capture_in(&repo_root, &["status", "--porcelain"])?;

if std::process::Command::new("git").arg("--version").output().map(|o| !o.status.success()).unwrap_or(true) {
    return Err(anyhow!("git is not installed or not functioning"));
}
if !source.join(".git").exists() {
    return Err(anyhow!("{} has no .git; recreate with `jj git init --colocate`", source));
}

if let Err(e) = import_external_path(source) {
    if e.to_string().starts_with("git ") {
        eprintln!("git step failed ({e}); run the same git command in the source repo to diagnose");
    } else { return Err(e.into()); }
}

When it happens

Trigger: git binary missing from PATH; running a git command outside a git repository (source jj repo is not colocated); invalid arguments or git hooks failing during the queried operation.

Common situations: Importing a jj workspace created without --colocate (no .git); minimal containers/CI images without git installed; git version too old for the flags used.

Related errors

• Lin.app is not running
• failed to stash working tree: {}
• git status failed with {}
• git add failed with {}
• git commit failed with {}

AI-assisted analysis of nikivdev/code@a747e741ae (2026-09-01). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0706bf090001baba. Report an issue: GitHub.