overleaf/overleaf · error · IOException

git gc error

Error message

git gc error

What it means

Warning emitted in GitProjectRepo.runGC when the spawned 'git gc' process exits with a non-zero code — garbage collection failed on the project's bare git repository (corrupt objects, stale lock files, or disk exhaustion). The project directory path and process output are logged; repo size is not reclaimed until gc succeeds.

Source

Thrown at services/git-bridge/src/main/java/uk/ac/ic/wlgitbridge/bridge/repo/GitProjectRepo.java:133

    Preconditions.checkState(repository.isPresent(), "Repo is not present");
    File dir = getProjectDir();
    Preconditions.checkState(dir.isDirectory());
    Log.debug("[{}] Running git gc", projectName);
    Process proc = new ProcessBuilder("git", "gc").directory(dir).start();
    int exitCode;
    try {
      exitCode = proc.waitFor();
      Log.debug("Exit: {}", exitCode);
    } catch (InterruptedException e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
    if (exitCode != 0) {
      Log.warn("[{}] Git gc failed", dir.getAbsolutePath());
      Log.warn(IOUtils.toString(proc.getInputStream(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
      Log.warn(IOUtils.toString(proc.getErrorStream(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
      throw new IOException("git gc error");
    }
    Log.debug("[{}] git gc successful", projectName);
  }

  @Override
  public void deleteIncomingPacks() throws IOException {
    Log.debug("[{}] Checking for garbage `incoming` files", projectName);
    Files.walkFileTree(
        getDotGitDir().toPath(),
        new FileVisitor<Path>() {
          @Override
          public FileVisitResult preVisitDirectory(Path dir, BasicFileAttributes attrs)
              throws IOException {
            return FileVisitResult.CONTINUE;
          }

          @Override
          public FileVisitResult visitFile(Path file, BasicFileAttributes attrs)
              throws IOException {
            File file_ = file.toFile();

View on GitHub (pinned to 28ad3b03b7)

Solutions

1. Read the logged process output for the underlying git error (cannot lock, corrupt object)
2. Run 'git gc' manually in the project directory to reproduce and fix
3. Remove stale gc.log / *.lock files from the repo if a previous gc was interrupted
4. Check disk space and inode usage on the git-bridge storage volume

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at services/git-bridge/src/main/java/uk/ac/ic/wlgitbridge/bridge/repo/GitProjectRepo.java:133 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of overleaf/overleaf@28ad3b03b7 (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e264b393e8ec309. Report an issue: GitHub.