sds/overcommit · error · Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidGitRepo

is not a directory

Error message

is not a directory

What it means

The first check Installer#run performs on its target: File.expand_path(@target) must be an existing directory. If not, it raises InvalidGitRepo with the terse message 'is not a directory', which the CLI presents alongside the target path.

Source

Thrown at lib/overcommit/installer.rb:89

    end

    def old_hooks_path
      File.join(hooks_path, 'old-hooks')
    end

    def master_hook_install_path
      File.join(hooks_path, 'overcommit-hook')
    end

    def ensure_directory(path)
      FileUtils.mkdir_p(path)
    end

    def validate_target
      absolute_target = File.expand_path(@target)

      unless File.directory?(absolute_target)
        raise Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidGitRepo, 'is not a directory'
      end

      git_dir_check = Dir.chdir(absolute_target) do
        Overcommit::Utils.execute(%w[git rev-parse --git-dir])
      end

      unless git_dir_check.success?
        raise Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidGitRepo, 'does not appear to be a git repository'
      end
    end

    def install_master_hook
      FileUtils.mkdir_p(hooks_path)
      FileUtils.cp(MASTER_HOOK, master_hook_install_path)
    end

    def uninstall_master_hook
      FileUtils.rm_rf(master_hook_install_path, secure: true)

View on GitHub (pinned to fee0cd74b2)

Solutions

1. Re-run with the correct absolute path: 'overcommit --install /abs/path/to/repo'
2. If the directory should exist, create it first: 'mkdir -p <target>' and retry
3. Check scripts that build the target path for typos and unexpanded variables

Example fix

# before
$ overcommit --install src/mrepo   # typo, does not exist

# after
$ overcommit --install "$(pwd)/src/myrepo"

target = File.expand_path(ARGV[0])
abort "#{target} is not a directory" unless File.directory?(target)
Overcommit::Installer.new(logger).run(target, action: :install)

def installable_target?(path)
  File.directory?(File.expand_path(path))
end

begin
  installer.run(target, action: :install)
rescue Overcommit::Exceptions::InvalidGitRepo => e
  abort "#{target}: #{e.message}"
end

When it happens

Trigger: 'overcommit --install <path>' (or --uninstall/--update) where <path> does not exist, is a file rather than a directory, or is a relative path resolved from the wrong working directory.

Common situations: Typo in an install script; passing a repo URL or archive path instead of a local directory; relative path used from a different cwd in CI or bootstrap scripts.

Related errors

• does not appear to be a git repository
• Class #{hook_name} is not a subclass of #{hook_base_class}.
• Unable to load hook '#{hook_name}': #{e}
• Unable to load hook '#{hook_name}': #{e}
• A load error occurred. Did you forget to install a gem? #{e.

AI-assisted analysis of sds/overcommit@fee0cd74b2 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/97695f8597ef665c. Report an issue: GitHub.