tinyhumansai/openhuman · error · anyhow::Error

refusing to run git in {}: its repository config sets `{key}

Error message

refusing to run git in {}: its repository config sets `{key}`, which is not on the allowlist of configuration this tool will run under. Several git config keys name a command git then executes, and this directory is agent-writable, so unrecognised configuration is treated as untrusted rather than honoured.

What it means

Error "refusing to run git in {}: its repository config sets `{key}`, which is not on the allowlist of configuration this tool will run under. Several git config keys name a command git then executes, and this directory is agent-writable, so unrecognised configuration is treated as untrusted rather than honoured." thrown in tinyhumansai/openhuman.

Source

Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/system/workspace_state.rs:329

        let key = entry.split('\n').next().unwrap_or(entry);
        if !ALLOWED_REPO_CONFIG.contains(&normalise_config_key(key).as_str()) {
            return Ok(Some(key.to_string()));
        }
    }
    Ok(None)
}

async fn run_git(dir: &std::path::Path, args: &[&str]) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
    if let Some(key) = repo_config_is_inert(dir).await? {
        // The refusal is otherwise only visible folded into the tool's own
        // output, which is not greppable when an operator is asking why a
        // workspace stopped reporting. Correlation fields: the directory and
        // the key that caused it.
        tracing::debug!(
            "[workspace_state] refusing to run git: dir={}, disallowed_config_key={key}",
            dir.display()
        );
        anyhow::bail!(
            "refusing to run git in {}: its repository config sets `{key}`, which is \
             not on the allowlist of configuration this tool will run under. \
             Several git config keys name a command git then executes, and this \
             directory is agent-writable, so unrecognised configuration is treated \
             as untrusted rather than honoured.",
            dir.display()
        )
    }

    let output = hardened_git(dir).args(args).output().await?;

    if output.status.success() {
        Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).to_string())
    } else {
        anyhow::bail!(
            "git {} failed: {}",
            args.join(" "),
            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr)

View on GitHub (pinned to 7491200858)

Solutions

1. Inspect the repo config (git config --local --list) for the named key
2. Remove or correct the unrecognised key if it was added accidentally
3. Add genuinely needed safe keys to ALLOWED_REPO_CONFIG after security review
4. Avoid committing agent-controlled .git/config into the workspace

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/openhuman/tools/impl/system/workspace_state.rs:329 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of tinyhumansai/openhuman@7491200858 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cc24a642d04e6584. Report an issue: GitHub.