yamadashy/repomix · error · RepomixError

Failed to clone repository: ${redactErrorMessage(error)}

Error message

Failed to clone repository: ${redactErrorMessage(error)}

What it means

Repomix wraps any failure from the shallow git clone of a remote repository (used by `repomix --remote`) into a single RepomixError with a redacted error message. The thrown error could be an invalid URL, network failure, nonexistent repository/branch, or missing git binary; the library hides the raw stderr behind `redactErrorMessage` to avoid leaking credentials embedded in URLs.

Source

Thrown at src/cli/actions/remoteAction.ts:275

  logger.trace(`Created temporary directory. (path: ${pc.dim(tempDir)})`);
  return tempDir;
};

export const cloneRepository = async (
  url: string,
  directory: string,
  remoteBranch?: string,
  deps = {
    execGitShallowClone,
  },
): Promise<void> => {
  logger.log(`Clone repository: ${redactUrl(url)} to temporary directory. ${pc.dim(`path: ${directory}`)}`);
  logger.log('');

  try {
    await deps.execGitShallowClone(url, directory, remoteBranch);
  } catch (error) {
    throw new RepomixError(`Failed to clone repository: ${redactErrorMessage(error)}`);
  }
};

export const cleanupTempDirectory = async (directory: string): Promise<void> => {
  logger.trace(`Cleaning up temporary directory: ${directory}`);
  await fs.rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true });
};

export const copyOutputToCurrentDirectory = async (
  sourceDir: string,
  targetDir: string,
  outputFileName: string,
): Promise<void> => {
  const sourcePath = path.resolve(sourceDir, outputFileName);
  const targetPath = path.resolve(targetDir, outputFileName);

  // Skip copy if source and target are the same
  // This can happen when an absolute path is specified for the output file

View on GitHub (pinned to f465ad9093)

Solutions

1. Verify the repository URL is correct and reachable: `git ls-remote <url>`
2. If the repo is private, ensure credentials work (SSH keys or HTTPS token) for the user running repomix
3. Confirm git is installed and on PATH (`git --version`)
4. If using `--remote-branch`, check the branch exists in the remote
5. Check network/proxy connectivity to the git host

Example fix

// before
await repomixRemote('https://github.com/owner/no-such-repo');
// after
const url = 'https://github.com/owner/real-repo';
await exec(`git ls-remote ${url}`); // validate first
await repomixRemote(url);

const { code } = spawnSync('git', ['ls-remote', url], { encoding: 'utf8' });
if (code !== 0) throw new Error(`Repository unreachable: ${url}`);

const isErrnoException = (e: unknown): e is NodeJS.ErrnoException =>
  e instanceof Error && ('code' in e);

try {
  await runRepomix({ remote: url });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof RepomixError && e.message.startsWith('Failed to clone repository')) {
    console.error('Check URL, credentials, network, and that git is installed.');
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `runRemoteAction`/`cloneRepository` (or `repomix --remote <url>`) where `deps.execGitShallowClone(url, directory, remoteBranch)` rejects: unreachable host, bad URL, auth required on a private repo, nonexistent branch passed via `--remote-branch`, or git not installed.

Common situations: Typing a wrong repo URL (typo in owner/name), cloning a private repo without SSH keys/credentials configured, offline or proxied networks blocking github.com, specifying a branch that doesn't exist, or corporate environments without git on PATH.

Related errors

• Failed to get remote refs: ${redactErrorMessage(error)}
• Git is not installed or not in the system PATH.
• Invalid repository URL. URL contains potentially dangerous p
• Invalid URL protocol for '${redactUrl(url)}'. URL must start
• Invalid repository URL. Please provide a valid URL: ${redact

AI-assisted analysis of yamadashy/repomix@f465ad9093 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6f1acf2bc431e4c8. Report an issue: GitHub.