fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such file or directory

Question

I have the following problem when I try to pull code using git Bash on Windows:

fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such file or directory

I already tried to implement the accepted solution provided here:

Error when push commits with Github: fatal: could not read Username

...but the problem persists. After adding/removing origin I still get the same error.

Did you config Username? `git config --global user.name "Your Name Here"` — Raul Andres, Mar 03 '14 at 14:45
i already tried that but it isnt referring to my git username, i think it is giving problem for the username of the git repository that i am calling here. — noobie-php, Mar 03 '14 at 16:08

score 100 · Answer 1 · edited Nov 14 '21 at 21:47

100

Follow the steps to setup SSH keys here: https://help.github.com/articles/generating-ssh-keys

OR

git remote add origin https://{username}:{password}@github.com/{username}/project.git

Update: If you get "fatal: remote origin already exists." then you have to use set-url:

git remote set-url origin https://{username}:{password}@github.com/{username}/project.git

edited Nov 14 '21 at 21:47

Daniel Hernández

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answered Apr 04 '14 at 02:14

Tony Zampogna

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2nd option didn't work because I had already added 'origin github'. I removed the origin [ git remote remove origin ] and then wrote what is in the answer with my username and password and it worked fine. – P_Rein Jun 04 '14 at 13:11
13

instead of deleting and re-adding origin you also can just change the URL using `git remote set-url origin https://{username}:{password}@github.com/...` – Chris Jul 30 '14 at 12:18
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@Chris solution works but it stores the user's github account password and let it be read by just typing `git remote -v` – Jefferson Silva Nov 18 '14 at 00:41
Chris's option worked for me! I followed it up with Jefferson Silva's and it worked well. Still have an `error: cannot spawn sh: No such file or directory` message... – TheSciGuy May 13 '19 at 14:56
2

Support for password authentication was removed on August 13, 2021. – Krzysztof Krzeszewski Nov 26 '21 at 16:18
1

That's good. Just nowadays we need to use a personal access token instead of a password – Billal Begueradj Dec 02 '21 at 09:24
Same problem though, a PAT might not let you log in, but anyone can scrape that via git remote -v I'd think. I haven't tried it for obvious reasons. – J. Gwinner May 11 '22 at 23:42

Fayaz · Answer 2 · 2022-03-16T09:58:17.367

31

I faced the exact same problem. This problem occurred when I cloned a repo using HTTPS URL and then tried to push the changes (using Shell on Linux/Mac or Git Bash on Windows):

git clone https://github.com/{username}/{repo}.git

However, when I used SSH URL to clone, this problem didn't occur:

git clone git@github.com:{username}/{repo}.git

In case you already cloned the repo using HTTPS and don't want to redo everything, you may use set-url to change the origin URL to SSH URL:

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:{username}/{repo}.git

Note: I have SSH key added to my GitHub account. Without setting up SSH key, this method will not work either.

edited Mar 16 '22 at 09:58

answered Nov 17 '14 at 13:42

Fayaz

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Okay, but **why** does this occur? – Gili Dec 01 '16 at 20:06
Because of a bug in msysgit: https://github.com/msysgit/msysgit/issues/153 – Fayaz Jan 28 '17 at 02:57
6

I get this message within a Docker container running on gitlab. The base image is `python:3.7-slim`. So it is not Windows related. – Martin Thoma Jun 17 '19 at 14:05
In my case, it was an organisation repo using ssh://git.gartner.com – Ankush Jul 22 '19 at 12:42
1

@MartinThoma I only experience this error with a Docker container on GitLab when the repo is set to private. – el_tenedor Apr 04 '21 at 12:31
This is not working any more, GitHub removed support work password auth. – Hrvoje Feb 09 '22 at 11:41

score 29 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 30 '20 at 09:09

29

I found my answer here:

edit ~/.gitconfig and add the following:

[url "git@github.com:"]
 insteadOf = https://github.com/

Although it solves a different problem, the error code is the same...

edited Apr 30 '20 at 09:09

Aki

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answered Apr 12 '19 at 16:42

Louis Parkin

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had the same problem and this worked with SourceTree! excellent – petrosmm Mar 25 '21 at 18:22
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Yup. This is the real and right solution for this case.. Thanks! – BlueDev Sep 04 '21 at 14:31
My pleasure @BlueDev – Louis Parkin Sep 06 '21 at 11:46

score 13 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 04 '21 at 12:51

For me nothing worked from suggested above, I use the git pull command from Jenkins Shell Script and apparently it takes wrong user name. I spent ages before I found a way to fix it without switching to SSH.

In your the user's folder create .gitconfig file (if you don't have it already) and put your credentials in following format: https://user:pass@example.com, more info. After your .gitconfig file link to those credentials, in my case it was:

[credential]
   helper = store --file /Users/admin/.git-credentials

Now git will always use those credentials no matter what. I hope it will help someone, like it helped me.

for me it only worked when i put `[credential] helper = store --file /..../.git-credentials` in `.git/config` in **my working directory** — Kirill Oficerov, Aug 17 '20 at 14:24

score 11 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 05 '20 at 16:45

11

Note that if you are getting this error instead:

fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No error

Then you need to update your Git to version 2.16 or later.

edited Aug 05 '20 at 16:45

Olivia Stork

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answered Mar 10 '18 at 10:13

Rosdi Kasim

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score 10 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 10 '15 at 07:51

If you want to continue use https instead ssh, and avoid type into your username and password for security reason.

You can also try Github OAuth token, then you can do git config remote.origin.url 'https://{token}@github.com/{username}/{project}.git' or git remote add origin 'https://{token}@github.com/{username}/{project}.git'

This works for me!

score 7 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 12 '19 at 09:14

TL;DR: check if you can read/write to /dev/tty. If no and you have used su to open the shell, check if you have used it correctly.

I was facing the same problem but on Linux and I have found the issue. I don't have my credentials stored so I always input them on prompt:

Username for 'https://github.com': foo
Password for 'https://foo@github.com':

The way how git handles http(s) connections is using /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https you can see strace here:

stat("/usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https", {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=1366784, ...}) = 0
pipe([9, 10])                           = 0
rt_sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, ~[RTMIN RT_1], [], 8) = 0
clone(child_stack=NULL, flags=CLONE_CHILD_CLEARTID|CLONE_CHILD_SETTID|SIGCHLD, child_tidptr=0x7f65398bb350) = 18177
rt_sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, [], NULL, 8) = 0
close(10)                               = 0
read(9, "", 8)                          = 0
close(9)                                = 0
close(5)                                = 0
close(8)                                = 0
dup(7)                                  = 5
fcntl(5, F_GETFL)                       = 0 (flags O_RDONLY)
write(6, "capabilities\n", 13)          = 13
fstat(5, {st_mode=S_IFIFO|0600, st_size=0, ...}) = 0
read(5, "fetch\noption\npush\ncheck-connecti"..., 4096) = 38
write(6, "option progress true\n", 21)  = 21
read(5, "ok\n", 4096)                   = 3
write(6, "option verbosity 1\n", 19)    = 19
read(5, "ok\n", 4096)                   = 3
stat(".git/packed-refs", {st_mode=S_IFREG|0664, st_size=675, ...}) = 0
lstat(".git/objects/10/52401742a2e9a3e8bf068b115c3818180bf19e", {st_mode=S_IFREG|0444, st_size=179, ...}) = 0
lstat(".git/objects/4e/35fa16cf8f2676600f56e9ba78cf730adc706e", {st_mode=S_IFREG|0444, st_size=178, ...}) = 0
dup(7)                                  = 8
fcntl(8, F_GETFL)                       = 0 (flags O_RDONLY)
close(8)                                = 0
write(6, "list for-push\n", 14)         = 14
read(5, fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address
"", 4096)                       = 0
--- SIGCHLD {si_signo=SIGCHLD, si_code=CLD_EXITED, si_pid=18177, si_uid=1000, si_status=128, si_utime=6, si_stime=2} ---
exit_group(128)                         = ?
+++ exited with 128 +++

So I tried to call it directly:

echo "list for-push" | strace /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https my

and the result:

poll([{fd=3, events=POLLIN|POLLPRI|POLLRDNORM|POLLRDBAND}], 1, 0) = 1 ([{fd=3, revents=POLLIN|POLLRDNORM}])
recvfrom(3, "\27\3\3\1\32", 5, 0, NULL, NULL) = 5
recvfrom(3, "\307|4Q\21\306\334\244o\237-\230\255\336\25\215D\257\227\274\r\330\314U\5\17\217T\274\262M\223"..., 282, 0, NULL, NULL) = 282
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/dev/tty", O_RDONLY)  = -1 ENXIO (No such device or address)
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/share/locale/locale.alias", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 4
fstat(4, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=2995, ...}) = 0
read(4, "# Locale name alias data base.\n#"..., 4096) = 2995
read(4, "", 4096)                       = 0
close(4)                                = 0
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/share/locale/en_US/LC_MESSAGES/libc.mo", O_RDONLY) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/share/locale/en/LC_MESSAGES/libc.mo", O_RDONLY) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/share/locale-langpack/en_US/LC_MESSAGES/libc.mo", O_RDONLY) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/share/locale-langpack/en/LC_MESSAGES/libc.mo", O_RDONLY) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
write(2, "fatal: could not read Username f"..., 83fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address
) = 83
exit_group(128)                         = ?
+++ exited with 128 +++

And here it came to me:

openat(AT_FDCWD, "/dev/tty", O_RDONLY)  = -1 ENXIO (No such device or address)
...
write(2, "fatal: could not read Username f"..., 83fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address
) = 83

git-remote-https tries to read credentials via /dev/tty so I tested if it works:

$ echo ahoj > /dev/tty
bash: /dev/tty: No such device or address

But in another terminal:

# echo ahoj > /dev/tty
ahoj

I knew I switched to this user using su so I exited the shell to see how and found out I used command su danman - so I tested it again:

~# su danman -
bash: cannot set terminal process group (-1): Inappropriate ioctl for device
bash: no job control in this shell
/root$ echo ahoj > /dev/tty
bash: /dev/tty: No such device or address

I probably ignored the message and continued working but this was the reason. When I switched using the correct su - danman everything worked fine:

~# su - danman
danman@speedy:~$ echo ahoj > /dev/tty
ahoj

After this, git started working correctly

score 6 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 06 '17 at 04:16

This error can also happen when trying to clone an invalid HTTP URL. For example, this is the error I got when trying to clone a GitHub URL that was a few characters off:

$ git clone -v http://github.com/username/repo-name.git
Cloning into 'repo-name'...
Username for 'https://github.com': 
Password for 'https://github.com': 
remote: Repository not found.
fatal: Authentication failed for 'https://github.com/username/repo-name.git/'

It actually happened inside Emacs, though, so the error in Emacs looked like this:

fatal: could not read Username for ’https://github.com’: No such device or address

So instead of a helpful error saying that there was no such repo at that URL, it gave me that, sending me on a wild goose chase until I finally realized that the URL was incorrect.

This is with git version 2.7.4.

I'm posting this here because it happened to me a month ago and again just now, sending me on the same wild goose chase again. >:(

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 22 '22 at 07:52

4

just check the below

Android Studio -> Preferences -> Version Control -> Git -> Use Credential Helper

answered Feb 22 '22 at 07:52

Hamid-Ghasemi

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Can you elaborate under which circumstances is this approach preferred/recommended? Also, can you explain what does the Credential Helper do? – aaossa Feb 28 '22 at 16:12
It takes the system credentials in mind. Did work for me. Thanks a lot for this! – cV2 Mar 08 '22 at 10:20

score 3 · Answer 10 · answered Apr 30 '14 at 09:08

Short Answer:

git init
git add README.md
git commit -m "first commit"


git remote add origin https://github.com/{USER_NAME}/{REPOSITORY_NAME}.git
git push --set-upstream origin master

Ignore first three lines if it's not a new repository.

Longer description:

Just had the same problem, as non of the above answers helped me, I have decided to post this solution that worked for me.

Few Notes:

The SSH key was generated
SSH key was added to github, still had this error.
I've made a new repository on GitHub for this project and followed the steps described

As the command line tool I used GitShell (for Windows, I use Terminal.app on Mac).
GitShell is official GitHub tool, can be downloaded from https://windows.github.com/

Hope this helps to anyone who has the same problem.

Nagev · Answer 11 · 2019-11-13T17:42:00.330

3

For those getting this error in a Jenkins pipeline, it can be fixed by using an SSH Agent plugin. Then wrap your git commands in something like this:

sshagent(['my-ssh-key']) {
    git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/reponame.git
    sh 'git push origin branch_name'
}

edited Nov 13 '19 at 17:42

answered Nov 13 '19 at 17:13

Nagev

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score 2 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 27 '16 at 12:13

2

Replace your remote url like this:

git remote set-url origin https://<username>@github.com/<username>/<repo>.git

answered Jul 27 '16 at 12:13

GrossesKinoZuerich

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All the other posts indicate putting the password in the remote url, which will then be stored plain text on disk - a security no no. Only the username is required, the credentials store will request your github username/password and then store it securely to be used automatically. – Bae May 28 '20 at 23:22
in android studio, goto VCS-> GIT -> Remotes and replace the url with https://@github.com//.git – Waqas K Feb 05 '22 at 04:07

score 2 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 15 '16 at 15:33

I fixed this by installing a newer version of Git. The version I installed is 2.10.2 from https://git-scm.com. See the last post here: https://www.bountysource.com/issues/31602800-git-fails-to-authenticate-access-to-private-repository-over-https

With newer Git Bash, the credential manager window pops up and you can enter your username and password, and it works!

score 2 · Answer 14 · answered May 13 '21 at 10:21

2

In my case I had to setup personal access token under github:

1_ settings -> developer settings

2_ and enable SSO.

Maybe this can help someone stuck out there.

answered May 13 '21 at 10:21

Fawaz

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Neeraj Singh Negi · Answer 15 · 2021-09-30T18:49:48.760

[SSH] executing...
fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such device or address

[SSH] completed
[SSH] exit-status: 1

Build step 'Execute shell script on remote host using ssh' marked build as failure
Finished: FAILURE

Sol:- If the repository is private and also it belongs to another person or organisation and you are a contributor of that repository then you can run git commands from Jenkins job and it doesn't prompt you for the username and password.

https://username:token@github.com/accountname/reponame.git

score 1 · Answer 16 · answered Mar 03 '14 at 16:39

1

This is an issue with your stored credentials in the system credential cache. You probably have the config variable 'credential.helper' set to either wincred or winstore and it is failing to clear it. If you start the Control Panel and launch the Credential Manager applet then look for items in the generic credentials section labelled "git:https://github.com". If you delete these, then the will be recreated next time but the credential helper utility will ask you for your new credentials.

answered Mar 03 '14 at 16:39

patthoyts

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what tool are you referring to i am currently using Bash for windows – noobie-php Mar 03 '14 at 18:00
yes - so have a look in the Credential Manager Control Panel applet. If there is nothing there as mentioned then check your config - `git config --global -l | grep credential`. If there is anything output, that will be the utility that is trying to feed your stored credentials to the server when you push. – patthoyts Mar 03 '14 at 20:10
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Mate i think this isnt the problem let me explain , may be you get what i am trying to say,`git remote add origin https://github.com/username/Hello-World.git` the `username` which is tied onto this git repo link is making trouble, i dont think my OWN username is making trouble here. As far as i know Credential manger helps managing personal credentials, not the credentials of repository. – noobie-php Mar 04 '14 at 17:06

score 1 · Answer 17 · answered Jun 23 '21 at 04:01

I am using GitHub actions where the jobs are configured to accomplish a task. This solution applies to all the CIs (Jenkins, Travis, Circle) where the git command execution environment changes.

job1: Checkout the repository using the github actions actions/checkout@v2 using the personal access token(PAT), The job completed successfully and repository is cloned.

job2: Fetch the tags using the command git fetch --tags. The job failed with the same error

fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such file or directory

Reason of failure: When the job changed, the command running environment also changed, even though the repository exists but the github credentials needs to be provided to fetch the tags.

Solution: add this command before fetching the tags in the job2

git config remote.origin.url 'https://${{ your_personal_access_token }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}'

Note: ${{ expression }} is the github actions yaml syntex to uncover the environment varibales/ to run expressions.

score 1 · Answer 18 · answered Dec 07 '21 at 07:13

Tried everything here, didn't work.

However, when I tried to debug via git config --system --list, I got fatal: unable to read config file '/etc/gitconfig': No such file or directory.

So I did the following,

sudo ln -s $HOME/.gitconfig /etc/gitconfig

and voila, it works.

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Dec 09 '19 at 05:07

Earlier when I wasn't granted permission to access the repo, I had also added the SSH pubkey to gitlab. At the point I could access the repo and run go mod vendor, the same problem as your happens. (maybe because of cache)

go mod vendor

go: errors parsing go.mod:
/Users/macos/Documents/sample/go.mod:22: git ls-remote -q https://git.aaa.team/core/some_repo.git in /Users/macos/go/pkg/mod/cache/vcs/a94d20a18fd56245f5d0f9f1601688930cad7046e55dd453b82e959b12d78369: exit status 128:
    fatal: could not read Username for 'https://git.aaa.team': terminal prompts disabled

After a while trying, I decide to remove the SSH key and terminal prompts filling in username and password. Everything is fine then!

In my case, dont use https, instead try http. Please edit file ./gitconfig `[url "git@git.aaa.team:"] insteadOf = https://git.aaa.team/` — Long Tran, Jul 04 '21 at 18:34

score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Jan 18 '21 at 17:13

Double check the repository URL, Github will prompt you to login if the repo doesn't exist.

I'm guessing this is probably to check if it's a private repo you have access to. Possibly to make it harder to enumerate private repos. But this is all conjecture. /shrug

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Oct 12 '21 at 20:06

0

I had this problem in a ssh jail (jailkit), where /dev/tty was not present. I added this device file with jk_cp and the error went away.

answered Oct 12 '21 at 20:06

Peter

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score 0 · Answer 22 · edited Apr 06 '22 at 07:05

0

Step 1: from the android studio terminal execute git pull

example: test@test:~/StudioProjects/dummy-project-android$ git pull

Step 2: add the user name

example: test@test:~/StudioProjects/dummy-project-android$ "username"

Step 3: add the user password

Password for 'https://dummy-project-android@git.com':"password"

after that, we can perform the rest of the operation

edited Apr 06 '22 at 07:05

Adriaan

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answered Apr 06 '22 at 07:01

Radhika bajaj

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score -1 · Answer 23 · answered Feb 07 '16 at 02:01

trying the CreativeMagic solution, the credential problem is confirmed:

prompt>>>Username for 'https://github.com'

So, I changed my origin url with

git remote set-url --add origin http://github.com/user/repo

and

git push --set-upstream origin master

score -1 · Answer 24 · answered Jun 20 '18 at 08:57

-1

Try using a normal Windows shell such as CMD.

answered Jun 20 '18 at 08:57

Vajiheh Habibi

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score -14 · Answer 25 · edited Nov 09 '20 at 14:15

-14

What worked for me is to change the access of the Git repository from private to public.

edited Nov 09 '20 at 14:15

Smart Manoj

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answered Feb 08 '20 at 14:01

Kapil Garg

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that's not a solution as people may want to keep their repositories private – Krzysztof Krzeszewski Nov 18 '20 at 10:02

fatal: could not read Username for 'https://github.com': No such file or directory

25 Answers25

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