# git alias fails if non-accessible directory is in PATH 3 messages from 2011-05-08 to 2011-05-08. Participants: Sebastian Schuberth, Michael Schubert, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/27296 ## Sebastian Schuberth, 2011-05-08 09:53 Subject: git alias fails if non-accessible directory is in PATH Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/iq5p6k%2473f%241%40dough.gmane.org ``` Hi, I just came across the issue at [1] in my Gentoo installation. By default, it is drwxr-x--- 2 root games 4096 Mar 12 02:22 /usr/games/bin Moreover, by default users are not in the "games" group and /usr/games/bin is in PATH. For some reason, this makes git fail to run any alias like this # git config alias.br branch $ git br fatal: cannot exec 'git-br': Permission denied Is this by design, or a bug? I currently do not see a reason for git stop executing an alias just because it cannot access a directory in PATH. Strangely, I also haven't found any discussion about this on the mailing list yet. The problem is also described at [2] for Mac OS. Reading those posts, this seems to be a regression when coming from 1.6.3 to 1.7.0. [1] http://www.fractionsofapenny.com/from-the-trenches/gentoo-troubles-with-git-alias [2] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4019501/git-alias-problem -- Sebastian Schuberth ``` ## Michael Schubert, 2011-05-08 16:15 Subject: Re: git alias fails if non-accessible directory is in PATH Message-ID: <4DC6C19D.4060704@elegosoft.com> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/4DC6C19D.4060704%40elegosoft.com In-Reply-To: ``` > Is this by design, or a bug? I currently do not see a reason for git stop executing an alias just because it cannot access a directory in PATH. Strangely, I also haven't found any discussion about this on the mailing list yet. If you look at start_command(), `git br` ends up as execvp call returning EACCESS in the given case whereas only ENOENT was "expected". This happens before git tries to resolve the alias. Could it be a legit assumption that PATH holds only accessible paths? (POSIX?) Otherwise it's a bug. ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2011-05-08 16:50 Subject: Re: git alias fails if non-accessible directory is in PATH Message-ID: <7v7ha1uofu.fsf@alter.siamese.dyndns.org> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/7v7ha1uofu.fsf%40alter.siamese.dyndns.org In-Reply-To: ``` Sebastian Schuberth writes: > # git config alias.br branch > $ git br > fatal: cannot exec 'git-br': Permission denied > > Is this by design, or a bug? The "tangent" part of http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/171755 and then the discussion that begins at http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/171755/focus=171767 may explain the current list concensus. ```