# BUG: Wrong error message when access to .git directory denied

4 messages from 2015-05-29 to 2015-05-29. Participants: Jonas Berlin, Junio C Hamano, Stefan Beller.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/39455

## Jonas Berlin, 2015-05-29 07:47

Subject: BUG: Wrong error message when access to .git directory denied
Message-ID: <20150529104743.6220a11f@outerspace.dyndns.org>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20150529104743.6220a11f%40outerspace.dyndns.org

```
Hi,

Severity: Low
Impact: Confusion
Git version: 1.9.1

If I don't have permissions to access the .git folder of a non-bare git repository, I get the following output:

  fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

Expected output:

  fatal: Permission denied while accessing .git directory

Steps to reproduce:

  mkdir foo
  cd foo
  git init
  chmod 000 .git
  git log

- xkr47

```

## Junio C Hamano, 2015-05-29 15:29

Subject: Re: BUG: Wrong error message when access to .git directory denied
Message-ID: <xmqq1thzfll9.fsf@gitster.dls.corp.google.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqq1thzfll9.fsf%40gitster.dls.corp.google.com
In-Reply-To: <20150529104743.6220a11f@outerspace.dyndns.org>

```
Jonas Berlin <xkr47@outerspace.dyndns.org> writes:

> Severity: Low
> Impact: Confusion

;-)

> Git version: 1.9.1
>
> If I don't have permissions to access the .git folder of a non-bare
> git repository, I get the following output:
>
>   fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
>
> Expected output:
>
>   fatal: Permission denied while accessing .git directory

But the thing is, .git being unreadable simply means we do not know
if it is a .git directory, or a random directory that does not have
anything to do with Git that happens to have that name.

So "Not a git repository" is the best Git can say.

```

## Stefan Beller, 2015-05-29 16:45

Subject: Re: BUG: Wrong error message when access to .git directory denied
Message-ID: <CAGZ79kZPTpJjLsKSd6E8vQ0HFuSeCH5Hr_LBhSjx9=SQdQhOBQ@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAGZ79kZPTpJjLsKSd6E8vQ0HFuSeCH5Hr_LBhSjx9%3DSQdQhOBQ%40mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <xmqq1thzfll9.fsf@gitster.dls.corp.google.com>

```
On Fri, May 29, 2015 at 8:29 AM, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
> Jonas Berlin <xkr47@outerspace.dyndns.org> writes:
>
>> Severity: Low
>> Impact: Confusion
>
> ;-)
>
>> Git version: 1.9.1
>>
>> If I don't have permissions to access the .git folder of a non-bare
>> git repository, I get the following output:
>>
>>   fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
>>
>> Expected output:
>>
>>   fatal: Permission denied while accessing .git directory
>
> But the thing is, .git being unreadable simply means we do not know
> if it is a .git directory, or a random directory that does not have
> anything to do with Git that happens to have that name.
>
> So "Not a git repository" is the best Git can say.

fatal: Permission denied while accessing .git directory

does not imply we're having a git repository here at all, but rather
sounds like "We wanted to check for you if this is a git repository,
but we cannot do that as we lack permissions to do so.

So git doesn't know if it is inside a repo or not, so the actual error message
"Not a git repository" is wrong. It's just that the current permissions cannot
tell if we're in a repository or not.

> --
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```

## Junio C Hamano, 2015-05-29 17:06

Subject: Re: BUG: Wrong error message when access to .git directory denied
Message-ID: <xmqqwpzrcnzg.fsf@gitster.dls.corp.google.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqwpzrcnzg.fsf%40gitster.dls.corp.google.com
In-Reply-To: <CAGZ79kZPTpJjLsKSd6E8vQ0HFuSeCH5Hr_LBhSjx9=SQdQhOBQ@mail.gmail.com>

```
Stefan Beller <sbeller@google.com> writes:

>> So "Not a git repository" is the best Git can say.
>
> fatal: Permission denied while accessing .git directory
>
> does not imply we're having a git repository here at all, but rather
> sounds like "We wanted to check for you if this is a git repository,
> but we cannot do that as we lack permissions to do so.
>
> So git doesn't know if it is inside a repo or not, so the actual error message
> "Not a git repository" is wrong. It's just that the current permissions cannot
> tell if we're in a repository or not.

Fair enough.  Patches ;-)?

```