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git path warning dialog on startup #744
Description
My mac is set to reopen all applications on startup, and sometimes when I turn it on I get this warning dialog from Gitx:
The path „/usr/bin/git“, which is configured as a custom git path in the preferences window, is not a valid git v1.6.0 or higher binary. Using the default search paths instead.
Running /usr/bin/git --version in a terminal shows that it is:
git version 2.50.1 (Apple Git-155)
Activity
goneng commentedon Oct 3, 2026
Thanks for the report. A draft fix is up in #748: the configured git path is now validated in the background, and the failure reason is logged. The cause is not confirmed yet (likely the /usr/bin/git shim failing early in login), so if it still happens with that build, the Console output around the alert would help.
Fix a spurious invalid git path alert at login
goneng commentedon Oct 3, 2026
The fix is now on master (#748). A build that includes it is attached to this CI run, under Artifacts (GitX-arm64.dmg or GitX-x86_64.dmg): https://github.com/gitx/gitx/actions/runs/37114084634
If the alert still shows up at login with that build, the Console output around it would help narrow down the cause.
joachim-n commentedon Oct 10, 2026
I got this again with release Version 1.7.1 (1.7.1.3490 [arm]).
goneng commentedon Oct 10, 2026
Thanks for the update, and sorry it is still happening. I reopened this issue.
The previous change moved the check off the startup path and
added logging of why it fails, so the Console should now say which step fails.
Could you please send the GitX lines from the Console right after the alert shows up?
In Console.app, select your Mac, search for
GitXand look around the time of the alert for lines such as:Running '/usr/bin/git --version' failed: ...Could not parse the output of '/usr/bin/git --version': ...The configured git path ... failed validation ...Also, a few questions that would help us reproduce it:
One theory we want to check is that many apps (and several GitX repositories)
start at once after login, and
git --versionis slow to answer.The check currently gives up after 30 seconds, and there is no retry, so
we will look into how startup behaves in that situation.
Fix the git path fallback freezing launch when validation fails
Fix the git path fallback freezing launch when validation fails
Fix the git path fallback freezing launch when validation fails
goneng commentedon Oct 24, 2026
Update: I think I reproduced the cause of this, and it is not the git path itself.
When many GitX instances start at once (I opened about a dozen repositories together on a test build of #766),
git --versionsometimes comes back with an empty output even though it ran fine.The log shows:
Could not parse the output of '/opt/homebrew/bin/git --version':with nothing after the colon, for
/opt/homebrew/bin/gitand/usr/bin/gitalike.When every candidate returns nothing, GitX concludes that no valid git exists, which
gives the "Invalid git path" alert (or a repository that fails to open).
The cause is a race in
PBTask:The process can exit before its output has been read from the pipe, and the output is then dropped.
It affects any command run through
PBTask, not just--version.Fix:
#774 (draft), which waits for the output to be fully read before a command is reported as finished.
Together with #766 (validation off the main thread, and a fallback if the configured path fails),
this should cover the scenario here.
@joachim-n: if you still see this, the Console lines for process
GitXwould confirm it.Look for
Could not parse the output of ... --version:followed by an empty output.Does it tend to happen when several repositories open at the same login,
for example via "reopen windows"?
goneng commentedon Oct 25, 2026
@joachim-n: the fix for this is now in release 1.8.
It combines two changes:
git --versionwhen many instances started at once. That was the most likely cause of the alert.I'm closing this for now. If you update to 1.8 and still see the "Invalid git path" alert at login, please reopen this issue and attach the Console lines for process
GitXthat mentiongit. They will tell us which step failed.