HTTPS cloning errors

Here's an example of an HTTPS error you might receive:

> error: The requested URL returned error: 401 while accessing
> https://github.com/user/repo.git/info/refs?service=git-receive-pack
> fatal: HTTP request failed

> Error: The requested URL returned error: 403 while accessing
> https://github.com/user/repo.git/info/refs
> fatal: HTTP request failed

> Error: https://github.com/user/repo.git/info/refs not found: did you run git
> update-server-info on the server?

Check your Git version

There's no minimum Git version necessary to interact with GitHub, but we've found version 1.7.10 to be a comfortable stable version that's available on many platforms. You can always download the latest version on the Git website.

Ensure the remote is correct

The repository you're trying to fetch must exist on GitHub, and the URL is case-sensitive.

You can find the URL of the local repository by opening the command line and typing git remote -v:

$ git remote -v
# View existing remotes
> origin  https://github.com/github/reactivecocoa.git (fetch)
> origin  https://github.com/github/reactivecocoa.git (push)

$ git remote set-url origin https://github.com/github/ReactiveCocoa.git
# Change the 'origin' remote's URL

$ git remote -v
# Verify new remote URL
> origin  https://github.com/github/ReactiveCocoa.git (fetch)
> origin  https://github.com/github/ReactiveCocoa.git (push)

Alternatively, you can change the URL through our GitHub Desktop application.

Provide an access token

To access GitHub, you must authenticate with a personal access token instead of your password. For more information, see "Creating a personal access token."

If you are accessing an organization that uses SAML SSO, you must also authorize your personal access token to access the organization before you authenticate. For more information, see "About authentication with SAML single sign-on" and "Authorizing a personal access token for use with SAML single sign-on."

Check your permissions

When prompted for a username and password, make sure you use an account that has access to the repository.

Use SSH instead

If you've previously set up SSH keys, you can use the SSH clone URL instead of HTTPS. For more information, see "Which remote URL should I use?"