VS Code pushing to github is needlessly prompting for username and password

[cvsickle]

I'm trying to learn how to use dev containers in code. I'm using a GitHub remote repo via https. Whenever I try to push a commit to GitHub, I get an OpenSSH dialog asking for a username. If I click cancel, the changes are successfully pushed. I'm trying to track down why I'm being prompted for credentials that aren't needed. Best I can tell, the SSH_ASKPASS variable is messing with me, but I've no idea how to fix this. Any help is appreciated.

For reference, here is my container json:

{
    "name": "k3s Cluster Tools",
    "runArgs": ["--name=k3s-cluster-tools"],
    "build": {
        "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
        "args": {
            "FLUX_VERSION": "2.8.8",
            "KUBECTL_VERSION": "1.36.1",
            "HELM_VERSION": "4.2.0",
            "K9S_VERSION": "0.51.0",
            "CNPG_VERSION": "1.29.1",
            "LONGHORNCTL_VERSION": "1.11.2",
            "SOPS_VERSION": "3.13.1"
        }
    },
    "mounts": [
        {
            "source": "${localEnv:HOME}${localEnv:USERPROFILE}/.kube",
            "target": "/home/vscode/.kube",
            "type": "bind"
        },
        {
            "source": "${localEnv:HOME}${localEnv:USERPROFILE}/.ssh",
            "target": "/home/vscode/.ssh",
            "type": "bind"
        },
        {
            "source": "${localEnv:HOME}${localEnv:USERPROFILE}/.gitconfig",
            "target": "/home/vscode/.gitconfig",
            "type": "bind"
        }
    ],
    "remoteUser": "vscode",
    "customizations": {
        "vscode": {
            "extensions": [
                "ms-kubernetes-tools.vscode-kubernetes-tools",
                "weaveworks.vscode-gitops-tools",
                "github.vscode-github-actions"
            ]
        }
    }
}

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi @cvsickle! I'm Dosu and I'm helping the Bluefin team.

This is a known-fixed issue. Bluefin previously shipped a system-wide /etc/profile.d/askpass.sh that exported SUDO_ASKPASS='/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass', which interfered with VS Code's HTTPS git credential flow — causing the unnecessary OpenSSH dialog you're seeing [1].

This was removed in projectbluefin/common#118, merged in January 2026 [2].

Immediate workaround — unset the variable in your shell profile (e.g. ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

unset SUDO_ASKPASS

Then restart VS Code. Alternatively, run ujust update to make sure you're on the latest image which includes the fix.

For reference, the Bluefin dev container documentation is here: https://docs.projectbluefin.io/bluefin-dx/#visual-studio-code-with-docker

To reply, just mention @dosu.

---

Docs are dead. Just use Dosu.

[cvsickle]

I'm on 44.20260609, so I don't have anything to update. The ujust update just updated a few packages, but nothing that fixed this issue.

Also, SUDO_ASKPASS is not set on my system. SSH_ASKPASS is the variable that contains /usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass

I tried unsetting that in .bashrc, but I'm getting the same prompt in VS Code.

[dosubot[bot]]

Thanks for the correction — you're right that it's SSH_ASKPASS, not SUDO_ASKPASS. Bluefin no longer sets either variable system-wide, so it's likely being inherited from your GNOME desktop session environment. The reason unsetting it in .bashrc doesn't help is that VS Code inherits its environment from the desktop session, not from your shell profile — the variable is already in VS Code's process before your shell config ever runs.

The fix is to unset it at the devcontainer level. Add containerEnv to your devcontainer.json:

{
    "name": "k3s Cluster Tools",
    "containerEnv": {
        "SSH_ASKPASS": "",
        "SSH_ASKPASS_REQUIRE": ""
    },
    ...
}

This ensures the variable is cleared inside the container regardless of what the host session sets (VS Code dev container env docs).

Alternatively, you can try unsetting it at the VS Code level before it launches containers by adding to your ~/.config/environment.d/ a file like 99-no-askpass.conf:

SSH_ASKPASS=

This would apply to all systemd user services (including apps launched from GNOME), but requires a logout/login to take effect.

Docs: https://docs.projectbluefin.io/bluefin-dx/#visual-studio-code-with-docker

To reply, just mention @dosu.

---

Docs are dead. Just use Dosu.

[cvsickle]

I tried setting the two variables you suggested in the containerEnv and creating the conf file in ~/.config/environment.d and neither of those fixed the issue.

[cvsickle]

After trying many things that didn't fix or workaround the issue, I ended up adding a [credential "https://github.com"] section to my .gitconfig to point at the VS Code credential manager. This stopped the popups for username/password.

[credential "https://github.com"]
        helper =
        helper = /.vscode-remote-containers/bin/app/extensions/git/dist/askpass.sh