Enable debug/verbose logging to diagnose failures of fetching the repository

[matusnovak]

I have a problem that in my private repo the fetching step fails, but I could not find any way to diagnose the problem.

Such output looks like this:

Fetching the repository
  /usr/bin/git -c protocol.version=2 fetch --no-tags --prune --no-recurse-submodules --depth=1 origin +refs/heads/403/merge*:refs/remotes/origin/403/merge* +refs/tags/403/merge*:refs/tags/403/merge*
  The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 1
  Waiting 20 seconds before trying again
  /usr/bin/git -c protocol.version=2 fetch --no-tags --prune --no-recurse-submodules --depth=1 origin +refs/heads/403/merge*:refs/remotes/origin/403/merge* +refs/tags/403/merge*:refs/tags/403/merge*
  The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 1
  Waiting 11 seconds before trying again
  /usr/bin/git -c protocol.version=2 fetch --no-tags --prune --no-recurse-submodules --depth=1 origin +refs/heads/403/merge*:refs/remotes/origin/403/merge* +refs/tags/403/merge*:refs/tags/403/merge*
Error: The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 1

Which is not helpful.

Is there any way how I can enable debug or verbose logging for actions/checkout, so that I could diagnose the problem on why the git command failed?

[andrewgxp]

Hi @matusnovak! You can enable robust Git logging within your workflow by adding the GIT_CURL_VERBOSE, GIT_TRACE, GIT_SSH_COMMAND variables to your environment.

This can be done in your workflows via env:

This example works on Linux and MacOS based runners:

name: Workflow with Git debugging enabled

on:
  workflow_dispatch:

env:
  GIT_CURL_VERBOSE: True
  GIT_TRACE: True
  GIT_SSH_COMMAND: ssh -vvv

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0

Once you check your workflow logs, you'll then see more robust outputs similar to this:

/usr/bin/git -c protocol.version=2 fetch --prune --progress --no-recurse-submodules origin +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* +refs/tags/*:refs/tags/*
  16:45:49.536540 git.c:472               trace: built-in: git fetch --prune --progress --no-recurse-submodules origin '+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*' '+refs/tags/*:refs/tags/*'
  16:45:49.537350 run-command.c:666       trace: run_command: GIT_DIR=.git git remote-https origin https://github.com/example-owner/example-repo
  16:45:49.537445 run-command.c:758       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git remote-https origin https://github.com/example-owner/example-repo
  16:45:49.539345 git.c:758               trace: exec: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/example-owner/example-repo
  16:45:49.539489 run-command.c:666       trace: run_command: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/example-owner/example-repo
  16:45:49.539610 run-command.c:758       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https origin https://github.com/example-owner/example-repo
  16:45:49.551813 http.c:912              == Info: Couldn't find host github.com in the (nil) file; using defaults
  16:45:49.573305 http.c:912              == Info:   Trying 140.82.112.3:443...
  16:45:49.579139 http.c:912              == Info: Connected to github.com (140.82.112.3) port 443 (#0)
  16:45:49.616535 http.c:912              == Info: found 413 certificates in /etc/ssl/certs
  16:45:49.616997 http.c:912              == Info: GnuTLS ciphers: NORMAL:-ARCFOUR-128:-CTYPE-ALL:+CTYPE-X509:-VERS-SSL3.0
  16:45:49.617033 http.c:912              == Info: ALPN, offering h2
  16:45:49.617039 http.c:912              == Info: ALPN, offering http/1.1
  16:45:49.625640 http.c:912              == Info: SSL connection using TLS1.3 / ECDHE_RSA_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
  16:45:49.627965 http.c:912              == Info:   server certificate verification OK
  16:45:49.627977 http.c:912              == Info:   server certificate status verification SKIPPED
  16:45:49.628073 http.c:912              == Info:   common name: github.com (matched)
  16:45:49.628093 http.c:912              == Info:   server certificate expiration date OK
  16:45:49.628100 http.c:912              == Info:   server certificate activation date OK
  16:45:49.628114 http.c:912              == Info:   certificate public key: EC/ECDSA
  16:45:49.628119 http.c:912              == Info:   certificate version: #3
  16:45:49.628132 http.c:912              == Info:   subject: CN=github.com
  16:45:49.628140 http.c:912              == Info:   start date: Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT
  16:45:49.628147 http.c:912              == Info:   expire date: Fri, 07 Mar 2025 23:59:59 GMT
  16:45:49.628177 http.c:912              == Info:   issuer: C=GB,ST=Greater Manchester,L=Salford,O=Sectigo Limited,CN=Sectigo ECC Domain Validation Secure Server CA