Error repository not found git clone

HTTPS cloning errors

There are a few common errors when using HTTPS with Git. These errors usually indicate you have an old version of Git, or you don’t have access to the repository.

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.com, 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/ghost/reactivecocoa.git (fetch)
> origin  https://github.com/ghost/reactivecocoa.git (push)

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

$ git remote -v
# Verify new remote URL
> origin  https://github.com/ghost/ReactiveCocoa.git (fetch)
> origin  https://github.com/ghost/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 and you are using a personal access token (classic), 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.

Tip: If you don’t want to enter your credentials every time you interact with the remote repository, you can turn on credential caching. If you are already using credential caching, please make sure that your computer has the correct credentials cached. Incorrect or out of date credentials will cause authentication to fail.

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 «About remote repositories.»

Error: Repository not found

If you see this error when cloning a repository, it means that the repository does not exist or you do not have permission to access it. There are a few solutions to this error, depending on the cause.

Check your spelling

Typos happen, and repository names are case-sensitive. If you try to clone git@github.com:user/repo.git, but the repository is really named User/Repo you will receive this error.

To avoid this error, when cloning, always copy and paste the clone URL from the repository’s page. For more information, see «Cloning a repository.»

To update the remote on an existing repository, see «Managing remote repositories».

Checking your permissions

If you are trying to clone a private repository but do not have permission to view the repository, you will receive this error.

Make sure that you have access to the repository in one of these ways:

• The owner of the repository
• A collaborator on the repository
• A member of a team that has access to the repository (if the repository belongs to an organization)

Check your SSH access

In rare circumstances, you may not have the proper SSH access to a repository.

You should ensure that the SSH key you are using is attached to your personal account on GitHub. You can check this by typing
the following into the command line:

$ ssh -T git@github.com
> Hi USERNAME! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not
> provide shell access.

If the repository belongs to an organization and you’re using an SSH key generated by an OAuth App, OAuth App access may have been restricted by an organization owner. For more information, see «About OAuth App access restrictions.»

For more information, see Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account.

Check that the repository really exists

If all else fails, make sure that the repository really exists on GitHub.com!
If you’re trying to push to a repository that doesn’t exist, you’ll get this error.

Error: Remote HEAD refers to nonexistent ref, unable to checkout

This error occurs if the default branch of a repository has been deleted on GitHub.com.

Detecting this error is simple; Git will warn you when you try to clone the repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/USER/REPO.git
# Clone a repo
> Cloning into 'repo'...
> remote: Counting objects: 66179, done.
> remote: Compressing objects: 100% (15587/15587), done.
> remote: Total 66179 (delta 46985), reused 65596 (delta 46402)
> Receiving objects: 100% (66179/66179), 51.66 MiB | 667 KiB/s, done.
> Resolving deltas: 100% (46985/46985), done.
> warning: remote HEAD refers to nonexistent ref, unable to checkout.

To fix the error, you’ll need to be an administrator of the repository on GitHub.com.
You’ll want to change the default branch of the repository.

After that, you can get a list of all the available branches from the command line:

$ git branch -a
# Lists ALL the branches
>   remotes/origin/awesome
>   remotes/origin/more-work
>   remotes/origin/new-main

Then, you can just switch to your new branch:

$ git checkout new-main
# Create and checkout a tracking branch
> Branch new-main set up to track remote branch new-main from origin.
> Switched to a new branch 'new-main'

When cloning a repository or pushing changes to it, you may encounter the Repository Not Found error. At first glance, the error message may give the impression that the repository might not exist or could’ve been deleted. But in most cases, this is not the cause.

Instead, the repository exists, but there’s usually an access-related issue or some problem with the remote origin which leads to this error. We’ve listed the causes in detail, as well as ways to fix this error in the sections below.

What’s Causing the Repository Not Found Error?

Before you start, please keep in mind that repo URLs are case-sensitive. As such, fixing this error could be as simple as adjusting the case usage.

Get Access to Repo

You should first ensure that this isn’t an access issue. Even if you’re added as a collaborator, you may not have write access which could be causing this error. This scenario is surprisingly common, so it’s best to check with the repo owner regarding this. Additionally, it’s also worth confirming that the repo hasn’t been renamed.

Check Remote Origin

If the remote origin has been changed or an incorrect value has been added, that can also cause this error. Here’s what you can do in such cases:

1. Use cd to change directories to the local project directory.
2. Enter git remote -v and check that the remote origin is accurate. Make sure there are no minor issues such as http:// in place of https://, or using the HTTPS format when you’re supposed to use SSH.
   
3. If the remote origin needs to be modified, you can do so with the following command:
   git remote set-url origin <RepoURL>
4. Alternatively, you can also remove the remote origin with the git remote rm origin command, then re-add it. When doing so, it’s worth checking that the error isn’t due to an authentication issue by adding your username to the url in the following fashion:
   git remote add origin https://username@github.com/username/reponame.git
   
5. This will prompt a reauthentication, and you may be asked to generate a personal access token.

Resolve Credential Issues

Outdated credentials in the system credential manager can also lead to this error, as it would cause the authentication to fail. Here’s how you can clear the git credentials on Windows:

1. Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter.
2. Go to User Accounts > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
   
3. Expand and remove all the git credentials.

Here’s how you can do the same on Mac:

1. Press Command + Shift + U and open the Keychain app.
2. Select the git keychains from the list, right-click them, or choose File > Delete keychain > Delete references.
   

Additionally, if you use the git credential manager, you should remove and reinstall it. You can do so with the following commands:
git credential-manager uninstall
git credential-manager install

Git Request Limit

This fix is very niche, but it’s still worth mentioning. One user using the Git It Write plugin on WordPress found that this error occurred because his IP reached the API rate limit. Basically, because this plugin didn’t authenticate, the requests were limited to 60 per hour.

The Git It Write plugin has been updated to authenticate, so the issue shouldn’t be as common now. But there’s likely a limit to authenticated requests as well. If you suspect that this could be the issue in your case, you can test for it by switching to a different network or changing your IP some other way.

A quick guide to fix error Git — remote: fatal Repository not found in simple 9 ways

1. Overview

In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to fix the «Git — remote: fatal Repository not found» issue in 9 different ways.

You might have seen this error while cloning the repository or while pushing the commits to the remote repository.

This error can be fixed in simple ways.

If you are new to programming and developing then you might have not set remote repo URL on your local repo. And trying to push the changes to remote.

This is needed when you downloaded the project as a zip file.

In this case, you need to set the remote base url to the local repo using the «git remote» command.

Follow the below steps.

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/JavaProgramTo/Kotlin-Demo.git

git add *.java
git commit -m "commit title"
git push origin master

3. Fix 2 — Git — remote: Repository not found

If the above is not your case, then you need to make sure that the remote URL is the correct one is pointing out.

Use git remote command as below.

git remote -v
origin	https://github.com/JavaProgramTo/Kotlin-Demo.git (fetch)
origin	https://github.com/JavaProgramTo/Kotlin-Demo.git (push)

If it is showing the right URL then verify it on remote whether it is the correct one or not. If not the correct one then you need to follow fix 1 to set the correct remote repo.

4. Fix 3 — Git — remote: Repository not found

Verify if your password has been reset recently. If you have changed so please make sure the new password is fetched from the credential manager on windows or keychain access on mac.

Sometimes, an old password will be used and a new one is not cached yet.

In this case, Remove all github.com credential details from the system. 

you need to clear the git related info from the credential manager and remove it from keychain access.

$ git credential-manager uninstall

$ git credential-manager install

5. Fix 4 — Git — remote: Repository not found

This is a temporary fix and not recommended for the long term.

Here, you need to save the password and security threat.

On Mac

If the GitHub entry is not present in keychain access then you can clone the app in a different way as below.

git clone https://username@github.com/org/repo.git

Follow the below steps.

6. Fix 5 — Git — remote: Repository not found

Just run the git remote update command which updates the local repo with the remote repo and its credentials.

If this command is executed without any issues then your issue will be resolved.

7. Fix 6, 7, 8, 9- Git — remote: Repository not found

There might be chances of any one of the following.

7.1 If you are not a collaborator, then you may successfully authenticate the GitHub but can not clone or push the changes to the repository as long you are not a collaborator.

7.2 In case of any spelling issues

7.3 If the git remove -v has set to HTTPS but your repo is pointing to the ssh. In this case, you need to remove the ssh and add HTTPS.

git remote remove origin
git remote add origin https://github.com/JavaProgramTo/Kotlin-Demo.git

7.4 Remote repository is not found and deleted.

8. Conclusion

In this article, we’ve seen all versions of fixes on git error «fatal: repository not found error».