I have several scripts like that in my PATH, but Git on Mac can never find them....

js2 · 2024-02-13T23:00:28 1707865228

The scripts have to be in your `PATH` and be executable from wherever you're running `git`.

Say you have a script named `git-foo`. At the shell prompt, all of these should work:

  $ which git-foo
  $ git-foo
  $ git foo

If the first or second commands fail, then `git-foo` is not in your PATH or is not executable. If those both work but the third command fails, I have no explanation. Here's the code which runs commands:

https://github.com/git/git/blob/2996f11c1d11ab68823f0939b646...

It basically prefixes your `PATH` (or a suitable default if `PATH` isn't set) with `GIT_EXEC_PATH` (defaulting to a compiled in value if not set) and then uses the normal Unix execvp machinery to run the command.

You can try:

  $ GIT_TRACE=1 git foo

But I'm not sure that will tell you anything helpful.

svieira · 2024-02-14T19:39:18 1707939558

Well, this is fun:

    $ which git-foo
    $ type git-foo
    git-foo is /Users/my.user/.local/bin/git-foo

    $ git-foo --help
    Help output from git-foo

    $ GIT_TRACE=1 git foo
    14:26:18.849078 git.c:749               trace: exec: git-foo
    14:26:18.849815 run-command.c:657       trace: run_command: git-foo
    git: 'foo' is not a git command. See 'git --help'.

I can't say I've ever seen `which` and `type` disagree before ...

And today-I-learned that while bash expands `~` in PATH entries other programs do not. The fix was changing my PATH from:

    PATH=~/.local/bin:other:paths

to:

    PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:other:paths

Thanks so much for the help!

bloopernova · 2024-02-13T23:15:27 1707866127

What version of git do you have? If it came with macOS and wasn't installed via homebrew, it's possible that it's old enough to cause problems.

js2 · 2024-02-14T03:55:46 1707882946

git has had this behavior for at least a decade. As well, macOS does not ship with git - it's installed as part of either the Command Line Tools package and/or Xcode and is reasonably up to date.

For many years now, macOS has included what are effectively wrappers in /usr/bin for the various development tools and that use the xcode-select mechanism to run the actual command. If neither Xcode nor the CLT package are installed, you'll get a prompt to install the CLT package.