Could Not Read Username

Symptom

fatal: could not read Username for 'https://<INSTANCE>.git.eu': terminal prompts disabled

Cause

The server asked for a credential, git had none, and it could not prompt you (a CI job, a script, an IDE, or GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0).

• The repository is private: reading it needs a credential.
• The repository does not exist. An anonymous client gets the same answer for a missing and for a private repository, so git.eu never tells who can see what.
• You push: every push needs a credential, even to a public repository.

Diagnose

1. Check the remote URL for a typo in the owner or repository name:

git remote -v

2. Check whether a credential helper is configured:

git config --get-all credential.helper

No output means git has nowhere to read a stored credential from.

Fix

Option A - Give the job a token (recommended for CI and scripts)

Create a personal access token with the Git access scope, store it as a CI secret, and pass it to git from that secret, for example in the URL (GITEU_TOKEN is the secret variable):

git clone "https://<USERNAME>:${GITEU_TOKEN}@<INSTANCE>.git.eu/<USERNAME>/<REPO>.git"

Option B - Configure a credential helper (interactive use)

Set up the OAuth helper or a token cache once: see Git Access (OAuth-PAT) and Clone and Push over HTTPS.

Verify

git ls-remote https://<INSTANCE>.git.eu/<USERNAME>/<REPO>.git

It lists the branches and tags, with no prompt.

Prevent

• Give every CI job that clones a private repository or pushes its own token, from a secret.
• Copy the clone URL from the repository page instead of typing it.

Related

• Repository Not Found
• Use a Personal Access Token
• Clone and Push over HTTPS
• Knowledge Base - HTTPS Authentication