How to Resolve “Reinitialized Existing Git Repository” and Permission Denied Issues in Git

If you’ve encountered a message like this while working with Git, especially during your first commit or trying to push code to a remote repository, you’re not alone. Let’s break down what’s happening, why you’re seeing these errors, and how to resolve them.

What Does “Reinitialized Existing Git Repository” Mean?

The message Reinitialized existing Git repository appears when you run the git init command in a directory that already has a .git folder. The command essentially reinitializes the Git repository without affecting your current project, allowing Git to track changes.

In this case, the message you received indicates:

Reinitialized existing Git repository in /Users/folasayoolayemi/Desktop/Seerbit_APIs/.git/
[main 5a8f200] first commit

This simply means that Git is already tracking this project, and you’ve made your first commit.

Configuring Your Git Identity

One important step that Git handles automatically is configuring your username and email address based on your system settings. If you see this message:

Your name and email address were configured automatically based
on your username and hostname. Please check that they are accurate.

You should verify the information Git is using for commits by running these commands:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

These two lines explicitly set your name and email address globally, meaning they will be used for every repository you work on.

Fixing Author Identity for Previous Commits

If you’ve already made a commit with an incorrect author identity, you can amend it using this command:

git commit --amend --reset-author

This will reset the author of the last commit to the information you just configured.

Common Git Error: “Permission Denied (Publickey)”

Another common issue you might run into is permission errors when trying to push your commits to a remote repository. In your case, you received the following error message:

git@github.com: Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

This error typically occurs when Git is trying to authenticate with GitHub (or another remote service) using SSH keys, but the key you’re using is either missing or doesn’t have the correct permissions. To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

Step-by-Step Guide to Fix the “Permission Denied (Publickey)” Error

1. Check for Existing SSH Keys:
   First, you need to confirm if you already have an SSH key on your system:

   ls -al ~/.ssh

If you see files like id_rsa and id_rsa.pub, it means you already have SSH keys. Otherwise, you’ll need to generate a new one.

2. Generate a New SSH Key:
   If you don’t have an SSH key, generate one using this command:

   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

This command creates a new SSH key using your email address as a label. You’ll be prompted to enter a file location and passphrase; you can hit enter to accept the default location and no passphrase.

3. Add SSH Key to the SSH Agent:
   After generating your SSH key, you’ll need to add it to the SSH agent. Start the SSH agent:

   eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Add your SSH private key to the agent:

   ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

4. Add SSH Key to Your GitHub Account:
   Now, you need to add the SSH key to your GitHub account so you can push code without permission errors. Copy the SSH key to your clipboard:

   pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Then, go to GitHub’s SSH keys settings page, click New SSH key, and paste your key.

5. Verify Your SSH Connection:
   To check if your SSH setup is correct, run:

   ssh -T git@github.com

If everything is set up correctly, you should see a success message like:

   Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

6. Update the Remote Origin:
   Lastly, you may also encounter the error:

   error: remote origin already exists.

This means that the remote repository URL is already set. If you need to change it, you can update the remote URL using:

   git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/repository.git

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the “Permission Denied” error and successfully push your changes to GitHub. Make sure your SSH keys are correctly set up, and always double-check your Git configuration for username and email to ensure smooth collaboration.

If you’re working on integrating APIs like Seerbit’s, having a well-configured Git environment is crucial for maintaining version control and deploying your code effectively. Always remember to recheck your commit identity and ensure access permissions are correctly configured.

Thanks for reading…

Happy Coding!