Util/Udall fatal: failed to write object

2024-12-03 05:36:33

adminsforum@hubzilla.org

Scott M. Stolz wrote the following post Tue, 03 Dec 2024 05:36:35 +0100

Util/Udall fatal: failed to write object

I am getting an error when trying to update Hubzilla.

I looked at the permissions, but I did not spot anything obvious.

[www]$ util/udall
remote: Enumerating objects: 233, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (156/156), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (58/58), done.
error: insufficient permission for adding an object to repository database .git/objects 
fatal: failed to write object
fatal: unpack-objects failed

show all 11 comments

2024-12-03 05:44:06

K&T Host

knt@streams.knthost.com

The error indicates the file permissions on .git/objects is incorrect. Did you run util/udall with sudo at any point?

2024-12-03 05:48:43

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

@K&T Host No. Just the local account. And the local account does not even have sudo access.

2024-12-03 06:45:15

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

Changed the owner of the files. I don't know how they got assigned to root. Especially since I installed Hubzilla in cPanel's virtual terminal with the local user account which does not even have sudo access. Unless it was another developer, which is possible. But they said they didn't do it either. Weird.

2024-12-03 07:26:56

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

I think I figured out what happened. When you are logged in as root in WHM, you can masquerade as a user. But if your cPanel session expires, you are no longer masquerading as that user... you are now root again. But it doesn't tell you that you are back to being root, which creates fun shenanigans like this.

2024-12-03 08:03:30

phani00 (hubzilla)

phani002242@hub.phanisvara.com

doesn't the prompt change with being or not being root?

2024-12-03 17:28:47

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

@phani00 (hubzilla) If the terminal has been open awhile idle, you still see the old prompt. Also, you are still in the cPanel of that user using an embedded virtual terminal, so unless you pay attention to the prompt, you will assume you are still logged in as that user.

2024-12-03 17:34:23

phani00 (hubzilla)

phani002242@hub.phanisvara.com

i never use cpanel, this doesn't happen to me. i pretty much always log in as root, start tmux, then masquerade as whichever user i need. when i come back after a day or even a week, that user is still active.

2024-12-03 18:38:52

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

@phani00 (hubzilla) ~~I think it is a bug. That is the only thing I can think of.~~

2024-12-04 12:52:47

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

Scratch everything I said before. I think I figured out who ran util/udall as root, and it was not me. Or their VSCode was logged in as root and did something.

2024-12-04 13:12:21

Alfred Bühler

abu@hub.alfredbuehler.ch

@Scott M. Stolz This sounds well known to me. I think, if I try to modify a server file without required permission, VSCode asks something like “Retry as root?”

2024-12-04 13:37:10

Scott M. Stolz

scott@loves.tech

Since some people I work with are more experienced than me, I sometimes get the blame, because they assume I screwed up. And sometimes I do screw up. But at least this time around, I know it was not me who screwed up. LOL.

I have managed servers, so I almost NEVER login as root via command line. If there is a problem, I call someone and they fix it. I do login as root in WHM, but when I go into a cPanel, the virtual terminal logs in as the user, not as root.

So when someone says I screwed something up because I was logged in as root, I know it can't be me, because I don't login to a command line as root.