[Installer] bootstrap.sh fails with "fatal: not in a git directory" when GIT_DIR is set in the environment

[qw12po09]

Install method

bootstrap.sh / build from source (ran install.sh, then separately tried what the reporter called "the app data version")

Platform

Linux (CachyOS)

Updating from version

Not stated; appears to be a fresh install.

Installing or updating to version

Vintage Story 1.22.7 (the version bootstrap.sh --version 1.22.7 downloads). The Optimum package version itself is not stated; the reporter describes it as "the newest version" as of 2026-08-22.

Steps taken

First attempt: ran install.sh on CachyOS Linux.

Second attempt: tried what the reporter called "the app data version," which also failed with the same error.

Where it stopped

Both attempts stopped during the repository refresh, immediately after cloning VintagestoryApi.

Full error output or log

First attempt:

fatal: not in a git directory
make[1]: *** [Makefile:62: bootstrap] Error 128
make[1]: Leaving directory '/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum'
make: *** [Makefile:65: build] Error 2

install.sh attempt:

==> Building Optimum...
bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7
Downloading https://cdn.vintagestory.at/gamefiles/stable/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed  Time    Time    Time   Current
                                 Dload  Upload  Total   Spent   Left   Speed
100 590.5M 100 590.5M   0      0 30.29M      0   00:19   00:19         30.79M
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Waxlight/optimum/Optimum-0.3.13/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
fatal: not in a git directory
make: *** [Makefile:73: refresh] Error 128

Checks

• I read the Building from Source wiki page for my platform. Not stated.

Investigation notes

The maintainer noted a related Mod DB report of the same fatal: not in a git directory pattern in an older Optimum package (comment #196668), where the cause traced to using a downloaded ZIP instead of a Git clone during a later git add -f ... step. Not confirmed as the same cause here; worth checking whether the failing optimum/ source directory is a Git worktree and whether this install was extracted from an archive.

[Zaldaryon]

A related Mod DB report documented the same bootstrap failure pattern in an older Optimum package: comment #196668. That user traced fatal: not in a git directory during the later git add -f ... step to using a downloaded ZIP instead of a Git clone.

This does not prove that it is the cause here, but it is worth checking whether the failing /optimum source directory is a Git worktree and whether the current install was extracted from an archive. The current #23 log also stops during the repository refresh immediately after cloning VintagestoryApi.

[Zaldaryon]

Root cause found by reproduction, not guesswork. With GIT_DIR exported by the calling environment and pointing at an invalid path, git clone itself succeeds and the immediately following git -C <clone> config core.autocrlf false fails with exactly this message (fatal: not in a git directory, exit 128), because GIT_DIR overrides repository discovery.

Fixed by PR #39 (merged as 67bcf43): scripts/bootstrap.sh now unsets GIT_DIR, GIT_WORK_TREE, and GIT_INDEX_FILE up front, and the clone loop verifies each clone produced a repository before configuring it, so any future variant fails with an actionable error instead of a bare git message.

Verified end to end on this host: a fresh checkout with an invalid GIT_DIR=/tmp/nonexistent.git exported and build/snapshot/VintagestoryApi removed to force the exact step from the report failed before the fix at the reported spot, then completed with the fix (116 patches applied, 0 skipped, 0 failed, exit 0).

Note that this cause is independent of the older Mod DB report, which traced a later git add -f failure to extracting a downloaded ZIP instead of cloning. Both are worth knowing: an inherited GIT_DIR breaks the clone step, and a non-git source tree breaks later steps. The fix here covers the first; the script still initializes a temporary repository when no .git exists.

[qw12po09]

So I made sure that I got the zip from the most recent release for Optimum but it is still giving me that same not in git directory error.

I tried it with both the avalonia installer zip and the regular 0.3.14.tar.gz one. Same error.

Optimum Installer
 High-performance client for Vintage Story
 ────────────────────────────────────────────


 PREREQUISITES

   ✓  git (2.55.0)
   ✓  curl
   ✓  python3
   ✓  perl
   ✓  tar
   ✓  .NET 10 SDK (10.0.110) [found at /usr/bin/dotnet, not on PATH]
   ✓  ilspycmd (10.1.1.8388)

 INSTALL OPTIONS

   Install directory [/home/bran/.local/share/optimum]: /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum/
   Game data folder (Enter = Vintage Story default): /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/electricboogaloo/
   Create application menu entry? [Y/n] 
   Create desktop shortcut? [y/N] 

 SUMMARY

   VS version:    1.22.7
   Install to:    /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum/
   Data folder:   /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/electricboogaloo/
   Menu entry:    yes
   Desktop icon:  no

   Proceed? [Y/n] 

==> Building Optimum...
bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7
Downloading https://cdn.vintagestory.at/gamefiles/stable/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
 % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed  Time    Time    Time   Current
                                Dload  Upload  Total   Spent   Left   Speed
100 590.5M 100 590.5M   0      0 30.64M      0   00:19   00:19         32.54M
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum-feat-avalonia-installer/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
fatal: not in a git directory
make: *** [Makefile:73: refresh] Error 128

Do I need to unblock a port or something like that? I'm still pretty new to linux and cachyos but I'm willing to try and figure what I'm doing wrong cuz I would love to use optimum on my heavy modded save lol

[Zaldaryon]

So I made sure that I got the zip from the most recent release for Optimum but it is still giving me that same not in git directory error.

I tried it with both the avalonia installer zip and the regular 0.3.14.tar.gz one. Same error.

Optimum Installer
 High-performance client for Vintage Story
 ────────────────────────────────────────────


 PREREQUISITES

   ✓  git (2.55.0)
   ✓  curl
   ✓  python3
   ✓  perl
   ✓  tar
   ✓  .NET 10 SDK (10.0.110) [found at /usr/bin/dotnet, not on PATH]
   ✓  ilspycmd (10.1.1.8388)

 INSTALL OPTIONS

   Install directory [/home/bran/.local/share/optimum]: /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum/
   Game data folder (Enter = Vintage Story default): /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/electricboogaloo/
   Create application menu entry? [Y/n] 
   Create desktop shortcut? [y/N] 

 SUMMARY

   VS version:    1.22.7
   Install to:    /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum/
   Data folder:   /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/electricboogaloo/
   Menu entry:    yes
   Desktop icon:  no

   Proceed? [Y/n] 

==> Building Optimum...
bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7
Downloading https://cdn.vintagestory.at/gamefiles/stable/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
 % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed  Time    Time    Time   Current
                                Dload  Upload  Total   Spent   Left   Speed
100 590.5M 100 590.5M   0      0 30.64M      0   00:19   00:19         32.54M
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/Optimum-feat-avalonia-installer/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
fatal: not in a git directory
make: *** [Makefile:73: refresh] Error 128

Do I need to unblock a port or something like that? I'm still pretty new to linux and cachyos but I'm willing to try and figure what I'm doing wrong cuz I would love to use optimum on my heavy modded save lol

his is not a blocked network port. Your log shows that Git cloned VintagestoryApi and then failed during a local Git configuration command. The most likely causes are an old Optimum source archive or a GIT_* environment variable inherited from your shell.

The v0.3.14 source includes a fix that removes GIT_DIR, GIT_WORK_TREE, and GIT_INDEX_FILE before the bootstrap script runs. The directory name in your log, Optimum-feat-avalonia-installer, looks like a ZIP made from a development branch. The output also comes from the older shell installer, because it contains ==> Building Optimum... and make refresh.

Quick check

Open a terminal in the directory that contains scripts/bootstrap.sh and run:

cd /path/to/Optimum

grep -n 'unset GIT_DIR' scripts/bootstrap.sh
env | grep '^GIT_' || true

The first command should print a line containing:

unset GIT_DIR GIT_WORK_TREE GIT_INDEX_FILE

If it prints nothing, the source is older than the fix. Use the clean clone instructions below.

If your shell prints any GIT_* variables, retry the build with those variables removed:

env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
  bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7

If you normally use the interactive installer, run this instead:

env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
  ./scripts/install-linux.sh

Recommended clean install

Use a Git clone of the v0.3.14 tag instead of a branch ZIP or an old extracted folder:

mkdir -p ~/src
cd ~/src
git clone --branch v0.3.14 https://github.com/StratumServer/Optimum.git Optimum-0.3.14
cd Optimum-0.3.14

env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
  ./scripts/install-linux.sh

This creates a new source folder. It does not delete your Vintage Story installation, save, or data folder. Keep the existing folder until the new build succeeds.

If it still fails

Run these commands from the same Optimum directory and attach the output to issue #23. You can redact your home directory path if you want.

printf 'Git version: '
git --version
printf 'Source directory: '
pwd
printf 'Git work tree: '
git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || printf 'not a Git checkout\n'
printf 'GIT environment:\n'
env | sort | grep '^GIT_' || true
printf 'Bootstrap guard:\n'
grep -n 'unset GIT_DIR' scripts/bootstrap.sh || true

Then capture the failing command with Git tracing enabled:

env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
  GIT_TRACE=1 bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7 \
  2>&1 | tee optimum-bootstrap.log

Do not delete your save or game data while troubleshooting. The important details are the exact source archive or Git revision, the output of the GIT_* check, and the complete command that fails.

[qw12po09]

Okay I've ran all of that and it still failed with the new build as it had before, but I will send you all the logs and hopefully there's something helpful there :) Maybe it's something to do with having the install be on a secondary drive instead of a main drive, but i have it properly mounted in linux and there's permissions and all of that so it should be functional...? But I've had issues with installers in the past, usually with wine though not native linux so I'm really at a loss lol.

/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14
❯ grep -n 'unset GIT_DIR' scripts/bootstrap.sh
  env | grep '^GIT_' || true
22:unset GIT_DIR GIT_WORK_TREE GIT_INDEX_FILE

/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14
❯ env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
        ./scripts/install-linux.sh

  Optimum Installer
  High-performance client for Vintage Story
  ────────────────────────────────────────────


  PREREQUISITES

    ✓  git (2.55.0)
    ✓  curl
    ✓  python3
    ✓  perl
    ✓  tar
    ✓  .NET 10 SDK (10.0.110) [found at /usr/bin/dotnet, not on PATH]
    ✓  ilspycmd (10.1.1.8388)

  INSTALL OPTIONS

    Install directory [/home/bran/.local/share/optimum]: /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/
    Game data folder (Enter = Vintage Story default): /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/gamedata/
    Create application menu entry? [Y/n] 
    Create desktop shortcut? [y/N] 

  SUMMARY

    VS version:    1.22.7
    Install to:    /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/
    Data folder:   /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/gamedata/
    Menu entry:    yes
    Desktop icon:  no

    Proceed? [Y/n] 

==> Building Optimum...
bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7
Downloading https://cdn.vintagestory.at/gamefiles/stable/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed  Time    Time    Time   Current
                                 Dload  Upload  Total   Spent   Left   Speed
100 590.5M 100 590.5M   0      0 30.55M      0   00:19   00:19         31.49M
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
fatal: not in a git directory
make: *** [Makefile:73: refresh] Error 128

/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14 3m 57s
❯ printf 'Git version: '
  git --version
  printf 'Source directory: '
  pwd
  printf 'Git work tree: '
  git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || printf 'not a Git checkout\n'
  printf 'GIT environment:\n'
  env | sort | grep '^GIT_' || true
  printf 'Bootstrap guard:\n'
  grep -n 'unset GIT_DIR' scripts/bootstrap.sh || true
Git version: git version 2.55.0
Source directory: /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14
Git work tree: not a Git checkout
GIT environment:
Bootstrap guard:
22:unset GIT_DIR GIT_WORK_TREE GIT_INDEX_FILE

/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14
❯ env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE \
        GIT_TRACE=1 bash scripts/bootstrap.sh --refresh --version 1.22.7 \
        2>&1 | tee optimum-bootstrap.log
Using cached /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
09:49:34.167961 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git clone --quiet https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git '/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/build/snapshot/VintagestoryApi'
09:49:34.179469 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.179510 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182837 git.c:811               trace: exec: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182917 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182939 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:35.192521 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:35.192562 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:35.197292 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:42.072978 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:42.073009 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:42.077212 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:44.429805 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git config core.autocrlf false
fatal: not in a git directory

/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14 58s
❯ 

The above is the total log from running all of the commands in order.

Below is the bootstrap log for ya

Using cached /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Extracting /mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/.vanilla/archives/vs_client_linux-x64_1.22.7.tar.gz
Decompiling VintagestoryLib.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Decompiling Vintagestory.dll with ilspycmd: 10.1.1.8388
Cloning VintagestoryApi at 63d33f70018c606fb0f70ead900fe90625fbd7b2
09:49:34.167961 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git clone --quiet https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git '/mnt/zoomin/Vintage Story/optimum/Optimum-0.3.14/build/snapshot/VintagestoryApi'
09:49:34.179469 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.179510 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182837 git.c:811               trace: exec: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182917 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:34.182939 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-https origin https://github.com/anegostudios/vsapi.git
09:49:35.192521 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:35.192562 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:35.197292 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git index-pack --stdin --fix-thin '--keep=fetch-pack 11542 on LOVELESS' --check-self-contained-and-connected
09:49:42.072978 run-command.c:673       trace: run_command: git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:42.073009 run-command.c:765       trace: start_command: /usr/lib/git-core/git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:42.077212 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git rev-list --objects --stdin --not --all --quiet --alternate-refs
09:49:44.429805 git.c:502               trace: built-in: git config core.autocrlf false
fatal: not in a git directory

Hope this helps! You can message me in your discord too if you need quicker info, I'm Pin in there, joined yesterday to try and make this process a little easier :)

[Zaldaryon]

Thanks for the extra trace. This rules out a blocked network port: Git completes the VintagestoryApi clone, then fails on the following local git config command. Since GIT_DIR, GIT_WORK_TREE, and GIT_INDEX_FILE are empty in your shell, the earlier explanation for PR #39 does not cover this run.

The failure happens with both the Avalonia ZIP and the 0.3.14.tar.gz, so the archive format is not enough to explain it. The install path is on /mnt/zoomin, which makes the mounted filesystem the next thing to isolate.

Please extract the same Optimum-0.3.14.tar.gz under your home directory and run it there:

mkdir -p ~/optimum-test
tar -xzf /path/to/Optimum-0.3.14.tar.gz -C ~/optimum-test
cd ~/optimum-test/Optimum-0.3.14
env -u GIT_DIR -u GIT_WORK_TREE -u GIT_INDEX_FILE ./scripts/install-linux.sh

If it succeeds under $HOME, please share the output of these commands from the failing /mnt/zoomin tree:

findmnt -T "$PWD" -o FSTYPE,OPTIONS,TARGET
stat -f -c 'filesystem=%T' "$PWD"
ls -ld build/snapshot/VintagestoryApi/.git

I reproduced the same Git failure with an invalid repository environment and prepared a local fix that uses explicit repository paths for the clone configuration and checkout. I tested it through a clean bootstrap from both a Git checkout and a source archive. I have not pushed it yet.