> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/livrasand/desktop/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Known Issues

> Acknowledged issues with GitHub Desktop and available workarounds

This document outlines known issues with GitHub Desktop, including workarounds where available.

<Info>
  These issues are being tracked and may be addressed in future releases. Some have workarounds that users have reported as helpful.
</Info>

## What should I do if...

<Accordion title="I have encountered an issue listed here?">
  Try the workaround provided for your specific issue. These workarounds have been reported by users and may help resolve the problem on your system.

  Each issue links to the GitHub issue tracker where you can find more details and discussions.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="I have additional questions about an issue listed here?">
  Each known issue includes a link to its GitHub issue. Please comment on that issue with:

  * Additional details about your situation
  * Whether the workaround worked for you
  * Any other information that might help
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="My issue is not listed here?">
  1. Check the [open bugs](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/labels/bug) in the issue tracker
  2. Check [closed bugs](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues?q=is%3Aclosed+label%3Abug) to see if it's been fixed
  3. If you can't find it, [open a new issue](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/new?template=bug_report.md)
</Accordion>

## macOS Issues

### Authentication and Keychain

<Accordion title="'The username or passphrase you entered is not correct' after signing in">
  **Issue:** Error appears even with correct credentials when signing into GitHub account.

  **Affected Versions:** macOS High Sierra 10.13 (17A365) through macOS Mojave 10.14.5 (18F132) and later

  **Cause:** The macOS Keychain is in an invalid state, affecting applications that use it for credential storage.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Open `Keychain Access.app`
  2. Right-click on the `login` keychain and lock it
  3. Right-click on the `login` keychain and unlock it
  4. Sign into your GitHub account again

  **Related Issue:** [#3263](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/3263)
</Accordion>

### Updates and Installation

<Accordion title="'Could not create temporary directory: Permission denied' when checking for updates">
  **Issue:** Update checks fail due to permission errors.

  **Cause:** Missing permissions for `~/Library/Caches/com.github.GitHubClient.ShipIt` folder used during updates.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Close GitHub Desktop
  2. Open Finder and navigate to `~/Library/Caches/`
  3. Right-click `com.github.GitHubClient.ShipIt` and select **Get Info**
  4. Expand **Sharing & Permissions**
  5. Add yourself with "Read & Write" permissions if needed
  6. Restart GitHub Desktop and check for updates

  **Related Issue:** [#4115](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/4115)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Frequent admin password prompts to install helper tool">
  **Issue:** macOS repeatedly asks for admin password when launching or updating GitHub Desktop.

  **Cause:** The ownership of `/Applications/GitHub Desktop.app` is set to `root`. This commonly happens after using macOS Migration Assistant to transfer to a new computer.

  **Background:** GitHub Desktop auto-updates by modifying its application folder. If the current user doesn't own the folder, admin privileges are required.

  **Workaround:**

  Restore ownership to the current user by running in Terminal:

  ```sh theme={null}
  sudo chown -R ${USER}:staff /Applications/GitHub\ Desktop.app
  chmod -R g+w /Applications/GitHub\ Desktop.app
  ```

  **Related Issue:** [#13956](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/13956)
</Accordion>

## Windows Issues

### Display and Graphics

<Accordion title="Window hidden after detaching secondary monitor">
  **Issue:** GitHub Desktop window is not visible after disconnecting a second monitor.

  **Cause:** Desktop remembers window position from previous session, which may now be off-screen.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Close GitHub Desktop
  2. Delete `%APPDATA%\GitHub Desktop\window-state.json`
  3. Restart GitHub Desktop (window will appear on primary monitor)

  **Related Issue:** [#2107](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/2107)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Black screen when launching GitHub Desktop">
  **Issue:** Application window shows only a black screen.

  **Cause:** Hardware acceleration issues with certain graphics cards.

  **Workaround:**

  Disable hardware acceleration using environment variable:

  1. Open PowerShell
  2. Run: `$env:GITHUB_DESKTOP_DISABLE_HARDWARE_ACCELERATION=1`
  3. Launch GitHub Desktop

  To make this permanent, add `GITHUB_DESKTOP_DISABLE_HARDWARE_ACCELERATION` with value `1` to your system environment variables.

  **Related Issue:** [#3921](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/3921)
</Accordion>

### Network and Certificates

<Accordion title="Certificate revocation check fails on corporate networks">
  **Issue:** Git operations fail with:

  ```
  schannel: next InitializeSecurityContext failed: Unknown error (0x80092012) - 
  The revocation function was unable to check revocation for the certificate.
  ```

  **Cause:** Corporate networks may block Windows certificate revocation status checks.

  **Background:** GitHub Desktop uses Windows Secure Channel (SChannel) APIs by default to validate certificates. Some networks block these revocation checks, causing operations to fail.

  <Warning>
    This workaround disables an important security feature. Only use it on corporate networks where the check is blocked and you trust the network security.
  </Warning>

  **Workaround:**

  Run in Git Bash or Command Prompt:

  ```shellsession theme={null}
  git config --global http.schannelCheckRevoke false
  ```

  **Related Issue:** [#3326](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/3326)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="'Failed to open CA file' after update">
  **Issue:** Git operations fail with:

  ```
  schannel: failed to open CA file 'C:/Users/.../AppData/Local/GitHubDesktop/
  app-x.x.x/resources/app/git/mingw64/bin/curl-ca-bundle.crt': No such file or directory
  ```

  **Cause:** Global Git for Windows configuration at `C:\ProgramData\Git\config` contains an `http.sslCAInfo` entry that conflicts with Desktop's bundled Git.

  **Background:** Desktop uses Windows Certificate Store via SChannel and doesn't need custom certificates. The global config value may point to a non-existent file.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Verify the problem:
     ```
     git config -l --show-origin
     ```
     Look for: `file:"C:\ProgramData/Git/config" http.sslcainfo=...`

  2. Open `C:\ProgramData\Git\config` as administrator

  3. Remove these lines:
     ```
     [http]
     sslCAInfo = [value]
     ```

  **Related Issue:** [#4832](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/4832)
</Accordion>

### Authentication and System Configuration

<Accordion title="Authentication errors due to modified registry entries">
  **Issue:** "Authentication failed" error when signing in.

  **Cause:** Modified `Command Processor` registry entries interfere with authentication.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
  2. Check these locations:
     * `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\`
     * `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\`
  3. Look for an `Autorun` value
  4. Delete the `Autorun` value if present
  5. Restart GitHub Desktop

  **Related Issue:** [#2623](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/2623)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="'Not enough resources' error when signing in">
  **Issue:** "Not enough resources are available to process this command" error during sign-in.

  **Cause:** Too many credentials stored in Windows Credentials Manager.

  **Workaround:**

  1. Open Credential Manager from Control Panel
  2. Click **Windows Credentials**
  3. Review the list and delete unnecessary credentials
  4. Try signing in again

  **Related Issue:** [#15217](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/15217)
</Accordion>

### Git and System Compatibility

<Accordion title="Cygheap errors when Mandatory ASLR is enabled">
  **Issue:** Errors like:

  ```
  fatal error - cygheap base mismatch detected - 0x2E07408/0x2EC7408.
  This problem is probably due to using incompatible versions of the cygwin DLL.
  ```

  **Cause:** Windows 10 Fall Creators Edition (version 1709+) Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit's Mandatory ASLR setting affects MSYS2, which Git for Windows depends on for process forking.

  <Warning>
    This is an upstream MSYS2 limitation and cannot be fixed in GitHub Desktop.
  </Warning>

  **Workaround:**

  Either:

  * Disable Mandatory ASLR system-wide in Windows Defender Exploit Protection, or
  * Add explicit exceptions for all executables under `<Git>\usr\bin` that depend on MSYS2

  **Related Issue:** [#3096](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/3096)
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Repositories with Folder Redirection are not supported">
  **Issue:** Cloning or using repositories on Windows Folder Redirection network paths fails.

  **Cause:** Git cannot correctly resolve the working directory on network shares configured with Folder Redirection.

  **Example Error:**

  ```
  fatal: unable to get current working directory: No such file or directory
  warning: Clone succeeded, but checkout failed.
  ```

  <Warning>
    Using GitHub Desktop with Folder Redirection is not supported.
  </Warning>

  **Recommendation:** Clone repositories to local disk storage instead of redirected network locations.

  **Related Issue:** [#2972](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/2972)
</Accordion>

## Development Environment Issues

<Info>
  The following issues affect developers building GitHub Desktop from source, not end users.
</Info>

<Accordion title="node-keytar compilation errors on Windows">
  **Issue:** `npm install` fails with:

  ```
  npm ERR! keytar@3.0.2 install: `node-gyp rebuild`
  npm ERR! Exit status 1
  ```

  **Solution:**

  Ensure npm version >= 2.15.9:

  ```powershell theme={null}
  npm -g install npm@latest
  ```

  Then run `npm install` again.

  **Related Issues:**

  * [atom/node-keytar#45](https://github.com/atom/node-keytar/issues/45)
  * [nodejs/node-gyp#972](https://github.com/nodejs/node-gyp/issues/972)
</Accordion>

## Need More Help?

<Note>
  For troubleshooting steps and solutions, see the [Troubleshooting](/support/troubleshooting) page.
</Note>

If you don't find your issue listed:

1. Search the [GitHub Desktop issue tracker](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues)
2. Check both [open](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/labels/bug) and [closed](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues?q=is%3Aclosed+label%3Abug) issues
3. If needed, [open a new issue](https://github.com/desktop/desktop/issues/new?template=bug_report.md) with details about your problem