How to fix error: cannot run .git/hooks/pre-push: No such file or directory in Git

First, verify the hook file exists and has execute permissions:

ls -la .git/hooks/pre-push

If the file exists but is not executable, add execute permission:

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-push

Replace pre-push with the actual hook name mentioned in your error (e.g., pre-commit, post-receive).

Check the first line of the hook script:

head -1 .git/hooks/pre-push

It should show something like #!/bin/bash or #!/bin/sh. If it shows nothing, has garbage characters, or starts with an empty line, that is the problem.

You can also check for hidden characters:

cat -A .git/hooks/pre-push | head -3

Look for ^M (carriage return) at the end of lines, which indicates Windows line endings.

Open the hook file in a text editor and ensure the very first line (no empty lines before it) contains a valid shebang:

#!/bin/sh
# Rest of your hook script

Or if the script requires bash features:

#!/bin/bash
# Rest of your hook script

For better portability across systems, use #!/usr/bin/env sh or #!/usr/bin/env bash:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# This works even when bash is not in /bin/

If you edited the hook on Windows or see ^M characters, convert to Unix line endings:

# Using dos2unix
dos2unix .git/hooks/pre-push

# Using sed (if dos2unix not available)
sed -i 's/\r$//' .git/hooks/pre-push

On macOS, the sed command is slightly different:

sed -i '' 's/\r$//' .git/hooks/pre-push

Some editors save files with a UTF-8 Byte Order Mark (BOM), which breaks the shebang:

file .git/hooks/pre-push

If it shows 'UTF-8 Unicode (with BOM)', re-save the file as plain UTF-8 without BOM.

In VS Code: Open the file, click the encoding in the bottom-right (e.g., 'UTF-8 with BOM'), select 'Save with Encoding', and choose 'UTF-8'.

Ensure the interpreter specified in the shebang actually exists:

# Check for bash
which bash

# Check for sh
which sh

If you are using Alpine Linux or a minimal Docker image, /bin/bash may not exist. Use /bin/sh instead:

#!/bin/sh

Or install bash:

apk add bash

If you use Git LFS and the hooks became corrupted, regenerate them:

git lfs update --force

This overwrites the existing hooks with fresh copies. If you had custom hooks alongside LFS hooks, you may need to restore them afterward.

If you use SourceTree or another Git GUI that manages hooks, try deleting the problematic hook and letting the application regenerate it:

rm .git/hooks/pre-push

Then restart SourceTree. It will recreate the hook file on next operation.

Alternatively, create a fresh hook from the sample:

cp .git/hooks/pre-push.sample .git/hooks/pre-push
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-push

If you need to push urgently while investigating, you can bypass client-side hooks:

# Skip pre-push hook
git push --no-verify

# Skip pre-commit hook
git commit --no-verify -m "Your message"

Warning: This bypasses the hook entirely. Use this only as a temporary workaround, not a permanent solution.