How to fix fatal: credential-manager get: failed to get credentials in Git

The most common fix is to remove stale credentials and let Git prompt for new ones:

Using Windows Settings:
1. Press Windows + I to open Settings
2. Search for "Credential Manager" or go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager
3. Click on Windows Credentials
4. Look for entries starting with git: (e.g., git:https://github.com)
5. Click each Git-related entry and select Remove
6. Also check for entries starting with ada: or containing your Git hosting provider

Using Command Line:

# List credentials (PowerShell)
cmdkey /list | findstr git

# Delete a specific credential
cmdkey /delete:git:https://github.com
cmdkey /delete:git:https://dev.azure.com

# Delete all Git credentials
cmdkey /delete:LegacyGeneric:target=git:https://github.com

After removing the credentials, run your Git command again. You'll be prompted to authenticate, and new credentials will be stored.

Ensure Git is configured to use the correct credential helper:

# Check current credential helper configuration
git config --list --show-origin | grep credential

# Set the credential helper to 'manager' (Git 2.39+)
git config --global credential.helper manager

# For older Git versions, use 'manager-core'
git config --global credential.helper manager-core

# If you have conflicting settings, replace all of them
git config --global credential.helper manager --replace-all

If using Azure DevOps:

git config --global credential.https://dev.azure.com.useHttpPath true

Verify the helper is working:

git credential-manager --version
# Should output something like: Git Credential Manager version 2.x.x

If the default credential store isn't working, try switching to the DPAPI store which stores credentials in encrypted files:

# Configure GCM to use DPAPI store
git config --global credential.credentialStore dpapi

# Verify the setting
git config --global credential.credentialStore

The DPAPI store encrypts credentials using Windows Data Protection API and saves them to %USERPROFILE%\.gcm\dpapi_store. This can be more reliable than Windows Credential Manager in some environments.

Other available stores on Windows:
- wincredman - Windows Credential Manager (default)
- dpapi - DPAPI-encrypted files
- cache - In-memory cache (credentials lost on restart)
- plaintext - Plain text file (not recommended for security reasons)

# To switch back to Windows Credential Manager
git config --global credential.credentialStore wincredman

Force Git Credential Manager to perform a fresh authentication:

For GitHub:

# Trigger GitHub OAuth login flow
git credential-manager github login

# Or erase existing credentials and re-auth
echo "protocol=https
host=github.com" | git credential-manager erase

# Then run a Git operation to trigger new login
git fetch origin

For Azure DevOps:

echo "protocol=https
host=dev.azure.com" | git credential-manager erase

git fetch origin

For GitLab:

echo "protocol=https
host=gitlab.com" | git credential-manager erase

git fetch origin

When prompted, authenticate with your browser. For GitHub, you may need to:
1. Click "Authorize" in the browser popup
2. Enter your GitHub password or confirm with 2FA
3. Return to the terminal where Git should complete successfully

If OAuth authentication isn't working, use a Personal Access Token (PAT):

GitHub:
1. Go to [github.com/settings/tokens](https://github.com/settings/tokens)
2. Click Generate new token (classic)
3. Give it a descriptive name and expiration
4. Select scopes: repo (full control) at minimum
5. Click Generate token and copy it immediately

Azure DevOps:
1. Go to your organization's User Settings > Personal Access Tokens
2. Click New Token
3. Set scope to Code (Read & Write)
4. Create and copy the token

Store the PAT manually:

# Clear old credentials first
echo "protocol=https
host=github.com" | git credential-manager erase

# Store new credentials
git credential-manager store <<EOF
protocol=https
host=github.com
username=your-username
password=ghp_yourPersonalAccessToken
EOF

Or simply run git push and enter your username and PAT when prompted.

If the credential manager itself is corrupted, reinstall it:

# Uninstall GCM
git credential-manager uninstall

# Reinstall GCM
git credential-manager install

# Verify installation
git credential-manager --version

If that doesn't work, reinstall Git for Windows:

1. Download the latest Git for Windows from [git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com/download/win)
2. Run the installer
3. When asked about the credential helper, select Git Credential Manager
4. Complete the installation

For Visual Studio users:
1. Open Visual Studio Installer
2. Click Modify on your Visual Studio installation
3. Go to Individual Components
4. Ensure Git for Windows is checked
5. Click Update

This ensures Visual Studio uses a compatible version of Git and GCM.

Multiple credential helper configurations can cause conflicts:

# Show all credential settings from all config levels
git config --list --show-origin | grep credential

# Check for helpers at each level
git config --system credential.helper
git config --global credential.helper
git config --local credential.helper

If you see multiple or conflicting entries:

# Clear all credential helper settings
git config --system --unset-all credential.helper
git config --global --unset-all credential.helper
git config --local --unset-all credential.helper

# Set only the global one
git config --global credential.helper manager

Check for legacy helper names:
If you see manager-core (older) or wincred (very old), update to manager:

git config --global credential.helper manager

Windows config file locations to check:
- System: C:\Program Files\Git\etc\gitconfig
- Global: %USERPROFILE%\.gitconfig
- Local: .git\config in each repository

Enable tracing to understand what's happening:

# Enable GCM debug logging
set GCM_TRACE=1
set GIT_TRACE=1

# Run the failing command
git fetch origin

# View detailed output showing credential manager operations

Test credential manager directly:

# Test credential retrieval
echo protocol=https
host=github.com | git credential-manager get

# Should output stored credentials or prompt for new ones
# If it errors here, the issue is with GCM configuration

Check GCM logs:

# GCM can write logs to a file
set GCM_TRACE=%USERPROFILE%\gcm.log
git fetch origin
type %USERPROFILE%\gcm.log

The log will show exactly where in the credential retrieval process the failure occurs.

If HTTPS credential issues persist, switch to SSH authentication:

# Check if you have an SSH key
ls ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# or
ls ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

# If not, generate one
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

Add your SSH key to GitHub:
1. Copy your public key: clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
2. Go to GitHub.com > Settings > SSH and GPG keys
3. Click New SSH key and paste your key

Change your remote from HTTPS to SSH:

# View current remote
git remote -v
# origin  https://github.com/user/repo.git (fetch)

# Change to SSH
git remote set-url origin [email protected]:user/repo.git

# Verify the change
git remote -v
# origin  [email protected]:user/repo.git (fetch)

# Test the connection
ssh -T [email protected]

SSH uses key-based authentication instead of passwords, completely bypassing credential manager issues.