Fetching from upstream github repository fails by hanging up

Question

Why is my git fetch failing with a:

fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

I am a collaborator on a private project and have successfully forked the project. I have setup a remote using the github example:

git remote add upstream git://github.com/{upstream owner}/{upstream project}.git

I can see the remote was added using "git -v show -n upstream"

Fetch URL: git://github.com/{upstream owner}/{upstream project}.git
Push  URL: git://github.com/{upstream owner}/{upstream project}.git

I know my ssh key works:

ssh -T [email protected]
Hi miketempleman! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

yet when I try to update my local repository from the upstream repository:

mike@ununtu-11:~/{directory}$ git fetch upstream
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

Apologies for such a stupid question.

Answer 1

I think the git:// read-only URIs are not available for private repos so that they are not world-readable (i.e. you can only get at the repo if you are authorized).

Try with a different remote URI:

git remote set-url upstream [email protected]:{upstream owner}/{upstream project}.git

or, alternatively with HTTPS:

git remote set-url upstream https://{your username}@github.com/{upstream owner}/{upstream project}.git