How do I fix 'bus error' when trying to do git-commit or git-status

Question

I have a git repository on an OS X server that used to work fine. I was able to add files, commit them, and pull the content to my laptop.

Now, when I ssh into the server and do git commit or git status in the repository, all I see in the command line is bus error.

git log does still work properly and gives me the usual output.

I am guessing something is wrong with the repository, because in other repos on the same server both git commit and git status do still work.

How do I go about debugging / fixing this?

Update: I re-created the directory I last created before the problem occurred. That allowed me to do git status again!

Running git commit -a directly after that, however, gave the following error:

fatal: Unable to create '/path/to/repo/.git/index.lock': File exists.

If no other git process is currently running, this probably means a
git process crashed in this repository earlier. Make sure no other git
process is running and remove the file manually to continue.

I then manually deleted the index.lock file, and now the problem is solved..

I have no clue what has gone wrong. Any ideas..?

Answer 1

Bus error indicates a memory problem; it could be as simple as a corrupted file on disk, a bug in the git program, or failing memory, memory controller, etc.

If you can run a memory testing tool on your computer overnight, that would help rule out failing memory and controller. (You might also spot them with odd SIGBUS or SIGSEGV during large compiles, or random crashes of other programs...)

Can you re-create the repository on the server from your laptop's clone, and see if it functions correctly? My guess is the repository is corrupted, and needs to be replaced with a good clone.

Answer 2

I encountered this issue due to a problem with the underlying filesystem on macOS Sierra (10.12.3). Essentially, for some reason my encrypted .dmg was corrupted - I think due to being extended with hdutils.

DiskUtility diagnosed the problem with the filesystem, but couldn't repair it.

The only solution I found was to recreate the image and re-clone the repo.