Homebrew install: Failed during: git fetch origin master:refs/remotes/origin/master -n --depth=1

Question

I ran the following command on terminal (Mac El Capitan)

$ /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

and got the following error message:

Failed during: git fetch origin master:refs/remotes/origin/master -n --depth=1

Additionally tried:

sudo chown $(whoami):admin /usr/local && sudo chown -R $(whoami):admin /usr/local

then the two commands above.

Any idea how to install Homebrew?

brew is not recognized and ruby version 2.0.0, git version 2.7.4

Deleting folder `/usr/local/Homebrew` and retrying (once) was good enough on macOS Big Sur 11.2. — Jagdeep Singh, Feb 11 '21 at 06:55
I had the same problem after an aborted install I used `find / -name "brew" 2> /dev/null` to find every brew data and rm -rf'd it, in particular `sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew`. — Yann Pellegrini, Mar 04 '22 at 14:13

score 93 · Accepted Answer · edited May 03 '22 at 08:43

93

After a few hours of research and brute force I learned the issue was due to git not being configured properly. Some articles suggested downgrading your git or reinstalling all together. However, I resolved the issue just by adding the following

git config --global user.email yourgitemail@example.com

Then remove the cellar and homebrew directories from /usr/local and re-try the installation.

edited May 03 '22 at 08:43

Nicu Surdu

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answered Oct 04 '16 at 18:31

anm

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Just deleting the `cellar` and `homebrew` directories did the trick for me. (for me above error occurred because my machine shutdown during the installation) Thank you very much for the answer @anm . – Tharusha Oct 25 '18 at 06:31
12

For me only deleting the `Homebrew` folder was more than enough :) – Manuel van Rijn Dec 21 '18 at 09:22
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For Apple silicon (arm64) i.e. M1 chips, @anm answer worked for me but only after doing `sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew` and then retry `/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"` I came to this by checking the contents of the install script https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh – Cato Apr 10 '21 at 16:57
After following the suggested steps: `zsh: command not found: brew` – zaggi Aug 17 '21 at 12:04
I just removed Cellar and Homebrew folders from /usr/local then reinstall homebrew.. works for me 100% – GinealSoftwareDev Dec 11 '21 at 08:39
Maybe this changed recently, but note that in the latest version of brew, the folders are `Cellar` and `Homebrew` (with capital letters) – Nicu Surdu May 03 '22 at 08:46
@Cato 's answer is worked for me. thanks. After following his steps, I did this: echo '# Set PATH, MANPATH, etc., for Homebrew.' >> /Users/USERNAME/.zprofile echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> /Users/USERNAME/.zprofile eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)" – Chamara Indrajith Nov 15 '22 at 15:51

Ash Singh · Answer 2 · 2021-02-20T16:08:12.530

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create a file named run.sh
add this:

rm -rf /usr/local/bin/brew
rm -rf /usr/local/share/doc/homebrew
rm -rf /usr/local/share/man/man1/brew.1
rm -rf /usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions/_brew
rm -rf /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/brew
rm -rf /usr/local/Homebrew

run the file using sh run.sh

Or, just run all these commands manually one by one.

edited Feb 20 '21 at 16:08

answered Nov 04 '20 at 15:19

Ash Singh

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good answer, and for mac m1 Big Sur, add another line `rm -rf /opt/homebrew` – Sinux Jan 03 '21 at 07:58
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This work for me. If you also facing issues on [!] Error installing XXX while executing pod install. Try this answer. Thanks for saving my day – Ryan Jan 04 '21 at 15:27
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This worked for me executing @ashdaily commands, addindo `sudo` to last command and then the @Sinux command too. I'll put down the complet command set for being eaier to read. – Ricardo Barroso Apr 18 '21 at 10:33
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This did it for my M1 mac – fabio.sang Jul 27 '21 at 17:13
this didn't work for me. I have an M1 mac. I was using version 11, I have updated the big sur and started to use the 12.1 version. And the problem is solved now, I installed brew without any issue. – emily.mi Jan 06 '22 at 22:19

score 16 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 18 '21 at 10:35

@ashdaily commands worked for me, addindg sudo on last command and then executing also the @Sinux command too:

rm -rf /usr/local/bin/brew
rm -rf /usr/local/share/doc/homebrew
rm -rf /usr/local/share/man/man1/brew.1
rm -rf /usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions/_brew
rm -rf /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/brew
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/Homebrew
rm -rf /opt/homebrew

score 15 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 09 '22 at 07:17

15

Fastest and easiest way is to uninstall Homebrew by following command -

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/uninstall.sh)"

and after this, fresh install of Homebrew by following command -

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

edited Aug 09 '22 at 07:17

Robert Baker

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answered Feb 23 '22 at 02:07

Himanshu Gupta

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This worked for me when I was getting the "Not a valid ref" error – galois Oct 25 '22 at 16:10

score 7 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 19 '21 at 13:16

7

Steps to fix it on Big Sur (2021):

git config --global user.email yourgitemail@example.com
Remove the cellar and homebrew directories from /usr/local
Re-try the installation

Works for me on Big Sur.

edited Jul 19 '21 at 13:16

cavalcantelucas

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answered Jul 17 '21 at 23:58

Lucas

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score 5 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 13 '22 at 09:59

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To fix the issue on Monterey:

1. sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/
2. git config --global user.email username@example.com

After executing the steps, try back the installation

answered Mar 13 '22 at 09:59

burak isik

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score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 01 '22 at 21:34

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You can solve this issue for Apple silicon (arm64) M1 chips by running following commands:

```
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew
```

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

answered Nov 01 '22 at 21:34

Muhammad Haidar

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score 3 · Answer 8 · edited May 23 '22 at 20:51

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New home-brew will installed in /opt/homebrew/ folder.
If some errors happened at installation you need to reinstall all.
Try to clean all trashes with sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/ command
Tested and It's worked (12 September 2021)

Also, may you need to configure git config --global user.email yourgitemail@example.com

edited May 23 '22 at 20:51

ChrisGPT was on strike

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answered Sep 12 '21 at 00:57

yEmreAk.com

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score 2 · Answer 9 · edited Nov 03 '22 at 07:49

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just do this little code

rm -fr $(brew --repo homebrew/core) # because you can't brew untap homebrew/core
brew tap homebrew/core

edited Nov 03 '22 at 07:49

Victor Anuebunwa

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answered Mar 18 '21 at 00:21

Fillz Adebayo

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score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 02 '21 at 09:47

Make sure you disable any ISP related 'child safe' settings.

I've been pulling my hair out with this for the last few hours - turned out that it was my ISPs 'child safe' settings (recently switched to Virgin Media) Hope this helps someone who's tried all the above and still having problems.

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Apr 09 '22 at 10:14

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Deleting /opt/homebrew directory worked for me.

I am using Macbook air M1

answered Apr 09 '22 at 10:14

Alok Singh Chauhan

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This is a duplicate because a number of existing answers detail removing `/opt/homebrew`. When answering older questions that already have answers, please make sure you provide either a novel solution or a significantly better explanation than existing answers. Remember to review all existing answers first. – tjheslin1 Apr 13 '22 at 21:20
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This works but need to delete all the homebrew directories on your machine – ekibet Jul 30 '22 at 09:47

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Sep 12 '21 at 16:30

1

On linux the default installation happens at /home/linuxbrew

Just delete the /home/linuxbrew: sudo rm -rf /home/linuxbrew

answered Sep 12 '21 at 16:30

Shahzaib

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Junaid · Answer 13 · 2022-05-20T11:16:45.237

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sudo rm -rf /usr/local/HomeBrew
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/

// actuall command to install HomeBrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

If it still doesn't work, try setting you email for git client

git config --global user.email yourgitemail@example.com

edited May 20 '22 at 11:16

answered May 20 '22 at 11:09

Junaid

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score 1 · Answer 14 · answered May 22 '22 at 10:28

If you're using M1 mac, probably homebrew packages were installed in /opt/.

Try deleting packages like this:

sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/bin/brew \
rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/doc/homebrew \          
rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/man/man1/brew.1 \
rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/zsh/site-functions/_brew \
rm -rf /opt/homebrew/etc/bash_completion.d/brew \
rm -rf /opt/homebrew

worked for me. :)

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Sep 20 '22 at 19:24

0

On ARM (Mac with Apple Silicon) you should delete the hombrew under /opt

sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/

answered Sep 20 '22 at 19:24

Yehuda Ginsburg

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score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Oct 24 '22 at 11:33

First uninstall homebrew with the following code

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/uninstall.sh)"

Then uninstall the packages that were installed when trying to install Homebrew by running the following code one by one

sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/bin/brew \
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/doc/homebrew \          
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/man/man1/brew.1 \
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/share/zsh/site-functions/_brew \
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew/etc/bash_completion.d/brew \
sudo rm -rf /opt/homebrew

Finally, go ahead to install homebrew again

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Dec 30 '22 at 00:47

0

Uninstall Homebrew and install it again and is gonna work!!

answered Dec 30 '22 at 00:47

Sergio Guerrero

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Since this is the same solution as all the other existing answers recommend, just without code or any other better explanation, I assume that you post this only for saying thanks. In that case please delete this. Otherwise please [edit] to make more obvious what new insight your post contributes to the problem solving. Please consider taking the [tour], it will help you undestand the concepts of StackOverflow. – Yunnosch Dec 30 '22 at 08:24

score 0 · Answer 18 · answered Jan 25 '23 at 20:49

I found this very useful

If one sees, 'git [...] -- [...]' , wait patiently. It's still trying to install

If one sees, Failed during: /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew update --force --quiet

do /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew update-reset and reinstall

https://github.com/orgs/Homebrew/discussions/666

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Aug 12 '23 at 09:24

0

In addition to having to delete the directories, sometimes yo need to do the following:

 git config --global --unset http.proxy
 git config --global --unset https.proxy

answered Aug 12 '23 at 09:24

Yohann Daniel Carter

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Homebrew install: Failed during: git fetch origin master:refs/remotes/origin/master -n --depth=1

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