Using Windows exe from WSL is failing with "Invalid Argument"

[jghal]

Version

2.0.935+8b4735fc7b

Operating system

Windows

OS version or distribution

Windows 10 Enterprise, WSL2 Ubuntu 20.04

Git hosting provider(s)

Other - please describe below

Other hosting provider

Both Azure DevOps and GitLab

(Azure DevOps only) What format is your remote URL?

https://dev.azure.com/{org}

Can you access the remote repository directly in the browser?

Yes, I can access the repository

Expected behavior

I expect the git operations from Linux to complete using the authentication stored in Windows Credential Manager, the same as it does when running the same operations from PowerShell.

Actual behavior

I see the error message

/mnt/c/Program Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe: Invalid argument

followed by a prompt for username and password. Entering the username and password does not store credentials and I am again prompted for every git operation.

Logs

Running from PowerShell

> git credential-manager diagnose
Running diagnostics...

 [ OK ] Environment
 [ OK ] File system
 [ OK ] Networking
 [ OK ] Git
 [ OK ] Credential storage
 [ OK ] Microsoft authentication (AAD/MSA)
 [ OK ] GitHub API

Diagnostic summary: 7 passed, 0 skipped, 0 failed.
Log files:
  C:\Users\jg\gcm-diagnose.log

Caution: Log files may include sensitive information - redact before sharing.

> git ls-remote https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:26:37.886748 exec-cmd.c:237          trace: resolved executable dir: C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/bin
10:26:37.927752 git.c:439               trace: built-in: git ls-remote https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:26:37.940768 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: git remote-https https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:26:37.988749 exec-cmd.c:237          trace: resolved executable dir: C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/libexec/git-core
10:26:37.993745 git.c:725               trace: exec: git-remote-https https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:26:37.995744 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: git-remote-https https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:26:38.185744 exec-cmd.c:237          trace: resolved executable dir: C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/libexec/git-core
10:26:38.433767 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: 'git credential-manager get'
10:26:38.698742 exec-cmd.c:237          trace: resolved executable dir: C:/Program Files/Git/mingw64/libexec/git-core
10:26:38.702748 git.c:725               trace: exec: git-credential-manager get
10:26:38.702748 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: git-credential-manager get
10:26:39.488744 ...\Application.cs:95   trace: [RunInternalAsync] Version: 2.0.935.18315
10:26:39.500742 ...\Application.cs:96   trace: [RunInternalAsync] Runtime: .NET Framework 4.0.30319.42000
10:26:39.500742 ...\Application.cs:97   trace: [RunInternalAsync] Platform: Windows (x86-64)
10:26:39.500742 ...\Application.cs:98   trace: [RunInternalAsync] OSVersion: 10.0 (build 19045)
10:26:39.500742 ...\Application.cs:99   trace: [RunInternalAsync] AppPath: C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\bin\git-credential-manager
10:26:39.501742 ...\Application.cs:100  trace: [RunInternalAsync] InstallDir: C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\bin\
10:26:39.501742 ...\Application.cs:101  trace: [RunInternalAsync] Arguments: get
10:26:39.575747 ...GitCommandBase.cs:33 trace: [ExecuteAsync] Start 'get' command...
[redacted because it works as expected]

Running git ls-remote from WSL

$ git config --get credential.helper
/mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe
$ git config --get credential.https://dev.azure.com.useHttpPath
true
$ WSLENV=$WSLENV:GCM_TRACE:GIT_TRACE GCM_TRACE=1 GIT_TRACE=1 git ls-remote
10:16:45.299929 git.c:439               trace: built-in: git ls-remote
10:16:45.300265 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: GIT_DIR=.git git remote-https origin https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:16:45.302347 git.c:725               trace: exec: git-remote-https origin https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:16:45.306861 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: git-remote-https origin https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance
10:16:45.822946 run-command.c:655       trace: run_command: '/mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe get'
/mnt/c/Program Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe: Invalid argument
Username for 'https://dev.azure.com/myorg/myproject/_git/terraform-azure-vpn-appliance':

[bevin0708]

I have a similar issue. WSL on Windows 10

$ git pull
/mnt/c/Users/name/AppData/Local/Programs/Git/GCM/gcmuser-win-x86-2.1.2.exe: Invalid argument

[ldennington]

@jghal - what happens if, from inside WSL, you run /mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe --help?

[jghal]

Here is the output.

$ /mnt/c/Program\ Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe --help
/mnt/c/Program Files/Git/mingw64/bin/git-credential-manager.exe: Invalid argument
                                                                                 $

[mjcheetham]

Hmm.. this appears to be a wider error/issue with WSL itself: microsoft/WSL#6170

I'm not sure what we can do here to fix the underlying issue with the WSL/Windows interop.

[jghal]

Thanks for the link @mjcheetham. It's strange because that issue is years old and this only just started for me. Regardless, Sublime1's comment proved useful to me. Running wsl --shutdown from PowerShell, and then starting a new Ubuntu shell in Terminal seemed to clear it up and it's working again.