Skip to content

faq.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
145 lines (91 loc) · 5.42 KB

faq.md

File metadata and controls

145 lines (91 loc) · 5.42 KB

FAQ

I've not used git or VSCode (Codespaces) before

Something is not working. What should I try first?

Turn it off and on again - restart your Codespace first. This fixes most issues, including GPG signing, stale environment variables, and preview problems.

  1. Visit https://github.com/codespaces
  2. Find your Codespace in the list
  3. Click the three dots menu on the right
  4. Select Stop Codespace
  5. Reopen the Codespace

When I try to commit my changes it says "Git: Scan secrets…" and fails?

This repository has 'pre-commit hooks' that run a series of checks before every commit. When VSCode runs these hooks and one fails, the output is heavily truncated and can look misleading, for example:

VS Code notification showing Git: Scan secrets...........Passed

Despite saying "Passed", this message is incomplete. Click Show Command Output to see the full results and identify which check actually failed.

Command output showing Check markdown format failing due to bad heading indents

In the example above, the failure is "Check markdown format" flagging incorrect heading levels in a file.

Fix the issue reported, save and stage the file, and try committing again.

Running the checks manually

You can run the pre-commit checks at any time from the terminal at the repository root:

make githooks-run

Terminal output showing all pre-commit hooks passing

How do I check whether GPG commit signing is working?

Run these two commands in the Codespace terminal:

git config --list --show-origin | grep -E 'commit.gpgsign|gpg.program|user.signingkey|user.name|user.email|credential.helper'

git config --show-origin --get commit.gpgsign

The second command should return file:.git/config true.

If it returns false or nothing:

  • Complete all steps in GPG setup
  • Confirm GitHub Settings > Codespaces > GPG verification is set to All repositories
  • Restart your Codespace and re-check

My commit is being rejected because it is not signed

This usually means GPG verification was not active when the Codespace started. Restart the Codespace and try committing again.

If you've already pushed the commit to remote, you'll need to re-sign that commit. Use this flow in your Codespace terminal:

git rebase -i HEAD~<number-of-commits>

Replace <number-of-commits> with how many commits back you need to go (for example, use 1 to re-sign the last commit).

In the editor that opens:

  1. Change pick to reword for the commit(s) you need to re-sign
  2. Save and close the editor
  3. Edit the commit message (or just save if you don't need to change it)
  4. When rebasing is complete, force push your changes:
git push --force-with-lease

This re-signs the commit and updates the remote branch. The --force-with-lease flag is safer than --force as it prevents overwriting others' work.

Where can I get help with using AI or GitHub Copilot?

See Copilot quick start and the linked Team AI guidance.

How do I bring my branch up to date with work already merged into main?

Use this flow in your Codespace terminal:

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout your-branch-name
git merge main

If there are no conflicts, complete the merge commit and continue your work.

If there are conflicts, resolve them in VS Code:

  1. Open Source Control (left sidebar)
  2. Open each conflicted file listed under merge changes
  3. Use the buttons in the editor such as Accept Current, Accept Incoming, or Accept Both
  4. Review the file and make any final manual edits
  5. Save the file
  6. Stage the resolved files

Then commit your resolution:

git commit

If you are stuck at any point, ask the team for help rather than guessing a conflict resolution.

Where should I ask for ad-hoc guidance, support, or direction?

Use this Teams chat for ad-hoc guidance, support, and direction:

How do I create a Jira bug ticket for issues I need support on?

Use the Jira project shortcut and include enough detail so someone else can reproduce and fix the issue.

Jira bug ticket shortcut

Please include the following:

  1. What is not working
  2. What it should be doing instead
  3. Exact steps to reproduce the problem - clear reproduction steps and branch details make triage much faster.
  4. What you expected to happen
  5. What actually happened
  6. Your working branch name

How do I create a Jira ticket for features, changes, or new functionality?

For any new features, changes, or functionality you're developing, raise a Jira task for prioritisation in a development cell.

Jira bug ticket shortcut