dev@local: ~/project — git
dev@local~/project$git status
fatal: early eof
fatal: index-pack failed
Diagnostics Translation
Git received an End-Of-File signal before it finished downloading the expected repository data.
waiting for resolution...
MediumVersion Control System

Reviewed for reference consistency: April 11, 2026

Code is Safe

SECURE

Git has paused the operation to protect your code. No data has been lost or corrupted.

What To Know

This state means a data stream ended before Git received the full pack or response body it expected.

Where Did It Fail?

Working Tree
Your local files
add
Staging Index
Prepared changes
commit
Local Repo
Commit history
push/fetch
Remote Server
GitHub/GitLab
The error occurred during a network exchange. Your local files are untouched, but Git cannot reach the remote server.

Commands That Trigger This

$Cloning an enormous repository over a slow or fluctuating Wi-Fi connection
Cloning an enormous repository over a slow or fluctuating Wi-Fi connection
$The remote Git server running out of CPU/Memory while compressing the packfile
The remote Git server running out of CPU/Memory while compressing the packfile

Technical Background

01

This error is almost always paired with 'index-pack failed' or 'remote end hung up unexpectedly'.

02

It simply confirms that the data received is incomplete and corrupted, forcing Git to abort the clone or fetch.

Underlying Causes

Network connection dropped mid-download
The remote server killed the process because generating the packfile took too long
A proxy server timed out the connection during a slow `git clone`

Frequently Asked Questions

Standard `git clone` cannot be resumed. However, you can do a 'shallow clone' (`--depth 1`) to fetch less data and bypass the timeout.

Related Git States

out-of-memory-malloc-failedHigh

The operating system denied Git's request for more RAM during a heavy operation.

remote-end-hung-up-unexpectedlyMedium

The connection to the server was closed abruptly before Git finished transferring data.

rpc-failed-curlMedium

The underlying HTTP client (cURL) failed to complete the network request.