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index-pack died of signal 9 means a Git process was terminated; the message alone does not identify who terminated it or why. First determine whether the failing process ran on your computer or on the Git server, then check that machine’s logs before changing settings. An OOM kill is one documented cause, but it is not established by this error text alone.
What “index-pack died of signal 9” means
Git uses index-pack to process a received packfile. Signal 9 reports that the process ended after receiving that signal; it does not explain what sent the signal. Lines such as fatal: index-pack failed and fatal: early EOF can appear in the same failure chain, but they are not interchangeable diagnoses.
The process named in the full output helps locate the failure. A client-side index-pack error points to the receiving machine. Server logs naming upload-pack or pack-objects point to the server side. A GitLab incident recorded a server-side --shallow-file and git-pack-objects failure, while a Linux Foundation forum report described client-side index-pack failing during delta resolution. GitLab issue #374586 · Linux Foundation forum report
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How to find the cause
- Identify where the named process ran. For a local
index-packfailure, investigate the client. If the server reportsupload-packorpack-objectsdying, investigate the server or its Git service. - Check logs around the failure time. Review the relevant host’s kernel logs and, where applicable, container and Git-service logs. Look for an OOM-kill record or other direct evidence explaining why the process ended.
- Follow the evidence rather than guessing. If logs support memory pressure, inspect the affected process’s available memory and any container or service memory limits; check swap availability where relevant. If logs instead point to permissions, storage, a timeout, or a server-side problem, investigate that finding. The error itself does not make any of these causes the default.
Memory pressure is a possible cause, not a universal diagnosis. In a Gitea issue, the reporter reproduced a host kernel message saying Out of memory: Killed process 118696 (git)
, supporting OOM as the cause in that specific Docker-hosted incident. Gitea issue #35996 A separate forum discussion describes a 3.44 GiB kernel clone receiving 9,308,198 objects; its author reported success after correcting a swapfile allocation. That is a case report, not a general RAM or swap requirement. Linux Foundation forum report
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Ways to reduce what a large clone fetches
If the failure occurs during a large clone, and the server supports the relevant feature, Git offers two options that change what is fetched. They may suit a workflow that needs less data initially, but neither is a guaranteed fix for an unexplained process termination. Git documents both in its git-clone manual.
| Option | What it changes | Choose it when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
--depth=<depth> |
Creates a shallow clone with history limited to the specified depth. | You do not need the full history initially. | History is truncated, which may affect work that depends on older commits. |
--filter=blob:none |
Initially omits file contents (blobs), fetching them when needed. | You can work without immediately downloading all file contents, and the remote supports filtering. | Some objects are fetched later, and the remote must support the filter. |
These options address the amount or type of data requested, not the underlying reason a process was killed. Pick one only if its effect on history or object availability fits your task.
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Fixes not to assume
Do not change http.postBuffer as a generic remedy for this message. A GitLab incident lists buffer settings among attempted steps but does not establish them as the solution. Likewise, a permission problem, a specific memory setting, or a hardware upgrade is not justified unless evidence from the affected system supports it. The GitLab and Gitea reports describe different incidents, not a single cause or universal fix. GitLab issue #374586 · Gitea issue #35996
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