# Error: You're on a case-insensitive filesystem **URL:** \ **Category:** Using Jenkins\ **Tags:** question\ **Created:** [November 24, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854 "2025-11-24T14:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/1 "2025-11-24T14:03:46Z")
I have added a new Mac server to Jenkins node, I am getting this error while trying to run the pipeline error: You’re on a case-insensitive filesystem, and the remote you are trying to fetch from has references that only differ in casing. It is impossible to store such references with the ‘files’ backend. You can either accept this as-is, in which case you won’t be able to store all remote references on disk. Or you can alternatively migrate your repository to use the ‘reftable’ backend with the following command: ``` git refs migrate --ref-format=reftable ``` Please keep in mind that not all implementations of Git support this new format yet. So if you use tools other than Git to access this repository it may not be an option to migrate to reftables. This is working on other mac server ---
**Author:** ![mawinter69](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/mawinter69/32/1625_2.png) [@mawinter69](https://community.jenkins.io/u/mawinter69)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/2 "2025-11-24T14:56:18Z")
If this works on another mac server then probably the file system used on that server for the agents workspace is formatted to be case sensitive. Case sensitivity must be specified when the volume is created, so you can’t change it for an existing volume. ---
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/3 "2025-11-24T21:02:22Z")
Well, it was working fine before formatting this server. Once i have formated it and installed everything back, I get this. What are other option which we can do ---
**Author:** ![mawinter69](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/mawinter69/32/1625_2.png) [@mawinter69](https://community.jenkins.io/u/mawinter69)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/4 "2025-11-24T21:12:50Z")
If you need all files also the ones that only differ in case for the job execution to work properly, then I think you have no other option than ensuring that the file system used by the Jenkins job is case-sensitive. And that means you have to create a new volume and format it in a way so that it is case-sensitive. I suggest you look at your other mac server and check if the file system there is case-sensitive or not. ---
**Author:** ![mawinter69](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/mawinter69/32/1625_2.png) [@mawinter69](https://community.jenkins.io/u/mawinter69)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/5 "2025-11-24T21:18:32Z")
Consider that the default of MacOS is case-insensitive, so your formatting probably removed that setting you had on that server. ---
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/6 "2025-11-24T21:27:23Z")
I have removed all such branches which were conflicting. And my Mac server is case-insensitive, just like other Mac servers. ---
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/7 "2025-11-24T21:28:58Z")
Then also I get same error ---
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/8 "2025-11-24T21:31:28Z")
```auto > /usr/local/bin/git fetch --tags --force --progress -- ssh://git@xxxxx.xxxx.xxxx:7999/xxxx/xxxxx.git +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/xxxxx/* # timeout=60 ``` \*\*ERROR: Error cloning remote repo ‘xxxxxx’ hudson.plugins.git.GitException: Command “/usr/local/bin/git fetch --tags --force --progress – ssh://xxxxxx/xxxxx/xxxxxx.git +refs/heads/\*:refs/remotes/xxxxx/\*” returned status code 1: stdout: stderr: remote: Enumerating objects: 379, done. then it start showing all the tag and branch then i get this error\*\* \*\*error: You’re on a case-insensitive filesystem, and the remote you are trying to fetch from has references that only differ in casing. It is impossible to store such references with the ‘files’ backend. You can either accept this as-is, in which case you won’t be able to store all remote references on disk. Or you can alternatively migrate your repository to use the ‘reftable’ backend with the following command: ``` git refs migrate --ref-format=reftable ``` Please keep in mind that not all implementations of Git support this new format yet. So if you use tools other than Git to access this repository it may not be an option to migrate to reftables.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![mawinter69](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/mawinter69/32/1625_2.png) [@mawinter69](https://community.jenkins.io/u/mawinter69)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/9 "2025-11-24T21:38:59Z")
Any differences in the git version? Maybe it was not failing before or silently ignored (just guessing haven’t checked if that might be the case) Removing the branches might not be sufficient. It might still be in the history of commits where you have conflicts. Anyway I would not consider this a Jenkins problem. ---
**Author:** ![aditya4350](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/aditya4350/32/18294_2.png) [@aditya4350](https://community.jenkins.io/u/aditya4350)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/10 "2025-11-24T21:44:21Z")
Indeed, this is not a Jenkins issue !!, But trying to fix it yes , there is difference in git **git version 2.52.0** failing server **git version 2.39.5 (Apple Git-154)** working server ---
**Author:** ![Nam\_Nguyen\_Quang](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.jenkins.io/nam_nguyen_quang/32/21829_2.png) [@Nam\_Nguyen\_Quang](https://community.jenkins.io/u/Nam_Nguyen_Quang)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:39am UTC](https://community.jenkins.io/t/error-youre-on-a-case-insensitive-filesystem/35854/11 "2026-06-20T05:39:23Z")
I met this error too. It happened on my Mac build machine because I have git installed via Homebrew and prioritized it over the default git. Removing Homebrew’s git fixed the error.