[GH-ISSUE #509] Pre-built binaries require GLIBC 2.29+, incompatible with older Linux systems #175

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opened 2026-03-02 04:12:36 +03:00 by kerem · 0 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-02 04:12:36 +03:00

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Originally created by @Persephones-hades101 on GitHub (Feb 12, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai/issues/509

Issue: Pre-built binaries require GLIBC 2.29+, incompatible with older Linux systems

Environment

OS: CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 (GLIBC 2.28)
git-ai version: v1.1.2 (latest pre-built binary)
Installation method: curl -sSL https://usegitai.com/install.sh | bash

Problem

The pre-built Linux binaries fail to run on systems with GLIBC 2.28 or earlier:

$ git-ai --version
/users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.29' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai)
/users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.29' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai)
/users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.30' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai)

Installation completes successfully but the binary is unusable.

Impact

This affects users on:

CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 (GLIBC 2.28)
Debian 10 (GLIBC 2.28)
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (GLIBC 2.27)
Other enterprise Linux systems with older GLIBC versions

These systems are still widely deployed in corporate environments.

Current Workaround

Building from source works fine:

# Install Rust
export CARGO_HOME=/workspace/rust/cargo
export RUSTUP_HOME=/workspace/rust/rustup
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs/ | sh -s -- -y --no-modify-path

# Build git-ai
git clone https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai.git
cd git-ai
cargo build --release
cp target/release/git-ai ~/.git-ai/bin/git-ai

The locally-built binary works perfectly with GLIBC 2.28.

Proposed Solutions

Option 1: Build on older system (Recommended)

Build pre-built binaries on a system with GLIBC 2.27 or 2.28. Binaries built against older GLIBC versions work on newer systems (forward compatibility).

Option 2: Provide multiple binary versions

Offer separate downloads for different GLIBC versions:

git-ai-linux-x64 (GLIBC 2.29+)
git-ai-linux-x64-glibc2.27 (for older systems)

Option 3: Static linking

Statically link GLIBC to avoid runtime dependencies (may increase binary size).

System Information

$ ldd --version
ldd (GNU libc) 2.28
Copyright (C) 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

$ file ~/.git-ai/bin/git-ai
ELF 64-bit LSB shared object, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, 
interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=5f7c76dd00e1d17efc1444094e464cf9d751b4db, stripped

Additional Context

The installation script doesn't check GLIBC version before downloading, leading to a confusing experience where installation "succeeds" but the binary doesn't work.

Adding a GLIBC version check to the installer would provide better UX:

# In install.sh
MIN_GLIBC="2.29"
CURRENT_GLIBC=$(ldd --version | head -n1 | grep -oP '\d+\.\d+$')
if [ "$(printf '%s\n' "$MIN_GLIBC" "$CURRENT_GLIBC" | sort -V | head -n1)" != "$MIN_GLIBC" ]; then
    echo "Error: GLIBC $MIN_GLIBC+ required, found $CURRENT_GLIBC"
    echo "Please build from source: https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai"
    exit 1
fi

Originally created by @Persephones-hades101 on GitHub (Feb 12, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai/issues/509 # Issue: Pre-built binaries require GLIBC 2.29+, incompatible with older Linux systems ## Environment - **OS**: CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 (GLIBC 2.28) - **git-ai version**: v1.1.2 (latest pre-built binary) - **Installation method**: `curl -sSL https://usegitai.com/install.sh | bash` ## Problem The pre-built Linux binaries fail to run on systems with GLIBC 2.28 or earlier: ```bash $ git-ai --version /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.29' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai) /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.29' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai) /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai: /lib64/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.30' not found (required by /users/sudhasi2/.git-ai/bin/git-ai) ``` Installation completes successfully but the binary is unusable. ## Impact This affects users on: - CentOS 8 / RHEL 8 (GLIBC 2.28) - Debian 10 (GLIBC 2.28) - Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (GLIBC 2.27) - Other enterprise Linux systems with older GLIBC versions These systems are still widely deployed in corporate environments. ## Current Workaround Building from source works fine: ```bash # Install Rust export CARGO_HOME=/workspace/rust/cargo export RUSTUP_HOME=/workspace/rust/rustup curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs/ | sh -s -- -y --no-modify-path # Build git-ai git clone https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai.git cd git-ai cargo build --release cp target/release/git-ai ~/.git-ai/bin/git-ai ``` The locally-built binary works perfectly with GLIBC 2.28. ## Proposed Solutions ### Option 1: Build on older system (Recommended) Build pre-built binaries on a system with GLIBC 2.27 or 2.28. Binaries built against older GLIBC versions work on newer systems (forward compatibility). ### Option 2: Provide multiple binary versions Offer separate downloads for different GLIBC versions: - `git-ai-linux-x64` (GLIBC 2.29+) - `git-ai-linux-x64-glibc2.27` (for older systems) ### Option 3: Static linking Statically link GLIBC to avoid runtime dependencies (may increase binary size). ## System Information ```bash $ ldd --version ldd (GNU libc) 2.28 Copyright (C) 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc. $ file ~/.git-ai/bin/git-ai ELF 64-bit LSB shared object, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, BuildID[sha1]=5f7c76dd00e1d17efc1444094e464cf9d751b4db, stripped ``` ## Additional Context The installation script doesn't check GLIBC version before downloading, leading to a confusing experience where installation "succeeds" but the binary doesn't work. Adding a GLIBC version check to the installer would provide better UX: ```bash # In install.sh MIN_GLIBC="2.29" CURRENT_GLIBC=$(ldd --version | head -n1 | grep -oP '\d+\.\d+$') if [ "$(printf '%s\n' "$MIN_GLIBC" "$CURRENT_GLIBC" | sort -V | head -n1)" != "$MIN_GLIBC" ]; then echo "Error: GLIBC $MIN_GLIBC+ required, found $CURRENT_GLIBC" echo "Please build from source: https://github.com/git-ai-project/git-ai" exit 1 fi ```