npx @backstage/create-app causes error: "Could not execute command git config user.name"

Expected Behavior

The ‘Getting Started’ guide works https://backstage.io/docs/getting-started/

Actual Behavior

The ‘Getting Started’ guide does not work https://backstage.io/docs/getting-started/

Steps to Reproduce

1. I create a new directory

2. I run npx @backstage/create-app

3. I enter a name for the app

4. I get an error Error: Failed to read git config, Error: Could not execute command git config user.name

   npx @backstage/create-app
   Need to install the following packages:
     @backstage/create-app@0.4.32
   Ok to proceed? (y) y
   ? Enter a name for the app [required] my-backstage
   
   Creating the app...
   
   Error: Failed to read git config, Error: Could not execute command git config user.name
   
   It seems that something went wrong when creating the app 🤔
   
   🔥  Failed to create app!
   

I then tried to initialise a git repo myself with git init, but this did not have any effect.

When I run git config --list, I can see user.name

Context

It looks like the same happens in the GitHub Action https://github.com/backstage/backstage/actions/runs/3273459460/jobs/5385687308#step:9:19

This might be related to #13585?

Your Environment

• Browser Information: n/a

• Output of yarn backstage-cli info:

  yarn run v1.22.19
  error Couldn't find a package.json file in ".../backstage"
  info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.
  

[Rugvip]

@awanlin yep gonna dig into this a bit.

On the personal data aspect I wanna clarify that we’re of course not doing anything with that information, it’s simply a check to see if we will be able to initialize a git repo, since those values need to be set in configuration for that to be possible. I’ll look at refactoring the code to make it a bit more clear that that is the case. Now that check has of course also failed in this case, because the entire point of that check was that it should not be required, which it now has ended up being.

[awanlin]

@aSemy can you try the above as well, please?