Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: git rebase: "error: cannot stat 'file': Permission denied"

Git rebase error due to permission issues.

Quick Answer: Try running the command with elevated privileges or using a different editor that can handle file permissions correctly.

To resolve this issue, you need to switch to a different Git shell or use the `git rebase --allow-unrelated-histories` command.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Verified Fixes

Method 1: Switch to Git Bash

  1. Step 1: Open Windows Terminal and run `git config --global user.name "Your Name"` and then `git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"

Method 2: Use git rebase --allow-unrelated-histories

  1. Step 1: Run `git rebase --allow-unrelated-histories HEAD~2` in your Windows Terminal.

🎯 Final Words

By following these methods, you should be able to squash your commits successfully and avoid the 'Permission denied' error.

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