The error usually means Git cannot write to the directory where it is trying to create fabric-samples. Check the working directory and its parent, then rerun the command from a location your account can write to. Avoid starting with sudo: first identify the permission problem and confirm the command and version you intend to run.
Why Git cannot create fabric-samples
Git needs permission to create a new directory in the destination’s parent directory. If the bootstrap process is running from a location your user cannot write to, cloning can stop with fatal: could not create work tree dir 'fabric-samples': Permission denied.
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A November 2020 Linux Foundation course discussion reports this error during git clone, followed by extraction failures when the setup tried to create bin and config. Those later failures are consistent with the process lacking write access to its installation location, but they do not prove that every similar error has the same cause. Read the discussion.
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Check the target location before changing permissions
- Confirm the working directory. Identify the directory in which the bootstrap script is running and where it expects to create
fabric-samples. - Use a writable workspace. If you cannot create files and directories there as your current user, change to a workspace intended for your development files and run the setup again from that location.
- Check ownership if the folder already exists. A previous attempt run under another account may have left files or directories you cannot modify. Inspect their owner and permissions, then correct the specific ownership or access issue rather than broadly weakening permissions.
- Retry and read the first failure. If the clone now succeeds but a download or extraction step fails, diagnose that step separately instead of assuming the original permission problem remains.
Should you run the bootstrap script with sudo?
The 2020 forum discussion includes a suggestion to run the downloaded bootstrap script with sudo, but that is a historical suggestion, not a safe default. Elevation gives the script greater access than it needs merely to create files and can leave root-owned files in your workspace. Prefer a user-writable destination and inspect permissions first. Do not make a directory world-writable or run a remote script with elevated privileges without verifying what it does.
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Separate permission errors from version and download failures
A similar Linux Foundation thread discusses a version-string problem and a course-version mismatch as well as download trouble. Those are distinct from Git being unable to create the work tree: once the clone works, check the requested Fabric version and the relevant setup instructions if binary downloads still fail. See the separate version discussion.
Another community report describes repository creation and binary extraction failures during Fabric setup, but its response offers a different possible explanation. Treat community troubleshooting as context, not proof of a universal cause. Read the Blockchain Council discussion.
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Use current Hyperledger Fabric setup instructions
The cited discussions date from 2020 or have no established publication date; they do not establish today’s supported versions or installation commands. Before retrying the full setup, consult the official Hyperledger Fabric installation documentation and follow the instructions for the version you are installing.
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