#9701 Bug: meltano add fails during Git submodule update (gettext 0.22.5 usage error) Issue created by avinashkurup ### Meltano Version 4.0.8 ### Python Version 3.12 ### Bug scope CLI (options, error messages, logging, etc.) ### Operating System Linux - Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS ### Description Summary Adding a plugin (e.g., tap-csv) fails during the installation phase. The root cause is a failure in the Git submodule update process, seemingly triggered by an environment conflict involving gettext.sh. There is a version mismatch between the host system gettext (0.21) and the version being invoked by the Meltano/uv subprocess (0.22.5). System Environment Meltano Version: meltano --version 4.0.8 Python Version: 3.12.10 Git Version: 2.34.1 OS: Ubuntu (Linux) Installation Method: uv tool-chain as well as pip The Execution Conflict The diagram below illustrates the breakdown in communication between the Python virtual environment and the system's Git binary. Steps to Reproduce Initialize a new Meltano project. Attempt to add the meltanolabs variant of tap-csv: Bash meltano add tap-csv Observe the Installation error block in the terminal. Logs & Traceback Standard Error Output: Plaintext error: Git operation failed Caused by: process didn't exit successfully:

/usr/bin/git submodule update --recursive --init

(exit status: 1) --- stderr GNU gettext shell script function library version 0.22.5 Usage: . gettext.sh Partial Traceback: Python File ".../meltano/cli/add.py", line 221, in add raise CliError("Failed to install plugin(s)") meltano.cli.CliError: Failed to install plugin(s) Verification Tests Performed To ensure this was not a local configuration error, the following tests were conducted: Isolation Test: Executed via uv tool run meltano add... to bypass local shell environment quirks; Result: Failed. Manual Git Test: Performed git clone of the repository and submodules manually on the host; Result: Success. Dependency Check: apt-get confirms system gettext is v0.21. However, the error log reports v0.22.5. This suggests Meltano/uv is injecting a different version of gettext into the subprocess $PATH, which is incompatible with the expected usage in the Git hook/script. Clean Reinstall: Purged .meltano/ directory and retried; Result: Failed. Suggested Direction The error Usage: . gettext.sh suggests that gettext.sh is being sourced without proper context or with an incompatible shell environment provided by the Python subprocess manager. The version discrepancy (0.21 vs 0.22.5) is the likely culprit. [Image](https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/681657/529641424-3a069f29-d08c-4aa3-99b1-b5a9b90f6d62.png?jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3NjcxMDM0NjcsIm5iZiI6MTc2NzEwMzE2NywicGF0aCI6Ii82ODE2NTcvNTI5NjQxNDI0LTNhMDY5ZjI5LWQwOGMtNGFhMy05OWIxLWI1YTliOTBmNmQ2Mi5wbmc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjUxMjMwJTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI1MTIzMFQxMzU5MjdaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT05ZWU5MjIyYTNlMWJkZTE3OGZiMDFkZmQwMWM4MTIzMzQ1YTQwY2ZhMTI2ZmRiNTc5Nzg5YjJjM2Y1OWU0ZDViJlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCJ9.F_MJQ_n6HiIgtMo7ljRFLX-qcVGpxJkgTRug_qE-tZ4) [Image](https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/681657/529641536-79c6dce2-227c-42b7-a627-4ad4b5156947.png?jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3NjcxMDM0NjcsIm5iZiI6MTc2NzEwMzE2NywicGF0aCI6Ii82ODE2NTcvNTI5NjQxNTM2LTc5YzZkY2UyLTIyN2MtNDJiNy1hNjI3LTRhZDRiNTE1Njk0Ny5wbmc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjUxMjMwJTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI1MTIzMFQxMzU5MjdaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT03ZmFjMTk4MTdmYmNlZjg1YjRjNjM3ZDkyYWQ2MWU0ZTA2NzM4ZjZkNWYyYjE4MGJkNjEzMzNlNTNlYTAyZDEyJlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCJ9.21oH2-pnYsbveAokrbjLPXvoH4kYBbwPcefK9mTo51Y) ### Code ### Link to Slack/Linen https://meltano.slack.com/archives/C06A1MD6A6L/p1766398499429809 meltano/meltano