Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#27461: verify-commits: error and exit cleanly when git is too old.

1fefcf27edcac7ebb87c1d3c68bcd9870e3ae78a verify-commits: error and exit cleanly when git is too old. (Cory Fields)

Pull request description:

  Requested by fanquake. Rather than failing with a cryptic error with older git, fail gracefully and mention why.

  The new option semantics [are explained here](https://github.com/git/git/commit/1f0c3a29da3515d88537902cd267cc726020eea5).

  Note: my local git versions are currently too old to test the new functionality, so I've only verified the failure case.

ACKs for top commit:
  josibake:
    ACK https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/27461/commits/1fefcf27edcac7ebb87c1d3c68bcd9870e3ae78a
  achow101:
    ACK 1fefcf27edcac7ebb87c1d3c68bcd9870e3ae78a

Tree-SHA512: f3dc583edf6ff6ff9bf06f33de967e10b8423ce62e7370912ffdca8a4ca4bfe4c2e783e9ad76281ce9e6748a4643d187aa5cb4a6b9ec4c1582910f02b94b6e3c

1 files changed, 14 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/contrib/verify-commits/verify-commits.py b/contrib/verify-commits/verify-commits.py
index f301964280..a1fe78a643 100755
--- a/contrib/verify-commits/verify-commits.py
+++ b/contrib/verify-commits/verify-commits.py
@@ -178,7 +178,20 @@ def main():
         allow_unclean = current_commit in unclean_merge_allowed
         if len(parents) == 2 and check_merge and not allow_unclean:
             current_tree = subprocess.check_output([GIT, 'show', '--format=%T', current_commit]).decode('utf8').splitlines()[0]
-            recreated_tree = subprocess.check_output([GIT, "merge-tree", parents[0], parents[1]]).decode('utf8').splitlines()[0]
+
+            # This merge-tree functionality requires git >= 2.38. The
+            # --write-tree option was added in order to opt-in to the new
+            # behavior. Older versions of git will not recognize the option and
+            # will instead exit with code 128.
+            try:
+                recreated_tree = subprocess.check_output([GIT, "merge-tree", "--write-tree", parents[0], parents[1]]).decode('utf8').splitlines()[0]
+            except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+                if e.returncode == 128:
+                    print("git v2.38+ is required for this functionality.", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(1)
+                else:
+                    raise e
+
             if current_tree != recreated_tree:
                 print("Merge commit {} is not clean".format(current_commit), file=sys.stderr)
                 subprocess.call([GIT, 'diff', recreated_tree, current_tree])