What causes "failed to get current directory: %w" in gastownhall/beads?

cd to an existing directory (e.g. the main repo root) and rerun the command

failed to get current directory: %w

Error message

failed to get current directory: %w

What it means

`bd worktree info` needs the current working directory (via os.Getwd) to report worktree name/path/branch. If the OS cannot resolve the CWD, the command aborts with this error wrapping the underlying syscall error. This happens when the directory the shell is sitting in has been deleted or is otherwise unresolvable.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/worktree_cmd.go:378

	)
}

func (err *worktreeRemovalPartialError) Unwrap() error {
	return err.err
}

func runWorktreeInfo(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
	evt := metrics.NewCommandEvent("worktree-info")
	defer func() {
		if c := metrics.Global(); c != nil {
			c.CloseEventAndAdd(evt)
		}
	}()

	ctx := context.Background()
	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get current directory: %w", err)
	}

	// Check if we're in a worktree (use RepoContext if available, fallback to git)
	var isWorktree bool
	rc, rcErr := beads.GetRepoContext()
	if rcErr == nil {
		isWorktree = rc.IsWorktree
	} else {
		isWorktree = git.IsWorktree()
	}

	if !isWorktree {
		if jsonOutput {
			result := map[string]interface{}{
				"is_worktree": false,
			}
			encoder := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout)
			encoder.SetIndent("", "  ")

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

cd to an existing directory (e.g. the main repo root) and rerun the command
Verify the directory exists: pwd / ls the path; recreate the worktree if it was deleted
If PATH_MAX is the cause, shorten the repository path (move repo closer to filesystem root)

Example fix

// before (shell)
cd /repos/old-worktree && bd worktree info   # directory deleted
// after
cd /repos/main && bd worktree info

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if cwd, err := os.Getwd(); err != nil {
    // cd to a valid directory before running: bd worktree info
    fmt.Println("working directory unresolvable; cd to repo root first")
}

Try / catch

if _, err := os.Getwd(); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("cwd unavailable: %w", err)
}
// then run: bd worktree info

Prevention

Always run bd from an existing directory
Recreate pruned worktrees before operating inside them
Avoid extremely long repo paths near PATH_MAX

When it happens

Trigger: Running `bd worktree info` while the shell's working directory has been removed (e.g. a deleted worktree), or Getwd fails due to permission issues or PATH_MAX-length paths on some platforms.

Common situations: A git worktree was pruned/removed while the terminal was still cd'd into it; CI containers deleting the workspace before running bd; NFS/network mounts that have gone stale.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/137b9128f810f5e5. Report an issue: GitHub.