gastownhall/beads · error

not in a git worktree: %w

Error message

not in a git worktree: %w

What it means

This error wraps a failure of `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` run in the current directory while building a worktree removal plan. It means bd could not determine the top-level of the current git worktree, so it cannot confirm the caller is inside a managed git worktree. bd throws it as a precondition for any worktree remove operation, since removal logic needs the current worktree root to resolve relative targets.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/worktree_cmd.go:1226

}

func prepareWorktreeRemoval(
	ctx context.Context,
	name string,
	options *worktreeRemoveOptions,
	afterTargetResolution func() error,
) (*worktreeRemovalPlan, error) {
	gitRunner, err := newWorktreeRemovalGit()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	currentDirectory, err := os.Getwd()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to resolve current directory: %w", err)
	}
	currentRootOutput, err := gitRunner.output(ctx, currentDirectory, "rev-parse", "--show-toplevel")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("not in a git worktree: %w", err)
	}
	currentRoot := filepath.Clean(strings.TrimSpace(string(currentRootOutput)))

	worktrees, err := listRegisteredWorktrees(ctx, gitRunner, currentRoot)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	mainWorktree := worktrees[0]
	if mainWorktree.bare {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot remove a worktree when the primary worktree is bare")
	}
	targetEntry, err := resolveRegisteredWorktree(name, currentRoot, mainWorktree.path, worktrees)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	plan := &worktreeRemovalPlan{
		force: options.force.value,
		prepareFacts: worktreeremove.PrepareFacts{

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. cd into a directory inside a valid git worktree (or the repository root) and re-run the command
2. Verify `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` succeeds manually in the current directory; fix the repo (e.g. restore .git) if it fails
3. Check for and unset stale GIT_DIR / GIT_WORK_TREE / GIT_COMMON_DIR environment variables
4. Confirm git is installed and on PATH, and that the directory is readable/executable

Example fix

// before: running from ~/notes (not a git repo)
$ bd worktree remove feature-x
// error: not in a git worktree: fatal: not a git repository...
// after
$ cd ~/src/myrepo && bd worktree remove feature-x

if !test -d .git && ! git rev-parse --show-toplevel >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo 'not in a git worktree'; exit 1; fi

func inGitWorktree(dir string) bool {
	out, err := exec.Command("git", "-C", dir, "rev-parse", "--show-toplevel").Output()
	return err == nil && len(bytes.TrimSpace(out)) > 0
}

root, err := findWorktreeRoot(ctx)
if err != nil {
	var wrapped *fmt.wrapError
	if errors.As(err, &wrapped) && strings.Contains(wrapped.Unwrap().Error(), "not a git repository") {
		return fmt.Errorf("run bd from inside a git worktree")
	}
	return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `bd worktree remove` (via buildWorktreeRemovalPlan at cmd/bd/worktree_cmd.go:1226) from a directory where `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` fails: outside any repository, inside a corrupt .git, or with git unavailable/misbehaving in the given directory.

Common situations: Running bd in a non-git directory; a broken or deleted .git directory; GIT_DIR/GIT_WORK_TREE env vars pointing to invalid locations; running from a path with permission problems so git cannot traverse it; a too-old or missing git binary.

Related errors

• registered worktree not found: %s
• worktree name %q is ambiguous; use an absolute path (matches
• auto-export: git add failed: %w
• failed to read .gitignore: %w
• failed to write .gitignore: %w

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bab584b14262980e. Report an issue: GitHub.