What causes "You cannot remove the current worktree!" in jesseduffield/lazygit?

Exit lazygit, switch to the main worktree (or another one), and remove it from there.

You cannot remove the current worktree!

Error message

You cannot remove the current worktree!

What it means

Returned by WorktreesController.remove when worktree.IsCurrent is true — the user tried to remove the worktree lazygit is running in. Deleting the process's own working directory (shell cwd, open files) is unsafe, so it is rejected with a clear message; remove it from a different worktree or the main repo instead.

Source

Thrown at pkg/gui/controllers/worktrees_controller.go:131

			Main: &types.ViewUpdateOpts{
				Title: self.c.Tr.WorktreeTitle,
				Task:  task,
			},
		})
	}
}

func (self *WorktreesController) add() error {
	return self.c.Helpers().Worktree.NewWorktree()
}

func (self *WorktreesController) remove(worktree *models.Worktree) error {
	if worktree.IsMain {
		return errors.New(self.c.Tr.CantDeleteMainWorktree)
	}

	if worktree.IsCurrent {
		return errors.New(self.c.Tr.CantDeleteCurrentWorktree)
	}

	removeWorktreeItem := &types.MenuItem{
		Label: self.c.Tr.RemoveWorktree,
		Keys:  menuKey('w'),
		OnPress: func() error {
			return self.c.Helpers().Worktree.Remove(worktree, nil)
		},
	}

	branch, branchFound := lo.Find(self.c.Model().Branches, func(branch *models.Branch) bool {
		return branch.Name == worktree.Branch
	})
	// A worktree with a detached HEAD has no branch to delete
	detachedReason := &types.DisabledReason{Text: self.c.Tr.WorktreeNotCheckedOutOnBranch}

	removeWorktreeAndBranchItem := &types.MenuItem{
		Label: self.c.Tr.RemoveWorktreeAndDeleteBranch,

View on GitHub (pinned to c477a2959b)

Solutions

Exit lazygit, switch to the main worktree (or another one), and remove it from there.
Or from outside lazygit: 'git worktree remove <path>' run from any other worktree.
If the directory must be deleted in place, close all programs using it first and remove it manually.

Example fix

# before
$ # inside wt-feature, remove wt-feature in lazygit -> error

# after
$ cd /path/to/repo-main
git worktree remove ../wt-feature

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if worktree.IsCurrent {
    // disable the remove action; instruct user to remove from another worktree
}

Prevention

Disable the remove keybinding via DisabledReason for the IsCurrent row.
Remove a worktree from a session running in a different worktree.
From the shell: 'git worktree remove <path>' executed outside that worktree.

When it happens

Trigger: Pressing remove on the worktrees-panel entry matching the worktree lazygit was launched in (IsCurrent flag set on the model).

Common situations: User opens lazygit inside a scratch worktree and later wants it gone; forgetting which worktree the session belongs to.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jesseduffield/lazygit@c477a2959b (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3381fc14ed4f5542. Report an issue: GitHub.