paperclipai/paperclip · error

Refusing terminal workspace cleanup because the git worktree

Error message

Refusing terminal workspace cleanup because the git worktree changed after delivery was verified

What it means

Integrity-violation check in assertTerminalCleanupGitStateUnchanged: the git inspection succeeded, but the worktree's current HEAD/branch differs from the expectedHeadSha captured when delivery was verified — the workspace changed after its final state was signed off. Terminal cleanup is refused to avoid destroying unaccounted-for work.

Source

Thrown at server/src/services/execution-workspaces.ts:1464

      throw new Error("Refusing terminal workspace cleanup because the expected git HEAD is unknown");
    }

    const [current, currentHeadSha, currentBranchName] = await Promise.all([
      inspectGitCloseReadiness(toExecutionWorkspace(workspace)),
      readGitStdout(["rev-parse", "HEAD"], workspacePath).catch(() => null),
      readGitStdout(["symbolic-ref", "--quiet", "--short", "HEAD"], workspacePath).catch(() => null),
    ]);
    if (!current.statusInspectionSucceeded) {
      throw new Error("Refusing terminal workspace cleanup because the git status could not be verified");
    }
    if (
      !current.git?.repoRoot
      || current.git.hasDirtyTrackedFiles
      || current.git.hasUntrackedFiles
      || currentHeadSha !== expectedHeadSha
      || (workspace.branchName && currentBranchName !== workspace.branchName)
    ) {
      throw new Error("Refusing terminal workspace cleanup because the git worktree changed after delivery was verified");
    }
  }

  async function hydrateWorkspace(row: ExecutionWorkspaceRow, runtimeServices: WorkspaceRuntimeService[] = []) {
    const workspace = toExecutionWorkspace(row, runtimeServices);
    const { git } = await inspectGitCloseReadiness(workspace);
    const assessment = await assessDelivery(row, git);
    return toExecutionWorkspace(row, runtimeServices, assessment.deliveryState);
  }

  async function workspaceHasActiveRun(workspace: Pick<ExecutionWorkspaceRow, "id" | "companyId" | "sourceIssueId">) {
    const linkedIssues = await db
      .select({
        checkoutRunId: issues.checkoutRunId,
        executionRunId: issues.executionRunId,
      })
      .from(issues)
      .where(and(

View on GitHub (pinned to a7e689b3c3)

Solutions

1. Inspect the worktree changes made after delivery verification; restore the verified state or clean up manually.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/src/services/execution-workspaces.ts:1464 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@a7e689b3c3 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5a8c106be181c4a0. Report an issue: GitHub.