From 0627ad47ced77800abfe82bfa4fb8382de35404a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Wolfe David (XC-CT/PRM-NA)" <David.Wolfe@us.bosch.com>
Date: Tue, 19 May 2026 11:50:10 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix: recognize git worktree root in find_vcs_root()

In a git worktree (or a submodule) the ".git" entry is a file
containing a "gitdir: <path>" pointer rather than a directory.
`_is_valid_vcs_dir()` only accepted directories, so `find_vcs_root()`
walked past the worktree root and failed to locate the project root,
breaking `molecule.yml` discovery for users working inside a worktree.

Treat a ".git" file as a valid VCS root marker when it contains a
"gitdir:" pointer, while still rejecting unrelated stray ".git" files.

Refs: https://github.com/ansible/molecule/issues/4142
---
 src/molecule/util.py    | 21 ++++++++++++-------
 tests/unit/test_util.py | 46 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 60 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/molecule/util.py b/src/molecule/util.py
index 3084874b5e..75def0d2ff 100644
--- a/src/molecule/util.py
+++ b/src/molecule/util.py
@@ -440,23 +440,30 @@ def _filter_platforms(
 
 
 def _is_valid_vcs_dir(path: Path, name: str) -> bool:
-    """Check if a VCS directory is a genuine repository root.
+    """Check if a VCS entry marks a genuine repository root.
 
     Args:
         path: Parent directory to check.
-        name: VCS directory name (e.g. ".git", ".hg", ".svn").
+        name: VCS entry name (e.g. ".git", ".hg", ".svn").
 
     Returns:
-        Whether the VCS directory is a genuine repository root.
+        Whether the VCS entry marks a genuine repository root.
     """
-    vcs_dir = path / name
-    if not vcs_dir.is_dir():
+    vcs_entry = path / name
+    # In a git worktree (or a submodule) the ".git" entry is a file
+    # containing a "gitdir: <path>" pointer rather than a directory.
+    if name == ".git" and vcs_entry.is_file():
+        try:
+            return vcs_entry.read_text(encoding="utf-8").startswith("gitdir:")
+        except OSError:
+            return False
+    if not vcs_entry.is_dir():
         return False
     # A real .git directory always contains a HEAD file.
-    # Bare repos, worktrees, and regular repos all have it.
+    # Bare repos and regular repos all have it.
     # Spurious .git dirs (e.g. created by GitKraken) do not.
     if name == ".git":
-        return (vcs_dir / "HEAD").exists()
+        return (vcs_entry / "HEAD").exists()
     return True
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_util.py b/tests/unit/test_util.py
index 48f5d5d7e9..8ab4393c03 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_util.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_util.py
@@ -969,6 +969,52 @@ def test_find_vcs_root_skips_fake_git_dir(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert result == str(repo)
 
 
+def test_find_vcs_root_in_git_worktree(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """Ensure find_vcs_root recognizes a worktree where .git is a file.
+
+    In a git worktree the ".git" entry is a file containing a
+    "gitdir: <path>" pointer rather than a directory.
+
+    Args:
+        tmp_path: pytest fixture for temporary directory.
+    """
+    # Worktree root: .git is a file pointing at the main repo's gitdir.
+    worktree = tmp_path / "worktree"
+    worktree.mkdir()
+    git_file = worktree / ".git"
+    git_file.write_text(f"gitdir: {tmp_path / 'main' / '.git' / 'worktrees' / 'wt'}\n")
+
+    subdir = worktree / "infra"
+    subdir.mkdir()
+
+    util.find_vcs_root.cache_clear()
+    result = util.find_vcs_root(location=str(subdir))
+    assert result == str(worktree)
+
+
+def test_find_vcs_root_skips_bogus_git_file(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """Ensure find_vcs_root ignores a .git file without a gitdir pointer.
+
+    Args:
+        tmp_path: pytest fixture for temporary directory.
+    """
+    # Real repo at top level.
+    repo = tmp_path / "repo"
+    repo.mkdir()
+    git_dir = repo / ".git"
+    git_dir.mkdir()
+    (git_dir / "HEAD").write_text("ref: refs/heads/main\n")
+
+    # Subdirectory with a spurious .git file that is not a worktree pointer.
+    subdir = repo / "infra"
+    subdir.mkdir()
+    (subdir / ".git").write_text("not a gitdir pointer\n")
+
+    util.find_vcs_root.cache_clear()
+    result = util.find_vcs_root(location=str(subdir))
+    assert result == str(repo)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("input_value", "expected"),
     (