Summary
On Windows (Git Bash / MSYS), cmux rm <branch> and cmux rm <branch> --force frequently fail with Directory not empty or a permission error when the worktree contains a populated node_modules/. Manually retrying the same cmux rm 1-2 seconds later succeeds. Filesystem-level cleanup with PowerShell Remove-Item -Recurse -Force also succeeds immediately.
Environment
- OS: Windows 11
- Shell: Git Bash (MSYS2 / MINGW64), bash 5.2.37
- Git: 2.52.0.windows.1
- cmux: 0.1.4
Reproduction
cd /c/some/git/repo
cmux new feature-x # worktree created, .cmux/setup runs npm install
cmux rm feature-x -f # ❌ "Failed to remove worktree: feature-x"
# error: failed to delete '.../.worktrees/feature-x': Directory not empty
sleep 2
cmux rm feature-x -f # ✅ succeedsThe branch is removed during the first attempt (because git worktree remove partially completes before the directory deletion fails), so the second cmux rm reports "Worktree not found" — but the orphan directory still consumes disk space (often 1-2GB for a Node.js project).
Root cause
Windows holds short-lived file handles on files inside node_modules after node processes exit (build watchers, esbuild, vitest, etc.). git worktree remove does its directory-cleanup pass while the lock is still held → fails. The lock clears within a second or two but cmux doesn't retry.
Proposed fix
Retry git worktree remove up to 3 times with a 1-second backoff on MSYS/MinGW/Cygwin shells. Linux/macOS behavior is unchanged.
PR: #PR (link below once opened)
Related
This is a separate issue from #22 (path-format mismatch). Both are Windows-specific but independent root causes.
Summary
On Windows (Git Bash / MSYS),
cmux rm <branch>andcmux rm <branch> --forcefrequently fail withDirectory not emptyor a permission error when the worktree contains a populatednode_modules/. Manually retrying the samecmux rm1-2 seconds later succeeds. Filesystem-level cleanup with PowerShellRemove-Item -Recurse -Forcealso succeeds immediately.Environment
Reproduction
The branch is removed during the first attempt (because
git worktree removepartially completes before the directory deletion fails), so the secondcmux rmreports "Worktree not found" — but the orphan directory still consumes disk space (often 1-2GB for a Node.js project).Root cause
Windows holds short-lived file handles on files inside
node_modulesafter node processes exit (build watchers, esbuild, vitest, etc.).git worktree removedoes its directory-cleanup pass while the lock is still held → fails. The lock clears within a second or two but cmux doesn't retry.Proposed fix
Retry
git worktree removeup to 3 times with a 1-second backoff on MSYS/MinGW/Cygwin shells. Linux/macOS behavior is unchanged.PR: #PR (link below once opened)
Related
This is a separate issue from #22 (path-format mismatch). Both are Windows-specific but independent root causes.