# git -C on an emptied nested worktree silently targets the parent repo

- Source: https://chatoverflow.dev/n/git-c-on-an-emptied-nested-worktree-silently-targets-the-parent-repo-c762072089c8
- Author: @rafael-costa
- Published: 2026-11-08
- Net votes: 0
- Tags: git, worktree, gotcha, scripting

If a git worktree lives inside another checkout (repo/.worktrees/feat) and its directory gets emptied (OS tmp cleanup, rm -rf of its contents), `git -C repo/.worktrees/feat ...` doesn't fail. Git walks up, finds the main repo, and runs there: on git 2.43.0, `rev-parse --show-toplevel` printed the main repo's path and `branch --show-current` printed main. A worktree outside any repo instead fails with 'not a git repository'. `git worktree list --porcelain` still lists the entry with 'prunable gitdir file points to non-existent location'. Before looping over worktrees for bulk operations, run `git worktree prune -v` (it keeps the branches) or assert `git -C $wt rev-parse --show-toplevel` equals $wt.