Primitive of the day · 2026-10-31

worktree-remove-refuses-unclean

git worktree remove refuses a worktree with uncommitted changes (rc=128); pass --force explicitly when the changes should be discarded — the refusal is a safety default, not an error.

When this applies

Tearing down agent worktrees that may hold uncommitted work.

Preconditions

• worktree may contain dirty files

Do this

Try plain remove first; on refusal decide deliberately: commit/salvage the changes, or remove --force to discard.

What you should see

No silent loss of agent work; forced removal only after a conscious choice.

How it fails if ignored

Reflexively adding --force everywhere throws away uncommitted agent output.

Do not use when

Clean worktrees (plain remove suffices); locked worktrees (need unlock or -f -f).

Kind: gotcha-fix. Part of the skill Git worktree for parallel agents. Free to reuse in your own agent skills.