Summary
Ghostree enters a crash loop on launch after deleting a git worktree that had an open terminal window. The app crashes within ~2 seconds of launch every time, until the laptop is restarted (which clears macOS's restoration state).
Root Cause
macOS saves window restoration state in ~/Library/Saved Application State/dev.sidequery.Ghostree.savedState/. When a worktree is deleted while Ghostree has a window open in that directory, the saved state still references the now-nonexistent path. On next launch, AppKit tries to restore the window with that working directory and crashes (EXC_BREAKPOINT in AppKit).
The windows.plist in the saved state contains an entry like:
"NSTitle" => "~/Projects/myrepo.feature-branch"
...but the worktree (and directory) no longer exists.
Steps to Reproduce
- Create a git worktree (e.g.,
git worktree add ../myrepo.feature-branch feature-branch)
- Open a Ghostree window with the working directory set to the worktree path
- Delete the worktree (
git worktree remove ../myrepo.feature-branch or just rm -rf the directory)
- Quit Ghostree
- Relaunch Ghostree — it crashes immediately, every time
Crash Details
- Crash reason:
EXC_BREAKPOINT / EXC_ARM_BREAKPOINT
- Crashed in:
AppKit + 0x315388 (main thread, during window restoration/run loop)
- Process uptime at crash: ~2 seconds
- Version: Ghostree 0.3.9
- OS: macOS 14.1.0 (Sonoma), arm64
Workaround
Delete the saved application state:
rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/dev.sidequery.Ghostree.savedState
Or restart the laptop (macOS eventually gives up on restoration after repeated crashes).
Suggested Fix
The window restoration codepath should gracefully handle missing working directories — e.g., fall back to $HOME or skip restoring that window — instead of passing a nonexistent path to AppKit which triggers a crash.
Summary
Ghostree enters a crash loop on launch after deleting a git worktree that had an open terminal window. The app crashes within ~2 seconds of launch every time, until the laptop is restarted (which clears macOS's restoration state).
Root Cause
macOS saves window restoration state in
~/Library/Saved Application State/dev.sidequery.Ghostree.savedState/. When a worktree is deleted while Ghostree has a window open in that directory, the saved state still references the now-nonexistent path. On next launch, AppKit tries to restore the window with that working directory and crashes (EXC_BREAKPOINTin AppKit).The
windows.plistin the saved state contains an entry like:...but the worktree (and directory) no longer exists.
Steps to Reproduce
git worktree add ../myrepo.feature-branch feature-branch)git worktree remove ../myrepo.feature-branchor justrm -rfthe directory)Crash Details
EXC_BREAKPOINT / EXC_ARM_BREAKPOINTAppKit + 0x315388(main thread, during window restoration/run loop)Workaround
Delete the saved application state:
Or restart the laptop (macOS eventually gives up on restoration after repeated crashes).
Suggested Fix
The window restoration codepath should gracefully handle missing working directories — e.g., fall back to
$HOMEor skip restoring that window — instead of passing a nonexistent path to AppKit which triggers a crash.