Git 'fatal: Unable to write new index file'

git locking
Jeff picture Jeff · Apr 17, 2013 · Viewed 113k times · Source

I've seen many of the other threads about this and they don't help.

I have a very simple repo - two JavaScript files. I have 100+ GB on Macbook. When I try to move the files into a subdirectory and stage locally the changes I get ...

fatal: Unable to write new index file

This happens whether I do all actions in terminal or if I use a GUI like SourceTree. Additionally, one of the files becomes locked and I cannot delete the working directory until I log off and back in.

Why is this happening? Is the lock preventing something from staging? If so, what/how do I unlock the problem file on OS X?? The remote repo is Google Code, if that makes a difference, though I am not pushing to the remote yet. Everything is local.

Answer

Alexander Bird picture Alexander Bird · Jan 16, 2015

In my case, the disk ran out of space, so I had to delete files from the hard drive to make space.

Related questions

How do I undo the most recent local commits in Git?

I accidentally committed the wrong files to Git, but didn't push the commit to the server yet. How can I undo those commits from the local repository?

Read More
How do I delete a Git branch locally and remotely?

I want to delete a branch both locally and remotely. Failed Attempts to Delete a Remote Branch $ git branch -d remotes/origin/bugfix error: branch 'remotes/origin/bugfix' not found. $ git branch -d origin/bugfix error: branch 'origin/bugfix' not …

Read More
How do I revert a Git repository to a previous commit?

How do I revert from my current state to a snapshot made on a certain commit? If I do git log, then I get the following output: $ git log commit a867b4af366350be2e7c21b8de9cc6504678a61…

Read More