How to fix error: could not lock config file .git/config: File exists in Git

First, confirm the lock file exists and identify its location. The error message will tell you which config file is affected.

For local repository config:

# Check for lock file in the repository
ls -la .git/config.lock

For global user config:

# Check for global config lock file
ls -la ~/.gitconfig.lock

# On Windows, check:
ls -la "$HOME/.gitconfig.lock"

If the file exists, you'll see it listed. If not, the issue may be with file permissions or another process.

Before deleting the lock file, verify no Git process is currently using it.

On Linux/macOS:

# List all running Git processes
ps aux | grep git

# More specifically, look for processes that might hold the config
pgrep -a git

On Windows (Command Prompt):

tasklist | findstr git

On Windows (PowerShell):

Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*git*" }

If you find Git processes running, either wait for them to complete or terminate them before proceeding:

# Kill a specific process by PID (Linux/macOS)
kill <PID>

# Force kill if needed
kill -9 <PID>

Once you've confirmed no active Git process is using the lock, safely remove it.

For local repository config lock:

# Remove the local config lock file
rm .git/config.lock

For global config lock:

# Remove the global config lock file
rm ~/.gitconfig.lock

On Windows:

# Local config
del .git\config.lock

# Global config
del %USERPROFILE%\.gitconfig.lock

Important: Only delete the .lock file, never delete the actual config file (.git/config or .gitconfig).

After removing the lock file, retry the command that originally failed.

# Example: setting git config
git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "[email protected]"

# Or whatever command triggered the error
git pull
git push

If the command succeeds, the issue is resolved. If the error recurs immediately, proceed to check for other processes or permission issues.

IDEs and Git GUI tools often run background Git operations that can hold locks. Close them temporarily to resolve persistent lock issues.

Common applications that may hold Git locks:
- Visual Studio Code (with Git extensions)
- IntelliJ IDEA / WebStorm / PyCharm
- Visual Studio
- GitKraken, SourceTree, GitHub Desktop
- Tower, Fork, or other Git clients

Steps:
1. Save your work in all applications
2. Close all IDEs and Git GUI clients
3. Delete the lock file again if it reappeared
4. Run your Git command
5. Reopen your applications

For VS Code specifically:

# Kill VS Code processes (Linux/macOS)
pkill -f "code"

# Then remove lock and retry
rm .git/config.lock
git config user.name "Your Name"

If you still cannot create the lock file, there may be permission issues.

Check ownership of the .git directory:

# View ownership
ls -la .git/

# Check specifically the config file
ls -la .git/config

Fix ownership if needed (Linux/macOS):

# Change ownership of .git directory to your user
sudo chown -R $(whoami) .git/

# Or fix just the config file
sudo chown $(whoami) .git/config

For global config:

# Check ownership
ls -la ~/.gitconfig

# Fix if owned by root
sudo chown $(whoami):$(whoami) ~/.gitconfig

On Windows (Run as Administrator):

# Take ownership of the file
takeown /f .git\config
icacls .git\config /grant %USERNAME%:F

If the lock file keeps reappearing or you cannot identify the process holding it, a system reboot will clear all file handles.

Before rebooting:

1. Save all your work
2. Close all applications properly
3. Commit or stash any uncommitted changes if possible

After rebooting:

# Verify lock file is gone
ls -la .git/config.lock

# If it still exists, delete it
rm .git/config.lock

# Retry your Git command
git config --list

A reboot ensures all orphaned file handles from crashed processes are released.

If your repository is on a network drive (NFS, SMB, CIFS), lock file issues can be caused by network latency or stale NFS handles.

For NFS mounts (Linux):

# Check for stale NFS handles
ls -la .git/

# If you get "Stale file handle" errors, remount
sudo umount /path/to/mount
sudo mount /path/to/mount

For SMB/CIFS (Windows shares):

# Disconnect and reconnect the network drive
net use Z: /delete
net use Z: \\server\share

Best practice for network drives:
Consider cloning repositories locally and using Git's remote features instead of working directly on network-mounted repositories. Git's file locking mechanism assumes local filesystem semantics that may not work reliably over network shares.

# Clone to local disk instead
git clone /network/path/repo.git ~/local/repo
cd ~/local/repo
git remote add network /network/path/repo.git