How to fix fatal: Unable to create '/path/to/repo/.git/index.lock': File exists in Git

Before removing the lock file, verify no Git processes are currently active. Deleting the lock while Git is running can corrupt your repository.

On Linux/macOS:

# List all Git processes
ps aux | grep git

# Check what process is using the lock file (if lsof is available)
lsof .git/index.lock

# Alternative using fuser
fuser .git/index.lock

On Windows (Command Prompt):

tasklist | findstr git

On Windows (PowerShell):

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

If you find active Git processes, wait for them to complete or terminate them if they appear hung.

Many applications run Git commands in the background and may be holding the lock:

Common culprits:
- VS Code - Has built-in Git integration that auto-fetches
- JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm) - Background VCS operations
- GitHub Desktop, GitKraken, Sourcetree - Git GUI applications
- Git hooks - Pre-commit hooks, husky, etc.

Steps:
1. Close your IDE or disable its Git integration temporarily
2. Close any Git GUI applications
3. Stop any file watchers that trigger Git operations

To disable VS Code's Git temporarily:
1. Open Settings (Ctrl+,)
2. Search for "git.enabled"
3. Uncheck the setting
4. Or add to settings.json: "git.enabled": false

After removing the lock, you can re-enable Git integration.

Once you've confirmed no Git processes are running, remove the stale lock file:

On Linux/macOS:

rm -f .git/index.lock

If you get a permission denied error:

# Check file ownership
ls -la .git/index.lock

# Remove with sudo if necessary (and you own the repo)
sudo rm -f .git/index.lock

On Windows (Command Prompt):

del .git\index.lock

On Windows (PowerShell):

Remove-Item .git\index.lock -Force

On Windows (Git Bash):

rm -f .git/index.lock

After removing the lock, retry your Git command. It should work now.

Sometimes Git reports the lock file exists, but you can't find it when you try to delete it. This can happen due to:
- File system caching issues
- The file being hidden
- Different path interpretations on Windows

Solution 1: Touch and remove

# Create the file if it doesn't exist, then remove it
touch .git/index.lock
rm -f .git/index.lock

Solution 2: Check for hidden files on Windows

dir /a .git

Solution 3: Navigate to the exact directory

cd .git
ls -la index.lock
rm -f index.lock
cd ..

Solution 4: Use Git's internal directory
If the error shows a full path like /path/to/repo/.git/index.lock, make sure you're in the correct repository root directory.

If removing the lock file doesn't work or it keeps reappearing, a system restart will:
- Terminate any hung or zombie Git processes
- Release all file locks
- Clear any file system caches

Before restarting:

# Save any uncommitted work
git stash list  # See if you have stashes

# Or just note what files were modified
git status

After rebooting:
1. Don't open your IDE immediately
2. Navigate to the repository in terminal
3. Verify the lock is gone: ls .git/index.lock
4. Try your Git command
5. Then open your IDE

This nuclear option works when subtle process issues are hard to diagnose.

If you're using Git submodules, lock files can appear in each submodule's .git directory:

# Find all index.lock files in the project
find . -name "index.lock" -type f

# Remove all lock files (use with caution!)
find . -name "index.lock" -type f -delete

# Or remove them one by one after inspection
find . -name "index.lock" -type f -exec ls -la {} \;

For submodules, the lock file might be in:
- .git/modules/submodule-name/index.lock
- submodule-path/.git/index.lock (if not using --reference)

Always check no Git operations are running in any submodule before removing locks.