How to fix fatal: Unable to read current working directory: Permission denied (snap confinement) in Git

First, confirm that your Git installation is from snap:

# Check if git is a snap package
which git
# If output is /snap/bin/git, it's a snap installation

# Or check directly
snap list git

If Git is installed via apt (/usr/bin/git), this error has a different cause—see related errors for other permission issues.

The most common fix is to ensure the home interface is connected, granting Git access to your home directory:

# Check current interface connections
snap connections git

# Connect the home interface
sudo snap connect git:home :home

After connecting, verify the connection:

snap connections git
# Should show: home  git:home  :home  -

Note: The home interface only grants access to non-hidden files. If you need access to .git directories or .gitconfig, additional steps may be needed.

If you're working on mounted drives, USB storage, or network shares (typically under /mnt or /media), connect the removable-media interface:

# Connect removable-media interface
sudo snap connect git:removable-media :removable-media

# Verify the connection
snap connections git

This grants Git access to:
- /media - automounted removable storage
- /mnt - manually mounted filesystems
- /run/media - runtime media mounts

If your home directory uses a non-standard path (common with domain/LDAP users like /home/MYDOMAIN/username), you need to update AppArmor's home directory configuration:

# Edit the AppArmor home tunables
sudo nano /etc/apparmor.d/tunables/home.d/ubuntu

# Add your domain path (create file if it doesn't exist)
@{HOMEDIRS}+=/home/MYDOMAIN/

Then restart the necessary services:

sudo systemctl restart apparmor
sudo systemctl restart snapd

Replace MYDOMAIN with your actual domain or directory name.

If you frequently work outside the snap sandbox boundaries, the simplest solution is to use apt-installed Git instead:

# Remove snap version
sudo snap remove git

# Install via apt
sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

# Verify installation
git --version
which git
# Should show /usr/bin/git

The apt-installed Git runs without confinement and can access any directory your user has permission to access. This is generally recommended for development work where you need maximum filesystem flexibility.

Some snaps offer a "classic" confinement mode that removes sandbox restrictions. Check if Git supports this:

# Try installing with classic confinement
sudo snap install git --classic

Note: As of current snap store policies, the main Git snap may not support classic confinement. If this command fails, use the apt installation method instead.

Classic confinement effectively gives the snap full system access, similar to traditional packages.

After applying your chosen fix, test Git in the previously failing directory:

# Navigate to the problematic directory
cd /path/to/your/directory

# Test basic Git commands
git status
git log --oneline -5

# If cloning, test that too
git clone https://github.com/example/repo.git test-repo

If you still see permission errors, check which interfaces are connected:

snap connections git

And verify your current user can access the directory:

ls -la /path/to/your/directory