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"could not start claude: No such file or directory" when the project directory doesn't exist on the base branch #43
Description
If a project's root is a subdirectory of a git repo, and that subdirectory only exists on a non-default branch, a new worktree thread can't start its agent. The chat shows:
could not start claude: No such file or directory
claude is installed and on the PATH, so the message points at the wrong thing. The worktree is created from the default branch (e.g. main), which doesn't contain the project's subdirectory. The thread's working directory (/) therefore doesn't exist. Starting the agent there fails with ENOENT, and Backplane reports that as the agent binary being missing.
Steps to reproduce:
- In a repo, add a new directory on a feature branch only (not on main), and check out that branch.
- Add that directory as a Backplane project.
- Start a new worktree thread in it and send a message.
Expected: The thread starts. If it can't, the error says the working directory doesn't exist.
Suggestions:
- Check that the working directory exists before starting the agent, and name the missing path in the error.
- Consider basing new worktrees on the branch currently checked out in the project's repo, or let the user choose the base branch.
Workaround: Use a Local thread, or merge the directory into the default branch first.
Activity
Merge pull request BackplaneWorks#43 from i2cjak/backplane/room-remot…
mechatroniks-git commentedon Oct 18, 2026
Same failure on Backplane 0.11.1 (macOS, Apple silicon). Three details from this setup:
Local isn't selectable. The web client's new-thread command sends only the project and the title, and the MCP
thread_launchtool has no environment argument, so every thread in the project gets a worktree. The "use a Local thread" workaround above isn't reachable.The worktree comes from
origin/main, whatever branch is checked out. The repo had a feature branch checked out and localmainon a different commit. All six worktrees Backplane created were atorigin/main's commit.Per-thread fix: while the thread's
backplane/<hex>branch has no commits of its own, move it to the feature branch:That puts the project directory at the thread's working directory. The thread's commits then land on
backplane/<hex>and merge back into the feature branch. Each new thread needs the same step.A base-branch choice at thread creation, defaulting to the checked-out branch, plus a matching argument on
thread_launch, would cover both UI and agent-launched threads.