[Bug] Worktree in a monorepo, can not see files and git changes

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

Why I'm using this setup
I open the container folder (with all related projects inside) so a single agent can work
across frontend + backend —or several related projects— at the same time, end-to-end in one
session. That's the main reason I went with the monorepo/project-group option instead of
opening each repo separately.

Also worth saying upfront: it's entirely possible this is on me and not the right way to
handle this situation. If so, I'd love to hear how you all handle this case (multiple related
repos that you want one agent to work across at once) — happy to change my workflow.

Environment

• OS: macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)
• Orca version: Current version: 1.4.98
• Setup: a container folder ~/work/fint/fint that is NOT a git repo, with 4
  independent git repos inside: fint_api (master), fint-admin (p360), fint-portal (p360),
  fint-sales (main). On import, I accepted the option to treat it as a monorepo →
  it created a "project group" with a folder workspace.

Bug 1 — Diff viewer: selector_not_found on EVERY file
In the primary repo view (e.g. fint_api on master), Orca does list the git changes
(24 files: staged, unstaged and untracked), but opening the diff of any file —including
brand-new/created files— renders a single line:
Error loading diff: RuntimeRpcCallError: selector_not_found
It happens on 100% of files. (screenshot attached)

Bug 2 — File viewer: "Unable to load file / selector_not_found"
In the folder-workspace session, the git changes list shows up empty, and opening any file
from the file tree shows:
Unable to load file — selector_not_found (with a Retry button that doesn't help).
e.g. .../fint-portal/.eslintrc.json. (screenshot attached)

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

Bug 3 — The folder workspace didn't isolate changes into worktrees
The folder-workspace task ran with cwd = the original imported folder
(~/work/fint/fint), so the agent edited directly on each repo's primary branch
(master / p360 / p360 / main) instead of creating isolated worktrees. For contrast, a
per-repo task DID create a real worktree at
~/orca/workspaces/fint_api/import-de-pagos-.... I expected a folder workspace to create
one worktree per repo and leave the primary branches untouched.

Steps to reproduce

1. Have a folder that is NOT a git repo, with ≥2 independent git repos inside.
2. Import it into Orca and accept treating it as a monorepo/project group.
3. Run a task (folder workspace) that modifies files across the repos.
4. Open the diff of any file → Error loading diff: ... selector_not_found.
5. Open any file from the file tree → Unable to load file / selector_not_found.

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

**Multi-repo project group: diff/file viewer fails with selector_not_found + folder workspac

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

Multi-repo project group: diff/file viewer fails with selector_not_found + folder workspace

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

I can open a GitHub issue if needed, but I also think I might be doing something wrong on my side, and it's not a bug jajaj , although the error messages are a bit weird.

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

Now I realized that that proyect is not working anymore for tracking the changes, I closed and reopened Orca again, but it is not working, so I will come back to Visual Studio Code to review the diffs for now

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

Oh I realized all the projects are broken now jajaj, all the ideas and git diff are totally broken with the error Error loading diff: RuntimeRpcCallError: selector_not_found

[orca-discord-issues]

Jinjing via Discord

hi Gabriel, thank you for the detailed report. will get it fixed asap!

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

<@1230924083454152794> Let me know if I can do something to help. If I create a new project, the IDEA and the diffs work, but all the previos proyects are "broken"

[orca-discord-issues]

Brennan via Discord

The idea for the multi-repo setup is to place the agents at the top directory, but instruct them to create worktrees in the sub-repos, where the real work should be done. I.e. top-level agents should not edit the working directory, it should create worktrees and edit them in there. Today, when it does that, you'll be able to see all of the child worktrees at a glance from the top-level workspace like in picture 1 and 2.

However, we could try to make it so that when you create a new top-level workspace, it'll create new worktrees for every child and check those out by default.
The large risk for this method is that your disk space may get filled up with unnecessary worktrees (but we'll do a good job cleaning them up 😀). Do you think that would suit your workflow <@411639035233304604> ?

[orca-discord-issues]

Brennan via Discord

I'll get those other issues fixed ASAP as well!

[orca-discord-issues]

Gabriel via Discord

To be complety honest i was not working with worktrees before ORCA, i was always using the top directory and a specific branch on each repo, but now the idea of using a worktree for having agents working at the same projects on different things is hitting me jaja so i kind of like it, i woud love to have both options tough, maybe to create worktrees on each repo and also just work on the branch that each repo is on