dot_files/dot_claude/skills/archived/macos-provenance-xattr-deletion/SKILL.md

name	description	author	version	date
macos-provenance-xattr-deletion	Fix for "Permission denied" when deleting empty directories on macOS created by sandboxed processes (e.g., Claude Code agents, git worktrees from sandboxed tools). Use when: (1) rm -rf fails with "Permission denied" on an empty directory, (2) chmod and xattr -d don't help, (3) the directory has com.apple.provenance extended attribute, (4) git worktree remove fails with "is not a .git file". Root cause: macOS sandbox provenance tracking marks directories as immutable to the sandboxed process. Only an unsandboxed terminal can delete them.	Claude Code	1.0.0	2026-02-21

macOS com.apple.provenance Blocking Directory Deletion

Problem

Directories created by sandboxed macOS processes (like Claude Code subagents running in git worktrees) acquire a com.apple.provenance extended attribute. This attribute prevents the sandboxed process from deleting the directories, even when they are empty and owned by the current user. Standard remedies like chmod, xattr -d, and xattr -cr all fail silently — the attribute is enforced at the kernel level for sandboxed processes.

Context / Trigger Conditions

• rm -rf <directory> fails with "Permission denied" on an empty directory
• ls -la shows the directory is owned by you with normal permissions
• ls -la shows an @ flag on the directory (extended attributes present)
• xattr -l <directory> shows com.apple.provenance:
• git worktree remove fails with "is not a .git file, error code 2"
• The directory was created by a sandboxed subprocess (Claude Code agent, Xcode build, App Sandbox process)

Solution

You cannot delete these directories from within the sandboxed process.

Run the cleanup manually in an unsandboxed terminal:

# Remove the stuck directory
rm -rf <path-to-directory>

# If it was a git worktree, also prune and delete the branch
git worktree prune
git branch -D <branch-name>

If running from a script that may be sandboxed, detect and warn:

if xattr -p com.apple.provenance "$DIR" &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Directory $DIR has provenance lock. Delete manually from an unsandboxed terminal."
    exit 1
fi

Verification

# Confirm directory is gone
ls -la <path>  # Should show "No such file or directory"

# Confirm worktree is pruned
git worktree list  # Should not show the removed worktree

Example

Scenario: Claude Code spawns two agents in git worktrees. After completing work, the team lead tries to clean up:

$ rm -rf .worktrees/mobile
rm: .worktrees/mobile/frontend/node_modules: Permission denied
rm: .worktrees/mobile/.venv: Permission denied

$ xattr -l .worktrees/mobile/frontend/node_modules
com.apple.provenance:

$ xattr -d com.apple.provenance .worktrees/mobile/frontend/node_modules
# Silently fails — still can't delete

$ chmod -R u+w .worktrees/mobile
# Also doesn't help

Fix: Open a regular Terminal.app (unsandboxed) and run:

rm -rf .worktrees/mobile
git worktree prune

Notes

• com.apple.provenance is a macOS security feature for App Sandbox tracking
• It tracks which sandboxed app created a file/directory
• The restriction only applies to the sandboxed process; unsandboxed terminals can delete freely
• This commonly affects: node_modules, .venv, build output directories
• The directories are often empty (contents were deleted successfully, but the directory itself can't be removed)
• git worktree remove --force also fails for the same reason