error: git checkout-index: unable to create file &

Question

When I try and pull from github I get a strange error. Can I bypass this or force it? I have used sudo before which I suspect would work however this caused other problems.

Answer 1

I had this problem as well. I solved it by changing the ownership of the directories to the user I was trying to git pull with:

sudo chown -R anthony:anthony *

I ran that at the root of my git tracked directory to make sure all the files were owned by the correct user.

Answer 2

In my case it was having sublime text open with the git controlled directory added as a folder in the sublime project. After closing sublime I was able to switch branches without a problem.