(Note that I also tried this with latest git-2.47.1 after creating the repro script and it still fails there). What did you do before the bug happened? (Steps to reproduce your issue) - Removed remote branch. Created new directory (for branch names) with same name directory name as the previously used branch name. After that `git fetch` fails. Reproduction script for your convenience: ``` #!/bin/bash mkdir -p repro git init repro/remote.git git clone repro/remote.git repro/cloned pushd repro/cloned echo "hello" > hello.txt git add hello.txt git commit -m "test commit" git branch mystuff git push origin mystuff popd git clone repro/remote.git repro/clone2 pushd repro/cloned git branch -D mystuff git push -d origin mystuff git branch mystuff/branch_in_subdir git push origin mystuff/branch_in_subdir popd pushd repro/clone2 git fetch # This fails as branch turned into directory popd ``` What did you expect to happen? (Expected behavior) `git fetch` should work... What happened instead? (Actual behavior) `git fetch origin` error: cannot lock ref 'refs/remotes/origin/mystuff/branch_in_subdir': 'refs/remotes/origin/mystuff' exists; cannot create 'refs/remotes/origin/mystuff/branch_in_subdir' What's different between what you expected and what actually happened? Anything else you want to add: Please review the rest of the bug report below. You can delete any lines you don't wish to share. [System Info] git version: git version 2.43.5 cpu: x86_64 no commit associated with this build sizeof-long: 8 sizeof-size_t: 8 shell-path: /bin/sh uname: Linux 5.19.0-0_fbk12_hardened_11583_g0bef9520ca2b #1 SMP Fri Feb 2 17:56:12 PST 2024 x86_64 compiler info: gnuc: 11.4 libc info: glibc: 2.34 $SHELL (typically, interactive shell): /bin/zsh [Enabled Hooks] not run from a git repository - no hooks to show
