6 files changed, 33 insertions, 16 deletions
diff --git a/helix-term/src/application.rs b/helix-term/src/application.rs
index 4c86a19f..546a57a9 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/application.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/application.rs
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ impl Application {
         } else if !args.files.is_empty() {
             let first = &args.files[0].0; // we know it's not empty
             if first.is_dir() {
-                std::env::set_current_dir(first).context("set current dir")?;
+                helix_loader::set_current_working_dir(first.clone())?;
                 editor.new_file(Action::VerticalSplit);
                 let picker = ui::file_picker(".".into(), &config.load().editor);
                 compositor.push(Box::new(overlaid(picker)));
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands.rs b/helix-term/src/commands.rs
index ae715887..47b1a175 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands.rs
@@ -2080,8 +2080,12 @@ fn global_search(cx: &mut Context) {
                     .binary_detection(BinaryDetection::quit(b'\x00'))
                     .build();
 
-                let search_root = std::env::current_dir()
-                    .expect("Global search error: Failed to get current dir");
+                let search_root = helix_loader::current_working_dir();
+                if !search_root.exists() {
+                    editor.set_error("Current working directory does not exist");
+                    return;
+                }
+
                 let dedup_symlinks = file_picker_config.deduplicate_links;
                 let absolute_root = search_root
                     .canonicalize()
@@ -2173,7 +2177,9 @@ fn global_search(cx: &mut Context) {
         let call: job::Callback = Callback::EditorCompositor(Box::new(
             move |editor: &mut Editor, compositor: &mut Compositor| {
                 if all_matches.is_empty() {
-                    editor.set_status("No matches found");
+                    if !editor.is_err() {
+                        editor.set_status("No matches found");
+                    }
                     return;
                 }
 
@@ -2518,6 +2524,10 @@ fn append_mode(cx: &mut Context) {
 
 fn file_picker(cx: &mut Context) {
     let root = find_workspace().0;
+    if !root.exists() {
+        cx.editor.set_error("Workspace directory does not exist");
+        return;
+    }
     let picker = ui::file_picker(root, &cx.editor.config());
     cx.push_layer(Box::new(overlaid(picker)));
 }
@@ -2539,7 +2549,12 @@ fn file_picker_in_current_buffer_directory(cx: &mut Context) {
     cx.push_layer(Box::new(overlaid(picker)));
 }
 fn file_picker_in_current_directory(cx: &mut Context) {
-    let cwd = std::env::current_dir().unwrap_or_else(|_| PathBuf::from("./"));
+    let cwd = helix_loader::current_working_dir();
+    if !cwd.exists() {
+        cx.editor
+            .set_error("Current working directory does not exist");
+        return;
+    }
     let picker = ui::file_picker(cwd, &cx.editor.config());
     cx.push_layer(Box::new(overlaid(picker)));
 }
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands/dap.rs b/helix-term/src/commands/dap.rs
index 70a5ec21..e26dc08d 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands/dap.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands/dap.rs
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ pub fn dap_start_impl(
         }
     }
 
-    args.insert("cwd", to_value(std::env::current_dir().unwrap())?);
+    args.insert("cwd", to_value(helix_loader::current_working_dir())?);
 
     let args = to_value(args).unwrap();
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands/lsp.rs b/helix-term/src/commands/lsp.rs
index 55153648..145bddd0 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands/lsp.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands/lsp.rs
@@ -1033,7 +1033,7 @@ fn goto_impl(
     locations: Vec<lsp::Location>,
     offset_encoding: OffsetEncoding,
 ) {
-    let cwdir = std::env::current_dir().unwrap_or_default();
+    let cwdir = helix_loader::current_working_dir();
 
     match locations.as_slice() {
         [location] => {
diff --git a/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs b/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
index 94cc33f0..dfc71dfd 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/commands/typed.rs
@@ -1093,14 +1093,11 @@ fn change_current_directory(
             .as_ref(),
     );
 
-    if let Err(e) = std::env::set_current_dir(dir) {
-        bail!("Couldn't change the current working directory: {}", e);
-    }
+    helix_loader::set_current_working_dir(dir)?;
 
-    let cwd = std::env::current_dir().context("Couldn't get the new working directory")?;
     cx.editor.set_status(format!(
         "Current working directory is now {}",
-        cwd.display()
+        helix_loader::current_working_dir().display()
     ));
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -1114,9 +1111,14 @@ fn show_current_directory(
         return Ok(());
     }
 
-    let cwd = std::env::current_dir().context("Couldn't get the new working directory")?;
-    cx.editor
-        .set_status(format!("Current working directory is {}", cwd.display()));
+    let cwd = helix_loader::current_working_dir();
+    let message = format!("Current working directory is {}", cwd.display());
+
+    if cwd.exists() {
+        cx.editor.set_status(message);
+    } else {
+        cx.editor.set_error(format!("{} (deleted)", message));
+    }
     Ok(())
 }
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
index 155f2435..3359155d 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ pub mod completers {
                 match path.parent() {
                     Some(path) if !path.as_os_str().is_empty() => path.to_path_buf(),
                     // Path::new("h")'s parent is Some("")...
-                    _ => std::env::current_dir().expect("couldn't determine current directory"),
+                    _ => helix_loader::current_working_dir(),
                 }
             };