diff --git a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
index edf6dd381e4dd18456fec89b9a729c8b4e405e63..45b1348a1a841b6062864b25045a49bbceabeacd 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
@@ -779,6 +779,57 @@ it.effect("ignores worktree metadata for directories that no longer exist", () =
   ).pipe(Effect.provide(layerServerConfig.pipe(Layer.provideMerge(NodeServices.layer)))),
 );
 
+it.effect("reads worktrees from git that rejects worktree list -z", () =>
+  Effect.scoped(
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const delegate = yield* ChildProcessSpawner.ChildProcessSpawner;
+      // Git before 2.36 has no `worktree list -z` and exits with a usage error.
+      const oldGitSpawner = ChildProcessSpawner.make((command) =>
+        Effect.gen(function* () {
+          if (!ChildProcess.isStandardCommand(command)) {
+            return yield* Effect.die("expected a standard Git command");
+          }
+          if (command.args.includes("worktree") && command.args.includes("-z")) {
+            return ChildProcessSpawner.makeHandle({
+              pid: ChildProcessSpawner.ProcessId(1),
+              exitCode: Effect.succeed(ChildProcessSpawner.ExitCode(129)),
+              isRunning: Effect.succeed(false),
+              kill: () => Effect.void,
+              unref: Effect.succeed(Effect.void),
+              stdin: Sink.drain,
+              stdout: Stream.empty,
+              stderr: Stream.encodeText(Stream.make("error: unknown switch `z'")),
+              all: Stream.empty,
+              getInputFd: () => Sink.drain,
+              getOutputFd: () => Stream.empty,
+            });
+          }
+          return yield* delegate.spawn(command);
+        }),
+      );
+      const driver = yield* makeGitVcsDriverCore().pipe(
+        Effect.provideService(ChildProcessSpawner.ChildProcessSpawner, oldGitSpawner),
+      );
+      const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+      yield* initRepoWithCommit(cwd).pipe(Effect.provideService(GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver, driver));
+      const worktreePath = NodeFS.realpathSync.native(yield* makeTmpDir());
+      yield* git(cwd, ["worktree", "add", "-b", "feature/old-git", worktreePath]).pipe(
+        Effect.provideService(GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver, driver),
+      );
+
+      const refs = yield* driver.listRefs({ cwd, refresh: true });
+      const listedPath = refs.refs.find((ref) => ref.name === "feature/old-git")?.worktreePath;
+      assert.equal(listedPath && NodeFS.realpathSync.native(listedPath), worktreePath);
+
+      const paths = yield* driver.listWorktreePaths(cwd);
+      assert.include(
+        paths.map((listed) => NodeFS.realpathSync.native(listed)),
+        worktreePath,
+      );
+    }),
+  ).pipe(Effect.provide(layerServerConfig.pipe(Layer.provideMerge(NodeServices.layer)))),
+);
+
 it.effect("refreshes the current branch after an external checkout", () =>
   Effect.scoped(
     Effect.gen(function* () {
diff --git a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
index 57132d887a727412db3c527d72f00633bb973ca1..ed68e44632dcfeef5fabc488a6bbc004ad5b5c23 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
@@ -1181,6 +1181,27 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
       Effect.map((result) => result.stdout),
     );
 
+  /**
+   * Runs `git worktree list --porcelain -z`. Git before 2.36 rejects `-z`, so a failed run
+   * retries the line form and returns it NUL-delimited, the same shape as `-z` output.
+   * The line form cannot carry paths that contain newlines.
+   */
+  const executeWorktreeList = Effect.fn("executeWorktreeList")(function* (
+    operation: string,
+    cwd: string,
+    gitArgs: readonly string[],
+    options: ExecuteGitOptions = {},
+  ) {
+    const args = [...gitArgs, "worktree", "list", "--porcelain"];
+    const result = yield* executeGit(operation, cwd, [...args, "-z"], {
+      ...options,
+      allowNonZeroExit: true,
+    });
+    if (result.exitCode === 0) return result;
+    const lineResult = yield* executeGit(operation, cwd, args, options);
+    return { ...lineResult, stdout: lineResult.stdout.replaceAll("\n", "\0") };
+  });
+
   const runGitStdoutWithOptions = (
     operation: string,
     cwd: string,
@@ -3163,16 +3184,11 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
             allowNonZeroExit: true,
           },
         ),
-        executeGit(
-          "GitVcsDriver.listRefs.worktreeList",
-          fetchCwd,
-          [...gitDirArgs, "worktree", "list", "--porcelain", "-z"],
-          {
-            timeoutMs: 30_000,
-            allowNonZeroExit: true,
-            maxOutputBytes: 16 * 1024 * 1024,
-          },
-        ),
+        executeWorktreeList("GitVcsDriver.listRefs.worktreeList", fetchCwd, gitDirArgs, {
+          timeoutMs: 30_000,
+          allowNonZeroExit: true,
+          maxOutputBytes: 16 * 1024 * 1024,
+        }),
         executeGit("GitVcsDriver.listRefs.remoteNames", fetchCwd, [...gitDirArgs, "remote"], {
           timeoutMs: 5_000,
           allowNonZeroExit: true,
@@ -4043,15 +4059,10 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
     );
 
   const listWorktreePaths: GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver["Service"]["listWorktreePaths"] = (cwd) =>
-    runGitStdout("GitVcsDriver.listWorktreePaths", cwd, [
-      "worktree",
-      "list",
-      "--porcelain",
-      "-z",
-    ]).pipe(
+    executeWorktreeList("GitVcsDriver.listWorktreePaths", cwd, []).pipe(
       // One record per worktree, each ended by an empty field. A `prunable`
       // record's directory is gone, and another checkout may now sit there.
-      Effect.map((stdout) =>
+      Effect.map(({ stdout }) =>
         stdout.split("\0\0").flatMap((record) => {
           const fields = record.split("\0");
           const worktree = fields.find((field) => field.startsWith("worktree "));