diff --git a/src/discover/discover.c b/src/discover/discover.c
index a43b44be3..6c30b3e62 100644
--- a/src/discover/discover.c
+++ b/src/discover/discover.c
@@ -737,6 +737,107 @@ static void walk_dir(const char *dir_path, const char *rel_prefix, const cbm_dis
 
 /* ── Public API ───────────────────────────────── */
 
+static bool discover_path_is_absolute(const char *path) {
+    if (!path || !path[0]) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (path[0] == '/' || path[0] == '\\') {
+        return true;
+    }
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    return isalpha((unsigned char)path[0]) && path[1] == ':';
+#else
+    return false;
+#endif
+}
+
+/* Resolve the shared "common" git directory for repo_path.
+ * Handles three layouts:
+ *   1. <repo>/.git is a directory    - ordinary repo; common_dir == <repo>/.git
+ *   2. <repo>/.git is a regular file - linked worktree gitlink "gitdir: <path>";
+ *      the common dir is read from <git_dir>/commondir (git stores info/exclude +
+ *      config there, shared across worktrees). Falls back to git_dir when no
+ *      commondir file exists.
+ *   3. neither - not a git repo.
+ * Returns true when a git dir was resolved. Fixes the worktree case where
+ * .git/info/exclude and core.excludesfile were silently dropped because the old
+ * check required .git to be a directory (issue #489 only covered ordinary repos). */
+static bool resolve_git_common_dir(const char *repo_path, char *common_dir, size_t cd_sz) {
+    char dot_git[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    snprintf(dot_git, sizeof(dot_git), "%s/.git", repo_path);
+    struct stat st;
+    if (wide_stat(dot_git, &st) != 0) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
+        snprintf(common_dir, cd_sz, "%s", dot_git);
+        cbm_normalize_path_sep(common_dir);
+        return true;
+    }
+    if (!S_ISREG(st.st_mode)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /* Linked worktree: parse "gitdir: <path>" from the gitlink file. */
+    FILE *f = fopen(dot_git, "r");
+    if (!f) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    char git_dir[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    bool got_git_dir = false;
+    char line[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) {
+        char *gs = trim_ws(line);
+        if (strncmp(gs, "gitdir:", 7) == 0) {
+            char *val = trim_ws(gs + 7);
+            if (val[0] != '\0') {
+                if (discover_path_is_absolute(val)) {
+                    snprintf(git_dir, sizeof(git_dir), "%s", val);
+                    cbm_normalize_path_sep(git_dir);
+                } else {
+                    path_join(git_dir, sizeof(git_dir), repo_path, val);
+                }
+                got_git_dir = true;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    fclose(f);
+    if (!got_git_dir) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /* The shared dir holding info/exclude + config is named in <git_dir>/commondir
+     * (typically a relative path like "../.."). Absent in single-worktree gitdirs. */
+    char commondir_path[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    path_join(commondir_path, sizeof(commondir_path), git_dir, "commondir");
+    FILE *cf = fopen(commondir_path, "r");
+    if (cf) {
+        char cbuf[CBM_SZ_4K];
+        bool resolved = false;
+        if (fgets(cbuf, sizeof(cbuf), cf)) {
+            char *cs = trim_ws(cbuf);
+            if (cs[0] != '\0') {
+                if (discover_path_is_absolute(cs)) {
+                    snprintf(common_dir, cd_sz, "%s", cs);
+                    cbm_normalize_path_sep(common_dir);
+                } else {
+                    path_join(common_dir, cd_sz, git_dir, cs);
+                }
+                resolved = true;
+            }
+        }
+        fclose(cf);
+        if (resolved) {
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    snprintf(common_dir, cd_sz, "%s", git_dir);
+    cbm_normalize_path_sep(common_dir);
+    return true;
+}
+
 int cbm_discover(const char *repo_path, const cbm_discover_opts_t *opts, cbm_file_info_t **out,
                  int *count) {
     return cbm_discover_ex(repo_path, opts, out, count, NULL, NULL);
@@ -763,31 +864,35 @@ int cbm_discover_ex(const char *repo_path, const cbm_discover_opts_t *opts, cbm_
         return CBM_NOT_FOUND;
     }
 
-    /* Load gitignore sources when a .git directory is present.
+    /* Load gitignore sources for ordinary repos AND linked worktrees.
      * Sources merged in order (later patterns win on conflict):
-     *   1. <repo>/.gitignore        — committed exclusions
-     *   2. <repo>/.git/info/exclude — per-clone exclusions, not committed
-     * Both are folded into a single matcher so all downstream call paths
-     * remain unchanged.  Fixes issue #489: OOM on repos whose worktrees
-     * are excluded only via .git/info/exclude (e.g. Sandcastle). */
+     *   1. <repo>/.gitignore     — committed exclusions
+     *   2. <common>/info/exclude — per-clone exclusions, not committed
+     * <common> is the git common dir, resolved via resolve_git_common_dir() so a
+     * worktree (where .git is a gitlink file) reads the shared info/exclude/config
+     * just like a normal checkout. Both are folded into a single matcher so all
+     * downstream call paths remain unchanged. Fixes issue #489: OOM on repos whose
+     * worktrees are excluded only via .git/info/exclude (e.g. Sandcastle). */
     cbm_gitignore_t *gitignore = NULL;
     char gi_path[CBM_SZ_4K];
-    snprintf(gi_path, sizeof(gi_path), "%s/.git", repo_path);
     struct stat gi_stat;
-    bool is_git_repo = wide_stat(gi_path, &gi_stat) == 0 && S_ISDIR(gi_stat.st_mode);
+    /* Resolve the git common dir, transparently following a worktree gitlink so the
+     * .git/info/exclude and core.excludesfile sources are honoured inside linked
+     * worktrees too (where .git is a file pointing at the shared dir, not a directory). */
+    char git_common_dir[CBM_SZ_4K];
+    bool is_git_repo = resolve_git_common_dir(repo_path, git_common_dir, sizeof(git_common_dir));
     bool has_git_config = false;
     /* Always honour the .gitignore at the indexed-directory root, even when the
      * directory is not a git repo root (e.g. indexing a sub-package directly).
-     * The .git/info/exclude and global-excludes sources still require .git/.
      * Fixes issue #510: a root .gitignore was silently ignored without .git/. */
     snprintf(gi_path, sizeof(gi_path), "%s/.gitignore", repo_path);
     gitignore = cbm_gitignore_load(gi_path);
     if (is_git_repo) {
-        snprintf(gi_path, sizeof(gi_path), "%s/.git/config", repo_path);
+        path_join(gi_path, sizeof(gi_path), git_common_dir, "config");
         has_git_config = wide_stat(gi_path, &gi_stat) == 0 && S_ISREG(gi_stat.st_mode);
 
         char exc_path[CBM_SZ_4K];
-        snprintf(exc_path, sizeof(exc_path), "%s/.git/info/exclude", repo_path);
+        path_join(exc_path, sizeof(exc_path), git_common_dir, "info/exclude");
         cbm_gitignore_t *git_exclude = cbm_gitignore_load(exc_path);
         if (git_exclude) {
             if (!gitignore) {
diff --git a/tests/test_discover.c b/tests/test_discover.c
index dff7e61c9..e363c28fe 100644
--- a/tests/test_discover.c
+++ b/tests/test_discover.c
@@ -932,6 +932,69 @@ TEST(discover_git_info_exclude_stacks_with_gitignore) {
     PASS();
 }
 
+/* ── Linked-worktree ignore tests ──────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* In a linked worktree, <repo>/.git is a regular file ("gitdir: <path>"), not a
+ * directory, and info/exclude + config live in the shared common dir named by
+ * <gitdir>/commondir. The discover step must follow the gitlink so per-clone
+ * excludes are honored exactly as in an ordinary checkout. Regression for the
+ * worktree gap left by issue #489 (which only handled .git as a directory). */
+TEST(discover_worktree_info_exclude) {
+    char *base = th_mktempdir("cbm_disc_wt_exc");
+    ASSERT(base != NULL);
+
+    /* Worktree gitlink -> per-worktree gitdir (relative to the worktree root). */
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, ".git"), "gitdir: maingit/worktrees/wt\n");
+    /* Per-worktree gitdir points back to the shared common dir via commondir. */
+    th_mkdir_p(TH_PATH(base, "maingit/worktrees/wt"));
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "maingit/worktrees/wt/commondir"), "../..\n");
+    /* Shared exclude lives in the common dir, not the per-worktree gitdir. */
+    th_mkdir_p(TH_PATH(base, "maingit/info"));
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "maingit/info/exclude"), "build/\n");
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "src/main.go"), "package main\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "build/gen.go"), "package build\n");
+
+    cbm_discover_opts_t opts = {0};
+    cbm_file_info_t *files = NULL;
+    int count = 0;
+    int rc = cbm_discover(base, &opts, &files, &count);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(count, 1);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(strstr(files[0].rel_path, "main.go") != NULL);
+
+    cbm_discover_free(files, count);
+    th_cleanup(base);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* Committed .gitignore must still apply in a worktree even when commondir is
+ * absent (older gitdir layouts): the gitlink resolver falls back to the gitdir
+ * itself, and the root .gitignore is loaded unconditionally (issue #510). */
+TEST(discover_worktree_committed_gitignore) {
+    char *base = th_mktempdir("cbm_disc_wt_gi");
+    ASSERT(base != NULL);
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, ".git"), "gitdir: maingit/worktrees/wt\n");
+    th_mkdir_p(TH_PATH(base, "maingit/worktrees/wt"));
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, ".gitignore"), "build/\n");
+
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "src/main.go"), "package main\n");
+    th_write_file(TH_PATH(base, "build/gen.go"), "package build\n");
+
+    cbm_discover_opts_t opts = {0};
+    cbm_file_info_t *files = NULL;
+    int count = 0;
+    int rc = cbm_discover(base, &opts, &files, &count);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0);
+    ASSERT_EQ(count, 1);
+    ASSERT_TRUE(strstr(files[0].rel_path, "main.go") != NULL);
+
+    cbm_discover_free(files, count);
+    th_cleanup(base);
+    PASS();
+}
+
 /* ── Nested .gitignore tests (issue #178) ──────────────────────── */
 
 TEST(discover_nested_gitignore) {
@@ -1109,6 +1172,10 @@ SUITE(discover) {
     RUN_TEST(discover_git_info_exclude);
     RUN_TEST(discover_git_info_exclude_stacks_with_gitignore);
 
+    /* Linked-worktree ignore resolution (gitlink + commondir) */
+    RUN_TEST(discover_worktree_info_exclude);
+    RUN_TEST(discover_worktree_committed_gitignore);
+
     /* Nested .gitignore tests (issue #178) */
     RUN_TEST(discover_nested_gitignore);
     RUN_TEST(discover_nested_gitignore_stacks_with_root);