Why do I see different files in PowerShell and Windows Explorer?

Question

Today while processing some files in Jupyter Notebook, I found that the list of files in Jupyter Notebook was not keeping up with what I was seeing in my file browser.

A similar thing was happening when I was working on a script earlier, when I would change the code, and run it in Git Bash or Powershell, I would get the same syntax errors (even when I commented out the whole file).

If I open Git Bash from Explorer I am able to see the updated files, as I would expect, but if I open Explorer from Git Bash, the files are missing. I understand that this is because the child programs inherit the permissions of their parents, but there still seems to be two sources of files that are out of sync.

The only thing that I have done today that I can think would cause damage to my file system is ending my python script from task manager and leaving a file lock open, but I don't get any related errors.

What I have Tried:

• Rebooting the system (Shutdown and Restart)

• Symptoms don't match an open lock https://helpcenter.gsx.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015880627-How-to-Identify-which-Windows-Process-is-Locking-a-File-or-Folder

• How Can Vim and Windows See Two Different Files that Have the Same Name in the Program Files Directory

  • Changed the local group policy (and rebooting), no difference

  • Looked in C:\Users\ ******* \AppData\Local\VirtualStore, no files

System Details

• Windows 10
• Git Bash v4.4.23(1)-release (x86_64-pc-msys)
• Python 3.7.4

Here is a screenshot that shows one instance of Windows Explorer opened from command prompt and one opened from the GUI. Both the paths at the top of the windows are the same.

Answer 1

As @BenN noted in the comments, the paths were not quite the same. I had created a symlink in Git Bash using:

ln -s Documents/uas uas

It turns out that the file trees of the symlink and the real directory did not stay in sync causing the issues I was seeing. Here is some more info about Git symlinks on windows:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5917249/git-symlinks-in-windows#16754068