bzrlib._dirstate_helpers_pyx.Reader.get_next: AssertionError: get_next() called when there are no chars left

bzr: ERROR: exceptions.AssertionError: get_next() called when there are no chars left

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/explorer/lib/explorer.py", line 667, in changed_view
    self._wt_browser.set_tree(view.tree, view.branch)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/explorer/lib/wt_browser.py", line 65, in set_tree
    self._browser.set_tree(tree, branch)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/explorer/lib/wt_browser.py", line 469, in set_tree
    self._tree_viewer.set_tree(tree, branch)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/explorer/lib/wt_browser.py", line 691, in set_tree
    treewidget.TreeWidget.set_tree(self, *args)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/qbzr/lib/treewidget.py", line 1390, in set_tree
    initial_checked_paths=initial_checked_paths)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/plugins/qbzr/lib/treewidget.py", line 408, in set_tree
    root_id = self.tree.get_root_id()
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/decorators.py", line 140, in read_locked
    result = unbound(self, *args, **kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/workingtree_4.py", line 428, in get_root_id
    return self._get_entry(path='')[0][2]
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/workingtree_4.py", line 358, in _get_entry
    return state._get_entry(0, fileid_utf8=file_id, path_utf8=path)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/dirstate.py", line 1962, in _get_entry
    self._read_dirblocks_if_needed()
  File "/usr/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/bzrlib/dirstate.py", line 2202, in _read_dirblocks_if_needed
    _read_dirblocks(self)
  File "_dirstate_helpers_pyx.pyx", line 767, in bzrlib._dirstate_helpers_pyx._read_dirblocks
  File "_dirstate_helpers_pyx.pyx", line 733, in bzrlib._dirstate_helpers_pyx.Reader._parse_dirblocks
  File "_dirstate_helpers_pyx.pyx", line 693, in bzrlib._dirstate_helpers_pyx.Reader._get_entry
  File "_dirstate_helpers_pyx.pyx", line 554, in bzrlib._dirstate_helpers_pyx.Reader.get_next
AssertionError: get_next() called when there are no chars left

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workaround: If you're seeing this message, it probably means your dirstate file was corrupted by a machine crash or similar incident. Running 'bzr repair-workingtree' should fix it.

I'll leave this bug open asking for this situation to be either avoided (where possible) or automatically restored, or at least reported better.