diff --git a/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c b/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
index 5483549d0d..268adbd5de 100644
--- a/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
+++ b/builtin/fsmonitor--daemon.c
@@ -490,17 +490,6 @@ int cmd_fsmonitor__daemon(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		die(_("invalid 'ipc-threads' value (%d)"),
 		    fsmonitor__ipc_threads);
 
-	prepare_repo_settings(the_repository);
-
-	fsm_settings__set_ipc(the_repository);
-	if (fsm_settings__get_mode(the_repository) == FSMONITOR_MODE_INCOMPATIBLE) {
-		struct strbuf buf_reason = STRBUF_INIT;
-		fsm_settings__get_reason(the_repository, &buf_reason);
-		error("%s '%s'", buf_reason.buf, xgetcwd());
-		strbuf_release(&buf_reason);
-		return -1;
-	}
-
 	if (!strcmp(subcmd, "start"))
 		return !!try_to_start_background_daemon();
 
diff --git a/builtin/update-index.c b/builtin/update-index.c
index 38bf0ff4bd..25dae7360a 100644
--- a/builtin/update-index.c
+++ b/builtin/update-index.c
@@ -1218,14 +1218,6 @@ int cmd_update_index(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	if (fsmonitor > 0) {
 		enum fsmonitor_mode fsm_mode = fsm_settings__get_mode(r);
 
-		if (fsm_mode == FSMONITOR_MODE_INCOMPATIBLE) {
-			struct strbuf buf_reason = STRBUF_INIT;
-			fsm_settings__get_reason(r, &buf_reason);
-			error("%s", buf_reason.buf);
-			strbuf_release(&buf_reason);
-			return -1;
-		}
-
 		if (fsm_mode == FSMONITOR_MODE_DISABLED) {
 			warning(_("core.useBuiltinFSMonitor is unset; "
 				"set it if you really want to enable the "
diff --git a/fsmonitor-settings.c b/fsmonitor-settings.c
index 5a803a41d5..2770266f5e 100644
--- a/fsmonitor-settings.c
+++ b/fsmonitor-settings.c
@@ -9,57 +9,19 @@
  */
 struct fsmonitor_settings {
 	enum fsmonitor_mode mode;
-	enum fsmonitor_reason reason;
 	char *hook_path;
 };
 
-static void set_incompatible(struct repository *r,
-			     enum fsmonitor_reason reason)
-{
-	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = r->settings.fsmonitor;
-
-	s->mode = FSMONITOR_MODE_INCOMPATIBLE;
-	s->reason = reason;
-}
-
-static int check_for_incompatible(struct repository *r)
-{
-	if (!r->worktree) {
-		/*
-		 * Bare repositories don't have a working directory and
-		 * therefore have nothing to watch.
-		 */
-		set_incompatible(r, FSMONITOR_REASON_BARE);
-		return 1;
-	}
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
-static struct fsmonitor_settings *s_init(struct repository *r)
-{
-	if (!r->settings.fsmonitor)
-		CALLOC_ARRAY(r->settings.fsmonitor, 1);
-
-	return r->settings.fsmonitor;
-}
-
 void fsm_settings__set_ipc(struct repository *r)
 {
-	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = s_init(r);
-
-	if (check_for_incompatible(r))
-		return;
+	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = r->settings.fsmonitor;
 
 	s->mode = FSMONITOR_MODE_IPC;
 }
 
 void fsm_settings__set_hook(struct repository *r, const char *path)
 {
-	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = s_init(r);
-
-	if (check_for_incompatible(r))
-		return;
+	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = r->settings.fsmonitor;
 
 	s->mode = FSMONITOR_MODE_HOOK;
 	s->hook_path = strdup(path);
@@ -67,10 +29,9 @@ void fsm_settings__set_hook(struct repository *r, const char *path)
 
 void fsm_settings__set_disabled(struct repository *r)
 {
-	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = s_init(r);
+	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = r->settings.fsmonitor;
 
 	s->mode = FSMONITOR_MODE_DISABLED;
-	s->reason = FSMONITOR_REASON_ZERO;
 	FREE_AND_NULL(s->hook_path);
 }
 
@@ -104,6 +65,12 @@ static int check_for_hook(struct repository *r)
 
 static void lookup_fsmonitor_settings(struct repository *r)
 {
+	struct fsmonitor_settings *s;
+
+	CALLOC_ARRAY(s, 1);
+
+	r->settings.fsmonitor = s;
+
 	if (check_for_ipc(r))
 		return;
 
@@ -128,35 +95,3 @@ const char *fsm_settings__get_hook_path(struct repository *r)
 
 	return r->settings.fsmonitor->hook_path;
 }
-
-static void create_reason_message(struct repository *r,
-				  struct strbuf *buf_reason)
-{
-	struct fsmonitor_settings *s = r->settings.fsmonitor;
-
-	switch (s->reason) {
-	case FSMONITOR_REASON_ZERO:
-		return;
-
-	case FSMONITOR_REASON_BARE:
-		strbuf_addstr(buf_reason,
-			      _("bare repos are incompatible with fsmonitor"));
-		return;
-
-	default:
-		BUG("Unhandled case in create_reason_message '%d'", s->reason);
-	}
-}
-enum fsmonitor_reason fsm_settings__get_reason(struct repository *r,
-					       struct strbuf *buf_reason)
-{
-	strbuf_reset(buf_reason);
-
-	if (!r->settings.fsmonitor)
-		lookup_fsmonitor_settings(r);
-
-	if (r->settings.fsmonitor->mode == FSMONITOR_MODE_INCOMPATIBLE)
-		create_reason_message(r, buf_reason);
-
-	return r->settings.fsmonitor->reason;
-}
diff --git a/fsmonitor-settings.h b/fsmonitor-settings.h
index eb45524b1f..50b2923461 100644
--- a/fsmonitor-settings.h
+++ b/fsmonitor-settings.h
@@ -4,28 +4,17 @@
 struct repository;
 
 enum fsmonitor_mode {
-	FSMONITOR_MODE_INCOMPATIBLE = -1, /* see _reason */
 	FSMONITOR_MODE_DISABLED = 0,
 	FSMONITOR_MODE_HOOK = 1, /* core.fsmonitor */
 	FSMONITOR_MODE_IPC = 2,  /* core.useBuiltinFSMonitor */
 };
 
-/*
- * Incompatibility reasons.
- */
-enum fsmonitor_reason {
-	FSMONITOR_REASON_ZERO = 0,
-	FSMONITOR_REASON_BARE = 1,
-};
-
 void fsm_settings__set_ipc(struct repository *r);
 void fsm_settings__set_hook(struct repository *r, const char *path);
 void fsm_settings__set_disabled(struct repository *r);
 
 enum fsmonitor_mode fsm_settings__get_mode(struct repository *r);
 const char *fsm_settings__get_hook_path(struct repository *r);
-enum fsmonitor_reason fsm_settings__get_reason(struct repository *r,
-					       struct strbuf *buf_reason);
 
 struct fsmonitor_settings;
 
diff --git a/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh b/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
index b9407d4738..deea88d443 100755
--- a/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
+++ b/t/t7519-status-fsmonitor.sh
@@ -55,32 +55,6 @@ test_lazy_prereq UNTRACKED_CACHE '
 	test $ret -ne 1
 '
 
-# Test that we detect and disallow repos that are incompatible with FSMonitor.
-test_expect_success 'incompatible bare repo' '
-	test_when_finished "rm -rf ./bare-clone actual expect" &&
-	git init --bare bare-clone &&
-	cat >expect <<-\EOF &&
-	error: bare repos are incompatible with fsmonitor
-	EOF
-
-	test_must_fail \
-		git -C ./bare-clone -c core.fsmonitor=foo \
-			update-index --fsmonitor 2>actual &&
-	test_cmp expect actual &&
-
-	test_must_fail \
-		git -C ./bare-clone -c core.usebuiltinfsmonitor=true \
-			update-index --fsmonitor 2>actual &&
-	test_cmp expect actual
-'
-
-test_expect_success FSMONITOR_DAEMON 'run fsmonitor-daemon in bare repo' '
-	test_when_finished "rm -rf ./bare-clone actual" &&
-	git init --bare bare-clone &&
-	test_must_fail git -C ./bare-clone fsmonitor--daemon run 2>actual &&
-	grep "bare repos are incompatible with fsmonitor" actual
-'
-
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	mkdir -p .git/hooks &&
 	: >tracked &&