diff --git a/lua/dep/fs.lua b/lua/dep/fs.lua
index fb307e0..02a799a 100644
--- a/lua/dep/fs.lua
+++ b/lua/dep/fs.lua
@@ -38,17 +38,23 @@ function fs:clean(package)
 
         while handle do
           local name = h.uv.fs_scandir_next(handle)
-          if name then
+          if name and name ~= package.get_root().name then
             queue[name] = package.get_base_dir().."/"..name
+          elseif name == package.get_root().name then
+            -- we need to ensure that there is no chance of nuking dep
+            goto continue
+          elseif name == nil then
+            break
           else
             -- if there's a single error bail out
             logger:log("error", "failed to run clean uv.fs_scandir_next failed")
             return
           end
+          ::continue::
         end
 
         -- keep packages that still exist
-        for _, pkg in ipairs(package.get_packages()) do
+        for _, pkg in pairs(package.get_packages()) do
           queue[pkg.name] = nil
         end