Git Worktrees

Git worktrees create isolated workspaces sharing the same repository, allowing work on multiple branches simultaneously.

Announce at start: “I’m using the using-git-worktrees skill to set up an isolated workspace.”

Quick Start

# Create worktree as sibling directory (best practice)
git worktree add ../myproject-feature-auth -b feature/auth

# Create from existing branch
git worktree add ../myproject-bugfix-123 bugfix/issue-123

# List all worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove when done
git worktree remove ../myproject-feature-auth

# Clean up stale entries
git worktree prune

Directory Strategy

Worktrees are created as sibling directories to the main repo (not inside it):

~/projects/
├── myproject/                    # main worktree (main branch)
├── myproject-feature-auth/       # linked worktree
└── myproject-hotfix-login/       # linked worktree

Why siblings, not children:

• No .gitignore pollution — worktree is outside the repo
• Cleaner git status — no risk of tracking worktree contents
• Standard practice endorsed by git docs and community
• Each worktree has independent build artifacts, node_modules, etc.

Naming Convention

<project>-<branch-slug> — self-documenting, instantly shows purpose.

References

• WORKFLOW.md – Detailed workflow steps
• scripts/ – Helper scripts