Claude Command: Create Worktree

Your job is to create and setup git worktrees for parallel development, with automatic detection and installation of project dependencies.

Instructions

CRITICAL: Perform the following steps exactly as described:

1. Current state check: Run git worktree list to show existing worktrees and git status to verify the repository state is clean (no uncommitted changes that might cause issues)

2. Fetch latest remote branches: Run git fetch --all to ensure local has knowledge of all remote branches

3. Parse user input: Determine what the user wants to create:

   • <name>: Create worktree with auto-detected type prefix
   • --list: Just show existing worktrees and exit
   • No input: Ask user interactively for the name

4. Auto-detect branch type from name: Check if the first word is a known branch type. If yes, use it as the prefix and the rest as the name. If no, default to feature/.

   Known types: feature, feat, fix, bug, bugfix, hotfix, release, docs, test, refactor, chore, spike, experiment, review

   Examples:

   • refactor auth system → refactor/auth-system
   • fix login bug → fix/login-bug
   • auth system → feature/auth-system (default)
   • hotfix critical error → hotfix/critical-error

   Name normalization: Convert spaces to dashes, lowercase, remove special characters except dashes/underscores

5. For each worktree to create: a. Branch name construction: Build full branch name from detected type and normalized name:

   • <prefix>/<normalized-name> (e.g., feature/auth-system)

   b. Branch resolution: Determine if the branch exists locally, remotely, or needs to be created:

   • If branch exists locally: git worktree add ../<project>-<name> <branch>
   • If branch exists remotely (origin/): git worktree add --track -b <branch> ../<project>-<name> origin/<branch>
   • If branch doesn’t exist: Ask user for base branch (default: current branch or main/master), then git worktree add -b <branch> ../<project>-<name> <base>

   c. Path convention: Use sibling directory with pattern ../<project-name>-<name>

   • Extract project name from current directory
   • Use the normalized name (NOT the full branch with prefix)
   • Example: feature/auth-system → ../myproject-auth-system

   d. Create the worktree: Execute the appropriate git worktree add command

   e. Dependency detection: Check the new worktree for dependency files and determine if setup is needed:

   • package.json -> Node.js project (npm/yarn/pnpm/bun)
   • requirements.txt or pyproject.toml or setup.py -> Python project
   • Cargo.toml -> Rust project
   • go.mod -> Go project
   • Gemfile -> Ruby project
   • composer.json -> PHP project

   f. Package manager detection (for Node.js projects):

   • bun.lockb -> Use bun install
   • pnpm-lock.yaml -> Use pnpm install
   • yarn.lock -> Use yarn install
   • package-lock.json or default -> Use npm install

   g. Automatic setup: Automatically run dependency installation:

   • cd to worktree and run the detected install command
   • Report progress: “Installing dependencies with [package manager]…”
   • If installation fails, report the error but continue with worktree creation summary

6. Summary: Display summary of created worktrees:

   • Worktree path
   • Branch name (full name with prefix)
   • Setup status (dependencies installed or failed)
   • Quick navigation command: cd <worktree-path>

Worktree Path Convention

Worktrees are created as sibling directories to maintain organization:

~/projects/
  myproject/                # Main worktree (current directory)
  myproject-add-auth/       # Feature branch worktree (feature/add-auth)
  myproject-critical-bug/   # Hotfix worktree (hotfix/critical-bug)
  myproject-pr-456/         # PR review worktree (review/pr-456)

Naming rules:

• Pattern: <project-name>-<name> (uses the name part, NOT the full branch)
• Branch name: <type-prefix>/<name> (e.g., feature/add-auth)
• Directory name uses only the <name> portion for brevity

Examples

Feature worktree (default):

> /git:create-worktree auth system
# Branch: feature/auth-system
# Creates: ../myproject-auth-system

Fix worktree:

> /git:create-worktree fix login error
# Branch: fix/login-error
# Creates: ../myproject-login-error

Refactor worktree:

> /git:create-worktree refactor api layer
# Branch: refactor/api-layer
# Creates: ../myproject-api-layer

Hotfix worktree:

> /git:create-worktree hotfix critical bug
# Branch: hotfix/critical-bug
# Creates: ../myproject-critical-bug

List existing worktrees:

> /git:create-worktree --list
# Shows: git worktree list output

Setup Detection Examples

Node.js project with pnpm:

Detected Node.js project with pnpm-lock.yaml
Installing dependencies with pnpm...
✓ Dependencies installed successfully

Python project:

Detected Python project with requirements.txt
Installing dependencies with pip...
✓ Dependencies installed successfully

Rust project:

Detected Rust project with Cargo.toml
Building project with cargo...
✓ Project built successfully

Common Workflows

Quick Feature Branch

> /git:create-worktree new dashboard
# Branch: feature/new-dashboard
# Creates worktree, installs dependencies, ready to code

Hotfix While Feature In Progress

# In main worktree, working on feature
> /git:create-worktree hotfix critical bug
# Branch: hotfix/critical-bug
# Creates separate worktree from main/master
# Fix bug in hotfix worktree
# Return to feature work when done

PR Review Without Stashing

> /git:create-worktree review pr 123
# Branch: review/pr-123
# Creates worktree for reviewing PR
# Can run tests, inspect code
# Delete when review complete

Experiment or Spike

> /git:create-worktree spike new architecture
# Branch: spike/new-architecture
# Creates isolated worktree for experimentation
# Discard or merge based on results

Important Notes

• Branch lock: Each branch can only be checked out in one worktree at a time. If a branch is already checked out, the command will inform you which worktree has it.

• Shared .git: All worktrees share the same Git object database. Changes committed in any worktree are visible to all others.

• Clean working directory: The command checks for uncommitted changes and warns if present, as creating worktrees is safest with a clean state.

• Sibling directories: Worktrees are always created as sibling directories (using ../) to keep the workspace organized. Never create worktrees inside the main repository.

• Automatic dependency installation: The command automatically detects the project type and package manager, then runs the appropriate install command without prompting.

• Remote tracking: For remote branches, worktrees are created with proper tracking setup (--track flag) so pulls/pushes work correctly.

Cleanup

When done with a worktree, use the proper removal command:

git worktree remove ../myproject-add-auth

Or for a worktree with uncommitted changes:

git worktree remove --force ../myproject-add-auth

Never use rm -rf to delete worktrees – always use git worktree remove.

Troubleshooting

“Branch is already checked out”

• Run git worktree list to see where the branch is checked out
• Either work in that worktree or remove it first

“Cannot create worktree – path already exists”

• The target directory already exists
• Either remove it or choose a different worktree path

“Dependency installation failed”

• Navigate to the worktree manually: cd ../myproject-<name>
• Run the install command directly to see full error output
• Common causes: missing system dependencies, network issues, corrupted lockfile

“Wrong type detected”

• The first word is used as the branch type if it’s a known type
• To force a specific type, start with: fix, hotfix, docs, test, refactor, chore, spike, review
• Default type is feature/ when first word isn’t a known type