Git Subtree Manager

Manages git subtrees in the docs/ directory for AI agents to reference external library source code.

Current Subtrees

Adding a New Subtree

Prerequisites – CRITICAL

Working directory must be clean. Git subtree commands will fail or behave unexpectedly with uncommitted changes.

Before ANY subtree operation:

1. Check for uncommitted changes:

   git status
   

2. If there are staged or unstaged changes, stash them:

   git stash --include-untracked
   

3. Verify working directory is clean:

   git status
   # Should show "nothing to commit, working tree clean"
   

Add Command

git subtree add --prefix=docs/<name> <repo-url> <branch> --squash

Example:

git subtree add --prefix=docs/better-auth https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth.git main --squash

Post-Add Updates

After adding a subtree, update these configuration files:

1. biome.json – Add to files.includes:

   "!docs/<name>",
   

2. .github/dependabot.yml – Add to exclude-paths:

   - "docs/<name>/**"
   

3. eslint.config.mjs – Add to ignores:

   'docs/<name>/**',
   

4. AGENTS.md – Add entry to the subtrees table

5. Relevant skills – Update .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md files that should reference the new subtree

Restore Stashed Changes – DON’T FORGET

After completing subtree operations and config updates:

git stash pop

Always verify the user’s original changes are restored:

git status

Updating an Existing Subtree

Prerequisites – CRITICAL

Same as adding: stash any uncommitted changes first (see above).

To pull latest changes from upstream:

git subtree pull --prefix=docs/<name> <repo-url> <branch> --squash

Example:

git subtree pull --prefix=docs/effect https://github.com/Effect-TS/effect.git main --squash

Configuration Files Checklist

When adding/updating subtrees, ensure these files exclude the subtree directory:

• biome.json – files.includes array
• .github/dependabot.yml – exclude-paths array
• eslint.config.mjs – ignores array
• AGENTS.md – subtrees documentation table
• Relevant .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md files

Troubleshooting

“working tree has modifications” Error

This means you forgot to stash changes. Do not proceed without stashing:

# 1. Stash all changes (including untracked files)
git stash --include-untracked

# 2. Run your subtree command
git subtree add/pull ...

# 3. IMPORTANT: Restore the user's changes
git stash pop

# 4. Verify changes are back
git status

Subtree Already Exists

If the directory already exists, remove it first (losing local changes):

rm -rf docs/<name>
git add docs/<name>
git commit -m "chore: remove docs/<name> for re-add"

Then run the add command again.