Env Sync – Git Worktree Environment File Synchronization

This skill syncs .env files from a git root repository to git worktrees.

When to Use

• User asks to sync env or copy env
• User mentions missing environment variables or .env file
• Working in a git worktree that lacks a .env file
• User asks to set up environment for a worktree

Security Rules

1. NEVER display .env file contents – they contain secrets
2. ALWAYS ask before overwriting – if .env already exists, confirm with user first
3. Validate paths – ensure the root path exists and is a valid git repository
4. No arbitrary paths – only sync from the actual git root repository

Instructions for Agent

Step 1: Check if in a Git Worktree

# Check if .git is a file (worktree) or directory (regular repo)
[ -f .git ] && echo "worktree" || echo "not-worktree"

If not a worktree, inform user this skill is for git worktrees only.

Step 2: Find and Validate Root Repository

# Read gitdir and extract root path
GITDIR=$(cat .git | grep "^gitdir:" | sed 's/gitdir: //')
ROOT_REPO=$(echo "$GITDIR" | sed 's/\.git\/worktrees\/.*//')

# Validate: must be a real git repository
if [ -d "${ROOT_REPO}/.git" ]; then
  echo "Valid root: $ROOT_REPO"
else
  echo "Invalid root path - not a git repository"
  exit 1
fi

Step 3: Check for Existing .env

# IMPORTANT: Always check before copying
if [ -f ./.env ]; then
  echo "WARNING: .env already exists in this worktree"
  # ASK USER before proceeding
fi

If .env exists: STOP and ask user “Do you want to overwrite the existing .env file?”

Step 4: Copy .env (only after user confirmation if needed)

if [ -f "${ROOT_REPO}/.env" ]; then
  cp "${ROOT_REPO}/.env" ./.env
  echo "Synced .env from $ROOT_REPO"
else
  echo "No .env found in root repository: $ROOT_REPO"
fi

Complete Safe Script

# Safe env sync with validation
if [ ! -f .git ]; then
  echo "Not a git worktree"
  exit 1
fi

GITDIR=$(cat .git | grep "^gitdir:" | sed 's/gitdir: //')
ROOT=$(echo "$GITDIR" | sed 's/\.git\/worktrees\/.*//')

# Validate root is a git repo
if [ ! -d "${ROOT}/.git" ]; then
  echo "Invalid: $ROOT is not a git repository"
  exit 1
fi

# Check if .env exists at root
if [ ! -f "${ROOT}/.env" ]; then
  echo "No .env in root: $ROOT"
  exit 1
fi

# Check if local .env exists - MUST ASK USER
if [ -f ./.env ]; then
  echo "WARNING: .env already exists here. Ask user before overwriting."
  exit 0
fi

# Safe to copy
cp "${ROOT}/.env" ./.env
echo "Synced .env from $ROOT"

Response Guidelines

• Always inform user what was done
• If .env already exists: MUST ask user before overwriting
• If root .env doesn’t exist: tell user the path checked
• Never display .env file contents
• Report only: file exists/copied, line count, file size

Error Handling