Worktree Management

Standardized patterns for managing git worktrees across the development workflow. All commands that create or manage worktrees should use these patterns.

Purpose

Provides single source of truth for worktree operations, branch naming conventions, and cleanup strategies. Ensures consistent worktree management across all workflows and commands.

Branch Naming Convention

Convert feature descriptions to standardized branch names:

Rules

• Lowercase all text
• Replace spaces with hyphens (-)
• Remove special characters (except hyphens)
• Prefix with one of the 5 conventional branch types:
  • feature/ for new features (default)
  • bugfix/ for bug fixes (if description contains "fix" or "bug")
  • hotfix/ for urgent production fixes
  • release/ for release preparation
  • chore/ for maintenance, docs, refactoring, test additions, and other non-feature work

Note: branch types are broader than conventional commit types (feat:, fix:, docs:, etc.). Branches are temporary workspaces, so fewer categories suffice.

Examples

Description	Branch Name
"add dark mode toggle"	feature/add-dark-mode-toggle
"fix authentication bug"	bugfix/authentication-bug
"Update documentation"	chore/update-documentation
"refactor API client"	chore/refactor-api-client

Bash Pattern

# Generate branch name from description
DESCRIPTION="add dark mode toggle"
PREFIX="feature"  # or "bugfix" if description contains "fix" or "bug"; "chore" for docs/refactor/test
BRANCH_NAME=$(echo "$DESCRIPTION" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | tr ' ' '-' | tr -cd 'a-z0-9-')
BRANCH_NAME="${PREFIX}/${BRANCH_NAME}"

Worktree Path Structure

Branch names with slashes create nested directories, which is the intended behavior:

# Branch with slash creates nested structure
BRANCH="feature/my-feature"
# Creates: ~/git/repo-name/feature/my-feature/

Note: Slashes in branch names are preserved to maintain 1:1 mapping between branch names and directory structure.

Worktree Creation Pattern

Standard Worktree Path

All worktrees follow this structure:

~/git/{REPO_NAME}/{BRANCH_NAME}/

Example:

• Repo: ai-assistant-instructions
• Branch: feature/add-dark-mode
• Path: ~/git/ai-assistant-instructions/feature/add-dark-mode/

Creation Steps

1. Get repository name:

   REPO_NAME=$(basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel))
   

2. Find main worktree path:

   MAIN_PATH=$(git worktree list | head -1 | awk '{print $1}')
   

3. Sync main branch:

   cd "$MAIN_PATH"
   git switch main
   git fetch --all --prune --force
   git pull
   

4. Create worktree:

   WORKTREE_PATH=~/git/${REPO_NAME}/${BRANCH_NAME}
   mkdir -p "$(dirname "$WORKTREE_PATH")"
   git worktree add "$WORKTREE_PATH" -b "$BRANCH_NAME" main
   

5. Verify:

   cd "$WORKTREE_PATH"
   git status
   

Worktree Cleanup Pattern

Identify Stale Worktrees

Worktrees are stale if:

1. Branch is merged into main:

   git branch --merged main | grep -q "^  $BRANCH$"
   

2. Remote branch deleted:

   git branch -r | grep -q "origin/$BRANCH"
   # If exit code is 1, remote branch is gone
   

3. Branch shows as [gone]:

   git branch -vv | grep "\[gone\]"
   

Cleanup Steps

1. List all worktrees:

   git worktree list
   

2. For each non-main worktree, check if stale using above criteria

3. Remove stale worktree:

   git worktree remove "$WORKTREE_PATH"
   

4. Delete local branch (if merged or gone):

   git branch -d "$BRANCH_NAME"  # Safe delete (merged only)
   # or
   git branch -D "$BRANCH_NAME"  # Force delete
   

5. Prune administrative files:

   git worktree prune
   

Main Branch Synchronization

Before creating worktrees or after cleanup, sync main:

# Find main worktree
MAIN_PATH=$(git worktree list | head -1 | awk '{print $1}')
cd "$MAIN_PATH"

# Ensure on main branch
git switch main

# Fetch and prune
git fetch --all --prune --force

# Pull latest
git pull

# Return to original directory
cd -

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Check if Worktree Exists

WORKTREE_PATH=~/git/repo-name/feat_branch-name
if [ -d "$WORKTREE_PATH" ]; then
  echo "Worktree already exists at $WORKTREE_PATH"
  cd "$WORKTREE_PATH"
else
  echo "Creating new worktree..."
  # Use creation pattern above
fi

Pattern 2: List All Worktrees

git worktree list
# Output format:
# /path/to/main        abc123 [main]
# /path/to/worktree-1  def456 [feature/feature-1]
# /path/to/worktree-2  ghi789 [bugfix/bug-fix]

Pattern 3: Get Current Worktree Branch

CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

Pattern 4: Validate Repository

git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree
# Exit code 0 = valid git repo
# Exit code != 0 = not a git repo

Commands Using This Skill

• /refresh-repo - Sync main, check PR status, cleanup stale worktrees
• /create-worktrees:create-worktrees - Create worktrees for all open PRs (plugin)
• /sync-main - Syncs main across worktrees

Plugin Integration

For creating worktrees for all open PRs, use the create-worktrees plugin instead of manual creation:

/create-worktrees:create-worktrees

This plugin automatically:

• Fetches all open PRs via GitHub CLI
• Creates worktrees for each PR branch
• Handles branch names with slashes correctly
• Cleans up stale worktrees

Related Resources

• git-workflow-standards skill (in the git-standards plugin) - Worktree and branch policies
• create-worktrees plugin - Create worktrees for all open PRs

Troubleshooting

Issue: "fatal: '$WORKTREE_PATH' already exists"

Cause: Worktree directory exists but not registered with git

Solution:

# Remove the directory
rm -rf "$WORKTREE_PATH"
# Re-create using proper git worktree add command

Issue: "fatal: invalid reference: $BRANCH_NAME"

Cause: Branch name contains invalid characters

Solution: Use branch naming convention from this skill (alphanumeric and hyphens only)

Issue: Worktree shows as "prunable" in git worktree list

Cause: Worktree directory was deleted without using git worktree remove

Solution:

git worktree prune

Issue: Cannot remove worktree - "has changes"

Cause: Uncommitted changes in worktree

Solution:

# Commit or stash changes first
cd "$WORKTREE_PATH"
git stash
cd -
# Then remove
git worktree remove "$WORKTREE_PATH"

Best Practices

1. Always sync main before creating new worktrees
2. Preserve slashes in branch names - Directory nesting follows branch structure (e.g., feature/my-feature creates ~/git/repo/feature/my-feature/)
3. Clean regularly - Remove merged/gone worktrees to save disk space
4. Never work on main - Always create a feature branch worktree
5. One worktree per feature - Isolation prevents conflicts
6. Verify before creating - Check if worktree already exists
7. Prune after cleanup - Run git worktree prune after removing worktrees