using-git-worktrees
Skill65 starsChanged 3 months agoMITView on GitHub
Use Git worktrees to create parallel working directories safely; avoid branch-switch contamination.
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
5 rules. 0 are common, 5 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
0
Common
Most of the 180 edited versions we read keep these.
5
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 16
Avoid confusing or overwriting existing workspaces.
- Distinctive: line 23
Ensure the primary workspace is clean (prevent taking uncommitted changes).
- Distinctive: line 25
Check that the target directory does not exist or is empty.
- Distinctive: line 31
Create a branch and add a worktree:
- Distinctive: line 35
Remove the worktree when finished (if no longer needed):
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 180 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Using Git Worktrees
Overview
Git worktree allows mounting multiple working directories onto the same repository simultaneously, each mapped to a different branch. This is ideal for parallel development and hotfixes.
Workspace Selection Principles
- Manage them centrally outside the repo or in a dedicated folder (e.g.,
../wt-<task>). - Name them with task semantics (feature/hotfix + short name).
- Avoid confusing or overwriting existing workspaces.
Safety Checks
- Detect nesting first — do not create a worktree from inside another worktree or a submodule:
- You are already in a linked worktree if
git rev-parse --git-dirdiffers fromgit rev-parse --git-common-dir(they match in the main worktree).cdto the main worktree before adding. - You are in a submodule if
git rev-parse --show-superproject-working-treeis non-empty. Operate on the intended repo, not the submodule.
- You are already in a linked worktree if
- Ensure the primary workspace is clean (prevent taking uncommitted changes).
- List existing worktrees first:
git worktree list. - Check that the target directory does not exist or is empty.
- Keep the worktree path out of the tracked tree — prefer a sibling dir (
../wt-<task>). If it must live inside the repo, verify it is ignored first:git check-ignore -q <path>(exit 0 = ignored). A non-ignored in-repo worktree pollutes the parent'sgit statusand can be committed by accident. - Confirm branch naming and tracking strategies.
Setup Workflow
- Create a branch and add a worktree:
git worktree add ../wt-<task> -b <branch-name>
- Switch to the new directory and run a baseline test.
- Develop, commit, and verify independently in that directory.
- Remove the worktree when finished (if no longer needed):
git worktree remove ../wt-<task>
Common Mistakes
- Committing in the wrong worktree.
- Deleting a worktree without confirming if the branch should be preserved.
- Chaotic directory naming, leading to unclear task mapping.
Other versions189 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 1
- KbWen/agentic-os★ 224100% same
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 188
- obra/superpowers★ 305ksame name
- jnMetaCode/superpowers-zh★ 8.4ksame name
- openai/plugins★ 7.4ksame name
- farm-fe/farm★ 5.6ksame name
- microsoft/FluidFramework★ 5ksame name
- silvertakana/worldwideview★ 1.9ksame name
- GanyuanRan/Aegis★ 1.4ksame name
- pcvelz/superpowers★ 1.3ksame name
- usewhale/DeepSeek-Code-Whale★ 933same name
- usewhale/Whale★ 928same name
178 more not listed
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
Used alongsideProjects with it also use chinese-code-review, chinese-commit-conventions and 10 more.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
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Also in 7 projects that use this
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- +2 more from GEd520
In this repository16 other files it gives its agents.
- AGENTS.mdAGENTS.md
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- .github/copilot-instructions.mdCopilot instructions
- api-designSkill
- auth-securitySkill
- database-designSkill
- dispatching-parallel-agentsSkill
- doc-lookupSkill
- frontend-patternsSkill
- karpathy-principlesSkill
- production-readinessSkill
- red-team-adversarialSkill
- subagent-driven-developmentSkill
- systematic-debuggingSkill
- test-driven-developmentSkill
- verification-before-completionSkill
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