wt

wt is a tool for git worktrees. It also controls the files that git ignores.

The problem

The command git worktree add makes a new checkout. It does not make the files that git ignores. Each new worktree is therefore not complete.

wt keeps one file and makes a link in each worktree. A git hook makes the links.

How to use wt

Start with a repository that you do not have

wt clone git@github.com:you/project.git
cd project/main

The command makes this structure:

project/
├── .bare/    the bare repository. It holds the store and the hook
├── .git      the text `gitdir: ./.bare`
└── main/     the first worktree

Start with a repository that is already on your disk

Go into a worktree of the repository. Make the store, the config entry and the hook:

wt init

Then move each ignored file into the store:

wt share .env .auth .envrc

The command moves each file one time. It then makes a link in each worktree that is already present. One command is therefore sufficient for the full repository.

The command refuses a path that contains a tracked file. Git supplies each tracked file, and a link hides it. Give the ignored path instead. For example, give terraform/terraform.tfvars and not terraform/.

Make a worktree

wt add eng-1234

The hook makes the links in the new worktree. The program that makes the worktree is not important. wt add, git worktree add, your editor and an agent all start the hook.

The command finds the branch in this sequence:

1. A local branch.
2. A remote branch origin/eng-1234.
3. A fetch of origin/eng-1234 from the network.
4. A new branch from the default branch.

Steps 1 and 2 do not use the network. The command does step 3 only if steps 1 and 2 find no branch. Step 3 prevents an error: without it, wt can make a local branch while a remote branch with the same name is already present.

Use the option --no-fetch to stay offline. Use the option --fetch to do a fetch first.

Go to a worktree

wt deny

wt <worktree> is the short form of wt cd <worktree>. Both accept the name of the worktree directory. Both also accept the name of the branch, because a branch can move after you make the worktree. The start of a directory name is sufficient when only one worktree matches.

A command wins over a worktree with the same name. wt ls therefore prints the worktrees, also when a worktree has the name ls. The long form wt cd ls goes to that worktree, and wt add prints a warning when it makes a directory with the name of a command.

See the worktrees

wt ls

The command prints each worktree, the branch it is on, and how many links are correct. It changes nothing.

Repair the links

The command git clean -xdf removes a link. A worktree can also be older than the config. The command wt sync makes each link that is absent:

wt sync

Remove a worktree

wt delete eng-1234

The command removes the worktree. It then deletes the branch if git merged the branch.

Remove each worktree whose work is finished

wt prune

The command asks origin which branches are still present. It then removes each worktree whose work is complete, and it deletes the branch:

Condition	Example
The base branch contains the branch, and origin still has it.	A merge commit, and the branch is not deleted yet.
Origin no longer has the upstream branch.	A squash merge or a rebase merge, and the branch is deleted.

The second condition is the one that matters for a squash merge. Such a merge writes a new commit, so the branch is not an ancestor of the base branch, and the merge is complete nonetheless.

wt prune removes no branch that is only on your machine. Each condition above needs proof that the branch reached origin: origin has it now, or the config names an upstream branch that origin no longer has. A new branch from wt add holds no commit of its own, so the base branch contains it, and the test for a merge alone cannot tell that branch from finished work. The proof of a push is the rule that keeps wt add eng-1234 safe until you push it.

The command also keeps:

Condition	Reason
The worktree has a modified file or an untracked file.	Use --force.
You are in the worktree.	A removal would leave your shell in a path that is absent.
The worktree is on the base branch, or on no branch.	There is no branch to test.

Use --dry-run to read the list and change nothing. Use --no-fetch to stay offline; the command then uses the refs it already has.

The command also removes the administrative files of a worktree whose directory you deleted by hand.

Git does not count the files that it ignores. An ignored file that is not in the store is therefore lost without a warning, as in wt delete.

wt does not destroy a file that is different

The commands wt share and wt sync compare the bytes before they make a link.

Condition	Result
The two files are the same.	wt replaces the file with a link.
The two files are different.	wt keeps the file and prints a message.

Use the option --force to replace a file that is different.

Commands

Command	Function
wt init	Make the store, the config entry and the hook. Move no files.
wt share <path>…	Move ignored paths into the store. Link them in each worktree.
wt add <branch> [dir]	Make a worktree for a branch.
wt cd <worktree>	Print the path of a worktree. The shell integration then changes directory.
wt <worktree>	The short form of wt cd <worktree>.
wt ls	Print each worktree, its branch and the condition of its links.
wt sync	Compare each worktree with the config. Make the links that are absent.
wt delete <worktree>	Remove a worktree. Delete its branch if git merged the branch.
wt prune	Remove each worktree whose work is finished. Delete its branch.
wt clone <url> [dir]	Clone into the .bare layout. Make the first worktree.
wt shell-init fish	Print the shell integration.

Config file

One global file holds the shared paths for each repository:

# ~/.config/wt/config.toml
[repos."github.com/you/project"]
link = [".env.override", ".auth", ".envrc"]

The key is the remote URL in a normal form. Each form of the URL gives the same key, so one file is correct for SSH and for HTTPS, and on each machine. Put this file in your dotfiles to keep the list.

wt reads $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/wt/config.toml when that variable is set.

The file holds no secret. It holds only path names. The content stays in the store, and the store stays in the repository at <common-directory>/shared/.

Installation

Cargo

cargo build --release
ln -sf "$PWD/target/release/wt" ~/.local/bin/wt

Nix

nix profile install github:lorenzolfm/wt

Shell integration

Add this line to config.fish:

wt shell-init fish | source

The integration also gives completion, and it changes the directory after wt add, wt clone, wt cd and wt <worktree>:

Position	Candidates
wt <TAB>	each command and each worktree
wt add <TAB>	each local branch and each remote branch
wt delete <TAB>	each worktree
wt cd <TAB>	each worktree
wt share <TAB>	each ignored path that the config does not have, and files

License

MIT