Worktree Lifecycle Skill

name: Worktree Lifecycle description: Manage git worktree lifecycle for parallel development. Create worktrees with port isolation, manage multiple branches simultaneously, clean up worktrees. CRITICAL: Use /create_worktree command, never manual git worktree commands. Ports auto-calculated to avoid conflicts. allowed-tools: SlashCommand, Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep

Worktree Lifecycle Skill

CRITICAL: Use /create_worktree command for worktree management. Never use manual git worktree commands. Ports are auto-calculated.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Creating parallel development environments
• Working on multiple branches simultaneously
• Managing worktree lifecycle
• Cleaning up worktrees

Quick Reference

See Worktree Manager Skill for complete documentation. This skill focuses on lifecycle patterns.

Worktree Lifecycle Stages

1. Creation

# Create worktree with auto-calculated ports
/create_worktree feature/new-feature

# Create worktree with specific port offset
/create_worktree feature/new-feature 2

What happens:

• Worktree created in trees/<branch-name>/
• Ports auto-calculated (or use provided offset)
• Environment configured
• Dependencies installed
• Services started

2. Active Development

# List all worktrees and their status
/list_worktrees

# Output shows:
# - Worktree paths
# - Port configurations
# - Service status
# - Access URLs

3. Cleanup

# Remove worktree
/remove_worktree feature/new-feature

# What happens:
# - Services stopped
# - Processes killed
# - Worktree directory removed
# - Git worktree removed

Port Allocation Pattern

From .claude/skills/worktree-manager-skill/REFERENCE.md:

Port Calculation

SERVER_PORT = 4000 + (offset * 10)
CLIENT_PORT = 5173 + (offset * 10)

Port Map

Complete Lifecycle Example

Example: Feature Development with Worktree

# 1. Create worktree for feature
/create_worktree feature/user-dashboard

# Output:
# ✅ Worktree created: trees/feature-user-dashboard/
# 📡 Server: http://localhost:4010
# 🌐 Client: http://localhost:5183
# 🔧 Services started

# 2. Develop feature in worktree
cd trees/feature-user-dashboard
# ... make changes ...
git add .
git commit -m "feat(dashboard): add user dashboard"

# 3. Test in isolated environment
# Access http://localhost:5183

# 4. Check worktree status
/list_worktrees

# 5. When done, remove worktree
/remove_worktree feature/user-dashboard

# Output:
# ✅ Services stopped
# ✅ Worktree removed

Best Practices

✅ DO

• Use worktrees for parallel feature development
• Use /create_worktree command (never manual git commands)
• Let ports auto-calculate (unless you need specific offset)
• Remove worktrees when done
• Use worktrees for testing different branches simultaneously

❌ DON'T

• Don't manually create worktrees with git worktree add
• Don't manually configure ports
• Don't forget to remove worktrees when done
• Don't use worktrees for long-term branches (use regular branches)

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Parallel Feature Development

# Work on feature A
/create_worktree feature/feature-a

# Work on feature B simultaneously
/create_worktree feature/feature-b

# Both run on different ports
# Feature A: 4010/5183
# Feature B: 4020/5193

Pattern 2: Testing Different Versions

# Test version 1.0
/create_worktree release/v1.0

# Test version 2.0 simultaneously
/create_worktree release/v2.0

# Compare side-by-side

Pattern 3: Hotfix While Feature Development

# Feature work in progress
/create_worktree feature/new-feature

# Critical bug found - create hotfix worktree
/create_worktree fix/critical-bug

# Fix bug in hotfix worktree
# Continue feature work in feature worktree

Worktree Status Check

/list_worktrees

# Output example:
# 🌳 Worktrees:
#
# 1. feature/user-dashboard
#    📁 Path: trees/feature-user-dashboard/
#    📡 Server: http://localhost:4010 (Running, PID: 12345)
#    🌐 Client: http://localhost:5183 (Running, PID: 12346)
#
# 2. fix/login-bug
#    📁 Path: trees/fix-login-bug/
#    📡 Server: http://localhost:4020 (Stopped)
#    🌐 Client: http://localhost:5193 (Stopped)

Cleanup Patterns

Single Worktree Cleanup

/remove_worktree feature/my-feature

Cleanup All Stopped Worktrees

# List worktrees first
/list_worktrees

# Remove stopped worktrees manually
/remove_worktree feature/old-feature-1
/remove_worktree feature/old-feature-2

Troubleshooting

Worktree Services Not Starting

# Check if ports are in use
npm run dev:ports

# Kill processes on ports if needed
npm run kill:4010
npm run kill:5183

# Recreate worktree
/remove_worktree feature/my-feature
/create_worktree feature/my-feature

Worktree Port Conflicts

# Use specific port offset to avoid conflicts
/create_worktree feature/my-feature 5

# This uses ports 4050/5223

Checklist for Worktree Lifecycle

When using worktrees:

• Use /create_worktree command (not manual git commands)
• Ports auto-calculated correctly
• Services start successfully
• Can access worktree URLs
• Development proceeds in isolated environment
• Worktree removed when done (/remove_worktree)

Related Documentation

• Worktree Manager Skill: Complete worktree documentation
• Git Standards: See Orchestrator Git Standards Skill