# Marcgit > Use when the user wants to manage git worktrees with marcgit (a.k.a. `mg`) — creating a worktree for a feature/branch/PR, switching to trunk, listing or pruning worktrees, or moving in-progress edits into a fresh worktree. Triggers on phrases like "marcgit", "mg work", "create a worktree", "make a worktree for this feature", "spin up a branch worktree", "checkout PR N as a worktree", "prune old worktrees". - Skill: `marc2332/marcgit` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add marc2332/marcgit` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/marc2332/marcgit/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: marc2332 (https://skillmd.com/u/marc2332) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/marc2332/marcgit --- # marcgit (`mg`) `marcgit` is a git worktree manager. Each project is laid out as a `trunk/` directory (the main worktree) plus **sibling** folders next to it, one per branch / PR: ``` myproject/ ├── trunk/ # main worktree — the anchor, never rename it ├── feat-login/ # mg work feat/login └── fix-typo/ # mg pr 42 (PR head branch fix/typo) ``` A branch name's slashes become dashes in the folder name: `feat/login` → `feat-login`. No nested subfolders are created. ## CRITICAL: call the binary directly, not `mg` `mg` is a **shell function** users install into their interactive shell (`eval "$(marcgit init bash)"`). It will **not** exist in the non-interactive shell you run Bash commands in. **Always invoke the real binary `marcgit`**, and handle the printed path yourself. How output works: - **Navigating** commands (`work`, `pr`, `new`, `clone`, `trunk`) print the **target directory to stdout** (the `mg` wrapper would `cd` there). Capture stdout to learn where the worktree is. - Everything else (status/info, `🌱`/`🧹` messages) goes to **stderr**. So instead of relying on `cd`, capture the path and act on it explicitly: ```bash dir="$(marcgit work feat/login)" # stdout = new/existing worktree path git -C "$dir" status # operate without changing your own cwd ``` If `marcgit` is not on PATH, tell the user to install it (`cargo install --git https://github.com/marc2332/git`); do not silently fall back to raw `git worktree` unless they ask. ## Command reference | Command | Alias | Effect | stdout | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `marcgit new ` | `n` | Create `/trunk` and `git init -b main` it. | trunk path | | `marcgit clone ` | `c` | Clone `` into `/trunk`. | trunk path | | `marcgit work ` | `w` | Create (or jump to) a sibling worktree for ``; creates the branch off trunk's HEAD if it doesn't exist. Idempotent. | worktree path | | `marcgit pr ` | `p` | Use `gh` to resolve PR #N's head branch, fetch it (`pull/N/head`), add a worktree named after that branch. Idempotent. Needs `gh`. | worktree path | | `marcgit trunk` | `t` | Resolve the project's `trunk` path. | trunk path | | `marcgit list` | `l` | `git worktree list` for the current project. | listing | | `marcgit remove ` | `r` | Force-remove the worktree and delete its branch, then point back at trunk. | trunk path | | `marcgit prune [-n\|--dry-run]` | — | Remove sibling worktrees whose last commit is older than `` days. **Prompts `[y/N]` on stdin** and skips dirty/stashed worktrees. `-n` previews only. | — | | `marcgit init ` | — | Print the shell wrapper code. | wrapper | | `marcgit config init` | — | Write a default `marcgit.toml` at the project root. | config path | | `marcgit config path` | — | Print the `marcgit.toml` reachable from cwd. | config path | Notes: - Every command except `new`, `clone`, and `init` must run **inside a project** (any worktree of it). marcgit finds the project by locating the worktree literally named `trunk`. If it errors with "no `trunk` worktree found", you're not in a marcgit project — use `marcgit new`/`clone` first, or `cd` into one. - `work` and `pr` are idempotent: if the folder already exists they just return its path. - `work` and `pr` accept `-s` / `--still`, which moves the worktree path to stderr so the user's `mg` wrapper doesn't `cd`. Don't pass it yourself — you need the path on stdout. Mention it when the user wants a worktree set up without leaving their current directory. - `prune` blocks on a `y/N` confirmation prompt. When running it non-interactively, **always do a `--dry-run` first**, show the user what would be pruned, and only then run the real prune (piping `yes` only with explicit user approval). Never auto-confirm destructive prunes. - `config init`: `init-submodules = true` (default) makes `work`/`pr` run `git submodule update --init --recursive` when a `.gitmodules` exists. ## Workflow: "create a worktree for this feature and copy my changes into it" This is the headline use case. The user is working in one worktree (often `trunk`), has in-progress edits, and wants a clean feature worktree that contains those same edits. **Literally copy the file edits across.** 1. **Identify the source worktree** — your current location, or the path the user names. Capture its absolute path: ```bash src="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" ``` 2. **Pick the branch name** from what the user said (e.g. "login feature" → `feat/login`). Confirm the name if it's ambiguous. 3. **Create the worktree** and capture its path: ```bash dst="$(marcgit work feat/login)" ``` 4. **Copy the edits** from `src` into `dst`. Cover both tracked and untracked: ```bash # tracked, staged + unstaged modifications → as a patch git -C "$src" diff HEAD > /tmp/mg-feature.patch if [ -s /tmp/mg-feature.patch ]; then git -C "$dst" apply /tmp/mg-feature.patch fi # untracked files → copy verbatim, preserving relative paths git -C "$src" ls-files --others --exclude-standard -z | while IFS= read -r -d '' f; do mkdir -p "$dst/$(dirname "$f")" cp -p "$src/$f" "$dst/$f" done ``` If `git apply` fails (e.g. the worktree branched from a different base), fall back to a 3-way apply: `git -C "$dst" apply --3way /tmp/mg-feature.patch`, and if that still conflicts, tell the user which files conflicted instead of guessing. 5. **Verify** the copy landed and report the destination: ```bash git -C "$dst" status --short ``` Tell the user the new worktree path (`$dst`) and what was copied. **Decide tracked-vs-everything by intent:** `git diff HEAD` carries every change relative to the last commit (staged + unstaged). If the user only wants specific files, scope the patch with pathspecs: `git -C "$src" diff HEAD -- path/a path/b`. **Do NOT remove the edits from the source** unless the user asks to *move* (not copy) them. If they want a move, after verifying the copy you can `git -C "$src" checkout -- .` / clean untracked — but confirm first, it's destructive. When the user instead describes a feature in prose (no existing edits), just create the worktree (step 3), `cd`/operate inside `$dst`, and implement the work there fresh. ## Other common requests - **"work on PR 42"** → `dst="$(marcgit pr 42)"`, then operate in `$dst`. Requires `gh` authenticated for the repo. - **"go back to trunk"** → `marcgit trunk` (path on stdout). - **"what worktrees exist"** → `marcgit list`. - **"delete the login worktree"** → `marcgit remove feat/login` (force-removes worktree + branch; confirm with the user since it deletes the branch). - **"clean up stale worktrees older than 30 days"** → `marcgit prune 30 -n` first, show the list, then `marcgit prune 30` with user sign-off. - **"start a new project"** → `marcgit new ` or `marcgit clone `. ## Gotchas - The shell wrapper only `cd`s when stdout is a single existing directory; multi-line output (like `list`) is printed, not `cd`'d. You read stdout directly anyway, so this only matters when you advise the user. - Folder names are sanitized (`/` → `-`); when you need the folder for a branch, derive it the same way, or just trust the path marcgit prints. - `prune` measures age by each worktree's last commit (`git log -1`) and refuses worktrees with uncommitted changes, untracked files, or stashes on their branch — so "nothing to prune" can mean "all candidates were dirty."