Parallel Worktrees

Parallel Worktrees (worktrunk + mise)

Run multiple GAIA branches side by side. Each worktree gets its own copy of the repo, its own gitignored env files, and a deterministic set of dev ports so mise dev in one worktree never collides with another. Shared Docker infra (Mongo/Postgres/Redis/RabbitMQ/Chroma) is used by all worktrees at once.

wt is pinned in mise.toml [tools] (ubi:max-sixty/worktrunk), so every clone has it. Run it via the mise shim (wt ...) or mise exec -- wt ....

One-time setup (per machine)

wt config shell install   # enables `wt switch` to cd for you; restart the shell after
wt config state default-branch set master   # GAIA merges everything into `master`

GAIA's base branch is master — the remote's origin/HEAD points at master, so worktrunk detects it correctly on fresh clones. New feature branches are cut from master — fetch it fresh before branching, and merge master back in to keep the PR mergeable.

Create a worktree and start working

wt switch -c feat/my-thing      # creates the worktree + branch, runs pre-start hooks
mise dev                        # API + web on THIS worktree's ports (see below)
mise seed                       # mint + seed the dev bypass user against this API

wt switch -c fires the .config/wt.toml pre-start hooks, which run once at creation and block until done:

1. wt step copy-ignored — copies the gitignored secret files listed in .worktreeinclude (apps/api/.env, apps/web/.env.local, apps/bots/.env) from the main worktree.
2. mise run wt:env — allocates this worktree's ports → .env.worktree.
3. pnpm install + nx run api:sync — concurrently; both are fast (pnpm shared store + uv cache), and neither copies node_modules/.venv.

When the command returns, mise dev works immediately with isolated ports.

Ports

OAuth / integration work needs the default 8000 + 3000. Redirect URIs are registered with the provider (WorkOS, Composio, Google, …), and only localhost:8000 / localhost:3000 are registered — a worktree on 8140/3140 gets its callback rejected, so connecting an integration cannot complete. Any task that connects an account, tests a connect card, or touches an OAuth callback runs on the default ports: rm .env.worktree in that worktree (mise falls back to 8000/3000), and make sure no other worktree holds them. Register the offset ports with the provider only if you genuinely need two OAuth-capable worktrees at once.

mise run wt:env hashes the worktree path → an offset (a multiple of 10, 10–1990) and writes .env.worktree at the repo root. mise auto-loads that file for every task via [env]._.file; the main worktree has no file (offset 0) and keeps today's defaults. Delete .env.worktree to fall back to defaults.

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL is exported into the process env, which Next.js ranks above apps/web/.env.local (Next's load order puts process.env first), so the web app in a worktree talks to that worktree's own API even though .env.local was copied from main.

The offset is deterministic per path but two paths can theoretically hash to the same offset. If two live worktrees collide, rename one (wt switch to a differently-named branch/dir) and re-run mise run wt:env.

Single-instance bots — do NOT run the same bot twice

Discord, Telegram, Slack, and WhatsApp each authenticate with one bot token. Running the same bot in two worktrees makes both connect with that token: Telegram returns 409 Conflict (getUpdates), Discord/Slack sessions fight, and webhook deliveries get split. The per-worktree bot ports only stop the local HTTP health/webhook servers from colliding — they do not give you a second bot identity.

Rule: run any given bot in at most one worktree at a time. mise dev (API + web only) never starts a bot, so most parallel work is unaffected. If you must run a bot in a non-main worktree, stop it in the other worktree first. To point a single bot's health/webhook server at this worktree's port, set the bot's single override explicitly, e.g. BOT_SERVER_PORT=$BOT_WHATSAPP_PORT nx dev bot-whatsapp (BOT_SERVER_PORT overrides all four defaults, so set it per single-bot launch, not globally).

Shared database — one seeded dev user at a time

Ports are per-worktree; the Docker infra (Mongo/Postgres/Redis/RabbitMQ/Chroma) is shared. So anything that writes to a fixed key collides across worktrees. The web e2e suite is the sharp edge: its global-setup resets → mints → seeds DEV_USER (default dev@gaia.local), so two worktrees running mise e2e:web at once wipe each other's data mid-run.

Rule: run e2e in one worktree at a time, or give a worktree its own identity by setting DEV_USER=<email> — the --agent / --sim flags on mise dev / dev:vm derive the API's DEV_AUTH_BYPASS_EMAIL from DEV_USER, so a single value sets both the e2e seed target and the server's bypass identity. They must match because browser page loads carry no X-Dev-User header, so the seeded user has to equal the server's bypass email. Full per-worktree DB isolation is deferred; until then this is the constraint.

Merge back

Repo git rules apply (see root CLAUDE.md):

• master is the single base branch — branch from and merge into master. If wt switch -c creates branches from anything else, the default-branch state is wrong on this clone: run wt config state default-branch set master (see One-time setup).
• Plain merge only. Never git rebase / git pull --rebase against origin/master.
• Never merge PRs (gh pr merge and wt merge are both off-limits) — the team merges.

Hand-off flow: sync with master, push the branch, open a PR:

git fetch origin && git merge origin/master && git push -u origin HEAD

wt list           # show all worktrees + status
wt remove         # remove the current worktree; deletes the branch if merged

Troubleshooting

• port NNNN is already in use by PID … on mise dev (incl. --sim) — the preflight (scripts/dev/check-ports.sh) refused to start because another worktree or a stale server holds the port; the message names the process. Kill it, or confirm .env.worktree exists here (cat .env.worktree) and re-run mise run wt:env. Offset collision between two worktrees → rename one and re-run wt:env. Without the preflight this failed silently: uvicorn exited, nx kept web alive, and every request went to the other worktree's API.
• Web calls the wrong API — check NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL in .env.worktree matches this worktree's API_PORT; restart nx dev web so Next re-reads the env.
• .env.worktree missing — run mise run wt:env. A brand-new worktree gets it from the pre-start hook; running the task again is safe and idempotent.
• no task //:wt:env found during wt switch -c — the branch predates the worktree infra (added Jul 2026 in 7f3cd4115), so its mise.toml lacks the wt:env task, the _.file = ".env.worktree" auto-load, and the --port=${WEB_PORT:-3000} dev script. Run the port script manually (or git merge origin/master to bring the infra in), then export the port when running the dev server: pnpm nx run web:next:dev --port=3040.
• New worktree has no secrets — the copy-ignored hook only copies files that are both gitignored and in .worktreeinclude. If you added a new secret file, add its path to .worktreeinclude and re-run wt step copy-ignored.
• JuiceFSUnavailable — unrelated to worktrees; native mise dev cannot mount JuiceFS. Use mise dev:vm for workspace-v2 / file-upload / sandbox work (see apps/api/CLAUDE.md).
• Telegram 409 / bot fighting — the same bot is running in another worktree. Stop it there. See the single-instance section above.