Git Worktree Create

Git Worktree Create

Overview

This skill creates git worktrees in a standardized .worktrees/ directory structure, enabling work on multiple branches simultaneously without stashing or committing current changes. Each worktree is created in .worktrees/<branch-name> for easy organization and discovery.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user needs to:

• Work on a different branch while preserving uncommitted changes in the current working directory
• Create a temporary worktree for quick fixes or hotfixes
• Review or test another branch without affecting current work
• Work on multiple branches simultaneously

How It Works

The skill uses a bash script (scripts/create_worktree.sh) that:

1. Validates the current directory is a git repository
2. Sanitizes the branch name (replaces / with -) for use as a directory name
3. Runs git fetch --all to ensure remote branches are up-to-date
4. Checks if the branch exists locally, if not checks remote repositories
5. For multiple remotes, defaults to origin or prompts user to select
6. Creates .worktrees/ directory if it doesn't exist
7. Creates a worktree at .worktrees/<sanitized-branch-name>
8. Copies Claude configuration files (CLAUDE.md, .claude/) if they are not tracked in git
9. Prints the absolute path to the worktree for easy navigation

Usage

To create a worktree for a branch, run:

scripts/create_worktree.sh <branch-name>

Arguments:

• <branch-name>: Name of the branch (can be local or remote)

Examples:

# Create worktree for a local branch
scripts/create_worktree.sh feature/new-feature

# Create worktree for a remote branch
scripts/create_worktree.sh hotfix/urgent-fix

# Branch names with slashes are automatically sanitized
# Branch: user.name/AOF-123 → Worktree: .worktrees/user.name-AOF-123
scripts/create_worktree.sh user.name/AOF-123

Error Handling

The script will error if:

• Not in a git repository
• Branch doesn't exist locally or on any remote
• A worktree already exists for that branch at .worktrees/<branch-name>

Claude Configuration

The script ensures Claude configuration is available in the worktree:

• If tracked in git: Configuration files (CLAUDE.md, .claude/) will automatically be present in the worktree
• If not tracked: Configuration files are copied from the repository root to the worktree

This ensures a consistent Claude setup across all worktrees.

Worktree Organization

All worktrees are created in the .worktrees/ directory at the repository root:

repo-root/
├── .worktrees/
│   ├── feature-branch/              # Worktree for feature-branch
│   ├── hotfix-123/                  # Worktree for hotfix-123
│   ├── user.name-AOF-456/           # Worktree for user.name/AOF-456 (sanitized)
│   └── bugfix-fix-critical-issue/   # Worktree for bugfix/fix-critical-issue (sanitized)
├── .git/
└── [main working directory files]

This convention keeps all temporary worktrees organized and easy to find.

Note: Branch names containing slashes (/) are automatically sanitized by replacing slashes with hyphens (-) to avoid nested directory structures. The script will inform you when sanitization occurs.

Source: alex-popov-tech/.dotfiles — distributed by TomeVault.