git-worktree-cli

A lightweight Python CLI tool to simplify Git worktree management.

Overview

wt makes working with Git worktrees effortless by providing an intuitive command-line interface for adding, listing, and removing worktrees. It automatically generates consistent paths and can optionally open new worktrees in your IDE or terminal.

Features

• Simple Worktree Creation: Add worktrees with automatic path generation
• Smart Path Management: Auto-generates paths as ../<root_folder_name>_<branch_name>
• IDE Integration: Open worktrees directly in your favorite IDE (VS Code, PyCharm, Cursor, etc.)
• Terminal Integration: Launch new iTerm2 tabs on macOS pointing to your worktree
• Easy Management: List and remove worktrees with simple commands
• Branch Handling: Automatically creates new branches or checks out existing ones
• Cross-Platform: Works on any system with Python 3.12+ and Git

Installation

Prerequisites

Make sure you have uv installed:

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Or with Homebrew
brew install uv

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/git-worktree-cli.git
cd git-worktree-cli

# Install dependencies
uv sync

# Activate the virtual environment
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Unix/macOS
# .venv\Scripts\activate   # On Windows

Global Installation

# Install globally with uv
uv tool install git-worktree-cli

# Or install from local source
uv tool install .

Verify Installation

wt --version

Usage

Add Worktree

Add a new worktree for a branch:

# Basic usage - adds worktree only
wt add feature-x
# Creates: ../git-worktree-cli_feature-x

# Add and open in VS Code
wt add feature-y --ide code

# Add and start Claude session
wt add feature-z --claude

# Add and open in default IDE (auto-detects: code, cursor, pycharm, subl, atom)
wt add feature-w --ide

Path Generation: Worktrees are created at ../<root_folder_name>_<branch_name>

• If branch exists locally or remotely: checks it out
• If branch doesn't exist: creates a new branch

List Worktrees

Display all worktrees in the repository:

wt list
# Or use the alias:
wt ls

Example output:

PATH                                               BRANCH                         COMMIT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/Users/user/projects/myproject                     main                           abc1234
/Users/user/projects/myproject_feature-x           feature-x                      def5678

Remove Worktree

Remove a worktree:

# Remove a worktree
wt remove /path/to/worktree

# Or use the alias:
wt rm /path/to/worktree

# Force remove (even with uncommitted changes)
wt remove /path/to/worktree --force

Post-Creation Actions

The add command supports optional flags to perform actions after creating the worktree:

Default (no flags)

Adds the worktree without any additional action.

wt add feature-x

--ide

Adds the worktree and opens it in an IDE.

# Specify IDE explicitly
wt add feature-x --ide code      # VS Code
wt add feature-x --ide cursor    # Cursor
wt add feature-x --ide pycharm   # PyCharm

# Auto-detect IDE (tries: code, cursor, pycharm, subl, atom)
wt add feature-x --ide

--claude

Adds the worktree and starts a Claude Code session.

wt add feature-x --claude

Note: --ide and --claude are mutually exclusive.

Examples

Working on a new feature

# Add a new worktree for a feature branch and open in VS Code
wt add feature/auth-system --ide code

# Work on the feature...
cd ../myproject_feature/auth-system

# When done, remove the worktree
wt rm /path/to/myproject_feature/auth-system

Quick bug fix

# Add worktree for hotfix
wt add hotfix/urgent-bug

# Work on the fix in the new location
cd ../myproject_hotfix/urgent-bug

# After merging, clean up
wt remove ../myproject_hotfix/urgent-bug

Review all active worktrees

wt list
# Or use the alias:
wt ls

Requirements

• Python 3.12 or higher
• Git 2.5 or higher (for worktree support)
• iTerm2 (for --mode terminal on macOS)

Development

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/git-worktree-cli.git
cd git-worktree-cli

# Install all dependencies (including dev)
uv sync --all-extras

# Activate virtual environment
source .venv/bin/activate

Running Tests

# Run all tests
uv run pytest

# Run with verbose output
uv run pytest -v

# Run specific test file
uv run pytest tests/test_worktree.py -v

Code Quality

# Format code with black
uv run black wt/ tests/

# Lint with pylint
uv run pylint wt/ tests/ --disable=C0114,C0115,C0116,R0903 --max-line-length=120

Project Structure

git-worktree-cli/
├── wt/
│   ├── __init__.py        # Package initialization
│   ├── __main__.py        # Entry point for python -m wt
│   ├── cli.py             # CLI commands and interface
│   ├── worktree.py        # Core worktree operations
│   └── launchers.py       # IDE and terminal launchers
├── tests/
│   ├── test_cli.py        # CLI tests
│   ├── test_worktree.py   # Worktree operation tests
│   └── test_launchers.py  # Launcher tests
├── pyproject.toml         # Project configuration
└── README.md              # This file

Troubleshooting

"Not a git repository" error

Make sure you're running wt from within a Git repository.

IDE not launching

Ensure the IDE executable is in your PATH:

which code  # VS Code
which pycharm  # PyCharm

Terminal not opening (macOS)

Make sure iTerm2 is installed. Terminal integration currently only supports iTerm2 on macOS.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

This project was a way to use Claude Code for a real use-case, which was inspired by John Lindquists' worktree-cli.