Timberline

Git worktree manager for parallel coding agent development.

Features

• Agent session linking — symlinks worktree's agent session data to the main repo, so coding agents inherit full conversation history and memory across worktrees
• Auto-launch coding agents — spawn Claude, Codex, OpenCode, or Aider directly into a worktree (tl new --agent)
• Agent context injection — auto-injects worktree metadata (branch, base, sibling worktrees) into agent config files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md)
• Auto-init dependencies — detects & installs via bun/npm/pnpm/yarn/uv/pip/cargo/go/composer/bundle on worktree creation
• Auto-copy .env files — glob-based discovery with include/exclude patterns, sync & diff commands
• Auto-init submodules — recursive submodule setup on worktree creation
• Archive & restore — tl done soft-removes a worktree (keeps directory, marks archived), warns about uncommitted/unpushed work; tl unarchive restores it
• Checkout existing branches & PRs — tl checkout nc9/feature/auth or tl checkout #42 to create a worktree from an existing remote branch or PR
• Shell integration — tlcd, tln, tlc, tlh, tld, tlunarchive shell aliases, tl-prompt for PS1, auto-install for bash/zsh/fish
• Creative naming schemes — minerals, cities, or compound names for auto-named worktrees
• Branch templates — configurable {user}/{type}/{name} patterns for consistent naming
• Land workflow — pre-land checks → push → PR creation in one command
• Multi-worktree status — git status, ahead/behind tracking across all worktrees
• Sync all worktrees — rebase or merge all worktrees on latest base branch

Install

# global CLI (recommended)
uv tool install timberline

# or with pip
pip install timberline

Upgrade

uv tool upgrade timberline

Setup

Setup shell aliases

tl setup

Quick Start

cd your-repo
tl init                     # create .timberline.toml
tl new auth-refactor        # create worktree + branch
tl new --type fix           # auto-named fix worktree
tl checkout nc9/feat/auth   # worktree from existing branch
tl checkout #42             # worktree from PR
tl ls                       # list all worktrees
tlcd auth-refactor          # jump into worktree
tl land                     # run checks, push, and create PR
tld                         # archive worktree + cd back to main repo
tl rm auth-refactor         # full removal (or skip if archived)

Getting Started

Run tl init inside any git repo to create .timberline.toml. The wizard auto-detects:

• Project name — defaults to the repo directory name, used for global worktree storage at ~/.timberline/projects/<name>/
• Branch prefix from your git user
• Base branch (main/master/develop)
• Package manager (bun, npm, pnpm, yarn, uv, pip, cargo, go, composer, bundle) for dependency install
• Pre-land checks (Makefile targets, npm scripts like lint, test, check)
• Default agent (claude, codex, opencode, aider) if installed

Worktrees are stored globally at ~/.timberline/projects/<project>/worktrees/ — fully outside the repo tree. This prevents agents from accidentally writing files into the parent repo.

Use --defaults to skip prompts and accept detected values.

Create & Enter a Worktree

tl new auth-refactor            # named worktree
tl new --type fix               # auto-named (minerals, cities, or compound)
tl new --agent                  # create + launch coding agent

Enter a worktree:

cd $(tl cd auth-refactor)       # subshell-friendly

Or with shell integration (tl setup):

tlcd auth-refactor              # cd directly

Each worktree gets its own branch (from branch_template), dependencies installed via auto_init, and .env files copied from the main repo.

Checkout Existing Branches & PRs

tl checkout nc9/feature/auth        # from remote branch
tl checkout #42                     # from PR number
tl checkout --pr 42                 # explicit --pr flag
tl checkout #42 --name myname       # override generated name
tl co #42                           # alias

The worktree name is auto-generated from the configured naming scheme (minerals/cities/compound), matching tl new behavior. Override with --name.

When checking out a PR, tl pr and tl land will push to the existing PR instead of creating a new one.

Agent Session Linking

When using Claude Code, each worktree normally gets a fresh session with no history. Enable session linking to share conversation history, memory, and project context across all worktrees:

tl config set agent.link_project_session true

This symlinks each worktree's Claude project data directory (~/.claude/projects/<encoded-worktree-path>) to the main repo's project directory. Your agent sees the same session history, CLAUDE.md memory, and project context regardless of which worktree you're in.

• Created automatically on tl new
• Cleaned up on tl rm
• Skip for a single worktree with tl new --no-link

Sync with Base Branch

tl sync                     # rebase current worktree onto base
tl sync auth-refactor       # rebase specific worktree
tl sync --all               # rebase all worktrees
tl sync --merge             # merge instead of rebase

Fetches all remotes, then rebases (default) or merges onto origin/{base_branch}. Each worktree tracks its own base branch from creation — no hardcoded "main".

Land a PR

tl land auth-refactor           # checks → push → PR
tl land --draft                 # create as draft PR
tl land --skip-checks           # bypass pre-land checks

tl land runs your configured pre_land command (e.g. make check), pushes the branch, then creates a PR via gh. Configure it in .timberline.toml:

[timberline]
pre_land = "make check"  # or "bun run lint && bun run test", etc.

Archive a Worktree

When you're done with a worktree but want to keep it around (e.g. waiting for PR review), use tl done to archive it:

tld                             # archive current worktree + cd back to repo root
tl done --name auth-refactor    # archive by name
tl done --force                 # skip uncommitted/unpushed warnings

tl done warns if you have uncommitted changes or unpushed commits before archiving. Archived worktrees are hidden from tl ls but the directory stays on disk. To see them:

tl ls --archived                # list only archived worktrees

Restore an archived worktree:

tl unarchive auth-refactor      # restore to active
tlunarchive auth-refactor       # restore + cd into it

tl rm still works on archived worktrees for full removal.

Commands

Config

.timberline.toml in repo root:

[timberline]
project_name = "my-project"  # global storage name (~/.timberline/projects/<name>/)
branch_template = "{user}/{type}/{name}"
user = "nc9"
default_type = "feature"
base_branch = "main"
naming_scheme = "minerals"  # minerals | cities | compound
pre_land = "make check"    # command to run before pushing

[timberline.init]
auto_init = true
# init_command = "bun run init"
# post_init = ["echo done"]

[timberline.env]
auto_copy = true
patterns = [".env", ".env.*", "!.env.example", "!.env.template"]
scan_depth = 3

[timberline.submodules]
auto_init = true
recursive = true

[timberline.agent]
name = "claude"            # claude | codex | gemini | opencode | aider
# command = ""             # custom launch command (e.g. 'claude --dangerously-skip-permissions')
auto_launch = false
inject_context = true
link_project_session = false  # symlink worktree agent session to main repo

Shell Integration

# Automatic install:
tl setup

# Or manually add to .zshrc / .bashrc:
eval "$(tl shell-init)"

Shell Aliases

Installed by tl setup (bash/zsh/fish):

Development

uv sync
make test     # pytest
make lint     # ruff + basedpyright
make fmt      # ruff format
make check    # all of the above