workstack

Effortless git worktree management for parallel development.

Create, switch, and manage multiple worktrees from a centralized location with automatic environment setup.

Installation

# With uv (recommended)
uv tool install workstack

# From source
uv tool install git+https://github.com/dagster-io/workstack.git

Quick Start

# Initialize in your repo
cd /path/to/your/repo
workstack init
source ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc

# Create and switch to a worktree
workstack create user-auth
workstack switch user-auth

# Switch back and clean up
workstack switch root
workstack rm user-auth

Overview

workstack solves the pain of managing multiple git worktrees for parallel agenetic coding sessions.

Key features:

• Centralized worktrees in ~/worktrees/<repo>/<feature>/
• Automatic environment setup (.env, virtual environments, activation scripts)
• Simple CLI: create, switch, rm, ls
• Plan-based development workflow
• Optional Graphite integration for stacked diffs

Core Commands

Creating Worktrees

# New feature branch
workstack create feature-x                          # Creates worktree 'feature-x' with branch 'feature-x'
workstack create fix --branch hotfix/bug           # Creates worktree 'fix' with branch 'hotfix/bug'

# From existing branch
workstack create --from-branch feature/login       # Creates worktree from existing branch 'feature/login'
workstack create login --from-branch feature/login # Creates worktree 'login' from branch 'feature/login'

# Move current work
workstack create --from-current-branch             # Move current branch to new worktree

# From a plan file
workstack create --plan Add_Auth.md                # Creates worktree with .plan/ folder

Managing Worktrees

workstack switch NAME            # Switch between worktrees (or 'root' for repo root)
workstack switch --up            # Navigate to child branch in Graphite stack
workstack switch --down          # Navigate to parent branch in Graphite stack
workstack jump BRANCH            # Jump to branch (finds worktree automatically)
workstack status                 # Show status of current worktree
workstack list                   # List all worktrees (alias: ls)
workstack list --stacks          # List with graphite stacks and PR status
workstack tree                   # Show tree of worktrees with dependencies
workstack rename OLD NEW         # Rename a worktree
workstack rm NAME                # Remove worktree
workstack sync                   # Sync with Graphite, show cleanup candidates
workstack sync --dry-run         # Show safe-to-delete worktrees (merged PRs)
workstack sync -f                # Sync and auto-remove merged workstacks

Stack Navigation

With Graphite enabled, navigate your stacks directly:

workstack switch --up       # Move to child branch in stack
workstack switch --down     # Move to parent branch in stack
workstack jump BRANCH       # Jump to any branch in a stack (finds worktree automatically)

Jump to Branch

Find and switch to a worktree by branch name:

workstack jump feature/user-auth    # Finds worktree containing this branch
workstack jump hotfix/critical-bug  # Works with any branch in your stacks
workstack jump origin-branch        # Auto-creates from remote if not local

How it works:

• Searches all worktrees to find which one contains the target branch in its Graphite stack
• If not found in any worktree, checks if branch exists locally
• If not local, checks if origin/branch exists remotely
• Automatically creates tracking branch and worktree if needed
• No need to remember which worktree has which branch

Requirements:

• Graphite must be enabled for stack-based search (workstack config set use_graphite true)
• Branch auto-creation works without Graphite

Behavior:

• Branch checked out in one worktree: Switches to that worktree and checks out the branch
• Branch checked out in multiple worktrees: Shows all worktrees (choose manually with workstack switch)
• Branch exists locally but not checked out: Auto-creates worktree for the branch
• Branch exists on origin but not locally: Auto-creates tracking branch and worktree
• Branch doesn't exist anywhere: Shows error with suggestion to create new branch

Example workflow:

# You have multiple worktrees with different stacks:
# - worktree "feature-work": main -> feature-1 -> feature-2 -> feature-3
# - worktree "bugfix-work": main -> bugfix-1 -> bugfix-2

# Jump to existing branch in worktree
workstack jump feature-2    # → Switches to "feature-work" and checks out feature-2
workstack jump bugfix-1     # → Switches to "bugfix-work" and checks out bugfix-1

# Jump to unchecked local branch
workstack jump feature-4    # → Auto-creates worktree for feature-4

# Jump to remote-only branch (like git checkout origin/branch)
workstack jump hotfix-123   # → Creates tracking branch + worktree from origin/hotfix-123

Stack Navigation with Switch

Example workflow:

# Current stack: main -> feature-1 -> feature-2 -> feature-3
# You are in: feature-2

workstack switch --up       # → feature-3
workstack switch --down     # → feature-2
workstack switch --down     # → feature-1
workstack switch --down     # → root (main)

Requirements:

• Graphite must be enabled (workstack config set use_graphite true)
• Target branch must have an existing worktree
• If no worktree exists, shows helpful message: workstack create <branch>

Behavior:

• --up: Navigates to child branch (up the stack)
• --down: Navigates to parent branch (down toward trunk)
• At stack boundaries, shows clear error messages
• Cannot be combined with NAME argument

Moving Branches

Move or swap branches between worktrees:

workstack move target-wt                      # Move from current to new worktree
workstack move --worktree old-wt new-wt       # Move from specific source to target
workstack move --current existing-wt          # Swap branches between worktrees
workstack move --branch feature-x new-wt      # Auto-detect source from branch name

Example output:

$ workstack list
root [master]
feature-a [feature-a]
feature-b [work/feature-b]

$ workstack list --stacks
root [master]
  ◉  master

feature-a [feature-a]
  ◯  master
  ◉  feature-a ✅ #123

feature-b [work/feature-b]
  ◯  master
  ◉  work/feature-b 🚧 #456

PR Status Indicators:

• ✅ Checks passing
• ❌ Checks failing
• 🟣 Merged
• 🚧 Draft
• ⭕ Closed
• ◯ Open (no checks)

Note: The repository root is displayed as root and can be accessed with workstack switch root.

Visualizing Worktrees

workstack tree               # Show tree of worktrees with dependencies

Example output:

$ workstack tree
main [@root]
├─ feature-a [@feature-a]
│  └─ feature-a-2 [@feature-a-2]
└─ feature-b [@feature-b]

The tree command shows:

• Only branches with active worktrees (not all branches)
• Dependency relationships from Graphite stacks
• Current worktree highlighted in bright green
• Worktree names in brackets [@name]

Note: Requires Graphite to be enabled.

Configuration

workstack init                   # Initialize in repository
workstack init --shell           # Show shell integration setup instructions
workstack init --list-presets    # List available config presets
workstack init --repo            # Initialize repo config only (skip global)
workstack config list            # Show all configuration
workstack config get KEY         # Get config value
workstack config set KEY VALUE   # Set config value
workstack completion bash/zsh/fish  # Generate shell completion script

Configuration Files

Global (~/.workstack/config.toml):

workstacks_root = "/Users/you/worktrees"
use_graphite = true     # Auto-detected if gt CLI installed
show_pr_info = true     # Display PR status in list --stacks (requires gh CLI)

Per-Repository (~/worktrees/<repo>/config.toml):

[env]
# Template variables: {worktree_path}, {repo_root}, {name}
DATABASE_URL = "postgresql://localhost/{name}_db"

[post_create]
shell = "bash"
commands = [
  "uv venv",
  "uv pip install -e .",
]

Common Workflows

Parallel Feature Development

workstack create feature-a
workstack switch feature-a
# ... work on feature A ...

workstack create feature-b
workstack switch feature-b
# ... work on feature B ...

workstack switch feature-a  # Instantly back to feature A

Plan-Based Development

workstack promotes an opinionated workflow that separates planning from implementation:

Core principles:

• Plan in main/master - Keep your main branch "read-only" for planning. Since planning doesn't modify code, you can create multiple plans in parallel without worktrees.
• Execute in worktrees - All code changes happen in dedicated worktrees, keeping work isolated and switchable.
• Plans as artifacts - Each plan is a markdown file that travels with its worktree.

Workflow:

# 1. Stay in root repo for planning
workstack switch root

# 2. Create your plan and save it to disk (e.g. Add_User_Auth.md)

# 3. Create worktree from plan
workstack create --plan Add_User_Auth.md
# This automatically:
#   - Creates worktree named 'add-user-auth'
#   - Creates .plan/ folder with plan.md (immutable) and progress.md (mutable)
#   - .plan/ is already in .gitignore (added by workstack init)

# 4. Switch and execute
workstack switch add-user-auth
# Your plan is now at .plan/plan.md for reference during implementation
# Progress tracking in .plan/progress.md shows step completion

Why this works:

• Plans don't clutter PR reviews (.plan/ in .gitignore)
• Each worktree has its own plan context
• Clean separation between thinking and doing
• Progress tracking separates plan content from completion status
• Workflow guides user to start implementation with clean context and progress visibility

This workflow emerged from experience - checking in planning documents created noise in reviews and maintenance overhead without clear benefits.

Moving Current Work

# Started work on main by accident?
workstack create --from-current-branch
# Creates worktree with current branch, switches you back to root

Syncing and Cleanup

After merging PRs, sync your local branches and clean up:

workstack sync
# This will:
# 1. Switch to root (avoiding git conflicts)
# 2. Run gt sync to update branch tracking
# 3. Identify merged/closed PR workstacks
# 4. Prompt for confirmation before removing them
# 5. Switch back to your original worktree

# Or use -f to skip confirmation:
workstack sync -f

Options:

workstack sync                   # Sync and show cleanup candidates
workstack sync -f                # Force gt sync and auto-remove merged workstacks
workstack sync --dry-run         # Preview without executing

Requires Graphite CLI (gt) and GitHub CLI (gh) installed.

Command Reference

create Options

list / ls Options

move Options

remove / rm Options

rename Options

sync Options

init Options

Environment Variables

Always exported when switching:

• WORKTREE_PATH - Absolute path to current worktree
• REPO_ROOT - Absolute path to repository root
• WORKTREE_NAME - Name of current worktree

Advanced Features

Graphite Integration

If Graphite CLI is installed, workstack automatically uses gt create for proper stack tracking.

brew install withgraphite/tap/graphite
workstack init  # Auto-detects gt

Disable in ~/.workstack/config.toml: use_graphite = false

Repository Presets

Dagster:

[env]
DAGSTER_GIT_REPO_DIR = "{worktree_path}"

[post_create]
commands = ["uv venv", "uv run make dev_install"]

Cleanup

Find and clean up merged/closed PR branches:

workstack sync --dry-run
# Output:
#   feature-x [work/feature-x] - merged (PR #123)
#   feature-y [work/feature-y] - closed (PR #456)

workstack sync -f  # Clean up automatically

Requires GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated.

FAQ

Q: How is this different from git worktree?
A: Adds centralized management, automatic environment setup, and seamless switching.

Q: Does it work with non-Python projects?
A: Yes! Configure post_create commands for any stack.

Q: What if I don't use Graphite?
A: Works perfectly with standard git commands.

Documentation

For Developers

Core documentation for contributors:

• AGENTS.md - Coding standards and conventions (required reading)
• tests/AGENTS.md - Testing patterns and practices
• docs/PUBLISHING.md - Publishing to PyPI guide

Shell Integration Output Pattern

Commands that generate activation scripts should use the self-documenting ScriptResult API:

# Generate activation script
result = ctx.script_writer.write_activation_script(
    script_content,
    command_name="mycommand",
    comment="description",
)

# Output for shell integration (--script flag)
result.output_for_shell_integration()  # ✓ Routes to stdout

# OR output for user visibility (rarely needed)
if verbose:
    result.output_path_for_user()  # Routes to stderr

# OR defer output (advanced pattern)
script_result = result  # Save for later
# ... more logic ...
if should_output:
    script_result.output_for_shell_integration()

This prevents bugs where script paths are written to the wrong stream (stderr instead of stdout), causing shell integration to fail. See src/workstack/core/script_writer.py for detailed documentation.

Workspace Structure

This project uses a uv workspace to organize the codebase:

workstack/                    # Root workspace
├── src/workstack/            # Main workstack package
├── packages/
│   └── workstack-dev/        # Development tools package
│       ├── src/workstack_dev/ # Development CLI commands
│       ├── tests/            # Dev CLI tests
│       └── pyproject.toml    # Package metadata
└── pyproject.toml            # Workspace configuration

workstack-dev is an independent package containing development tools for workstack. It provides commands for publishing to PyPI, code review, cache management, and more. It is installed as a dev dependency.

For AI Assistants

Comprehensive, agent-optimized documentation is available in the .agent/ directory:

• Architecture - System design, patterns, and component relationships
• Feature Index - Complete feature catalog with implementation locations
• Glossary - Terminology and concept definitions
• Module Map - Module structure and exports
• Coding Patterns - Detailed implementation patterns with examples
• Exception Handling - Complete exception handling guide
• workstack-dev CLI - Development CLI architecture and design

See .agent/README.md for more details.

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/dagster-io/workstack
• Issues: https://github.com/dagster-io/workstack/issues

License

MIT - Nick Schrock (@schrockn)

Originally developed by @schrockn, now maintained by Dagster Labs.