wtm - Git Worktree Manager

A CLI tool for managing git worktrees with ease. Simplify your multi-branch workflow by creating, switching, and cleaning up worktrees effortlessly.

Installation

# Using npm
npm install -g @robennals/wtm

# Using pnpm
pnpm add -g @robennals/wtm

# Using yarn
yarn global add @robennals/wtm

Quick Start

# Clone a repository with wtm folder structure
wtm clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo/main

# Create a new feature branch and worktree (opens in editor automatically)
wtm new feature/my-feature

# List all worktrees
wtm list

# Clean up merged branches
wtm sweep

Commands

wtm clone <repo-url>

Clone a repository and set up the wtm folder structure. This creates a parent directory containing the cloned repo in a main subdirectory, ready for worktree management.

wtm clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
wtm clone [email protected]:user/repo.git
wtm clone https://github.com/user/repo.git -n my-project  # Custom directory name

Options:

• -n, --name <name> - Custom name for the project directory (defaults to repo name)

This creates:

repo/
└── main/     # The cloned repository

After cloning, cd into main/ and use wtm new to create feature branches as sibling directories.

wtm new <branch>

Create a new branch and worktree from the latest origin/main (or another base branch). Always fetches and branches from the remote to ensure you have the latest code. By default, opens the new worktree in your configured editor.

wtm new feature/auth          # Create from latest origin/main
wtm new bugfix/123 -b develop # Create from latest origin/develop
wtm new feature/x --no-open   # Create without opening editor
wtm new feature/y -e code     # Create and open in VS Code

Options:

• -b, --base <branch> - Base branch to create from (default: main)
• --no-open - Don't open the worktree in an editor after creation
• -e, --editor <name> - Editor to use when opening

After creating the worktree, wtm will automatically run your .wtm-init script if it exists. See Init Script for details.

wtm add <branch>

Add a worktree for an existing local or remote branch.

wtm add feature/login     # Add worktree for local branch
wtm add feature/api       # Add worktree tracking remote branch

After creating the worktree, wtm will automatically run your .wtm-init script if it exists.

wtm list (alias: ls)

List all worktrees in the repository.

wtm list             # Show formatted worktree list
wtm ls               # Alias for list
wtm list --json      # Output as JSON for scripting
wtm list --archived  # Show archived worktrees

Options:

• --json - Output in JSON format
• --archived - Show archived worktrees instead of active ones

wtm open <branch>

Open a worktree in your editor, creating it if needed.

wtm open feature/login       # Open in default editor (cursor/code/vim)
wtm open main -e code        # Open in VS Code

Options:

• -e, --editor <name> - Editor to use (default: cursor, code, vim)

If a worktree needs to be created, wtm will automatically run your .wtm-init script.

wtm delete <branch> (aliases: del, rm)

Remove a worktree (and optionally delete the branch).

wtm delete feature/old       # Remove worktree only
wtm del feature/done -D      # Remove worktree and delete branch
wtm rm stale-branch -f       # Force remove with uncommitted changes

Options:

• -D, --delete-branch - Also delete the branch after removing worktree
• -f, --force - Force removal even with uncommitted changes

wtm sweep

Remove worktrees whose branches have merged PRs on GitHub.

wtm sweep            # Remove worktrees with merged PRs
wtm sweep --dry-run  # Preview what would be removed
wtm sweep --force    # Force removal of all merged worktrees

Options:

• -n, --dry-run - Show what would be removed without removing
• -f, --force - Force removal even with uncommitted changes

Note: Requires GitHub CLI (gh) to be installed and authenticated. Protected branches (main, master) are never removed. Archived worktrees are ignored by sweep.

wtm archive <branch>

Archive a worktree by moving it to the archived/ folder. Archived worktrees don't appear in wtm list by default and are ignored by wtm sweep.

wtm archive feature/old      # Archive a worktree
wtm archive feature/wip -f   # Force archive with uncommitted changes

Options:

• -f, --force - Force archive even with uncommitted changes

Commands like wtm open and wtm delete still work on archived worktrees.

wtm unarchive <branch>

Restore an archived worktree back to the main worktrees folder.

wtm unarchive feature/old    # Restore an archived worktree
wtm list --archived          # See all archived worktrees

How It Works

• Worktree Location: Worktrees are created as sibling directories to your main repository. For example, if your repo is at /projects/myapp, a worktree for feature/login will be at /projects/feature-login.

• Branch Name Conversion: Branch names with slashes are converted to dashes for folder names (feature/auth becomes feature-auth).

Init Script (.wtm-init)

When you create a new worktree (via wtm new, wtm add, or wtm open), wtm looks for a script named .wtm-init in the parent directory (alongside your worktrees). If found, this script is automatically executed.

How it works

The script runs with the new worktree as the current working directory. This means you can run commands like pnpm install directly without needing to change directories.

Creating an init script

Create a .wtm-init file in your worktrees parent directory:

#!/bin/bash
# Script runs in the new worktree directory

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Copy .env from parent directory if it exists
if [ -f "../.env" ]; then
  cp ../.env .env
fi

# Copy .env to subdirectories if needed
for dir in server client; do
  if [ -d "$dir" ] && [ -f "../.env" ]; then
    cp ../.env "$dir/.env"
  fi
done

Make it executable:

chmod +x /path/to/worktrees/.wtm-init

Script location

The .wtm-init script should be placed in the parent directory of your worktrees:

/projects/
├── .wtm-init          # Init script lives here
├── .wtmrc.json        # Config file lives here
├── .env               # Shared .env file (optional)
├── myapp/             # Main repository
├── feature-auth/      # Worktree
├── feature-api/       # Worktree
└── archived/          # Archived worktrees (created by wtm archive)
    ├── old-feature/
    └── experiment/

If no .wtm-init script exists, wtm will display a reminder suggesting you create one.

Configuration

Configure wtm by creating a .wtmrc.json file in the worktrees parent directory (the folder containing all your worktrees) or in your home directory (~/.wtmrc.json).

{
  "editor": "code",
  "autoOpenOnNew": true
}

Options:

• editor - The editor command to use (e.g., "code", "cursor", "vim")
• autoOpenOnNew - Whether to automatically open worktrees in the editor after wtm new (default: true)

Config file locations (in order of precedence):

1. Worktrees parent directory (e.g., /projects/.wtmrc.json if your worktrees are at /projects/main, /projects/feature-x, etc.)
2. Home directory (~/.wtmrc.json)

If no editor is configured, wtm will show a warning and fall back to the EDITOR environment variable, then try cursor, code, and vim in order.

Working with Forks

When contributing to repositories you don't have write access to (e.g., open source projects), you need to work with a fork. wtm clone will fail if you try to clone a repo without write access, since wtm needs to push branches.

Recommended Workflow

# 1. Fork the repository on GitHub
gh repo fork owner/repo --clone=false

# 2. Clone YOUR fork (not the original) with wtm
wtm clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/repo.git
cd repo/main

# 3. Create feature branches as normal
wtm new feature/my-contribution

# 4. Make changes, commit, then push and create PR
git push
gh pr create  # Automatically targets the upstream repo

Keeping Your Fork Up to Date

Before creating a new feature branch, sync your fork with the upstream repo:

gh repo sync  # Syncs your fork's main branch with upstream

Then wtm new will fetch and branch from the updated origin/main.

Why This Works

When you fork a repo with gh repo fork, GitHub remembers the relationship between your fork and the original ("upstream") repository. gh repo sync uses this to update your fork, and gh pr create automatically targets the upstream repo for PRs.

Common Workflows

Starting a New Feature

# Create branch and worktree from main (opens in editor automatically)
wtm new feature/my-feature

# ... do your work ...

Switching to an Existing Branch

# Add worktree for existing branch
wtm add bugfix/123

# Open it
wtm open bugfix/123

Cleaning Up After Merge

# Preview what would be cleaned
wtm sweep --dry-run

# Actually clean up
wtm sweep

Quick Branch Review

# See all active worktrees
wtm list

# Open one for review
wtm open colleague/feature

Requirements

• Node.js 18+ - Required
• Git 2.5+ - Required (for worktree support)
• GitHub CLI (gh) - Optional, but recommended

GitHub CLI Requirements by Command

| Command | GitHub CLI Required? | Notes | |---------|---------------------|-------| | wtm clone | Optional | Used to check write access; works without it | | wtm new | No | Works without GitHub | | wtm add | No | Works without GitHub | | wtm list | Optional | Shows PR status if gh is available; works without it (shows "No PR" for all) | | wtm open | No | Works without GitHub | | wtm delete | No | Works without GitHub | | wtm sweep | Required | Must have gh installed and authenticated | | wtm setup | No | Works without GitHub |

Installing GitHub CLI

# macOS
brew install gh

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install gh

# Other platforms
# See https://cli.github.com/

After installing, authenticate with:

gh auth login

Running from Different Directories

wtm is designed to work from various locations:

| Location | Behavior | |----------|----------| | Inside a worktree (e.g., project/main) | Works normally | | Inside a feature worktree (e.g., project/feature-auth) | Works normally | | In the wtm parent directory (e.g., project/) | Automatically finds and uses a suitable worktree | | Outside any wtm project | Shows helpful error with instructions |

Note: wtm new requires being on the base branch (main/master). If you run it from the wtm parent directory, it will automatically use a worktree that has the base branch checked out.

Branch/Folder Mismatch Warning

If you check out a different branch in a worktree folder (e.g., checking out develop in the feature-auth folder), wtm will show a warning but continue to work. This helps catch accidental branch switches that might cause confusion.

License

MIT