wtm

README

Worktree Manager (wtm)

Minimal git worktree management tool that does one thing well.

Why wtm?

Managing multiple git worktrees manually is tedious. Native git worktree commands are verbose and require managing paths and branch names separately. wtm simplifies this by:

• Providing simple, memorable commands for common worktree operations
• Separating worktree names from branch names for flexible naming strategies
• Offering multiple output formats (table/plain/json) for shell scripting
• Remaining stateless - no configuration files or metadata to manage

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install choplin/tap/wtm

Go install

go install github.com/choplin/wtm@latest

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/choplin/wtm.git
cd wtm
go build

Usage

Create a worktree

# Simple: worktree name = branch name
wtm add feature-auth

# Different worktree and branch names
wtm add api -b feature/api-refactoring --base main

# Checkout existing branch with simple worktree name
wtm add review-pr-456 -B origin/feature/complex-branch-name

Options:

• -b, --branch <name>: Create new branch with specified name
• -B, --checkout <name>: Use existing branch
• --base <branch>: Base branch for new branch (default: current HEAD)

List worktrees

# Table format (default)
wtm list

# Plain format (for scripting)
wtm list --format plain

# JSON format
wtm list --format json

Show worktree details

# Pretty format (default)
wtm show api

# JSON format
wtm show api --format json

# Get specific field
wtm show api --field path
wtm show api -f branch

Available fields: name, branch, path, head, created

Remove a worktree

# With confirmation prompt
wtm remove feature-auth

# Skip confirmation
wtm remove feature-auth --force

Version information

wtm version

MCP Server (for AI integration)

Start an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server to enable AI tools like Claude Code to manage worktrees:

wtm mcp

The MCP server exposes four tools over stdio:

• wtm_add: Create a new worktree
• wtm_list: List all worktrees
• wtm_show: Show worktree details
• wtm_remove: Remove a worktree

Example MCP configuration for Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wtm": {
      "command": "/path/to/wtm",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Shell Integration

Quick navigation

Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

# Navigate to worktree by name
wtm-cd() {
    local path=$(wtm show "$1" --field path 2>/dev/null)
    if [ -n "$path" ]; then
        cd "$path"
    else
        echo "Worktree not found: $1" >&2
        return 1
    fi
}
alias wcd=wtm-cd

# Usage
wcd api

fzf integration

# Interactive worktree selector
wtm-select() {
    local selection=$(wtm list --format plain | fzf --preview 'wtm show {1} --format pretty' | awk '{print $1}')
    if [ -n "$selection" ]; then
        wtm-cd "$selection"
    fi
}
alias wsel=wtm-select

# Usage
wsel  # Opens fzf selector

Get branch name for scripting

# Compare with main branch
git diff main..$(wtm show api -f branch)

# Check status of all worktrees
for name in $(wtm list --format plain | awk '{print $1}'); do
    echo "$name: $(git -C $(wtm show $name -f path) status --short)"
done

Examples

Multiple approaches for the same issue

# Try different solutions in parallel
wtm add fix-123-approach1 -b bugfix/issue-123
wtm add fix-123-approach2 -b bugfix/issue-123-alternative

# Compare and choose the best one
git diff $(wtm show fix-123-approach1 -f branch)..$(wtm show fix-123-approach2 -f branch)

PR review workflow

# Create worktree for PR review
wtm add review-pr-456 -B origin/feature/complex-branch-name

# Navigate and review
wcd review-pr-456
git log -p

# Clean up after review
wtm remove review-pr-456 -f

Design Philosophy

Do One Thing Well

wtm focuses exclusively on git worktree management. No session management, no task execution, no unnecessary complexity.

Stateless Operation

Git is the single source of truth. No metadata files, no .wtm directory. All information is derived directly from git commands.

Worktree Names vs Branch Names

Unlike other tools, wtm separates worktree names from branch names. This allows:

• Simple, memorable worktree names
• Complex branch names (e.g., feature/long/nested/name)
• Multiple worktrees for the same branch

Non-Goals

wtm intentionally does NOT include:

• Session/task management
• Configuration files
• Metadata storage
• Hooks or plugins
• TUI interface

Comparison with Alternatives

vs. git worktree (native)

git worktree:

git worktree add ../project-feature-x -b feature-x origin/main
cd ../project-feature-x

wtm:

wtm add feature-x --base origin/main
wcd feature-x

vs. amux

wtm is inspired by lessons learned from amux:

• Simpler: 4 commands instead of 20+
• Stateless: No metadata files
• Focused: No session/task management
• Lighter: < 500 LOC vs. thousands

Development

Run tests

go test -v

Build

go build -o wtm

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details