cwt-0.1.1 is not a library.

cwt — Claude Worktree Manager

A terminal UI for running parallel Claude Code sessions in isolated git worktrees. Built in Rust, runs inside tmux.

The worktree is the first-class primitive — sessions attach to worktrees, not the other way around.

Worktree (unit of work)
  |-- Branch (auto-created or user-specified)
  |-- Session (Claude Code instance, 0 or 1 active)
  |-- Lifecycle: ephemeral | permanent
  |-- State: idle | running | waiting | done | shipping

Why cwt?

When using Claude Code on a real codebase, you often want to run multiple tasks in parallel — fix a bug, add a feature, write tests — without them stepping on each other. Git worktrees give you cheap, isolated copies of your repo. cwt manages the lifecycle of those worktrees and the Claude sessions inside them, all from a single TUI.

Spin up a worktree in seconds — auto-named, auto-branched, ready to go
Never lose work — every deletion saves a .patch snapshot first
Stay organized — ephemeral worktrees auto-clean; permanent ones stick around
See everything at once — two-panel TUI with live session status, diff stats, and transcript previews
Scale up — dispatch tasks in bulk, import GitHub issues, broadcast prompts across sessions

Requirements

git (with worktree support)
tmux (session management)
Claude Code CLI (claude)

Optional:

gh (GitHub CLI) — for PR creation and CI status
podman or docker — for per-worktree containers
ssh — for remote worktrees

Installation

Cargo (from crates.io)

cargo install cwt

Nix (recommended)

cwt provides a Nix flake with builds for Linux and macOS (x86_64 and aarch64). The Nix package automatically wraps the binary so git and tmux are always on PATH.

# Run without installing
nix run github:0dragosh/cwt

# Install to your profile
nix profile install github:0dragosh/cwt

Add to a flake-based NixOS or home-manager configuration:

# flake.nix
{
  inputs.cwt.url = "github:0dragosh/cwt";

  # Option 1: use the overlay
  nixpkgs.overlays = [ cwt.overlays.default ];
  # then add pkgs.cwt to your packages

  # Option 2: reference the package directly
  environment.systemPackages = [ cwt.packages.${system}.default ];
}

From source

git clone https://github.com/0dragosh/cwt.git
cd cwt
cargo build --release
# Binary at target/release/cwt — add it to your PATH

Make sure git and tmux are on your PATH.

Quick Start

# 1. Navigate to any git repo and start tmux
cd ~/my-project
tmux

# 2. Launch the TUI
cwt

# 3. Press 'n' to create a worktree (Enter for auto-generated name)
# 4. Press 's' to launch a Claude session in it
# 5. Press 'Tab' to switch between the worktree list and inspector panels

Or use CLI commands directly:

cwt create my-feature --base main     # Create a worktree
cwt list                               # List all worktrees
cwt delete my-feature                  # Delete (saves a snapshot first)

# Dispatch parallel tasks — one worktree + session per task
cwt dispatch "implement auth" "add tests" "update docs"

# Import GitHub issues as worktrees
cwt import --github --limit 5

# Multi-repo mode
cwt add-repo ~/code/project-a
cwt add-repo ~/code/project-b
cwt forest                             # Launch forest TUI
cwt status                             # CLI summary across repos

Features

Worktree Management

Create with auto-generated slug names or explicit names, from any base branch
Two-tier lifecycle: ephemeral (auto-GC'd) and permanent (never auto-deleted)
Promote ephemeral worktrees to permanent with a single keypress
Snapshots: full diff saved as .patch before every deletion
Restore previously deleted worktrees from their snapshots
Garbage collection: prune old ephemeral worktrees, skipping those with running sessions, uncommitted changes, or unpushed commits
Setup scripts: automatically run a script (e.g., npm install) after worktree creation

TUI Interface

Two-panel layout: worktree list (grouped by lifecycle) + inspector (details, diff stat, session info)
Fuzzy filter: / to search/filter worktrees by name
Help overlay: ? for a full keybinding reference
Mouse support: click to select, scroll to navigate
Status bar: notification badges for waiting/done sessions

tmux Session Management

Launch Claude Code in a tmux pane attached to any worktree
Resume previous sessions using Claude Code's --resume flag
Focus an existing session pane with a single keypress
Open shell in any worktree directory via a tmux pane
Sessions survive TUI exit — closing cwt does not kill running sessions

Handoff

Bidirectional patch transfer between your main working directory and any worktree
Direction picker: worktree-to-local or local-to-worktree
Diff preview before applying
Gitignore gap warnings for untracked files that won't transfer

Hooks (Real-Time Claude Code Integration)

Unix domain socket listener for sub-second event delivery
Worktrees created by Claude Code outside cwt appear in the list within one second
cwt hooks install patches .claude/settings.json and writes hook scripts to .cwt/hooks/

Forest Mode (Multi-Repo)

Register multiple repos with cwt add-repo <path>
Three-panel TUI: repos | worktrees | inspector
Aggregate session counts across all repos
cwt status for a one-line CLI summary

Agent Orchestration

Dispatch multiple tasks in parallel: cwt dispatch "task 1" "task 2" ...
Import issues from GitHub or Linear — creates worktrees and sessions per issue
Broadcast a prompt to all running sessions simultaneously

Ship Pipeline

Create PR from a worktree with auto-generated body from session transcript
CI status tracking: pass/fail/pending via gh run list
Ship it: one-keypress macro to push, create PR, and mark as shipping

Per-Worktree Containers

Podman or Docker support (prefers Podman for rootless compatibility)
Auto-detect Containerfile, Dockerfile, or .devcontainer/devcontainer.json
Port management: auto-assign non-conflicting ports per worktree

Remote Worktrees

SSH-based remote host management
Create and manage worktrees on remote machines
Cross-machine handoff via patches
Latency-aware polling with network status indicators

Keybindings

Worktree Actions

Key	Action	Context
`n`	New worktree	Global
`s`	Launch/resume Claude session	Worktree selected
`h`	Handoff changes (worktree <-> local)	Worktree selected
`p`	Promote to permanent	Ephemeral selected
`d`	Delete (with snapshot)	Worktree selected
`g`	Run garbage collection	Global
`r`	Restore from snapshot	Global
`Enter`	Open shell in worktree (tmux pane)	Worktree selected

Orchestration

Key	Action	Context
`t`	Dispatch tasks (multi-worktree)	Global
`b`	Broadcast prompt to all sessions	Global

Ship Pipeline

Key	Action	Context
`P`	Create PR (push + `gh pr create`)	Worktree selected
`S`	Ship it (push + PR + mark shipping)	Worktree selected
`c`	Open CI logs in browser	Worktree selected

Navigation

Key	Action	Context
`j` / `Down`	Move down / scroll inspector	Global
`k` / `Up`	Move up / scroll inspector	Global
`Tab`	Switch panel focus (forward)	Global
`Shift+Tab`	Switch panel focus (back)	Global
`R`	Switch to repo panel	Forest mode
`/`	Filter/search worktrees	Worktree list
`Esc`	Clear filter / close dialog	Global
`?`	Toggle help overlay	Global
`q`	Quit	Global
`Ctrl+C`	Force quit	Global

CLI Commands

Command	Description
`cwt`	Launch the TUI (default)
`cwt tui`	Launch the TUI (explicit)
`cwt list`	List all managed worktrees
`cwt create [name] --base <branch>`	Create a new worktree
`cwt create [name] --remote <host>`	Create on a remote host
`cwt delete <name>`	Delete a worktree (saves snapshot)
`cwt promote <name>`	Promote ephemeral to permanent
`cwt gc [--execute]`	Preview/run garbage collection
`cwt hooks install`	Install Claude Code hook scripts
`cwt hooks uninstall`	Remove hook scripts
`cwt hooks status`	Show hook and socket status
`cwt dispatch "task" ...`	Dispatch parallel tasks
`cwt import --github [--limit N]`	Import GitHub issues as worktrees
`cwt import --linear [--limit N]`	Import Linear issues as worktrees
`cwt add-repo <path>`	Register a repo for forest mode
`cwt forest`	Launch forest (multi-repo) TUI
`cwt status`	Summary of all repos and sessions

Configuration

cwt reads configuration from .cwt/config.toml (per-project) and ~/.config/cwt/config.toml (global). Forest mode uses ~/.config/cwt/forest.toml.

[worktree]
dir = ".claude/worktrees"        # worktree root (relative to repo root)
max_ephemeral = 15               # GC threshold
auto_name = true                 # generate slug names when no name given

[setup]
script = ""                      # path to setup script (relative to repo root)
timeout_secs = 120               # setup script timeout

[session]
auto_launch = true               # launch Claude on worktree create
claude_args = []                 # extra args for claude invocation

[handoff]
method = "patch"                 # "patch" or "cherry-pick"
warn_gitignore = true            # warn about .gitignore gaps

[ui]
theme = "default"                # color theme
show_diff_stat = true            # show file change counts in list

[container]
enabled = false                  # enable container support
runtime = "auto"                 # "podman", "docker", or "auto"
auto_ports = true                # auto-assign ports per worktree

# Remote hosts (one [[remote]] block per host)
[[remote]]
name = "build-server"
host = "build.example.com"
user = "dev"
worktree_dir = "/data/worktrees"

Architecture

src/
  main.rs          # CLI parsing, TUI bootstrap, startup checks
  app.rs           # App state, event loop, keybinding dispatch, rendering
  config/          # TOML config loading (project + global fallback)
  state/           # JSON state persistence (.cwt/state.json)
  git/             # Git worktree, branch, and diff operations
  worktree/        # Worktree CRUD, handoff, snapshots, setup, slug generation
  session/         # Claude session launcher, tracker, transcript parser
  tmux/            # tmux pane create/focus/kill/send-keys
  hooks/           # Unix socket listener, hook events, script installer
  forest/          # Multi-repo config, global index
  orchestration/   # Task dispatch, issue import, broadcast, dashboard
  ship/            # PR creation, CI status, ship pipeline
  env/             # Containers (Podman/Docker), devcontainer, ports, resources
  remote/          # SSH host management, remote sessions, cross-machine sync
  ui/              # ratatui widgets: layout, list, inspector, dialogs, theme

Troubleshooting

cwt says "tmux is required" cwt must run inside a tmux session. Start one with tmux before launching cwt.

Worktrees don't appear after Claude Code creates them Run cwt hooks install to set up the real-time hook integration. Without hooks, cwt discovers worktrees on periodic refresh (every few seconds).

gh commands fail (PR creation, CI status) Make sure the GitHub CLI is installed and authenticated (gh auth login).

Sessions show "idle" even though Claude is running cwt detects session status by parsing ~/.claude/projects/ transcripts. If the path hash doesn't match, status won't update. Restarting cwt re-scans the project directory.

GC skipped a worktree I expected it to prune GC never prunes worktrees with running sessions, uncommitted changes, or unpushed commits. Check cwt list for details.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, code conventions, and how to submit changes.

License

MIT

cwt 0.1.1

cwt — Claude Worktree Manager

Why cwt?

Requirements

Installation

Cargo (from crates.io)

Nix (recommended)

From source

Quick Start

Features

Worktree Management

TUI Interface

tmux Session Management

Handoff

Hooks (Real-Time Claude Code Integration)

Forest Mode (Multi-Repo)

Agent Orchestration

Ship Pipeline

Per-Worktree Containers

Remote Worktrees

Keybindings

Worktree Actions

Orchestration

Ship Pipeline

Navigation

CLI Commands

Configuration

Architecture

Troubleshooting

Contributing

License