git-worktree-manager (gw)

gw is a lean git worktree manager. Inspired by mr (myrepos), it uses cwd-based scope discovery — no global registry, no cross-repo flags — so commands do exactly what you expect relative to where you run them. Target resolution is strict and consistent: worktree name → branch name → path.

AI coding-assistant integration is built in: gw new creates a worktree and launches your AI tool of choice in it (use -T skip to skip the launch). Trailing positional args after the branch name are forwarded verbatim to the AI tool — gw new feat-x -- --model opus runs claude --model opus inside the new worktree. Future AI-assisted operations (e.g. --ai on merge / rebase) layer on top of the same worktree primitives.

Single static binary (~1.9MB), ~3ms startup. Supports macOS (ARM64/x86), Linux (ARM64/x86), and Windows (x86_64).

Successor to claude-worktree (Python), rewritten in Rust.

Migration note: the legacy cw binary alias and cw-cd shell function were removed in 1.0. Existing user data — .cwshare, .cwconfig.json, and ~/.config/claude-worktree/ — is still read transparently; only the binary/shell entry points changed. Update aliases or shell rc files that reference cw / cw-cd to use gw / gw-cd.

Install

cargo install git-worktree-manager

This installs the gw binary.

# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew tap DaveDev42/tap
brew install git-worktree-manager

# cargo-binstall (pre-built binary, no compile)
cargo binstall git-worktree-manager

# Direct download
# https://github.com/DaveDev42/git-worktree-manager/releases/latest

After installing, run gw upgrade at any time to update to the latest version (self-replacing binary). Pass --yes to skip the prompt — required in non-TTY environments (CI, nested processes). Homebrew users should use brew upgrade git-worktree-manager instead.

Quick Start

# Create a worktree (and launch your AI coding assistant in it)
gw new fix-auth

# Override the launcher for this invocation only (e.g., background WezTerm tab)
gw new fix-auth -T w-t-b

# Just the worktree, no AI tool (`-T noop` and `-T none` are aliases for `skip`)
gw new fix-auth -T skip

# Pass an initial prompt to the AI tool
gw new fix-auth --prompt "Fix the JWT token expiration bug in auth.rs"

# Read the prompt from stdin (Unix idiom — replaces the old --prompt-stdin flag)
some-cmd | gw new fix-auth --prompt -

# Forward extra args to the AI tool (everything after the branch name, or after `--`)
gw new fix-auth -- --model opus --resume

# Or read the prompt from a file (recommended for multi-line / quoted content)
gw new fix-auth --prompt-file /tmp/task.md

# List all worktrees (rich human-readable output)
gw list

# Resume an AI session in an existing worktree
gw resume fix-auth

# Launch AI tool in the current worktree (or a named one)
gw spawn
gw spawn fix-auth

# Remove a worktree (interactive multi-select, or by name)
gw rm fix-auth
gw rm -i

# Run a command in every worktree in scope
gw run -- cargo test

# Run a command in one specific worktree
gw exec fix-auth -- git status

Forwarding args to the AI tool

gw new, gw resume, and gw spawn accept all of gw's own options before the positional argument; everything after is forwarded verbatim to the underlying AI tool (claude / codex / gemini). Use -- to disambiguate when forwarded args start with a hyphen:

gw new feat-x --base main -- --model opus --append-system-prompt "be terse"
gw resume feat-x -- --model haiku
gw spawn  feat-x --prompt "summarize the diff" -- --print  # ERROR: --prompt + forward args

--prompt / --prompt-file and forward args are mutually exclusive — both end up setting the AI tool's prompt, so combining them would silently produce two prompts. Pick one.

gw resume always re-injects the AI tool's resume flag (--continue for claude, --resume for codex/gemini) even when forward args are present.

Environment variables

By default, gw snapshots <TOOL>_* env vars at invocation time (e.g. CLAUDE_* when the AI tool is claude) and re-injects them into the spawned process. This matters for launchers like wezterm/iterm/tmux/zellij that go through a daemon — without re-injection, the new tab inherits the daemon's env, not the env of the shell that ran gw. Pass --no-env-forward to opt out.

CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/work-claude gw new feat-x

For one-off non-<TOOL>_* vars, use the shell — FOO=bar gw new feat-x works for the foreground / detached launchers that inherit the parent env directly.

Commands

Scope and Target Resolution

Scope discovery

gw run, gw list, gw ls, and other scope-wide commands discover worktrees relative to the current working directory: it walks up first to find a .cwconfig.json-rooted scope, falling back to a downward walk from cwd if none is found. There is no global registry and no cross-repo flags.

Target resolution

When a command accepts a [target] argument, resolution is strict and ordered:

1. Exact worktree name
2. Branch name
3. Path

No ambiguity modes, no lookup-mode flags. The first match wins.

gw run and gw exec

gw run executes a command in every worktree in scope. gw exec runs in exactly one.

# Run tests in all worktrees, 4 in parallel
gw run -j 4 -- cargo test

# Only worktrees whose name matches a glob
gw run --only 'feat-*' -- npm install

# Skip the main worktree
gw run --no-main -- cargo clippy

# Keep going even if some worktrees fail
gw run --continue-on-error -- cargo build

# Run in one specific worktree
gw exec fix-auth -- git log --oneline -5

gw ls emits TSV columns (worktree_id, branch, status, age, repo_root, path) for scripting:

gw ls | awk -F'\t' '{print $2, $6}'   # branch + path

Terminal Launchers

The launcher used by gw new / gw spawn / gw resume is resolved from the highest-priority source available, in this order:

Use -T skip (or its aliases -T none / -T noop) to skip the AI tool launch entirely. The -T value accepts any canonical method name or alias (see table below); for tmux/zellij, append :<session-name> to name the session (e.g., -T tmux:mywork).

Claude Code Integration

Install the gw plugin into your Claude Code setup:

gw setup-claude    # One-time: installs the gw plugin to ~/.claude/plugins/gw/

The plugin bundles two skills:

• delegate — invoked via /gw <task description>. Spawns a new worktree and a Claude Code session inside it with the given task as the initial prompt. One-shot, fire-and-forget.
• manage — auto-applies when you (or Claude) run worktree management commands. Encodes a worktree-health rulebook and a catalog of recommended Claude Code hooks. When relevant, Claude will suggest installing a hook into your project's .claude/settings.json and edit it on your consent — gw itself never modifies any settings file.

Shell Integration

# Interactive setup (recommended)
gw shell-setup

# bash/zsh — add to your shell rc file
source <(gw _shell-function bash)

# fish
gw _shell-function fish | source

This enables:

• gw-cd <target> — navigate to a worktree directory (interactive selector if no args)
• Tab completion — worktree names and branch names from the current scope, plus options

Generate shell completions separately with gw --generate-completion <bash|zsh|fish|powershell|elvish>.

Configuration

Config is resolved in layers (later layers override earlier ones): built-in defaults → ~/.config/git-worktree-manager/config.json → repo-local .cwconfig.json. There are no gw config subcommands — edit the JSON files directly.

Also reads legacy ~/.config/claude-worktree/config.json from the Python predecessor.

Example .cwconfig.json:

{
  "default_base": "main",
  "ai_tool": { "command": "claude", "guard": true },
  "launch": { "method": "tmux" },
  "hooks": {
    "post_new": "npm install",
    "pre_rm": "cargo test --quiet"
  }
}

ai_tool.guard (default true) injects a PreToolUse(Bash) hook into Claude sessions that gw launches, so any Bash tool call from a stale worktree (cwd no longer exists) is blocked with an instruction to stop and ask the user. The injection only affects sessions started by gw new / gw spawn / gw resume; user/project ~/.claude/settings.json hooks are preserved and run alongside. Set false to disable.

Hooks

Two lifecycle hooks are available, configured in .cwconfig.json (or the global config):

Hooks run as sh -c <cmd> with the worktree directory as the working directory.

• pre_rm non-zero exit aborts the remove (the worktree stays). This is independent of --force — --force bypasses busy detection, not user hooks.
• post_new non-zero exit surfaces as a non-zero gw new exit code, but the worktree itself remains on disk because the hook runs after git worktree add. The AI tool launch is skipped.

There are no gw hook CRUD subcommands — set hooks in the config file directly.

Doctor

gw doctor runs 5 lean health checks: git version, worktree accessibility, uncommitted changes, busy worktrees, and Claude Code integration. Pass --session-start for hook-friendly non-interactive mode (single-line summary, always exits 0).

gw rm Exit Codes

Scripts should handle != 0 or specifically check for 2.

License

BSD-3-Clause