NAME
git-worktree - Manage multiple working treesSYNOPSIS
git worktree add [-f] [--detach] [--checkout] [--lock [--reason <string>]] [-b <new-branch>] <path> [<commit-ish>] git worktree list [-v | --porcelain [-z]] git worktree lock [--reason <string>] <worktree> git worktree move <worktree> <new-path> git worktree prune [-n] [-v] [--expire <expire>] git worktree remove [-f] <worktree> git worktree repair [<path>...] git worktree unlock <worktree>
DESCRIPTION
Manage multiple working trees attached to the same repository.COMMANDS
add <path> [<commit-ish>]Create a worktree at <path> and
checkout <commit-ish> into it. The new worktree is linked to the
current repository, sharing everything except per-worktree files such as
HEAD, index, etc. As a convenience, <commit-ish>
may be a bare " -", which is synonymous with @{-1}.
If <commit-ish> is a branch name (call it <branch>)
and is not found, and neither -b nor -B nor --detach are
used, but there does exist a tracking branch in exactly one remote (call it
<remote>) with a matching name, treat as equivalent to:
If the branch exists in multiple remotes and one of them is named by the
checkout.defaultRemote configuration variable, we’ll use that
one for the purposes of disambiguation, even if the <branch>
isn’t unique across all remotes. Set it to e.g.
checkout.defaultRemote=origin to always checkout remote branches from
there if <branch> is ambiguous but exists on the origin
remote. See also checkout.defaultRemote in git-config(1).
If <commit-ish> is omitted and neither -b nor -B nor
--detach used, then, as a convenience, the new worktree is associated
with a branch (call it <branch>) named after $(basename
<path>). If <branch> doesn’t exist, a new branch
based on HEAD is automatically created as if -b <branch>
was given. If <branch> does exist, it will be checked out in the
new worktree, if it’s not checked out anywhere else, otherwise the
command will refuse to create the worktree (unless --force is
used).
list
$ git worktree add --track -b <branch> <path> <remote>/<branch>
List details of each worktree. The main
worktree is listed first, followed by each of the linked worktrees. The output
details include whether the worktree is bare, the revision currently checked
out, the branch currently checked out (or "detached HEAD" if none),
"locked" if the worktree is locked, "prunable" if the
worktree can be pruned by the prune command.
lock
If a worktree is on a portable device or
network share which is not always mounted, lock it to prevent its
administrative files from being pruned automatically. This also prevents it
from being moved or deleted. Optionally, specify a reason for the lock with
--reason.
move
Move a worktree to a new location. Note that
the main worktree or linked worktrees containing submodules cannot be moved
with this command. (The git worktree repair command, however, can
reestablish the connection with linked worktrees if you move the main worktree
manually.)
prune
Prune worktree information in
$GIT_DIR/worktrees.
remove
Remove a worktree. Only clean worktrees (no
untracked files and no modification in tracked files) can be removed. Unclean
worktrees or ones with submodules can be removed with --force. The main
worktree cannot be removed.
repair [<path>...]
Repair worktree administrative files, if
possible, if they have become corrupted or outdated due to external factors.
For instance, if the main worktree (or bare repository) is moved, linked
worktrees will be unable to locate it. Running repair in the main
worktree will reestablish the connection from linked worktrees back to the
main worktree.
Similarly, if the working tree for a linked worktree is moved without using
git worktree move, the main worktree (or bare repository) will be
unable to locate it. Running repair within the recently-moved worktree
will reestablish the connection. If multiple linked worktrees are moved,
running repair from any worktree with each tree’s new
<path> as an argument, will reestablish the connection to all the
specified paths.
If both the main worktree and linked worktrees have been moved manually, then
running repair in the main worktree and specifying the new
<path> of each linked worktree will reestablish all connections
in both directions.
unlock
Unlock a worktree, allowing it to be pruned,
moved or deleted.
OPTIONS
-f, --forceBy default, add refuses to create a new
worktree when <commit-ish> is a branch name and is already
checked out by another worktree, or if <path> is already assigned
to some worktree but is missing (for instance, if <path> was
deleted manually). This option overrides these safeguards. To add a missing
but locked worktree path, specify --force twice.
move refuses to move a locked worktree unless --force is specified
twice. If the destination is already assigned to some other worktree but is
missing (for instance, if <new-path> was deleted manually), then
--force allows the move to proceed; use --force twice if the
destination is locked.
remove refuses to remove an unclean worktree unless --force is
used. To remove a locked worktree, specify --force twice.
-b <new-branch>, -B <new-branch>
With add, create a new branch named
<new-branch> starting at <commit-ish>, and check out
<new-branch> into the new worktree. If <commit-ish>
is omitted, it defaults to HEAD. By default, -b refuses to
create a new branch if it already exists. -B overrides this safeguard,
resetting <new-branch> to <commit-ish>.
-d, --detach
With add, detach HEAD in the new
worktree. See "DETACHED HEAD" in git-checkout(1).
--[no-]checkout
By default, add checks out
<commit-ish>, however, --no-checkout can be used to
suppress checkout in order to make customizations, such as configuring
sparse-checkout. See "Sparse checkout" in
git-read-tree(1).
--[no-]guess-remote
With worktree add <path>, without
<commit-ish>, instead of creating a new branch from HEAD,
if there exists a tracking branch in exactly one remote matching the basename
of <path>, base the new branch on the remote-tracking branch, and
mark the remote-tracking branch as "upstream" from the new branch.
This can also be set up as the default behaviour by using the
worktree.guessRemote config option.
--[no-]track
When creating a new branch, if
<commit-ish> is a branch, mark it as "upstream" from
the new branch. This is the default if <commit-ish> is a
remote-tracking branch. See --track in git-branch(1) for
details.
--lock
Keep the worktree locked after creation. This
is the equivalent of git worktree lock after git worktree add,
but without a race condition.
-n, --dry-run
With prune, do not remove anything;
just report what it would remove.
--porcelain
With list, output in an easy-to-parse
format for scripts. This format will remain stable across Git versions and
regardless of user configuration. It is recommended to combine this with
-z. See below for details.
-z
Terminate each line with a NUL rather than a
newline when --porcelain is specified with list. This makes it
possible to parse the output when a worktree path contains a newline
character.
-q, --quiet
With add, suppress feedback
messages.
-v, --verbose
With prune, report all removals.
With list, output additional information about worktrees (see
below).
--expire <time>
With prune, only expire unused
worktrees older than <time>.
With list, annotate missing worktrees as prunable if they are older than
<time>.
--reason <string>
With lock or with add --lock, an
explanation why the worktree is locked.
<worktree>
Worktrees can be identified by path, either
relative or absolute.
If the last path components in the worktree’s path is unique among
worktrees, it can be used to identify a worktree. For example if you only have
two worktrees, at /abc/def/ghi and /abc/def/ggg, then ghi
or def/ghi is enough to point to the former worktree.
REFS
When using multiple worktrees, some refs are shared between all worktrees, but others are specific to an individual worktree. One example is HEAD, which is different for each worktree. This section is about the sharing rules and how to access refs of one worktree from another.CONFIGURATION FILE
By default, the repository config file is shared across all worktrees. If the config variables core.bare or core.worktree are present in the common config file and extensions.worktreeConfig is disabled, then they will be applied to the main worktree only.$ git config extensions.worktreeConfig true
•core.worktree should never be
shared.
•core.bare should not be shared
if the value is core.bare=true.
•core.sparseCheckout should not
be shared, unless you are sure you always use sparse checkout for all
worktrees.
DETAILS
Each linked worktree has a private sub-directory in the repository’s $GIT_DIR/worktrees directory. The private sub-directory’s name is usually the base name of the linked worktree’s path, possibly appended with a number to make it unique. For example, when $GIT_DIR=/path/main/.git the command git worktree add /path/other/test-next next creates the linked worktree in /path/other/test-next and also creates a $GIT_DIR/worktrees/test-next directory (or $GIT_DIR/worktrees/test-next1 if test-next is already taken).LIST OUTPUT FORMAT
The worktree list command has two output formats. The default format shows the details on a single line with columns. For example:$ git worktree list /path/to/bare-source (bare) /path/to/linked-worktree abcd1234 [master] /path/to/other-linked-worktree 1234abc (detached HEAD)
•locked, if the worktree is
locked.
•prunable, if the worktree can
be pruned via git worktree prune.
$ git worktree list /path/to/linked-worktree abcd1234 [master] /path/to/locked-worktree acbd5678 (brancha) locked /path/to/prunable-worktree 5678abc (detached HEAD) prunable
$ git worktree list --verbose /path/to/linked-worktree abcd1234 [master] /path/to/locked-worktree-no-reason abcd5678 (detached HEAD) locked /path/to/locked-worktree-with-reason 1234abcd (brancha) locked: worktree path is mounted on a portable device /path/to/prunable-worktree 5678abc1 (detached HEAD) prunable: gitdir file points to non-existent location
Porcelain Format
The porcelain format has a line per attribute. If -z is given then the lines are terminated with NUL rather than a newline. Attributes are listed with a label and value separated by a single space. Boolean attributes (like bare and detached) are listed as a label only, and are present only if the value is true. Some attributes (like locked) can be listed as a label only or with a value depending upon whether a reason is available. The first attribute of a worktree is always worktree, an empty line indicates the end of the record. For example:$ git worktree list --porcelain worktree /path/to/bare-source bare worktree /path/to/linked-worktree HEAD abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234 branch refs/heads/master worktree /path/to/other-linked-worktree HEAD 1234abc1234abc1234abc1234abc1234abc1234a detached worktree /path/to/linked-worktree-locked-no-reason HEAD 5678abc5678abc5678abc5678abc5678abc5678c branch refs/heads/locked-no-reason locked worktree /path/to/linked-worktree-locked-with-reason HEAD 3456def3456def3456def3456def3456def3456b branch refs/heads/locked-with-reason locked reason why is locked worktree /path/to/linked-worktree-prunable HEAD 1233def1234def1234def1234def1234def1234b detached prunable gitdir file points to non-existent location
$ git worktree list --porcelain ... locked "reason\nwhy is locked" ...
EXAMPLES
You are in the middle of a refactoring session and your boss comes in and demands that you fix something immediately. You might typically use git-stash(1) to store your changes away temporarily, however, your working tree is in such a state of disarray (with new, moved, and removed files, and other bits and pieces strewn around) that you don’t want to risk disturbing any of it. Instead, you create a temporary linked worktree to make the emergency fix, remove it when done, and then resume your earlier refactoring session.$ git worktree add -b emergency-fix ../temp master $ pushd ../temp # ... hack hack hack ... $ git commit -a -m 'emergency fix for boss' $ popd $ git worktree remove ../temp
BUGS
Multiple checkout in general is still experimental, and the support for submodules is incomplete. It is NOT recommended to make multiple checkouts of a superproject.GIT
Part of the git(1) suite02/28/2023 | Git 2.39.2 |