Git Worktree

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Setting up a task checkout
• Working in a shared repo
• Managing existing worktrees

Example prompts

• “/git-worktree”

Requirements

• Docker

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Env/secret files — copy .env, .env.local, and similar files from the primary checkout. Never symlink them: edits would change the originals.
2. 2Dependencies — install locally (npm ci, pnpm install, uv sync, bundle install). Never symlink node_modules from the primary checkout…
3. 3Databases and services — choose shared or per-worktree state. For shared services, pin their identity to avoid duplicate instances and…
4. 4Ports — run dev/test servers and debuggers one at a time, or configure separate ports per worktree.
5. 5Generated files and caches — rebuild gitignored output in the worktree (npm run build, codegen).
6. 6Git hooks — core.hooksPath and .git/config are shared; verify hook scripts don't assume the primary checkout's path.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ea32e5f. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • git
  • npm
  • pnpm
  • uv
  • bundle

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, npm, pnpm and uv, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Git Worktree loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 40 tokens; SKILL.md has 455 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~40

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:50

  1. **Env/secret files** — copy `.env`, `.env.local`, and similar files from the primary checkout. Never symlink them: ed

• NoteMentions a .env fileSKILL.md:65

  "cp $ROOT_WORKTREE_PATH/.env.local .env.local"

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from davidondrej/skills at commit ea32e5f, republished under its MIT licence (© davidondrej). 455 words, ~1,098 tokens.

name

git-worktree

description

Use Git worktrees to isolate parallel coding tasks. Use when setting up a task checkout, working in a shared repo, or managing existing worktrees.

disable-model-invocation

true

triggers

user, model

[ "$(git rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-dir)" = "$(git rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-common-dir)" ] \
  && echo "primary checkout" || echo "worktree"

git worktree add ../myrepo-task-x          # new worktree + branch "myrepo-task-x"
git worktree add ../fix-y -b fix-y main    # explicit branch off main
git worktree list                          # see all worktrees
git worktree remove ../myrepo-task-x       # delete when merged/abandoned
git worktree prune                         # clean up stale registrations

{
  "setup-worktree": [
    "npm ci",
    "cp $ROOT_WORKTREE_PATH/.env.local .env.local"
  ]
}

dirname "$(git rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-common-dir)"

# from the primary checkout, after reviewing the worktree's diff:
git merge --no-ff task-branch     # or: git merge --squash task-branch
git worktree remove ../myrepo-task-x
git branch -d task-branch

© davidondrej, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/agent-orchestration/git-worktree of davidondrej/skills.

• SKILL.md
• agents/openai.yaml

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ea32e5f