Git Worktree Manager

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Fixing several unrelated issues in separate branches at the same time
• Giving a Copilot session its own isolated worktree and chat history
• Running builds and tests for parallel work items independently
• Opening an existing branch in its own worktree

Example prompts

• “Create a worktree for the feature/login branch so I can keep working on main.”
• “Start a new worktree for issue work on the null reference crash.”
• “Remove the worktree for the finished branch.”

Requirements

• Git
• PowerShell 5.1 or PowerShell Core
• VS Code, for opening the worktree automatically

Workflow steps

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

1. 1Multiple self-contained issues exist — Different problems should NOT be fixed together in a single branch. Each issue deserves its own…
2. 2Human-Copilot iteration is needed — Step-by-step collaboration requires an isolated environment where
3. 3Parallel work avoids branch-switching chaos — Instead of constantly switching branches (which mixes up build artifacts, test results, and…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 0ff7257. 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

  Ships 4 files in scripts/ (PowerShell), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • git

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

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, 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 Manager loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 115 tokens; SKILL.md has 669 words of instructions outside code blocks.

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

~115

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

~2k

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

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from microsoft/WindowsAppSDK at commit 0ff7257, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 669 words, ~2,048 tokens.

name

worktree-manager

description

Create and manage Git worktrees for parallel development workflows. Use when multiple self-contained issues should NOT be fixed in a single branch, when human-Copilot iteration requires isolated environments with separate chat history and commits, or when parallel work items need independent build/test results. Triggers on requests involving branch isolation, work item separation, parallel development, or avoiding messy branch switching.

./scripts/New-WorktreeFromBranch.ps1 -Branch <branch-name> [-NoFetch]

# From a local or remote branch
./scripts/New-WorktreeFromBranch.ps1 -Branch feature/login

# From origin remote (normalizes automatically)
./scripts/New-WorktreeFromBranch.ps1 -Branch origin/bugfix/nullref

./scripts/New-WorktreeFromIssue.ps1 -Number <workitem-number> [-Title <description>] [-Base <ref>]

# Work item branch with title
./scripts/New-WorktreeFromIssue.ps1 -Number 1234 -Title "Crash on launch"
# Creates: workitem/1234-crash-on-launch

# Work item branch from different base
./scripts/New-WorktreeFromIssue.ps1 -Number 42 -Base origin/develop

# Simple work item branch (no title slug)
./scripts/New-WorktreeFromIssue.ps1 -Number 999
# Creates: workitem/999

./scripts/Delete-Worktree.ps1 -Pattern <pattern> [-Force] [-KeepBranch]

# Delete worktree by branch pattern
./scripts/Delete-Worktree.ps1 -Pattern feature/perf-tweak

# Force delete with uncommitted changes
./scripts/Delete-Worktree.ps1 -Pattern workitem/1234 -Force

# Delete worktree but keep the branch
./scripts/Delete-Worktree.ps1 -Pattern feature/ui -KeepBranch

git worktree list --porcelain

# List all worktrees
git worktree list --porcelain

# List local branches with tracking info
git branch -vv

# List remotes
git remote -v

# Prune stale worktree references
git worktree prune

# Force remove a worktree with uncommitted changes
git worktree remove --force <path>

© microsoft, 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 4 other files (scripts) in .github/skills/worktree-manager of microsoft/WindowsAppSDK.

• SKILL.md
• scripts/Delete-Worktree.ps1
• scripts/New-WorktreeFromBranch.ps1
• scripts/New-WorktreeFromIssue.ps1
• scripts/WorktreeLib.ps1

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 0ff7257