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GIT-WORKTREE(1) Git Manual GIT-WORKTREE(1)
NAME
git-worktree - Manage multiple working trees
SYNOPSIS
git worktree add [-f] [--detach] [--checkout] [--lock [--reason <string>]] [-b <new-branch>] <path> [<commit-ish>]
git worktree list [--porcelain]
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.
A git repository can support multiple working trees, allowing you to check out more than
one branch at a time. With git worktree add a new working tree is associated with the
repository. This new working tree is called a "linked working tree" as opposed to the
"main working tree" prepared by git-init(1) or git-clone(1). A repository has one main
working tree (if it's not a bare repository) and zero or more linked working trees. When
you are done with a linked working tree, remove it with git worktree remove.
In its simplest form, git worktree add <path> automatically creates a new branch whose
name is the final component of <path>, which is convenient if you plan to work on a new
topic. For instance, git worktree add ../hotfix creates new branch hotfix and checks it
out at path ../hotfix. To instead work on an existing branch in a new working tree, use
git worktree add <path> <branch>. On the other hand, if you just plan to make some
experimental changes or do testing without disturbing existing development, it is often
convenient to create a throwaway working tree not associated with any branch. For
instance, git worktree add -d <path> creates a new working tree with a detached HEAD at
the same commit as the current branch.
If a working tree is deleted without using git worktree remove, then its associated
administrative files, which reside in the repository (see "DETAILS" below), will
eventually be removed automatically (see gc.worktreePruneExpire in git-config(1)), or you
can run git worktree prune in the main or any linked working tree to clean up any stale
administrative files.
If a linked working tree is stored on a portable device or network share which is not
always mounted, you can prevent its administrative files from being pruned by issuing the
git worktree lock command, optionally specifying --reason to explain why the working tree
is locked.
COMMANDS
add <path> [<commit-ish>]
Create <path> and checkout <commit-ish> into it. The new working directory is linked
to the current repository, sharing everything except working directory specific 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:
$ git worktree add --track -b <branch> <path> <remote>/<branch>
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 working tree 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 working tree, if it's not checked out anywhere else, otherwise
the command will refuse to create the working tree (unless --force is used).
list
List details of each working tree. The main working tree is listed first, followed by
each of the linked working trees. The output details include whether the working tree
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 prune command.
lock
If a working tree 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 working tree to a new location. Note that the main working tree or linked
working trees containing submodules cannot be moved with this command. (The git
worktree repair command, however, can reestablish the connection with linked working
trees if you move the main working tree manually.)
prune
Prune working tree information in $GIT_DIR/worktrees.
remove
Remove a working tree. Only clean working trees (no untracked files and no
modification in tracked files) can be removed. Unclean working trees or ones with
submodules can be removed with --force. The main working tree cannot be removed.
repair [<path>...]
Repair working tree administrative files, if possible, if they have become corrupted
or outdated due to external factors.
For instance, if the main working tree (or bare repository) is moved, linked working
trees will be unable to locate it. Running repair in the main working tree will
reestablish the connection from linked working trees back to the main working tree.
Similarly, if a linked working tree is moved without using git worktree move, the main
working tree (or bare repository) will be unable to locate it. Running repair within
the recently-moved working tree will reestablish the connection. If multiple linked
working trees are moved, running repair from any working tree with each tree's new
<path> as an argument, will reestablish the connection to all the specified paths.
If both the main working tree and linked working trees have been moved manually, then
running repair in the main working tree and specifying the new <path> of each linked
working tree will reestablish all connections in both directions.
unlock
Unlock a working tree, allowing it to be pruned, moved or deleted.
OPTIONS
-f, --force
By default, add refuses to create a new working tree when <commit-ish> is a branch
name and is already checked out by another working tree, or if <path> is already
assigned to some working tree but is missing (for instance, if <path> was deleted
manually). This option overrides these safeguards. To add a missing but locked working
tree path, specify --force twice.
move refuses to move a locked working tree unless --force is specified twice. If the
destination is already assigned to some other working tree 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 working tree unless --force is used. To remove a
locked working tree, 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 working tree. 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 working tree. 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 working tree 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. See below for
details.
-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 working trees older than <time>.
With list, annotate missing working trees as prunable if they are older than <time>.
--reason <string>
With lock or with add --lock, an explanation why the working tree is locked.
<worktree>
Working trees can be identified by path, either relative or absolute.
If the last path components in the working tree's path is unique among working trees,
it can be used to identify a working tree. For example if you only have two working
trees, at /abc/def/ghi and /abc/def/ggg, then ghi or def/ghi is enough to point to the
former working tree.
REFS
In multiple working trees, some refs may be shared between all working trees and some refs
are local. One example is HEAD which is different for each working tree. This section is
about the sharing rules and how to access refs of one working tree from another.
In general, all pseudo refs are per working tree and all refs starting with refs/ are
shared. Pseudo refs are ones like HEAD which are directly under $GIT_DIR instead of inside
$GIT_DIR/refs. There are exceptions, however: refs inside refs/bisect and refs/worktree
are not shared.
Refs that are per working tree can still be accessed from another working tree via two
special paths, main-worktree and worktrees. The former gives access to per-working tree
refs of the main working tree, while the latter to all linked working trees.
For example, main-worktree/HEAD or main-worktree/refs/bisect/good resolve to the same
value as the main working tree's HEAD and refs/bisect/good respectively. Similarly,
worktrees/foo/HEAD or worktrees/bar/refs/bisect/bad are the same as
$GIT_COMMON_DIR/worktrees/foo/HEAD and $GIT_COMMON_DIR/worktrees/bar/refs/bisect/bad.
To access refs, it's best not to look inside $GIT_DIR directly. Instead use commands such
as git-rev-parse(1) or git-update-ref(1) which will handle refs correctly.
CONFIGURATION FILE
By default, the repository config file is shared across all working trees. If the config
variables core.bare or core.worktree are already present in the config file, they will be
applied to the main working trees only.
In order to have configuration specific to working trees, you can turn on the
worktreeConfig extension, e.g.:
$ git config extensions.worktreeConfig true
In this mode, specific configuration stays in the path pointed by git rev-parse --git-path
config.worktree. You can add or update configuration in this file with git config
--worktree. Older Git versions will refuse to access repositories with this extension.
Note that in this file, the exception for core.bare and core.worktree is gone. If they
exist in $GIT_DIR/config, you must move them to the config.worktree of the main working
tree. You may also take this opportunity to review and move other configuration that you
do not want to share to all working trees:
o core.worktree and core.bare should never be shared
o core.sparseCheckout is recommended per working tree, unless you are sure you always
use sparse checkout for all working trees.
DETAILS
Each linked working tree 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 working tree'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 working tree 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).
Within a linked working tree, $GIT_DIR is set to point to this private directory (e.g.
/path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next in the example) and $GIT_COMMON_DIR is set to point
back to the main working tree's $GIT_DIR (e.g. /path/main/.git). These settings are made
in a .git file located at the top directory of the linked working tree.
Path resolution via git rev-parse --git-path uses either $GIT_DIR or $GIT_COMMON_DIR
depending on the path. For example, in the linked working tree git rev-parse --git-path
HEAD returns /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/HEAD (not /path/other/test-next/.git/HEAD
or /path/main/.git/HEAD) while git rev-parse --git-path refs/heads/master uses
$GIT_COMMON_DIR and returns /path/main/.git/refs/heads/master, since refs are shared
across all working trees, except refs/bisect and refs/worktree.
See gitrepository-layout(5) for more information. The rule of thumb is do not make any
assumption about whether a path belongs to $GIT_DIR or $GIT_COMMON_DIR when you need to
directly access something inside $GIT_DIR. Use git rev-parse --git-path to get the final
path.
If you manually move a linked working tree, you need to update the gitdir file in the
entry's directory. For example, if a linked working tree is moved to /newpath/test-next
and its .git file points to /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next, then update
/path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/gitdir to reference /newpath/test-next instead. Better
yet, run git worktree repair to reestablish the connection automatically.
To prevent a $GIT_DIR/worktrees entry from being pruned (which can be useful in some
situations, such as when the entry's working tree is stored on a portable device), use the
git worktree lock command, which adds a file named locked to the entry's directory. The
file contains the reason in plain text. For example, if a linked working tree's .git file
points to /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next then a file named
/path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/locked will prevent the test-next entry from being
pruned. See gitrepository-layout(5) for details.
When extensions.worktreeConfig is enabled, the config file
.git/worktrees/<id>/config.worktree is read after .git/config is.
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)
The command also shows annotations for each working tree, according to its state. These
annotations are:
o locked, if the working tree is locked.
o prunable, if the working tree 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
For these annotations, a reason might also be available and this can be seen using the
verbose mode. The annotation is then moved to the next line indented followed by the
additional information.
$ 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: working tree path is mounted on a portable device
/path/to/prunable-worktree 5678abc1 (detached HEAD)
prunable: gitdir file points to non-existent location
Note that the annotation is moved to the next line if the additional information is
available, otherwise it stays on the same line as the working tree itself.
Porcelain Format
The porcelain format has a line per attribute. 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 working tree 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
If the lock reason contains "unusual" characters such as newline, they are escaped and the
entire reason is quoted as explained for the configuration variable core.quotePath (see
git-config(1)). For Example:
$ 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 working tree 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) suite
Git 2.34.1 07/09/2025 GIT-WORKTREE(1)
Generated by $Id: phpMan.php,v 4.55 2007/09/05 04:42:51 chedong Exp $ Author: Che Dong
On Apache
Under GNU General Public License
2025-10-23 12:54 @216.73.216.110 CrawledBy Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)