Worktree Manager Skill

Complete worktree lifecycle management for parallel development environments with isolated ports, databases, and configuration.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the user wants to:

• Create a new worktree for parallel development
• Remove an existing worktree
• List all worktrees and their status
• Check worktree configuration or status
• Manage multiple parallel development environments

Do NOT use this skill when:

• User asks for a specific subagent or skill delegation
• User wants to manually use git commands directly
• The task is unrelated to worktree management

Operations Overview

This skill manages three core worktree operations:

Orchestrator Worktree Launch

For launching orchestrator sessions with proper isolation, use the launchorchestrator shell function:

# Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
launchorchestrator() {
    local initiative_name="${1:-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)}"
    local worktree_dir="../orchestrator-${initiative_name}"

    # Create worktree
    git worktree add "$worktree_dir" -b "orchestrator/${initiative_name}"

    # Launch Claude with orchestrator style
    cd "$worktree_dir"
    export CLAUDE_SESSION_DIR="$initiative_name"
    claude --output-style=orchestrator
}

Usage

# With custom initiative name
launchorchestrator epic-auth-system

# With auto-generated timestamp name
launchorchestrator

What This Does

1. Creates a git worktree for isolated development
2. Exports CLAUDE_SESSION_DIR for session isolation
3. Launches Claude with --output-style=orchestrator which:
   • Establishes orchestrator mindset (investigate yourself, delegate implementation)
   • Invokes the orchestrator-multiagent skill automatically
   • Provides the 4-phase pattern (Ideation → Planning → Execution → Validation)

Related Alias

For launching workers inside tmux sessions, use launchcc:

alias launchcc='claude --chrome --dangerously-skip-permissions'

Workers use launchcc (not claude) so they can edit files autonomously without manual approval.

Decision Tree: Which Command to Use

1. User wants to CREATE a worktree

Keywords: create, new, setup, make, build, start, initialize Action: Use /create_worktree <branch-name> [port-offset]

2. User wants to LIST worktrees

Keywords: list, show, display, what, which, status, check, view Action: Use /list_worktrees

3. User wants to REMOVE a worktree

Keywords: remove, delete, cleanup, destroy, stop, kill, terminate Action: Use /remove_worktree <branch-name>

Quick Start

For step-by-step operation instructions, see OPERATIONS.md.

For detailed examples and usage patterns, see EXAMPLES.md.

For troubleshooting and common issues, see TROUBLESHOOTING.md.

For technical details and quick reference, see REFERENCE.md.

Important Notes

Do NOT attempt to:

• Create worktrees manually with git commands
• Manually configure ports or environment files
• Use bash to remove directories directly
• Manage worktree processes manually

Always use the slash commands because they:

• Handle all configuration automatically
• Ensure port uniqueness
• Validate operations
• Provide comprehensive error handling
• Clean up properly on removal