nwt — New WorkTree

Instant parallel git worktrees. One command, zero ceremony.

nwt   # creates a new worktree in .worktrees/<name>

What it does

nwt is a thin bash wrapper around git worktree that lets you spin up isolated working copies of the current repo in seconds — without leaving your editor's repo root or stashing changes.

• No-arg mode: auto-generates a wip-N branch, then prompts for a name to use for both the branch and the worktree directory.
• Named mode: nwt -c feature/login creates the branch and worktree immediately.
• Bulk mode: nwt -a or nwt "feature/.*" creates worktrees for many branches at once.
• Dry run: nwt -n previews without touching anything.

Worktrees land in .worktrees/<name> inside the repo by default (configurable via WORKTREE_DIR).

Install

./install-nwt.sh

This copies git-worktree-quick into place and adds an nwt() shell function to your ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bashrc).

Manual install:

echo 'nwt() { ~/Github/nwt/git-worktree-quick "$@"; }' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Verify:

nwt -n   # dry-run preview

Usage

Command	What it does
nwt	Prompt for a name, create matching branch + worktree
nwt -n	Dry-run preview
nwt -c feature/login	Create named branch + worktree immediately
nwt -c fix/bug -f develop	Branch from develop instead of HEAD
nwt -a	Worktrees for ALL remote branches
nwt "feature/.*"	Worktrees matching a regex
nwt -h	Full help

Typical flow

cd ~/project
nwt                       # → .worktrees/login-redesign
cd .worktrees/login-redesign
code .                    # work in isolation
git push -u origin login-redesign

Run nwt again from the main repo to start another parallel experiment — they don't interfere with each other.

Files

• git-worktree-quick — the script nwt runs
• install-nwt.sh — installer (adds shell function)
• git-worktree-parallel — advanced multi-worktree manager (more knobs, same idea)
• WORKTREE_QUICK_README.md — long-form docs and examples

Requirements

• git ≥ 2.5 (worktree support)
• bash or zsh