branchstash

Sync selected ignored files and directories into newly created Git worktrees.

Useful for local files that Git does not track, such as .env, .env.local, node_modules, or .turbo.

Install

pnpm add -D branchstash

Configure

Create the default config:

pnpm branchstash init

This adds a minimal package.json block:

{
  "branchstash": {
    "files": {
      ".env": "link",
      "node_modules": "copy"
    }
  }
}

Supported strategies:

• copy: create an independent copy, using CoW/reflink when possible
• link: create a symlink to the source worktree path

Install Hook

pnpm branchstash install

This installs a post-checkout Git hook that delegates to the installed CLI with an absolute path:

node "/absolute/path/to/branchstash/dist/cli.js" run "$@"

The hook is idempotent and preserves unrelated existing hook content where possible.

Run

Create a worktree normally:

git worktree add ../project-feature -b feature/my-feature

The hook runs automatically for newly created worktrees.

You can also run manually:

pnpm branchstash run

Manual runs are useful if the hook was not installed yet, config changed, or files were deleted.

Behavior

• Source is the main worktree from git worktree list --porcelain.
• Target is the current worktree.
• Only explicitly configured paths are synced.
• Missing source paths are skipped.
• Existing target paths are skipped.
• Targets are never overwritten by default.