Claude Bash Utilities

Git worktree management utilities for efficient multi-branch workflows.

Setup

Add this line to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

source ~/.claude/claude-bash-utils.sh

Then restart your shell or run:

source ~/.zshrc  # or source ~/.bashrc

Functions

wt <branch-name>

Creates a new git worktree in a sibling trees/<repo-name>/<branch-name> directory.

Behavior:

• If the branch exists: checks it out in the new worktree
• If the branch doesn't exist: creates a new branch and worktree
• Copies files/directories listed in .worktreeinclude (if present)
• Automatically changes into the new worktree directory

Example:

$ wt feature-auth
Creating worktree for branch: feature-auth
Main directory: /Users/you/code/project
Worktree directory: /Users/you/code/trees/project/feature-auth
...
# You're now in the worktree directory

wtd [branch-name]

Deletes a worktree, its associated branch, and directory.

Modes:

1. With branch name: Deletes the specified worktree
2. Without arguments (inside worktree): Deletes the current worktree and returns you to main directory
3. Without arguments (outside worktree): Shows usage instructions

Important: Force deletes the branch (-D) and removes the worktree regardless of uncommitted changes.

Examples:

# Delete a specific worktree by branch name
$ wtd feature-auth
Deleting worktree for branch: feature-auth
...
Worktree deleted successfully!

# Delete current worktree (when inside a worktree)
$ cd trees/feature-auth
$ wtd
Deleting current worktree
Branch: feature-auth
...
Worktree deleted successfully!
Returned to main directory: /Users/you/project

Optional: .worktreeinclude File

Create a .worktreeinclude file in your repository root to automatically copy files/directories into new worktrees. This is useful for:

• node_modules (avoid reinstalling dependencies)
• .env files (share local configuration)
• Build artifacts or caches

Example .worktreeinclude:

node_modules
.env
.env.local
dist
.cache

When you run wt new-branch, these files/directories will be copied from the main worktree to the new worktree.

Workflow Example

# In your main repository
$ git status
On branch main

# Create a worktree for a new feature
$ wt feature-login
# Now in ../trees/project/feature-login with feature-login branch

# Do your work
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Add login feature"

# Go back to main directory to create another worktree
$ cd /path/to/project  # or use: cd ../../project
$ wt bugfix-header

# Work on the bugfix
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "Fix header bug"

# Delete the feature worktree when done
$ wtd feature-login
# Or navigate into it and run: wtd

# Clean up the bugfix worktree
$ cd ../trees/project/bugfix-header
$ wtd
# Returns you to main directory

Why Use Worktrees?

Git worktrees allow you to have multiple branches checked out simultaneously in different directories, enabling:

• Quick context switching without stashing or committing incomplete work
• Parallel development on multiple features/bugs
• Easy testing by running different branches side-by-side
• Clean separation of different workstreams

Instead of:

git stash
git checkout other-branch
# do work
git checkout original-branch
git stash pop

You can simply:

wt other-branch
# do work
wtd