cw

Numbered-workspace dev CLI. Git worktrees, local services, rebase/restack, teardown, and an actionable-work dashboard — all in one binary + a ~30-line shell wrapper.

Works on any repo that uses the {stem}_{N} sibling-directory convention. Configuration is largely autodetected; a .devcli.toml at repo root is optional and only needed for things the tool can't safely infer (per-service pre_start hooks, database clone config, repo-specific hooks, resolver choice, etc.).

Install

cargo install --path .
# in your shell init (zsh/bash):
eval "$(cw shell-init zsh)"          # or: eval "$(cw shell-init bash)"
# fish (different syntax — eval can't read a multi-line function):
cw shell-init fish | source

The wrapper installs exactly one shell function (cw). cd, terminal title, and subprocess launches go through a CW_WRAPPER=1 stdout contract so the wrapper can change the caller's shell state. No eval — argv records execute directly via shell arrays.

Subcommands

cw <description>                         # create workspace, cd in, launch editor with prompt
cw <target>                              # cd into workspace; target = N | PR# | branch
cw -s <description>                      # stack on current branch (Graphite parent)
cw --base <branch> <description>         # branch a new workspace off an arbitrary base
cw --tmp <description>                   # ephemeral workspace in /tmp/{stem}_N
cw <target> --continue                   # cd + claude --continue
cw <target> --pr <N>                     # cd + claude --from-pr N

cw open [target]                         # start services + open browser
cw restack [target] [--resolver X] [--no-hook]    # rebase with optional hook + resolver
cw resolve <files...> [--resolver X]     # run the resolver on conflicted files (for hooks)
cw serve <start|stop|restart|status|logs|tail> [target] [--tail --open --no-ai -n N --service S]
cw remove <target...> [--force --dry-run --no-close-tab]
cw cleanup [--dry-run --force]
cw triage [--verbose]                    # actionable PRs + tickets

cw workspace list
cw workspace resolve <target> [--json]
cw workspace next-number                 # print lowest-available workspace number

cw init                                  # scaffold minimal .devcli.toml
cw shell-init <zsh|bash|fish>
cw completions <zsh|bash|fish>
cw config <show|validate>
cw doctor

Any <target> slot accepts a workspace number, a PR number, or a branch name interchangeably. Numeric tokens prefer workspace-number resolution and fall through to PR lookup when no matching worktree exists.

What's autodetected

• stem: the basename of the main worktree, with a trailing _N stripped.
• base branch: develop → main → master, whichever ref exists.
• services: manage.py → Django backend (port 8000+N); package.json with a dev/start script → JS frontend (port 3000+N).
• dep installers (for background setup): uv sync when uv.lock + pyproject.toml are present; bun install with a bun.lock; else npm install.
• env file copy: .env + .env.local at the repo root and in every top-level subdir, unless [env] copy = [...] is set explicitly.
• integrations: gt → Graphite on; gh → GitHub on; claude/codex → available as resolvers; direnv → .envrc allowed on new worktrees.

What needs config

A .devcli.toml is only needed when you want to:

• Cap workspace count (also the number-vs-PR threshold; default 99): [workspace] max_count
• Pre-start hooks per service ([[services]] with pre_start / start_env)
• Clone per-workspace databases: [databases] pattern, suffixes, clone, and a post_clone command (e.g. migrate the clone up to the branch's schema)
• Hand off restack customization to a repo-specific hook: [restack] hook = "scripts/cw-restack-hook.sh" (or drop one at that path and it's picked up automatically).
• Protect long-lived branches from the cleanup sweep + tune its inactivity window: [cleanup] protected_branches, stale_hours (the base branch is always protected; no branch names are hard-coded)
• Triage tuning: [triage] jira_statuses, jira_project (branch-independent ticket dashboard), jira_site (clickable Jira keys)
• Merge Claude Code memories across worktrees: [claude] memory_merge
• Post-create / pre-remove hooks: [hooks]
• Explicit env strip/inject rules: [env]

Run cw init for an interactive scaffolder, or cw config show to see the effective autodetected config before writing anything.

Wrapper record contract

The binary emits TAB-separated records to stdout when CW_WRAPPER=1:

CW<TAB>CD<TAB>/abs/path
CW<TAB>TITLE<TAB>#3
CW<TAB>MSG<TAB>Workspace 3 ready
CW<TAB>EXEC<TAB>claude<TAB>--from-pr<TAB>7543
CW<TAB>EXEC_BG<TAB>/path/script<TAB>--flag
CW<TAB>CLOSE_TAB<TAB>1

\, \t, \n, \r in fields are backslash-escaped by the binary and unescaped in the wrapper via printf %b. Running CW_WRAPPER=1 cw <args> without the wrapper prints exactly what would happen — inspectable.

Restack

cw restack runs a generic loop — gt r or git rebase {base} — and on each conflict:

1. Invokes ./scripts/cw-restack-hook.sh (or the configured path) with the unresolved paths as argv. Hooks do arbitrary work: makemigrations --merge, pytest --snapshot-update, bun run lint --fix, staging anything they resolved.
2. For whatever the hook left unresolved, calls the chosen resolver:
   • claude: claude -p ... --permission-mode acceptEdits
   • codex: codex exec ...
   • manual: print file list, exit 0 — user resolves and re-runs.
3. git add -u && (gt continue | git rebase --continue).
4. Loops.

Resume is free: kill mid-resolver and re-run cw restack; state is entirely in git.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.