NAME

       git-worktree - Manage multiple working trees

SYNOPSIS

       git worktree add [-f] [--detach] [--checkout] [--lock] [-b <new-branch>] <path> [<commit-ish>]
       git worktree list [--porcelain]
       git worktree lock [--reason <string>] <worktree>
       git worktree move <worktree> <new-path>
       git worktree prune [-n] [-v] [--expire <expire>]
       git worktree remove [--force] <worktree>
       git worktree unlock <worktree>

DESCRIPTION

       Manage multiple working trees attached to the same repository.

       A git repository can support multiple working trees, allowing you to check out more than one branch at a
       time. With git worktree add a new working tree is associated with the repository. This new working tree
       is called a "linked working tree" as opposed to the "main working tree" prepared by "git init" or "git
       clone". A repository has one main working tree (if it’s not a bare repository) and zero or more linked
       working trees.

       When you are done with a linked working tree you can simply delete it. The working tree’s administrative
       files in the repository (see "DETAILS" below) will eventually be removed automatically (see
       gc.worktreePruneExpire in git-config(1)), or you can run git worktree prune in the main or any linked
       working tree to clean up any stale administrative files.

       If a linked working tree is stored on a portable device or network share which is not always mounted, you
       can prevent its administrative files from being pruned by issuing the git worktree lock command,
       optionally specifying --reason to explain why the working tree is locked.

COMMANDS

       add <path> [<commit-ish>]
           Create <path> and checkout <commit-ish> into it. The new working directory is linked to the current
           repository, sharing everything except working directory specific files such as HEAD, index, etc.  -
           may also be specified as <commit-ish>; it is synonymous with @{-1}.

           If <commit-ish> is a branch name (call it <branch>) and is not found, and neither -b nor -B nor
           --detach are used, but there does exist a tracking branch in exactly one remote (call it <remote>)
           with a matching name, treat as equivalent to:

               $ git worktree add --track -b <branch> <path> <remote>/<branch>

           If <commit-ish> is omitted and neither -b nor -B nor --detach used, then, as a convenience, a new
           branch based at HEAD is created automatically, as if -b $(basename <path>) was specified.

       list
           List details of each worktree. The main worktree is listed first, followed by each of the linked
           worktrees. The output details include if the worktree is bare, the revision currently checked out,
           and the branch currently checked out (or detached HEAD if none).

       lock
           If a working tree is on a portable device or network share which is not always mounted, lock it to
           prevent its administrative files from being pruned automatically. This also prevents it from being
           moved or deleted. Optionally, specify a reason for the lock with --reason.

       move
           Move a working tree to a new location. Note that the main working tree or linked working trees
           containing submodules cannot be moved.

       prune
           Prune working tree information in $GIT_DIR/worktrees.

       remove
           Remove a working tree. Only clean working trees (no untracked files and no modification in tracked
           files) can be removed. Unclean working trees or ones with submodules can be removed with --force. The
           main working tree cannot be removed.

       unlock
           Unlock a working tree, allowing it to be pruned, moved or deleted.

OPTIONS

       -f, --force
           By default, add refuses to create a new working tree when <commit-ish> is a branch name and is
           already checked out by another working tree and remove refuses to remove an unclean working tree.
           This option overrides that safeguard.

       -b <new-branch>, -B <new-branch>
           With add, create a new branch named <new-branch> starting at <commit-ish>, and check out <new-branch>
           into the new working tree. If <commit-ish> is omitted, it defaults to HEAD. By default, -b refuses to
           create a new branch if it already exists.  -B overrides this safeguard, resetting <new-branch> to
           <commit-ish>.

       --detach
           With add, detach HEAD in the new working tree. See "DETACHED HEAD" in git-checkout(1).

       --[no-]checkout
           By default, add checks out <commit-ish>, however, --no-checkout can be used to suppress checkout in
           order to make customizations, such as configuring sparse-checkout. See "Sparse checkout" in git-read-
           tree(1).

       --[no-]guess-remote
           With worktree add <path>, without <commit-ish>, instead of creating a new branch from HEAD, if there
           exists a tracking branch in exactly one remote matching the basename of <path>, base the new branch
           on the remote-tracking branch, and mark the remote-tracking branch as "upstream" from the new branch.

           This can also be set up as the default behaviour by using the worktree.guessRemote config option.

       --[no-]track
           When creating a new branch, if <commit-ish> is a branch, mark it as "upstream" from the new branch.
           This is the default if <commit-ish> is a remote-tracking branch. See "--track" in git-branch(1) for
           details.

       --lock
           Keep the working tree locked after creation. This is the equivalent of git worktree lock after git
           worktree add, but without race condition.

       -n, --dry-run
           With prune, do not remove anything; just report what it would remove.

       --porcelain
           With list, output in an easy-to-parse format for scripts. This format will remain stable across Git
           versions and regardless of user configuration. See below for details.

       -v, --verbose
           With prune, report all removals.

       --expire <time>
           With prune, only expire unused working trees older than <time>.

       --reason <string>
           With lock, an explanation why the working tree is locked.

       <worktree>
           Working trees can be identified by path, either relative or absolute.

           If the last path components in the working tree’s path is unique among working trees, it can be used
           to identify worktrees. For example if you only have two working trees, at "/abc/def/ghi" and
           "/abc/def/ggg", then "ghi" or "def/ghi" is enough to point to the former working tree.

DETAILS

       Each linked working tree has a private sub-directory in the repository’s $GIT_DIR/worktrees directory.
       The private sub-directory’s name is usually the base name of the linked working tree’s path, possibly
       appended with a number to make it unique. For example, when $GIT_DIR=/path/main/.git the command git
       worktree add /path/other/test-next next creates the linked working tree in /path/other/test-next and also
       creates a $GIT_DIR/worktrees/test-next directory (or $GIT_DIR/worktrees/test-next1 if test-next is
       already taken).

       Within a linked working tree, $GIT_DIR is set to point to this private directory (e.g.
       /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next in the example) and $GIT_COMMON_DIR is set to point back to the main
       working tree’s $GIT_DIR (e.g. /path/main/.git). These settings are made in a .git file located at the top
       directory of the linked working tree.

       Path resolution via git rev-parse --git-path uses either $GIT_DIR or $GIT_COMMON_DIR depending on the
       path. For example, in the linked working tree git rev-parse --git-path HEAD returns
       /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/HEAD (not /path/other/test-next/.git/HEAD or /path/main/.git/HEAD)
       while git rev-parse --git-path refs/heads/master uses $GIT_COMMON_DIR and returns
       /path/main/.git/refs/heads/master, since refs are shared across all working trees.

       See gitrepository-layout(5) for more information. The rule of thumb is do not make any assumption about
       whether a path belongs to $GIT_DIR or $GIT_COMMON_DIR when you need to directly access something inside
       $GIT_DIR. Use git rev-parse --git-path to get the final path.

       If you manually move a linked working tree, you need to update the gitdir file in the entry’s directory.
       For example, if a linked working tree is moved to /newpath/test-next and its .git file points to
       /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next, then update /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/gitdir to reference
       /newpath/test-next instead.

       To prevent a $GIT_DIR/worktrees entry from being pruned (which can be useful in some situations, such as
       when the entry’s working tree is stored on a portable device), use the git worktree lock command, which
       adds a file named locked to the entry’s directory. The file contains the reason in plain text. For
       example, if a linked working tree’s .git file points to /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next then a file
       named /path/main/.git/worktrees/test-next/locked will prevent the test-next entry from being pruned. See
       gitrepository-layout(5) for details.

LIST OUTPUT FORMAT

       The worktree list command has two output formats. The default format shows the details on a single line
       with columns. For example:

           S git worktree list
           /path/to/bare-source            (bare)
           /path/to/linked-worktree        abcd1234 [master]
           /path/to/other-linked-worktree  1234abc  (detached HEAD)

   Porcelain Format
       The porcelain format has a line per attribute. Attributes are listed with a label and value separated by
       a single space. Boolean attributes (like bare and detached) are listed as a label only, and are only
       present if and only if the value is true. An empty line indicates the end of a worktree. For example:

           S git worktree list --porcelain
           worktree /path/to/bare-source
           bare

           worktree /path/to/linked-worktree
           HEAD abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234
           branch refs/heads/master

           worktree /path/to/other-linked-worktree
           HEAD 1234abc1234abc1234abc1234abc1234abc1234a
           detached

EXAMPLES

       You are in the middle of a refactoring session and your boss comes in and demands that you fix something
       immediately. You might typically use git-stash(1) to store your changes away temporarily, however, your
       working tree is in such a state of disarray (with new, moved, and removed files, and other bits and
       pieces strewn around) that you don’t want to risk disturbing any of it. Instead, you create a temporary
       linked working tree to make the emergency fix, remove it when done, and then resume your earlier
       refactoring session.

           $ git worktree add -b emergency-fix ../temp master
           $ pushd ../temp
           # ... hack hack hack ...
           $ git commit -a -m 'emergency fix for boss'
           $ popd
           $ rm -rf ../temp
           $ git worktree prune

BUGS

       Multiple checkout in general is still experimental, and the support for submodules is incomplete. It is
       NOT recommended to make multiple checkouts of a superproject.

GIT

       Part of the git(1) suite

Git 2.17.1                                         04/26/2023                                    GIT-WORKTREE(1)