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Updated: July 2017
 
 

git-worktree (1)

Name

git-worktree - Manage multiple working trees

Synopsis

git worktree add [-f] [--detach] [-b <new-branch>] <path> [<branch>]
git worktree prune [-n] [-v] [--expire <expire>]
git worktree list [--porcelain]

Description

GIT-WORKTREE(1)                   Git Manual                   GIT-WORKTREE(1)



NAME
       git-worktree - Manage multiple working trees

SYNOPSIS
       git worktree add [-f] [--detach] [-b <new-branch>] <path> [<branch>]
       git worktree prune [-n] [-v] [--expire <expire>]
       git worktree list [--porcelain]


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 you move a linked working tree, you need to manually update the
       administrative files so that they do not get pruned automatically. See
       section "DETAILS" for more information.

       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 creating a file named locked alongside the
       other administrative files, optionally containing a plain text reason
       that pruning should be suppressed. See section "DETAILS" for more
       information.

COMMANDS
       add <path> [<branch>]
           Create <path> and checkout <branch> into it. The new working
           directory is linked to the current repository, sharing everything
           except working directory specific files such as HEAD, index, etc.

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

       prune
           Prune working tree information in $GIT_DIR/worktrees.

       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).

OPTIONS
       -f, --force
           By default, add refuses to create a new working tree when <branch>
           is already checked out by another working tree. This option
           overrides that safeguard.

       -b <new-branch>, -B <new-branch>
           With add, create a new branch named <new-branch> starting at
           <branch>, and check out <new-branch> into the new working tree. If
           <branch> 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 <branch>.

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

       -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>.

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(4) 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 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), add 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(4) 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-worktree could provide more automation for tasks currently
       performed manually, such as:

       o   remove to remove a linked working tree and its administrative files
           (and warn if the working tree is dirty)

       o   mv to move or rename a working tree and update its administrative
           files

       o   lock to prevent automatic pruning of administrative files (for
           instance, for a working tree on a portable device)

GIT
       Part of the git(1) suite



ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:


       +---------------+--------------------------+
       |ATTRIBUTE TYPE |     ATTRIBUTE VALUE      |
       +---------------+--------------------------+
       |Availability   | developer/versioning/git |
       +---------------+--------------------------+
       |Stability      | Uncommitted              |
       +---------------+--------------------------+
NOTES
       This software was built from source available at
       https://java.net/projects/solaris-userland.  The original community
       source was downloaded from
       https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/git-2.7.4.tar.xz

       Further information about this software can be found on the open source
       community website at http://git-scm.com/.



Git 2.7.4                         03/17/2016                   GIT-WORKTREE(1)