Git Worktree Feature Flow

Use this skill when the user wants an isolated working directory for a feature (via git worktree), then to merge that branch back into a target branch and clean up the worktree.

Examples (user prompts)

• "Create a worktree for feature/foo off main."
• "Spin up a worktree for my change, put it in ../wts/feature-foo."
• "Merge my worktree branch back into main with a squash merge, then clean up."
• "Finish the worktree for feature/foo but keep the branch around."

Quick flow

1. Start: create a feature worktree

• Ask for branch name (required).
• Optional: ask for base ref (default: current branch).
• Run scripts/worktree-start.sh.

2. Work: user edits/commits in the worktree directory.

3. Finish: merge + cleanup

• Ask for merge strategy: merge (default), squash, or ff-only.
• Optional: ask for into target branch (default: detected repo default branch, usually main).
• Run scripts/worktree-finish.sh.

Commands (scripts)

Start a worktree

$HOME/.codex/skills/git-worktree-feature-flow/scripts/worktree-start.sh --branch feature/my-change

Common options:

• --base <ref>: base branch/ref to branch from (default: current branch)
• --path <dir>: where to place the worktree (default: sibling .worktrees/<repo>/<branch>)
  • If --path is relative, it’s interpreted relative to the repo root.
• --yes: do not prompt

Finish (merge back and clean up)

$HOME/.codex/skills/git-worktree-feature-flow/scripts/worktree-finish.sh --branch feature/my-change

Common options:

• --into <branch>: target branch to merge into (default: detected default branch)
• --strategy merge|squash|ff-only: merge strategy (default: merge)
• --no-delete-branch: keep the feature branch after merging
• --keep-worktree: keep the worktree directory after merging
• --yes: do not prompt

Notes:

• --keep-worktree implies you should also pass --no-delete-branch (you can’t delete a branch that’s still checked out in a worktree).
• For --strategy squash, the script creates a squash commit automatically and may force-delete the feature branch after committing (use --no-delete-branch to keep it).

Agent guidelines

• Prefer the scripts in scripts/ over manually typing long git worktree commands.
• Confirm the user’s intended branch, base, and merge strategy before making changes.
• Be conservative:
  • Refuse to proceed if the feature worktree has uncommitted changes unless the user explicitly wants to continue.
  • Refuse to proceed if the target worktree (where the merge happens) is dirty.
  • If cleaning up, don’t run the finish step from inside the feature worktree directory.
• After finishing, summarize:
  • where the worktree lived,
  • what merge strategy was used,
  • whether the branch/worktree were deleted.