Graphite

Overview

Graphite (gt) is a CLI tool for managing stacked pull requests - breaking large features into small, incremental changes built on top of each other. This skill provides the mental model, command reference, and workflow patterns needed to work effectively with gt.

CRITICAL: Always Use `--no-interactive`

NEVER invoke any gt command without --no-interactive. This is a global flag inherited by every gt command — not a per-command option.

Without --no-interactive, gt may open prompts, pagers, or editors that hang indefinitely in agent/CI contexts. The --force flag does NOT prevent prompts — you must use --no-interactive separately.

# WRONG - may hang waiting for user input
gt sync
gt submit --force
gt track --parent main

# CORRECT - always pass --no-interactive
gt sync --no-interactive
gt submit --no-interactive
gt track --parent main --no-interactive
gt restack --no-interactive
gt create my-branch -m "message" --no-interactive

What --interactive controls (all disabled by --no-interactive):

Prompts (confirmation dialogs in sync, delete, submit, etc.)
Pagers (output paging in log)
Editors (commit message editing in create/modify, PR metadata in submit)
Interactive selectors (branch selection in checkout, move, track)

Note: gt modify --interactive-rebase is a separate, unrelated flag that starts a git interactive rebase. It is NOT the same as the global --interactive.

Core Mental Model

Stacks are Linear Chains

A stack is a sequence of branches where each branch (except trunk) has exactly one parent:

VALID STACK (linear):
main → feature-a → feature-b → feature-c

INVALID (not a stack):
main → feature-a → feature-b
            └─────→ feature-x

Key Concepts

Parent-Child Relationships: Every branch tracked by gt (except trunk) has exactly one parent branch it builds upon
Auto-restacking: When modifying a branch, gt automatically rebases all upstack branches to include changes
Directional Navigation:
- Downstack/Down: Toward trunk (toward the base) - gt down moves from feature-b → feature-a → main
- Upstack/Up: Away from trunk (toward the tip) - gt up moves from feature-a → feature-b → feature-c
Trunk: The main branch (usually main or master) that all stacks build upon

Stack Visualization - CRITICAL MENTAL MODEL

When working with Graphite stacks, always visualize trunk at the BOTTOM:

TOP ↑    feat-3  ← upstack (leaf)
         feat-2
         feat-1
BOTTOM ↓ main    ← downstack (trunk)

Directional Terminology - MUST UNDERSTAND

UPSTACK / UP = away from trunk = toward TOP = toward leaves
DOWNSTACK / DOWN = toward trunk = toward BOTTOM = toward main

Detailed Examples

Given stack: main → feat-1 → feat-2 → feat-3

If current branch is feat-1:

Upstack: feat-2, feat-3 (children, toward top)
Downstack: main (parent, toward bottom)

If current branch is feat-3 (at top):

Upstack: (nothing, already at top/leaf)
Downstack: feat-2, feat-1, main (ancestors, toward bottom)

Why This Mental Model Is Critical

🔴 Commands depend on this visualization:

gt up / gt down navigate the stack
land-stack traverses branches in specific direction
Stack traversal logic (parent/child relationships)

🔴 Common mistake: Thinking "upstack" means "toward trunk"

WRONG: upstack = toward main ❌
CORRECT: upstack = away from main ✅

🔴 PR landing order: Always bottom→top (main first, then each layer up)

Metadata Storage

All gt metadata is stored in the shared .git directory (accessible across worktrees):

.git/.graphite_repo_config - Repository-level configuration (trunk branch)
.git/.graphite_cache_persist - Branch relationships (parent-child graph)
.git/.graphite_pr_info - Cached GitHub PR information

Important: Metadata is shared across all worktrees since it's in the common .git directory.

Essential Commands

Remember: ALL gt commands below must include --no-interactive (see CRITICAL: Always Use --no-interactive above).

Common Workflow Commands

Command	Alias	Purpose
`gt create [name]`	`gt c`	Create new branch stacked on current branch and commit staged changes
`gt modify`	`gt m`	Modify current branch (amend commit) and auto-restack children
`gt submit`	`gt s`	Push branches and create/update PRs
`gt submit --stack`	`gt ss`	Submit entire stack (up + down)
`gt sync`	-	Sync from remote and prompt to delete merged branches

Navigation Commands

Command	Alias	Purpose
`gt up [steps]`	`gt u`	Move up stack (away from trunk)
`gt down [steps]`	`gt d`	Move down stack (toward trunk)
`gt top`	`gt t`	Move to tip of stack
`gt bottom`	`gt b`	Move to bottom of stack
`gt checkout [branch]`	`gt co`	Interactive branch checkout

Stack Management

Command	Purpose
`gt restack`	Ensure each branch has its parent in git history
`gt move`	Rebase current branch onto different parent
`gt fold`	Fold branch's changes into parent
`gt split`	Split current branch into multiple single-commit branches
`gt log`	Visualize stack structure

Branch Info & Management

Command	Purpose
`gt branch info`	Show branch info (parent, children, commit SHA)
`gt parent`	Show parent branch name
`gt children`	Show children branch names
`gt track [branch]`	Start tracking branch with gt (set parent)
`gt untrack [branch]`	Stop tracking branch with gt
`gt delete [name]`	Delete branch and update metadata
`gt rename [name]`	Rename branch and update metadata

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Creating a New Stack

Build a feature in multiple reviewable chunks:

# 1. Start from trunk
gt checkout main --no-interactive
git pull

# 2. Create first branch
gt create phase-1 -m "Add API endpoints" --no-interactive
# ... make changes ...
git add .
gt modify -m "Add API endpoints" --no-interactive

# 3. Create second branch on top
gt create phase-2 -m "Update frontend" --no-interactive
# ... make changes ...
git add .
gt modify -m "Update frontend" --no-interactive

# 4. Submit entire stack
gt submit --stack --no-interactive

# Result: 2 PRs created
# PR #101: phase-1 (base: main)
# PR #102: phase-2 (base: phase-1)

Pattern 2: Responding to Review Feedback

Update a branch in the middle of a stack:

# Navigate down to target branch
gt down --no-interactive  # Repeat as needed

# Make changes
# ... edit files ...
git add .

# Modify (auto-restacks upstack branches)
gt modify -m "Address review feedback" --no-interactive

# Resubmit stack
gt submit --stack --no-interactive

Pattern 3: Adding to Existing Stack

Insert a new branch in the middle:

# Checkout the parent where you want to insert
gt checkout phase-1 --no-interactive

# Create new branch with --insert
gt create phase-1.5 --insert -m "Add validation" --no-interactive

# Submit new PR
gt submit --no-interactive

Pattern 4: Syncing After Merges

Clean up after PRs merge on GitHub:

# Run sync (--no-interactive auto-confirms branch deletion)
gt sync --no-interactive

# Result:
# - Merged branches deleted locally
# - Remaining branches rebased onto trunk
# - PR bases updated on GitHub

Pattern 5: Splitting Large Changes

Break up a large commit into reviewable pieces:

# Checkout branch with large commit
gt checkout large-feature --no-interactive

# Split into single-commit branches
gt split --no-interactive

# Rename branches meaningfully
gt rename add-api-endpoints --no-interactive
gt up --no-interactive
gt rename add-frontend --no-interactive
gt up --no-interactive
gt rename add-tests --no-interactive

# Submit
gt submit --stack --no-interactive

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't use git rebase directly: Use gt modify or gt restack - gt needs to update metadata during rebasing
Don't delete branches with git branch -d: Use gt delete - metadata needs to be updated to re-parent children
Don't assume gt submit only affects current branch: It submits downstack too (all ancestors). Use gt submit --stack to include upstack
Don't forget to gt sync after merges: Stale branches accumulate and metadata gets outdated
⚠️ NEVER use gt log short for branch status: The output format is counterintuitive and confuses agents. Use gt branch info, gt parent, or gt children for explicit metadata access instead

Quick Decision Tree

When to use gt commands:

Start new work → gt create (sets parent relationship)
Edit current branch → gt modify (auto-restacks children)
Navigate stack → gt up/down/top/bottom (move through chain)
View structure → gt log (see visualization)
Get parent branch → gt branch info (parse "Parent:" line)
Get branch relationships → gt parent / gt children (quick access)
Submit PRs → gt submit --stack (create/update all PRs)
After merges → gt sync (clean up + rebase)
Reorganize → gt move (change parent)
Combine work → gt fold (merge into parent)
Split work → gt split (break into branches)

Resources

references/

Contains detailed command reference and comprehensive mental model documentation:

gt-reference.md - Complete command reference, metadata format details, and advanced patterns

Load this reference when users need detailed information about specific gt commands, metadata structure, or complex workflow scenarios.

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