Worktrunk

Overview

Worktrunk is a CLI for git worktree management, designed for running AI coding agents in parallel. AI agents like Claude Code and Codex can handle longer tasks without supervision, making it possible to manage 5-10+ agents simultaneously. Git worktrees give each agent its own working directory so they don't step on each other's changes.

The problem: git worktree UX is clunky — starting a new worktree requires typing the branch name three times. Worktrunk makes worktrees as easy as branches with three core commands.

Instructions

Installation

# From crates.io
cargo install worktrunk

# Or download pre-built binary from GitHub releases
# https://github.com/max-sixty/worktrunk/releases

Core Commands

Switch — create or move to a worktree:

wt switch feat              # Switch to existing worktree
wt switch -c feat            # Create new worktree + switch
wt switch -c -x claude feat  # Create + launch Claude Code in it
wt switch -c -x "npm test" feat  # Create + run any command

List — show all worktrees with status:

wt list  # Shows branch names, paths, dirty status, ahead/behind

Remove — clean up worktree and branch:

wt remove        # Remove current worktree
wt remove feat   # Remove specific worktree

Workflow Automation with Hooks

# .worktrunk.toml
[hooks]
on_create = "npm install"
pre_merge = "npm test"
post_merge = "git push origin main"

Copy Build Caches

Avoid redundant dependency installs:

[create]
copy = ["node_modules", ".next", "dist"]

Path Templates

[paths]
template = "../{repo}.{branch}"  # Default naming pattern

Examples

Example 1: Parallel Feature Development on a SaaS App

A developer needs to build three independent features for a Node.js SaaS application. They use Worktrunk to run three Claude Code agents in parallel:

cd ~/projects/saas-app

# Configure hooks for automatic setup
cat > .worktrunk.toml << 'EOF'
[hooks]
on_create = "npm install && npm run build"
pre_merge = "npm test && npm run lint"

[create]
copy = ["node_modules", ".next"]

[paths]
template = "../saas-app.{branch}"
EOF

# Create 3 worktrees, each launching Claude Code with a task
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Implement Stripe subscription billing with webhooks for plan upgrades/downgrades'" feat/billing
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Add role-based access control: admin, editor, viewer roles with middleware guards'" feat/rbac
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Build CSV/JSON export for analytics dashboard with date range filtering'" feat/export

# Monitor progress across all worktrees
wt list
# feat/billing    ../saas-app.feat/billing    [dirty, ahead 3]
# feat/rbac       ../saas-app.feat/rbac       [dirty, ahead 5]
# feat/export     ../saas-app.feat/export     [clean, ahead 2]

# Merge completed features (pre_merge hook runs tests automatically)
wt switch feat/export && wt merge
wt switch feat/rbac && wt merge
wt switch feat/billing && wt merge

Example 2: Bug Fix Sprint with Multiple Agents

A team lead triages 4 bug reports and assigns each to a separate agent working in its own worktree:

cd ~/projects/api-server

# Spin up one worktree per bug
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Fix: POST /api/users returns 500 when email contains + character. Add input sanitization and test.'" fix/email-plus
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Fix: Rate limiter counts OPTIONS preflight requests. Exclude CORS preflight from rate limit middleware.'" fix/rate-limit-cors
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Fix: Pagination returns duplicate items when records are inserted during traversal. Use cursor-based pagination.'" fix/pagination-dupes
wt switch -c -x "claude --prompt 'Fix: WebSocket connections leak when clients disconnect without close frame. Add heartbeat and cleanup.'" fix/ws-leak

# Check which fixes are done
wt list

# Merge fixes one by one, running tests each time
wt switch fix/email-plus && wt merge
wt switch fix/rate-limit-cors && wt merge
wt switch fix/pagination-dupes && wt merge
wt switch fix/ws-leak && wt merge

# Push all fixes
git push origin main

Guidelines

• Break work into independent, self-contained tasks to avoid merge conflicts
• Branch all worktrees from the same commit to minimize divergence
• Use

  on_create

  hooks to automatically install dependencies in new worktrees
• Configure

  copy

  for

  node_modules

  and build caches to speed up worktree creation
• Use

  pre_merge

  hooks to run tests before merging each feature
• Merge completed features promptly to keep the base branch fresh
• Clean up worktrees after merging with

  wt remove

  to keep your workspace tidy
• Run

  wt list

  regularly to monitor progress across all active agents
• See worktrunk.dev and GitHub for full docs