Using Git Worktrees

Using Git Worktrees is a skill for Claude Code, Codex from obra/superpowers-skills. It costs 17 tokens per session (1,327 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A method for using Git worktrees, which are separate working folders for branches that share one repository.

In plain words
What is it for?
It helps create isolated folders for feature work, experiments, or parallel tasks while checking where they should be stored and whether the directory is safely ignored by Git.
Why use it?
You can work on multiple branches at the same time without repeatedly switching the files in one folder. Directory selection and safety checks help keep those workspaces organized.

Skill for Claude CodeCodex

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/obra/superpowers-skills/using-git-worktrees
Any agent
npx skills add obra/superpowers-skills --skill using-git-worktrees
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/obra/superpowers-skills

Made for: Claude Code, Codex.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for Using Git Worktrees

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/obra/superpowers-skills/using-git-worktrees.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/obra/superpowers-skills/using-git-worktrees)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/obra/superpowers-skills/using-git-worktrees"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/obra/superpowers-skills/using-git-worktrees.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>
Per session 17 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 1,327 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00017 $0.01327
Opus 5 $0.00009 $0.00664
Sonnet 5 $0.00003 $0.00265
Haiku 4.5 $0.00002 $0.00133

Measured 3d ago against content hash e3e50c02d33e, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

Using Git Worktrees scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 3d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

skills/collaboration/using-git-worktrees/SKILL.md · 216 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 216 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Using Git Worktrees

Overview

Git worktrees create isolated workspaces sharing the same repository, allowing work on multiple branches simultaneously without switching.

Core principle: Systematic directory selection + safety verification = reliable isolation.

Announce at start: "I'm using the Using Git Worktrees skill to set up an isolated workspace."

Directory Selection Process

Follow this priority order:

1. Check Existing Directories

# Check in priority order
ls -d .worktrees 2>/dev/null     # Preferred (hidden)
ls -d worktrees 2>/dev/null      # Alternative

If found: Use that directory. If both exist, .worktrees wins.

2. Check CLAUDE.md

grep -i "worktree.*director" CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null

If preference specified: Use it without asking.

3. Ask User

If no directory exists and no CLAUDE.md preference:

No worktree directory found. Where should I create worktrees?

1. .worktrees/ (project-local, hidden)
2. ~/.config/superpowers/worktrees/<project-name>/ (global location)

Which would you prefer?

Safety Verification

For Project-Local Directories (.worktrees or worktrees)

MUST verify .gitignore before creating worktree:

# Check if directory pattern in .gitignore
grep -q "^\.worktrees/$" .gitignore || grep -q "^worktrees/$" .gitignore

If NOT in .gitignore:

Per Jesse's rule "Fix broken things immediately":

  1. Add appropriate line to .gitignore
  2. Commit the change
  3. Proceed with worktree creation

Why critical: Prevents accidentally committing worktree contents to repository.

For Global Directory (~/.config/superpowers/worktrees)

No .gitignore verification needed - outside project entirely.

Creation Steps

1. Detect Project Name

project=$(basename "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)")

2. Create Worktree

# Determine full path
case $LOCATION in
  .worktrees|worktrees)
    path="$LOCATION/$BRANCH_NAME"
    ;;
  ~/.config/superpowers/worktrees/*)
    path="~/.config/superpowers/worktrees/$project/$BRANCH_NAME"
    ;;
esac

# Create worktree with new branch
git worktree add "$path" -b "$BRANCH_NAME"
cd "$path"

Read the full file on GitHub · 216 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 3d ago First seen · 216 lines · 17 tokens per session scan A e3e50c02d33e

Subscribe to this mod's changes

Using Git Worktrees is a skill published in the GitHub repository obra/superpowers-skills (745 stars, last pushed 10mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 17 tokens to every session and 1,327 once invoked, about $0.0001 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.

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