DEV Community: Aasim Sani

🪟 gwt — Stupidly Simple Git Worktrees in PowerShell. Isolated Branches for AI Coding.

Aasim Sani — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:52:34 +0000

What are git worktrees?

Worktrees let you check out multiple branches at once, each in its own folder. No more stashing and switching, just open another directory.

If you've used them, you know this pain:

git worktree add ../myrepo-feature ../myrepo-feature feature/branch
cd ../myrepo-feature
cp -r ../myrepo/.vscode .
npm install
claude

Every single time.

I got tired of it. So I built gwt, first for zsh, and now ported to PowerShell after Windows users kept asking.

gwt feature/new-thing

Creates the worktree, auto-names it, cd's you in, configs copied, repo set up.

What it does

Stacking

Create worktrees from your current branch and navigate the chain:

# You're in feature/api-v2
gwt --stack feature/api-v2-tests   # or -Stack

# Navigate
gwt ..    # parent worktree
gwt ...   # root worktree

Smart naming

gwt aasim/eng-1234-add-user-auth
# Creates: ../myrepo-eng-1234

gwt feature/add-new-dashboard-components  
# Creates: ../myrepo-add-new-dashboard

Interactive menus

Numbered menus for branch selection and pruning. Search through your branches when creating worktrees, multi-select when cleaning up old ones.

gwt              # pick from branches
gwt --prune      # or -Prune, multi-select worktrees to remove
gwt --list       # or -List, see the whole tree

Config copying

$env:GWT_COPY_DIRS = ".vscode,.env"
gwt feature/new-thing  # configs already there

Post-create hooks

$env:GWT_POST_CREATE_CMD = "npm install"

Installation

# PSGallery
Install-Module -Name GWT -Scope CurrentUser

# Add to your $PROFILE:
Import-Module GWT

Works on Windows and macOS (PowerShell 7+).

Commands

Supports both --flag and -Flag syntax:

gwt feature/branch            # Create from main
gwt --stack feature/x         # or -Stack, create from current branch
gwt --from dev feature/x      # or -From, create from specific branch

gwt ..                        # Parent worktree
gwt ...                       # Root worktree

gwt --list                    # or -List, see all worktrees
gwt --info                    # or -Info, stack info
gwt --prune                   # or -Prune, interactive cleanup
gwt --config                  # or -Config, configure settings

Why this matters for Claude Code users

Claude Code works best when you give it a clean worktree: isolated context, no uncommitted changes from other work bleeding in. gwt makes spinning up those worktrees instant instead of a chore.

GitHub: aasimsani/gwt-powershell

ZSH version: aasimsani/gwt-zsh

Feedback welcome.

🌳 gwt — Stupidly Simple Git Worktrees. Isolated Branches for AI Coding.

Aasim Sani — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:52:22 +0000

What are git worktrees?

Worktrees let you check out multiple branches at once, each in its own folder. No more stashing and switching, just open another directory.

If you've used them, you know this pain:

git worktree add ../myrepo-feature ../myrepo-feature feature/branch
cd ../myrepo-feature
cp -r ../myrepo/.vscode .
npm install
claude

Every single time.

I got tired of it. So I built gwt.

gwt feature/new-thing

Creates the worktree, auto-names it, cd's you in, configs copied, Claude Code started, repo set up.

Yet another git worktree tool? Yeah. gwq, branchlet, git-worktree-runner, wt... they all exist. But I'm impatient. Everything else made me type too much.

Here's what gwt does:

Stacking

Run gwt child-branch from any worktree and it branches from where you are. gwt .. goes back to parent, gwt ... to root.

# You're in feature/api-v2
gwt --stack feature/api-v2-tests

# Navigate the chain
gwt ..    # back to feature/api-v2
gwt ...   # back to main

Smart naming

Linear-style branches like aasim/eng-1234-add-feature become repo-eng-1234. Regular branches use first few words.

gwt aasim/eng-1234-add-user-authentication
# Creates: ../myrepo-eng-1234

gwt feature/add-new-dashboard-components  
# Creates: ../myrepo-add-new-dashboard

Tab completion & fuzzy finding

Full zsh autocompletion for all commands, flags, branches, and worktree names. If you have fzf installed, gwt uses it everywhere: fuzzy search through branches, multi-select when pruning. No fzf? Falls back to numbered menus.

gwt          # fzf picker for branches
gwt --prune  # multi-select worktrees to remove
gwt --list   # see the whole tree at a glance

Config copying

Automatically copies .vscode/, .env, or whatever dirs you configure to new worktrees.

export GWT_COPY_DIRS=".vscode,.env,.idea"
gwt feature/new-thing  # .vscode/ already there

Post-create hooks

Run any command after creation: npm install, claude, code ., uv sync, whatever.

export GWT_POST_CREATE_CMD="npm install && claude"

Setup

# Oh-My-Zsh
git clone https://github.com/aasimsani/gwt-zsh \
  ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins/gwt
omz plugin enable gwt

# Or:
zinit light aasimsani/gwt-zsh
antigen bundle aasimsani/gwt-zsh
zplug "aasimsani/gwt-zsh"

Commands

gwt feature/branch       # Create from main
gwt --stack feature/x    # Create from current branch
gwt --from dev feature/x # Create from specific branch

gwt ..                   # Go to parent worktree
gwt ...                  # Go to root worktree

gwt --list               # See all worktrees with hierarchy
gwt --info               # Stack info for current worktree
gwt --prune              # Interactive cleanup
gwt --config             # Configure settings

Claude Code integration

If you use Claude Code:

gwt --setup-skill

Then /gwt in any session loads the command reference.

GitHub: aasimsani/gwt-zsh

PowerShell version: aasimsani/gwt-powershell

Looking for feedback, happy with an honest roast too.