/worktrunk

name: worktrunk
description: Guidance for Worktrunk (the `wt` CLI) — git worktree management, hooks, and config. Load when working out which worktree a `wt` command will act on, or reaching for the global `-C <path>` to target one; editing .config/wt.toml or ~/.config/worktrunk/config.toml; adding, modifying, or debugging hooks (post-merge, post-start, pre-commit, pre-merge, post-switch, etc.); configuring commit message generation or command aliases; or troubleshooting wt behavior. Also answers general worktrunk/wt questions.
license: MIT OR Apache-2.0
compatibility: Requires the `wt` CLI (https://worktrunk.dev)

Worktrunk

Help users work with Worktrunk, a CLI tool for managing git worktrees.

Available documentation

Reference files are synced from [worktrunk.dev](https://worktrunk.dev) documentation:

• **reference/config.md**: User and project configuration (LLM, hooks, command defaults)
• **reference/hook.md**: Hook types, timing, and execution order
• **reference/switch.md**, **merge.md**, **list.md**, etc.: Command documentation
• **reference/extending.md**: Aliases, multi-step pipelines, custom subcommands, and template-expansion gotchas (two-pass `{% raw %}` deferral, for-each recipes)
• **reference/llm-commits.md**: LLM commit message generation
• **reference/tips-patterns.md**: Practical recipes — aliases, per-branch variables, dev server per worktree, parallel agent patterns
• **reference/shell-integration.md**: Shell integration debugging
• **reference/troubleshooting.md**: Troubleshooting for LLM and hooks (Claude-specific)

For command-specific options, run `wt <command> --help`. For configuration, follow the workflows below.

Which worktree a command acts on

`wt` finds the *repository* from the working directory, and the *worktree* from the command's own arguments. Two rules cover every case:

1. **A command that names a branch already names its worktree.** Worktrees are addressed by branch name, so `wt switch <branch>`, `wt remove <branch>`, `wt step diff --branch <branch>`, and `wt config state marker set --branch <branch>` act on that branch's worktree no matter which worktree you run them from. Every such argument also accepts the worktree's own path, for the cases a branch cannot name — a second checkout of the same branch, or a detached worktree (which `marker` still rejects, since it keys state by branch name). 2. **`-C <path>` moves the working directory, not the worktree selection.** Reach for it when the repository lookup is what's wrong: a *different* repository; a command that acts on the current worktree and takes no branch argument (`wt merge`, `wt step rebase|squash|push` — their `[TARGET]` is the merge target, not a worktree); or a caller whose working directory isn't inside a repository at all, such as an agent hook the host pins elsewhere.

Layering `-C` on top of a branch argument names the same worktree twice. From inside the `alpha` worktree of a repo that also has `beta`:

wt step diff --branch beta                    # ✓ the branch argument selects the worktree
wt -C ../repo.beta step diff --branch beta    # ✗ says beta twice

wt switch --create beta                       # ✓ --base already defaults to the default branch
wt -C ../repo switch --create beta            # ✗ -C adds nothing; you are already in that repo

Two types of configuration

Worktrunk uses two config files with different scopes and permission models:

**User config** (`~/.config/worktrunk/config.toml`, never checked into git) holds personal preferences: LLM integration, worktree path templates, command settings, user hooks. Treat it conservatively — propose changes and get consent before editing, never install tools on the user's behalf, and preserve the file's existing structure and comments. See `reference/config.md`.

**Project config** (`<repo>/.config/wt.toml`, checked into git) holds team-wide automation: hooks for the worktree lifecycle (pre-start, pre-merge, etc.). Edit proactively — changes are versioned and reversible via git. Comment why each hook exists, and warn the user before adding destructive commands (`rm -rf`, `DROP TABLE`), network fetches piped to shells, or `sudo`. See `reference/hook.md`.

Some requests span both: commit-message generation is user config, while the team's quality checks are project config.

Core workflows

Setting up commit message generation (user config)

Detect which tools are installed (`which claude codex llm aichat`); if none, recommend Claude Code. Take the exact command for the chosen tool from `reference/llm-commits.md`, propose the `[commit.generation]` change, and apply it after approval (`wt config create` first if no config exists). To verify, `wt step commit --dry-run` renders the prompt, runs the LLM, and prints the message without committing.

Configuring project hooks

Pick the hook type by when the command should run and whether it may block — `reference/hook.md` maps all ten (5 events × pre/post) to their timing and typical uses.

Derive the commands from the project itself (`package.json` scripts, `Cargo.toml`, `pyproject.toml`) and verify they run before adding them.

When a new hook must wait for an existing one, convert the entry to a pipeline; independent commands in a named table run concurrently:

# Pipeline: install completes before migrate starts
[[pre-start]]
install = "npm install"

[[pre-start]]
migrate = "npm run db:migrate"

# Concurrent: independent commands in one table
[pre-start]
install = "npm install"
env = "cp .env.example .env"

Test with `wt switch --create test-hooks`.

Common tasks reference

User config tasks

• Set up commit message generation → `reference/llm-commits.md`
• Customize worktree paths → `reference/config.md#worktree-path-template`
• Custom commit templates → `reference/llm-commits.md#prompt-templates`
• Configure command defaults → `reference/config.md#command-config`
• Set up personal hooks → `reference/config.md#user-ho