TIL: Git Worktrees

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Today I learned about git worktree — a feature that lets you check out multiple branches simultaneously in separate directories.

The problem

You’re deep in a feature branch. Someone asks you to review a PR on main. Normally you’d stash your work, switch branches, review, switch back, pop stash. Annoying.

The solution

# Create a new worktree for the main branch
git worktree add ../project-main main

# Now you have two directories:
# ../project/       → your feature branch
# ../project-main/  → main branch

# When done, clean up
git worktree remove ../project-main

That’s it. No stashing. No context switching. Two branches, two directories, same repo.

Coding on Abhinav Rai

TIL: Git Worktrees

The problem

The solution