worktrunk: git worktrees as easy as branches, built for parallel AI agents

Running five or ten Claude Codes in parallel is no longer a metaphor — but git’s native worktree UX is clunky: creating one worktree means typing the branch name three times (git worktree add -b feat ../repo.feat, then cd in). worktrunk, recommended by GitHub Daily on November 6 (by max-sixty, open-sourced October 2025, 11,836 stars as of November 7 and self-described as the most popular git worktree manager), manages worktrees like switching branches: three core commands — wt switch/wt create/wt remove — address trees by branch name with paths computed from a configurable template, and wt switch -c -x claude feat creates a tree and starts Claude in one line.

Core features

• Three core commands: switch (jump-or-create), create and remove, all addressed by branch name with a configurable path template.
• One-command agent hookup: -c creates the tree, -x launches Claude, Codex or any command inside it — parallel work with zero ceremony.
• Local workflow hooks: scripts run on tree creation, switch and removal — install dependencies, set env vars and start services, so a fresh tree is working before you finish the thought. Hooks are what turn three quick commands into a real parallel workflow rather than a directory trick.
• Clean main checkout: parallel changes happen in their own trees, so the main checkout only ever holds merged content — diffs and logs stay legible without digging through directories.
• Copy-on-write build caches: node_modules, target and other heavyweight directories share across trees without repeated downloads and builds.
• A single Rust binary: install and go; full documentation at worktrunk.dev.

Typical use cases

• Parallel agent development: multiple Claude Codes each in their own tree, merging by branch when done.
• Interruption handling: mid-task, wt switch -c hotfix opens a fresh tree for a production fix and returns you to where you were.
• Dirty-work isolation: dependency upgrades and heavy builds run in a disposable tree.

Quick start

cargo install worktrunk
# or cargo binstall worktrunk
wt switch -c -x claude feat

After shell integration from the README, wt switch feat jumps-or-creates, with a fuzzy finder completing half-typed branch names. The repo README carries the full three-command comparison against raw git, table by table — worth reading even if you end up not installing, because it doubles as the best short explanation of what worktrees are actually for.

Summary

worktrunk fits developers running parallel coding agents or already using git worktrees; single-branch, never-touched-worktree workflows have no reason to adopt it. Facts and limits: dual MIT OR Apache-2.0, Rust, 11.8k stars within a year of its October 2025 open-sourcing; it is an experience layer over native git worktrees, not a replacement — any git tool sees the same trees. It is the missing prerequisite for agent-autoloop from this site: autoloop keeps background agents fed with tasks, worktrunk allocates their desks when several run at once.