From Stash to Flash: How Git Worktree Changes the Game

Ever been juggling a bunch of branches or changes in Git and wished for a smoother ride? Say hello to Git Worktree.

Git Worktree lets you check out multiple branches at once within a single repository. This means you can tinker on different branches simultaneously without switching contexts or stashing your changes.

Here’s how:

git worktree add       # Create a new worktree
git worktree list      # List all worktrees
git worktree remove    # Remove a worktree

Comparing Git Worktree and Git Stash

True Parallel Development

Git Worktree

• Lets you have multiple branches checked out at the same time in different directories.
• This reduces the need for constant context switching.
• Cleaner mental model as your file system mirrors your Git branching strategy.

project/
├── main/
├── feature-a/
└── bugfix-123/

Git Stash

• You have to stash your changes, switch branches, and then reapply them, which can be a bit cumbersome.
• Doesn’t allow true parallel work on multiple branches.

Workflow & Time Efficiency

Git Worktree

• Perfect for tasks that require working on multiple features or bug fixes concurrently.
• You can hop between branches without breaking a sweat.
• Makes code reviews a breeze by keeping the PR branch right alongside the main branch.

Git Stash

• Great for quick switches, but you’ve got to stash and pop changes
• Can throw a spanner in the works. Kills the momentum.

Metrics

Imagine this: you’re knee-deep in feature A but need to fix a bug in feature B.

Git Worktree

• Checking out a new worktree for the bug fix and switching back to feature A after fixing it takes around 10 seconds. Seriously!
• Daily time: 10 seconds * 5 = 50 seconds
• Monthly time (20 working days): 50 seconds * 20 = 16.67 minutes

Git Stash

• Stashing changes, switching branches, and popping the stash… you know how it goes.
• Time to stash, switch branches, and pop stash: ~1 minute
• Daily time: 1 minute * 5 = 5 minutes
• Monthly time (20 working days): 5 minutes * 20 = 100 minutes

Here’s what a worktree workflow would look like:

# Create a new worktree
git worktree add ../feature-branch feature-branch

# Switch to the new worktree directory
cd ../feature-branch

# Work on your changes, commit as usual
git add .
git commit -m "Implement new feature"

# Return to the main worktree
cd -

# List all worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove a worktree when no longer needed
git worktree remove ../feature-branch

And here’s what a stash workflow looks like:

# Stash current changes
git stash save "Work in progress on feature X"

# Switch branch or context
git checkout another-branch

# Do some work, then return to original branch
git checkout original-branch

# Apply the stashed changes
git stash apply

# Or pop the stash (apply and remove from stash list)
git stash pop

# List all stashes
git stash list

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

Conclusion

Git Worktree can save you a ton of time, especially when you’re juggling multiple branches and frequent context switches. While Git Stash is useful for quick changes, Git Worktree offers a more efficient workflow for handling concurrent tasks.

So, the next time you’re bouncing between branches, give Git Worktree a try. It might just be the game-changer you need to boost your productivity.

Happy coding!

Originally published on Medium.