Git Worktree Enforcement

MANDATORY: Never Work in the Main Clone

When assisting with git operations in any repository, you MUST follow these rules:

Rule 1: Main Clone on main Only

The base clone of the repository must stay on the main (or master) branch at all times. Never checkout a feature branch in the main clone.

Rule 2: Feature Work in worktrees/ Only

All feature, fix, hotfix, bugfix, refactor, chore, docs, and release branches must be checked out as worktrees inside the worktrees/ subdirectory.

Rule 3: Branch-to-Folder Naming

Slashes become hyphens: feature/user-auth becomes worktrees/feature-user-auth.

Rule 4: Gitignore

worktrees/ must be in .gitignore.

Before Any Git Write Operation

Run this pre-flight check:

1. pwd - Am I inside worktrees/<name>?
2. git branch --show-current - Am I on the expected branch?
3. If on a feature branch but NOT inside worktrees/ - STOP

Creating a Worktree

# From repo root (on main)
git worktree add worktrees/feature-my-feature -b feature/my-feature main
cd worktrees/feature-my-feature

Cleaning Up

cd /path/to/repo  # back to main clone
git worktree remove worktrees/feature-my-feature
git worktree prune

Why This Matters

• Prevents branch conflicts between concurrent sessions
• Prevents lost work from accidental branch switches
• Prevents clobbered changes from multiple tools operating on same checkout
• Each worktree is fully isolated with its own working directory