git-slot

git-slot is an opinionated tool that turns Git worktrees into a directory-based workflow.

No more git stash gymnastics. no more "oh shit i committed to the wrong branch". Every branch gets its own directory you can switch between instantly. Git worktrees are powerful, but the default workflow is fragmented and awkward. git-slot removes the cognitive load.

the problem

Here's what Git worktrees look like in practice.

1. you clone a repo:

~/code/
  my-project/         # your main clone, branch = main

you want to work on a feature, so you create a worktree:

cd ~/code/my-project
git worktree add ../my-project-feature feature-auth

now your code lives in two completely different places:

~/code/
  my-project/              # branch: main
  my-project-feature/      # branch: feature-auth

then you make another one for a hotfix:

git worktree add ~/tmp/hotfix-thing hotfix-123

now you have this mess:

~/code/
  my-project/
  my-project-feature/
~/tmp/
  hotfix-thing/

the problem isn't Git worktrees themselves. the problem is that branches and directories are completely decoupled. your branch is called feature-auth but it lives in ../my-project-feature. your branch is called hotfix-123 but it lives in ~/tmp/hotfix-thing.

every worktree becomes another thing you have to remember:

• where did i put it?
• what did i name the directory?
• how do i get back to it?
• what was the exact git worktree add syntax again?

that's cognitive load i don't want.

the idea

git-slot organizes worktrees like this instead:

project/
  project.git/      # bare repo
  main/             # branch: main
  feature-auth/     # branch: feature-auth
  hotfix-123/       # branch: hotfix-123

one project directory. one directory per branch. the folder name is the branch name. flat. predictable. no path juggling. stand in project/ and see all your branches instantly.

cd feature-auth and you're in that branch. your shell, editor, file manager, fuzzy finder, and terminal already understand directories. git-slot leans into that instead of inventing another abstraction.

philosophy

branches should behave like directories one project root, everything underneath it no hidden state no path guessing no config leverage the filesystem instead of fighting it

install

go install github.com/elkrammer/git-slot@latest

or build manually:

go build -o git-slot

usage

# clone a repo and initialize it with git-slot layout
git-slot clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo
git-slot new feature-auth        # create a new local branch + worktree
git-slot pull origin/some-branch # fetch remote branch + create worktree
git-slot list                    # list checked out branches / worktrees

shell integration

add this to your .bashrc / .zshrc to enable completion

eval "$(git-slot completion bash)"
# or
eval "$(git-slot completion zsh)"

notes

• branch names containing / are sanitized to -
• feature/auth -> feature-auth
• remote tracking branches are created automatically when using pull
• git-slot uses standard Git worktrees underneath
• zero config

license

MIT