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Git worktrees give each agent a separate checkout, HEAD, and index, but they still share most repository refs and data. Give each agent its own branch and worktree, keep the integrating checkout’s changes saved before merging, and resolve conflicts by combining the intended behavior—not by blindly choosing one side.
How do Git worktrees work with multiple agents?
A linked worktree is another working directory attached to the same Git repository. Each worktree has its own checked-out files, HEAD, and index, so agents can work in separate directories without competing over one checkout or staging area. Most refs are shared, however, so worktrees are not independent repositories. A branch checked out in one worktree is normally protected from being checked out in another.
Git documents these mechanics, not a required multi-agent process. A practical arrangement is to assign every agent a distinct branch and worktree, identify the owner in the task handoff, and designate one person or agent to integrate the results. For agents touching the same files, agree on interfaces or divide file ownership where possible; separate directories do not prevent overlapping edits or conflicts.
See the Git worktree documentation for branch and worktree behavior. Repositories that use submodules need extra care because Git flags incomplete support for multiple checkouts involving submodules.
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How do I safely merge changes from another worktree?
- Preserve local work. Commit or otherwise save changes in the integrating worktree, then check that its index is clean before merging. Git advises getting work in good shape before applying changes from elsewhere.
- Review the incoming branch. Confirm which branch you intend to merge and that the agent has finished the work being handed off. With a shared repository, coordinate operations that update refs rather than assuming each worktree has isolated branch state.
- Start the merge from the integrating worktree. Run
git merge <branch>, substituting the branch to integrate. If Git reports conflicts, it pauses the merge and marks the affected paths as unmerged. - Inspect and resolve each path. Use the workflow below to understand the competing changes, edit the intended result, and stage each resolved path.
- Finish or abort deliberately. After resolving and staging, run
git merge --continueor commit to complete the merge. To abandon it, rungit merge --abort; this attempts to restore the pre-merge state, but may not fully reconstruct uncommitted changes that existed before the merge.
Git’s merge guidance is at git-merge documentation.
How do I inspect a merge conflict?
Start with git status to list unmerged paths. Conflict markers in a text file show competing sections, but they are not themselves a resolution. Inspect the surrounding code and the index’s three versions before deciding how the final file should behave.
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git show :1:<path>displays the common ancestor version.git show :2:<path>displays the current branch version.git show :3:<path>displays the branch being merged.git diffshows conflict-related differences;git log --merge -p <path>can help review relevant changes to a path.
The labels “current” and “merged” depend on which branch is checked out and which one is being merged. For difficult conflicts, comparing all three index stages can reveal whether one side changed a line, both changed it differently, or the desired result needs parts of both.
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Edit the file to express the combined behavior the task requires, remove conflict markers, and review the complete result in context. Do not accept an entire side automatically unless that is genuinely correct. Then stage the resolved path with git add <path>; staging tells Git that path’s conflict is resolved.
You can inspect and edit conflicts in the command line or use git mergetool to launch a graphical merge tool. Choose based on which view helps you understand the base, current, and incoming versions, whether the tool supports the file type, and how clearly you can review and stage the result. Git documents the option but does not designate a particular tool as best.
Be precise with “ours” options: -X ours favors the current side for conflicting hunks, while the ours merge strategy ignores the other tree’s changes. Neither is a substitute for checking whether the result matches the intended integration.
Can I preview a merge or reuse an earlier resolution?
Preview with git merge-tree
git merge-tree calculates a merge without reading or writing the working tree or index. It can be used as a preflight to identify conflicts before integrating branches into a working checkout. Because it does not apply the merge to that checkout, it does not replace the normal merge and resolution workflow. See Git’s merge-tree documentation.
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Reuse resolutions with rerere
For recurring conflict shapes, enable Git’s recorded-resolution feature with git config rerere.enabled true. Git may recognize a previously recorded conflict and reapply its resolution. It depends on recognizing conflict markers and cannot track every conflict type, so inspect any reapplied result and stage it yourself; rerere leaves the index alone. It can reduce repeated manual work, but it does not verify that a reused resolution is right for the current change. Details are in the git-rerere documentation.
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How do I clean up finished worktrees?
After integration and any needed handoff, remove a linked worktree with git worktree remove <path>. If a worktree was moved and its repository link is stale, use git worktree repair to repair the link. See Git’s worktree documentation for details.
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