Git worktree for parallel development

Need to work on multiple branches simultaneously without stashing or switching branches.

Git worktrees let you check out multiple branches in separate directories:

# Create a worktree for a feature branch
git worktree add ../feature-auth feature/auth
# Now ../feature-auth has feature/auth checked out

# Create worktree with new branch
git worktree add -b hotfix/login ../hotfix-login main

# List all worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove a worktree (after merging)
git worktree remove ../feature-auth

# Common workflow:
# Main repo: stay on main for reviews
# Worktree 1: feature development
# Worktree 2: hotfix

Benefits over git stash:

• No context switching - all branches accessible simultaneously
• Shared .git directory - low disk overhead
• IDE can open each worktree as separate project
• Run tests on one branch while coding on another

Worktrees avoid the cognitive overhead of stashing, switching, and restoring context when you need to work on multiple things.

When you frequently switch between branches or need to work on a hotfix while mid-feature