Listing worktrees in Git - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you want to work on different branches of a project at the same time without switching back and forth. Git worktrees let you have multiple working folders for the same repository. Listing worktrees shows you all these folders and their details.

When you want to see all the active worktrees linked to your repository.

When you need to check which branches are checked out in different worktrees.

When you want to clean up unused worktrees by identifying them first.

When you are collaborating and want to verify your local work environments.

When you want to confirm the paths of your worktrees before running commands on them.

Commands

This command shows all the worktrees connected to your current Git repository, including their paths and the branches checked out there.

Terminal

git worktree list

Expected Output

/home/user/myrepo               123abc4 [main]

/home/user/myrepo-feature       456def7 [feature-branch]

This command lists worktrees in a machine-readable format, useful for scripts or detailed inspection.

Terminal

git worktree list --porcelain

Expected Output

worktree /home/user/myrepo

HEAD 123abc4

branch refs/heads/main



worktree /home/user/myrepo-feature

HEAD 456def7

branch refs/heads/feature-branch

→

--porcelain - Outputs the list in a stable, parseable format for scripts.

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: git worktree list shows all your active work folders and their branches so you can manage multiple workspaces easily.

Common Mistakes

Running git worktree list outside a Git repository folder.

Git cannot find the repository to list worktrees, so it shows an error.

Run git worktree list inside a folder that is part of a Git repository.

Confusing git worktree list output with git branch output.

git branch shows branches but not their worktree paths; git worktree list shows paths and branches.

Use git worktree list to see worktree paths and branches together.

Summary

Use git worktree list to see all active worktrees and their branches.

The --porcelain flag gives a script-friendly output format.

Listing worktrees helps manage multiple working folders for the same project.