chimera otter worktree — branch isolation

chimera otter worktree — branch isolation

worktree lets you peel off a session into an isolated git worktree so otter can experiment on a parallel checkout without disturbing your current branch.

Usage

chimera otter worktree create <NAME> [--worktree-branch BRANCH] [--worktree-repo PATH]
chimera otter worktree list  [--worktree-json]
chimera otter worktree remove <NAME> [--worktree-force]

Worktrees materialize under ~/.chimera/worktrees/<name>/, on a branch named otter/<name> by default. The manifest at ~/.chimera/worktrees/index.json lists every worktree otter created so list is fast and survives across shells.

Examples

Create a sandbox for a refactor:

chimera otter worktree create refactor-auth
# → /Users/you/.chimera/worktrees/refactor-auth (branch otter/refactor-auth)

Reuse an existing branch:

chimera otter worktree create wip --worktree-branch wip/draft

Show every worktree as JSON:

chimera otter worktree list --worktree-json

Drop one (force lets you bypass the “uncommitted changes” guard):

chimera otter worktree remove refactor-auth --worktree-force

How it works

chimera/otter/worktree.py shells out to git worktree add / git worktree remove, persists the entries to ~/.chimera/worktrees/index.json, and records:

• name — manifest key.
• path — absolute filesystem path.
• branch — checked-out branch (defaults to otter/<name>).
• repo — source repo the worktree was cut from.
• created_at — ISO-8601 UTC timestamp.

The module composes chimera.env.git_env.GitEnvironment for in-process synthesis flows; the CLI dispatcher calls plain git because worktree manipulation is one-shot and benefits from the user’s existing git config.

Trademark hygiene

This subcommand is plain git terminology — no upstream brand is named in source or docs. The trademark scrub (scripts/otter_trademark_scrub.sh) covers chimera/otter/worktree.py and this file.