Multi-Repo Workflows

When a feature spans multiple services or packages, you need a way to keep related branches in sync. Workset threads solve this by treating a set of repos as a single unit of work.

The Problem

Without Workset, multi-repo work looks like this:

1. Create feature-auth branch in api repo
2. Create feature-auth branch in frontend repo
3. Create feature-auth branch in platform repo
4. Remember which branch goes with which repo
5. Hope you don’t accidentally push to main

With Workset, all three repos live under one thread directory, each as a linked worktree. One command shows you the status of all of them.

Basic Pattern

# Create a thread for the feature
workset new feature-auth

# Add all relevant repos
workset repo add git@github.com:org/api.git -t feature-auth
workset repo add git@github.com:org/frontend.git -t feature-auth
workset repo add git@github.com:org/platform.git -t feature-auth

# Check status across all repos
workset status -t feature-auth

Working in the Thread

Each repo in the thread is a linked worktree. You can:

• cd into any repo and work normally
• Branches are isolated — main in your main clone is untouched
• git push, git pull, and all normal operations work as expected

Checking Status

workset status -t feature-auth

This shows the current branch, status, and any local changes across all repos in the thread.

Removing a Repo

workset repo rm api -t feature-auth

This removes the worktree for that repo from the thread. The main clone is unaffected.

Cleaning Up

When the feature is merged:

workset rm -t feature-auth --delete

This removes the thread directory and all worktrees. Safety checks prevent deletion of unmerged branches.

Tips

• Set defaults.thread to skip -t on every command.
• Use worksets if you frequently work with the same group of repos.
• The Desktop App provides a GUI for managing threads.