cotton

Initialize cotton in a repository

$ cotton init

$ cotton new [branch-name]

$ cotton list

$ cotton switch [branch-name]

$ cotton remove [branch-name]

$ cotton status

cotton command [options] [arguments]

cotton is a Git worktree management tool that simplifies working with multiple branches simultaneously. It wraps Git's worktree functionality with a more intuitive interface for creating, switching, and managing worktrees.
Git worktrees allow checking out multiple branches at once in separate directories, useful for comparing implementations, reviewing pull requests while continuing development, or running tests on different versions. Cotton manages these worktrees with consistent naming and organization.
The tool maintains a directory structure for worktrees and provides quick switching between them, making multi-branch development workflows more efficient than constantly stashing and switching branches.

init

Initialize cotton configuration in the repository.

Create a new worktree for the specified branch.

List all managed worktrees.

Switch to the specified worktree.

Remove a worktree.

Show the status of all worktrees.

Remove stale worktree references.

Display help information.

Display version information.

Requires Git with worktree support (Git 2.5+). Each worktree consumes disk space for the working directory. Changes must be committed or stashed before removing worktrees to avoid losing work.

cotton emerged from the developer community's need for simpler Git worktree management. While Git worktrees were introduced in Git 2.5 in 2015, tools like cotton provide more user-friendly interfaces for common worktree operations.

git-worktree(1), git(1), git-checkout(1)