Worktree Management Skill

Every autoimprove experiment runs in an isolated git worktree — a separate directory linked to the same repo but on its own branch. The main working directory is never modified. Only winning experiments get merged back.

your-project/          ← main worktree (never touched during experiments)
.claude/autoimprove/worktrees/       ← experiment worktrees live here
  experiment-001/      ← branch: autoimprove/experiment-001
  experiment-002/      ← branch: autoimprove/experiment-002

Setup worktree environment

Run once before the first experiment in a session:

# 1. Make sure we're on a clean main branch
git status
git branch --show-current

# 2. Create the worktree container directory (gitignored)
mkdir -p .claude/autoimprove/worktrees

# 3. Add it to .gitignore if not already there
grep -q ".claude/autoimprove/worktrees" .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo ".claude/autoimprove/worktrees" >> .gitignore

# 4. Record the base commit so all experiments branch from the same point
BASE_COMMIT=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
echo "Base commit: $BASE_COMMIT"

Create a new experiment worktree

Run at the start of each iteration:

EXPERIMENT_ID=$(printf "%03d" $ITERATION_NUMBER)
BRANCH="autoimprove/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID"
WORKTREE_PATH=".claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID"

# Create a new branch and worktree from current HEAD
git worktree add -b "$BRANCH" "$WORKTREE_PATH"

echo "Created worktree: $WORKTREE_PATH"
echo "Branch: $BRANCH"

Now switch all subsequent file edits and commands to run inside $WORKTREE_PATH. The main directory is untouched.

Run measurement in a worktree

All measurement commands must be run from inside the worktree path:

cd .claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID

# Run the measurement suite from .claude/autoimprove/config.md
# (same commands, different working directory)

Winning experiment — merge back to main

If AFTER score > BEFORE score:

BRANCH="autoimprove/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID"

# Option A: Squash merge (recommended — keeps main history clean)
git merge --squash "$BRANCH"
git commit -m "autoimprove($EXPERIMENT_ID): $HYPOTHESIS_ONE_LINE

Score: $BEFORE_SCORE → $AFTER_SCORE (+$DELTA pts)
Files: $CHANGED_FILES"

# Remove the worktree and branch
git worktree remove ".claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID"
git branch -D "$BRANCH"

echo "✅ Experiment $EXPERIMENT_ID merged to main"

Losing experiment — discard cleanly

If AFTER score <= BEFORE score:

# Just remove the worktree and delete the branch — main is untouched
git worktree remove ".claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID" --force
git branch -D "autoimprove/experiment-$EXPERIMENT_ID"

echo "❌ Experiment $EXPERIMENT_ID discarded — no changes to main"

Cleanup all worktrees (end of session)

Run after the session completes or if something goes wrong:

# List all autoimprove worktrees
git worktree list | grep autoimprove

# Remove all experiment worktrees
for wt in .claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-*; do
  git worktree remove "$wt" --force 2>/dev/null
done

# Clean up branches
git branch | grep "autoimprove/experiment" | xargs git branch -D 2>/dev/null

# Remove the container directory
rm -rf .claude/autoimprove/worktrees

echo "All experiment worktrees cleaned up"

Emergency recovery

If something goes wrong mid-session and worktrees are left dangling:

# Check for stale worktrees
git worktree prune

# List all worktrees
git worktree list

# Force remove a specific one
git worktree remove .claude/autoimprove/worktrees/experiment-001 --force
git branch -D autoimprove/experiment-001

Key guarantees

• Main branch is never modified until a winning experiment is explicitly merged
• Each experiment starts from the same commit — experiments are independent, not cumulative
• No leftover branches — winning experiments become squash commits, losers are deleted entirely
• Safe to Ctrl+C — worktrees can be cleaned up manually with the cleanup commands above
• Parallel-safe — each experiment has its own directory and branch, so multiple sessions can run without conflict (advanced use)