docs(worktrees): API reference, wiki page and the invariants behind them

Documents the worktree endpoints and quick-start's worktree field in
docs/api-reference.md, adds a Git Worktrees page to the wiki (sidebar,
Home index, a pointer from Core Concepts where sessions sharing one
case folder is explained), and records the rules that keep the feature
safe in docs/architecture-invariants.md with a short CLAUDE.md pointer:
only the managed .claude/worktrees path is ever touched, git never runs
over a Docker workspace, removal is never forced and branch delete is
-d only, and sessions start through the existing create paths.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Codeman maintainer committed 2026-10-14 05:16:10 +02:00
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@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ case. Each has a stable id, and that id is what the API, the wait primitives, an
event use.
Several sessions can share one case. That is the normal way to parallelize: three workers
in the same repo, three tabs, one case.
in the same repo, three tabs, one case. They then also share one folder; when the workers
edit and commit in parallel, give each its own checkout with [Git Worktrees](Git-Worktrees).
A session carries state the case does not:
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# Git Worktrees
Sessions in one case share its folder. That is fine for one agent, but three agents in the
same checkout edit the same files, overwrite each other's builds, and commit each other's
half-finished work. A **git worktree** gives each of them a checkout of its own: same
repository, same history, a separate folder on a separate branch.
Codeman creates worktrees for a case whose folder is a git repository, starts sessions in
them, and removes them again when the work is done.
## Where they live
`<case>/.claude/worktrees/<name>`, on a new branch `worktree-<name>`. That is exactly where
Claude Code's own `claude --worktree <name>` puts them, so a worktree made in Codeman is one
Claude Code recognizes, and the other way round. Codeman's Recent Sessions and Session Manager
lists mark a session that runs in one with a `⑂ <name>` pill.
The main checkout does not show the worktrees as untracked: Codeman adds `/.claude/worktrees/`
(and `/.claude/settings.local.json`, the hooks file it writes for every Claude session) to the
repository's local `.git/info/exclude` when git does not ignore them already. Your tracked
`.gitignore` is never touched.
## Creating one and starting a session in it
1. Pick the case in the toolbar's case picker.
2. Open the picker again and choose **Git worktrees…** (on a phone: the case sheet's
**Worktrees** button).
3. Under **New worktree**, type a name (letters, digits, `.`, `_`, `-`, up to 64 characters).
4. Pick the CLI under **Start sessions with** (Claude Code, Codex, a shell, any installed run
mode).
5. **Create & start session**.
The worktree is created from the case's current commit, and the session opens in it as a tab
named `w1-<name>`. Under **Branch and start point** you can name the branch yourself or start
from another branch, tag or commit. An existing branch is never reused or reset: pick another
name.
**Open** on a worktree's row starts another session in it, with the CLI chosen above.
## Removing one
Two ways, and both use `git worktree remove` **without** `--force`:
- **Remove…** on the worktree's row in the dialog.
- Closing a session that runs in a worktree: the Close Session dialog offers **Kill & remove
worktree**, which kills the session and then removes its worktree.
git refuses to remove a worktree that still holds uncommitted or untracked files, and Codeman
shows that refusal as git worded it and leaves everything in place. Commit, stash or delete the
work first, then remove again. A worktree a live session still runs in is refused too.
**Also delete its branch** deletes the branch with `git branch -d`, which keeps a branch whose
commits are not merged yet. The worktree is still removed, and the message says the branch was
kept.
## What is not supported
- **Docker cases and remote (SSH) cases.** A container can write to its workspace, and creating
a worktree runs the repository's hooks and checkout filters on the Codeman machine, so git is
never run there. A remote case's repository is on another machine.
- A case folder that is not the top of a repository (a subfolder of one), a bare repository, or
an empty repository with no commit yet.
- Worktrees outside `.claude/worktrees/` (made by hand with `git worktree add`) are listed, but
Codeman neither starts sessions in them from the dialog nor removes them.
The HTTP endpoints are in the [HTTP API](HTTP-API) reference (`/api/cases/:name/worktrees`).
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@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Roughly 235 handlers across 26 route modules. By domain:
| ------------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| System | 56 | Status, settings, digest, updates, tunnel. |
| Sessions | 34 | Create, input, terminal, wait, last response, kill. |
| Cases | 34 | Create, link, clone, remote and docker cases. |
| Cases | 37 | Create, link, clone, worktrees, remote and docker cases. |
| Files | 17 | Preview, edit, raw, attachments, path picker. |
| Orchestrator | 10 | Plans and phases. |
| Ralph | 9 | Loop control and configuration. |
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@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ codeman web # then open http://localhost:3000
| [Agent CLIs](Agent-CLIs) | Which agent should this session run, and how do I set it up? |
| [Custom Model Endpoints](Custom-Model-Endpoints) | How do I point a session at my own OpenAI-compatible endpoint? |
| [Working With Files](Working-With-Files) | How do I read, edit, and attach files? |
| [Git Worktrees](Git-Worktrees) | How do several agents work on one repository without sharing a folder? |
| [Input And Voice](Input-And-Voice) | How do I talk to an agent, including by voice? |
| [Mobile Guide](Mobile-Guide) | How well does this work on a phone? |
| [Keyboard Shortcuts](Keyboard-Shortcuts) | What can I drive from the keyboard? |
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@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
- [Agent CLIs](Agent-CLIs)
- [Custom Model Endpoints](Custom-Model-Endpoints)
- [Working With Files](Working-With-Files)
- [Git Worktrees](Git-Worktrees)
- [Input And Voice](Input-And-Voice)
- [Mobile Guide](Mobile-Guide)
- [Keyboard Shortcuts](Keyboard-Shortcuts)