bootstrap-worktrees

name	bootstrap-worktrees
description	Set up project-agnostic worktree isolation with per-worktree ports, Docker Compose projects, and config files. Discovers services, generates create/remove scripts and Claude Code hook configuration. Triggers: /bootstrap-worktrees, set up worktree isolation, bootstrap worktrees
context	fork
agent	general-purpose
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Glob, Grep, Bash(chmod *), Bash(bash -n *), Bash(mkdir *), Bash(ls *), Bash(cat *)
license	MIT
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","tags":["worktree","isolation","docker","compose","ports","hooks"],"author":"benjamcalvin"}

Bootstrap Worktree Isolation

Set up project-agnostic worktree isolation so multiple Claude Code sessions can work on different branches simultaneously without port conflicts, database collisions, or stale container leaks.

Context

• Skill source directory: $SKILL_DIR
• Arguments: $ARGUMENTS

Before starting, gather context by running these commands:

1. Check for existing config: cat .bootstraps-worktree-config.yml 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_CONFIG_FILE"
2. Check for existing scripts: ls scripts/create-worktree.sh scripts/remove-worktree.sh 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_SCRIPTS"
3. Check for compose files: ls compose.yml docker-compose.yml 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_COMPOSE"
4. Check for hook config: cat .claude/settings.json 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_SETTINGS"

Instructions

This skill runs six phases to set up worktree isolation. It is re-runnable — it checks what exists and only regenerates what's needed.

Template files are in the skill's assets/ directory at $SKILL_DIR/assets/. Read them on demand with the Read tool only when that phase needs them.

---

Phase 0: Preferences

Check if .bootstraps-worktree-config.yml exists (from the context-gathering step above).

If NO_CONFIG_FILE: Proceed to Phase 1 (discovery) to build the config from scratch.

If config exists: Parse it and confirm with the user: "Found existing worktree config with N services. Re-run setup or modify?" Options:

• Re-run: Regenerate scripts from existing config (skip to Phase 4).
• Modify: Go to Phase 2 to adjust services interactively.
• Cancel: Stop.

---

Phase 1: Service Discovery

Scan the project to discover services that need port isolation. Check these sources in order:

1a. Docker Compose files

Look for compose.yml, docker-compose.yml, or compose.yaml in the project root and common subdirectories (docker/, infra/, .docker/). For each compose file found, extract:

• Service names from the services: block
• Port mappings from ports: entries (e.g., "5432:5432", "${DB_PORT}:5432")
• Environment variable references in port mappings (e.g., ${DB_PORT:-5432})

For each service with port mappings, create a service entry:

- name: <service_name>           # e.g., "postgres", "redis"
  env_var: <PORT_ENV_VAR>        # e.g., "DB_PORT", "REDIS_PORT"
  default_port: <number>         # The port from the compose mapping
  range_start: <number>          # Start of allocation range
  range_end: <number>            # End of allocation range

Range allocation strategy: For each service, compute a 100-port range starting at the default port:

• Use default_port as range_start and default_port + 99 as range_end (e.g., default 5432 → range 5432–5531)
• If the default port is below 1024 (privileged), shift the range to start at 10000 + default_port (e.g., default 443 → range 10443–10542)
• Ensure ranges don't overlap between services (shift if needed)

1b. Environment files

Scan .env, .env.example, .env.sample, .env.development for variables matching *_PORT patterns. Cross-reference with compose discoveries — add any ports found here that weren't in compose.

1c. Config files

Scan for port references in common config files: mise.toml, mise.local.toml, Procfile, Makefile, docker-compose.override.yml. Add any new port env vars discovered.

1d. External resource detection

Scan environment files for variables matching patterns that suggest external/shared resources:

• *_URL, *_ENDPOINT — API endpoints
• *_API_KEY, *_SECRET — credentials
• *_BUCKET, *_QUEUE — cloud resources
• *_WEBHOOK — webhook URLs
• DATABASE_URL (when pointing to a remote host, not localhost)

Record these as shared resources that cannot be isolated per-worktree.

If no services are discovered, inform the user: "No services with port bindings found. You can define services manually." Then proceed to Phase 2 with an empty service list for manual entry.

---

Phase 2: Interactive Confirmation

Present the discovered services to the user in a clear table:

Discovered services:
  # | Service     | Env Var      | Default Port | Range
  1 | postgres    | DB_PORT      | 5432         | 5432–5531
  2 | redis       | REDIS_PORT   | 6379         | 6379–6478
  3 | app-server  | SERVER_PORT  | 8080         | 8080–8179

Ask the user to confirm or modify:

• Accept all: Proceed with discovered services as-is.
• Modify: Allow the user to:
  • Remove a service (by number)
  • Add a service (name, env var, default port, range)
  • Edit a service's env var, port, or range
• Start fresh: Discard discoveries and define manually.

Also present any shared resources discovered:

Shared resources detected (cannot be isolated per-worktree):
  - DATABASE_URL → postgres://prod-host:5432/mydb (external database)
  - STRIPE_API_KEY → sk_live_... (shared API key)
  - S3_BUCKET → my-app-uploads (shared bucket)

Warn the user about each shared resource and ask if they want to note any mitigations (e.g., per-worktree schema prefix, test API keys).

Also ask:

• Compose prefix: Project name prefix for Docker Compose (default: repo directory name). Used as <prefix>-<worktree-slug>.
• Scripts directory: Where to write generated scripts (default: scripts/).
• Config file formats: Which config files to generate per-worktree:
  • .env (always generated)
  • mise.local.toml — if mise.toml exists in the project
  • Other formats the user specifies
• Compose file path: Which compose file to use (auto-detected, confirm with user).
• Branch delete env var: Environment variable name for optional branch deletion on remove (default: <UPPER_REPO_NAME>_WORKTREE_DELETE_BRANCH).

---

Phase 3: Build Configuration

Construct the full configuration and save to .bootstraps-worktree-config.yml:

project_name: "<repo_name>"
compose_prefix: "<prefix>"
compose_file: "compose.yml"
scripts_dir: "scripts"
delete_branch_env_var: "MYPROJECT_WORKTREE_DELETE_BRANCH"

services:
  - name: postgres
    env_var: DB_PORT
    default_port: 5432
    range_start: 5432
    range_end: 5531
  - name: app-server
    env_var: SERVER_PORT
    default_port: 8080
    range_start: 8080
    range_end: 8179

config_formats:
  - env              # always
  - mise.local.toml  # if detected

shared_resources:
  - name: DATABASE_URL
    value: "postgres://prod-host:5432/mydb"
    note: "Use per-worktree local database instead"
  - name: STRIPE_API_KEY
    note: "Use test keys per-worktree"

env_template: 

The env_template section captures the .env file content pattern. During discovery, build this from the existing .env or .env.example file, replacing hardcoded port values with the allocated port variables.

---

Phase 4: Generate Scripts

Read each template from $SKILL_DIR/assets/, replace the {{...}} placeholders with values derived from the configuration, and write to the scripts directory.

4a. Generate create-worktree.sh

Read $SKILL_DIR/assets/create-worktree.sh.tmpl. Replace these placeholders:

Placeholder	Replacement
{{SERVICE_PORT_ALLOCATIONS}}	One allocate_port call per service. Example for a service {name: postgres, env_var: DB_PORT, range_start: 5432, range_end: 5531}: db_port="$(allocate_port DB_PORT 5432 5531)" — use lowercase env_var as the bash variable name.
{{PORT_LOG_SUMMARY}}	Space-separated KEY=$var pairs. Example: DB_PORT=$db_port SERVER_PORT=$server_port
{{COMPOSE_PREFIX}}	The compose prefix from config (e.g., myproject)
{{ENV_FILE_CONTENT}}	The .env content lines using allocated port variables. Build from the env_template in config, replacing {{ENV_LINES}} with one line per service env var (e.g., DB_PORT=$db_port) plus any additional static env vars from the project's .env.example.
{{EXTRA_CONFIG_FILES}}	Additional config file generation blocks. For mise.local.toml: a heredoc writing [env] section with port assignments. For each format in config_formats (other than env). Include mise trust call if generating mise config.
{{WORKTREE_INFO_PORTS}}	One KEY=$var line per service for the .worktree-info file. Example: DB_PORT=$db_port
{{COMPOSE_FILE}}	The compose file path from config (e.g., compose.yml)
{{COMPOSE_ENV_VARS}}	Environment variable assignments for the docker compose up command. Example: DB_PORT="$db_port" REDIS_PORT="$redis_port"
{{SHARED_RESOURCES}}	A SHARED_RESOURCES block listing resources that can't be isolated, for operator awareness. Example: SHARED_RESOURCES=DATABASE_URL,STRIPE_API_KEY

Write to <scripts_dir>/create-worktree.sh and make executable (chmod +x).

4b. Generate remove-worktree.sh

Read $SKILL_DIR/assets/remove-worktree.sh.tmpl. Replace:

Placeholder	Replacement
{{DELETE_BRANCH_ENV_VAR}}	The env var name from config (e.g., MYPROJECT_WORKTREE_DELETE_BRANCH)

Write to <scripts_dir>/remove-worktree.sh and make executable.

4c. Verify generated scripts

After writing each script, verify:

1. The file exists and is executable
2. Run bash -n <script> to check for syntax errors
3. If syntax errors are found, fix them before proceeding

---

Phase 5: Hook Configuration

Read $SKILL_DIR/assets/hooks-settings.json.tmpl. Replace {{SCRIPTS_DIR}} with the scripts directory from config (e.g., scripts).

Check if .claude/settings.json exists:

If it doesn't exist: Create .claude/ directory and write the hook config directly.

If it exists: Parse the existing settings. Check for existing WorktreeCreate and WorktreeRemove hooks:

• If hooks don't exist: Merge the new hook entries into the existing hooks object (or create the hooks key if absent).
• If hooks already exist: Show the user the existing hooks and the new ones. Ask: "Replace existing worktree hooks, keep existing, or abort?"

After writing, confirm the hooks are correctly configured by re-reading the file and validating it's valid JSON.

---

Phase 6: Summary

Report to the user:

1. Generated scripts:

   • <scripts_dir>/create-worktree.sh — creates worktrees with isolated ports and compose projects
   • <scripts_dir>/remove-worktree.sh — tears down worktrees and their resources

2. Hook configuration: .claude/settings.json updated with WorktreeCreate and WorktreeRemove hooks

3. Services configured: List each service with its env var and port range

4. Shared resource warnings: List any shared resources that need manual attention

5. Config saved: .bootstraps-worktree-config.yml — re-run /bootstrap-worktrees to regenerate

6. Next steps:

   • Test by running: claude and then using the worktree feature
   • Add mise.local.toml, .env, .worktree-info to .gitignore if not already present
   • Set <DELETE_BRANCH_ENV_VAR>=1 to auto-delete merged branches on worktree removal
   • Run /bootstrap-worktrees audit to verify the setup (available after installing the audit extension)

7. Files to gitignore (suggest additions if not already present):

   .env
   mise.local.toml
   .worktree-info