| name | windows-git-worktree |
| description | Gotchas working in a git worktree on Windows and sharing a branch across parallel sessions. Use when a fresh worktree shows the whole tree as "modified" with no real changes (core.autocrlf / CRLF-LF warnings), when node_modules is missing in a worktree, or when two agents/sessions edit the same worktree/branch and you must commit only your own files. Covers diagnosing phantom EOL "modifications" (git diff --ignore-cr-at-eol / --numstat) and fixing them permanently with a committed .gitattributes + git add --renormalize, junctioning node_modules into the worktree, staging scoped to your files with git mv to preserve history, and matching exact tab indentation for whitespace-sensitive edits. |
Windows git worktree + shared-branch gotchas
Phantom "modified" whole tree (core.autocrlf)
Symptom. A fresh worktree on Windows shows nearly every tracked file as M in
git status, with warning: LF will be replaced by CRLF the next time Git touches it.
Nothing was actually edited.
Diagnose it's EOL-only, not real changes:
git diff --ignore-cr-at-eol --stat <file> → empty.git diff --numstat <file> → no changed-line rows.- The files on disk and in the repo are byte-identical (often both LF already).
Cause (mechanism). core.autocrlf=true with no .gitattributes: git wants to
re-record every text file under its line-ending policy, so git status flags them even
though the bytes match the repo. Fresh Windows worktrees surface this for the whole tree
at once. It's cosmetic — the diffs are empty — and won't enter a commit unless you stage
those files.
Fix permanently (for the whole team) — commit a .gitattributes:
* text=auto eol=lf
*.png binary
*.jpg binary
*.woff2 binary
Then git add .gitattributes && git add --renormalize .. For an EOL-identical repo,
renormalize stages no file content, so the commit contains only .gitattributes and
the phantom M entries clear. Caveat: git add --renormalize . also stages files that
have genuine uncommitted changes — if you want an isolated .gitattributes commit,
git reset first, then git add .gitattributes alone.
Do not just flip core.autocrlf — config lives in the common .git and affects the
main checkout and any other sessions.
node_modules is missing in a worktree
git worktree add does not copy node_modules. Junction it to the main checkout instead
of reinstalling (PowerShell):
New-Item -ItemType Junction -Path "<worktree>\node_modules" -Target "<main>\node_modules"
Do not use mklink through Git Bash — the Windows path args get mangled
(Invalid switch - "C:\..."). Use the PowerShell junction, or run mklink /J from a
real cmd.
Two sessions sharing one worktree + branch
Parallel agents can end up editing the same worktree directory and branch. Coexist:
- Commit only your files. Stage explicit paths, never
git add -A.
git status may show another session's real changes (especially once the EOL fix above
un-hides them). Leave them; don't clobber files you didn't create.- Refactor with
git mv old new so renames keep history; then edit the moved file and
git add it (the rename + content edit record as a rename).
- Before committing, run
git diff --cached --name-status and confirm only your files are
staged. A shared file (package.json) may carry both sessions' edits — committing it
pulls theirs in too; fine if it references already-committed code, but know it.
Whitespace-exact edits (agent tip)
When an exact-match edit needs a tab-indented file's literal indentation, get the bytes
first — sed -n 'X,Yp' file | cat -A renders tabs as ^I. Reconstruct the match string
with the right tab counts; otherwise the edit fails to match (or matches the wrong copy).
