gitbutler-virtual-branches

name	gitbutler-virtual-branches
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a virtual branch", "assign file to branch", "work on multiple features simultaneously", "organize commits after coding", "use but commands", or mentions GitButler, virtual branches, parallel development without checkout, post-hoc commit organization, multi-agent concurrent development, or `--gitbutler`/`--but` flags.
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","author":"outfitter","category":"version-control","related-skills":["gitbutler-multi-agent","gitbutler-stacks","gitbutler-complete-branch"]}

GitButler Virtual Branches

Virtual branches → parallel development → post-hoc organization.

<when_to_use>

• Multiple unrelated features in same workspace simultaneously
• Multi-agent concurrent development (agents in same repo)
• Exploratory coding where organization comes after writing
• Post-hoc commit reorganization needed
• Visual organization preferred (GUI + CLI)

NOT for: projects using Graphite (incompatible models), simple linear workflows (use plain git)

</when_to_use>

This, Not That

Task	This	Not That
Initialize workspace	but setup	manual setup
Create branch	but branch new name	git checkout -b name
View changes	but status	git status
Assign file to branch	but rub <file-id> <branch>	manual staging
Commit to branch	but commit <branch> -m "msg"	git commit -m "msg"
Move commit	but rub <sha> <branch>	git cherry-pick
Squash commits	but squash <branch>	git rebase -i
Undo operation	but undo	git reset
Switch context	Create new branch	git checkout

Key difference from Git: All branches visible at once. Organize files to branches after editing. No checkout.

Core Concepts

Concept	Description
Virtual branches	Multiple branches applied simultaneously to working directory
Integration branch	gitbutler/workspace tracks virtual branch state — never touch directly
Target branch	Base branch (e.g., origin/main) all work diverges from
File assignment	Assign file hunks to branches with but rub
Oplog	Operations log for undo/restore — your safety net

Quick Start

# Initialize (one time)
but setup

# Create branch
but branch new feature-auth

# Make changes, check status for file IDs
but status
# ╭┄00 [Unassigned Changes]
# │   m6 A src/auth.ts

# Assign file to branch using ID
but rub m6 feature-auth

# Commit
but commit feature-auth -m "feat: add authentication"

Core Loop

1. Create: but branch new <name>
2. Edit: Make changes in working directory
3. Check: but status to see file IDs
4. Assign: but rub <file-id> <branch-name>
5. Commit: but commit <branch> -m "message"
6. Repeat: Continue with other features in parallel

The Power of but rub

Swiss Army knife — combines entities to perform operations:

Source	Target	Operation
File ID	Branch	Assign file to branch
File ID	Commit	Amend commit with file
Commit SHA	Branch	Move commit between branches
Commit SHA	Commit SHA	Squash (newer into older)

Essential Commands

Command	Purpose
but setup	Initialize GitButler in repository
but status	View changes and file IDs
but branch new <name>	Create virtual branch
but branch new <name> --anchor <parent>	Create stacked branch
but rub <source> <target>	Assign/move/squash/amend
but commit <branch> -m "msg"	Commit to branch
but commit <branch> -o -m "msg"	Commit only assigned files
but absorb	Auto-amend uncommitted changes to appropriate commits
but squash <commits>	Squash commits (by IDs, range, or branch)
but show <id>	Inspect a commit or branch in detail
but resolve <commit>	Enter conflict resolution mode
but push	Push branches to remote
but pr new	Create/update PRs on forge
but config forge auth	Authenticate with GitHub (OAuth)
but mark <branch>	Auto-assign new changes to branch
but unmark	Remove all mark rules from workspace
but oplog	Show operation history
but undo	Undo last operation
but oplog snapshot --message "msg"	Create manual snapshot
but pull	Update workspace with latest base
but gui	Open GitButler GUI for current repo

JSON output: Use --json or -j flag on any command: but status --json

Parallel Development

# Create two independent features
but branch new feature-a
but branch new feature-b

# Edit files for both (same workspace!)
echo "Feature A" > feature-a.ts
echo "Feature B" > feature-b.ts

# Assign to respective branches
but rub <id-a> feature-a
but rub <id-b> feature-b

# Commit independently
but commit feature-a -m "feat: implement feature A"
but commit feature-b -m "feat: implement feature B"

# Both branches exist, zero conflicts, same directory

Conflict Handling

GitButler handles conflicts per-commit during rebase/update (unlike Git's all-or-nothing model):

1. Rebase continues even when some commits conflict
2. Conflicted commits marked in UI/status
3. Use but resolve to enter resolution mode per commit
4. Partial resolution can be saved for later

# Update base (may cause conflicts)
but pull

# Check which commits have conflicts
but status

# Enter resolution mode for a specific commit
but resolve <commit-id>

# Fix conflicts in your editor, then check remaining
but resolve status

# Finalize when done (or cancel to abort)
but resolve finish

For detailed conflict resolution workflows, see references/reference.md#conflict-resolution.

Auto-Assignment with Marks

Set up workspace rules to auto-assign files to branches:

# Auto-assign new changes to auth-feature branch
but mark auth-feature

# Remove all rules
but unmark

Useful for multi-agent workflows where changes should route to a specific branch.

ALWAYS:

• Use but for all work within virtual branches
• Use git only for integrating completed work into main
• Return to gitbutler/workspace after git operations: git checkout gitbutler/workspace
• Snapshot before risky operations: but oplog snapshot --message "..."
• Assign files immediately after creating: but rub <id> <branch>
• Check file IDs with but status before using but rub

NEVER:

• Use git commit on virtual branches — breaks GitButler state

• Use git add — GitButler manages index

• Use git checkout on virtual branches — no checkout needed

• Push gitbutler/integration to remote — it's local-only

• Mix Graphite and GitButler in same repo — incompatible models

• Pipe but status directly — causes panic; capture output first:

  status_output=$(but status)
  echo "$status_output" | head -5
  

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Solution
Files not committing	Assign first: but rub <file-id> <branch>
Broken pipe panic	Capture output: output=$(but status)
Mixed git/but broke state	but pull or but setup
Lost work	but undo or but oplog restore <snapshot-id>

For detailed troubleshooting (branch tracking, conflicts, filename issues), see references/reference.md#troubleshooting-guide.

Recovery

Quick undo: but undo | Full restore: but oplog restore <snapshot-id> | View history: but oplog

For recovery from lost work or corrupted state, see references/reference.md#recovery-scenarios.

Reference Files

• references/reference.md — Complete CLI reference, JSON schemas, troubleshooting
• references/examples.md — Real-world workflow patterns with commands
• references/ai-integration.md — Hooks, MCP server, agent lifecycle

Related Skills

• gitbutler-multi-agent — Multi-agent coordination
• gitbutler-stacks — Stacked branches
• gitbutler-complete-branch — Merging to main

External

• GitButler Docs — Official documentation
• GitButler AI Integration — Hooks and MCP