Re: What is the reason behind not hiding git worktrees from git?

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Oct 1, 2025, 18:54 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq3482312r.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <E311F5BA-F88C-4C3D-88B5-F8508B106D41@gmail.com>

Ben Knoble <ben.knoble@gmail.com> writes:

Show 6 quoted lines

>> The impact is that the list of worktrees would have to be read to get
>> status. As status is not particularly cheap operation in any case I
>> would expect the problem to be minor.
>
> I believe status information is used for the shell prompt info, so
> performance hits there have a cost.

Sure, but an embedded git-controlled working tree _should_ be flagged as an untracked entity, _unless_ it is ignore'd, no?

That is how you would add a new submodule to your project after all. So, if you want to ignore them, just add them to .git/info/exclude or something, perhaps?

Why do people even want to have such a layout, unless they want to make it a submodule (or deliberate subdirectory that is unrelated)?

 -+- README.md (your own branch, probably on main)
  |
  +-+ worktree-foo (worktree checkout of branch foo)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in foo)
  |
  +-+ worktree-bar (worktree checkout of branch bar)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in bar)
  |
  +-+ worktree-baz (worktree checkout of branch baz)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in baz)

Wouldn't it be easier to manage if you had this instead?

 -+
  |
  +-+ my-project (the primary worktree, probably on main)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (the file from branch main)
  |
  +-+ worktree-foo (worktree checkout of branch foo)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in foo)
  |
  +-+ worktree-bar (worktree checkout of branch bar)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in bar)
  |
  +-+ worktree-baz (worktree checkout of branch baz)
  | |
  | +-- README.md (a slight variant of the file in baz)

That way, you can go up to the umbrella directory and ...

    $ cd ..
    $ ls
    my-project worktree-foo worktree-bar worktree-baz
    $ grep -e HowTo */README.md

... do things you would do collectively to these worktrees with the primary worktree included as well.