git worktree list: How to List Working Trees

Basic Usage

git worktree list

Run this command from any worktree in the repository. It will display all linked worktrees regardless of which one you are currently in:

$ git worktree list
/home/you/code/acme           d1e2f3a [feature/payments]
/home/you/code/acme-hotfix    7a8b9c0 [hotfix/checkout-crash]
/home/you/code/acme-review    b2c3d4e [feature/auth-refactor]

Output Format

Each line of output contains three pieces of information:

1. Path— the absolute path to the worktree directory on disk.
2. HEAD commit— the abbreviated SHA-1 of the commit currently checked out.
3. Branch— the branch name shown in square brackets. If the worktree is in detached HEAD state, you will see (detached HEAD) instead of a branch name.

$ git worktree list
/home/you/code/acme           d1e2f3a [feature/payments]
/home/you/code/acme-debug     e4f5a6b (detached HEAD)

Locked worktrees are annotated with locked at the end of the line, which is useful for identifying worktrees on removable drives or network shares.

Porcelain Format (--porcelain)

The default human-readable output is convenient for quick checks, but it is not ideal for scripts. Use --porcelain to get a machine-parseable format:

$ git worktree list --porcelain
worktree /home/you/code/acme
HEAD d1e2f3ad1e2f3ad1e2f3ad1e2f3ad1e2f3a4b5c6d
branch refs/heads/feature/payments

worktree /home/you/code/acme-hotfix
HEAD 7a8b9c07a8b9c07a8b9c07a8b9c07a8b9c0d1e2f3
branch refs/heads/hotfix/checkout-crash

worktree /home/you/code/acme-review
HEAD b2c3d4eb2c3d4eb2c3d4eb2c3d4eb2c3d4e5f6a7b
branch refs/heads/feature/auth-refactor

In porcelain mode, each worktree is a block of key-value lines separated by a blank line. The HEAD is the full 40-character SHA-1, and the branch is given as a full ref path. If the worktree is in detached HEAD state, the branch line is replaced with detached.

Filtering & Scripting Examples

Combining git worktree list --porcelain with standard shell tools makes it easy to extract exactly the information you need:

# List only the worktree paths
git worktree list --porcelain | grep '^worktree ' | cut -d' ' -f2

# Count the number of active worktrees
git worktree list --porcelain | grep -c '^worktree '

# Find which worktree has a specific branch checked out
git worktree list --porcelain | grep -B1 'branch refs/heads/feature/auth-refactor' | head -1

# Shell function to jump to a worktree by branch name
wt() {
  local dir
  dir=$(git worktree list --porcelain \
    | awk -v branch="refs/heads/$1" \
      '/^worktree /{dir=$2} /^branch /{if($2==branch) print dir}')
  if [ -n "$dir" ]; then
    cd "$dir" || return
  else
    echo "No worktree found for branch '$1'"
  fi
}

Verbose Output (-v)

Current Git releases support the -v flag, which provides additional details such as the lock reason for locked worktrees and prunable status for stale entries:

$ git worktree list -v
/home/you/code/acme           d1e2f3a [feature/payments]
/home/you/code/acme-hotfix    7a8b9c0 [hotfix/checkout-crash]
/home/you/code/acme-usb       e4f5a6b [release/v2.3] locked (reason: on USB drive)

This is especially useful when you have worktrees on removable drives or network shares and want to see why they are locked at a glance.

Next Steps

If git worktree list shows worktrees whose directories no longer exist on disk, those entries are stale and should be cleaned up. See the git worktree prune tutorial to learn how to remove them.

For a complete overview of git worktree commands, return to the Tutorial index.

Frequently Asked Questions

git worktree list --porcelain | grep -B1 'branch refs/heads/feat/auth' | head -1
# Output: worktree /home/user/project-feat-auth