Cursor Worktree Skill

A Cursor AI skill that creates temporary Git worktrees for reviewing PRs and branches. Opens in a new Cursor window, cleans up automatically when closed.

The Problem

You're in the middle of some work, but you want to check out someone else's branch for a PR review. Switching branches means:

• Stashing or committing your work-in-progress
• Losing your mental context
• Potential conflicts when switching back

The Solution

This skill creates a temporary Git worktree, opens it in a new Cursor window, and lets you explore the branch completely isolated from your main work.

When you're done and close that Cursor window, the worktree is automatically cleaned up.

Multiple worktrees can be open at once — no conflicts with your main branch or other reviews.

Usage

From any Git repository in Cursor, type in the chat:

/git-worktree feature/new-login

This will create a worktree, open it in a new Cursor window, and automatically clean up when you close that window.

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/haydenfowler/cursor-worktree-skill/master/install-remote.sh)

Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/haydenfowler/cursor-worktree-skill.git
cd cursor-worktree-skill
./install.sh

Manual Install

Copy the git-worktree folder to your Cursor skills directory:

cp -r git-worktree ~/.cursor/skills/
chmod +x ~/.cursor/skills/git-worktree/scripts/wt.sh

Features

• Zero disruption — Your current work stays exactly as-is
• Automatic cleanup — Worktree removed when you close the Cursor window
• Multiple reviews — Open as many branches as you need simultaneously
• Simple invocation — Just ask Cursor to "review branch X"

Requirements

• macOS (uses AppleScript for window detection)
• Git
• Cursor IDE with the cursor CLI installed

Troubleshooting

Worktree wasn't cleaned up

If Cursor crashed or the cleanup didn't run:

# See orphaned worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove specific worktree
git worktree remove ~/git-worktrees/repo-branch-12345 --force

# Or prune all stale entries
git worktree prune

Branch not found

Make sure the branch exists locally or fetch it first:

git fetch origin branch-name

Then use origin/branch-name when invoking the skill.

"Not in a git repository" error

The skill must be invoked from within a Cursor window that has a Git repository open.

How It Works

1. Worktree Creation — Uses git worktree add to create an isolated checkout of the branch
2. Cursor Launch — Opens the worktree directory in a new Cursor window
3. Background Monitor — A background process uses AppleScript to detect when the Cursor window closes
4. Cleanup — When the window closes, git worktree remove cleans up the directory

License

MIT