workspace

Workspace

A command-line tool for managing isolated development workspaces with multiple git repositories. Designed for developers working on microservices, monorepos, or multiple related projects.

Features

• Isolated Workspaces: Create separate workspace environments for different features or experiments
• Git Worktree Integration: Feature workspaces use git worktrees for lightweight, isolated branch development
• Branch Management: Track, cleanup, and manage branches across all repositories
• Shared Context: All workspaces share .claude directory for consistent AI assistance
• Automatic Sync: Fetches and pulls latest changes when creating workspaces
• Interactive UI: Terminal interface powered by Bubble Tea
• Shell Integration: Seamless navigation with the w command
• Protected Workspaces: Default workspace is protected from accidental deletion
• Unpushed Commit Detection: Warns before deleting branches with unpushed work

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install jcleira/tap/workspace

APT (Debian/Ubuntu)

curl -LO https://github.com/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest/download/workspace_$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4 | tr -d 'v')_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i workspace_*.deb

RPM (Fedora/RHEL)

curl -LO https://github.com/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest/download/workspace_$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4 | tr -d 'v')_linux_amd64.rpm
sudo dnf install ./workspace_*.rpm

APK (Alpine)

curl -LO https://github.com/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest/download/workspace_$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/jcleira/workspace/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4 | tr -d 'v')_linux_amd64.apk
sudo apk add --allow-untrusted workspace_*.apk

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add jcleira https://github.com/jcleira/scoop-bucket
scoop install workspace

AUR (Arch Linux)

yay -S workspace-cli-bin
# or
paru -S workspace-cli-bin

Go Install

go install github.com/jcleira/workspace@latest

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jcleira/workspace.git
cd workspace
make install

# Or install to user directory
make install-local

Quick Start

1. Initial Setup

# Configure workspace directories
workspace config setup

# View current configuration
workspace config show

2. Create Your First Workspace

# Create a new workspace (uses git worktrees)
workspace create my-feature

3. Set Up Shell Integration

# Initialize shell integration for the 'w' command
workspace config init

# Add to your shell config and reload
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

4. Navigate Between Workspaces

# Interactive workspace selector
workspace  # or just 'w' after shell integration

# Direct navigation
w my-feature

# List all workspaces
workspace list

Commands

Core Commands

Branch Management Commands

Configuration Commands

Configuration Keys

• workspaces-dir: Directory where workspaces are stored
• repos-dir: Directory where main git repositories are located
• claude-dir: Shared Claude context directory

Git Integration

Automatic Remote Sync

When creating a new workspace, the CLI automatically:

1. Fetches latest changes from remote (git fetch origin)
2. Pulls the default branch to ensure it's up-to-date
3. Creates worktrees from the latest code

Git Worktree vs Normal Clones

• default workspace: Uses normal git clones for persistent, long-term development
• feature workspaces: Uses git worktrees for lightweight branch checkouts

# Creates normal clones
workspace create default

# Creates worktrees linked to repos-dir
workspace create feature-auth

Branch Lifecycle

On Creation:

• Branches are created from the latest main/master

On Deletion:

• Branches are deleted by default when deleting workspace
• Branches with unpushed commits are automatically skipped (safe default)

Branch Ignore Patterns

Protect branches from cleanup with patterns:

# Add patterns
workspace branch ignore add "runtime-*"
workspace branch ignore add "staging"

# Pattern types supported
workspace branch ignore add "local-*"     # Prefix
workspace branch ignore add "*-backup"    # Suffix
workspace branch ignore add "release/*"   # Glob

Project Structure

workspace/
├── main.go                 # Entry point
├── cmd/                    # Cobra commands
│   ├── root.go            # Root command & dashboard launcher
│   ├── create/            # Workspace creation
│   ├── delete/            # Workspace deletion
│   ├── list/              # List workspaces
│   ├── switch/            # Switch workspace
│   ├── branch/            # Branch management (list, cleanup, ignore)
│   └── config/            # Configuration (show, set, setup, init)
├── pkg/                    # Public packages
│   ├── workspace/         # Workspace service, manager, types
│   ├── branch/            # Branch service and types
│   ├── status/            # Repository status service
│   ├── config/            # Configuration management
│   ├── git/               # Git operations (clone, worktree, status)
│   ├── ui/
│   │   ├── commands/      # CLI output helpers
│   │   └── dashboard/     # Interactive dashboard (Bubble Tea)
│   └── shell/             # Shell integration
├── Makefile               # Build automation
└── README.md              # This file

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/jcleira/workspace.git
cd workspace
go mod download
make build
make test

Makefile Targets

make build         # Build the binary
make build-all     # Build for all platforms
make install       # Install to /usr/local/bin
make install-local # Install to ~/go/bin
make test          # Run tests
make test-coverage # Generate coverage report
make check         # Run fmt, vet, and lint
make lint          # Run golangci-lint
make clean         # Remove build artifacts

Configuration

Configuration is stored in ~/.config/workspace/config.json:

{
  "workspaces_dir": "/Users/you/workspaces",
  "repos_dir": "/Users/you/repos",
  "claude_dir": "/Users/you/.claude"
}

Manual Configuration

workspace config set workspaces-dir ~/Projects/workspaces
workspace config set repos-dir ~/Projects/repos
workspace config set claude-dir ~/Projects/.claude

Shell Integration

The w function provides quick workspace navigation:

w              # Interactive workspace selection
w project      # Navigate directly to workspace
w pr[TAB]      # Autocomplete workspace names

Shell Completion

# Bash
workspace config completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/workspace

# Zsh
workspace config completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_workspace"

# Fish
workspace config completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/workspace.fish

Usage Examples

Creating Workspaces

# Create a feature workspace
workspace create frontend

# Default workspace uses normal clones
workspace create default

Managing Branches

# List all branches and their workspaces
workspace branch list

# Clean up orphaned branches
workspace branch cleanup

# Protect branches from cleanup
workspace branch ignore add "staging"
workspace branch ignore add "release-*"

Deleting Workspaces

# Delete workspace and its branches
workspace delete old-feature

Claude Integration

Workspaces automatically link to a shared .claude directory:

workspace-myproject/
├── .claude -> ~/Tactic/.claude  # Shared AI context
├── frontend/                    # Your repositories
├── backend/
└── .workspace-info              # Workspace metadata

Troubleshooting

Command not found

export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
# Or for user installation
export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"

Shell integration not working

1. Run workspace config init
2. Add the function to your shell config
3. Reload: source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc

Git authentication issues

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa
ssh -T git@github.com

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Cobra - CLI framework
• Bubble Tea - TUI framework
• Lipgloss - Terminal styling