- I like tools like Conductor, but on my machine the Electron apps end up feeling slow/buggy for long sessions (input lag, rendering glitches, high overhead). I wanted the same “workspace + worktrees + terminals + diff” workflow, but as a native terminal app that stays snappy.
- Workforest is a Rust TUI that treats each workspace as a git repo and lists its worktrees; you can create/remove worktrees, switch the center pane by selecting a worktree, and open multiple terminal tabs per worktree. The embedded terminal uses the Alacritty terminal engine crate (so it’s a real emulator, not a toy). Diff is shown on the right, and you can optionally launch gitui.
- It’s also wired so if Codex TUI / Claude Code emits a bell on “done” or “needs input”, Workforest badges the terminal tab with ● and shows a toast. There’s a workforest setup-harness command to update the user-scoped configs for both.
- Install:
- cargo install --git
https://github.com/nikhilshinday/workforest --locked --bin workforest
- Optional: install gitui for the diff hotkey.
Feedback welcome—especially on UX around worktree naming, repo discovery, and what you’d want in the diff panel.
