The developer workflow cheat sheet

Quick reference

Worktrees

$git worktree add ../hotfix main
$git worktree list
$git worktree remove ../hotfix
$git worktree add -b fix/412 ../p412
$git worktree prune

Review

$gh pr list --state open
$gh pr checkout 412
$gh pr view 412 --comments
$gh pr diff 412 --color=never
$gh pr checks 412 --watch

CI locally

$act pull_request
$act -j build
$act -l
$act -n
$act --secret-file .secrets

Debug

$tmux new -s debug
$tmux attach -t debug
$tmux ls
$tmux split-window -h
$tmux send-keys -t debug 'make test' Enter

Explained

Worktrees

A worktree is a second checkout of the same repository, so a hotfix does not disturb the branch you were reading. git worktree add puts it beside the main checkout, git worktree list shows every tree, git worktree remove clears a finished one, and prune tidies the records. A branch can live in one worktree at a time.

Review

gh pr list shows the open queue, and gh pr checkout 412 puts a branch in your working copy without a manual fetch. gh pr view 412 --comments reads the discussion, gh pr diff 412 shows the patch, and gh pr checks 412 --watch waits for CI in the terminal.

CI locally

act runs the workflow on your machine in Docker. act pull_request runs the event you care about, act -j build runs one job, act -l lists them, act -n does a dry run, and act --secret-file .secrets loads the values CI would inject.

Debug

tmux new -s debug starts a session that survives a dropped connection. Reattach with tmux attach -t debug, list sessions with tmux ls, split a pane with tmux split-window -h, and send a command with tmux send-keys -t debug 'make test' Enter. tmux kill-session -t debug ends it.

In one line

Start a worktree

$git worktree add ../hotfix main