multirepo

Manage many git repositories from one .code-workspace file — clone them, keep them in sync, and jump between them by name.

One small Rust binary does the work. A thin shell shim (zsh, bash, fish) wires it into your shell, so cd-ing into a workspace just works.

Install

Download a prebuilt binary and the shell shims:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/releasetools/multirepo/raw/main/install.sh | sh

Or build from a checkout with ./install.sh --local. The installer offers to wire the shim into your shell rc; if you decline, add the line yourself:

# zsh — add to ~/.zshrc
[ -f "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/multirepo.plugin.zsh" ] && . "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/multirepo.plugin.zsh"

# bash — add to ~/.bashrc
[ -f "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/multirepo.plugin.bash" ] && . "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/multirepo.plugin.bash"

# fish — add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
test -f "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/conf.d/multirepo.fish"; and source "$HOME/.local/share/multirepo/conf.d/multirepo.fish"

Quickstart

A workspace is any directory with a *.code-workspace file. Add a multirepo block that lists your repos — each one says where it comes from (git, github, or gitlab), where it lives on disk, and whether it's enabled:

{
  "folders": [
    { "path": "api" },
    { "path": "web" }
  ],
  "multirepo": {
    "version": 1,
    "repositories": {
      "api": { "source": "github", "repo": "your-org/api", "path": "api", "enabled": true },
      "web": { "source": "git",    "url": "git@github.com:your-org/web.git", "path": "web", "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Already have the repos checked out? multirepo workspace create writes that file for you — it scans a directory, reads each repo's origin remote, and lists them with the right source.

Then let multirepo set it up and move you in:

# in the directory holding your-project.code-workspace
multirepo sync          # clone the repos and drop you in
@api                    # jump into the api repo by name
multirepo status        # git state across every repo
multirepo focus         # pick which repos AI tools and the editor see

Run multirepo sync ./other.code-workspace with a file to set up a fresh copy somewhere new; run multirepo sync with no file to reconcile the workspace you're already in. multirepo sync --all reconciles every registered workspace's repos in place — no activation or cd, you stay where you are.

Cloned a repo into the workspace by hand? multirepo focus spots it and offers to adopt it, or run multirepo focus --add <dir> to add it straight away — the source is read from its origin. Done with a repo? multirepo focus --rm <dir> drops it from the workspace and leaves the clone on disk.

What it does

Everything lives in the .code-workspace file, so there's no separate config to keep in sync.

• A workspace is just its .code-workspace file; a machine-local registry only remembers where each one lives.
• Enabled state drives .claudeignore, .geminiignore, and the workspace's folders list, so a disabled repo drops out of both the editor's Explorer and what AI tools see.
• cd into a workspace and it activates; @<repo> jumps into any repo by name.
• A feature is a named subset of repos, each checked out as a git worktree, so you can work across several repos in isolation. The everyday commands act on whichever you're in — the main checkouts in a workspace, the worktrees inside a feature — and teardown never drops uncommitted or unmerged work.
• Every command is idempotent. Reconcile fast-forwards or rebases only where the tree is clean, and never touches dirty or unpushed work.
• A shared .code-workspace is read as untrusted input, so a stray entry can't inject a git option or escape the workspace directory.
• Clones, fetches, and status run in parallel with a live progress row each, and a cooperative lock keeps two runs from colliding on the same repo.
• Repos clone from a git URL, GitHub via gh, or GitLab.

The commands:

New here? The guide walks through the common tasks. See the changelog for what's new, or the repository for the full spec.