Graphite Overview Graphite (gt) is a CLI tool for managing stacked pull requests - breaking large features into small, incremental changes built on top of each other. This skill provides the mental model, command reference, and workflow patterns needed to work effectively with gt. CRITICAL: Always Use --no-interactive NEVER invoke any gt command without --no-interactive . This is a global flag inherited by every gt command — not a per-command option. Without --no-interactive , gt may open prompts, pagers, or editors that hang indefinitely in agent/CI contexts. The --force flag does NOT prevent prompts — you must use --no-interactive separately.
WRONG - may hang waiting for user input
gt sync gt submit --force gt track --parent main
CORRECT - always pass --no-interactive
- gt
- sync
- --no-interactive
- gt submit --no-interactive
- gt track
- --parent
- main --no-interactive
- gt restack --no-interactive
- gt create my-branch
- -m
- "message"
- --no-interactive
- What
- --interactive
- controls (all disabled by
- --no-interactive
- ):
- Prompts (confirmation dialogs in sync, delete, submit, etc.)
- Pagers (output paging in log)
- Editors (commit message editing in create/modify, PR metadata in submit)
- Interactive selectors (branch selection in checkout, move, track)
- Note:
- gt modify --interactive-rebase
- is a separate, unrelated flag that starts a git interactive rebase. It is NOT the same as the global
- --interactive
- .
- Core Mental Model
- Stacks are Linear Chains
- A
- stack
- is a sequence of branches where each branch (except trunk) has exactly one parent:
- VALID STACK (linear):
- main → feature-a → feature-b → feature-c
- INVALID (not a stack):
- main → feature-a → feature-b
- └─────→ feature-x
- Key Concepts
- Parent-Child Relationships
-
- Every branch tracked by gt (except trunk) has exactly one parent branch it builds upon
- Auto-restacking
-
- When modifying a branch, gt automatically rebases all upstack branches to include changes
- Directional Navigation
- :
- Downstack/Down
-
- Toward trunk (toward the base) -
- gt down
- moves from feature-b → feature-a → main
- Upstack/Up
-
- Away from trunk (toward the tip) -
- gt up
- moves from feature-a → feature-b → feature-c
- Trunk
-
- The main branch (usually
- main
- or
- master
- ) that all stacks build upon
- Stack Visualization - CRITICAL MENTAL MODEL
- When working with Graphite stacks, always visualize trunk at the BOTTOM:
- TOP ↑ feat-3 ← upstack (leaf)
- feat-2
- feat-1
- BOTTOM ↓ main ← downstack (trunk)
- Directional Terminology - MUST UNDERSTAND
- UPSTACK / UP
- = away from trunk = toward TOP = toward leaves
- DOWNSTACK / DOWN
- = toward trunk = toward BOTTOM = toward main
- Detailed Examples
- Given stack:
- main → feat-1 → feat-2 → feat-3
- If current branch is
- feat-1
- :
- Upstack:
- feat-2
- ,
- feat-3
- (children, toward top)
- Downstack:
- main
- (parent, toward bottom)
- If current branch is
- feat-3
- (at top):
- Upstack:
- (nothing, already at top/leaf)
- Downstack:
- feat-2
- ,
- feat-1
- ,
- main
- (ancestors, toward bottom)
- Why This Mental Model Is Critical
- 🔴
- Commands depend on this visualization:
- gt up
- /
- gt down
- navigate the stack
- land-stack
- traverses branches in specific direction
- Stack traversal logic (parent/child relationships)
- 🔴
- Common mistake:
- Thinking "upstack" means "toward trunk"
- WRONG
-
- upstack = toward main ❌
- CORRECT
-
- upstack = away from main ✅
- 🔴
- PR landing order:
- Always bottom→top (main first, then each layer up)
- Metadata Storage
- All gt metadata is stored in the shared
- .git
- directory (accessible across worktrees):
- .git/.graphite_repo_config
- - Repository-level configuration (trunk branch)
- .git/.graphite_cache_persist
- - Branch relationships (parent-child graph)
- .git/.graphite_pr_info
- - Cached GitHub PR information
- Important
- Metadata is shared across all worktrees since it's in the common .git directory. Essential Commands Remember: ALL gt commands below must include --no-interactive (see CRITICAL: Always Use --no-interactive above). Common Workflow Commands Command Alias Purpose gt create [name] gt c Create new branch stacked on current branch and commit staged changes gt modify gt m Modify current branch (amend commit) and auto-restack children gt submit gt s Push branches and create/update PRs gt submit --stack gt ss Submit entire stack (up + down) gt sync - Sync from remote and prompt to delete merged branches Navigation Commands Command Alias Purpose gt up [steps] gt u Move up stack (away from trunk) gt down [steps] gt d Move down stack (toward trunk) gt top gt t Move to tip of stack gt bottom gt b Move to bottom of stack gt checkout [branch] gt co Interactive branch checkout Stack Management Command Purpose gt restack Ensure each branch has its parent in git history gt move Rebase current branch onto different parent gt fold Fold branch's changes into parent gt split Split current branch into multiple single-commit branches gt log Visualize stack structure Branch Info & Management Command Purpose gt branch info Show branch info (parent, children, commit SHA) gt parent Show parent branch name gt children Show children branch names gt track [branch] Start tracking branch with gt (set parent) gt untrack [branch] Stop tracking branch with gt gt delete [name] Delete branch and update metadata gt rename [name] Rename branch and update metadata Workflow Patterns Pattern 1: Creating a New Stack Build a feature in multiple reviewable chunks:
1. Start from trunk
gt checkout main --no-interactive git pull
2. Create first branch
gt create phase-1 -m "Add API endpoints" --no-interactive
... make changes ...
git add . gt modify -m "Add API endpoints" --no-interactive
3. Create second branch on top
gt create phase-2 -m "Update frontend" --no-interactive
... make changes ...
git add . gt modify -m "Update frontend" --no-interactive
4. Submit entire stack
gt submit --stack --no-interactive
Result: 2 PRs created
PR #101: phase-1 (base: main)
PR #102: phase-2 (base: phase-1)
Pattern 2: Responding to Review Feedback Update a branch in the middle of a stack:
Navigate down to target branch
gt down --no-interactive
Repeat as needed
Make changes
... edit files ...
git add .
Modify (auto-restacks upstack branches)
gt modify -m "Address review feedback" --no-interactive
Resubmit stack
gt submit --stack --no-interactive Pattern 3: Adding to Existing Stack Insert a new branch in the middle:
Checkout the parent where you want to insert
gt checkout phase-1 --no-interactive
Create new branch with --insert
gt create phase-1.5 --insert -m "Add validation" --no-interactive
Submit new PR
gt submit --no-interactive Pattern 4: Syncing After Merges Clean up after PRs merge on GitHub:
Run sync (--no-interactive auto-confirms branch deletion)
gt sync --no-interactive
Result:
- Merged branches deleted locally
- Remaining branches rebased onto trunk
- PR bases updated on GitHub
Pattern 5: Splitting Large Changes Break up a large commit into reviewable pieces:
Checkout branch with large commit
gt checkout large-feature --no-interactive
Split into single-commit branches
gt split --no-interactive
Rename branches meaningfully
gt rename add-api-endpoints --no-interactive gt up --no-interactive gt rename add-frontend --no-interactive gt up --no-interactive gt rename add-tests --no-interactive
Submit
- gt submit
- --stack
- --no-interactive
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't use
- git rebase
- directly
-
- Use
- gt modify
- or
- gt restack
- - gt needs to update metadata during rebasing
- Don't delete branches with
- git branch -d
-
- Use
- gt delete
- - metadata needs to be updated to re-parent children
- Don't assume
- gt submit
- only affects current branch
-
- It submits downstack too (all ancestors). Use
- gt submit --stack
- to include upstack
- Don't forget to
- gt sync
- after merges
-
- Stale branches accumulate and metadata gets outdated
- ⚠️ NEVER use
- gt log short
- for branch status
- The output format is counterintuitive and confuses agents. Use gt branch info , gt parent , or gt children for explicit metadata access instead Quick Decision Tree When to use gt commands: Start new work → gt create (sets parent relationship) Edit current branch → gt modify (auto-restacks children) Navigate stack → gt up/down/top/bottom (move through chain) View structure → gt log (see visualization) Get parent branch → gt branch info (parse "Parent:" line) Get branch relationships → gt parent / gt children (quick access) Submit PRs → gt submit --stack (create/update all PRs) After merges → gt sync (clean up + rebase) Reorganize → gt move (change parent) Combine work → gt fold (merge into parent) Split work → gt split (break into branches) Resources references/ Contains detailed command reference and comprehensive mental model documentation: gt-reference.md - Complete command reference, metadata format details, and advanced patterns Load this reference when users need detailed information about specific gt commands, metadata structure, or complex workflow scenarios.