New Feature Setup (comp monorepo)

Overview

This repo has a lot of infrastructure pre-wired into git worktree add. Use it. Don't reinvent env copying, database setup, or dependency install flows in every new session.

When to Use

• User says "start a new feature", "spin up a worktree for X", "begin this Linear ticket", "new branch for …"
• Before running bun install / bun run db:generate manually in a new directory
• Before copying .env files around by hand

When NOT to Use

• User is editing an existing worktree (already set up)
• Infra repair / debugging of the hook itself (read .githooks/README.md instead)

Workflow

1. Create the worktree from origin/main

cd /Users/mariano/code/comp   # must be the MAIN clone, not another worktree
git fetch origin main
git worktree add .worktrees/<short-slug> -b <branch-name> origin/main

• For Linear tickets, use Linear's suggested branch name (mariano/<ticket-slug>).
• For infra / chore work, use mariano/<short-descriptive-name> or chore/<topic>.
• The <short-slug> on the worktree path should match the branch's suffix (it becomes the Postgres DB slug after tr '-' '_').

2. Let the hook do everything else

git worktree add fires the post-checkout hook at .githooks/post-checkout, which runs synchronously:

1. Creates compdev_<slug> Postgres database (isolated per worktree)
2. Links .env* files from the main clone (copies the ones with DATABASE_URL, rewriting it to the isolated URL; symlinks the rest so API keys auto-propagate)
3. Runs bun install, applies Prisma migrations, regenerates clients

Do not run any of these by hand. If the hook logs a failure, diagnose and fix at the source — don't paper over with a manual install.

Skip toggles (rare):

• SKIP_WORKTREE_DB=1 — share the main comp DB (drift risk; only for read-only worktrees)
• SKIP_WORKTREE_SETUP=1 — skip install + migrate + generate (for a "just files" worktree)
• SETUP_WORKTREE_WITH_BUILD=1 — also run bun run build (adds minutes; only when you need the built artifacts)

3. Start the dev server — coordinate with the "active worktree" rule

Trigger.dev's trigger dev CLI cannot be isolated per worktree. Running bun run dev in multiple worktrees stomps on task registration.

• One active worktree runs bun run dev (full stack with trigger dev).
• All other worktrees run:

  bun run --filter '@trycompai/app' dev:no-trigger    # Next.js only
  bun run --filter '@trycompai/api' dev:no-trigger    # NestJS only
  

• Non-active worktrees need a different PORT to avoid collision — add PORT=3001 (or 3334, etc.) to the worktree's .env.local. .env.local is not symlinked and stays per-worktree.
• When swapping which worktree is active, kill the old full bun run dev first so task registration is clean.

4. Code the feature

Standard repo conventions apply (see AGENTS.md). Highlights:

• TDD for any non-trivial change (superpowers:test-driven-development)
• Brainstorm before building new UX (superpowers:brainstorming)
• Plans + subagent-driven execution for multi-step work
• Run audit-design-system after any frontend component edit
• Always run typecheck before declaring a change done (bunx turbo run typecheck --filter=<pkg>)

5. When done, clean up

Use the stale-worktree-cleanup skill when worktrees accumulate. It handles both git worktree remove and dropping the compdev_<slug> database in one pass. Never leave orphan databases — they pile up silently because git has no pre-worktree-remove hook.

Quick Reference

# Spin up a new worktree (does env + DB + install + migrate + generate automatically)
git worktree add .worktrees/<slug> -b mariano/<branch-name> origin/main

# Start dev — ONLY in the worktree you're actively iterating on
cd .worktrees/<slug>
bun run dev

# Start dev in a background worktree (no trigger dev, custom port via .env.local)
echo "PORT=3001" >> apps/app/.env.local
bun run --filter '@trycompai/app' dev:no-trigger

# Clean up when branch is done
# (use the stale-worktree-cleanup skill)

Red Flags

If you catch yourself doing any of these, stop — the hook should have handled it:

• Running bun install manually in a new worktree
• cp or ln -s to copy .env files into a worktree
• Writing a script that "creates a database for my branch"
• Running bun run db:migrate in a worktree right after creating it
• Ignoring a failing bun run dev in two worktrees instead of swapping to dev:no-trigger

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Creating the worktree from another worktree instead of the main clone	Always cd to /Users/mariano/code/comp first
Editing .env in a worktree and expecting it to propagate	If it's a symlink, yes; if it's a real copy (has DATABASE_URL), no. Check with ls -la.
Forgetting to bump PORT → two dev servers collide	Put PORT=<free-port> in the worktree's .env.local
Running trigger dev in multiple worktrees	Switch to dev:no-trigger in all but one
Not cleaning up → orphan compdev_* databases piling up	Use the stale-worktree-cleanup skill regularly