Adopting Existing Repositories

Already have a traditional Git repository? Move it into a worktree layout without losing any work — daft layout transform restructures the repository you point it at, and carries the working tree exactly as it is.

What the transform does

daft layout transform contained restructures a traditional repository into daft's default worktree layout:

Before:

my-project/
├── .git/            # Regular git directory
├── src/
├── package.json
└── README.md

After:

my-project/
├── .git/            # Bare repository
└── main/            # Worktree for the branch that was checked out
    ├── src/
    ├── package.json
    └── README.md

contained is daft's default layout. Any other layout works the same

way — daft layout transform sibling, nested, centralized, contained-flat, contained-classic — and you can move between them at any time. See Layouts. :::

The transform follows the branch that is actually checked out in the repository — not the default branch. Adopt a clone in the middle of a feature and the worktree you get is that feature's; if the default branch has no worktree, it stays that way (the transform says so before it starts).

Running it

cd my-existing-project
daft layout transform contained

Preview first

Use --dry-run to see the plan without making changes. It also reports anything that would stop the transform, so "can this repo transform?" is answerable without attempting it:

daft layout transform contained --dry-run

Your working tree comes along

Modified files, staged hunks, untracked files, ignored build output, even unresolved conflict entries — everything in the working tree is carried across the transform untouched. git status reads the same before and after; nothing is stashed, and no --force is needed.

The only things a transform will not carry are operations git itself is in the middle of: a paused rebase, merge, cherry-pick, revert, or bisect in the working tree that changes role. Those are refused up front — every one of them in a single report, each with the exact commands to finish or abort it and the command to retry — rather than carried half-way. See Layouts → What is refused.

Reverting

If you decide the worktree layout isn't for you, transform back:

daft layout transform sibling

This restores the main working tree at the repository root:

Before:

my-project/
├── .git/            # Bare repository
├── main/
│   ├── src/
│   └── README.md
└── feature/auth/
    ├── src/
    └── README.md

After:

my-project/            # Regular git directory again
├── .git/
├── src/
└── README.md
my-project.feature-auth/
├── src/
└── README.md

Other worktrees are kept and relocated to where the target layout puts them — nothing is deleted. Remove the ones you no longer need with daft remove <branch>.

When to transform vs clone fresh

Use daft layout transform when:

• You have an existing local repository with work in progress
• You want to try the worktree workflow without re-cloning
• You have local branches or stashes you want to preserve

Use daft clone when:

• Starting fresh from a remote repository
• Setting up a new development environment
• The repository has no local-only work to preserve
• You want to choose a specific layout with --layout