Quick Start: Same CLI Mode

This walkthrough shows how to launch git-paw with the same AI CLI on all branches — the most common workflow.

Prerequisites

• git-paw installed
• tmux installed
• At least one AI CLI installed (e.g., claude)
• A git repository with multiple branches

Step 1: Navigate to your repo

cd ~/projects/my-app

Step 2: Launch git-paw

git paw

Step 3: Select your mode

git-paw presents a mode picker:

? How would you like to assign CLIs to branches?
> Same CLI for all branches
  Different CLI per branch

Select Same CLI for all branches and press Enter.

Step 4: Select branches

A multi-select list of all your branches appears with fuzzy search:

? Select branches (space to toggle, enter to confirm):
  [ ] main
  [x] feat/auth
  [x] feat/api
  [ ] fix/typo
  [x] refactor/db

Use arrow keys to navigate, Space to toggle, and Enter to confirm.

Step 5: Select your CLI

Pick which AI CLI to use on all selected branches:

? Select AI CLI:
> claude
  codex
  gemini

Step 6: git-paw does the rest

git-paw now:

1. Creates a git worktree for each selected branch
2. Creates a tmux session named paw-my-app
3. Opens one pane per branch
4. Launches your chosen CLI in each pane
5. Saves the session state for later recovery

Creating worktrees...
  ✓ my-app-feat-auth (feat/auth)
  ✓ my-app-feat-api (feat/api)
  ✓ my-app-refactor-db (refactor/db)

Launching tmux session: paw-my-app
  Pane 1: feat/auth → claude
  Pane 2: feat/api → claude
  Pane 3: refactor/db → claude

Attaching to session...

You’re now inside a tmux session with three panes, each running Claude in its own worktree:

┌─── feat/auth → claude ────────┬─── feat/api → claude ─────────┐
│                                │                                │
│  Claude is ready to help...    │  Claude is ready to help...    │
│                                │                                │
├─── refactor/db → claude ──────┴────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  Claude is ready to help...                                     │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Mouse mode is enabled by default — click a pane to switch to it, or drag borders to resize.

Non-interactive shortcut

Skip all prompts by passing flags:

git paw start --cli claude --branches feat/auth,feat/api,refactor/db

What’s next

• Switch panes: Click with mouse, or use Ctrl-b then arrow keys
• Detach: Press Ctrl-b d to detach from tmux (session keeps running)
• Reattach: Run git paw again — it detects the active session and reattaches
• Stop: Run git paw stop to kill tmux but keep worktrees
• Purge: Run git paw purge to remove everything

See the User Guide for the full details.