Two Git Worktrees, Two Django Migrations, One Coordination Problem
Git worktrees are a great fit for parallel development: one repository can have several branches checked out into separate directories at the same time. That convenience creates a coordination gap. Imagine two tasks starting from the same commit. One worktree handles invoices; another handles payments. Both tasks need a Django migration in the same billing app: invoice worktree:…
Git worktrees allow multiple branches to be checked out into separate directories within a single repository. However, this feature creates a coordination problem when multiple tasks in separate worktrees require Django migrations in the same app. To address this, the BranchRadar tool was developed. It analyzes Git metadata and compares changed paths across worktrees, including committed, staged, unstaged, and untracked files.
BranchRadar warns about potential coordination issues before they arise, helping developers inspect and resolve them early on. The tool is installed using Python and pip, and can be run with a command specifying the repository path and base branch. In a demonstration, two worktrees were created, each with an empty migration file in the billing app.
BranchRadar detected the coordination problem and reported a high-risk situation, indicating that both branches were changing migrations in the same app. A negative control test showed that BranchRadar would not flag a problem when migrations were in different apps, confirming its effectiveness in identifying coordination issues specifically related to Django migrations within the same app.
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