hike

A fast CLI tool for managing multi-repo development workspaces using git worktrees.

Create isolated workspaces per feature or task, with all your repos available in each workspace. Each workspace gets its own VS Code .code-workspace file and git branch across all repos.

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zuplo/hike/main/install.sh | sh

Or as a single command:

d=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL "https://github.com/zuplo/hike/releases/latest/download/hike_$(curl -sL https://api.github.com/repos/zuplo/hike/releases/latest | grep tag_name | sed -E 's/.*"v([^"]+)".*/\1/')_$(uname -s | tr A-Z a-z)_$(uname -m).tar.gz" | tar -xz -C "$d" && mkdir -p ~/.hike/bin && mv "$d/hike" ~/.hike/bin/ && sudo ln -sf ~/.hike/bin/hike /usr/local/bin/hike && rm -rf "$d" && echo "hike installed ✓"

After the initial install, update with hk update (no sudo needed). Both hike and hk are installed automatically.

Quick Start

# Create a new project directory and generate a config file
mkdir my-projects && cd my-projects
hk init

# Edit hike.yaml to add your repos, then sync to clone them
hk sync

# Create a workspace
hk platform                 # -> platform-bold-cedar/
hk platform my-feature      # -> platform-my-feature/

# Open in VS Code
code platform-my-feature/platform-my-feature.code-workspace

# Run commands from inside a project (auto-detects project)
cd platform-my-feature
hk pull
hk push
hk status
hk delete

Configuration

hike.yaml defines your repos and groups:

# Git provider defaults — repos can use just the name instead of full URLs
git:
  org: your-org
  # provider: github    # github (default), gitlab, bitbucket
  # host: github.com    # auto-detected from provider, set for self-hosted
  # ssh: true           # use SSH URLs (default: false, uses HTTPS)

groups:
  platform:
    default: true       # Used when group is not specified
    repos:
      - my-app          # Expands to https://github.com/your-org/my-app.git
      - shared-lib

      # Or use an object to override name/branch
      - repo: api
        branch: develop

      # Full URLs still work
      - git@github.com:other-org/special-repo.git

  marketing:
    aliases: [mktg]     # Use 'mktg' as shorthand
    repos:
      - website
      - cms

# Optional: variables available in .template/ files
templates:
  variables:
    ORG: your-org

• git config: set org to use short repo names. Supports GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or any self-hosted provider via host.
• Repo short name: when git.org is set, just use my-repo instead of the full URL
• Repo full URL: SSH (git@github.com:org/repo.git) or HTTPS (https://...) still works
• Repo object: repo (required), name (optional), branch (optional, defaults to main)
• Groups: repos are organized into groups. Set default: true on one group to use it when no group is specified. If only one group exists, it's the default automatically.
• Aliases: set aliases: [short] on a group to use either name in commands (e.g. hk mktg)

Hooks

Lifecycle hooks run after creating a project. The most specific hook wins: repo overrides group, group overrides global.

# Global default — runs for every repo unless overridden
hooks:
  onCreate: npm install

groups:
  platform:
    # Group-level override — applies to all repos in this group
    hooks:
      onCreate: pnpm install
    repos:
      - my-app
      - repo: legacy-service
        # Repo-level override — only this repo uses yarn
        hooks:
          onCreate: yarn install

Hooks run in parallel across repos for speed.

Commands

hk [group] [name] [-c color]

Create a new project. This is the default command. The project directory is named {group}-{name}.

hk platform my-feature    # Creates platform-my-feature/
hk platform               # Generates random name: platform-bold-cedar/
hk my-feature             # Uses default group: platform-my-feature/
hk platform -c purple     # With a color
hk platform my-feature -c # Random color

The first argument is matched against known groups — if it matches, it's treated as the group. Otherwise it's the project name (using the default group).

Available colors for -c: blue, cyan, green, indigo, lime, orange, pink, purple, red, rose, sky, slate, teal, yellow.

hk init

Create a new hike.yaml configuration file in the current directory.

hk init

hk sync [-g group]

Clone any missing repos and sync all .hike/ repos to the latest origin/HEAD. This is the command to run after editing your config to add new repos.

Warning

Sync performs a hard reset (git reset --hard) on .hike/ repos to match the remote. Any uncommitted or unpushed changes in .hike/ directories will be lost. This is by design — these repos are meant to be clean mirrors of the remote. Always do your work in project worktrees, never directly in .hike/.

hk sync
hk sync -g backend

hk pull [project-name]

Pull latest changes (fast-forward only) in all repos of a project. Auto-detects the project if run from inside one.

hk pull                   # From inside a project
hk pull platform-my-feat  # By name

hk push [project-name]

Push all repos in a project. Auto-detects the project if run from inside one.

hk push                   # From inside a project
hk push platform-my-feat  # By name

hk status [project-name]

Show the status of each repo in a project (branch, dirty state, ahead/behind). Auto-detects the project if run from inside one.

hk status

hk delete [project-name]

Remove a project and its worktrees. Auto-detects the project if run from inside one.

hk delete                     # From inside a project
hk delete platform-my-feat    # By name

hk list

List all projects.

hk list

hk update

Self-update to the latest release.

hk update

Directory Structure

my-projects/
├── hike.yaml
├── .hike/                        # Hidden — main repo clones
│   ├── platform/
│   │   ├── my-app/
│   │   └── shared-lib/
│   └── marketing/
│       ├── website/
│       └── cms/
├── platform-my-feature/           # A project
│   ├── .hike-project.json        # Metadata (group info)
│   ├── platform-my-feature.code-workspace
│   ├── my-app/                    # git worktree
│   └── shared-lib/
├── platform-bold-cedar/           # Another project (random name)
│   └── ...
├── marketing-redesign/
│   ├── website/
│   └── cms/
└── .template/                     # Optional: template files

Templates

Place files in .template/ at the root level. They are processed with Go's text/template and copied into each new project.

Available variables:

• {{.ProjectName}} — the project name
• {{.Group}} — the group name
• Any custom variables from templates.variables in the config

MCP Server

hike includes a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server so you can manage projects from Claude or other AI assistants.

Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hike": {
      "command": "hike",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/your/projects"
    }
  }
}

Available MCP tools

• create_project — Create a new project with worktrees
• delete_project — Delete a project and its worktrees
• list_projects — List all projects
• pull_project — Pull latest in all repos
• push_project — Push all repos
• project_status — Show git status of repos in a project
• sync_repos — Sync .hike repos to latest

Updating

The CLI checks for updates once per day and will notify you if a newer version is available. Run hk update to upgrade.

Disclaimer

This is not an official Zuplo product. It is a free, open-source tool provided as-is under the MIT License, with no warranty or support guarantees. Use at your own risk.