yardsort

Projects

A project is a git repository on your computer that Yardsort knows about. Projects live in the left panel; everything else hangs off them.

Adding a project

Press + next to Projects.

Open a folder

Ctrl+Shift+O / ⌘O goes straight here. Pick a folder and:

The folder is…What happens
a git repositoryIt is added.
inside a repository (say repo/packages/web)The repository's root is added instead, and a note tells you so.
not a repositoryYardsort asks whether to initialise git there. Saying yes runs git init and makes an empty first commit — your files are not changed. Saying no adds nothing.
already one of your projectsNothing is duplicated; the existing project is selected.

Yardsort needs a repository because every workspace is a git worktree, and it needs at least one commit because a worktree has to branch from something.

Create a new project

Give it a name and a location. Yardsort creates <location>/<name>, runs git init and makes an empty first commit. The location is remembered for next time.

The name becomes a folder name, so characters that are illegal on some system (/ \ : * ? " < > |) are refused, and an existing folder is never touched. If any step fails, the half-made folder is removed again.

The local workspace

Every project has a local entry, always first. It is your repository's own checkout — not a worktree — and the branch checked out there is shown next to it. Use it for a shell in the project or to run an agent directly on your working copy. It cannot be renamed, archived or deleted.

The branch label follows reality: switch branches in another tool and it updates the next time Yardsort's window gets focus.

The project menu

Hover a project and press , or right-click it:

  • New workspace — same as the + on the row. See Workspaces.
  • Reveal in file manager
  • Move up / Move down — the order is remembered.
  • Remove from Yardsort… — forgets the project and closes its terminals. Nothing on disk is deleted: the folder, its branches and its worktrees all stay. Add the folder again and its workspaces come back.

Click a project's arrow to collapse it. Collapsed projects, your selection and the panel sizes are all restored the next time you start Yardsort.

When a folder goes missing

If a project's folder is moved, deleted or on a drive that is not mounted, the project is shown struck through and marked missing. It is not removed — it comes back by itself when the folder does. If it is gone for good, remove the project from its menu.