Open Orchestrator Cheat Sheet

v0.5.0 · June 2026 · open-orchestrator.com

Commands

Core Commands
owtLaunch the Control Plane (prioritized board)
owt new "task"Create worktree + tmux + deps + AI (alias: n)
owt new "task" --workflowNative plan-first Claude Code workflow
owt listList all worktrees (alias: ls)
owt switch <name>Jump to tmux session (alias: s)
owt attach <name>Hand off to a worktree session
owt branch <name>Branch session in current checkout (no worktree)
owt send <name> "msg"Send message to AI agent
owt merge <name>Two-phase merge + conflict guard (alias: m)
owt ship <name>Commit + merge + delete in one shot
owt delete <name>Delete worktree + session (alias: rm)
Orchestration Commands
owt queueShow optimal merge order
owt queue --shipShip all completed in order
owt wait <name>Poll until agent finishes (CI/scripts)
owt note "msg"Share context across all agents
owt send --all "msg"Broadcast to ALL worktrees
owt send --working "msg"Broadcast to WORKING only
Utility Commands
owt sync [name]Sync with upstream
owt cleanupRemove stale worktrees (dry-run default)
owt doctorDiagnose & fix orphaned resources
owt usageLocal-only usage counts (launches, worktrees, workflows)
owt versionShow version

owt new Flags

--base, -bBase branch to branch from
--branchOverride auto-generated branch name
--ai-toolclaude / pi / opencode / droid
--plan-modeStart Claude in plan mode
--workflowNative plan-first Claude workflow (implies --plan-mode)
--template, -tfeature / bugfix / hotfix
--attach, -aAttach to tmux after creation
--prefixOverride branch prefix (feat, fix, etc.)
--headlessNo tmux session (CI/script use)
--yes, -ySkip branch confirmation
Other Command Flags
owt list -aShow all including main
owt send --pane NTarget specific pane
owt merge --base BTarget branch
owt merge --keepKeep worktree after merge
owt delete -fForce delete
owt cleanup --forceActually delete (not dry-run)
owt cleanup --days NStale threshold (default: 14)
owt sync --allSync all worktrees
owt wait --timeout NMax wait seconds (default: 600)
owt usage --days NUsage window in days (default: 30)
owt note --clearClear all shared notes

Control Plane UI

Board Navigation
jkNavigate rows (across lanes)
EnterAttach to focused worktree
sShip (commit+merge+delete)
aAttach via active backend
fFix conflicts (open in $EDITOR)
mMerge worktree
nNew worktree (standard or plan-first workflow)
qQuit to terminal
Global tmux Keys
Alt+sReturn to the Control Plane (from any agent)
Alt+cCreate new worktree (popup picker)
Navigation Flow
owt → Control Plane → Enter → agent → Alt+s → Control Plane → q → terminal

Status & Tracking

Status Lights
Working (green) — AI actively working
Idle (white) — Waiting for input
Blocked (yellow) — Needs attention
Completed (cyan) — Task done
?Unknown (white) — State unclear
Control Plane Lanes
NEEDS YOUIdle/blocked worktrees awaiting input
READY TO SHIPCompleted worktrees ready to merge
IN FLIGHTAgents actively working
Row Display
StatusStatus light + label + elapsed time
BranchBranch name + AI tool
DiffDiff stats (+lines -lines)
TaskTask or [! N overlap] warning
Status Store
Location~/.open-orchestrator/status.db
ConcurrencySQLite WAL (concurrent reads/writes)
WritesAtomic writes with 0o600 permissions

Workflows

Basic Flow
1.owt new "Add auth" → creates worktree + AI
2.owt → monitor via Control Plane
3.Enter → attach into agent
4.Alt+s → return to Control Plane
5.owt ship auth → commit + merge + teardown
Merge + Conflict Guard
Phase 1Merge base → feature (catch conflicts early)
Phase 2Fast-forward feature → base
GuardWarns if files overlap with other branches
--keepPreserves worktree after merge
Workflow + Queue
Plan-firstowt new "task" --workflow
Queueowt queue --ship (smallest first)
Headlessowt new "task" --headless + owt wait
Broadcastowt send --all "msg"
Notesowt note "schema changed" → all CLAUDE.md

Templates

Built-in
featurePlan mode, TDD workflow, base: develop
bugfixRoot cause focus, base: main
hotfixMinimal changes, production, base: main
Usage
owt new "task" -t feature
owt new "task" --template bugfix

Configuration

Config Files (priority order)
.worktreercProject (current dir)
.worktreerc.tomlProject TOML
~/.config/open-orchestrator/config.tomlUser
~/.worktreercUser fallback
Config Sections
[worktree]base_directory, auto_cleanup_days, naming_pattern
[tmux]auto_start_ai, ai_tool, session_prefix, mouse_mode
[environment]auto_install_deps, copy_env_file, adjust_env_paths
[sync]default_strategy, auto_stash, prune_remote
[templates.NAME]Custom template definitions

Project Detection

Languages & Package Managers
Pythonuv > poetry > pipenv > pip
Node.jsbun > pnpm > yarn > npm
Rustcargo
Gogo mod
PHPcomposer
AI Tools (skip-permissions default)
Claude Codeclaude --dangerously-skip-permissions
Pipi (parallel coding agent)
OpenCodeopencode (Go-based)
Droiddroid --skip-permissions-unsafe
DetectionAuto-detected from PATH
Popup Picker Agents (Alt+c)
ccClaude Code
ocOpenCode
cxCodex
gcGemini CLI
aiAider
amAmp
kcKilo Code
drDroid