wtpad

A terminal-native scratch pad for git worktrees. Manage todos and jot notes without leaving your terminal — scoped to the current worktree, invisible to git.

Why

When working across multiple worktrees simultaneously (tmux, cmux), context switches are disorienting. wtpad gives each worktree its own persistent scratch pad so you always know where you left off.

Features

• Two-pane TUI: todos on the left, notes on the right
• Vim-friendly keybindings (j/k, a, d, x, n, e)
• Data stored in .wtpad/ in the current directory — auto-ignored by git
• CLI shortcuts for quick actions without opening the TUI
• Single binary, no runtime dependencies

Install

go install github.com/bvalentino/wtpad@latest

This places the binary in $GOPATH/bin (usually ~/go/bin), which should be on your PATH. To update later, run the same command again.

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/bvalentino/wtpad
cd wtpad
go build -o wtpad .

To make it available everywhere, symlink the binary to a directory on your PATH:

ln -s "$(pwd)/wtpad" /usr/local/bin/wtpad

Usage

wtpad                  # open TUI
wtpad add <text>       # add a todo
wtpad ls               # list todos
wtpad done <n>         # mark todo #n done
wtpad note <text>      # append a note
wtpad ai <command>     # AI task tracking (see below)

Keybindings

Key	Action
Tab	Switch pane focus
j / k	Navigate
a	Add todo
d / Space	Toggle done
n	New note
e / Enter	Edit selected
x	Delete selected
?	Help
q	Quit

AI Integration

wtpad can display an AI-managed task list in a dedicated tab, updated in real time via file watching. LLM coding tools (like Claude Code) use the wtpad ai CLI to track their work — visible in the TUI as it happens.

Commands

wtpad ai start <text>            # add an in-progress task
wtpad ai done <text>             # mark a task as done
wtpad ai add <text>              # add a task for later
wtpad ai ls                      # list current tasks
wtpad ai clear                   # remove all tasks
wtpad ai install claude-code     # set up Claude Code integration
wtpad ai uninstall claude-code   # remove Claude Code integration

Claude Code Setup

wtpad ai install claude-code

This adds a SessionStart hook to ~/.claude/settings.json that runs wtpad ai prompt at the start of each session, injecting task-tracking instructions and the current task list into context.

Once installed, Claude Code will automatically track its work in the AI tab.

Data

Everything is stored as plain markdown in .wtpad/ in your current directory:

.wtpad/
├── todos.md            # GFM task list (- [ ] / - [x])
└── 20260228-143022.md  # One file per note (timestamp filename)

Files are human-readable and editable with any text editor. On first run, wtpad adds .wtpad/ to .git/info/exclude so it stays local to the worktree and is never committed.

Development

Requirements

• Go 1.21+
• macOS or Linux

Build & test

go build -o wtpad .   # build binary
go test ./...         # run all tests

Releasing

go install github.com/bvalentino/wtpad@latest resolves the latest tagged release. After merging changes to main, tag a new version for them to be installable:

git tag v0.x.x
git push origin v0.x.x