Glossary

A project folder that git keeps a history of. The history lives in a hidden .git folder inside it.

In HousekeepEach repo you've worked on in the last 45 days is one project.

A saved snapshot of your project, with a message saying what changed. Saving a file in your editor isn't a commit: you (or your AI assistant) commit once something works, and that's a version you can always get back to.

In HousekeepThe Working tree check turns clean once everything is committed.

The files you actually see and edit in the project folder, as opposed to the history git has saved. "Working tree clean" is git's way of saying nothing has changed since the last commit.

In HousekeepThe first of the four checks. "You are here" marks the branch your working tree is on.

Edits and new files that aren't in a commit yet. They're on your disk, but git can't bring them back if you overwrite them. New files git has never seen are called untracked.

In HousekeepCounted in Working tree, in amber. Normal while you work; the easiest kind of work to lose.

Files git deliberately leaves out, listed in a .gitignore file: installed packages, build output, and files with secrets like .env.local. Because they're never committed, they exist only where they are.

In HousekeepA worktree holding ignored files that can't be rebuilt, like .env.local, is flagged, and never offered for removal.

Changes set aside to clear your working tree, without committing them. They sit out of sight until someone applies them or drops them, which makes them easy to forget.

In HousekeepCounted in Working tree, with a request to review what's in them.

A separate line of work that starts from main, so you can try things without touching main. When it's done, it's merged back into main.

In HousekeepEach branch is a line leaving main on the map, and a row in the branch tables.

The main version of your project, and usually the one that goes live. Older projects call it master. Whatever your remote calls its default branch is the one that counts.

In HousekeepThe thick line across the map.

Folding a branch's work into main. Once a branch's work is in main, the branch is merged, and it's safe to delete.

In HousekeepMerged branches are dotted lines. Locally and on GitHub, they're what Cleanup counts.

Merging a branch by folding all its commits into one new commit on main. It keeps main's history tidy, but the branch's own commits never land in main, so plain git can't tell the branch is done.

In HousekeepChecks the changes, not the commits, and shows these as Squash-merged.

A proposal, on GitHub, to merge a branch into main. Automatic checks and other people can look at it first. GitHub can delete the branch for you once it's merged.

In HousekeepLinks to a branch's pull request, and never suggests deleting a branch that has one open.

An extra working folder for the same repo, checked out on a different branch. AI assistants like Codex and Claude Code make these to work in parallel, and they're easy to forget. A prunable worktree is one whose folder has been deleted.

In HousekeepA square station on the map. Flagged when it holds work that exists nowhere else, or sits in a temporary folder the system empties.

A copy of your repo somewhere else, usually GitHub. origin is the name git gives the one you cloned from. If your computer is lost, the remote is what's left.

In HousekeepA remote that's just another folder on the same disk isn't treated as a backup.

Your computer's record of what main looks like on the remote, as of the last fetch. It's the source of truth: your own main should match it.

In HousekeepWhen they match, they're one station, an interchange. The Sync check compares them.

Copying your commits to the remote. Until you push, they exist only on your computer. Commits that haven't been pushed are unpushed.

In HousekeepUnpushed work is an amber line and a red light, because it's the work you'd lose with your computer.

Asking the remote what's changed there, without changing any of your own branches or files. It only updates what your computer knows about the remote.

In HousekeepFetches every 10 minutes, or when you press Check now, so its answers aren't stale.

Bringing the remote's new commits into your branch. A fast-forward pull only adds them on top of what you have, so nothing of yours can be lost or rewritten.

In Housekeep"4 behind origin/main" comes with a request to fast-forward, and to stop if that isn't possible.

The remote branch a local branch follows. Plain git push and git pull use it. "Upstream gone" means that remote branch has been deleted.

In HousekeepFlags a branch whose upstream is main, when a plain push from it would change main directly.

A working tree that's on a specific commit instead of a branch. New commits made there belong to no branch, so switching away loses them unless they're saved to one.

In HousekeepCounts those commits as unpushed, and its request has your assistant give them a branch before pushing.

Your main and the remote's main each have commits the other doesn't, so neither can simply fast-forward. It needs a careful fix, not a button.

In HousekeepGives you a request to hand your AI assistant, instead of guessing.

Overwriting what's on the remote with your version, even if it throws away commits that are only there. Sometimes necessary, often how work gets lost.

In HousekeepNever used.

A branch GitHub guards with rules, such as no deleting and no pushing without a pull request. Usually main, and branches that deploy.

In HousekeepNever offered for deletion, whatever it contains.