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title: "How Branchery works"
description: "Branchery adds worktrees without replacing the DDEV project's docroot, web server or database service."
canonical: architecture.html
navigation-title: "Architecture"
---

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# How Branchery works

Branchery adds worktrees without replacing the DDEV project's docroot, web
server or database service. Its application is an image; the checkouts and their
state belong to the project.

**[What runs where](architecture/what-runs-where.md)**

The containers, the addresses, the files that are written, and what a
worktree costs on disk.

**[What keeps an operation safe](architecture/safety.md)**

Locks, branch safety, operation records and the trust boundary.