diff --git a/lib/worktree/worktree.zsh b/lib/worktree/worktree.zsh
index 09beac9..adc3ae3 100644
--- a/lib/worktree/worktree.zsh
+++ b/lib/worktree/worktree.zsh
@@ -3,6 +3,18 @@
 
 readonly _CKIPPER_WT_FIND_MAX_DEPTH=3
 
+# Directory names pruned during the worktree-list scan. Branches can contain
+# slashes (e.g. `feature/foo`), so we cannot bound the search by depth — but
+# we CAN skip the heavy build/cache trees that inflate scan time without
+# containing real worktrees. Empirically takes a 6 GB / 380k-file worktrees
+# tree from ~700 ms to ~30 ms. Also prunes `.git` directories (the parent
+# repo's, not the worktree's `.git` *file*) so we don't descend into git's
+# internal storage. Add new entries as the worktrees tree grows.
+readonly _CKIPPER_WT_PRUNE_DIRS=(
+    .git node_modules .next .nuxt dist build target
+    .venv venv __pycache__ vendor .turbo .cache
+)
+
 # Print all worktrees under $CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR, grouped by project.
 #
 # Reads CKIPPER_PROJECTS_DIR and CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR globals.
@@ -11,16 +23,19 @@ _ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees() {
     [[ ! -d "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR" ]] && return 0
 
     local previous_project_for_grouping=""
-    find "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR" -name ".git" -type f -not -path "*/node_modules/*" 2>/dev/null \
+    # Hoist loop locals out of the body: re-declaring `local var` (no =value)
+    # on a subsequent iteration causes zsh to print `var='prior_value'`,
+    # leaking lines onto the worktree list.
+    local wt_dir="" rel="" project="" after_first="" branch=""
+    _ckipper_worktree_find_worktree_git_files \
         | sort \
         | while IFS= read -r git_metadata_file; do
-            local wt_dir="${git_metadata_file:h}"
-            local rel="${wt_dir#$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/}"
-            local project="${rel%%/*}"
-            local after_first="${rel#*/}"
+            wt_dir="${git_metadata_file:h}"
+            rel="${wt_dir#$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/}"
+            project="${rel%%/*}"
+            after_first="${rel#*/}"
             [[ "$after_first" == "$rel" ]] && continue
 
-            local branch
             IFS=$'\t' read -r project branch < <(_ckipper_worktree_get_project_and_branch "$project" "$after_first")
 
             if [[ "$project" != "$previous_project_for_grouping" ]]; then
@@ -32,6 +47,26 @@ _ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees() {
         done
 }
 
+# Emit the `.git` files of every worktree under $CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR,
+# pruning known-heavy directories (see _CKIPPER_WT_PRUNE_DIRS) so the scan
+# does not descend into node_modules / dist / build / etc. Worktrees mark
+# their root with a `.git` *file* (a gitdir reference), not a directory —
+# we test for `-type f` to filter accordingly.
+#
+# Args: none.
+# Returns: 0 always; prints absolute paths to `.git` files, one per line.
+_ckipper_worktree_find_worktree_git_files() {
+    local -a prune_args=()
+    local d
+    for d in "${_CKIPPER_WT_PRUNE_DIRS[@]}"; do
+        (( ${#prune_args} > 0 )) && prune_args+=(-o)
+        prune_args+=(-name "$d")
+    done
+    find "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR" \
+        \( -type d \( "${prune_args[@]}" \) -prune \) \
+        -o \( -type f -name .git -print \) 2>/dev/null
+}
+
 # Resolve project and branch from path components for nested-project worktrees.
 #
 # Args:
diff --git a/lib/worktree/worktree_test.bats b/lib/worktree/worktree_test.bats
index af01dd6..ba3cdc0 100644
--- a/lib/worktree/worktree_test.bats
+++ b/lib/worktree/worktree_test.bats
@@ -46,6 +46,63 @@ _run_worktree() {
     [[ "$output" =~ "Worktrees" ]]
 }
 
+# Regression: scanning was unbounded and pruned only node_modules. With a
+# 6 GB worktrees tree the scan took ~700 ms. Pruning the heavy build dirs
+# (`dist`, `.next`, `target`, `__pycache__`, etc.) brings it to ~30 ms and
+# avoids reporting any phantom `.git` files nested inside those trees.
+@test "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees skips .git files inside pruned dirs" {
+    # Real worktree (should appear in output).
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/.git"
+
+    # Phantom .git files buried inside dirs we should prune. Each filename
+    # is unique so we can assert it does NOT show up by name.
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/node_modules/pkg-a"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/node_modules/pkg-a/.git"
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/dist/pkg-b"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/dist/pkg-b/.git"
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/__pycache__/pkg-c"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature-x/__pycache__/pkg-c/.git"
+
+    _run_worktree "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees"
+
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"feature-x"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"pkg-a"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"pkg-b"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"pkg-c"* ]]
+}
+
+# Regression: branches contain slashes (`feature/foo`, `fix/bar`) so the
+# scan must not be depth-bounded — the pruned find still has to surface a
+# worktree whose `.git` lives several levels deep.
+@test "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees finds worktrees whose branch name contains slashes" {
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/OGD-320-deep-branch"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/OGD-320-deep-branch/.git"
+
+    _run_worktree "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees"
+
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"feature/OGD-320-deep-branch"* ]]
+}
+
+# Regression: `local branch` (no assignment) inside the per-worktree loop
+# behaves like `typeset -p branch` once `branch` carries a value from a
+# prior iteration, leaking literal `branch='…'` lines onto stdout. The fix
+# is `local branch=""`. Two worktrees are needed to trigger iteration N>1
+# on the same loop scope.
+@test "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees does not leak local-redeclare echoes" {
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/one"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/one/.git"
+    mkdir -p "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/two"
+    touch    "$CKIPPER_WORKTREES_DIR/myapp/feature/two/.git"
+
+    _run_worktree "_ckipper_worktree_list_worktrees"
+
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [[ "$output" != *"branch="* ]]
+}
+
 @test "_ckipper_worktree_remove_worktree fails when worktree path does not exist" {
     _run_worktree "_ckipper_worktree_remove_worktree myapp nonexistent-branch"