diff --git a/lib/wt-context-setup b/lib/wt-context-setup
index cc666a3..05c893b 100644
--- a/lib/wt-context-setup
+++ b/lib/wt-context-setup
@@ -288,6 +288,29 @@ _wt_select_metadata_patterns() {
   fi
 }
 
+# Write wt.* keys to git local config for plugin compatibility
+# Args: $1 = repo root, $2 = context name
+# Keys match the JetBrains plugin's writeConfig() for bidirectional parity
+_wt_write_git_config() {
+  local repo_root="$1" context_name="$2"
+  if [[ ! -d "$repo_root/.git" ]] && [[ ! -f "$repo_root/.git" ]]; then
+    warn "Skipping git local config — no .git found at $repo_root"
+    return 0
+  fi
+  info "Writing git local config..."
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.enabled true
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.contextName "$context_name"
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.worktreesBase "$WT_WORKTREES_BASE"
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.ideaFilesBase "$WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE"
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.baseBranch "$WT_BASE_BRANCH"
+  git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.activeWorktree "$WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE"
+  if [[ -n "${WT_METADATA_PATTERNS:-}" ]]; then
+    git -C "$repo_root" config --local wt.metadataPatterns "$WT_METADATA_PATTERNS"
+  else
+    git -C "$repo_root" config --local --unset wt.metadataPatterns 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+}
+
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Main setup functions
 # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -820,6 +843,9 @@ EOF
 
   echo "  ✓ Created context config: $config_path"
 
+  # Write git local config (mirrors .conf for plugin compatibility)
+  _wt_write_git_config "$repo_path" "$context_name"
+
   # Write context name to current file - config is read from .conf at runtime
   mkdir -p "$(dirname "$current_file")"
   echo "$context_name" > "$current_file"
diff --git a/test/unit/wt-context-setup.bats b/test/unit/wt-context-setup.bats
index e568125..e21d4ea 100644
--- a/test/unit/wt-context-setup.bats
+++ b/test/unit/wt-context-setup.bats
@@ -413,3 +413,126 @@ teardown() {
     assert_equal "$content_unadopted" "gitdir: ${new_repo}/.git/worktrees/wt-all-unadopted"
 }
 
+# =============================================================================
+# Tests for _wt_write_git_config()
+# =============================================================================
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config writes all expected keys to git local config" {
+    local repo
+    repo=$(create_mock_repo)
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/myctx/worktrees"
+    export WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/myctx/idea-files"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="main"
+    export WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="$TEST_HOME/active"
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=".idea .vscode"
+
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "myctx"
+
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.enabled)" "true"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.contextName)" "myctx"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.worktreesBase)" "$WT_WORKTREES_BASE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.ideaFilesBase)" "$WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.baseBranch)" "main"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.activeWorktree)" "$WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.metadataPatterns)" ".idea .vscode"
+}
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config values match what the .conf file would contain" {
+    local repo
+    repo=$(create_mock_repo)
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/testctx/worktrees"
+    export WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/testctx/idea-files"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="develop"
+    export WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="$TEST_HOME/dev/myrepo"
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=".idea"
+
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "testctx"
+
+    # Simulate what the .conf file would have and compare
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.worktreesBase)" "$WT_WORKTREES_BASE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.ideaFilesBase)" "$WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.baseBranch)" "$WT_BASE_BRANCH"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.activeWorktree)" "$WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.metadataPatterns)" "$WT_METADATA_PATTERNS"
+}
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config keys are readable by wt_read_git_config" {
+    local repo
+    repo=$(create_mock_repo)
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/roundtrip/worktrees"
+    export WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/roundtrip/idea-files"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="main"
+    export WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="$TEST_HOME/active"
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=".idea .ijwb"
+
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "roundtrip"
+
+    # Clear the variables so wt_read_git_config has to populate them
+    unset WT_MAIN_REPO_ROOT WT_WORKTREES_BASE WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE WT_BASE_BRANCH
+    unset WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE WT_METADATA_PATTERNS WT_CONTEXT_NAME
+    unset _WT_SKIP_GIT_CONFIG
+
+    cd "$repo"
+    wt_read_git_config
+
+    assert_equal "$WT_MAIN_REPO_ROOT" "$repo"
+    assert_equal "$WT_WORKTREES_BASE" "$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/roundtrip/worktrees"
+    assert_equal "$WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE" "$TEST_HOME/.wt/repos/roundtrip/idea-files"
+    assert_equal "$WT_BASE_BRANCH" "main"
+    assert_equal "$WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE" "$TEST_HOME/active"
+    assert_equal "$WT_METADATA_PATTERNS" ".idea .ijwb"
+    assert_equal "$WT_CONTEXT_NAME" "roundtrip"
+}
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config warns and returns 0 when no .git exists" {
+    local non_git_dir="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/no-git"
+    mkdir -p "$non_git_dir"
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="/tmp/wt" WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="/tmp/idea"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="main" WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="/tmp/active"
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=""
+
+    run _wt_write_git_config "$non_git_dir" "test"
+    assert_success
+    assert_output --partial "Skipping git local config"
+}
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config unsets metadataPatterns when empty" {
+    local repo
+    repo=$(create_mock_repo)
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="/tmp/wt" WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="/tmp/idea"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="main" WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="/tmp/active"
+
+    # First write with patterns
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=".idea"
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "ctx"
+    assert_equal "$(git -C "$repo" config --local wt.metadataPatterns)" ".idea"
+
+    # Then write with empty patterns — key should be unset
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=""
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "ctx"
+    run git -C "$repo" config --local wt.metadataPatterns
+    assert_failure
+}
+
+@test "_wt_write_git_config writes all 7 plugin-compatible keys" {
+    local repo
+    repo=$(create_mock_repo)
+
+    export WT_WORKTREES_BASE="/wt" WT_IDEA_FILES_BASE="/idea"
+    export WT_BASE_BRANCH="main" WT_ACTIVE_WORKTREE="/active"
+    export WT_METADATA_PATTERNS=".idea"
+
+    _wt_write_git_config "$repo" "ctx"
+
+    # Verify all 7 keys the plugin expects are present
+    local keys
+    keys=$(git -C "$repo" config --local --get-regexp '^wt\.' | awk '{print $1}' | sort)
+    local expected
+    expected=$(printf '%s\n' wt.activeworktree wt.basebranch wt.contextname wt.enabled wt.ideafilesbase wt.metadatapatterns wt.worktreesbase | sort)
+    assert_equal "$keys" "$expected"
+}
diff --git a/wt-jetbrains-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/block/wt/git/GitConfigHelper.kt b/wt-jetbrains-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/block/wt/git/GitConfigHelper.kt
index 32636f4..40e11e7 100644
--- a/wt-jetbrains-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/block/wt/git/GitConfigHelper.kt
+++ b/wt-jetbrains-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/block/wt/git/GitConfigHelper.kt
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ object GitConfigHelper {
     /**
      * Writes wt.* config to git local config (.git/config).
      * Uses individual `git config --local wt.<key> <value>` calls.
-     * Note: the shell CLI never writes to git config (read-only); only the plugin writes.
+     * Both the CLI (via _wt_write_git_config in lib/wt-context-setup) and the plugin
+     * write wt.* keys to git local config. The key names and semantics are shared.
      */
     fun writeConfig(repoPath: Path, config: ContextConfig) {
         val mainGitDir = GitDirResolver.resolveMainGitDir(repoPath)