diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 404f96a39..a8845e0f3 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2058,8 +2058,13 @@ dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "chrono",
  "clap",
+ "dirs-next",
+ "futures",
+ "gitbutler-branch",
+ "gitbutler-branch-actions",
  "gitbutler-oplog",
  "gitbutler-project",
+ "gitbutler-reference",
  "gix",
 ]
 
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 868038db7..189870b7d 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ keyring = "2.3.3"
 anyhow = "1.0.86"
 fslock = "0.2.1"
 parking_lot = "0.12.3"
+futures = "0.3.30"
 
 gitbutler-id = { path = "crates/gitbutler-id" }
 gitbutler-git = { path = "crates/gitbutler-git" }
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/Cargo.toml
index 507bd7459..09ba81ea5 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ regex = "1.10"
 git2-hooks = "0.3"
 url = { version = "2.5.2", features = ["serde"] }
 md5 = "0.7.0"
-futures = "0.3"
+futures.workspace = true
 itertools = "0.13"
 gitbutler-command-context.workspace = true
 gitbutler-project.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/fixtures/for-listing.sh b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/fixtures/for-listing.sh
index 2e952028a..6b3515647 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/fixtures/for-listing.sh
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/fixtures/for-listing.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eu -o pipefail
+CLI=${1:?The first argument is the GitButler CLI}
 
 git init remote
 (cd remote
@@ -15,4 +16,10 @@ git clone remote single-branch-no-vbranch-multi-remote
   git fetch other-origin
 )
 
+export GITBUTLER_CLI_DATA_DIR=./git/gitbutler/app-data
+git clone remote one-vbranch-on-integration
+(cd one-vbranch-on-integration
+  $CLI project add --switch-to-integration "$(git rev-parse --symbolic-full-name @{u})"
+  $CLI branch create virtual
+)
 
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/virtual_branches/list.rs b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/virtual_branches/list.rs
index c74943c60..393881311 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/virtual_branches/list.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-branch-actions/tests/virtual_branches/list.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ fn on_main_single_branch_no_vbranch() -> Result<()> {
 
     let branch = &list[0];
     assert_eq!(branch.name, "main", "short names are used");
-    assert_eq!(branch.remotes, &["origin"]);
+    assert_eq!(branch.remotes, ["origin"]);
     assert_eq!(branch.virtual_branch, None);
     assert_eq!(
         branch.authors,
@@ -26,12 +26,31 @@ fn on_main_single_branch_no_vbranch_multiple_remotes() -> Result<()> {
 
     let branch = &list[0];
     assert_eq!(branch.name, "main");
-    assert_eq!(branch.remotes, &["other-origin", "origin"]);
+    assert_eq!(branch.remotes, ["other-origin", "origin"]);
     assert_eq!(branch.virtual_branch, None);
     assert_eq!(branch.authors, []);
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn one_vbranch_on_integration() -> Result<()> {
+    let list = list_branches(&project_ctx("one-vbranch-on-integration")?, None)?;
+    assert_eq!(list.len(), 1);
+
+    let branch = &list[0];
+    assert_eq!(branch.name, "virtual");
+    assert!(branch.remotes.is_empty(), "no remote is associated yet");
+    assert_eq!(
+        branch
+            .virtual_branch
+            .as_ref()
+            .map(|v| v.given_name.as_str()),
+        Some("virtual")
+    );
+    assert_eq!(branch.authors, []);
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 fn project_ctx(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<ProjectRepository> {
     gitbutler_testsupport::read_only::fixture("for-listing.sh", name)
 }
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-cli/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-cli/Cargo.toml
index c1b70c23f..e4e3c42fd 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-cli/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,12 @@ path = "src/main.rs"
 [dependencies]
 gitbutler-oplog.workspace = true
 gitbutler-project.workspace = true
+gitbutler-reference.workspace = true
+gitbutler-branch-actions.workspace = true
+gitbutler-branch.workspace = true
 gix.workspace = true
-clap = { version = "4.5.9", features = ["derive"] }
+futures.workspace = true
+dirs-next = "2.0.0"
+clap = { version = "4.5.9", features = ["derive", "env"] }
 anyhow = "1.0.86"
 chrono = "0.4.10"
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/args.rs b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/args.rs
index 4a3b6c1f9..09c0c893c 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/args.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/args.rs
@@ -13,10 +13,74 @@ pub struct Args {
 
 #[derive(Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
 pub enum Subcommands {
+    /// List and manipulate virtual branches.
+    #[clap(visible_alias = "branches")]
+    Branch(vbranch::Platform),
+    /// List and manipulate projects.
+    #[clap(visible_alias = "projects")]
+    Project(project::Platform),
     /// List and restore snapshots.
+    #[clap(visible_alias = "snapshots")]
     Snapshot(snapshot::Platform),
 }
 
+pub mod vbranch {
+    #[derive(Debug, clap::Parser)]
+    pub struct Platform {
+        #[clap(subcommand)]
+        pub cmd: Option<SubCommands>,
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
+    pub enum SubCommands {
+        /// Create a new virtual branch
+        Create {
+            /// The name of the virtual branch to create
+            name: String,
+        },
+    }
+}
+
+pub mod project {
+    use gitbutler_reference::RemoteRefname;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+    #[derive(Debug, clap::Parser)]
+    pub struct Platform {
+        /// The location of the directory to contain app data.
+        ///
+        /// Defaults to the standard location on this platform if unset.
+        #[clap(short = 'd', long, env = "GITBUTLER_CLI_DATA_DIR")]
+        pub app_data_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+        /// A suffix like `dev` to refer to projects of the development version of the application.
+        ///
+        /// The production version is used if unset.
+        #[clap(short = 's', long)]
+        pub app_suffix: Option<String>,
+        #[clap(subcommand)]
+        pub cmd: Option<SubCommands>,
+    }
+
+    #[derive(Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
+    pub enum SubCommands {
+        /// Add the given Git repository as project for use with GitButler.
+        Add {
+            /// The long name of the remote reference to track, like `refs/remotes/origin/main`,
+            /// when switching to the integration branch.
+            #[clap(short = 's', long)]
+            switch_to_integration: Option<RemoteRefname>,
+            /// The path at which the repository worktree is located.
+            #[clap(default_value = ".", value_name = "REPOSITORY")]
+            path: PathBuf,
+        },
+        /// Switch back to the integration branch for use of virtual branches.
+        SwitchToIntegration {
+            /// The long name of the remote reference to track, like `refs/remotes/origin/main`.
+            remote_ref_name: RemoteRefname,
+        },
+    }
+}
+
 pub mod snapshot {
     #[derive(Debug, clap::Parser)]
     pub struct Platform {
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/command.rs b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/command.rs
index b8be4a9d4..955373384 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/command.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/command.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,81 @@
+pub mod vbranch {
+    use crate::command::debug_print;
+    use futures::executor::block_on;
+    use gitbutler_branch::{BranchCreateRequest, VirtualBranchesHandle};
+    use gitbutler_branch_actions::VirtualBranchActions;
+    use gitbutler_project::Project;
+
+    pub fn list(project: Project) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let branches = VirtualBranchesHandle::new(project.gb_dir()).list_all_branches()?;
+        for vbranch in branches {
+            println!(
+                "{active} {id} {name} {upstream}",
+                active = if vbranch.applied { "✔️" } else { "⛌" },
+                id = vbranch.id,
+                name = vbranch.name,
+                upstream = vbranch
+                    .upstream
+                    .map_or_else(Default::default, |b| b.to_string())
+            );
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub fn create(project: Project, branch_name: String) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        debug_print(block_on(VirtualBranchActions.create_virtual_branch(
+            &project,
+            &BranchCreateRequest {
+                name: Some(branch_name),
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+        ))?)
+    }
+}
+
+pub mod project {
+    use crate::command::debug_print;
+    use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+    use futures::executor::block_on;
+    use gitbutler_branch_actions::VirtualBranchActions;
+    use gitbutler_project::Project;
+    use gitbutler_reference::RemoteRefname;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+    pub fn list(ctrl: gitbutler_project::Controller) -> Result<()> {
+        for project in ctrl.list()? {
+            println!(
+                "{id} {name} {path}",
+                id = project.id,
+                name = project.title,
+                path = project.path.display()
+            );
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub fn add(
+        ctrl: gitbutler_project::Controller,
+        path: PathBuf,
+        refname: Option<RemoteRefname>,
+    ) -> Result<()> {
+        let path = gix::discover(path)?
+            .work_dir()
+            .context("Only non-bare repositories can be added")?
+            .to_owned()
+            .canonicalize()?;
+        let project = ctrl.add(path)?;
+        if let Some(refname) = refname {
+            block_on(VirtualBranchActions.set_base_branch(&project, &refname))?;
+        };
+        debug_print(project)
+    }
+
+    pub fn switch_to_integration(project: Project, refname: RemoteRefname) -> Result<()> {
+        debug_print(block_on(
+            VirtualBranchActions.set_base_branch(&project, &refname),
+        )?)
+    }
+}
 pub mod snapshot {
     use anyhow::Result;
     use gitbutler_oplog::OplogExt;
@@ -21,3 +99,55 @@ pub mod snapshot {
         Ok(())
     }
 }
+
+pub mod prepare {
+    use anyhow::{bail, Context};
+    use gitbutler_project::Project;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+    pub fn project_from_path(path: PathBuf) -> anyhow::Result<Project> {
+        let worktree_dir = gix::discover(path)?
+            .work_dir()
+            .context("Bare repositories aren't supported")?
+            .to_owned();
+        Ok(Project {
+            path: worktree_dir,
+            ..Default::default()
+        })
+    }
+
+    pub fn project_controller(
+        app_suffix: Option<String>,
+        app_data_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+    ) -> anyhow::Result<gitbutler_project::Controller> {
+        let path = if let Some(dir) = app_data_dir {
+            std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir)
+                .context("Failed to assure the designated data-dir exists")?;
+            dir
+        } else {
+            dirs_next::data_dir()
+                .map(|dir| {
+                    dir.join(format!(
+                        "com.gitbutler.app{}",
+                        app_suffix
+                            .map(|mut suffix| {
+                                suffix.insert(0, '.');
+                                suffix
+                            })
+                            .unwrap_or_default()
+                    ))
+                })
+                .context("no data-directory available on this platform")?
+        };
+        if !path.is_dir() {
+            bail!("Path '{}' must be a valid directory", path.display());
+        }
+        eprintln!("Using projects from '{}'", path.display());
+        Ok(gitbutler_project::Controller::from_path(path))
+    }
+}
+
+fn debug_print(this: impl std::fmt::Debug) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("{:#?}", this);
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/main.rs b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/main.rs
index 43e9fc685..444594416 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
-use std::path::PathBuf;
-
-use gitbutler_project::Project;
+use anyhow::Result;
 
 mod args;
-use crate::args::snapshot;
+use crate::args::{project, snapshot, vbranch};
 use args::Args;
 
 mod command;
@@ -12,24 +9,45 @@ mod command;
 fn main() -> Result<()> {
     let args: Args = clap::Parser::parse();
 
-    let project = project_from_path(args.current_dir)?;
     match args.cmd {
-        args::Subcommands::Snapshot(snapshot::Platform { cmd }) => match cmd {
-            Some(snapshot::SubCommands::Restore { snapshot_id }) => {
-                command::snapshot::restore(project, snapshot_id)
+        args::Subcommands::Branch(vbranch::Platform { cmd }) => {
+            let project = command::prepare::project_from_path(args.current_dir)?;
+            match cmd {
+                Some(vbranch::SubCommands::Create { name }) => {
+                    command::vbranch::create(project, name)
+                }
+                None => command::vbranch::list(project),
+            }
+        }
+        args::Subcommands::Project(project::Platform {
+            app_data_dir,
+            app_suffix,
+            cmd,
+        }) => match cmd {
+            Some(project::SubCommands::SwitchToIntegration { remote_ref_name }) => {
+                let project = command::prepare::project_from_path(args.current_dir)?;
+                command::project::switch_to_integration(project, remote_ref_name)
+            }
+            Some(project::SubCommands::Add {
+                switch_to_integration,
+                path,
+            }) => {
+                let ctrl = command::prepare::project_controller(app_suffix, app_data_dir)?;
+                command::project::add(ctrl, path, switch_to_integration)
+            }
+            None => {
+                let ctrl = command::prepare::project_controller(app_suffix, app_data_dir)?;
+                command::project::list(ctrl)
             }
-            None => command::snapshot::list(project),
         },
+        args::Subcommands::Snapshot(snapshot::Platform { cmd }) => {
+            let project = command::prepare::project_from_path(args.current_dir)?;
+            match cmd {
+                Some(snapshot::SubCommands::Restore { snapshot_id }) => {
+                    command::snapshot::restore(project, snapshot_id)
+                }
+                None => command::snapshot::list(project),
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
-
-fn project_from_path(path: PathBuf) -> Result<Project> {
-    let worktree_dir = gix::discover(path)?
-        .work_dir()
-        .context("Bare repositories aren't supported")?
-        .to_owned();
-    Ok(Project {
-        path: worktree_dir,
-        ..Default::default()
-    })
-}
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-git/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-git/Cargo.toml
index 460d5d3dd..e4e2f6e77 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-git/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-git/Cargo.toml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ tokio = { workspace = true, optional = true, features = [
 ] }
 uuid = { workspace = true, features = ["v4", "fast-rng"] }
 rand = "0.8.5"
-futures = "0.3.30"
+futures.workspace = true
 sysinfo = "0.30.13"
 gix-path = "0.10.9"
 
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-tauri/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-tauri/Cargo.toml
index a55733bd3..22c87fff4 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ backtrace = { version = "0.3.72", optional = true }
 console-subscriber = "0.3.0"
 dirs = "5.0.1"
 fslock.workspace = true
-futures = "0.3"
+futures.workspace = true
 git2.workspace = true
 once_cell = "1.19"
 reqwest = { version = "0.12.4", features = ["json"] }
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-testsupport/src/lib.rs b/crates/gitbutler-testsupport/src/lib.rs
index 0fbbceaef..1a5a36184 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-testsupport/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-testsupport/src/lib.rs
@@ -88,7 +88,9 @@ pub mod read_only {
             path.is_file(),
             "Expecting driver to be located at {path:?} - we also assume a certain crate location"
         );
-        path
+        path.canonicalize().expect(
+            "canonicalization works as the CWD is valid and there are no symlinks to resolve",
+        )
     });
 
     /// Execute the script at `script_name.sh` (assumed to be located in `tests/fixtures/<script_name>`)
diff --git a/crates/gitbutler-watcher/Cargo.toml b/crates/gitbutler-watcher/Cargo.toml
index b8321c48c..61951ac87 100644
--- a/crates/gitbutler-watcher/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/gitbutler-watcher/Cargo.toml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ gitbutler-sync.workspace = true
 gitbutler-oplog.workspace = true
 thiserror.workspace = true
 anyhow = "1.0.86"
-futures = "0.3.30"
+futures.workspace = true
 tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["macros"] }
 tokio-util = "0.7.11"
 tracing = "0.1.40"