Run Multiple AI Agents in Parallel with git worktree

AI coding sessions often edit many files at once. Running two agents in one checkout makes them overwrite changes, switch branches underneath each other, and confuse uncommitted work; worktrees give each session an isolated folder while sharing the same Git history.

When to use

Run independent agent tasks at the same time without cloning the repository twice.
Keep a long-running feature open while an agent handles an urgent fix.
Review one agent's branch while another agent continues working.

Example

An auth agent works in ../myapp-auth on agent/auth while a billing agent works in ../myapp-billing on agent/billing. They share commits, but their files, dependencies and terminals stay separate.

TL;DR

One worktree per agent: same repository, separate folder, separate branch.

bash

git worktree add ../myapp-auth -b agent/auth
cd ../myapp-auth && claude

Steps

1
Create one worktree per task
Each command creates a new folder with a new branch based on your current HEAD.
bash
```
git worktree add ../myapp-auth -b agent/auth
git worktree add ../myapp-billing -b agent/billing
```
2
Start an agent in each folder
Open one terminal per worktree. Each agent only sees its own files.
bash
```
cd ../myapp-auth && claude
# second terminal
cd ../myapp-billing && codex
```
3
Install dependencies per worktree
Untracked files like node_modules and .env are not shared.
bash
```
cp .env ../myapp-auth/.env
cd ../myapp-auth && npm install
```
4
List what is running
Check every linked folder, its current commit and checked-out branch before starting or removing a session.
bash
```
git worktree list
```
5
Review, merge, remove
Push the branch and open a PR, or merge locally. Then delete the folder.
bash
```
git worktree remove ../myapp-auth
git branch -d agent/auth
```

Gotchas

A branch can be checked out in only one worktree at a time.
Never delete a worktree folder with rm -rf alone; run git worktree prune afterwards.
Ports collide: give each worktree's dev server its own port.
Worktrees share the same .git objects, so commits in one are visible in all.

Cheat sheet

git worktree add <path> -b <branch>	New folder + new branch
git worktree add <path> <branch>	Check out an existing branch
git worktree list	Show all worktrees
git worktree remove <path>	Delete a clean worktree
git worktree prune	Clean up stale entries

Sources

git-worktree documentation

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