Recipes / Dev & code
Multi-agentFull setupDev & code

Run several coding agents on a kanban board

Each agent gets its own git worktree and terminal; a board sorts them into Idle, Working and Needs Input so you only look at the ones blocked on you.

From Krishna Suraj on Substack · Mar 2026

Setup time20 min
CostFree (open source)
RunsWhile coding
NeedsClaude Code or Codex CLI, git worktrees, macOS
Last updated2026-10-17

What the source did

  • Built an open-source Electron app wrapping real terminals for Claude Code and Codex CLI.
  • Derived each agent's state from its JSONL session log plus terminal patterns.
  • Created a worktree per agent and fired desktop notifications when one needs approval.
“The app should wrap the terminal, not replace it.”— Krishna Suraj, Substack

Summary written by Agent Cookbook. See the original for the full context.

Get their template

Made and published by Krishna Suraj. Start here; it is their original, not ours.

Our adapted version

Ours Our manual version with plain git worktrees, based on what Krishna described, if you don't want to install the app. Fill in the [BRACKETS].

For each parallel task: 1. git worktree add ../wt-[BRANCH] -b [BRANCH] 2. Start the agent there with: "Work only inside this worktree on [TASK]. When you need a permission or a decision, stop and write NEEDS INPUT on its own line. When finished, write DONE plus a 3-line summary and the test command." 3. Track every worktree on a 3-column list: Idle / Working / Needs Input.

Approval rule

🛡
Permission prompts stay interactive. Don't run parallel agents with permissions skipped.

Set it up

  1. Install Agent Navigator from the repo, or just use worktrees plus tmux.
  2. Create one worktree per task.
  3. Give each agent the bounded prompt above.
  4. Check the Needs Input column first, approve or redirect, then move on.
  5. Remove worktrees after merging.

Common failures

⚠
  • Projects that need several Docker stacks at once break when run in parallel.
  • Uncommitted work is lost if you delete a worktree; the app warns, plain git doesn't.

Variations

  • Name worktrees and add shell aliases to hop between them.
  • Keep one read-only 'analysis' worktree for logs and queries.

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