Parallel work

Assume another session is editing this checkout right now.

Start

git fetch origin
git worktree add ../<repo>-<task> -b <branch> origin/main   # from the REMOTE base, not local main
cd ../<repo>-<task> && <install dependencies for real>        # don't symlink node_modules

• Branch from origin/<base>. Local main falls behind constantly.
• Never git checkout -b in the shared checkout. It moves the working tree out from under other sessions.
• If git worktree add says the branch already exists, another session has probably claimed it. Pick a new name; don't adopt it.

Shared queue (advisory)

Every worktree sees $(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)/hyvemind-queue.md. Claim your work there in one line (branch, area, session, date); edit only your own lines.

• Reconcile it before trusting it: git ls-remote --heads origin and PR state. A claim whose branch is merged or gone is stale.
• It is advisory. Never impose a hold or freeze on another session; on overlap, tell the user.

While working

• Never run git stash, git clean, git reset --hard, or delete a branch you didn't create, in a tree others use. Before discarding anything, diff it against the remote. If it differs, it is someone's unpushed work.
• Before every commit, check git branch --show-current and git diff --cached. A parallel checkout can move you, and a parallel write can land between add and commit.
• Stage explicit paths only.
• Commit and push to a branch to preserve work. Don't rely on stash.
• Don't run two heavy test suites at the same time on one machine. Worker starvation produces failures that look real and aren't.

Fan-out to subagents

• Give each subagent its own worktree and a task with no file overlap with the others.
• Give each one only what it needs: the spec, its task, the files, and the exit check.
• Review each result against the spec yourself before merging it into your branch.

Finish

Remove a branch or worktree only after proving it landed: after git fetch, git merge-base --is-ancestor <branch> origin/<base> exits 0, or (for squash or rebase merges) git cherry origin/<base> <branch> shows no + lines. "The PR says merged" is not proof. Then remove your own worktrees, branches, queue lines, background processes and temp files (git worktree remove, git push origin --delete <branch>). Never remove anything you didn't create.