Concurrent CLI agents (worktrees + cloud sandboxes)

Orchestrate multiple coding agents on one repo without shared working trees or index corruption. Default to local git worktrees; escalate to cloud sandboxes when isolation, scale, untrusted code, or missing host deps require it.

Pair with agent-orchestrator (briefs, verification, waves), git-worktrees (safe commit-then-merge — never cp from worktrees), split-to-prs (merge plans), devcontainer-hardened (long-lived dev env), cli-for-agents patterns (non-interactive CLIs).

Principles

1. One agent → one workspace — separate worktree or sandbox per concurrent task; never two agents in the same checkout.
2. Branch naming is predictable — agent/<tool>/<slug> (e.g. agent/hermes/fix-auth, agent/grok-build/refactor-footer).
3. Local first — worktrees on the host cost nothing and preserve AGENTS.md / skills / MCP; use cloud when the matrix below says so.
4. Orchestrator stays thin — a coordinator (human, script, or parent agent) assigns tasks, tracks IDs, merges; workers do not share state.
5. Secrets stay out of git — copy via .worktreeinclude (Hermes) or sandbox env; never commit .env.
6. Stagger worktree creation — concurrent git worktree add can race on macOS; sleep 0.5–1s between adds or serialize creation (reference).

Workflow checklist