How to manage multiple coding agents without watching every terminal.

(1)Partition

Split along stable boundaries.

Good parallel tasks have minimal overlap and independently testable outcomes. Routes, components, migrations, test suites, documentation, and investigation work often divide cleanly. A broad “improve the app” task does not.

• One outcome per session.
• Explicit file or subsystem ownership.
• A named check that proves completion.
• A stopping rule for uncertainty or scope expansion.

Task:      Add rate limiting to the /login routeOwns:      src/routes/login.ts, src/middleware/rate-limit.tsDone when: npm test -- login passesStop if:   the change needs a schema migration

(2)Isolate

Use separate workspaces for separate writers.

When agents edit concurrently, separate branches or worktrees reduce accidental overwrites and make each diff reviewable. Shared state is appropriate for read-only research; simultaneous edits to the same files are a coordination failure.

Several of the tools above create the worktree for you: agent-manager, canopy, agent-view and Agent of Empires all have a worktree option.

git worktree add ../finance-app-auth -b agent/auth
git worktree add ../finance-app-docs -b agent/docs
cd ../finance-app-auth && claude

(3)Observe

Route attention by state, not by window.

Every session is in one of a few states, and only some of them need you. Session managers name them slightly differently (agent-view uses Running, Waiting, Idle, Stopped and Error), but the split is the same.

• Running: working on its own. Leave it alone.
• Waiting for input: it asked a question. Needs you.
• Blocked on approval: a permission prompt. Needs you, often quickly.
• Failed: a test, build or API error stopped it. Needs you.
• Done: ready for review. Needs you when you next have review time, not right now.

(4)Right now

Which of my parallel sessions needs me right now?

For Claude Code, run claude agents. Agent view lists your background Claude Code sessions grouped by state, with the ones that need you at the top and Needs input marked in yellow; type s:blocked in its input to list only the sessions waiting on you. Sessions open in other terminals show up only after you background them (press ←). Inside a regular session, the footer counts background sessions that are waiting, such as ← 2 agents. Agent view is a research preview built into Claude Code (not the agent-view tool in the table above), and it does not show other agents such as Codex.

If your eyes are on something else, Heard (heard.dev) says out loud which session is waiting and why, for Claude Code and Codex on a Mac, so you know where to go without opening the list. For other agents, a session manager from the table above shows the same states in one place.

(5)Integrate

Review one result at a time.

Inspect the diff, run the required checks, resolve conflicts deliberately, and record what was accepted. Only then close the session or assign follow-up work. This keeps finished work from piling up unreviewed.

(6)Dashboard or voice

A dashboard needs a glance; a voice reaches you away from the screen.

A session manager is the better tool when you are at the screen: you see every session at once, and several let you review diffs, create worktrees or approve from a phone. You still have to look at it, or catch its notification banner.

A voice layer is the better tool when your eyes are on something else: another editor, a document or the kitchen. It tells you which session changed state without you looking. Heard does this for Claude Code and Codex on a Mac. You can use both: the list for review, the voice for knowing when to look.

(7)With Heard

What Heard says when several sessions run.

With two or more sessions running, questions, failures and results come through as they happen, each starting with the project name, and routine tool steps stay quiet.

• Spoken: questions, approvals, failures and finished work.
• Not spoken: each tool step an agent takes.
• Need quiet for a while: mute updates from the menu bar or Settings. Parrot still answers when you ask.

(8)Reply

Answer the right session without finding its window.

On Heard Power, press right ⌘ and start with the project’s name, for example “For heard-v3, run the tests”, and Parrot sends it to that session. If it cannot tell which session you mean, Parrot asks. Anything risky, such as a merge, a delete, a push or sending a message, asks “Go ahead?” first. For the Codex desktop app, Heard also lists your threads, jumps you to the right one and can type your reply into its composer.