Parallelizing AI Development with Claude Code and Git Worktrees

Traditional branch switching is a sequential bottleneck. When you prompt an AI agent to build a feature, your current working directory is locked until the task completes.

now integrates built-in support for

Git Worktree

, a feature that allows you to have multiple branches checked out simultaneously in different folders. This is the secret to scaling AI output: by isolating each agent into its own physical directory, you can run parallel tasks on the same codebase without file-system conflicts.

Prerequisites and Setup

Before diving in, ensure you have

installed and a basic understanding of repository structures. You will need

Claude Code

version 2.15.0 or higher. The environment should be a standard development setup—the examples here utilize a

Laravel

project, but the logic applies to any repository.

Key Libraries & Tools

• Claude Code: The CLI agent from
  Anthropic
  that handles autonomous coding tasks.
• Git: The underlying version control system providing the worktree functionality.
• VS Code: Used here for visual conflict resolution and project management.
• Ghosty: A modern terminal emulator used to manage multiple concurrent agent sessions.

Code Walkthrough: Parallel Agent Execution

To start a parallel session, use the --worktree flag. This creates a hidden replica of your project under .claude/worktrees/.

# Terminal Tab 1: Create worktree for 'About' page
claude --worktree about-page --dangerously-skip-permissions

# Terminal Tab 2: Create worktree for 'Contact' page
claude --worktree contact-page --dangerously-skip-permissions

In each tab, you can now issue specific prompts. Agent A might handle the "About" page routes, while Agent B builds the "Contact" form. Because they live in separate folders, they won't overwrite each other's temporary files or local server locks during the generation phase.

Merging and Conflict Resolution

Once the agents finish, the changes exist in separate directories. You must merge them back into your main branch. This process follows standard Git fundamentals but requires pointing to the worktree path.

# From the main project directory
git merge claude-worktrees/about-page

# Merge the second feature
git merge claude-worktrees/contact-page

If both agents modified routes/web.php, Git will trigger a conflict. Open

to accept both sets of changes manually. This "late-binding" of conflicts is much safer than letting two agents fight over the same file in real-time.

Syntax Notes

The --worktree flag is the primary orchestrator here. It instructs

to initialize a new linked working tree. Note the use of --dangerously-skip-permissions; while it speeds up the demo by bypassing confirmation prompts, always use it with caution in production environments.

Tips & Gotchas

Worktrees are powerful but can break local configurations. Some tools, like

's vendor binaries or specific

NPM

hooks, might expect a specific directory depth or an .env file that wasn't copied into the worktree. If an agent fails to format code or run a test, check if the worktree folder is missing its environment variables. Always delete worktrees via git worktree remove or the

VS Code

UI once the merge is complete to keep your project root clean.