How to run several coding agents at once
Two or three agents can get a lot done in parallel — if they do not step on each other and you always know which one needs you.
By the Pet Island team · Updated Oct 17, 2026 · 6 min readGive every agent its own task and its own folder or git worktree, keep their permission prompts in one queue, and use one place to see who is working, who is done and who is waiting. Pet Island’s island does that last part for every agent you run.
Split the work, not the files
Agents work best on separate tasks: one writes tests, one fixes a bug, one updates the docs. Two agents editing the same file at the same time will undo each other’s changes.
A clean way to keep them apart is a separate folder or git worktree per agent. Each one gets its own branch, and you merge when a task is done.
One terminal tab per agent
Give every agent its own terminal tab or editor window and name it after the task. When you come back after ten minutes, you want to know at a glance which tab belongs to which job.
Keep the questions in one queue
With three agents, permission prompts arrive in three different places. On the island they line up in one queue: answer the first, the next one slides in.
Every agent has its own logo and status light — working, done or waiting — so you can see the whole team without opening a single window.
Jump straight to the right window
When an agent finishes or stops, one click on Jump brings you to the exact terminal tab or editor window it is in. No more cycling through windows to find it.
FAQ
How many agents can I run at once?
As many as your computer and your plan with each agent allow. The island shows every one of them; the busiest people we know run two or three.
Can I mix different agents?
Yes. Claude Code in one tab, Codex in another and Cursor in your editor all report to the same island.
Do they share my usage limits?
Each agent has its own limits with its own provider. Running several at once uses them up faster.