| name | gastown-parallel-workflow |
| description | Use when coordinating multi-session work via Gastown with in-session subagent parallelization, dispatching convoys, or recognizing parallelization signals in beads issues |
Gastown Parallel Workflow
Overview
This skill bridges two levels of orchestration:
- Gastown (cross-session): Mayor coordinates Polecats across git worktrees
- Task subagents (in-session): Multiple agents run concurrently in same worktree
The insight: These levels are complementary, not competing. Mayor distributes coarse-grained work (issues) to Polecats. Each Polecat can then parallelize fine-grained work (tasks) using subagents.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Mayor (main worktree) │
│ └── Convoy: [bp-123, bp-124, bp-125] │
│ ├── Polecat 1 (worktree A) → bp-123 │
│ │ └── subagents: [task A, task B, task C] (parallel) │
│ ├── Polecat 2 (worktree B) → bp-124 │
│ │ └── subagents: [task D, task E] (parallel) │
│ └── Polecat 3 (worktree C) → bp-125 │
│ └── sequential work (has dependencies) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
When to Use
digraph when_to_use {
"Multi-issue convoy?" [shape=diamond];
"Issues independent?" [shape=diamond];
"Single issue, multiple tasks?" [shape=diamond];
"Tasks independent?" [shape=diamond];
"Sequential work" [shape=box];
"Mayor dispatches Polecats" [shape=box];
"dispatching-parallel-agents" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];
"subagent-driven-development" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightyellow];
"Multi-issue convoy?" -> "Issues independent?" [label="yes"];
"Multi-issue convoy?" -> "Single issue, multiple tasks?" [label="no"];
"Issues independent?" -> "Mayor dispatches Polecats" [label="yes"];
"Issues independent?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="no - deps"];
"Single issue, multiple tasks?" -> "Tasks independent?" [label="yes"];
"Single issue, multiple tasks?" -> "Sequential work" [label="no"];
"Tasks independent?" -> "dispatching-parallel-agents" [label="yes - 3+"];
"Tasks independent?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="2 or deps"];
}
Use this skill when:
- Dispatching a convoy with 3+ issues
- Working on an issue with
## Parallel Phase marker
- Coordinating Gastown orchestration with Task subagents
- You see parallelization hints in issue descriptions
Don't use when:
- Simple single-task work
- All tasks have sequential dependencies
- Shared state prevents parallelization
Issue Templating Convention
Phase Markers
Use markdown sections to signal parallelization intent:
## Parallel Phase (dispatch subagents)
- [ ] Task A (independent)
- [ ] Task B (independent)
- [ ] Task C (independent)
## Sequential Phase (after parallel completes)
- [ ] Task D (depends on A, B, C)
- [ ] Task E (depends on D)
Worker Recognition
When you see ## Parallel Phase:
- Immediately recognize this as a parallelization signal
- Use
superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents for tasks in that section
- After parallel phase completes, proceed to Sequential Phase
Example Issue Description
# Add multi-tenant support
## Context
We need to add organization-scoping to all data queries.
## Parallel Phase (dispatch subagents)
These changes are independent - can be done simultaneously:
- [ ] Add orgId column to Users table
- [ ] Add orgId column to Projects table
- [ ] Add orgId column to Documents table
- [ ] Create Organization model
## Sequential Phase (after parallel completes)
- [ ] Add org-scoping middleware (needs all columns)
- [ ] Update existing queries (needs middleware)
- [ ] Write migration script (needs all changes)
Mayor Dispatch Patterns
When dispatching Polecats, include parallelization hints:
Basic Dispatch
CONVOY: bp-123, bp-124, bp-125
PARALLELIZATION HINTS:
- bp-123 and bp-124 are independent → can work in parallel worktrees
- bp-125 depends on bp-123 → wait for bp-123 to complete first
- bp-123 has "## Parallel Phase" → Polecat should use dispatching-parallel-agents
- bp-124 is sequential → Polecat should use subagent-driven-development
Phase-Structured Convoy
CONVOY STRUCTURE:
## Phase 1 (Parallel - dispatch simultaneously)
- bp-123: Add User authentication (independent)
- bp-124: Add Project CRUD (independent)
- bp-125: Add Document storage (independent)
## Phase 2 (Sequential - after Phase 1 completes)
- bp-126: Integrate auth with projects (needs bp-123, bp-124)
- bp-127: Add cross-resource search (needs all above)
HINTS FOR POLECATS:
- Phase 1 Polecats: Look for "## Parallel Phase" in your issue
- Phase 2 Polecats: Use subagent-driven-development with dependencies
Dispatch Prompt Template
See ./mayor-dispatch.md for complete Mayor prompt templates.
Worker Recognition Patterns
When starting work on an issue:
Signal Detection Checklist
-
Check issue description for phase markers:
## Parallel Phase → use dispatching-parallel-agents## Sequential Phase → use subagent-driven-development- No markers → analyze task dependencies
-
Count independent tasks:
- 3+ independent → consider dispatching-parallel-agents
- 2 or with deps → use subagent-driven-development
-
Check for parallelization hints:
- Look for "HINTS FOR POLECATS" section
- Look for "can be done simultaneously" language
- Look for explicit skill references
Strategy Selection
digraph strategy {
"Read issue description" [shape=box];
"Has '## Parallel Phase'?" [shape=diamond];
"Has 3+ independent tasks?" [shape=diamond];
"Has dependencies?" [shape=diamond];
"dispatching-parallel-agents" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];
"subagent-driven-development" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightyellow];
"Sequential execution" [shape=box];
"Read issue description" -> "Has '## Parallel Phase'?";
"Has '## Parallel Phase'?" -> "dispatching-parallel-agents" [label="yes"];
"Has '## Parallel Phase'?" -> "Has 3+ independent tasks?" [label="no"];
"Has 3+ independent tasks?" -> "dispatching-parallel-agents" [label="yes"];
"Has 3+ independent tasks?" -> "Has dependencies?" [label="no"];
"Has dependencies?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="yes"];
"Has dependencies?" -> "Sequential execution" [label="no"];
}
See ./worker-patterns.md for complete worker recognition patterns.
Common Rationalizations (Anti-Patterns)
Agents often avoid parallelization with these rationalizations:
| Rationalization | Counter |
|---|
| "I should understand the full picture first" | Parallel tasks are independent by definition - understanding one doesn't help with others |
| "Let me do this one thing first" | If it's parallel, "first" is arbitrary - dispatch all at once |
| "I want to maintain context" | Task subagents don't share context anyway - parallelization is lossless |
| "It's safer to go sequentially" | Independent tasks can't conflict - parallel is equally safe |
| "I'll parallelize later if needed" | Starting sequential creates sunk cost bias against switching |
| "This will be faster if I do it myself" | 3 agents working concurrently is faster than 1 working serially |
| "The tasks might be related" | If issue says "independent" or "parallel", trust it |
Red Flags
You might be missing parallelization opportunities if:
- You see
## Parallel Phase but don't use dispatching-parallel-agents
- You have 3+ tasks and start them sequentially
- You rationalize sequential work for "safety" when tasks are independent
- You ignore parallelization hints in the issue description
- You start sequential and never reconsider despite having parallel tasks
You might be over-parallelizing if:
- Tasks share state (editing same files)
- Tasks have hidden dependencies (one's output is another's input)
- Tasks need context from each other to be done correctly
- You're parallelizing just 2 tasks (overhead may exceed benefit)
Integration with Superpowers
Required Skills
For parallel work:
**REQUIRED:** superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents
For sequential work with review:
**REQUIRED:** superpowers:subagent-driven-development
Workflow Integration
digraph integration {
"Read beads issue" [shape=box];
"Analyze for parallelization" [shape=box];
"Has parallel phase?" [shape=diamond];
"dispatching-parallel-agents" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightgreen];
"subagent-driven-development" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightyellow];
"Both complete" [shape=box];
"finishing-a-development-branch" [shape=box style=filled fillcolor=lightblue];
"Read beads issue" -> "Analyze for parallelization";
"Analyze for parallelization" -> "Has parallel phase?";
"Has parallel phase?" -> "dispatching-parallel-agents" [label="yes - tasks"];
"Has parallel phase?" -> "subagent-driven-development" [label="no"];
"dispatching-parallel-agents" -> "Both complete";
"subagent-driven-development" -> "Both complete";
"Both complete" -> "finishing-a-development-branch";
}
Example Workflows
Example 1: Polecat with Parallel Phase
Mayor: Work on bp-123
[Polecat reads bp-123]
bp-123 contains:
## Parallel Phase
- [ ] Add field A to model
- [ ] Add field B to model
- [ ] Add field C to model
## Sequential Phase
- [ ] Update all queries to use new fields
Polecat recognizes "## Parallel Phase" marker:
> I see a Parallel Phase with 3 independent tasks.
> Using superpowers:dispatching-parallel-agents
[Dispatches 3 subagents]
Agent 1 → Add field A
Agent 2 → Add field B
Agent 3 → Add field C
[All complete]
Polecat proceeds to Sequential Phase:
> Parallel phase complete. Moving to Sequential Phase.
> Using subagent-driven-development for dependent work.
[Completes sequential tasks]
[Uses finishing-a-development-branch]
Example 2: Mayor Structuring Convoy
Mayor analyzing 5 new issues:
- bp-200: Auth system (no deps)
- bp-201: User profiles (no deps)
- bp-202: Settings page (no deps)
- bp-203: Dashboard (depends on bp-200, bp-201)
- bp-204: Analytics (depends on bp-203)
Mayor creates structured convoy:
CONVOY STRUCTURE:
## Phase 1 (Parallel)
- bp-200: Auth system
- bp-201: User profiles
- bp-202: Settings page
## Phase 2 (After Phase 1)
- bp-203: Dashboard
## Phase 3 (After Phase 2)
- bp-204: Analytics
HINTS FOR POLECATS:
- bp-200 has multiple auth providers → consider parallel subagents
- bp-201 has avatar upload + profile fields → independent, can parallel
- bp-202 is straightforward → sequential is fine
[Mayor dispatches Phase 1 Polecats simultaneously]
[Waits for Phase 1]
[Dispatches Phase 2]
[Waits for Phase 2]
[Dispatches Phase 3]
Example 3: Worker Missing Signal (Anti-Pattern)
[Polecat receives issue bp-300]
bp-300 contains:
## Parallel Phase (dispatch subagents)
- [ ] Task A (independent)
- [ ] Task B (independent)
- [ ] Task C (independent)
[BAD] Polecat ignores marker:
> Let me start with Task A to understand the codebase...
[Works on Task A]
> Now that I understand, let me do Task B...
[Works on Task B]
> Finally, Task C...
[GOOD] Polecat recognizes marker:
> I see "## Parallel Phase" with 3 independent tasks.
> Using dispatching-parallel-agents immediately.
[Dispatches 3 subagents in parallel]
Verification
After completing work:
-
Did you recognize phase markers?
- If
## Parallel Phase was present, did you use dispatching-parallel-agents?
-
Did you parallelize when appropriate?
- 3+ independent tasks → should have used subagents
-
Did you respect dependencies?
- Sequential Phase items → waited for Parallel Phase
-
Did you avoid rationalizations?
- Didn't go sequential "just to be safe" for independent work
Beads Integration
Labels for Phase Tracking
bd label bp-123 parallel-phase-1
bd label bp-124 parallel-phase-1
bd label bp-125 sequential-phase-2
Dependencies for Ordering
bd dep add bp-125 --blocks bp-126
Convoy View
bd list --label convoy-2026-02-01
