worker-agents

name	worker-agents
description	You have a task that would benefit from running in a separate isolated Claude Code session — either because it is long-running and you do not want it to consume your context window, or because you want multiple pieces of work running in parallel that each require a full Claude Code session with its own tools, memory, and context (not just a subagent call). You will spawn one or more ephemeral worker sessions, give each a focused task, monitor their progress via the bus, and collect their outputs when done.
triggers	["worker","parallelize","spawn worker","spin up","parallel work","background task","isolated session","separate session","long running task","run in background","parallel research","multiple workers","worker session","spawn session","full claude code session","context window","parallel tasks","run simultaneously","independent sessions"]

Worker Agents

Spawn ephemeral Claude Code sessions for parallelized long-running tasks. Workers get a scoped task, produce deliverables, and are cleaned up when done. Use when work requires a full independent Claude Code session — not just a subagent tool call.

Worker session spawn is fully implemented. Use cortextos spawn-worker to launch isolated Claude Code sessions for parallelized tasks.

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When to Use

Good fit:

• Independent work that does not touch files another agent is editing
• Research or design docs in a new directory
• Scaffolding a new feature in isolation
• Any task > 5 minutes that can run while you do other work

Bad fit:

• Editing files another agent or worker is actively touching (merge conflicts)
• Tasks needing real-time back-and-forth (just do it yourself)
• Very short tasks < 2 minutes (overhead not worth it)

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How Workers Differ from Persistent Agents

	Persistent Agent	Worker Agent
Lifetime	24/7, survives restarts	Dies when task is done
Identity	IDENTITY.md, SOUL.md, GOALS.md	None — just a task prompt
Heartbeat	Updates every 4h	None
Crons	config.json scheduled tasks	None
Inbox	Bus messages via check-inbox	Bus messages (optional)
Telegram	Yes	No
Memory	Daily journals, MEMORY.md	None

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Workflow (Concepts — Implementation TBD)

Step 1: Scope the Work

Before spawning, answer:

1. What specific deliverables should the worker produce?
2. Which files/directories will it create or modify?
3. Does this overlap with any active agent or worker? If yes, do NOT parallelize.
4. What context does the worker need?

Step 2: Spawn Worker Session

cortextos spawn-worker <worker-name> \
  --dir <absolute-path-to-project-dir> \
  --prompt "Read AGENTS.md for your task. Deliverables: <list>. When done: cortextos bus send-message $CTX_AGENT_NAME normal 'Done: <summary>'" \
  --parent $CTX_AGENT_NAME

The worker:

• Runs claude --dangerously-skip-permissions in the given directory
• Gets a bus identity (CTX_AGENT_NAME=<worker-name>) for two-way communication
• Logs to ~/.cortextos/<instance>/logs/<worker-name>/stdout.log
• Is tracked by the daemon — use cortextos list-workers to monitor status

Step 3: Inject Task Prompt

A good worker task prompt includes:

• Exact deliverables (specific files or outputs to produce)
• What NOT to touch (files other agents own)
• Working directory scope
• How to communicate back (cortextos bus send-message <parent> normal '<update>')
• Completion signal ("when done, send me a summary")

Step 4: Log the Spawn

cortextos bus log-event action worker_spawned info \
  --meta '{"worker":"<worker-name>","parent":"'$CTX_AGENT_NAME'","task":"<title>"}'

Step 5: Monitor

Workers communicate back via the bus. Check your inbox:

cortextos bus check-inbox

Check all worker statuses:

cortextos list-workers
# Output: worker-name  running (pid 12345) ← parent-agent  42s  /path/to/dir

Check git progress in the worker's directory:

cd <work-dir> && git log --oneline | head -5

Nudge a stuck worker (equivalent of tmux send-keys):

cortextos inject-worker <worker-name> "Continue with phase 3. What's blocking you?"

Step 6: Cleanup

# Terminate a running worker
cortextos terminate-worker <worker-name>

# Log completion
cortextos bus log-event action worker_completed info \
  --meta '{"worker":"<worker-name>","deliverables":"<summary>"}'

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Scaling Rules

Workers	Risk	Notes
1-2	Low	Safe for most tasks
3-4	Medium	Ensure zero file overlap
5+	High	Resource contention, monitor closely

Hard rules:

• NEVER spawn workers for overlapping file sets
• NEVER let workers modify files you or other agents are editing
• ALWAYS log spawns and completions
• Workers should NOT spawn their own workers (no worker-ception)