Run many agents at once
A 15-minute tutorial: three agents on three branches of one project, and you answering whichever one waits.
Start three agents on three tasks in one project, each on its own branch, and answer them as they ask. It takes about 15 minutes.
Paste this into your coding agent to set up three agents on three branches for you.
Show the prompt
Set up three Hivemind agents working at once on this project, each on its own branch. 1. Check Hivemind is open on this project: `hive ctl frames --json` answers. If it exits 3, tell me to open Hivemind on the project with `hivemind .` and stop. 2. Ask me for three small tasks and which agent to use (`hive agents list --found` lists the ones on this computer). 3. For each task, pick a short branch name and make a worktree: `git worktree add ../<project>-worktrees/<branch> -b <branch>`. Do not delete or reset any branch. 4. Open each as a frame: `hive ctl frame add --folder <full worktree path> --name <branch>`. 5. Start one agent in each: `hive ctl spawn --frame <branch> --agent <agent> --prompt "<task>"`. 6. Check: `hive ctl agents` lists three agents, one per frame. Then tell me to watch the bell at the top of the Layers panel and press it whenever it shows a number. Do not answer the agents' permission questions for me. REFERENCE https://hivemind.griiken.com/guide/run-many-agents.md
What you'll learn
- How to give each agent its own branch, so they never edit the same files.
- How to start an agent in a chosen frame.
- How to find and answer the agent that waits on you.
Before you start
- Hivemind is installed and one agent works: Install and run your first agent.
- Your project is a git repository with no submodules.
- You have three small tasks in mind, such as "add a test for X".
Open the project
In a terminal, run cd ~/my-project && hivemind ..
Check: the canvas opens with one frameA named area bound to one folder: the project, a git worktree, or a folder on another computer. Every tile in it starts in that folder.Glossary →, named after the project.
Make the first worktree
Open the project frame's ⋯ menu, choose Worktree, then Create new worktree. Type
task-one and press create.
Check: a frame named task-one appears, nested under the project.
Make two more
Repeat the last step for task-two and task-three.
Check: the Layers panel lists three frames under the project.
Start an agent in each
Select task-one and press 2. Type its task in the agent's tile and press Enter. Do the
same in the other two frames.
Check: each frame has an agent tile marked working.
Watch who waits
Keep working on something else. Sooner or later an agent asks to run a command or edit a file. Its tile turns amber, and the bell at the top of the Layers panel shows a number.
Check: the bell shows 1 or more.
Answer it
Press the bell. Hivemind selects the agent that waits. Answer its question in its tile.
Check: the tile leaves amber and shows working again. The bell's number drops.
What you did
- You gave three agents three branches with git worktrees, so their edits never collide.
- You started each agent in its own frame, in its worktree's folder.
- You used the bell to find and answer the agent that waited on you.
Next
- Know who is waiting: notifications, snooze and push to your phone.
- Review an agent's changes: comment on a line and the agent fixes it.
- Coordinate agents: let one agent lead the others.
Last validated for Hivemind 2026.10.3.