Running agents in parallel

Tabs

Each project has its own strip of tabs, one per open chat. ⌘T starts a new chat in the project, ⌘1 to ⌘8 jump to a tab, ⌘9 goes to the last one, and ⌘W closes the tab. The chat itself stays in the sidebar. A tab shows whether its agent is answering, whether the reviewer is checking the answer, or whether the last answer is complete.

Split view

Up to four chats can share the window, each with its own conversation and message box. To add one, drag a tab or a chat from the sidebar onto the chat area, or choose Open in split view from a chat's menu. With four open, a fifth replaces the one you drop it on.

Panes sit side by side while each is at least 340 points wide. In a narrower window they wrap into rows, so four across needs a wide window. ⌘⌥← and ⌘⌥→ move between panes, and ⌘W closes a pane but keeps its tab.

Home: who needs you

Home, at the top of the sidebar rail, is the overview. Its first row counts your Agents, how many are Running, how many are Waiting on you, and how many have an Unread answer. Waiting on you includes a chat whose last turn ended in an error, since that needs you too.

Below it, the agents table lists each chat with its Agent, Project, State, Turn time and Context, the share of the model's context window the chat has used. Working and waiting chats come first. Click a row to open that chat.

The Usage card shows each login's usage windows and when they reset; see Accounts and limits.

Alerts

When an agent finishes or needs you, Offrun can show a card at the top right of the screen the agent is on: Reply ready when it has finished, Reply needed when it asked a question or failed, and Approval needed when it wants permission. Press Open to go to the chat. A card stays for 15 seconds, longer while your pointer is over it, and up to four stack at once. There is no card for the chat you are already looking at.

Turn alerts on in Settings, Agents, under Agent notifications:

• Pop-up notification shows the card.
• Notification sound plays a tone when an agent needs you.

Offrun draws these cards itself, so they need no macOS notification permission.

Keeping the Mac awake

Caffeinate, in Settings, Agents, is on unless you turn it off. While an agent, reviewer or job is working, it keeps the Mac and its screen awake so they do not lock. On battery it lets go at 10% or below. Closing the lid on battery still puts the Mac to sleep, and locking the screen yourself still locks it.

How many at once

The limit is usually your attention and your usage allowance, not the Mac. Two or three independent tasks, each in its own worktree, is a good place to start. Tasks that touch the same files are better done one after the other. The parallel agents guide goes into this.