st0nefish/parallel-work

When the user wants to work on something in parallel, in isolation, or without touching the current branch — or when the agent detects a context mismatch between the current branch and the new request — a git worktree is the right tool. A worktree gives a second fully-functional checkout under .github/worktrees/<slug> inside the repo (auto-gitignored): no stashing, no branch switching, no context loss, and no per-path permission prompts because the path is covered by the harness's working-directory scope.

When to trigger

Explicit — user signals parallel or isolated work

Trigger proactively when the user says things like:

• "work on this in parallel", "do both at once", "simultaneously"
• "without touching my current branch", "keep my current work"
• "run tests in a clean checkout", "isolated environment"
• "background task", "separate branch for this"
• "while I continue working on X, also do Y"

Implicit — agent detects an unrelated context

Trigger proactively when you observe ALL of the following:

1. There are uncommitted or staged changes on the current branch (check with git status --short), AND
2. The user's new request is clearly unrelated to those existing changes — different feature area, different file set, different issue, or a hotfix on top of in-progress work, AND
3. Completing the new request would interleave unrelated changes into the same branch/commit history.

Examples of unrelated-context detection:

• Current branch has uncommitted UI changes; user asks to fix an unrelated API bug.
• Current branch is mid-refactor of module A; user asks to add a new feature to module B.
• Current branch has half-done feature work; user asks to apply an urgent hotfix.
• Current branch name suggests one issue (e.g. feature/auth); user asks to work on something that belongs on a different issue entirely.

In these cases, pause and ask the user whether they'd like a worktree before proceeding. Do not silently start the new work on the current branch.

Checking for context mismatch

Before starting any significant new task, you may run:

git status --short
git --no-pager log --oneline -1
git --no-pager branch --show-current

If there are uncommitted changes and the new request is clearly unrelated, raise the worktree suggestion.

Response

1. Briefly describe what you noticed (1 sentence): e.g., "I see uncommitted changes related to X on this branch — your new request looks unrelated."

2. Ask if they want a worktree, or offer to create one directly:

   bash ${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/worktree-create.sh <suggested-branch-name>
   

   Suggest a branch name based on the new task being discussed.

3. Explain that once created, commands run in the worktree via cd <path> && ... — the worktree plugin's hook auto-approves operations targeting that directory.

4. After the work is done, remind the user to clean up:

   bash ${COPILOT_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/worktree-remove.sh <name> --delete-branch
   

Rules

• Do NOT invoke this skill if the user is already working in a worktree (git worktree list shows more than one entry).
• Do NOT suggest worktrees for trivial single-step tasks or read-only queries.
• Do NOT silently start unrelated work on the current branch — always surface the suggestion first and let the user decide.
• Keep the explanation brief — the user just wants to get started.