parallel-agents

# Parallel Agents

Dispatch multiple agents concurrently for independent problems.

## Purpose

Sequential investigation of independent problems wastes time. When multiple
issues have different root causes and don't affect each other, dispatching
agents in parallel reduces total resolution time significantly.

## When to Use

Use parallel agents when:

- 3+ test files failing with different root causes
- Multiple subsystems broken independently
- Independent tasks in a plan that don't share state
- Bulk operations across unrelated files

**Do NOT use when:**

- Failures might be related (fixing one might fix others)
- Tasks have sequential dependencies
- Changes could conflict with each other
- Shared state exists between tasks

## Decision Framework

Before parallelizing, ask:

```text
1. Are these problems truly independent?
   - Different files?
   - Different subsystems?
   - No shared data or state?

2. Could fixing one affect another?
   - Shared dependencies?
   - Common configuration?
   - Overlapping code paths?

3. Will changes conflict?
   - Same file modifications?
   - Related API changes?
   - Interconnected tests?
```

If any answer suggests dependency, work sequentially instead.

## The Parallel Process

### Step 1: Identify Independent Problems

Group failures or tasks by independence:

```text
Test failures example:
- auth.test.js: Login validation errors (auth subsystem)
- api.test.js: Endpoint routing issues (api subsystem)
- db.test.js: Connection pool exhaustion (database subsystem)

Assessment: Independent subsystems, can parallelize
```

### Step 2: Create Focused Agent Prompts

Each agent needs a self-contained, focused prompt:

```text
Good prompt structure:
- ONE clear problem to solve
- ALL necessary context included
- SPECIFIC about expected output
- NO dependencies on other agents
```

Example prompts:

```text
Agent 1 - Auth fixes:
"Fix the login validation errors in auth.test.js.
The tests expect [specific behavior].
Current error: [e