Two-Terminal Workflow

A practical workflow for using aoe with git worktrees, keeping agent management separate from git operations.

Philosophy

aoe manages your AI coding sessions and provides paired terminals for each session. This separation keeps agent interactions distinct from your shell work while keeping everything organized in one tool.

Setup

Terminal 1: Agent Sessions (Agent View)

Run aoe here in the default Agent View. This terminal is dedicated to:

• Creating new sessions (one per task/feature)
• Monitoring agent session status
• Attaching to sessions when you need to interact with the agent

cd ~/scm/my-project
aoe -p <"personal" or "work" etc, or omit arg to use default profile>

Terminal 2: Git & Shell Operations (Terminal View)

Run aoe here too, but press t to switch to Terminal View. This terminal is for:

• Accessing project-specific terminals at the correct working directory
• Running git commands, builds, and tests
• Any bash/terminal work outside of agent sessions

cd ~/scm/my-project
aoe -p <same profile as Terminal 1>
# Press 't' to switch to Terminal View

Daily Workflow

Starting Work

Generally I keep one agent session open that is located in the main repo (no worktrees). I use the agent for answering questions about the codebase, and the paired terminal for general operations that I want to effect the main branch (like git pulls)

1. Update main (Terminal 2 - Terminal View):

   • Select your main project session and press Enter to attach to its terminal
   • Run git pull origin main
   • Detach with Ctrl+b d

2. Create a session (Terminal 1 - Agent View): In the aoe TUI, create a new session and fill in the git worktree name with what you want the feature branch to be named. This creates a new branch from your updated main and a worktree at ../my-project-worktrees/feat-auth-refactor.

During Work

• Terminal 1 (Agent View): Interact with agents, switch between sessions, monitor status
• Terminal 2 (Terminal View): Access paired terminals, run builds, check git status

Directory Layout

~/scm/
├── my-project/              # Main repo (stays on main branch)
│   └── ...
└── my-project-worktrees/    # All worktrees live here
    ├── feat-auth-refactor/
    ├── feat-new-api/
    └── fix-login-bug/

Keyboard Shortcuts

Tips

• Keep one agent session open and on the main branch (no worktree) for answering questions and using its paired terminal for commands
• Keep main clean: Never work directly in the main repo. Always use worktrees.
• Pull before creating: Always git pull on main before creating new sessions so branches start from recent commits.
• One task, one session: Each worktree maps to one aoe session. This keeps context isolated.
• Let agents stay focused: The agent in each session only sees its worktree. Git operations happen in the paired terminal.

Why This Works

Both terminals run aoe, giving you a unified interface while keeping agent work separate from shell work.