name: pthd (Parallel Terminal Hydra)
description: Spawn multiple parallel agent processes using mprocs. Use when user wants to run the same prompt across multiple agents simultaneously.

Purpose

Spawn multiple parallel agent instances using mprocs. Each agent runs the same prompt in its own terminal pane.

Variables

ENABLE_CLAUDE_CODE: true
ENABLE_GEMINI_CLI: true
ENABLE_CODEX_CLI: true
TOOL_ALIASES:
cc: claude-code
gem: gemini-cli
codex: codex-cli

Instructions

Parse the user's request to extract:
1. Prompt: The task/prompt to run on all agents
2. Tool specification: Which tools and how many instances

Tool Specification Formats

• 3 cc, 3 gem, 3 codex - Explicit count per tool
• cc 2, gem 1 - Alternate syntax
• 4 - Single number means all enabled tools with that count

Agent Name Placeholder

Use {{AGENT}} in prompts - replaced with unique agent name (cc-1, gem-2, etc.).
When user mentions saving files with dynamic names (<agent>, $agent), convert to {{AGENT}}.

Parallel Summary Prompts

• IF: The user requests parallel agents with summary context (e.g., "include summary", "with context").
• THEN:
• Read .claude/skills/pthd/prompts/parallel_agent_prompt.md as a template.
• Fill in <fill_in_conversation_summary_here> with relevant conversation history.
• Fill in <fill_in_task_here> with the user's task verbatim.
• Pass the filled prompt to each parallel agent.
• IMPORTANT: Fill the template IN YOUR MEMORY, don't modify the file.
• EXAMPLES:
• "pthd 3 cc: build a todo app, include summary"
• "spawn agents with context: refactor this code"

Workflow

1. Parse the user request for prompt and tool specification
2. READ: .claude/skills/pthd/tools/pthd.py to understand the implementation
3. READ the relevant cookbooks for each enabled tool to get command templates
4. (First time only) Run claude --help, gemini --help, codex --help to understand CLI options
5. Execute pthd.py to generate the mprocs config
6. Use fork-terminal skill to launch: mprocs -c /tmp/pthd/<slug>.yml

Cookbook

Claude Code Instances

• IF: User specifies cc instances AND ENABLE_CLAUDE_CODE is true
• THEN: Read .claude/skills/pthd/cookbook/claude-code.md for command template
• EXAMPLES:
• "pthd 3 cc: build a todo app"
• "spawn 2 claude agents for: refactor this code"

Gemini CLI Instances

• IF: User specifies gem instances AND ENABLE_GEMINI_CLI is true
• THEN: Read .claude/skills/pthd/cookbook/gemini-cli.md for command template
• EXAMPLES:
• "pthd 3 gem: analyze this codebase"
• "run gemini 2x on: explain this function"

Codex CLI Instances

• IF: User specifies codex instances AND ENABLE_CODEX_CLI is true
• THEN: Read .claude/skills/pthd/cookbook/codex-cli.md for command template
• EXAMPLES:
• "pthd 3 codex: write unit tests"
• "codex x2: implement feature X"