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Running Two Claude Sessions in the Same Repo

Running multiple Claude Code (or Claude VS Code) sessions against the same working directory causes branch collisions: they share one HEAD, one index, and one set of files. The moment one session checks out a different branch, the other session's files mutate underneath it.

The fix is git worktrees — one repo, multiple working directories, each on its own branch, all sharing a single .git object database.

Setup​

From your repo root (example: ~/code/urbalurba-infrastructure on main):

cd ..
git -C urbalurba-infrastructure worktree add urbalurba-featA -b featA
git -C urbalurba-infrastructure worktree add urbalurba-featB -b featB

You now have three sibling folders:

~/code/urbalurba-infrastructure    # main
~/code/urbalurba-featA             # featA
~/code/urbalurba-featB             # featB

Each folder has an independent HEAD, working tree, and index. Git refuses to check out the same branch in two worktrees at once — exactly the collision you are avoiding.

Without devcontainer (VS Code + Claude extension)​

Open each worktree as its own VS Code window:

code ~/code/urbalurba-featA
code ~/code/urbalurba-featB

Each window runs its own Claude extension session, its own source control panel, its own terminal. Two Claudes, two folders, zero branch conflicts.

With devcontainer​

Each worktree is a separate folder on the host, so each becomes its own devcontainer:

  1. Open ~/code/urbalurba-featA in VS Code → Reopen in Container.
  2. Open ~/code/urbalurba-featB in a second VS Code window → Reopen in Container.

Each container is independent: its own node_modules, its own .devcontainer.extend/ state, its own Claude Code process. Commits, fetches, and pushes all flow through the shared .git database on the host, so no duplication of git history.

Managing worktrees​

git worktree list                          # show all worktrees
git worktree remove ../urbalurba-featA     # remove when done
git branch -d featA                        # delete the branch too
git worktree prune                         # clean up stale entries

Gotchas​

  • Untracked files do not follow. .env, local secrets, node_modules, .venv, and build artifacts live only in the worktree where they were created. Copy .env files manually, or keep a .env.example committed and a small hydration script.
  • Same branch, two worktrees — not allowed. Git will block it. Create a new branch for the second worktree.
  • Submodules need re-initialization per worktree (git submodule update --init).
  • Name your VS Code windows (or rely on folder names in the title bar) so you do not mix up which Claude is working on which feature.