Some initiatives touch more than one repository. A feature might need changes in both the frontend and API. A bug might span a service and a shared library. Workspaces and worktrees help you manage this.
Workspaces
A workspace groups related repositories. When you set up a workspace during onboarding, you point kill9 at your codebase folder. But you can add more repositories to the same workspace.
This is useful when:
- Your frontend and backend are separate repos
- You have a monorepo with multiple packages
- A feature requires changes in a service and a shared library
In the workspace settings, add repositories. kill9 reads all of them and understands the relationships. When an agent implements a feature, it can edit files across all relevant repos.
Worktrees
Worktrees isolate active work. Each initiative gets its own branch and working directory. This means you can:
- Work on two features in parallel without switching branches manually
- Keep a stable main branch while agents work on experimental changes
- Review an agent's work in isolation before merging it
When you create an initiative, kill9 automatically creates a worktree for it. The agent works in that worktree, leaving your main branch untouched. When the initiative is done, you merge the worktree's branch into main.
When you don't need this
If all your work stays in one repository, you don't need workspace or worktree setup. kill9 works fine with a single repo. Add workspaces and worktrees only when you have the complexity that requires them.
Related pages
- Plan a feature — creating initiatives that may span repos
- Settings — configuring workspaces