Drive Fleet
A two-phase workflow for driving a fleet of MRs/PRs to done in parallel with a manager that never touches a working tree. Platform-neutral: all VCS/CI mechanics delegate to /mr and /ci.
When to use
why-no-hook: skill workflow guidance; each step requires understanding the surrounding context (repo, task shape, prior state).
- 2+ independent lanes / multiple MRs, often across sibling repos
(review-time: see section note) - You want a hands-off MANAGER that delegates every edit and only stops when the whole fleet is done
(review-time: see section note) - Not for single-MR work - use
/build+/mrdirectly(review-time: see section note)
The goal condition
The built-in /goal command keeps the session working across turns until the condition holds, then auto-clears. Set it once, in the MANAGER session - it is session-scoped and resets on resume, so a re-planned session re-sets it.
Template (fill the {knobs}):
Every open MR/PR from
{plan}is CI-green, reviewed ({review_depth}applied via review-pr), and rebased on{target_branch}.{post_completion_action}
| Knob | Default |
|---|---|
target_branch |
main |
review_depth |
blockers + majors + one-line fixes |
post_completion_action |
none (repo-specific; e.g. "Once all hold simultaneously, trigger the notify_reviewers job on each") |
Phase 1 - Plan via grills
- Run
/grill-with-docs(addgrill-meif you have it installed) to pressure-test the approach against the existing domain model, sharpen terminology, and emit CONTEXT.md terms inline.(review-time: see section note) - Output: an execution plan in
.claude/state/plans/that defines the lanes / MRs and proves they are file-isolated - no two lanes touch the same file.(review-time: see section note)
The plan is the contract. Approving it and setting the /goal is your batched authorization for the fleet (see orchestration.md).
Phase 2 - Drive with /goal (manager-only)
Phase 2 is started by you, the operator - the agent cannot open its own session or set its own goal:
- Open a fresh Claude Code session. The plan on disk is the whole handoff; nothing from the grill carries over. This boundary is also a deliberate gate - a long autonomous run should not start as a side effect of planning.
(review-time: see section note) - Type
/goal <condition>(built into Claude Code). With auto mode on,/goalis what keeps the one manager session working turn after turn until the fleet meets the condition, then auto-clears.(review-time: see section note) - Invoke this skill and run the manager loop (see orchestration.md).
(review-time: see section note)
This stays a single, thin manager session the whole time - it never spawns nested sessions. Its context stays small because all editing / review / rebase / conflict work goes to subagents (each with its own context window) and worktrees; the harness compacts the manager's context as it grows. The main loop manages and nothing else - it never edits, reviews, rebases, or resolves conflicts.
If this skill is invoked with no
/goalset, stop and ask the operator to set one (ideally in a fresh session) before running the loop.
Example - a fleet spanning three repos
Phase 1 (planning session) - describe the work; the agent grills and plans:
/drive-fleet
Add a feature-flag system end-to-end: the evaluation service in the api repo,
the React hook + toggle UI in the web repo, and the shared flag schema in the
shared-types repo. Plan file-isolated lanes across the three repos.
The agent runs /grill-with-docs, proves the lanes share no files, writes the plan to .claude/state/plans/, and hands back the /goal line to use next.
Phase 2 (fresh session) - set the goal, turn on auto mode, start the loop:
/goal Every open MR/PR from the feature-flags plan is CI-green, reviewed
(blockers + majors + one-line fixes via review-pr), and rebased on main.
/drive-fleet
Execute the plan at .claude/state/plans/2026-06-02-feature-flags.md
The manager builds the three lanes in parallel worktrees, opens the MRs (you approve the batch once), then drives CI-fix / review / rebase per repo until the goal clears. Your only inputs after that are the batch approval and any escalation.
Details
Manager orchestration loop, authorization model, guardrails, and the per-repo block: see orchestration.md.
Delegates to
/grill-with-docs, /mr, /ci, /review-pr, /worktree; agent personas Frontend Staff Engineer, Backend Staff Engineer, and PR Reviewer (via Agent subagent_type).