# Using Jj Workspaces

> Creates or records isolated jj agent workspaces. Use when starting jj task work, entering a Herdr-created workspace, or handling an agent-created Git worktree boundary.

- Skill: `edmundmiller/using-jj-workspaces` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add edmundmiller/using-jj-workspaces`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/edmundmiller/using-jj-workspaces/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: edmundmiller (https://skillmd.com/u/edmundmiller)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/edmundmiller/using-jj-workspaces

---


# Using jj workspaces

Choose one workspace owner; never create a second workspace for the same task.

## Start

First confirm the current checkout is a jj repository:

```bash
jj root --ignore-working-copy
```

### Inside Herdr

Let `prefix+a` create the task-named jj workspace and open its OMP tab. From that checkout, record the existing workspace without `--workspace`:

```bash
hey agent-start \
  --repo "$PWD" \
  --task my-task \
  --runtime omp \
  --model openai-codex/gpt-5.6-sol
```

Herdr bootstraps OMP in every workspace and adds Hunk only when the checkout has a Git root. Do not launch nested Herdr or create another jj workspace from the new OMP session.

### Outside Herdr

Use the deterministic launcher to create and record the workspace:

```bash
hey agent-start \
  --repo "$PWD" \
  --workspace "../workspaces/my-task" \
  --base 'trunk()' \
  --task my-task \
  --runtime omp \
  --model openai-codex/gpt-5.6-sol
```

Both forms print one JSON receipt. Save its `receiptPath` for `done`. Without `--workspace`, the launcher records the current workspace.

The launcher:

- detects jj from live repository state;
- creates the workspace parent but never overwrites an existing destination;
- records stable change and operation IDs under `${XDG_STATE_HOME:-~/.local/state}/dotfiles-agent-runs/`;
- refuses to initialize jj inside a Git-only checkout or Codex Git worktree.

## Git worktree boundary

Agent runtimes such as Codex Desktop can create Git worktrees before the agent starts. Do not run `jj git init --colocate` inside one: nested metadata would not safely convert the primary repository. Finish that task with Git. Initialize jj once from the primary checkout in a separate task; later agents can use jj workspaces from that repository.

## Workspace model

- Each workspace has its own working-copy commit `@`.
- Workspaces share commit history and the operation log.
- Mutating one workspace's `@` does not directly move another workspace's `@`.
- Repository-wide operation recovery can affect concurrent work. Inspect `jj op log` and coordinate before `jj undo` or `jj op restore`.
- In Herdr, task names are durable; workspace, tab, and pane IDs are live handles. Re-read them after lifecycle changes.
- Review with Hunk from the Git root when available. In pure jj, use `jj diff --git -r @` in OMP and record findings plus check output in the worklog when present, otherwise in the final handoff.

Stay on one task per workspace. Read other changes with `jj diff -r`, `jj file show -r`, and `jj log -r`; do not use `jj edit` merely to inspect.

## Verify

```bash
jj workspace list
jj status
jj log -r '@-::@ | trunk()'
```

Run the repository's baseline checks before editing. If they fail, record the failure in the receipt/worklog and do not attribute it to the task.

## Finish

Use the global `done` skill. It shapes the task, rebases only its explicit range, publishes the task workspace's explicit bookmark, proves remote equality, records the receipt, and cleans this workspace last.