Cowork Mode
Use H·AI·K·U on repositories you don't have checked out locally
Cowork mode lets you use H·AI·K·U when you're not inside a git repository — for example, when an orchestrator is coordinating work across multiple repos, or when you're working from a team/cowork Claude session.
How It Works
When you run /haiku:haiku-start outside of a git repo, H·AI·K·U detects this and enters cowork mode:
- Get the repo URL — H·AI·K·U asks which repository the work targets. If VCS MCP tools (e.g., GitHub MCP) are available, it offers discovered repos as options.
- Clone the repo — The repository is cloned to a temporary workspace.
- Proceed normally — Once cloned, everything works identically to being in a local repo. Settings, providers, hooks, and all other features operate as expected.
The key principle: cloning eliminates the cowork problem surface. There are no special cowork code paths after the initial clone.
Artifact Delivery
In cowork mode, after elaboration writes .haiku/ artifacts and creates tickets:
- Artifacts are committed on the intent branch (same as normal)
- The intent branch is pushed to the remote automatically
- Builders can pull the branch or clone independently
Execution in Cowork
The /haiku:haiku-pickup skill handles cowork transparently:
- Ensures remote tracking is configured for the intent branch
- Pulls latest changes before starting each unit
- Fetches the active stage branch from origin and materializes it as a local ref. The pickup hint at the top of the response names the branch — run
git switch <branch>if you want to inspect in-flight unit work directly. The engine drives the workflow from intent main; you don't need to be on the stage branch. - When spawning builder teammates, includes the repo URL so they can clone independently
Draft PR for the Intent
Every intent that runs in a git repo with a provider CLI (gh or glab) on PATH gets a draft PR/MR opened automatically at intent-create time, off haiku/<slug>/main against the repo mainline. The team has one place to watch the work happen as stages land. The engine flips the draft to ready when the intent completes — just before the agent's merge action.
The PR URL is stamped on the intent's intent.md frontmatter as draft_pr_url, and the lifecycle status (draft / ready / failed) on draft_pr_status. Both are engine-managed; agent writes are rejected with intent_field_engine_only.
When to Use Cowork
- Team orchestration — A lead coordinates work across multiple repos from a single session
- Remote planning — Elaborate on a repo you haven't cloned yet
- CI/CD integration — Automated systems that need to run H·AI·K·U workflows