Using Claude Chat to Orchestrate Claude Code via MCP
Using Claude Chat to Orchestrate Claude Code via MCP
Here is a workflow that sounds complex but works remarkably well: use Claude Chat (the web or desktop app) as an orchestrator that manages multiple Claude Code agents running in parallel on the same repo. The key is CLAUDE.md acting as the shared brain.
The Architecture
The setup has three layers:
- Claude Chat - the orchestrator that plans work and monitors progress
- Claude Code instances - 5 terminal agents each working on a scoped task
- CLAUDE.md - the shared context document that keeps everyone aligned
Claude Chat connects to your development environment through MCP servers. It can see your file system, read git status, and check what each agent has done. When you describe a large feature, it breaks it down into isolated tasks and you spin up one Claude Code instance per task.
CLAUDE.md as the Shared Brain
The magic is in the CLAUDE.md file at the repo root. Every agent reads it at the start of their session. It contains:
- Architecture decisions that apply to all tasks
- Coding conventions and patterns to follow
- What other agents are currently working on
- Files that are off-limits (being modified by another agent)
- Integration points between the parallel tasks
When one agent finishes and merges, you update CLAUDE.md with what changed. The other agents pick up the new context on their next file read.
Why This Works
Without CLAUDE.md, five agents on the same repo would produce five incompatible implementations. They would use different naming conventions, duplicate utilities, and create merge conflicts everywhere. With CLAUDE.md, they work like a coordinated team - each one knows the conventions, the boundaries, and the shared patterns.
Practical Tips
- Give each agent a narrow scope: one feature, one module, one API endpoint
- Use git worktrees so agents work on separate branches without conflicts
- Update CLAUDE.md after each merge with new decisions and constraints
- Let Claude Chat review diffs before merging to catch inconsistencies
The orchestrator pattern turns one developer into a team lead managing five AI developers. The multiplier effect is real.
Fazm is an open source macOS AI agent. Open source on GitHub.