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new-chat

/jkz:new-chat creates an isolated workspace for a second Claude Code window on the same project — without file or branch collisions with your current session. It builds a git worktree as a sibling directory of the repo, on a fresh branch, and copies the config the new session needs to start immediately.

Usage

/jkz:new-chat <slug> [--from <branch>]
  • <slug> — a short descriptor matching [a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{0,30} (e.g. docs-audit, pr-921, spike-eval). Required.
  • --from <branch> — base the new worktree on <branch> instead of main. Optional; rarely needed — prefer branching from main unless you’re deliberately stacking on in-flight work.

What it does

The new worktree:

  • lives as a sibling directory of the repo,
  • sits on a fresh branch based on origin/main by default (or --from <branch>),
  • has its own working tree and its own HEAD,
  • inherits .env and .claude/settings.local.json, so the new session is ready to go.

On success you’ll see the worktree path, the new branch name, and which config files were copied. Then open a new Claude Code window with that path as the working directory. Your current session stays put, on its own branch in the original repo.

Cleanup

When the parallel session is done, from any clone:

Terminal window
git worktree remove <path>
git branch -D chat/<slug>-<ts>   # if the branch is no longer needed

new-chat vs. pipeline worktrees

/jkz:new-chat is for you — a deliberate second window for parallel exploration. It is distinct from the per-issue worktrees the pipeline creates automatically when you run /jkz:quick or /jkz:pipeline. See worktree isolation for how the two layouts differ.