Parallelize Your Workflow with /fork Background Agents
Spawning background agents allows you to explore multiple code paths simultaneously.
Use the /fork and /branch commands to trigger background agents that work on parallel coding explorations without interrupting your main session.
The Scenario
You are working on a primary feature but want to explore an alternative implementation or run a long-running diagnostic task without stopping your current flow.
Before & after
Developers usually open multiple terminal tabs or manually create temporary git branches to test different implementations, taking roughly 15–20 minutes to manage the context.
By running /fork, Qwen Code spawns background agents to explore different solutions or run separate tasks in parallel while you keep working. This takes about 1 minute to setup.
The Prompt
/fork [TASK_FOR_PARALLEL_AGENT_E.G._TRY_IMPLEMENTING_THIS_WITH_REDIS_INSTEAD_OF_MEMCACHED]
Qwen Code v0.18.0 introduced /fork background agents and /branch for parallel exploration. You can monitor these via a visual parallel agent panel which supports keyboard navigation for easy switching.
Source
Qwen Code Blog: AI Coding Updates and Guides | Qwen Code Docs"parallel agents now have a visual panel with keyboard navigation, and /fork background agents."