Insights · 5 min read
How to run several Claude Code agents with one dashboard
By Austin Hunter ·
Short answer
To run several Claude Code agents without babysitting each terminal, give each agent its own lane (a working folder, a persona and standing rules), put shared state in a team log and task board, start them on a schedule, and route their questions to a single inbox you can answer from your phone. Elco Console is a self-hosted kit for Mac ($99 one-time) that does this using your own Claude plan.
The problems with many terminals
- You can't tell which agent is waiting on you.
- Agents step on each other's files and work.
- Nothing runs unless you're at the keyboard to start it.
- Context is lost between days.
What a multi-agent setup needs
- Lanes: each agent gets a folder, a persona and rules such as "drafts only, never send" or "never push to main."
- A shared team log and a per-day task board so agents can hand work to each other.
- A schedule: agents start at the hour you set, continue between tasks, respect a daily cap and write a handoff at the end of the day.
- One inbox: each agent's question becomes a one-line item with Yes/No or option buttons, and your answer goes back to the agent that asked.
How Elco Console does it
Elco Console runs the official claude command you've already signed in to, as named lanes on your Mac. It ships with three starter personas (coordinator, builder, reviewer), a standing-rules template, the elco-msg and elco-task command-line tools, and a setup guide, including an optional recipe for reaching it from your phone through your own authenticated tunnel. We run our own business on it every day.
Questions
Do I need an Anthropic API key?
No. Elco Console runs the official claude command on your own Claude plan and never sees or stores your credentials.
Does my code leave my Mac?
No. Everything runs and is stored on your Mac; there's no Elco Dev server in the loop.
Will it use up my plan's limits?
Running several agents uses more of your plan. You choose how many agents run and each one's daily cap.
Is it made by Anthropic?
No. It's an independent tool by Elco Dev that runs Claude Code, and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.