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Tares

How many Claude Code sessions does a crew need for bug fixes?

Tares needs at least three Claude Code sessions in a crew for bug fixes: an orchestrator, a reviewer and one builder. Each extra milestone or repo adds a builder. For a small set of fixes you can skip the crew and work in one session with tares factory session, still recorded on Tares.

How it works

A crew in the software factory for Claude Code is made of these sessions:

  • Orchestrator: hands out work, answers the others and brings you what needs you. It is the only session you talk to.
  • Reviewer: reviews every pull request to a fixed bar and posts its verdict on the pull request.
  • Builders: one for each milestone and repo of a project, started by the orchestrator. A builder takes a ticket, works on its own branch, opens a pull request and merges it once the reviewer passes it and CI is green.
  • Releaser: only if you ask for one. It tags and deploys. Without it, tickets end at merged on main.

That gives you the count. A project with one repo and one milestone runs three sessions: the orchestrator, the reviewer and one builder. Add the releaser and it is four. Every further milestone or repo of the project gets its own builder, up to the number of builders you allow at once. You set that limit the first time you run tares factory crew up.

The crew is shared. If you hand it several projects, the same orchestrator and reviewer serve all of them, and each project lists its own builders. Tares keeps the plan, the tickets, the reviews and your answers, so a session that restarts carries on from the record.

If you want fewer sessions, there is a one-session path. tares factory session opens Claude Code with the Tares plugin, bound to a project. Your shared AGENTS.md and memory apply, and the session’s record lands on the project. It plans a small project and builds it in that one session. If the plan turns out big, it offers the full spec and the hand-over to the crew instead.

Set it up

Pick the path that matches the size of your work. Both start with the same checks and install.

  1. Check that Claude Code is signed in on a plan that allows background sessions, gh is signed in with write access to the repos you work in, and git, jq and curl are installed.

  2. Install the CLI and start Tares locally.

    uv tool install tares     # or: brew install glassflow/tap/tares
tares up                  # console on http://127.0.0.1:8787

    On Tares Cloud, run tares login instead and pick your workspace in the browser.

  3. Give Tares access to GitHub: Settings > GitHub for a local Tares, or Connect GitHub on Tares Cloud. Tares reads the pull request, CI and merge state of every ticket itself.

  4. For a small set of fixes, work in one session:

    tares factory session "<idea>"

    Replace the placeholder with a short description of the fixes. Claude Code asks a few questions, writes a short spec and a ticket list on Tares, then builds it there.

  5. For a crew, start the MCP endpoint every crew session shares in a second terminal. This applies to a local Tares only.

    tares mcp --transport streamable-http     # http://127.0.0.1:8788/mcp

  6. Bring up the crew and plan the project:

    tares factory crew up
tares factory spec "what you want to build"

    The first run of crew up asks how far the crew may go, whether it releases, and how many builders run at once. spec ends by asking whether to hand the project to the crew. Say yes and the orchestrator picks it up.

  7. Answer questions in the orchestrator’s session with tares factory crew attach orchestrator, and check each project’s builders with tares factory projects.

The Get started page has the full walkthrough, and tares factory doctor checks everything the crew needs.

What you get

  • A clear count to plan around: three sessions for one repo and one milestone, four with a releaser, and one more builder for each further milestone or repo.
  • A reviewer that holds every pull request to the same bar, and merges only after the review passes and CI is green.
  • One session to talk to. Questions from every project reach you in the orchestrator, one at a time, each with a recommendation.
  • A record on Tares of the plan, tickets, reviews, assumptions and your answers, so sessions can come and go.
  • A lighter option for small work: one Claude Code session, bound to a project, with your shared AGENTS.md and memory.

When something else fits

  • Use one session with tares factory session when the work is small and you are happy to drive it yourself. Start these sessions with that command, because a plain claude has no Tares tools.
  • Use the crew when the work spans several milestones or repos, or when you want a reviewer on every pull request and want to be pulled in only for real decisions.
  • A session can take a project over from the crew when you say yes. The crew’s builders push what they have and write their progress first.

Still stuck? Get help

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