How to share Claude Code's task list across sessions (and keep worktrees apart)

Share one list between sessions

Give every session the same ID when you start it. Claude Code stores the list in a directory of that name under ~/.claude/tasks/, and each session with the ID reads and updates it.

# terminal 1
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=billing-rework claude

# terminal 2, same machine
CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=billing-rework claude

• Only sessions that have the task tools use the list. Claude Code turns them on by default for Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5 and earlier models; on other models opt in with CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TODO_TOOLS=1.
• Ask Claude "show me all tasks" to see more than the five that Ctrl+T displays.

Why settings.json shares the list with every worktree

Since Claude Code v2.1.63, project config (.claude/settings.json, CLAUDE.md, skills) lives at the repository's shared root, so every git worktree of the repo reads the same file. An env entry for CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID there applies to all of them: worktrees you made to keep features apart end up sharing one task list. The issue that reported it (anthropics/claude-code #78874) was closed for inactivity, so it still applies.

# in each worktree's shell, or a per-worktree .envrc with direnv
export CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID="$(basename "$PWD")"
claude

What the shared list doesn't do

• Other machines. The list is files under ~/.claude/tasks/ on one computer.
• Other agents. Cursor, Codex and other tools can't read it.
• Your phone. There's no view outside the terminal, and no way to answer a session that's waiting on you from elsewhere.
• Progress. Items are pending, in progress or done; there's no per-step progress or record of which session changed what.

When a hosted list fits better

Taskhold is a hosted list that Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other MCP clients share, on any machine. Each task can carry steps and progress, a blocked task shows the agent's question, and the live board shows every session's progress, including from a phone. Projects are matched by repo folder name, so worktrees can keep separate projects or share one. It costs $12 a month after a 7-day trial; if one machine and Claude Code are all you use, the built-in list is enough.