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Glossary

Workflow wave

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Definition

A workflow wave is a group of steps in a multi-step workflow that wait for the same earlier steps, so they can run side by side instead of one after another.

Also called: wave, parallel steps, side-by-side steps.

Any multi-step automation has to decide which steps depend on which. Steps that don't depend on each other can run at once; that's the idea behind job dependencies in CI systems such as GitHub Actions' needs. Grouping steps into waves makes the order easy to read: wave 1 is everything that can start straight away, wave 2 is everything waiting only on wave 1, and so on.

Example: a nightly check on a repo called acme-api
StepWaits forWave
Run the tests and list failuresat the start1
Check for outdated dependenciesat the start1
Fix what failedstep 12
Review the fixstep 33

Parallel steps finish sooner, but each one still uses your plan limits, and a failure should stop only the steps that depend on it. “Wave” is Pairbar's name for this grouping.

In Pairbar

In a workflow, the first chip on the arrow before each step says what it waits for: by default the step before, or pick several steps or At the start. Steps waiting for the same thing run side by side, cards say which Wave they're in, and the workflow's page says which steps run alongside each other. A failed step stops what waits for it, while steps already running finish. The planner sets waves for you when you describe a workflow; there are at most five steps. See More than one step.

WAVE 1WAVE 2GOAL CHECKFind failing testsCan run commandscodex · workspace-writeRead recent issuesRead-onlyclaude · no edit toolsFix the failuresCan edit filesAsk me firstCheck the goalread-onlyGOAL METSteps that wait for the same thing run side by side; each has its own app, model and permissions.
Workflow steps grouped into parallel waves, with permission badges and a goal check at the end.

Frequently asked questions

Is a wave a Claude Code or Codex feature?
No. It's Pairbar's name for workflow steps that run side by side because they wait for the same earlier steps.
Can steps in one wave use different apps?
Yes. Each Pairbar workflow step picks its own app, agent, model and permissions, so one wave can mix Claude and Codex.
What happens if a step in a wave fails?
Steps that wait for it don't run; other steps already running finish. A failed step offers Retry from here.

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