Claude Code Bulk Actions

When you need Claude to perform the same task across many items - generating descriptions, updating files, researching topics - running Claude interactively in a tmux popup for each item gives you visibility into what’s happening and the ability to intervene if needed.

Why Tmux Popups?

Interactive mode shows Claude’s thinking and tool usage in real-time
Isolated context - each item gets a fresh Claude session
Easy to cancel - close the popup to skip an item, Ctrl+C to stop the whole batch
Non-blocking - your main terminal remains usable between items

The Pattern

The key technique is writing a temporary shell script for each item, then executing it in a tmux popup:

#!/bin/bash

items=("item1" "item2" "item3")

for item in "${items[@]}"; do
  echo "Processing: $item"

  # Create temp script
  script_file=$(mktemp).sh

  # Write the script with variables expanded
  cat > "$script_file" << SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash
export PATH="$PATH"
cd /path/to/working/directory
claude "Your prompt for $item"
SCRIPT

  chmod +x "$script_file"

  # Run in tmux popup
  if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
    tmux display-popup -E -w 80% -h 80% "bash $script_file"
  else
    bash "$script_file"
  fi

  rm -f "$script_file"
done

Key Details

Temp Script Approach

Writing a temp script avoids shell escaping issues with complex prompts. The heredoc expands variables at write time, so the script contains the actual values.

script_file=$(mktemp).sh

cat > "$script_file" << SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash
claude "Process $item_name in $file_path"
SCRIPT

PATH Inheritance

Tmux popups don’t inherit your shell’s PATH by default. Export it in the temp script:

cat > "$script_file" << SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash
export PATH="$PATH"
claude "..."
SCRIPT

Working Directory

If Claude needs to edit files, set the working directory in the temp script so file paths resolve correctly:

cat > "$script_file" << SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash
export PATH="$PATH"
cd ~/repos/my-project
claude "Edit the file $relative_path"
SCRIPT

Interactive vs Print Mode

Use Claude without -p for interactive mode (recommended for bulk actions):

# Interactive - shows progress, can be interrupted
claude "Your prompt here"

# Print mode - silent, outputs result only
claude -p "Your prompt here"

Fallback for Non-Tmux

Always include a fallback for running outside tmux:

if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
  tmux display-popup -E -w 80% -h 80% "bash $script_file"
else
  bash "$script_file"
fi

Complete Template

#!/bin/bash
# Bulk action template for Claude Code

WORKING_DIR="$HOME/repos/my-project"
ITEMS_DIR="path/to/items"

# Find items to process
find_items() {
  find "$ITEMS_DIR" -name "*.md" -type f
}

# Extract metadata from an item
get_item_name() {
  local file="$1"
  grep "^name:" "$file" | sed 's/^name: *//'
}

# Count items
total=$(find_items | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
current=0

echo "Found $total items to process"
echo ""

# Process each item
find_items | while IFS= read -r item_file; do
  current=$((current + 1))
  item_name=$(get_item_name "$item_file")

  echo "[$current/$total] $item_name"

  # Create temp script
  script_file=$(mktemp).sh

  # Build the prompt
  cat > "$script_file" << SCRIPT
#!/bin/bash
export PATH="$PATH"
cd $WORKING_DIR
claude "Your task description here.

Process the item: $item_name
File path: $item_file

Instructions for what Claude should do..."
SCRIPT

  chmod +x "$script_file"

  # Run in tmux popup or directly
  if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
    tmux display-popup -E -w 80% -h 80% "bash $script_file"
  else
    bash "$script_file"
  fi

  rm -f "$script_file"
done

echo ""
echo "Done processing $total items."

Tips

Test with one item first - run the script and cancel after the first popup to verify everything works
Use relative paths - if Claude is editing files, use paths relative to the working directory
Keep prompts focused - each Claude session should do one specific task
Add progress indicators - show [current/total] so you know how far along you are
Handle special characters - if item names contain quotes, the heredoc handles them safely