claude-grid

Claude Grid

Spawn one Konsole window at a given path with N parallel Claude sessions tiled inside it.

• 2 panes: Split Left/Right (vertical divider).
• 4 panes: 2×2 grid (Split Left/Right, then Split Top/Bottom on each side).

All panes start in the same cwd. Each runs an independent claude — no shared memory between them.

When to use

The user wants several parallel Claude sessions on the same project visible at once — typically for fan-out work (try N approaches in parallel, batch up independent tasks, or just have a "main + scratch" layout). Distinct from:

• sideclaude — one tangent into a single side pane, with a plan file as brief.
• new-claude-here / new-claude-at — single fresh session in a new window.

Inputs

• path — directory to launch in. Default $PWD. Resolve ~ and relative paths to absolute.
• count — 2 or 4. Default 2. Reject other values with a one-line note.

Steps

1. Spawn the window with pane 1

Spawn a fresh Konsole running claude at path. Force a separate process so the new window's D-Bus service is independent and findable:

TARGET="$1"      # absolute path
COUNT="${2:-2}"  # 2 or 4

before_svcs=$(qdbus6 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^ org\.kde\.konsole-' | sort)
setsid konsole --separate --workdir "$TARGET" -e claude >/dev/null 2>&1 &

Poll briefly (up to ~3s) for a new D-Bus service to appear:

for i in $(seq 1 30); do
  sleep 0.1
  after_svcs=$(qdbus6 2>/dev/null | grep -E '^ org\.kde\.konsole-' | sort)
  NEW_SVC=$(comm -13 <(echo "$before_svcs") <(echo "$after_svcs") | tr -d ' ' | head -1)
  [ -n "$NEW_SVC" ] && break
done
[ -z "$NEW_SVC" ] && { echo "Could not find new Konsole D-Bus service — abort." >&2; exit 1; }

WIN="/Windows/1"

2. Add the splits

createSplit(viewId, horizontalSplit):

• horizontalSplit=true → Split Left/Right (panes laid out horizontally, vertical divider).
• horizontalSplit=false → Split Top/Bottom.

Helper to find the newest session id after a split:

new_session_after() {
  local svc="$1" win="$2" before="$3"
  local after
  after=$(qdbus6 "$svc" "$win" sessionList | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -n)
  comm -13 <(echo "$before") <(echo "$after") | tail -1
}

run_claude_in() {
  local svc="$1" sid="$2"
  qdbus6 "$svc" "/Sessions/$sid" runCommand "claude"
}

count = 2

A=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" currentSession)
before=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" sessionList | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -n)
qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" createSplit "$A" true   # Split Left/Right
B=$(new_session_after "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" "$before")
run_claude_in "$NEW_SVC" "$B"

count = 4

A=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" currentSession)

before=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" sessionList | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -n)
qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" createSplit "$A" true    # Split L/R → A | B
B=$(new_session_after "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" "$before")

before=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" sessionList | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -n)
qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" createSplit "$A" false   # Split T/B on A → A / C
C=$(new_session_after "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" "$before")

before=$(qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" sessionList | tr ' ' '\n' | sort -n)
qdbus6 "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" createSplit "$B" false   # Split T/B on B → B / D
D=$(new_session_after "$NEW_SVC" "$WIN" "$before")

run_claude_in "$NEW_SVC" "$B"
run_claude_in "$NEW_SVC" "$C"
run_claude_in "$NEW_SVC" "$D"

3. Report back

Tell the user:

• Path the grid was launched in.
• Number of panes (2 or 4).
• D-Bus service of the new window (so a follow-up skill can target it).

Notes

• New panes from createSplit inherit the parent pane's cwd, so all sessions land in $TARGET without an explicit cd.
• qdbus6 on Plasma 6; fall back to qdbus on older systems.
• The first pane was launched with -e claude so it's already running. Only the added panes need runCommand "claude".
• Konsole's --tabs-from-file can launch multiple tabs but does not support splits — that's why this skill uses the D-Bus path.
• If the user later wants to broadcast the same input to all panes, that's a Konsole built-in (Edit → Copy Input To → All Tabs / All Panes in Window); not scripted here.
• For counts other than 2 or 4 (e.g. 3, 6), reject with a note rather than guessing a layout — the geometry is ambiguous and worth a one-line clarifying question.