/rune:arc-batch — Sequential Batch Arc Execution

Executes /rune:arc across multiple plan files sequentially. Each arc run completes the full 29-phase pipeline (forge through merge) before the next plan starts.

Core loop: Stop hook pattern (ralph-wiggum). Each arc runs as a native Claude Code turn. Between arcs, the Stop hook intercepts session end, reads batch state from .rune/arc-batch-loop.local.md, determines the next plan, cleans git state, and re-injects the arc prompt.

Usage

/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md                    # All plans matching glob
/rune:arc-batch batch-queue.txt               # Queue file (one plan path per line)
/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md --dry-run          # Preview queue without running
/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md --no-merge         # Skip auto-merge (individual PRs remain open)
/rune:arc-batch --resume                      # Resume interrupted batch from progress file
/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md --no-forge         # Skip forge phase on each arc run
/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md --no-test          # Skip test phase on each arc run
/rune:arc-batch plans/*.md --draft --no-pr    # Forward multiple flags to each arc run

Single-Plan Batches: Running with a single plan file works correctly — it runs as a normal arc with minimal batch infrastructure overhead. The Stop hook fires after completion, finds no more pending plans, and cleans up. For simple single-plan cases, consider using /rune:arc directly to skip batch tracking.

Flags

Flag	Description	Default
--dry-run	List plans and exit without running	Off
--no-merge	Pass --no-merge to each arc run	Off (auto-merge enabled)
--resume	Resume from batch-progress.json (pending plans only — failed/cancelled plans must be re-run individually)	Off
--no-shard-sort	Process plans in raw order (disable shard auto-sorting)	Off
--no-smart-sort	Disable smart plan ordering (preserve glob/queue order)	Off
--smart-sort	Force smart ordering even on queue file input	Off
--no-forge	Pass --no-forge to each arc run (skip forge phase)	Off
--no-test	Pass --no-test to each arc run (skip test phase)	Off
--draft	Pass --draft to each arc run (open PRs as draft)	Off
--bot-review	Pass --bot-review to each arc run	Off
--no-bot-review	Pass --no-bot-review to each arc run	Off
--no-pr	Pass --no-pr to each arc run (skip PR creation)	Off

Note: --smart-sort is a positive override flag — unlike the --no-* disable family. Use it to force smart ordering on input types that would otherwise preserve order (e.g., queue files). When both --smart-sort and --no-smart-sort are present, --no-smart-sort takes precedence (fail-safe).

Flag Coexistence

--smart-sort	--no-smart-sort	--no-shard-sort	Result
false	false	false	Input-type detection + shard grouping (default)
false	true	false	Raw order, shard grouping still active
true	false	false	Force smart ordering + shard grouping
true	true	false	Conflicting — --no-smart-sort wins (warn user)
false	false	true	Input-type detection, no shard grouping
true	false	true	Force smart ordering, no shard grouping
false	true	true	Raw glob/queue order preserved
true	true	true	Conflicting — --no-smart-sort wins (warn user)

Algorithm

See batch-algorithm.md for full pseudocode. See smart-ordering.md for the Tier 1 smart ordering algorithm. Read this SKILL.md for full documentation on all phases, flags, and edge cases.

Inter-Iteration Summaries (v1.72.0)

Between arc iterations, the Stop hook writes a structured summary file capturing metadata from the just-completed arc. These summaries improve compact recovery context and provide a record of what each arc accomplished.

Location: tmp/arc-batch/summaries/iteration-{N}.md (flat path — no PID subdirectory; session isolation is handled by Guard 5.7 in the Stop hook).

Contents: Plan path, status, branch name, PR URL, git log (last 5 commits), and a ## Context Note section where Claude adds a brief qualitative summary during the next turn that captures insights and learnings from the completed arc.

Behavior:

• Summaries are written BEFORE marking the plan as completed (crash-safe ordering)
• Write failures are non-blocking — the batch continues without a summary
• ARC_PROMPT step 4.5 is conditional: only injected when a summary was successfully written
• arc.batch.summaries.enabled: false in talisman.yml disables all summary behavior
• Git log content is capped to last 5 commits (not talisman-configurable)

Compact recovery: The pre-compact-checkpoint.sh hook captures arc_batch_state (current iteration, total plans, latest summary path) in the compact checkpoint. On recovery, the session-compact-recovery hook includes batch iteration context in the injected message.

Known Limitations (V2 — Stop Hook Pattern)

1. Sequential only: No parallel arc execution (SDK one-team-per-session constraint).
2. No version bump coordination: Multiple arcs bumping plugin.json will conflict. Smart ordering (Phase 1.5) mitigates this by sorting plans by version_target, but cannot resolve conflicting bumps to the same version.
3. Shard ordering is sequential: Shards are auto-sorted by number within groups but execute sequentially (no parallel shards). Use --no-shard-sort to disable auto-sorting.
4. Context growth: Each arc runs as a native turn. Auto-compaction handles context window growth across multiple arcs. State is tracked in files, not context.
5. Compact recovery during arc-batch: Teams are created/destroyed per phase. Compaction may hit when no team is active. Summary files persist independently — the compact checkpoint captures batch state even without an active team (C6 accepted limitation).

Orchestration

The skill orchestrates via $ARGUMENTS parsing. Phase 5 writes a state file and invokes the first arc natively. The Stop hook (scripts/arc-batch-stop-hook.sh) handles all subsequent plans via self-invoking loop:

Phase 0: Parse arguments (glob expand or queue file read)
Phase 1: Pre-flight validation (arc-batch-preflight.sh)
Phase 1.5: Plan ordering (input-type-aware: queue→skip, glob→ask, --smart-sort→force)
Phase 2: Dry run (if --dry-run)
Phase 3: Initialize batch-progress.json
Phase 4: Confirm batch with user
Phase 5: Write state file + invoke first arc (Stop hook handles rest)
(Stop hook handles all subsequent plans + final summary)

Workflow Lock (writer)

const lockConflicts = Bash(`cd "${CWD}" && source plugins/rune/scripts/lib/workflow-lock.sh && rune_check_conflicts "writer"`)
if (lockConflicts.includes("CONFLICT")) {
  AskUserQuestion({ question: `Active workflow conflict:\n${lockConflicts}\nProceed anyway?` })
}
Bash(`cd "${CWD}" && source plugins/rune/scripts/lib/workflow-lock.sh && rune_acquire_lock "arc-batch" "writer"`)

Phase 0: Parse Arguments

Parse $ARGUMENTS into planPaths, inputType, flag booleans, and passthrough flags. Handles 3 input types: glob, queue file (.txt), and --resume (reads batch-progress.json, resets stale in_progress plans). Queue files preserve user order by default — plans are processed in the exact order listed. Includes shard group detection (v1.66.0+).

Extract passthrough flags for forwarding to each child arc invocation:

// Extract passthrough flags from $ARGUMENTS
const ARC_BATCH_ALLOWED_FLAGS = ['--no-forge', '--no-test', '--draft', '--bot-review', '--no-bot-review', '--no-pr']
const arcPassthroughFlags = ARC_BATCH_ALLOWED_FLAGS.filter(f => args.includes(f))
// arcPassthroughFlags is an array of validated flags (e.g., ['--no-forge', '--draft'])
// Stored as a space-joined string in the state file: "--no-forge --draft"

See phase-0-1-input-parsing.md for full pseudocode.

Phase 1: Pre-flight Validation

Runs arc-batch-preflight.sh via temp file (SEC-007: avoids shell injection from untrusted queue paths). Validates plan paths exist, are not symlinks, pass character allowlist, and checks arc.ship.auto_merge talisman setting when --no-merge is not set.

See phase-0-1-input-parsing.md for full pseudocode.

Phase 1.5: Plan Ordering (Opt-In Smart Ordering)

Input-type-aware ordering with 3 modes. Decision tree: CLI flags > resume guard > talisman mode > input-type heuristic. Queue files respect user order by default. Glob inputs present ordering options (Smart/Alphabetical/As discovered). Talisman modes: ask | auto | off (default).

See phase-1.5-plan-ordering.md for full pseudocode. See smart-ordering.md for the smart ordering algorithm.

Phase 2: Dry Run

if (dryRun) {
  log("Dry run — plans that would be processed:")
  for (const [i, plan] of planPaths.entries()) {
    log(`  ${i + 1}. ${plan}`)
  }
  log(`\nTotal: ${planPaths.length} plans`)
  log(`Estimated time: ${planPaths.length * 45}-${planPaths.length * 240} minutes`)
  if (arcPassthroughFlags.length > 0) {
    log(`Forwarded flags: ${arcPassthroughFlags.join(' ')}`)
  }
  return
}

Phase 3: Initialize Progress File

Writes tmp/arc-batch/batch-progress.json (schema v2) with plan statuses, shard group metadata (v1.66.0+), and timestamps. Skipped in --resume mode.

See phase-3-progress-init.md for full pseudocode.

Phase 4: Confirm Batch

Shows plan count and time estimate before execution. The dialog presents three options:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: `Start batch arc for ${planPaths.length} plans? Estimated ${planPaths.length * 45}-${planPaths.length * 240} minutes.`,
    header: "Confirm",
    options: [
      { label: "Start batch", description: `Process ${planPaths.length} plans sequentially with auto-merge` },
      { label: "Dry run first", description: "Preview the queue and estimates" },
      { label: "Cancel", description: "Abort batch" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

Phase 5: Start Batch Loop (Stop Hook Pattern)

Write state file (including arc_passthrough_flags), resolve session identity, check for existing batch, mark first plan as in_progress, and invoke /rune:arc. The Stop hook handles all subsequent plans and the final summary.

See batch-loop-init.md for the full algorithm.

Read("references/batch-loop-init.md")
// Execute: resolve session identity → pre-creation guard → write state file →
// mark first plan in_progress → Skill("rune:arc", firstPlan + flags)