# Phase 9: Batch Operations - Context

**Gathered:** 2026-02-03
**Status:** Ready for planning

<domain>
## Phase Boundary

Execute actions on multiple containers in a single command with individual progress and consolidated results. Supports text commands and inline keyboard batch selection. "Update all" targets containers with available updates only.

</domain>

<decisions>
## Implementation Decisions

### Command syntax
- Space-separated container names: "update plex sonarr radarr"
- "Update all" = all containers with updates available (not all containers)
- No "start all", "stop all", or "restart all" commands — user cannot picture needing these
- Multiple named containers supported for start, stop, restart (e.g., "stop plex sonarr")
- Fuzzy name matching means disambiguation may be needed (see Confirmation rules)

### Inline keyboard batch
- Support batch operations via UI buttons (Phase 8 keyboard infrastructure)
- Claude's discretion on selection UX — pick approach that fits existing keyboard flow (multi-select toggle or checkbox-style)

### Progress display
- Claude's discretion on message strategy (single editing message vs stacked)
- Summary emphasizes failures over successes — user cares about what broke and why
- No retry button after completion — user manually re-runs if needed
- Claude's discretion on cancel button during batch

### Failure handling
- Continue attempting remaining containers after a failure (don't abort batch)
- Show container name + failure reason (actionable error info)
- Distinguish warnings vs errors:
  - Warning: "already stopped", "no update available" — non-critical
  - Error: "image pull failed", "timeout" — actual failures
- Claude's discretion on whether warnings appear in final summary

### Confirmation rules
- "Update all" requires confirmation showing count only: "Update 5 containers?"
- Named batches run immediately without confirmation (user was explicit)
- Exception: Batch stop confirms due to fuzzy matching risk
  - If "stop plex" matches multiple containers (plex, jellyplex), show disambiguation
- Claude's discretion on handling exact-match vs fuzzy-match (when user wants JUST plex, not jellyplex)

### Claude's Discretion
- Inline keyboard selection UX
- Single editing message vs stacked messages for progress
- Cancel button during batch (complexity vs usefulness)
- Warning visibility in final summary
- Exact-match priority vs fuzzy-match disambiguation behavior

</decisions>

<specifics>
## Specific Ideas

- Fuzzy name matching should allow disambiguation: if "plex" matches both "plex" and "jellyplex", the user should be able to specify they want only "plex"
- Failures need to be identifiable with reason — "why did it fail?" is the key question

</specifics>

<deferred>
## Deferred Ideas

None — discussion stayed within phase scope

</deferred>

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*Phase: 09-batch-operations*
*Context gathered: 2026-02-03*