Skip to content
Get packs

Batch Script Progress

Adds clear start, progress, failure and summary output to batch scripts without changing their results

Source Download skill
Repository
github/awesome-copilot
Stars
40,703
Licence
MIT
Files
6 files

What it does

When an AI agent writes or changes a Python, PowerShell, or Node.js script that loops over many files, records, or API calls, this skill tells it how to make the script report what it is doing while it runs. The agent is guided to print start and summary lines, periodic progress, and per-item failures to stderr, keep stdout for the real results, and keep the existing exit codes. It also includes small example scripts and a test file that the agent can run to check the output with harmless fixtures.

Great for

  • Developers maintaining batch or bulk-processing scripts that run silently for a long time
  • Teams whose scripts need consistent final counts and clear per-item failure reporting
  • Anyone who wants an agent to add progress logging without changing what the script processes

Skip it if

  • UI progress bars or front-end loading indicators, which the skill explicitly excludes
  • Changing retry, parallelism, or failure policy: the skill says to preserve existing behaviour, so it will not fix those by itself
  • Scripts where stderr output is treated as failure by callers and the output contract cannot change; the skill says to stop and ask in that case

Try asking

  • “Add progress and a final summary to this Python script that uploads files one by one”
  • “Make this PowerShell bulk rename script report failures per item without changing its exit code”
  • “Review my Node.js batch API importer and show start, progress, and summary output on stderr”
  • “Check that my batch script keeps stdout clean for piping into another tool”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Batch Script ProgressInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 6 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    batch-script-progress.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip batch-script-progress.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip batch-script-progress.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Point the agent at the real script and its callers so it can read the existing exit codes and stdout format before editing
  • Ask the agent to run the verification tests with harmless fixture data and report the separate stdout and stderr results
  • Expect the agent to ask for a decision if the existing output contract is unclear rather than guessing

What's inside

  • examples/batch.mjs
  • examples/batch.py
  • references/language-notes.md
  • references/verification.md
  • SKILL.md
  • tests/verify-examples.mjs

Redistributed unmodified from github/awesome-copilot under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.