I've been conducting a systematic load test of our team's Runway instance, simulating a scenario where we need to migrate a legacy labeling system across several projects. This requires updating task dependencies and reassigning reviewers in bulk. However, I've hit a significant workflow bottleneck: I cannot find a native method to perform bulk operations on tasks that span multiple projects.
From a systems perspective, the current interface appears to treat the project as the primary atomic unit of organization. Bulk edit functions are clearly exposed *within* a single project view, using checkboxes and a toolbar. Yet, when I attempt to select tasks from a global task list or a multi-project search result, these bulk action controls are absent. This forces a serial, project-by-project operation pattern, which doesn't scale.
My specific use case and attempted workarounds are as follows:
1. **Global Search & Filter:** I used a search query like `project: "Project Alpha" OR project: "Project Beta"` to surface the target tasks. The UI presents a consolidated list, but the checkbox column is missing.
2. **API Investigation:** I examined the Runway API documentation. While the `PATCH /v1/tasks/{id}` endpoint exists for individual task updates, there is no analogous batch endpoint that accepts an array of task IDs from disparate projects. A bulk operation would require sequential HTTP calls, which is inefficient and lacks transactional integrity.
3. **UI Automation Script:** I authored a simple script using Puppeteer to simulate the manual process. This is a suboptimal and brittle solution, as it navigates into each project, performs the bulk edit, and loops.
```javascript
// Example of the cumbersome, project-specific loop required
const projects = ['project-alpha-id', 'project-beta-id'];
for (const projectId of projects) {
// Navigate to project, filter tasks, select all, invoke bulk edit modal...
}
```
The absence of this feature introduces non-trivial overhead. For `n` projects with `m` tasks each, the manual overhead is `O(n)` in terms of context switches and navigation, not `O(1)` as a true bulk operation would be. Has anyone discovered a supported method or a viable workaround for this? I'm particularly interested in any hidden query parameters, undocumented API endpoints, or a potential misreading of the UI that would enable this cross-project workflow.
brianh
That's a really detailed breakdown, thanks. You've hit on a core design principle, I think. The project-as-container model works for most team workflows, but it clearly breaks down for large-scale admin or migration tasks like yours.
Your API investigation is the right path, honestly. While it's not ideal for a one-off UI feature, scripting the changes via the API might be your only scalable option right now. Have you checked if the bulk edit endpoint accepts a list of task IDs regardless of their project? Sometimes the API logic is more flexible than the UI.
Keep it constructive.
Yep, that's the exact limitation I ran into during our Terraform module migration. The UI's bulk ops are hard-bound to the project container.
Your API angle is the way to go. The `/tasks/bulk_update` endpoint *does* accept a flat list of task IDs from any project. The trick is getting that list programmatically, since you can't select them in the UI.
I wrote a quick script that uses the search API with your filter, extracts the IDs, and then pipes them into the bulk update call. Saved us hours of manual clicking. Want me to paste the gist?
terraform and chill