diff --git a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.ddl b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.ddl
index 8f64463..f416e74 100644
--- a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.ddl
+++ b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.ddl
@@ -127,6 +127,20 @@ action "list", :description => "Get a list of all running commands" do
 
 end
 
+action "statuses", :description => "Get status and output of multiple managed commands" do
+    display :always
+
+    input   :handles,
+            :prompt      => "Handles",
+            :description => "Array of command handles to query",
+            :type        => :array,
+            :optional    => false
+
+    output  :statuses,
+            :description => "status and output keyed by handle",
+            :display_as  => "statuses"
+end
+
 action "kill", :description => "Kill a command by handle" do
     display :always
 
diff --git a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.json b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.json
index efaa478..e0b17e3 100644
--- a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.json
+++ b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.json
@@ -96,6 +96,27 @@
       "display": "always",
       "description": "Run a command"
     },
+    {
+      "action": "statuses",
+      "input": {
+        "handles": {
+          "prompt": "Handles",
+          "description": "Array of command handles to query",
+          "type": "array",
+          "default": null,
+          "optional": false
+        }
+      },
+      "output": {
+        "statuses": {
+          "description": "status and output keyed by handle",
+          "display_as": "statuses",
+          "default": null
+        }
+      },
+      "display": "always",
+      "description": "Get status and output of multiple managed commands"
+    },
     {
       "action": "start",
       "input": {
diff --git a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.rb b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.rb
index a0db8a2..e379bd4 100644
--- a/files/mcollective/agent/shell.rb
+++ b/files/mcollective/agent/shell.rb
@@ -25,6 +25,26 @@ class Shell<RPC::Agent
         end
       end
 
+      action 'statuses' do
+        handles = request[:handles]
+        results = {}
+        handles.each do |handle|
+          begin
+            job = Job.new(handle)
+            entry = {
+              :status  => job.status,
+              :stdout  => job.stdout,
+              :stderr  => job.stderr,
+            }
+            entry[:exitcode] = job.exitcode if job.status == :stopped
+            results[handle] = entry
+          rescue StandardError => error
+            results[handle] = { :status => :error, :error => error.message }
+          end
+        end
+        reply[:statuses] = results
+      end
+
       action 'kill' do
         handle = request[:handle]
         job = Job.new(handle)
diff --git a/spec/unit/agent/shell_spec.rb b/spec/unit/agent/shell_spec.rb
index f9029da..d46ce6d 100644
--- a/spec/unit/agent/shell_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/agent/shell_spec.rb
@@ -18,6 +18,79 @@ module Agent
         end
       end
 
+      describe '#statuses' do
+        let(:reply) { {} }
+
+        before :each do
+          agent.stubs(:reply).returns(reply)
+          @tmpdir = Dir.mktmpdir
+          Shell::Job.stubs(:state_path).returns(@tmpdir)
+        end
+
+        after :each do
+          FileUtils.remove_entry_secure @tmpdir
+        end
+
+        it 'should return stdout, stderr, and exitcode for stopped jobs' do
+          job = Shell::Job.new
+          job.start_command('echo foo')
+          job.wait_for_process
+
+          agent.call(:statuses, :handles => [job.handle])
+          statuses = reply[:statuses]
+          statuses.should have_key(job.handle)
+          statuses[job.handle][:status].should == :stopped
+          statuses[job.handle][:stdout].should == "foo\n"
+          statuses[job.handle][:stderr].should == ''
+          statuses[job.handle][:exitcode].should == 0
+        end
+
+        it 'should return stdout and stderr for running jobs' do
+          job = Shell::Job.new
+          job.start_command(%{ruby -e 'STDOUT.sync = true; puts "partial"; sleep 60'})
+          sleep 0.5
+
+          agent.call(:statuses, :handles => [job.handle])
+          statuses = reply[:statuses]
+          statuses[job.handle][:status].should == :running
+          statuses[job.handle][:stdout].should == "partial\n"
+          statuses[job.handle][:stderr].should == ''
+          statuses[job.handle].should_not have_key(:exitcode)
+
+          job.kill
+          job.wait_for_process
+        end
+
+        it 'should return error for invalid handle without affecting valid handles' do
+          job = Shell::Job.new
+          job.start_command('echo good')
+          job.wait_for_process
+
+          agent.call(:statuses, :handles => [job.handle, 'nonexistent-handle'])
+          statuses = reply[:statuses]
+          statuses[job.handle][:status].should == :stopped
+          statuses[job.handle][:stdout].should == "good\n"
+          statuses['nonexistent-handle'][:status].should == :error
+          statuses['nonexistent-handle'].should have_key(:error)
+        end
+
+        it 'should handle multiple handles in one call' do
+          job_one = Shell::Job.new
+          job_one.start_command('echo one')
+          job_one.wait_for_process
+
+          job_two = Shell::Job.new
+          job_two.start_command('echo two')
+          job_two.wait_for_process
+
+          agent.call(:statuses, :handles => [job_one.handle, job_two.handle])
+          statuses = reply[:statuses]
+          statuses.keys.size.should == 2
+          statuses[job_one.handle][:stdout].should == "one\n"
+          statuses[job_two.handle][:stdout].should == "two\n"
+        end
+      end
+
       describe '#run_command' do
         let(:reply) { {} }