Beads Issue Tracking

Git-backed issue tracker for persistent memory across sessions. JSONL is source of truth (committed to git), SQLite is local cache (gitignored).

Session Activation

At session start, check for ready work:

bd ready --json

Report to user: number of ready items, top priorities, any blockers worth noting.

When to Use bd vs TodoWrite

Rule of thumb: If resuming after 2 weeks would be hard without bd, use bd.

Quick Command Reference

# Check work
bd ready                    # What's unblocked
bd blocked                  # What's stuck
bd show bd-a1b2             # Full issue details

# Create (write for handoff - future Claude has no conversation context!)
bd create "Specific actionable title" -d "Full context: what, why, where" -p 2
bd q "Quick capture"        # Returns only ID

# Update as you work
bd update bd-a1b2 --status in_progress
bd update bd-a1b2 --notes "DONE: X. NEXT: Y. BLOCKER: Z"
bd update bd-a1b2 --design "Decided approach A because..."

# Close when done
bd close bd-a1b2 --reason "Completed: summary of what was done"

# Sync (usually automatic via daemon)
bd sync                     # Full cycle: export→commit→pull→push

IDs use hash format like bd-a1b2, not sequential numbers.

Write for Handoff

Every bead must be understandable by a future Claude with:

• •No access to this conversation
• •Only the bead's title, description, notes, design fields
• •General codebase knowledge from exploration

Anti-patterns:

• •"As discussed above..." (no "above" after compaction)
• •Vague titles only making sense in context
• •Assuming file paths or function names are remembered
• •in_progress status without notes on current state

Session End Checklist

Before ending or if context is long:

• • All in_progress items have current notes
• • Discovered work captured as new issues
• • Blockers documented in issue notes
• • Run bd sync if daemon not running

Reference Files