Beads Issue Tracker

Beads Issue Tracker (bd)

Issues chained together like beads. A lightweight issue tracker with first-class dependency support.

Getting Started

bd init                      # Initialize bd in your project
bd init --prefix api         # Initialize with custom prefix (api-1, api-2)

Creating Issues

bd create "Fix login bug"
bd create "Add auth" -p 0 -t feature
bd create "Write tests" -d "Unit tests for auth" --assignee alice

Viewing Issues

bd list                      # List all issues
bd list --status open        # List by status
bd list --priority 0         # List by priority (0-4, 0=highest)
bd show bd-1                 # Show issue details

Managing Dependencies

bd dep add bd-1 bd-2         # Add dependency (bd-2 blocks bd-1)
bd dep tree bd-1             # Visualize dependency tree
bd dep cycles                # Detect circular dependencies

Dependency Types:

• blocks - Task B must complete before task A
• related - Soft connection, doesn't block progress
• parent-child - Epic/subtask hierarchical relationship
• discovered-from - Auto-created when AI discovers related work

Ready Work

bd ready                     # Show issues ready to work on

Ready = status is 'open' AND no blocking dependencies. Perfect for agents to claim next work!

Updating Issues

bd update bd-1 --status in_progress
bd update bd-1 --priority 0
bd update bd-1 --assignee bob

Closing Issues

bd close bd-1
bd close bd-2 bd-3 --reason "Fixed in PR #42"

Database Location

bd automatically discovers your database:

1. --db /path/to/db.db flag
2. $BEADS_DB environment variable
3. .beads/*.db in current directory or ancestors
4. ~/.beads/default.db as fallback

Agent Integration

bd is designed for AI-supervised workflows:

• Agents create issues when discovering new work
• bd ready shows unblocked work ready to claim
• Use --json flags for programmatic parsing
• Dependencies prevent agents from duplicating effort

Git Workflow (Auto-Sync)

bd automatically keeps git in sync:

• Export to JSONL after CRUD operations (5s debounce)
• Import from JSONL when newer than DB (after git pull)
• Works seamlessly across machines and team members

Disable with: --no-auto-flush or --no-auto-import

References

• GitHub Repository
• Agent Instructions