| name | beads-viewer |
| description | Graph analysis with bv (Beads Viewer). Use when analyzing the task graph, finding blockers, getting recommendations, checking critical path, or when the user mentions "bv", "graph", "dependencies", or "what should I work on". |
Beads Viewer (bv)
Graph analysis layer for the Beads task graph. Precomputes metrics like PageRank and critical path.
When This Applies
| Signal | Action |
|---|---|
| "What should I work on?" | bv --robot-triage |
| Need single best task | bv --robot-next |
| Multi-agent partitioning | bv --robot-triage --robot-triage-by-track |
| Risk/hygiene check | bv --robot-alerts |
| Finding blockers | bv --robot-blocker-chain |
CRITICAL RULE
Always use --robot-* flags. Never run bare bv.
Bare bv launches a TUI that will hang AI agents.
Session Kickoff
# Default (fast)
bv --robot-next # Single best next task
# Full triage bundle
bv --robot-triage # Blockers, quick wins, commands
Multi-Agent Partitioning
# Split work by parallel tracks
bv --robot-triage --robot-triage-by-track
# Track details + what each task unblocks
bv --robot-plan
Risk & Hygiene
Use before starting "big" work:
bv --robot-alerts # Stale issues, blocking cascades, drift
bv --robot-suggest # Duplicates, missing deps, cycle breaks
Debugging & Analysis
# What changed recently?
bv --robot-diff --diff-since HEAD~5
# Historical state
bv --as-of HEAD~10 --robot-triage
# Blocker analysis
bv --robot-blocker-chain bd-123
# Impact analysis before refactor
bv --robot-impact path/to/file1,path/to/file2
bv --robot-file-relations path/to/core_file
Handoff / Audit Trail
bv --robot-history --bead-history bd-123
Semantic Search
bv --search "your query" --robot-search
Graph Metrics Explained
| Metric | Meaning | Use For |
|---|---|---|
| PageRank | Foundational blockers | Tasks that enable many others |
| Betweenness | Bottlenecks | Must pass through these |
| Critical Path | Longest dependency chain | Overall timeline |
Keeping bv Current
bv --check-update && bv --update --yes
Quick Reference
bv --robot-next # Single best task (fast)
bv --robot-triage # Full recommendations
bv --robot-triage --robot-triage-by-track # Multi-agent
bv --robot-plan # Execution order
bv --robot-alerts # Risk signals
bv --robot-suggest # Hygiene suggestions
bv --robot-blocker-chain ID # Why is this blocked?
Anti-Patterns
| Don't | Why |
|---|---|
Run bare bv |
Launches TUI, hangs agent |
Ignore --robot-alerts |
Miss stale/risky work |
| Skip before big work | Miss blocking cascades |
See Also
beads-cli/— Task management withbdnext-bead/— Full claiming protocol