bd Issue Tracking

Overview

bd is a graph-based issue tracker for persistent memory across sessions. Use for multi-session work with complex dependencies; use TodoWrite for simple single-session tasks.

When to Use bd vs TodoWrite

Use bd when:

• Multi-session work - Tasks spanning multiple compaction cycles or days
• Complex dependencies - Work with blockers, prerequisites, or hierarchical structure
• Knowledge work - Strategic documents, research, or tasks with fuzzy boundaries
• Side quests - Exploratory work that might pause the main task
• Project memory - Need to resume work after weeks away with full context

Use TodoWrite when:

• Single-session tasks - Work that completes within current session
• Linear execution - Straightforward step-by-step tasks with no branching
• Immediate context - All information already in conversation
• Simple tracking - Just need a checklist to show progress

Key insight: If resuming work after 2 weeks would be difficult without bd, use bd. If the work can be picked up from a markdown skim, TodoWrite is sufficient.

For detailed decision criteria and examples, read: references/BOUNDARIES.md

Surviving Compaction Events

Critical: After compaction, bd state is your only persistent memory. Write notes as if explaining to a future agent with zero conversation context.

Key insight: TodoWrite disappears after compaction, but bead notes survive. Use notes to capture: COMPLETED work, IN PROGRESS status, BLOCKERS, and KEY DECISIONS.

For complete compaction recovery workflow and note-taking patterns, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

Session Start Protocol

bd is available when:

• Project has a .beads/ directory (project-local database), OR
• ~/.beads/ exists (global fallback database for any directory)

At session start, always check for bd availability and run ready check:

1. Always check ready work automatically at session start
2. Report status to establish shared context

Quick Start Pattern

# At session start, run:
bd ready --json

# Report to user:
"I can see X items ready to work on: [brief summary]"

# If using global ~/.beads, note this in report

This gives immediate shared context about available work without requiring user prompting.

Note: bd auto-discovers the database:

• Uses .beads/*.db in current project if exists
• Falls back to ~/.beads/default.db otherwise
• No configuration needed

When No Work is Ready

If bd ready returns empty but issues exist:

bd blocked --json

Report blockers and suggest next steps.

Database Selection

bd automatically selects the appropriate database:

• Project-local (.beads/ in project): Used for project-specific work
• Global fallback (~/.beads/): Used when no project-local database exists

Use case for global database: Cross-project tracking, personal task management, knowledge work that doesn't belong to a specific project.

Database discovery: bd looks for .beads/*.db in current directory, falls back to ~/.beads/default.db. Use --db flag for explicit database selection.

For complete session start workflows, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

Core Operations

All bd commands support --json flag for structured output when needed for programmatic parsing.

Essential Operations

Check ready work:

bd ready
bd ready --json              # For structured output
bd ready --priority 0        # Filter by priority
bd ready --assignee alice    # Filter by assignee

Create new issue:

bd create "Fix login bug"
bd create "Add OAuth" -p 0 -t feature
bd create "Write tests" -d "Unit tests for auth module" --assignee alice
bd create "Research caching" --design "Evaluate Redis vs Memcached"

Update issue status:

bd update issue-123 --status in_progress
bd update issue-123 --priority 0
bd update issue-123 --assignee bob
bd update issue-123 --design "Decided to use Redis for persistence support"

Close completed work:

bd close issue-123
bd close issue-123 --reason "Implemented in PR #42"
bd close issue-1 issue-2 issue-3 --reason "Bulk close related work"

Show issue details:

bd show issue-123
bd show issue-123 --json

List issues:

bd list
bd list --status open
bd list --priority 0
bd list --type bug
bd list --assignee alice

For complete CLI reference with all flags and examples, read: references/CLI_REFERENCE.md

Issue Lifecycle Workflow

1. Discovery Phase (Proactive Issue Creation)

During exploration or implementation, proactively file issues for:

• Bugs or problems discovered
• Potential improvements noticed
• Follow-up work identified
• Technical debt encountered
• Questions requiring research

Pattern:

# When encountering new work during a task:
bd create "Found: auth doesn't handle profile permissions"
bd dep add current-task-id new-issue-id --type discovered-from

# Continue with original task - issue persists for later

Key benefit: Capture context immediately instead of losing it when conversation ends.

2. Execution Phase (Status Maintenance)

Mark issues in_progress when starting work:

bd update issue-123 --status in_progress

Update throughout work:

# Add design notes as implementation progresses
bd update issue-123 --design "Using JWT with RS256 algorithm"

# Update acceptance criteria if requirements clarify
bd update issue-123 --acceptance "- JWT validation works\n- Tests pass\n- Error handling returns 401"

Close when complete:

bd close issue-123 --reason "Implemented JWT validation with tests passing"

Important: Closed issues remain in database - they're not deleted, just marked complete for project history.

3. Planning Phase (Dependency Graphs)

For complex multi-step work, structure issues with dependencies before starting:

Create parent epic:

bd create "Implement user authentication" -t epic -d "OAuth integration with JWT tokens"

Create subtasks:

bd create "Set up OAuth credentials" -t task
bd create "Implement authorization flow" -t task
bd create "Add token refresh" -t task

Link with dependencies:

# parent-child for epic structure
bd dep add auth-epic auth-setup --type parent-child
bd dep add auth-epic auth-flow --type parent-child

# blocks for ordering
bd dep add auth-setup auth-flow

For detailed dependency patterns and types, read: references/DEPENDENCIES.md

Dependency Types Reference

bd supports four dependency types:

1. blocks - Hard blocker (issue A blocks issue B from starting)
2. related - Soft link (issues are related but not blocking)
3. parent-child - Hierarchical (epic/subtask relationship)
4. discovered-from - Provenance (issue B discovered while working on A)

For complete guide on when to use each type with examples and patterns, read: references/DEPENDENCIES.md

Integration with TodoWrite

Both tools complement each other at different timescales:

• TodoWrite - Short-term working memory (this hour), disappears after session
• Beads - Long-term episodic memory (this week/month), survives compaction

The Handoff Pattern: Read bead → Create TodoWrite items → Work → Update bead notes with outcomes → TodoWrite disappears, bead survives.

For complete temporal layering pattern, examples, and integration workflows, read: references/BOUNDARIES.md

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Knowledge Work Session

User asks for strategic document development:

1. Check if bd available: bd ready
2. If related epic exists, show current status
3. Create new issues for discovered research needs
4. Use discovered-from to track where ideas came from
5. Update design notes as research progresses

Pattern 2: Side Quest Handling

During main task, discover a problem:

1. Create issue: bd create "Found: inventory system needs refactoring"
2. Link using discovered-from: bd dep add main-task new-issue --type discovered-from
3. Assess: blocker or can defer?
4. If blocker: bd update main-task --status blocked, work on new issue
5. If deferrable: note in issue, continue main task

Pattern 3: Multi-Session Project Resume

Starting work after time away:

1. Run bd ready to see available work
2. Run bd blocked to understand what's stuck
3. Run bd list --status closed --limit 10 to see recent completions
4. Run bd show issue-id on issue to work on
5. Update status and begin work

For complete workflow walkthroughs with checklists, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

Use Pattern Variations

bd is designed for work tracking but can serve other purposes with appropriate adaptations:

Work Tracking (Primary Use Case)

• Issues flow through states (open → in_progress → closed)
• Priorities and dependencies matter
• Status tracking is essential
• IDs are sufficient for referencing

Reference Databases / Glossaries (Alternative Use)

• Entities are mostly static (typically always open)
• No real workflow or state transitions
• Names/titles more important than IDs
• Minimal or no dependencies
• Consider dual format: maintain markdown version alongside database for name-based lookup
• Use separate database (not mixed with work tracking) to avoid confusion

Example: A terminology database could use both terms.db (queryable) and GLOSSARY.md (browsable by name).

Key difference: Work items have lifecycle; reference entities are stable knowledge.

Issue Creation Guidelines

When to Ask First vs Create Directly

Ask the user before creating when:

• Knowledge work with fuzzy boundaries
• Task scope is unclear
• Multiple valid approaches exist
• User's intent needs clarification

Create directly when:

• Clear bug discovered during implementation
• Obvious follow-up work identified
• Technical debt with clear scope
• Dependency or blocker found

Why ask first for knowledge work? Task boundaries in strategic/research work are often unclear until discussed, whereas technical implementation tasks are usually well-defined. Discussion helps structure the work properly before creating issues, preventing poorly-scoped issues that need immediate revision.

Issue Quality

Use clear, specific titles and include sufficient context in descriptions to resume work later.

Use --design flag for:

• Implementation approach decisions, architecture notes, trade-offs considered

Use --acceptance flag for:

• Definition of done, testing requirements, success metrics

Statistics and Monitoring

Check project health:

bd stats
bd stats --json

Returns: total issues, open, in_progress, closed, blocked, ready, avg lead time

Find blocked work:

bd blocked
bd blocked --json

Use stats to:

• Report progress to user
• Identify bottlenecks
• Understand project velocity

Advanced Features

Issue Types

bd create "Title" -t task        # Standard work item (default)
bd create "Title" -t bug         # Defect or problem
bd create "Title" -t feature     # New functionality
bd create "Title" -t epic        # Large work with subtasks
bd create "Title" -t chore       # Maintenance or cleanup

Priority Levels

bd create "Title" -p 0    # Highest priority (critical)
bd create "Title" -p 1    # High priority
bd create "Title" -p 2    # Normal priority (default)
bd create "Title" -p 3    # Low priority

Bulk Operations

# Close multiple issues at once
bd close issue-1 issue-2 issue-3 --reason "Completed in sprint 5"

# Create multiple issues from markdown file
bd create --file issues.md

Dependency Visualization

# Show full dependency tree for an issue
bd dep tree issue-123

# Check for circular dependencies
bd dep cycles

Built-in Help

# Quick start guide (comprehensive built-in reference)
bd quickstart

# Command-specific help
bd create --help
bd dep --help

JSON Output

All bd commands support --json flag for structured output:

bd ready --json
bd show issue-123 --json
bd list --status open --json
bd stats --json

Use JSON output when you need to parse results programmatically or extract specific fields.

Troubleshooting

If bd command not found:

• Check installation: bd version
• Verify PATH includes bd binary location

If issues seem lost:

• Use bd list to see all issues
• Filter by status: bd list --status closed
• Closed issues remain in database permanently

If bd show can't find issue by name:

• bd show requires issue IDs, not issue titles
• Workaround: bd list | grep -i "search term" to find ID first
• Then: bd show issue-id with the discovered ID
• For glossaries/reference databases where names matter more than IDs, consider using markdown format alongside the database

If dependencies seem wrong:

• Use bd show issue-id to see full dependency tree
• Use bd dep tree issue-id for visualization
• Dependencies are directional: bd dep add from-id to-id means from-id blocks to-id
• See references/DEPENDENCIES.md

If database seems out of sync:

• bd auto-syncs JSONL after each operation (5s debounce)
• bd auto-imports JSONL when newer than DB (after git pull)
• Manual operations: bd export, bd import

Reference Files

Detailed information organized by topic:

Reference	Read When
references/BOUNDARIES.md	Need detailed decision criteria for bd vs TodoWrite, or integration patterns
references/CLI_REFERENCE.md	Need complete command reference, flag details, or examples
references/WORKFLOWS.md	Need step-by-step workflows with checklists for common scenarios
references/DEPENDENCIES.md	Need deep understanding of dependency types or relationship patterns