beads

SKILL.md

Beads - Persistent Task Memory for AI Agents

Graph-based issue tracker that survives conversation compaction. Provides persistent memory for multi-session work with complex dependencies.

bd vs TodoWrite

Decision test: "Will I need this context in 2 weeks?" YES = bd, NO = TodoWrite.

bd (persistent)
TodoWrite (ephemeral)

Multi-session, dependencies, compaction survival
Single-session linear tasks

Dolt-backed team sync
Conversation-scoped

See BOUNDARIES.md for detailed comparison.

Prerequisites
bd --version  # Requires v0.60.0+

bd CLI installed and in PATH

Git repository (optional — use BEADS_DIR + --stealth for git-free operation)

Initialization: bd init run once (humans do this, not agents)

CLI Reference

Run bd prime for AI-optimized workflow context (auto-loaded by hooks).
Run bd <command> --help for specific command usage.

Essential commands: bd ready, bd create, bd show, bd update, bd close, bd dolt push

Session Protocol

bd ready — Find unblocked work

bd show <id> — Get full context

bd update <id> --claim — Claim and start work atomically

Add notes as you work (critical for compaction survival)

bd close <id> --reason "..." — Complete task

bd dolt push — Push to Dolt remote (if configured)

Output

Append --json to any command for structured output. Use bd show <id> --long for extended metadata. Status icons: ○ open ◐ in_progress ● blocked ✓ closed ❄ deferred.

Error Handling

Error
Fix

database not found
bd init <prefix> in project root

not in a git repository
git init first

disk I/O error (522)
Move .beads/ off cloud-synced filesystem

Status updates lag
Use server mode: bd dolt start

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for full details.

Examples

Track a multi-session feature:

bd create "OAuth integration" -t epic -p 1 --json
bd create "Token storage" -t task --deps blocks:oauth-id --json
bd ready --json                    # Shows unblocked work
bd update <id> --claim --json      # Claim and start
bd close <id> --reason "Implemented with refresh tokens" --json

Recover after compaction: bd list --status in_progress --json then bd show <id> --long

Discover work mid-task: bd create "Found bug" -t bug -p 1 --deps discovered-from:<current-id> --json

Advanced Features

Feature
CLI
Resource

Molecules (templates)
bd mol --help
MOLECULES.md

Chemistry (pour/wisp)
bd pour, bd wisp
CHEMISTRY_PATTERNS.md

Agent beads
bd agent --help
AGENTS.md

Async gates
bd gate --help
ASYNC_GATES.md

Worktrees
bd worktree --help
WORKTREES.md

Resources

Category
Files

Getting Started
BOUNDARIES.md, CLI_REFERENCE.md (live reference pointers), WORKFLOWS.md

Core Concepts
DEPENDENCIES.md, ISSUE_CREATION.md, PATTERNS.md

Resilience
RESUMABILITY.md, TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Advanced
MOLECULES.md, CHEMISTRY_PATTERNS.md, AGENTS.md, ASYNC_GATES.md, WORKTREES.md

Reference
STATIC_DATA.md, INTEGRATION_PATTERNS.md

Validation

If bd --version reports newer than 0.60.0, this skill may be stale. Run bd prime for current CLI guidance — it auto-updates with each bd release and is the canonical source of truth (ADR-0001).