Update README to emphasize agent-first design

Split Quick Start into "For Humans" and "For AI Agents" sections:
- Humans: Just init and add line to CLAUDE.md, then supervise
- Agents: Run quickstart, use --json flags for programmatic workflows

Rewrite "Why bd?" section to clarify the core insight:
- Traditional issue trackers built for humans (web UIs, cards, manual updates)
- bd built for AI agents (JSON APIs, memory, autonomous execution)
- Issues aren't planning artifacts, they're agent memory
- Prevents agents from losing focus during long coding sessions
- Humans supervise rather than micromanage

This reflects the actual design intent: Beads is FOR agents, not just "agent-friendly".

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Steve Yegge
2025-10-12 10:17:15 -07:00
parent 2c7708eaa7
commit 22124d2039

View File

@@ -32,28 +32,54 @@ go build -o bd ./cmd/bd
## Quick Start
### For Humans
Beads is designed for **AI coding agents** to use on your behalf. As a human, you typically just:
```bash
# Initialize bd in your project
# 1. Initialize beads in your project
bd init
# Or with custom prefix
bd init --prefix myapp
# 2. Add a note to your agent instructions (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, etc.)
echo "We track work in Beads instead of Markdown. Run \`bd quickstart\` to see how." >> CLAUDE.md
# See the quickstart guide
# 3. Let agents handle the rest!
```
Most tasks will be created and managed by agents during conversations. You can check on things with:
```bash
bd list # See what's being tracked
bd show <issue-id> # Review a specific issue
bd ready # See what's ready to work on
bd dep tree <issue-id> # Visualize dependencies
```
### For AI Agents
Run the interactive guide to learn the full workflow:
```bash
bd quickstart
```
# Create your first issue (will be myapp-1)
bd create "Build login page" -d "Need user authentication" -p 1 -t feature
Quick reference for agent workflows:
# Create another issue that depends on it
bd create "Add OAuth support" -p 2
bd dep add myapp-2 myapp-1 # myapp-2 depends on myapp-1
```bash
# Find ready work
bd ready --json | jq '.[0]'
# See what's ready to work on
bd ready
# Create issues during work
bd create "Discovered bug" -t bug -p 0 --json
# Show dependency tree
bd dep tree myapp-2
# Link discovered work back to parent
bd dep add <new-id> <parent-id> --type discovered-from
# Update status
bd update <issue-id> --status in_progress --json
# Complete work
bd close <issue-id> --reason "Implemented" --json
```
## Usage
@@ -310,15 +336,21 @@ This pattern enables powerful integrations while keeping bd simple and focused.
## Why bd?
bd is built for AI-supervised coding workflows where:
- **Agents need to discover work** - `bd ready --json` gives agents unblocked tasks
- **Dependencies matter** - Agents shouldn't duplicate effort or work on blocked tasks
- **Discovery happens during execution** - Use `discovered-from` to track new work found during implementation
- **Git-native storage** - JSONL format enables AI-powered conflict resolution
- **Integration is easy** - Extend the SQLite database with your own orchestration tables
- **Setup is instant** - `bd init` and you're tracking issues
**bd is designed for AI coding agents, not humans.**
Traditional issue trackers were built for human project managers. bd is built for agent colonies.
Traditional issue trackers (Jira, GitHub Issues, Linear) assume humans are the primary users. Humans click through web UIs, drag cards on boards, and manually update status.
bd assumes **AI agents are the primary users**, with humans supervising:
- **Agents discover work** - `bd ready --json` gives agents unblocked tasks to execute
- **Dependencies prevent wasted work** - Agents don't duplicate effort or work on blocked tasks
- **Discovery during execution** - Agents create issues for work they discover while executing, linked with `discovered-from`
- **Agents lose focus** - Long-running conversations can forget tasks; bd remembers everything
- **Humans supervise** - Check on progress with `bd list` and `bd dep tree`, but don't micromanage
In human-managed workflows, issues are planning artifacts. In agent-managed workflows, **issues are memory** - preventing agents from forgetting tasks during long coding sessions.
Traditional issue trackers were built for human project managers. bd is built for autonomous agents.
## Architecture: JSONL + SQLite