fix: add external_ref support to daemon mode RPC (fixes #303) (#304)

Add external_ref field to CreateArgs and UpdateArgs RPC protocol
structs to enable linking issues to external systems (GitHub, Jira,
Shortcut, etc.) when using daemon mode.

Changes:
- Add ExternalRef field to rpc.CreateArgs and rpc.UpdateArgs
- Update bd create/update commands to pass external_ref via RPC
- Update daemon handlers to process external_ref field
- Add integration tests for create and update operations

The --external-ref flag now works correctly in both daemon and direct modes.

Fixes https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/303

Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
via [Happy](https://happy.engineering)

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: Happy <yesreply@happy.engineering>

internal/rpc/protocol.go

@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ type CreateArgs struct {
 	Design             string   `json:"design,omitempty"`
 	AcceptanceCriteria string   `json:"acceptance_criteria,omitempty"`
 	Assignee           string   `json:"assignee,omitempty"`
+	ExternalRef        string   `json:"external_ref,omitempty"`  // Link to external issue trackers
 	Labels             []string `json:"labels,omitempty"`
 	Dependencies       []string `json:"dependencies,omitempty"`
 }
@@ -81,6 +82,7 @@ type UpdateArgs struct {
 	AcceptanceCriteria *string `json:"acceptance_criteria,omitempty"`
 	Notes              *string `json:"notes,omitempty"`
 	Assignee           *string `json:"assignee,omitempty"`
+	ExternalRef        *string `json:"external_ref,omitempty"` // Link to external issue trackers
 }
 
 // CloseArgs represents arguments for the close operation

internal/rpc/rpc_test.go

@@ -710,3 +710,125 @@ func TestCreate_DiscoveredFromInheritsSourceRepo(t *testing.T) {
 	// The logic is implemented in server_issues_epics.go handleCreate
 	// and tested via the cmd/bd test which has direct storage access
 }
+
+func TestRPCCreateWithExternalRef(t *testing.T) {
+	server, client, cleanup := setupTestServer(t)
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	// Create issue with external_ref via RPC
+	createArgs := &CreateArgs{
+		Title:       "Test issue with external ref",
+		Description: "Testing external_ref in daemon mode",
+		IssueType:   "bug",
+		Priority:    1,
+		ExternalRef: "github:303",
+	}
+
+	resp, err := client.Create(createArgs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Create failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var issue types.Issue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &issue); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to unmarshal response: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Verify external_ref was saved
+	if issue.ExternalRef == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Expected ExternalRef to be set, got nil")
+	}
+	if *issue.ExternalRef != "github:303" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected ExternalRef='github:303', got '%s'", *issue.ExternalRef)
+	}
+
+	// Verify via Show operation
+	showArgs := &ShowArgs{ID: issue.ID}
+	resp, err = client.Show(showArgs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Show failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var retrieved types.Issue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &retrieved); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to unmarshal show response: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if retrieved.ExternalRef == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Expected retrieved ExternalRef to be set, got nil")
+	}
+	if *retrieved.ExternalRef != "github:303" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected retrieved ExternalRef='github:303', got '%s'", *retrieved.ExternalRef)
+	}
+
+	_ = server // Silence unused warning
+}
+
+func TestRPCUpdateWithExternalRef(t *testing.T) {
+	server, client, cleanup := setupTestServer(t)
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	// Create issue without external_ref
+	createArgs := &CreateArgs{
+		Title:       "Test issue for update",
+		Description: "Testing external_ref update in daemon mode",
+		IssueType:   "task",
+		Priority:    2,
+	}
+
+	resp, err := client.Create(createArgs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Create failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var issue types.Issue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &issue); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to unmarshal response: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Update with external_ref
+	newRef := "jira-ABC-123"
+	updateArgs := &UpdateArgs{
+		ID:          issue.ID,
+		ExternalRef: &newRef,
+	}
+
+	resp, err = client.Update(updateArgs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Update failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var updated types.Issue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &updated); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to unmarshal update response: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Verify external_ref was updated
+	if updated.ExternalRef == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Expected ExternalRef to be set after update, got nil")
+	}
+	if *updated.ExternalRef != "jira-ABC-123" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected ExternalRef='jira-ABC-123', got '%s'", *updated.ExternalRef)
+	}
+
+	// Verify via Show operation
+	showArgs := &ShowArgs{ID: issue.ID}
+	resp, err = client.Show(showArgs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Show failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var retrieved types.Issue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &retrieved); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to unmarshal show response: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if retrieved.ExternalRef == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Expected retrieved ExternalRef to be set, got nil")
+	}
+	if *retrieved.ExternalRef != "jira-ABC-123" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected retrieved ExternalRef='jira-ABC-123', got '%s'", *retrieved.ExternalRef)
+	}
+
+	_ = server // Silence unused warning
+}

internal/rpc/server_issues_epics.go

@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ func updatesFromArgs(a UpdateArgs) map[string]interface{} {
 	if a.Assignee != nil {
 		u["assignee"] = *a.Assignee
 	}
+	if a.ExternalRef != nil {
+		u["external_ref"] = *a.ExternalRef
+	}
 	return u
 }
 
@@ -108,7 +111,7 @@ func (s *Server) handleCreate(req *Request) Response {
 		issueID = childID
 	}
 
-	var design, acceptance, assignee *string
+	var design, acceptance, assignee, externalRef *string
 	if createArgs.Design != "" {
 		design = &createArgs.Design
 	}
@@ -118,6 +121,9 @@ func (s *Server) handleCreate(req *Request) Response {
 	if createArgs.Assignee != "" {
 		assignee = &createArgs.Assignee
 	}
+	if createArgs.ExternalRef != "" {
+		externalRef = &createArgs.ExternalRef
+	}
 
 	issue := &types.Issue{
 		ID:                 issueID,
@@ -128,6 +134,7 @@ func (s *Server) handleCreate(req *Request) Response {
 		Design:             strValue(design),
 		AcceptanceCriteria: strValue(acceptance),
 		Assignee:           strValue(assignee),
+		ExternalRef:        externalRef,
 		Status:             types.StatusOpen,
 	}