diff --git a/.beads/issues.jsonl b/.beads/issues.jsonl
index 369336bb..2cc3df54 100644
--- a/.beads/issues.jsonl
+++ b/.beads/issues.jsonl
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@
 {"id":"bd-n3v","title":"Error committing to sync branch: failed to create worktree","description":"\u003e bd sync --no-daemon\n→ Exporting pending changes to JSONL...\n→ Committing changes to sync branch 'beads-sync'...\nError committing to sync branch: failed to create worktree: failed to create worktree parent directory: mkdir /var/home/matt/dev/beads/fix-ci/.git: not a directory","notes":"**Problem Diagnosed**: The `bd sync` command was failing with \"mkdir /var/home/matt/dev/beads/fix-ci/.git: not a directory\" because it was being executed from the wrong directory.\n\n**Root Cause**: The command was run from `/var/home/matt/dev/beads` (where the `fix-ci` worktree exists) instead of the main repository directory `/var/home/matt/dev/beads/main`. Since `fix-ci` is a git worktree with a `.git` file (not directory), the worktree creation logic failed when trying to create `\u003ccurrent_dir\u003e/.git/beads-worktrees/\u003cbranch\u003e`.\n\n**Solution Verified**: Execute `bd sync` from the main repository directory:\n```bash\ncd main \u0026\u0026 bd sync --dry-run\n```\n","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-05T15:25:24.514998248-07:00","updated_at":"2025-12-24T00:25:13.040406-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-24T00:25:13.040406-08:00","close_reason":"Fixed in PR #641 (commit 81aa3016). The getBeadsWorktreePath function now uses git rev-parse --git-common-dir to correctly find the shared git directory, ensuring beads worktrees are created in the correct location regardless of repository structure (regular repos, worktrees, bare repos)."}
 {"id":"bd-n4td","title":"Add warning when staleness check errors","description":"## Problem\n\nWhen ensureDatabaseFresh() calls CheckStaleness() and it errors (corrupted metadata, permission issues, etc.), we silently proceed with potentially stale data.\n\n**Location:** cmd/bd/staleness.go:27-32\n\n**Scenarios:**\n- Corrupted metadata table\n- Database locked by another process  \n- Permission issues reading JSONL file\n- Invalid last_import_time format in DB\n\n## Current Code\n\n```go\nisStale, err := autoimport.CheckStaleness(ctx, store, dbPath)\nif err \\!= nil {\n    // If we can't determine staleness, allow operation to proceed\n    // (better to show potentially stale data than block user)\n    return nil\n}\n```\n\n## Fix\n\n```go\nisStale, err := autoimport.CheckStaleness(ctx, store, dbPath)\nif err \\!= nil {\n    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, \"Warning: Could not verify database freshness: %v\\n\", err)\n    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, \"Proceeding anyway. Data may be stale.\\n\\n\")\n    return nil\n}\n```\n\n## Impact\nMedium - users should know when staleness check fails\n\n## Effort\nEasy - 5 minutes","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"bug","created_at":"2025-11-20T20:16:34.889997-05:00","updated_at":"2025-12-17T23:13:40.531031-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-17T19:11:12.950618-08:00","dependencies":[{"issue_id":"bd-n4td","depends_on_id":"bd-2q6d","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-11-20T20:18:20.154723-05:00","created_by":"stevey","metadata":"{}"}]}
 {"id":"bd-n5ug","title":"Merge: bd-au0.7","description":"branch: polecat/dementus\ntarget: main\nsource_issue: bd-au0.7\nrig: beads","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"merge-request","created_at":"2025-12-23T20:43:36.024341-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T21:21:57.692158-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-23T21:21:57.692158-08:00","close_reason":"stale - no code pushed"}
-{"id":"bd-n6fm","title":"witness Handoff","description":"attached_molecule: bd-ndye\nattached_at: 2025-12-23T12:35:02Z","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:02.675024-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:02.99197-08:00"}
+{"id":"bd-n6fm","title":"witness Handoff","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:02.675024-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-24T17:38:31.554705-08:00"}
 {"id":"bd-n777","title":"Timer beads for scheduled agent callbacks","description":"## Problem\n\nAgents frequently need to wait for external events (CI completion, PR reviews, artifact builds) but have no good mechanism:\n- `sleep N` blocks and is unreliable (often times out at 8+ minutes)\n- Polling wastes context and is easy to forget\n- No way to survive session restarts\n\n## Proposal: Timer Beads\n\nA new bead type or field that represents a scheduled callback:\n\n### Creating timers\n```bash\nbd timer create --in 30s --callback \"Check CI run 12345\" --issue bd-xyz\nbd timer create --at \"2025-12-20T08:00:00\" --callback \"Morning standup\"\nbd timer create --in 5m --on-expire \"tmux send-keys -t dave 'bd show bd-xyz'\"\n```\n\n### Timer storage\n- Store in beads (survives restarts)\n- Fields: `expires_at`, `callback_description`, `on_expire_command`, `linked_issue`\n- Status: pending, fired, cancelled\n\n### Deacon integration\nThe Deacon daemon monitors timer beads:\n1. Wakes on next timer expiry\n2. Executes `on_expire` command (e.g., tmux send-keys to interrupt agent)\n3. Marks timer as fired\n4. Optionally updates linked issue\n\n### Use cases\n- CI monitoring: \"ping me when build completes\"\n- PR reviews: \"check back in 1 hour\"\n- Scheduled tasks: \"remind me at EOD to sync\"\n- Blocking waits: agent registers callback instead of sleeping\n\n## Acceptance criteria\n- [ ] Timer bead type or field design\n- [ ] `bd timer create/list/cancel` commands\n- [ ] Deacon timer monitoring loop\n- [ ] tmux integration for agent interrupts\n- [ ] Survives daemon restarts","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"feature","created_at":"2025-12-19T23:05:33.051861-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T17:19:48.087482-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T17:19:48.087482-08:00","close_reason":"Will not implement - Gas Town uses a different approach for timed events"}
 {"id":"bd-ncwo","title":"Ghost resurrection: remote status:closed wins during git merge","description":"During bd sync, the 3-way git merge sometimes keeps remote's status:closed instead of local's status:tombstone. This causes ghost issues to resurrect even when tombstones exist.\n\nRoot cause: Git 3-way merge doesn't understand tombstone semantics. If base had closed, local changed to tombstone, and remote has closed, git might keep remote's version.\n\nThe early tombstone check in importer.go only prevents CREATION when tombstones exist in DB. But if applyDeletionsFromMerge hard-deletes the tombstones before import runs (because they're not in the merged result), the check doesn't help.\n\nPotential fixes:\n1. Make tombstones 'win' in the beads merge driver (internal/merge/merge.go)\n2. Don't hard-delete tombstones in applyDeletionsFromMerge if they're in the DB\n3. Export tombstones to a separate file that's not subject to merge\n\nGhost issues: bd-cb64c226.*, bd-cbed9619.*","status":"tombstone","priority":1,"issue_type":"bug","created_at":"2025-12-16T22:01:03.56423-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-17T16:11:17.070763-08:00","deleted_at":"2025-12-17T16:11:17.070763-08:00","deleted_by":"batch delete","delete_reason":"batch delete","original_type":"bug"}
 {"id":"bd-ndye","title":"mergeDependencies uses union instead of 3-way merge","description":"## Critical Bug\n\nThe `mergeDependencies` function in internal/merge/merge.go performs a UNION of left and right dependencies instead of a proper 3-way merge. This causes removed dependencies to be resurrected.\n\n### Root Cause\n\n```go\n// Current code (lines 795-816):\nfunc mergeDependencies(left, right []Dependency) []Dependency {\n    // Just unions left + right\n    // NEVER REMOVES anything\n    // Doesn't even look at base!\n}\n```\n\nAnd `mergeIssue` (line 579) doesn't pass `base`:\n```go\nresult.Dependencies = mergeDependencies(left.Dependencies, right.Dependencies)\n```\n\n### Impact\n\nIf:\n- Base has dependency D\n- Left removes D (intentional)\n- Right still has D (stale)\n\nCurrent: D is in result (resurrection!)\nCorrect: Left removed it, D should NOT be in result\n\nThis breaks Gas Town's workflow and data integrity. Closed means closed.\n\n### Fix\n\nChange `mergeDependencies` to take `base` and do proper 3-way merge:\n- If dep was in base and removed by left → exclude (left wins)\n- If dep was in base and removed by right → exclude (right wins)\n- If dep wasn't in base and added by either → include\n- If dep was in base and both still have it → include\n\nKey principle: **REMOVALS ARE AUTHORITATIVE**\n\n### Files to Change\n\n1. internal/merge/merge.go:\n   - `mergeDependencies(left, right)` → `mergeDependencies(base, left, right)`\n   - `mergeIssue` line 579: pass `base.Dependencies`\n\n### Related\n\nThis also explains why `ProtectLocalExportIDs` in importer is defined but never used - the protection was never actually implemented.","status":"closed","priority":0,"issue_type":"bug","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:15:54.475872-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-18T23:21:10.709571-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-18T23:21:10.709571-08:00"}
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@
 {"id":"bd-o9o","title":"Exclude pinned issues from bd ready","description":"Update bd ready to exclude pinned issues. Pinned issues are context markers, not work items, and should never appear in the ready-to-work list.","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:33:41.979073-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T11:29:41.190567-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T11:29:41.190567-08:00","close_reason":"Already implemented in SQLite (line 18). Added memory storage exclusion for completeness.","dependencies":[{"issue_id":"bd-o9o","depends_on_id":"bd-0vg","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:33:56.392931-08:00","created_by":"daemon"},{"issue_id":"bd-o9o","depends_on_id":"bd-7h5","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:34:07.612655-08:00","created_by":"daemon"}]}
 {"id":"bd-obep","title":"Spawn-time bonding: --attach flag","description":"Add --attach flag to bd mol spawn for on-the-fly composition.\n\nCOMMAND: bd mol spawn proto-feature --attach proto-docs --attach proto-testing\n\nBEHAVIOR:\n- Spawn the primary proto as normal\n- For each --attach: spawn that proto and wire to primary\n- Attachments become children of primary's root epic\n- Dependencies wired based on bond type (default: sequential)\n\nFLAGS:\n- --attach PROTO: Attach a proto (can repeat)\n- --attach-type TYPE: sequential (default) or parallel for all attachments\n- --after ISSUE: Attachment point for attached protos\n\nVARIABLE HANDLING:\n- All attached protos share variable namespace\n- Warn on variable name conflicts\n- All --var flags apply to all protos","notes":"DESIGN NOTE: This is syntactic sugar. Equivalent to:\n  bd mol spawn proto-A\n  bd mol bond $new_epic_id proto-B\n  \nKeeping as separate task because it's a common UX pattern worth optimizing.","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-21T00:59:06.178092-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T10:42:50.554816-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T10:42:50.554816-08:00","close_reason":"Implemented --attach and --attach-type flags for bd mol spawn. Fixed pre-existing bug where bondProtoMol and bondMolMol tried to add duplicate dependencies (UNIQUE constraint). Sequential bonds now use blocks type, parallel/conditional use parent-child.","dependencies":[{"issue_id":"bd-obep","depends_on_id":"bd-o5xe","type":"parent-child","created_at":"2025-12-21T00:59:51.368491-08:00","created_by":"daemon"},{"issue_id":"bd-obep","depends_on_id":"bd-o91r","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-12-21T00:59:51.733369-08:00","created_by":"daemon"}]}
 {"id":"bd-of2p","title":"Improve version bump molecule with missing steps","description":"During v0.32.1 release, discovered missing steps in the release molecule:\n\n**Missing from molecule:**\n1. Rebuild ~/go/bin/bd (only did ~/.local/bin/bd)\n2. Install beads-mcp from local source: `uv tool install --reinstall ./integrations/beads-mcp`\n3. Restart daemons with `bd daemons killall`\n4. (Optional) Publish beads-mcp to PyPI\n\n**Current molecule steps (bd-6s61):**\n1. Update CHANGELOG.md\n2. Update info.go versionChanges  \n3. Run bump-version.sh\n4. Run tests and linting\n5. Update local installation\n6. Commit and push release\n7. Wait for CI\n8. Verify release artifacts\n\n**Proposed additions:**\n- After \"Update local installation\": rebuild BOTH ~/.local/bin/bd AND ~/go/bin/bd\n- Add: \"Install beads-mcp from source\" step\n- Add: \"Restart daemons\" step\n- Add: \"Verify all versions match\" step that checks all artifacts\n\n**Also learned:**\n- Must run from mayor/rig to avoid git conflicts with bd sync (already documented in bump-version.sh)","notes":"CORRECTION: npm publishing IS automated and working!\n\n**Package naming:**\n- OLD: `beads` (npm) - deprecated, stuck at 0.2.1\n- CURRENT: `@beads/bd` (npm) - scoped package, auto-published by CI\n\n**How it works:**\n- CI uses OIDC trusted publishing (no token needed)\n- Workflow: .github/workflows/release.yml → publish-npm job\n- Permissions: `id-token: write` enables GitHub OIDC\n- To install: `npm install -g @beads/bd` (not `npm install beads`)\n\n**All publishing is automated on tag push:**\n1. GitHub Release - goreleaser ✓\n2. PyPI - publish-pypi job ✓\n3. Homebrew - update-homebrew job ✓\n4. npm (@beads/bd) - publish-npm job ✓\n\n**Remaining molecule improvements (local steps only):**\n- Rebuild BOTH ~/.local/bin/bd AND ~/go/bin/bd\n- Install beads-mcp from source: `uv tool install --reinstall ./integrations/beads-mcp`\n- Restart daemons: `bd daemons killall`\n- Run from mayor/rig to avoid git conflicts with bd sync\n- Final verification step to check all local versions match","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","assignee":"beads/dave","created_at":"2025-12-20T22:09:11.845787-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-22T16:01:18.199132-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-22T16:01:18.199132-08:00","close_reason":"Implemented: Added --install (dual location), --mcp-local, --restart-daemons, and --all flags to bump-version.sh. Updated RELEASING.md with new flag documentation."}
-{"id":"bd-ohil","title":"refinery Handoff","description":"attached_molecule: bd-ndye\nattached_at: 2025-12-23T12:35:07Z","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:07.488226-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:07.785858-08:00"}
+{"id":"bd-ohil","title":"refinery Handoff","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:35:07.488226-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-24T17:38:31.483362-08:00"}
 {"id":"bd-ola6","title":"Implement transaction retry logic for SQLITE_BUSY","description":"BEGIN IMMEDIATE fails immediately on SQLITE_BUSY instead of retrying with exponential backoff.\n\nLocation: internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go:223-225\n\nProblem:\n- Under concurrent write load, BEGIN IMMEDIATE can fail with SQLITE_BUSY\n- Current implementation fails immediately instead of retrying\n- Results in spurious failures under normal concurrent usage\n\nSolution: Implement exponential backoff retry:\n- Retry up to N times (e.g., 5)\n- Backoff: 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 160ms\n- Check for context cancellation between retries\n- Only retry on SQLITE_BUSY/database locked errors\n\nImpact: Spurious failures under concurrent write load\n\nEffort: 3 hours","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"feature","created_at":"2025-11-16T14:51:31.247147-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T21:39:23.071036-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T21:39:23.071036-08:00","close_reason":"Already implemented: beginImmediateWithRetry in util.go provides exponential backoff (5 retries, 10ms→160ms) for SQLITE_BUSY errors, used by RunInTransaction. Tests in util_test.go verify behavior."}
 {"id":"bd-om4a","title":"Support external: prefix in blocked_by field","description":"Allow blocked_by to include external project references:\n\n```bash\nbd update gt-xyz --blocked-by=\"external:beads:mol-run-assignee\"\n```\n\nSyntax: `external:\u003cproject\u003e:\u003ccapability\u003e`\n- project: name from external_projects config\n- capability: matches provides:\u003ccapability\u003e label in target project\n\nStorage: Store as-is in blocked_by array. Resolution happens at query time.\n\nPart of cross-project dependency system.\nSee: gastown/docs/cross-project-deps.md","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"feature","created_at":"2025-12-21T22:37:29.725196-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T23:07:48.127045-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T23:07:48.127045-08:00","close_reason":"Implemented: bd dep add accepts external:project:capability syntax, stores as-is, shows in blocked output, updates blocked cache"}
 {"id":"bd-ork0","title":"Add comments to 30+ silently ignored errors or fix them","description":"Code health review found 30+ instances of error suppression using blank identifier without explanation:\n\nGood examples (with comments):\n- merge.go: _ = gitRmCmd.Run() // Ignore errors\n- daemon_watcher.go: _ = watcher.Add(...) // Ignore error\n\nBad examples (no context):\n- create.go:213: dbPrefix, _ = store.GetConfig(ctx, \"issue_prefix\")\n- daemon_sync_branch.go: _ = daemonClient.Close()\n- migrate_hash_ids.go, version_tracking.go: _ = store.Close()\n\nFix: Add comments explaining WHY errors are ignored, or handle them properly.","status":"closed","priority":3,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-16T18:17:25.899372-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-22T21:28:32.898258-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-22T21:28:32.898258-08:00","close_reason":"Added explanatory comments to 24 production file locations with ignored errors. Categories: Cobra flags (only fail if missing), best-effort cleanup/close operations, process signaling."}
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@
 {"id":"bd-ymqn","title":"Code review: bd mol bond --ref and bd activity (bd-xo1o work)","description":"Review dave's recent commits for bd-xo1o (Dynamic Molecule Bonding):\n\n## Commits to Review\n- ee04b1ea: feat: add dynamic molecule bonding with --ref flag (bd-xo1o.1)\n- be520d90: feat: add bd activity command for real-time state feed (bd-xo1o.3)\n\n## Review Focus\n1. Code quality and correctness\n2. Error handling\n3. Edge cases\n4. Test coverage\n5. Documentation\n\n## Deliverables\n- File beads for any issues found\n- Note any concerns or suggestions\n- Verify the implementation matches the bd-xo1o epic requirements","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"task","assignee":"beads/ace","created_at":"2025-12-23T03:47:55.217363-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T04:11:00.226326-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-23T04:11:00.226326-08:00","close_reason":"Code review completed by ace"}
 {"id":"bd-yqhh","title":"bd list --parent: filter by parent issue","description":"Add --parent flag to bd list to filter issues by parent.\n\nExample:\n```bash\nbd list --parent=gt-h5n --status=open\n```\n\nWould show all open children of gt-h5n.\n\nUseful for:\n- Checking epic progress\n- Finding swarmable work within an epic\n- Molecule step listing","status":"closed","priority":2,"issue_type":"feature","created_at":"2025-12-23T01:51:26.830952-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T02:10:12.909803-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-23T02:10:12.909803-08:00","close_reason":"Implemented --parent flag for bd list. Filters children by parent issue using parent-child dependencies."}
 {"id":"bd-yx22","title":"Merge: bd-d28c","description":"branch: polecat/testcat\ntarget: main\nsource_issue: bd-d28c\nrig: beads","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"merge-request","created_at":"2025-12-23T21:33:15.490412-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T21:36:38.584933-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-23T21:36:38.584933-08:00","close_reason":"stale - code never pushed to remote"}
-{"id":"bd-z3rf","title":"dave Handoff","description":"attached_molecule: bd-ifuw\nattached_at: 2025-12-23T12:49:44Z","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:33:42.874554-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-23T04:49:44.1246-08:00"}
+{"id":"bd-z3rf","title":"dave Handoff","status":"pinned","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-23T04:33:42.874554-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-24T17:38:31.625862-08:00"}
 {"id":"bd-z86n","title":"Code Review: PR #551 - Persist close_reason to issues table","description":"Code review of PR #551 which fixes close_reason persistence bug.\n\n## Summary\nThe PR correctly fixes a bug where close_reason was only stored in the events table, not in the issues.close_reason column. This caused `bd show --json` to return empty close_reason.\n\n## What Was Fixed\n- ✅ CloseIssue now updates both close_reason and closed_at\n- ✅ ReOpenIssue clears both close_reason and closed_at\n- ✅ Comprehensive tests added for both storage and CLI layers\n- ✅ Clear documentation in queries.go about dual storage strategy\n\n## Quality Assessment\n✅ Tests cover both storage layer and CLI JSON output\n✅ Handles reopen case (clearing close_reason)\n✅ Good comments explaining dual-storage design\n✅ No known issues\n\n## Potential Followups\nSee linked issues for suggestions.","status":"open","priority":2,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-14T14:25:06.887069-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-14T14:25:06.887069-08:00"}
 {"id":"bd-z8a6","title":"bd delete --from-file should add deleted issues to deletions manifest","description":"When using bd delete --from-file to bulk delete issues, the deleted issue IDs are not being added to the deletions.jsonl manifest.\n\nThis causes those issues to be resurrected during bd sync when git history scanning finds them in old commits.\n\nExpected: All deleted issues should be added to deletions.jsonl so they wont be reimported from git history.\n\nWorkaround: Manually add deletion records to deletions.jsonl.","status":"tombstone","priority":1,"issue_type":"bug","created_at":"2025-12-16T01:48:14.099855-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-17T16:11:17.070763-08:00","deleted_at":"2025-12-17T16:11:17.070763-08:00","deleted_by":"batch delete","delete_reason":"batch delete","original_type":"bug"}
 {"id":"bd-zc3","title":"Add --pinned and --no-pinned flags to bd list","description":"Add filtering flags to bd list: --pinned shows only pinned issues, --no-pinned excludes pinned issues. Default behavior shows all issues with a pin indicator.","status":"closed","priority":1,"issue_type":"task","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:33:29.518028-08:00","updated_at":"2025-12-21T11:30:01.484978-08:00","closed_at":"2025-12-21T11:30:01.484978-08:00","close_reason":"Already implemented - --pinned and --no-pinned flags exist in bd list","dependencies":[{"issue_id":"bd-zc3","depends_on_id":"bd-0vg","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:33:56.256764-08:00","created_by":"daemon"},{"issue_id":"bd-zc3","depends_on_id":"bd-7h5","type":"blocks","created_at":"2025-12-18T23:34:07.486361-08:00","created_by":"daemon"}]}