Remove ~/.beads fallback behavior

- Remove ~/.beads/default.db fallback from FindDatabasePath()
- Update daemon to error if no database found instead of falling back
- Update main.go to require explicit database initialization
- Add help/version/quickstart to commands that don't need database
- Add MCP client debug logging for database routing

Amp-Thread-ID: https://ampcode.com/threads/T-2b757a14-cf10-400e-a83c-30349182dd82
Co-authored-by: Amp <amp@ampcode.com>

beads.go

@@ -53,9 +53,8 @@ func NewSQLiteStorage(dbPath string) (Storage, error) {
 // FindDatabasePath discovers the bd database path using bd's standard search order:
 //  1. $BEADS_DB environment variable
 //  2. .beads/*.db in current directory or ancestors
-//  3. ~/.beads/default.db (fallback)
 //
-// Returns empty string if no database is found at (1) or (2) and (3) doesn't exist.
+// Returns empty string if no database is found.
 func FindDatabasePath() string {
 	// 1. Check environment variable
 	if envDB := os.Getenv("BEADS_DB"); envDB != "" {
@@ -67,15 +66,7 @@ func FindDatabasePath() string {
 		return foundDB
 	}
 
-	// 3. Try home directory default
+	// No fallback to ~/.beads - return empty string
-	if home, err := os.UserHomeDir(); err == nil {
-		defaultDB := filepath.Join(home, ".beads", "default.db")
-		// Only return if it exists
-		if _, err := os.Stat(defaultDB); err == nil {
-			return defaultDB
-		}
-	}
-
 	return ""
 }
 

cmd/bd/daemon.go

@@ -115,11 +115,8 @@ func ensureBeadsDir() (string, error) {
 	if dbPath != "" {
 		beadsDir = filepath.Dir(dbPath)
 	} else {
-		home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+		// No database path - error out instead of falling back to ~/.beads
-		if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("no database path configured (run 'bd init' or set BEADS_DB)")
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("cannot resolve home directory: %w", err)
-		}
-		beadsDir = filepath.Join(home, ".beads")
 	}
 
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(beadsDir, 0700); err != nil {
@@ -446,13 +443,10 @@ func runDaemonLoop(interval time.Duration, autoCommit, autoPush bool, logPath, p
 		if foundDB := beads.FindDatabasePath(); foundDB != "" {
 			daemonDBPath = foundDB
 		} else {
-			// Fallback to default location
+			// No database found - error out instead of falling back to ~/.beads
-			home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+			log("Error: no beads database found")
-			if err != nil {
+			log("Hint: run 'bd init' to create a database or set BEADS_DB environment variable")
-				log("Error: cannot resolve home directory: %v", err)
+			os.Exit(1)
-				os.Exit(1)
-			}
-			daemonDBPath = filepath.Join(home, ".beads", "default.db")
 		}
 	}
 	

cmd/bd/main.go

@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Short: "bd - Dependency-aware issue tracker",
 	Long:  `Issues chained together like beads. A lightweight issue tracker with first-class dependency support.`,
 	PersistentPreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-		// Skip database initialization for init and daemon commands
+		// Skip database initialization for commands that don't need a database
-		if cmd.Name() == "init" || cmd.Name() == "daemon" {
+		if cmd.Name() == "init" || cmd.Name() == "daemon" || cmd.Name() == "help" || cmd.Name() == "version" || cmd.Name() == "quickstart" {
 			return
 		}
 
@@ -72,9 +72,11 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			if foundDB := beads.FindDatabasePath(); foundDB != "" {
 				dbPath = foundDB
 			} else {
-				// Fallback to default location (will be created by init command)
+				// No database found - error out instead of falling back to ~/.beads
-				home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: no beads database found\n")
-				dbPath = filepath.Join(home, ".beads", "default.db")
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Hint: run 'bd init' to create a database in the current directory\n")
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "      or set BEADS_DB environment variable to specify a database\n")
+				os.Exit(1)
 			}
 		}
 

integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/bd_client.py

@@ -149,12 +149,20 @@ class BdClient:
         """
         cmd = [self.bd_path, *args, *self._global_flags(), "--json"]
 
+        # Log database routing for debugging
+        import sys
+        working_dir = self._get_working_dir()
+        db_info = self.beads_db if self.beads_db else "auto-discover"
+        print(f"[beads-mcp] Running bd command: {' '.join(args)}", file=sys.stderr)
+        print(f"[beads-mcp]   Database: {db_info}", file=sys.stderr)
+        print(f"[beads-mcp]   Working dir: {working_dir}", file=sys.stderr)
+
         try:
             process = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
                 *cmd,
                 stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                 stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-                cwd=self._get_working_dir(),
+                cwd=working_dir,
             )
             stdout, stderr = await process.communicate()
         except FileNotFoundError as e: