From a9c8c952f6c07849e1046d0226d1e34957b8652c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: beads/crew/emma <steve.yegge@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:14:59 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] feat(show): add --id flag for IDs that look like flags

When an issue ID starts with dashes (e.g., gt--kzx), it can be
misinterpreted by Cobra's argument parser. The new --id flag allows
these IDs to be passed safely:

  bd show --id=gt--xyz

Multiple --id flags can be used, and they can be combined with
positional arguments.

Closes: bd-ix0ak

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 cmd/bd/show.go      | 15 +++++++--
 cmd/bd/show_test.go | 80 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 93 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cmd/bd/show.go b/cmd/bd/show.go
index 8b8c915c..6cb326a9 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/show.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/show.go
@@ -16,19 +16,29 @@ import (
 )
 
 var showCmd = &cobra.Command{
-	Use:     "show [id...]",
+	Use:     "show [id...] [--id=<id>...]",
 	Aliases: []string{"view"},
 	GroupID: "issues",
 	Short:   "Show issue details",
-	Args:    cobra.MinimumNArgs(1),
+	Args:    cobra.ArbitraryArgs, // Allow zero positional args when --id is used
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		showThread, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("thread")
 		shortMode, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("short")
 		showRefs, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("refs")
 		showChildren, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("children")
 		asOfRef, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("as-of")
+		idFlags, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringArray("id")
 		ctx := rootCtx
 
+		// Merge --id flag values with positional args
+		// This allows IDs that look like flags (e.g., --xyz or gt--abc) to be passed safely
+		args = append(args, idFlags...)
+
+		// Validate that at least one ID is provided
+		if len(args) == 0 {
+			FatalErrorRespectJSON("at least one issue ID is required (use positional args or --id flag)")
+		}
+
 		// Handle --as-of flag: show issue at a specific point in history
 		if asOfRef != "" {
 			showIssueAsOf(ctx, args, asOfRef, shortMode)
@@ -1103,6 +1113,7 @@ func init() {
 	showCmd.Flags().Bool("refs", false, "Show issues that reference this issue (reverse lookup)")
 	showCmd.Flags().Bool("children", false, "Show only the children of this issue")
 	showCmd.Flags().String("as-of", "", "Show issue as it existed at a specific commit hash or branch (requires Dolt)")
+	showCmd.Flags().StringArray("id", nil, "Issue ID (use for IDs that look like flags, e.g., --id=gt--xyz)")
 	showCmd.ValidArgsFunction = issueIDCompletion
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(showCmd)
 }
diff --git a/cmd/bd/show_test.go b/cmd/bd/show_test.go
index b4d93e43..4811893c 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/show_test.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/show_test.go
@@ -114,3 +114,83 @@ func TestShow_NoExternalRef(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("expected no 'External:' line for issue without external ref, got: %s", out)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestShow_IDFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("skipping CLI test in short mode")
+	}
+
+	// Build bd binary
+	tmpBin := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "bd")
+	buildCmd := exec.Command("go", "build", "-o", tmpBin, "./")
+	buildCmd.Dir = "."
+	if out, err := buildCmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to build bd: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+
+	// Initialize beads
+	initCmd := exec.Command(tmpBin, "init", "--prefix", "test", "--quiet")
+	initCmd.Dir = tmpDir
+	if out, err := initCmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("init failed: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+
+	// Create an issue
+	createCmd := exec.Command(tmpBin, "--no-daemon", "create", "ID flag test", "-p", "1", "--json", "--repo", ".")
+	createCmd.Dir = tmpDir
+	createOut, err := createCmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create failed: %v\n%s", err, createOut)
+	}
+
+	var issue map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(createOut, &issue); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse create output: %v, output: %s", err, createOut)
+	}
+	id := issue["id"].(string)
+
+	// Test 1: Using --id flag works
+	showCmd := exec.Command(tmpBin, "--no-daemon", "show", "--id="+id, "--short")
+	showCmd.Dir = tmpDir
+	showOut, err := showCmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("show with --id flag failed: %v\n%s", err, showOut)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(showOut), id) {
+		t.Errorf("expected issue ID in output, got: %s", showOut)
+	}
+
+	// Test 2: Multiple --id flags work
+	showCmd2 := exec.Command(tmpBin, "--no-daemon", "show", "--id="+id, "--id="+id, "--short")
+	showCmd2.Dir = tmpDir
+	showOut2, err := showCmd2.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("show with multiple --id flags failed: %v\n%s", err, showOut2)
+	}
+	// Should see the ID twice (one for each --id flag)
+	if strings.Count(string(showOut2), id) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected issue ID twice in output, got: %s", showOut2)
+	}
+
+	// Test 3: Combining positional and --id flag
+	showCmd3 := exec.Command(tmpBin, "--no-daemon", "show", id, "--id="+id, "--short")
+	showCmd3.Dir = tmpDir
+	showOut3, err := showCmd3.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("show with positional + --id failed: %v\n%s", err, showOut3)
+	}
+	// Should see the ID twice
+	if strings.Count(string(showOut3), id) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected issue ID twice in output, got: %s", showOut3)
+	}
+
+	// Test 4: No args at all should fail
+	showCmd4 := exec.Command(tmpBin, "--no-daemon", "show")
+	showCmd4.Dir = tmpDir
+	_, err = showCmd4.CombinedOutput()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected error when no ID provided, but command succeeded")
+	}
+}