diff --git a/cmd/bd/daemon.go b/cmd/bd/daemon.go
index 41ae7217..2f2bf203 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/daemon.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/daemon.go
@@ -33,10 +33,11 @@ The daemon will:
 - Auto-import when remote changes detected
 
 Common operations:
-  bd daemon --start          Start the daemon
-  bd daemon --stop           Stop a running daemon
-  bd daemon --status         Check if daemon is running
-  bd daemon --health         Check daemon health and metrics
+  bd daemon --start              Start the daemon (background)
+  bd daemon --start --foreground Start in foreground (for systemd/supervisord)
+  bd daemon --stop               Stop a running daemon
+  bd daemon --status             Check if daemon is running
+  bd daemon --health             Check daemon health and metrics
 
 Run 'bd daemon' with no flags to see available options.`,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@ Run 'bd daemon' with no flags to see available options.`,
 		autoPush, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("auto-push")
 		localMode, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("local")
 		logFile, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("log")
+		foreground, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("foreground")
 
 		// If no operation flags provided, show help
 		if !start && !stop && !status && !health && !metrics {
@@ -209,7 +211,7 @@ Run 'bd daemon' with no flags to see available options.`,
 			fmt.Printf("Logging to: %s\n", logFile)
 		}
 
-		startDaemon(interval, autoCommit, autoPush, localMode, logFile, pidFile)
+		startDaemon(interval, autoCommit, autoPush, localMode, foreground, logFile, pidFile)
 	},
 }
 
@@ -224,6 +226,7 @@ func init() {
 	daemonCmd.Flags().Bool("health", false, "Check daemon health and metrics")
 	daemonCmd.Flags().Bool("metrics", false, "Show detailed daemon metrics")
 	daemonCmd.Flags().String("log", "", "Log file path (default: .beads/daemon.log)")
+	daemonCmd.Flags().Bool("foreground", false, "Run in foreground (don't daemonize)")
 	daemonCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&jsonOutput, "json", false, "Output JSON format")
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(daemonCmd)
 }
diff --git a/cmd/bd/daemon_lifecycle.go b/cmd/bd/daemon_lifecycle.go
index d3017488..9f6be619 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/daemon_lifecycle.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/daemon_lifecycle.go
@@ -275,15 +275,16 @@ func stopDaemon(pidFile string) {
 	fmt.Println("Daemon killed")
 }
 
-// startDaemon starts the daemon in background
-func startDaemon(interval time.Duration, autoCommit, autoPush, localMode bool, logFile, pidFile string) {
+// startDaemon starts the daemon (in foreground if requested, otherwise background)
+func startDaemon(interval time.Duration, autoCommit, autoPush, localMode, foreground bool, logFile, pidFile string) {
 	logPath, err := getLogFilePath(logFile)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
-	if os.Getenv("BD_DAEMON_FOREGROUND") == "1" {
+	// Run in foreground if --foreground flag set or if we're the forked child process
+	if foreground || os.Getenv("BD_DAEMON_FOREGROUND") == "1" {
 		runDaemonLoop(interval, autoCommit, autoPush, localMode, logPath, pidFile)
 		return
 	}