MCP: Smart routing for lifecycle status changes in update tool

- update(status="closed") now routes to close() tool
- update(status="open") now routes to reopen() tool
- Respects Claude Code approval workflows for lifecycle events
- Prevents bypass of approval settings
- bd CLI remains unopinionated; routing only in MCP layer
- Users can safely auto-approve benign updates without exposing closure bypass

Fixes #123

Amp-Thread-ID: https://ampcode.com/threads/T-8b85a68e-7e06-460e-9840-9c6b6a6b7e85
Co-authored-by: Amp <amp@ampcode.com>

integrations/beads-mcp/README.md

@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ Each instance will discover and use the database in its `BEADS_WORKING_DIR` path
 - `list` - List issues with filters (status, priority, type, assignee)
 - `ready` - Find tasks with no blockers ready to work on
 - `show` - Show detailed issue info including dependencies
-- `update` - Update issue (status, priority, design, notes, etc)
+- `update` - Update issue (status, priority, design, notes, etc). Note: `status="closed"` or `status="open"` automatically route to `close` or `reopen` tools to respect approval workflows
 - `close` - Close completed issue
 - `dep` - Add dependency (blocks, related, parent-child, discovered-from)
 - `blocked` - Get blocked issues

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

@@ -180,11 +180,27 @@ async def beads_update_issue(
     acceptance_criteria: Annotated[str | None, "Acceptance criteria"] = None,
     notes: Annotated[str | None, "Additional notes"] = None,
     external_ref: Annotated[str | None, "External reference (e.g., gh-9, jira-ABC)"] = None,
-) -> Issue:
+) -> Issue | list[Issue]:
     """Update an existing issue.
 
     Claim work by setting status to 'in_progress'.
+    
+    Note: Setting status to 'closed' or 'open' will automatically route to
+    beads_close_issue() or beads_reopen_issue() respectively to ensure
+    proper approval workflows are followed.
     """
+    # Smart routing: intercept lifecycle status changes and route to dedicated tools
+    if status == "closed":
+        # Route to close tool to respect approval workflows
+        reason = notes if notes else "Completed"
+        return await beads_close_issue(issue_id=issue_id, reason=reason)
+    
+    if status == "open":
+        # Route to reopen tool to respect approval workflows
+        reason = notes if notes else "Reopened"
+        return await beads_reopen_issue(issue_ids=[issue_id], reason=reason)
+    
+    # Normal attribute updates proceed as usual
     client = await _get_client()
     params = UpdateIssueParams(
         issue_id=issue_id,

integrations/beads-mcp/tests/test_tools.py

@@ -360,6 +360,54 @@ async def test_update_issue_multiple_fields(sample_issue):
     mock_client.update.assert_called_once()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_update_issue_routes_closed_to_close(sample_issue):
+    """Test that update with status=closed routes to close tool."""
+    closed_issue = sample_issue.model_copy(
+        update={"status": "closed", "closed_at": "2024-01-02T00:00:00Z"}
+    )
+    mock_client = AsyncMock()
+    mock_client.close = AsyncMock(return_value=[closed_issue])
+
+    with patch("beads_mcp.tools._get_client", return_value=mock_client):
+        result = await beads_update_issue(
+            issue_id="bd-1",
+            status="closed",
+            notes="Task completed"
+        )
+
+    # Should route to close, not update
+    assert isinstance(result, list)
+    assert len(result) == 1
+    assert result[0].status == "closed"
+    mock_client.close.assert_called_once()
+    mock_client.update.assert_not_called()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_update_issue_routes_open_to_reopen(sample_issue):
+    """Test that update with status=open routes to reopen tool."""
+    reopened_issue = sample_issue.model_copy(
+        update={"status": "open", "closed_at": None}
+    )
+    mock_client = AsyncMock()
+    mock_client.reopen = AsyncMock(return_value=[reopened_issue])
+
+    with patch("beads_mcp.tools._get_client", return_value=mock_client):
+        result = await beads_update_issue(
+            issue_id="bd-1",
+            status="open",
+            notes="Needs more work"
+        )
+
+    # Should route to reopen, not update
+    assert isinstance(result, list)
+    assert len(result) == 1
+    assert result[0].status == "open"
+    mock_client.reopen.assert_called_once()
+    mock_client.update.assert_not_called()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_beads_stats():
     """Test beads_stats tool."""