Review and document rarely-used commands

Document use cases or consider deprecation for infrequently-used commands.

**Commands to review:**
1. bd rename-prefix - How often is this used? Document use cases
2. bd detect-pollution - Consider integrating into bd validate
3. bd migrate-hash-ids - One-time migration, keep but document as legacy

**For each command:**
- Document typical use cases
- Add examples to help text
- Consider if it should be a subcommand instead
- Add deprecation warning if appropriate

**Not changing:**
- duplicates ✓ (useful for data quality)
- repair-deps ✓ (useful for fixing broken refs)
- restore ✓ (critical for compacted issues)
- compact ✓ (performance feature)

**Deliverable:**
- Updated help text
- Documentation in ADVANCED.md
- Deprecation plan if needed


Measure notification latency vs git sync

Benchmark end-to-end latency for status updates to propagate between agents using both methods.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Measure git sync latency (commit → push → pull → import)
- Measure Agent Mail latency (send_message → fetch_inbox)
- Document latency distribution (p50, p95, p99)
- Verify <100ms claim for Agent Mail
- Compare against 1-5s baseline for git

Success Metric: Agent Mail latency < 100ms, git sync latency > 1000ms

Latency benchmark completed. Results documented in latency_results.md:
- Git sync: 2000-5000ms (full cycle with network)
- Agent Mail: <100ms (HTTP API round-trip)
- Confirms 20-50x latency reduction claim


Document which files to commit after bd init --branch

GH #312 reported confusion about which files should be committed after running 'bd init --branch beads-metadata'. Updated PROTECTED_BRANCHES.md to clearly document:

1. Files that should be committed to protected branch (main):
   - .beads/.gitignore
   - .gitattributes

2. Files that are automatically gitignored
3. Files that live in the sync branch (beads-metadata)

Changes:
- Added step-by-step instructions in Quick Start section
- Added 'What lives in each branch' section to How It Works
- Clarified the directory structure diagram

Fixes: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/312


bd cleanup should also prune expired tombstones

## Problem

`bd cleanup` deletes closed issues (converting them to tombstones) but does NOT prune expired tombstones. Users expect 'cleanup' to do comprehensive cleanup.

## Current Behavior

1. `bd cleanup --force` → converts closed issues to tombstones
2. Expired tombstones (>30 days) remain in issues.jsonl
3. User must separately run `bd compact` to prune tombstones
4. `bd doctor` warns about expired tombstones: 'Run bd compact to prune'

## Expected Behavior

`bd cleanup` should also prune expired tombstones from issues.jsonl.

## Impact

With v0.30.0 making tombstones the default migration path, this UX gap becomes more visible. Users cleaning up their database shouldn't need to know about a separate `bd compact` command.

## Proposed Solution

Call `pruneExpiredTombstones()` at the end of the cleanup command (same function used by compact). Report results:

```
✓ Deleted 15 closed issue(s)
✓ Pruned 3 expired tombstone(s) (older than 30 days)
```

## Files to Modify

- `cmd/bd/cleanup.go` - Add call to pruneExpiredTombstones after deleteBatch
- May need to move pruneExpiredTombstones to shared location if not already accessible

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] `bd cleanup --force` prunes expired tombstones after deleting closed issues
- [ ] `bd cleanup --dry-run` shows what tombstones would be pruned
- [ ] JSON output includes tombstone prune results


Git history fallback has incorrect logic for detecting deletions

## Problem

The `wasInGitHistory` function in `internal/importer/importer.go:891` returns true if the ID is found **anywhere** in git history. But finding an ID in history doesn't necessarily mean it was deleted - it could mean:

1. The issue was added (appears in a commit adding it)
2. The issue was modified (appears in commits updating it)
3. The issue was deleted (appears in a commit removing it)

The current logic incorrectly treats all three cases as 'deleted'.

## Correct Logic

`git log -S` with `--oneline` shows commits where the string was added OR removed. To detect deletion specifically:

1. ID appears in git history (was once in JSONL)
2. ID is NOT currently in JSONL

The second condition is already checked by the caller (`purgeDeletedIssues`), so technically the logic is correct in context. But the function name and doc comment are misleading.

## Fix Options

1. **Rename function** to `wasEverInJSONL` and update doc comment to clarify
2. **Add explicit check** for current JSONL state in the function itself

Option 1 is simpler and correct since caller already filters.


Make two-clone workflow actually work (no hacks)

TestTwoCloneCollision proves beads CANNOT handle two independent clones filing issues simultaneously. This is the basic collaborative workflow and it must work cleanly.

Test location: beads_twoclone_test.go

The test creates two git clones, both file issues with same ID (test-1), --resolve-collisions remaps clone B's to test-2, but after sync:
- Clone A has test-1="Issue from clone A", test-2="Issue from clone B"
- Clone B has test-1="Issue from clone B", test-2="Issue from clone A"

The TITLES are swapped! Both clones have 2 issues but with opposite title assignments.

We've tried many fixes (per-project daemons, auto-sync, lamport hashing, precommit hooks) but nothing has made the test pass.

Goal: Make the test pass WITHOUT hacks. The two clones should converge to identical state after sync.

**Major progress achieved!** The two-clone workflow now converges correctly.

**What was fixed:**
--3d844c58: Implemented content-hash based rename detection
- bd-64c05d00.1: Fixed test to compare content not timestamps
- Both clones now converge to identical issue databases
- test-1 and test-2 have correct titles in both clones
- No more title swapping!

**Current status (VERIFIED):**
✅ Acceptance criteria 1: TestTwoCloneCollision passes (confirmed Oct 28)
✅ Acceptance criteria 2: Both clones converge to identical issue database (content matches)
✅ Acceptance criteria 3: No manual conflict resolution required (automatic)
✅ Acceptance criteria 4: Git status clean
✅ Acceptance criteria 5: bd ready output identical (timestamps are expected difference)

**ALL ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA MET!** This issue is complete and can be closed.


troubleshoot GH#278 daemon exits every few secs


Rapid 2


bd validate - Comprehensive health check

Run all validation checks in one command.

Checks:
- Duplicates
- Orphaned dependencies
- Test pollution
- Git conflicts

Supports --fix-all for auto-repair.

Depends on bd-cbed9619.1, bd-0dcea000, bd-31aab707, bd-9826b69a.

Files: cmd/bd/validate.go (new)


Unit tests for FileWatcher

Test watcher detects JSONL changes. Test git ref changes trigger import. Test debounce integration. Test watcher recovery from file removal/rename.


Code Health & Technical Debt Cleanup

Comprehensive codebase cleanup to remove dead code, refactor monolithic files, deduplicate utilities, and improve maintainability. Based on ultrathink code health analysis conducted 2025-10-27.

Goals:
- Remove ~1,500 LOC of dead/unreachable code
- Split 2 monolithic files (server.go 2,273 LOC, sqlite.go 2,136 LOC) into focused modules
- Deduplicate scattered utility functions (normalizeLabels, BD_DEBUG checks)
- Consolidate test coverage (2,019 LOC of collision tests)
- Improve code navigation and reduce merge conflicts

Impact: Reduces codebase by ~6-8%, improves maintainability, faster CI/CD

Estimated Effort: 11 days across 4 phases


Add TestNWayCollision for 5+ clones

## Overview
Add comprehensive tests for N-way (5+) collision resolution to verify the solution scales beyond 3 clones.

## Purpose
While TestThreeCloneCollision validates the basic N-way case, we need to verify:
1. Solution scales to arbitrary N
2. Performance is acceptable with more clones
3. Convergence time is bounded
4. No edge cases in larger collision groups

## Implementation Tasks

### 1. Create TestFiveCloneCollision
File: beads_twoclone_test.go (or new beads_nway_test.go)

```go
func TestFiveCloneCollision(t *testing.T) {
    // Test with 5 clones creating same ID with different content
    // Verify all 5 clones converge after sync rounds

    t.Run("SequentialSync", func(t *testing.T) {
        testNCloneCollision(t, 5, "A", "B", "C", "D", "E")
    })

    t.Run("ReverseSync", func(t *testing.T) {
        testNCloneCollision(t, 5, "E", "D", "C", "B", "A")
    })

    t.Run("RandomSync", func(t *testing.T) {
        testNCloneCollision(t, 5, "C", "A", "E", "B", "D")
    })
}
```

### 2. Implement generalized testNCloneCollision
Generalize the 3-clone test to handle arbitrary N:

```go
func testNCloneCollision(t *testing.T, numClones int, syncOrder ...string) {
    t.Helper()

    if len(syncOrder) != numClones {
        t.Fatalf("syncOrder length (%d) must match numClones (%d)",
            len(syncOrder), numClones)
    }

    tmpDir := t.TempDir()

    // Setup remote and N clones
    remoteDir := setupBareRepo(t, tmpDir)
    cloneDirs := make(map[string]string)

    for i := 0; i < numClones; i++ {
        name := string(rune('A' + i))
        cloneDirs[name] = setupClone(t, tmpDir, remoteDir, name)
    }

    // Each clone creates issue with same ID but different content
    for name, dir := range cloneDirs {
        createIssue(t, dir, fmt.Sprintf("Issue from clone %s", name))
    }

    // Sync in specified order
    for _, name := range syncOrder {
        syncClone(t, cloneDirs[name], name)
    }

    // Final pull for convergence
    for name, dir := range cloneDirs {
        finalPull(t, dir, name)
    }

    // Verify all clones have all N issues
    expectedTitles := make(map[string]bool)
    for i := 0; i < numClones; i++ {
        name := string(rune('A' + i))
        expectedTitles[fmt.Sprintf("Issue from clone %s", name)] = true
    }

    for name, dir := range cloneDirs {
        titles := getTitles(t, dir)
        if !compareTitleSets(titles, expectedTitles) {
            t.Errorf("Clone %s missing issues: expected %v, got %v",
                name, expectedTitles, titles)
        }
    }

    t.Log("✓ All", numClones, "clones converged successfully")
}
```

### 3. Add performance benchmarks
Test convergence time and memory usage:

```go
func BenchmarkNWayCollision(b *testing.B) {
    for _, n := range []int{3, 5, 10, 20} {
        b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("N=%d", n), func(b *testing.B) {
            for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
                // Run N-way collision and measure time
                testNCloneCollisionBench(b, n)
            }
        })
    }
}
```

### 4. Add convergence time tests
Verify bounded convergence:

```go
func TestConvergenceTime(t *testing.T) {
    // Test that convergence happens within expected rounds
    // For N clones, should converge in at most N-1 sync rounds

    for n := 3; n <= 10; n++ {
        t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("N=%d", n), func(t *testing.T) {
            rounds := measureConvergenceRounds(t, n)
            maxExpected := n - 1
            if rounds > maxExpected {
                t.Errorf("Convergence took %d rounds, expected ≤ %d",
                    rounds, maxExpected)
            }
        })
    }
}
```

### 5. Add edge case tests
Test boundary conditions:
- All N clones have identical content (dedup works)
- N-1 clones have same content, 1 differs
- All N clones have unique content
- Mix of collisions and non-collisions

## Acceptance Criteria
- TestFiveCloneCollision passes with all sync orders
- All 5 clones converge to identical content
- Performance is acceptable (< 5 seconds for 5 clones)
- Convergence time is bounded (≤ N-1 rounds)
- Edge cases handled correctly
- Benchmarks show scalability to 10+ clones

## Files to Create/Modify
- beads_twoclone_test.go or beads_nway_test.go
- Add helper functions for N-clone setup

## Testing Strategy

### Test Matrix
| N Clones | Sync Orders | Expected Result |
|----------|-------------|-----------------|
| 3        | A→B→C       | Pass            |
| 3        | C→B→A       | Pass            |
| 5        | A→B→C→D→E   | Pass            |
| 5        | E→D→C→B→A   | Pass            |
| 5        | Random      | Pass            |
| 10       | Sequential  | Pass            |

### Performance Targets
- 3 clones: < 2 seconds
- 5 clones: < 5 seconds
- 10 clones: < 15 seconds

## Dependencies
- Requires bd-cbed9619.5, bd-cbed9619.4, bd-0dcea000, bd-4d7fca8a to be completed
- TestThreeCloneCollision must pass first

## Success Metrics
- All tests pass for N ∈ {3, 5, 10}
- Convergence time scales linearly (O(N))
- Memory usage reasonable (< 100MB for 10 clones)
- No data corruption or loss in any scenario


mergePriority: negative priorities not handled consistently


Block direct status update to tombstone in UpdateIssue

Per bd-2m7 design: 'Should we support tombstone as valid input to bd update --status? Recommendation: No, tombstones only created via bd delete'

Currently nothing prevents 'bd update <id> --status=tombstone', which would create an invalid tombstone (missing deleted_at, deleted_by, etc.).

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/queries.go:500-664 UpdateIssue

Add validation to reject status=tombstone in updates.


Add bd alias command for manual alias control

Add command for users to manually view and reassign aliases.

## Command: bd alias

### Subcommands

#### 1. bd alias list
Show all alias mappings:
```bash
$ bd alias list
#1    → bd-af78e9a2  Fix authentication bug
#2    → bd-e5f6a7b8  Add logging to daemon
#42   → bd-1a2b3c4d  Investigate jujutsu integration
#100  → bd-9a8b7c6d  (reassigned after conflict)
```

#### 2. bd alias set <alias> <hash-id>
Manually assign alias to specific issue:
```bash
$ bd alias set 42 bd-1a2b3c4d
✓ Assigned alias #42 to bd-1a2b3c4d

$ bd alias set 1 bd-af78e9a2
✗ Error: Alias #1 already assigned to bd-e5f6a7b8
Use --force to override
```

#### 3. bd alias compact
Renumber all aliases to fill gaps:
```bash
$ bd alias compact [--dry-run]

Current aliases: #1, #2, #5, #7, #100, #101
After compacting: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

Renumbering:
  #5   → #3
  #7   → #4
  #100 → #5
  #101 → #6

Apply changes? [y/N]
```

#### 4. bd alias reset
Regenerate all aliases (sequential from 1):
```bash
$ bd alias reset [--sort-by=priority|created|id]

WARNING: This will reassign ALL aliases. Continue? [y/N]

Reassigning 150 issues by priority:
  bd-a1b2c3d4 → #1   (P0: Critical security bug)
  bd-e5f6a7b8 → #2   (P0: Data loss fix)
  bd-1a2b3c4d → #3   (P1: Jujutsu integration)
  ...
```

#### 5. bd alias find <hash-id>
Look up alias for hash ID:
```bash
$ bd alias find bd-af78e9a2
#1

$ bd alias find bd-nonexistent
✗ Error: Issue not found
```

## Use Cases

### 1. Keep Important Issues Low-Numbered
```bash
# After closing many P0 issues, compact to free low numbers
bd alias compact

# Or manually set
bd alias set 1 bd-<critical-bug-hash>
```

### 2. Consistent Aliases Across Clones
```bash
# After migration, coordinator assigns canonical aliases
bd alias reset --sort-by=id
git add .beads/aliases.jsonl
git commit -m "Canonical alias assignments"
git push

# Other clones pull and adopt
git pull
bd import  # Alias conflicts resolved automatically
```

### 3. Debug Alias Conflicts
```bash
# See which aliases were reassigned
bd alias list | grep "#100"
```

## Flags

### Global
- `--dry-run`: Preview changes without applying
- `--force`: Override existing alias assignments

### bd alias reset
- `--sort-by=priority`: Assign by priority (P0 first)
- `--sort-by=created`: Assign by creation time (oldest first)
- `--sort-by=id`: Assign by hash ID (lexicographic)

## Implementation

File: cmd/bd/alias.go
```go
func aliasListCmd() *cobra.Command {
    return &cobra.Command{
        Use:   "list",
        Short: "List all alias mappings",
        Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
            aliases := storage.GetAllAliases()
            for _, a := range aliases {
                fmt.Printf("#%-4d → %s  %s\n",
                    a.Alias, a.IssueID, a.Title)
            }
        },
    }
}

func aliasSetCmd() *cobra.Command {
    return &cobra.Command{
        Use:   "set <alias> <hash-id>",
        Short: "Manually assign alias to issue",
        Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(2),
        Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
            alias, _ := strconv.Atoi(args[0])
            hashID := args[1]

            force, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("force")
            if err := storage.SetAlias(alias, hashID, force); err != nil {
                fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
                os.Exit(1)
            }
            fmt.Printf("✓ Assigned alias #%d to %s\n", alias, hashID)
        },
    }
}
```

## Files to Create
- cmd/bd/alias.go

## Testing
- Test alias list output
- Test alias set with/without force
- Test alias compact removes gaps
- Test alias reset with different sort orders
- Test alias find lookup


Sync should cleanup snapshot files after completion

## Problem
`bd sync` leaves orphaned merge artifact files (beads.base.jsonl, beads.left.jsonl) after completion, causing:
1. Doctor warnings about 'Multiple JSONL files found'
2. Confusion during debugging
3. Potential stale data issues on next sync

## Root Cause
`SnapshotManager` creates these files for 3-way merge deletion tracking but `Cleanup()` is never called after sync completes (success or failure).

## Fix
Call `SnapshotManager.Cleanup()` at end of successful sync:

```go
// sync.go after successful validation
sm := NewSnapshotManager(jsonlPath)
sm.Cleanup()
```

## Files
- cmd/bd/sync.go (add cleanup call)
- cmd/bd/snapshot_manager.go (Cleanup method exists at line 188)


GH#497: bd onboard copilot-instructions.md is beads-specific, not generic

bd onboard outputs beads repo specific content (Go/SQLite/Cobra) for copilot-instructions.md instead of a generic template. AGENTS.md output is correct. See: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/497


GH#146: No color showing in terminal for some users

User reports color not working in macOS (Taho 26.0.1) with iTerm 3.6.4 and Terminal.app, despite color working elsewhere in terminal. Python rich and printf escape codes work.

Need to investigate:
- Is NO_COLOR env var set?
- Terminal type detection?
- fatih/color library configuration
- Does bd list show colors? bd ready? bd init?
- What's the output of: echo $TERM, echo $NO_COLOR


Fix bd doctor --fix recursive message for deletions manifest

When running bd doctor --fix, if the deletions manifest check fails but there are no deleted issues in git history, the fix succeeds but doesn't create the file. The check then runs again and tells user to run bd doctor --fix - the same command they just ran.

Fix: Create empty deletions.jsonl when hydration finds no deletions, and recognize empty file as valid in the check.

Fixes: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/403


Support P-prefix priority format (P0-P4) in create and update commands


Fix mypy errors in beads-mcp

Running `mypy .` in `integrations/beads-mcp` reports 287 errors. These should be addressed to improve type safety and code quality.


bd-hv01: Three full JSONL reads on every sync (performance)

Problem: computeAcceptedDeletions reads three JSONL files completely into memory (base, left, merged). For 1000 issues at 1KB each, this is 3MB read and 3000 JSON parse operations.

Impact: Acceptable now (~20-35ms overhead) but will be slow for large repos (10k+ issues).

Possible optimizations: single-pass streaming, memory-mapped files, binary format, incremental snapshots.

Files: cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go:101-208


Add tests for performFlush error handling in FlushManager

Test coverage gap identified by automated analysis (vc-217).

**Original Issue:** [deleted:bd-da96-baseline-lint]

In cmd/bd/flush_manager.go:269, the performFlush method is flagged by unparam as always returning nil, indicating the error return value is never used.

Add tests to determine:
- Whether performFlush can actually return errors in failure scenarios
- If error return is needed, add tests for error cases (disk full, permission denied, etc.)
- If error return is not needed, refactor to remove unused return value
- Test full export vs incremental export error handling

This ensures proper error handling in the flush mechanism and removes dead code if the return value is unnecessary.

_This issue was automatically created by AI test coverage analysis._


Replace BEADS_DB with BEADS_DIR environment variable

Implement BEADS_DIR as a replacement for BEADS_DB to point to the .beads directory instead of the database file directly.

Rationale:
- With --no-db mode, there's no .db file to point to
- The .beads directory is the logical unit (contains config.yaml, db files, jsonl files)
- More intuitive: point to the beads directory not the database file

Implementation:
1. Add BEADS_DIR environment variable support
2. Maintain backward compatibility with BEADS_DB
3. Priority order: BEADS_DIR > BEADS_DB > auto-discovery
4. If BEADS_DIR is set, look for config.yaml in that directory to find actual database path
5. Update documentation and migration guide

Files to modify:
- beads.go (FindDatabasePath function)
- cmd/bd/main.go (initialization)
- Documentation (CLI_REFERENCE.md, TROUBLESHOOTING.md, etc.)
- MCP integration (integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/config.py)

Testing:
- Ensure BEADS_DB still works (backward compatibility)
- Test BEADS_DIR with both db and --no-db modes
- Test priority order when both are set
- Update integration tests

Related to GitHub issue #179


Post-merge hook silently fails on JSONL conflicts, poor UX

When git pull results in merge conflicts in .beads/issues.jsonl, the post-merge hook runs 'bd sync --import-only' which fails, but stderr was redirected to /dev/null. User only saw generic warning.

Fixed by capturing and displaying the actual error output, so users see 'Git conflict markers detected' message immediately.


Remove Cache-Related Tests

Delete or update tests that assume multi-repo caching


bd doctor: detect and fix stale beads-sync branch

## Problem

When beads-sync diverges significantly from main (on source code, not just .beads/), it needs to be reset. After a force-push reset, other clones/contributors will have orphaned local beads-sync branches.

## Symptoms
- Local beads-sync is many commits behind main on source files
- Local beads-sync doesn't share recent history with remote beads-sync (after force-push)
- bd sync may behave unexpectedly

## Proposed bd doctor checks

1. **Check beads-sync alignment with main**
   - If beads-sync exists and is >N commits behind main on non-.beads/ files, warn
   - Suggests: reset beads-sync to main

2. **Check beads-sync alignment with remote**
   - If local beads-sync has diverged from origin/beads-sync (no common recent ancestor)
   - This happens after someone force-pushed a reset
   - Suggests: reset local beads-sync to origin/beads-sync

## Proposed fixes (--fix)

- Reset local beads-sync branch to origin/beads-sync or main
- Handle worktree if present (git worktree remove, then recreate on next sync)

## Context
Discovered when beads-sync drifted 126 commits behind main. Required manual reset and force-push. Contributors will need to reset their local branches too.


Implement backup functionality for reset

Add backup capability that can be used by reset command.

## Functionality
- Copy .beads/ to .beads-backup-{timestamp}/
- Timestamp format: YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
- Preserve file permissions
- Return backup path for user feedback

## Location
`internal/reset/backup.go` - keep with reset package for now (YAGNI)

## Interface
```go
func CreateBackup(beadsDir string) (backupPath string, err error)
```

## Notes
- Simple recursive file copy, no compression needed
- Error if backup dir already exists (unlikely with timestamp)
- Backup directories SHOULD be gitignored
- Add `.beads-backup-*/` pattern to .beads/.gitignore template in doctor package
- Consider: ListBackups() for future `bd backup list` command (not for this PR)


Add mutation channel to internal/rpc/server.go

Add mutationChan chan MutationEvent to Server struct. Emit events on CreateIssue, UpdateIssue, DeleteIssue, AddComment. Non-blocking send with default case for full channel.


Add ON DELETE CASCADE to child_counters schema

Update schema.go child_counters table foreign key with ON DELETE CASCADE. When parent deleted, child counter should also be deleted. If parent is resurrected, counter gets recreated from scratch. Add migration for existing databases.


Investigate bd export/import sync issue - database and JSONL out of sync

Observed in VC repo: database has 1137 issues but beads.jsonl only has 309. Running 'bd export -o .beads/issues.jsonl' doesn't update the file. Running 'bd import' hangs indefinitely.

Reproduction context:
- VC repo: 1137 issues in DB, 309 in JSONL
- Created 4 new issues with bd create
- bd export didn't write them to JSONL
- bd import hung (possibly daemon lock conflict?)

Need to investigate:
1. Why export doesn't update JSONL when DB has more issues
2. Why import hangs
3. Daemon lock interaction with export/import
4. File path handling (issues.jsonl vs beads.jsonl)

## Root Cause Analysis

The issue was NOT about file path handling or export failing to update JSONL. The actual problem was:

**Import/Export hanging when daemon is running** due to SQLite lock contention:

1. When daemon is connected, `PersistentPreRun` in main.go returns early without initializing the `store` variable
2. Import/Export commands then tried to open the database directly with `sqlite.New(dbPath)`
3. This blocked waiting for the database lock that the daemon already holds → **HANGS INDEFINITELY**

## Solution Implemented

Modified both import.go and export.go to:
1. Detect when `daemonClient` is connected
2. Explicitly close the daemon connection before opening direct SQLite access
3. Added debug logging to help diagnose similar issues

This ensures import/export commands always run in direct mode, avoiding lock contention.

## File Path Handling

The file path confusion (issues.jsonl vs beads.jsonl) was a red herring. The code uses `filepath.Glob("*.jsonl")` which correctly finds ANY `.jsonl` file in `.beads/` directory, so both filenames work.


Benchmark git traffic reduction

Automated benchmark comparing git operations with/without Agent Mail.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Script that processes 50 issues
- Counts git operations (pull, commit, push)
- Generates comparison report
- Verifies ≥70% reduction
- Fails if regression detected

File: tests/benchmarks/git_traffic.py

Output: Without Agent Mail: 450 git operations, With Agent Mail: 135 git operations, Reduction: 70%

Implemented automated benchmark script with following features:
- Processes configurable number of issues (default 50)
- Compares git operations in two modes: git-only vs Agent Mail
- Generates detailed comparison report with statistics
- Exit code reflects pass/fail based on 70% reduction target
- Results: 98.5% reduction (200 ops → 3 ops) for 50 issues

Files created:
- tests/benchmarks/git_traffic.py (main benchmark script)
- tests/benchmarks/README.md (documentation)
- tests/benchmarks/git_traffic_50_issues.md (sample results)

The benchmark vastly exceeds the 70% target, showing 98.5% reduction.


Delete collision resolution code

Remove ~2,100 LOC of ID collision detection and resolution code (no longer needed with hash IDs).

## Files to Delete Entirely
```
internal/storage/sqlite/collision.go              (~800 LOC)
internal/storage/sqlite/collision_test.go         (~300 LOC)
cmd/bd/autoimport_collision_test.go               (~400 LOC)
```

## Code to Remove from Existing Files

### internal/importer/importer.go
Remove:
- `DetectCollisions()` calls
- `ScoreCollisions()` logic
- `RemapCollisions()` calls
- `handleRename()` function
- All collision-related error handling

Keep:
- Basic import logic
- Exact match detection (idempotent import)

### beads_twoclone_test.go
Remove:
- `TestTwoCloneCollision` (bd-71107098)
- `TestThreeCloneCollision` (bd-cbed9619)
- `TestFiveCloneCollision` (bd-a40f374f)
- All N-way collision tests

### cmd/bd/import.go
Remove:
- `--resolve-collisions` flag
- `--dry-run` collision preview
- Collision reporting

## Issues Closed by This Change
- bd-71107098: Add test for symmetric collision
--89: Content-hash collision resolution
- bd-cbed9619: N-way collision resolution epic
- bd-cbed9619.5: Add ScoreCollisions (already done but now unnecessary)
- bd-cbed9619.4: Make DetectCollisions read-only
- bd-cbed9619.3: ResolveNWayCollisions function
- bd-cbed9619.2: Multi-round import convergence
- bd-cbed9619.1: Multi-round convergence for N-way collisions
- bd-e6d71828: Transaction + retry logic for collisions
- bd-70419816: Test case for symmetric collision

## Verification Steps
1. `grep -r "collision" --include="*.go"` → should only find alias conflicts
2. `go test ./...` → all tests pass
3. `go build ./cmd/bd` → clean build
4. Check LOC reduction: `git diff --stat`

## Expected Metrics
- **Files deleted**: 3
- **LOC removed**: ~2,100
- **Test coverage**: Should increase (less untested code)
- **Binary size**: Slightly smaller

## Caution
Do NOT delete:
- Alias conflict resolution (new code in bd-f8b764c9.6)
- Duplicate detection (bd-581b80b3, bd-149) - different from ID collisions
- Merge conflict resolution (bd-7e7ddffa.1, bd-5f483051) - git conflicts, not ID collisions

## Files to Modify
- internal/importer/importer.go (remove collision handling)
- cmd/bd/import.go (remove --resolve-collisions flag)
- beads_twoclone_test.go (remove collision tests)
- Delete: internal/storage/sqlite/collision.go
- Delete: internal/storage/sqlite/collision_test.go
- Delete: cmd/bd/autoimport_collision_test.go

## Testing
- Ensure all remaining tests pass
- Manual test: create issue on two clones, sync → no collisions
- Verify error if somehow hash collision occurs (extremely unlikely)


Implement hash ID generation in CreateIssue

Replace sequential ID generation with hash-based IDs in CreateIssue function.

## Current Behavior (internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go)
```go
func (s *SQLiteStorage) CreateIssue(ctx context.Context, issue *types.Issue) error {
    // ID comes from auto-increment counter
    // Collisions possible across clones
}
```

## New Behavior
```go
func (s *SQLiteStorage) CreateIssue(ctx context.Context, issue *types.Issue) error {
    // Generate hash ID if not provided
    if issue.ID == "" {
        issue.ID = idgen.GenerateHashID(
            issue.Title,
            issue.Description,
            time.Now(),
            s.workspaceID,
        )
    }

    // Assign next alias
    issue.Alias = s.getNextAlias()

    // Insert with hash ID + alias
    // ...
}
```

## Workspace ID Generation
Add to database initialization:
```go
// Generate stable workspace ID (persisted in .beads/workspace_id)
workspaceID := getOrCreateWorkspaceID()
```

Options for workspace ID:
1. Hostname + random suffix
2. UUID (random)
3. Git remote URL hash (deterministic per repo)

Recommended: Option 3 (git remote hash) for reproducibility

## Hash Collision Detection
```go
// On insert, check for collision (unlikely but possible)
existing, err := s.GetIssue(ctx, issue.ID)
if err == nil {
    // Hash collision! Add random suffix and retry
    issue.ID = issue.ID + "-" + randomSuffix(4)
}
```

## Files to Create/Modify
- internal/types/id_generator.go (new)
- internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go (CreateIssue)
- internal/storage/sqlite/workspace.go (new - workspace ID management)
- .beads/workspace_id (new file, git-ignored)

## Testing
- Test hash ID generation is deterministic
- Test collision detection and retry
- Test workspace ID persistence
- Benchmark: hash generation performance (<1μs)


Exclude tombstones from SearchIssues by default

SearchIssues() returns tombstones if they match search criteria. Per design, users generally shouldn't see deleted issues in search results.

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/queries.go:1155-1311 and transaction.go:887-1044

Options:
1. Add default tombstone exclusion unless explicitly filtering for them
2. Add IncludeTombstones field to IssueFilter

Recommendation: Add 'status != tombstone' to WHERE clause unless filter.Status == StatusTombstone


Improve clean vs cleanup command naming/documentation

Clarify the difference between bd clean and bd cleanup to reduce user confusion.

**Current state:**
- bd clean: Remove temporary artifacts (.beads/bd.sock, logs, etc.)
- bd cleanup: Delete old closed issues from database

**Options:**
1. Rename for clarity:
   - bd clean → bd clean-temp
   - bd cleanup → bd cleanup-issues

2. Keep names but improve help text and documentation

3. Add prominent warnings in help output

**Preferred approach:** Option 2 (improve documentation)
- Update short/long descriptions in commands
- Add examples to help text
- Update README.md
- Add cross-references in help output

**Files to modify:**
- cmd/bd/clean.go
- cmd/bd/cleanup.go
- README.md or ADVANCED.md


Auto-configure git merge driver during `bd init`

Enhance `bd init` to optionally set up beads-merge as git merge driver.

**Tasks**:
- Prompt user to install git merge driver
- Configure `.git/config`: `merge.beads.driver "bd merge %A %O %L %R"`
- Create/update `.gitattributes`: `.beads/beads.jsonl merge=beads`
- Add `--skip-merge-driver` flag for non-interactive use
- Update AGENTS.md onboarding section

**Files**:
- `cmd/bd/init.go`
- `.gitattributes` template


Add merge helper commands (bd sync --merge)

Add commands to merge beads branch back to main.

Tasks:
- Implement bd sync --merge command
- Implement bd sync --status command
- Implement bd sync --auto-merge (optional, for automation)
- Detect merge conflicts and provide guidance
- Show commit diff between branches
- Verify main branch is clean before merge
- Push merged changes to remote

Estimated effort: 2-3 days


Clarify exclusive lock protocol compatibility with multi-repo

The contributor-workflow-analysis.md proposes per-repo file locking (Decision #7) using flock on JSONL files. However, VC (a downstream library consumer) uses an exclusive lock protocol (vc-195, requires Beads v0.17.3+) that allows bd daemon and VC executor to coexist.

Need to clarify:
- Does the proposed per-repo file locking work with VC's existing exclusive lock protocol?
- Do library consumers like VC need to adapt their locking logic?
- Can multiple repos be locked atomically for cross-repo operations?

Context: contributor-workflow-analysis.md lines 662-681


Add schema compatibility probe to prevent silent migration failures

Issue #262 revealed a serious bug: migrations may fail silently, causing UNIQUE constraint errors later.

Root cause:
- sqlite.New() runs migrations once on open
- checkVersionMismatch() prints 'database will be upgraded automatically' but only updates metadata
- If migrations fail or daemon runs older version, queries expecting new columns fail with 'no such column'
- Import logic misinterprets this as 'not found' and tries INSERT on existing ID
- Result: UNIQUE constraint failed: issues.id

Fix strategy (minimal):
1. Add schema probe in sqlite.New() after RunMigrations
   - SELECT all expected columns from all tables with LIMIT 0
   - If fails, retry RunMigrations and probe again
   - If still fails, return fatal error with clear message
2. Fix checkVersionMismatch to not claim 'will upgrade' unless probe passes
3. Only update bd_version after successful migration probe
4. Add schema verification before import operations
5. Map 'no such column' errors to clear actionable message

Related: #262


Fix bd --version and bd completion to work without database


SearchIssues N+1 query causes context timeout with GetLabels

scanIssues() calls GetLabels in a loop for every issue, causing N+1 queries and context deadline exceeded errors when used with short timeouts or in-memory databases. This is especially problematic since SearchIssues already supports label filtering via SQL WHERE clauses.


Batch test 5


Git history fallback missing timeout - could hang on large repos

## Problem

The git commands in `checkGitHistoryForDeletions` have no timeout. On large repos with extensive history, `git log --all -S` or `git log --all -G` can take a very long time (minutes).

## Location
`internal/importer/importer.go:899` and `:930`

## Impact
- Import could hang indefinitely
- User has no feedback that git search is running
- No way to cancel except killing the process

## Fix
Add context with timeout to git commands:

```go
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
defer cancel()
cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "git", ...)
```

Also consider adding a `--since` flag to bound the git history search.


Command Set Standardization & Flag Consistency

Comprehensive improvements to bd command set based on 2025 audit findings.

## Background
See docs/command-audit-2025.md for detailed analysis.

## Goals
1. Standardize flag naming and behavior across all commands
2. Add missing flags for feature parity
3. Fix naming confusion
4. Improve consistency in JSON output

## Success Criteria
- All mutating commands support --dry-run (no --preview variants)
- bd update supports label operations
- bd search has filter parity with bd list
- Priority flags accept both int and P0-P4 format everywhere
- JSON output is consistent across all commands


Invert control for compact: provide tools for agent-driven compaction

Currently compact requires Anthropic API key because bd calls the AI directly. This is backwards - we should provide tools (like all other bd commands) that let an AI agent perform the compaction. The agent decides what to keep/merge, not bd. Related to GH #243 complaint about API key requirement.


bd resolve-conflicts - Git merge conflict resolver

Automatically resolve JSONL merge conflicts.

Modes:
- Mechanical: ID remapping (no AI)
- AI-assisted: Smart merge/keep decisions
- Interactive: Review each conflict

Handles <<<<<<< conflict markers in .beads/beads.jsonl

Files: cmd/bd/resolve_conflicts.go (new)


bd hooks install fails in git worktrees

When bd is used in a git worktree, bd hooks install fails with 'mkdir .git: not a directory' because .git is a file (gitdir pointer) not a directory. Beads should detect and follow the .git gitdir pointer to install hooks in the correct location. This blocks normal worktree workflows.

## Symptoms of this bug:
- Git hooks don't install automatically
- Auto-sync doesn't run (5-second debounce)
- Hash mismatch warnings in bd output
- Daemon fails to start with 'auto_start_failed'

## Workaround:
Use `git rev-parse --git-dir` to find the actual hooks directory and copy hooks manually:
```bash
mkdir -p $(git rev-parse --git-dir)/hooks
cp -r .beads-hooks/* $(git rev-parse --git-dir)/hooks/
```


sync.branch config lost on clone - should be in config.yaml

## Problem

The sync.branch configuration is stored in the SQLite database, which is gitignored. When contributors clone a repo that uses beads:

1. They get .beads/issues.jsonl (tracked)
2. They don't get .beads/beads.db (gitignored)
3. They lose the sync.branch config

When they run 'bd init' or 'bd doctor --fix', sync.branch gets auto-set to the current branch (usually 'main'), but if the project uses a dedicated sync branch like 'beads-sync', they'll be committing to the wrong branch.

## Root Cause

syncbranch.Get() only checks:
1. BEADS_SYNC_BRANCH env var
2. Database config (store.GetConfig)

It never reads from config.yaml, which IS tracked in git and persists across clones.

## Proposed Solution

Add sync-branch support to config.yaml with this precedence:
1. BEADS_SYNC_BRANCH env var (highest)
2. config.yaml sync-branch setting
3. Database config (legacy/local override)
4. Auto-detect from current branch (lowest)

Changes needed:
1. Update syncbranch.Get() to check config.GetString('sync-branch') between env and database
2. Update config.yaml template in init.go to include sync-branch
3. Update docs to recommend setting sync-branch in config.yaml for team projects
4. Consider: bd init --branch should also write to config.yaml, not just database


bd sync: use worktree for sync.branch commits (non-daemon mode)

## Summary

When `sync.branch` is configured (e.g., `beads-sync`), `bd sync` should commit beads changes to that branch via git worktree, even when the user's working directory is on a different branch (e.g., `main`).

Currently:
- `bd sync` always commits to the current branch
- Daemon with `--auto-commit` uses worktrees to commit to sync branch
- Gap: `bd sync` ignores sync.branch config

## Goal

Workers stay on `main` (or feature branches) while beads metadata automatically flows to `beads-sync` branch. No daemon required.

## Design Considerations

1. **Worktree lifecycle**: Create on first use, reuse thereafter
2. **Daemon interaction**: Ensure daemon and bd sync don't conflict
3. **MCP server**: Uses daemon or direct mode - needs same behavior
4. **Pull semantics**: Pull from sync branch, not current branch
5. **Push semantics**: Push to sync branch remote
6. **Error handling**: Worktree corruption, missing branch, etc.

## Affected Components

- `cmd/bd/sync.go` - Main changes
- `cmd/bd/daemon_sync_branch.go` - Reuse existing functions
- `internal/git/worktree.go` - Already implemented
- MCP server (if it bypasses daemon)

## Edge Cases

- Fresh clone (no sync branch exists yet)
- Worktree exists but is corrupted
- Concurrent bd sync from multiple processes
- sync.branch configured but remote doesn't have that branch
- User switches sync.branch config mid-session


npm package for bd with native binaries

Create an npm package that wraps native bd binaries for easy installation in Claude Code for Web and other Node.js environments.

## Problem
Claude Code for Web sandboxes are full Linux VMs with npm support, but cannot easily download binaries from GitHub releases due to network restrictions or tooling limitations.

## Solution
Publish bd as an npm package that:
- Downloads platform-specific native binaries during postinstall
- Provides a CLI wrapper that invokes the native binary
- Works seamlessly in Claude Code for Web SessionStart hooks
- Maintains full feature parity (uses native SQLite)

## Benefits vs WASM
- ✅ Full SQLite support (no custom VFS needed)
- ✅ All features work identically to native bd
- ✅ Better performance (native vs WASM overhead)
- ✅ ~4 hours effort vs ~2 days for WASM
- ✅ Minimal maintenance burden

## Success Criteria
- npm install @beads/bd works in Claude Code for Web
- All bd commands function identically to native binary
- SessionStart hook documented for auto-installation
- Package published to npm registry


Add 'bd comment' as alias for 'bd comments add'

The command 'bd comments add' is verbose and unintuitive. Add 'bd comment' as a shorter alias that works the same way.

## Rationale
- More natural: 'bd comment <issue-id> <text>' reads better than 'bd comments add <issue-id> <text>'
- Matches user expectations: users naturally try 'bd comment' first
- Follows convention: other commands like 'bd create', 'bd show', 'bd close' are verbs

## Implementation
Could be implemented as:
1. A new command that wraps bd comments add
2. An alias registered in cobra
3. Keep 'bd comments add' for backwards compatibility

## Examples
```bash
bd comment bd-1234 'This is a comment'
bd comment bd-1234 'Multi-line comment' --body 'Additional details here'
```


Update daemon commit logic for separate branch

Modify daemon to use worktree for commits when sync.branch configured.

Tasks:
- Update internal/daemon/server_export_import_auto.go
- Detect sync.branch configuration
- Ensure worktree exists before commit
- Sync JSONL to worktree
- Commit in worktree context
- Push to configured branch
- Fallback to current behavior if sync.branch not set
- Handle git errors (network, permissions, conflicts)

Estimated effort: 3-4 days


Add import.orphan_handling config option

Add configuration option to control orphan handling behavior: 'strict' (fail on missing parent, current behavior), 'resurrect' (auto-resurrect from JSONL, recommended default), 'skip' (skip orphaned issues with warning), 'allow' (import orphans without validation). Update CONFIG.md documentation.


Add test coverage for internal/config package


Update bd delete to create tombstones

Modify delete command to create tombstone records instead of (or in addition to) deletions.jsonl entries. Phase 1: dual-write mode. Per design bd-dli.


Create shared insert/event/dirty helpers

Create issues.go (insertIssue/insertIssues), events.go (recordCreatedEvent/recordCreatedEvents), dirty.go (markDirty/markDirtyBatch). Refactor single and bulk create paths to use these.


Auto-detect issue prefix from existing JSONL in 'bd init'

When running `bd init` in a fresh clone with existing JSONL, it should auto-detect the issue prefix from the JSONL file instead of requiring `--prefix`.

Currently you must specify `--prefix ef` manually. But the JSONL file already contains issues like `ef-1it`, `ef-1jp` etc., so the prefix is known.

**Ideal UX**:
```
$ bd init
Detected issue prefix 'ef' from existing JSONL (38 issues).
✓ Database initialized...
```

This would make fresh clone hydration a single command: `bd init` with no flags.


Daemon race condition: stale export overwrites recent DB changes

**Symptom:**
Merged bd-fc2d into bd-fb05 in ~/src/beads (commit ce4d756), pushed to remote. The ~/src/fred/beads daemon then exported its stale DB state and committed (8cc1bb4), reverting bd-fc2d back to "open" status.

**Timeline:**
1. 21:45:12 - Merge committed from ~/src/beads (ce4d756): bd-fc2d closed
2. 21:49:42 - Daemon in ~/src/fred/beads exported stale state (8cc1bb4): bd-fc2d open again

**Root cause:**
The fred/beads daemon had a stale database (bd-fc2d still open) and didn't auto-import the newer JSONL before exporting. When it exported, it overwrote the merge with its stale state.

**Expected behavior:**
Daemon should detect that JSONL is newer than its last export and import before exporting.

**Actual behavior:**
Daemon exported stale DB state, creating a conflicting commit that reverted upstream changes.

**Impact:**
Multi-workspace setups with daemons can silently lose changes if one daemon has stale state and exports.


Switch from deletions manifest to inline tombstones

Replace the current deletions.jsonl manifest with inline tombstone records in issues.jsonl.

## Problem Statement

The current deletions manifest approach has several issues:

1. **Wild poisoning** - A stale clone's deletions manifest can poison fresh databases when synced
2. **Two-level merge inconsistency** - Git content merge and beads snapshot merge use different bases
3. **SyncJSONLToWorktree overwrites** - Blindly copies local JSONL to worktree, losing remote issues
4. **3-day TTL too aggressive** - Deletions expire before dormant branches get merged

## Proposed Solution: Inline Tombstones

Instead of a separate deletions.jsonl file, embed deletion records directly in issues.jsonl:

```json
{"id":"beads-abc","status":"tombstone","title":"Original title","deleted_at":"2025-12-01T...","deleted_by":"user","expires_at":"2025-12-31T..."}
```

### Benefits

1. **Single source of truth** - No separate manifest to sync/merge
2. **Participates in normal 3-way merge** - Deletion conflicts resolved same as other fields
3. **Atomic with issue data** - Can't have orphaned deletions or missing tombstones
4. **Preserves metadata** - Can optionally keep title/type for audit trail

### Design Decisions Needed

1. **TTL duration** - 30 days default? Configurable via config.yaml?
2. **Tombstone content** - Minimal (just ID + timestamps) vs. full issue preservation?
3. **Migration path** - How to handle existing deletions.jsonl files?
4. **Status value** - Use "tombstone" or "deleted"? (tombstone clearer, deleted more intuitive)
5. **Merge semantics** - Does tombstone always win, or use updated_at like other fields?

### Migration Strategy

1. On import, convert deletions.jsonl entries to tombstones in JSONL
2. Deprecate but still read deletions.jsonl for backward compatibility
3. Stop writing to deletions.jsonl after N versions

## Related Issues

- GitHub #464: Beads deletes issues (fresh clone sync problem)
- bd-2e0: Add TTL to deletions manifest entries (current 3-day TTL)
- bd-53c: bd sync corrupts issues.jsonl in multi-clone environments


Event-driven daemon architecture

Replace 5-second polling sync loop with event-driven architecture that reacts instantly to changes. Eliminates stale data issues while reducing CPU ~60%. Key components: FileWatcher (fsnotify), Debouncer (500ms), RPC mutation events, optional git hooks. Target latency: <500ms (vs 5000ms). See event_driven_daemon.md for full design.


Use RAM disk for Windows CI tests

Windows CI tests time out due to slow filesystem I/O. Even with splitting into parallel jobs, each package set takes >30 minutes.

Implement a RAM disk solution using ImDisk or similar on Windows GitHub Actions runners to speed up tests.

References:
- https://github.com/actions/runner-images/issues/intlharry has examples
- ImDisk can create RAM disks on Windows
- Alternative: use D: drive which may be faster on some runners


Test npm package installation locally

Verify npm package works before publishing:

## Local testing
- Run npm pack in npm/ directory
- Install tarball globally: npm install -g beads-bd-0.21.5.tgz
- Test basic commands:
  - bd --version
  - bd init --quiet --prefix test
  - bd create "Test issue" -p 1 --json
  - bd list --json
  - bd sync

## Test environments
- macOS (darwin-arm64 and darwin-amd64)
- Linux (ubuntu docker container for linux-amd64)
- Windows (optional, if available)

## Validation
- Binary downloads during postinstall
- All bd commands work identically to native
- No permission issues
- Proper error messages on failure


Test parent issue


File change test issue


wish: list & ready show issues as hierarchy tree

`bd ready` and `bd list` just show a flat list, and it's up to the reader to parse which ones are dependent or sub-issues of others. It would be much easier to understand if they were shown in a tree format


Support --parent flag in daemon mode

Added support for hierarchical child issue creation using --parent flag in daemon mode. Previously only worked in direct mode.


Fix Windows-specific test failures in CI

Several tests are failing on Windows but passing on Linux:

**Failing tests:**
- TestFindDatabasePathEnvVar
- TestHashIDs_MultiCloneConverge
- TestHashIDs_IdenticalContentDedup
- TestDatabaseReinitialization (all 5 subtests):
  - fresh_clone_auto_import
  - database_removal_scenario
  - legacy_filename_support
  - precedence_test
  - init_safety_check
- TestFindBeadsDir_NotFound
- TestMetricsSnapshot/uptime (in internal/rpc)

**CI Run:** https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/actions/runs/19015638968

These are likely path separator or filesystem behavior differences between Windows and Linux.

Fixed all Windows path issues:
1. TestFindDatabasePathEnvVar - expects canonicalized paths ✅
2. TestHashIDs tests - use platform-specific bd.exe command ✅
3. TestMetricsSnapshot/uptime - enforce minimum 1 second uptime ✅
4. TestFindBeadsDir_NotFound - allow finding .beads in parent dirs ✅
5. TestDatabaseReinitialization - fix git path conversion on Windows (git returns /c/Users/... but filepath needs C:\Users\...) ✅

CI run in progress to verify all fixes.


sync branch not match config

./bd sync
→ Exporting pending changes to JSONL...
→ No changes to commit
→ Pulling from sync branch 'gh-386'...
Error pulling from sync branch: failed to create worktree: failed to create worktree parent directory: mkdir /var/home/matt/dev/beads/worktree-db-fail/.git: not a directory
matt@blufin-framation ~/d/b/worktree-db-fail (worktree-db-fail) [1]> bd config list

Configuration:
  auto_compact_enabled = false
  compact_batch_size = 50
  compact_model = claude-3-5-haiku-20241022
  compact_parallel_workers = 5
  compact_tier1_days = 30
  compact_tier1_dep_levels = 2
  compact_tier2_commits = 100
  compact_tier2_days = 90
  compact_tier2_dep_levels = 5
  compaction_enabled = false
  issue_prefix = worktree-db-fail
  sync.branch = worktree-db-fail


Performance Testing Framework

Add comprehensive performance testing for beads focusing on optimization guidance and validating 10K+ database scale. Uses standard Go tooling, follows existing patterns, minimal complexity.

Components:
- Benchmark suite for critical operations at 10K-20K scale
- Fixture generator for realistic test data (epic hierarchies, cross-links)
- User diagnostics via bd doctor --perf
- Always-on profiling integration

Goals:
- Identify bottlenecks for optimization work
- Validate performance at 10K+ issue scale
- Enable users to collect diagnostics for bug reports
- Support both SQLite and JSONL import paths


Fix MCP tools failing to load in Claude Code (GH#346)

Fix FastMCP schema generation bug by refactoring `Issue` model to avoid recursion.

    - Refactored `Issue` in `models.py` to use `LinkedIssue` for dependencies/dependents.
    - Restored missing `Mail*` models to `models.py`.
    - Fixed `tests/test_mail.py` mock assertion.

    Fixes GH#346.


Test numeric 1


RPC diagnostics: BD_RPC_DEBUG timing logs

Add lightweight diagnostic logging for RPC connection attempts:
- BD_RPC_DEBUG=1 prints to stderr:
  - Socket path being dialed
  - Socket exists check result
  - Dial start/stop time
  - Connection outcome
- Improve bd daemon --status messaging when lock not held

This helps field triage of connection issues without verbose daemon logs.


Update flake.nix vendorHash after dependency bumps

The Nix flake CI is failing due to stale vendorHash.

Error from CI:
```
error: hash mismatch in fixed-output derivation beads-0.24.4-go-modules.drv
```

Root cause: go.mod/go.sum was updated by dependabot (wazero, anthropic-sdk-go, etc.) but flake.nix vendorHash wasn't updated.

## Immediate Fix
Run `nix build` locally, get the correct hash from the error message, update flake.nix.

## Long-term Fix
Add a GitHub Action that auto-updates vendorHash when go.mod/go.sum changes:
1. Trigger on push to main when go.mod/go.sum changes
2. Run `nix build` to get the new hash from the error
3. Update flake.nix with the correct hash
4. Commit and push


Merge PR #300: gitignore upgrade feature

PR #300 is ready to merge but has rebase conflicts with main.

**Context:**
- PR implements 3 mechanisms for .beads/.gitignore upgrade (bd doctor --fix, daemon auto-upgrade, bd init idempotent)
- Conflicts resolved locally but diverged branches make push difficult
- All fixes applied: removed merge artifact, applied new gitignore template
- Clean scope: only 6 files changed (+194/-42)

**Next steps:**
1. Option A: Merge via GitHub UI (resolve conflicts in web interface)
2. Option B: Fresh rebase on main and force push
3. Verify CI passes
4. Squash and merge

PR URL: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/pull/300
Fixes: #274


Auto-routing and maintainer detection

Implement intelligent routing to automatically send new issues to correct repo based on user's maintainer vs contributor status, with discovered issues inheriting parent's source_repo.


Prevent test pollution in production database

The bd-vxdr cleanup revealed test issues were created during manual testing in the production workspace (Nov 2-4, template feature development).

**Root cause:** Manual testing with `./bd create "Test issue"` pollutes the production .beads database.

**Prevention strategies:**
1. Use TEST_DB environment variable for manual testing
2. Add warning when creating issues with "Test" prefix
3. Improve developer docs about testing workflow
4. Consider adding `bd test-mode` command for isolated testing

**Implementation completed:**

1. ✅ Added warning when creating issues with "Test" prefix in production database
   - Shows yellow warning with ⚠ symbol
   - Suggests using BEADS_DB for isolated testing
   - Warning appears in create.go after title validation

2. ✅ Documented BEADS_DB testing workflow in AGENTS.md
   - Added "Testing Workflow" section in Development Guidelines
   - Includes manual testing examples with BEADS_DB
   - Includes automated testing examples with t.TempDir()
   - Clear warning about not polluting production database

3. ⚠ Decided against bd test-mode command
   - BEADS_DB already provides simple, flexible isolation
   - Additional command would add complexity without much benefit
   - Current approach follows Unix philosophy (env vars for config)

**Files modified:**
- cmd/bd/create.go - Added Test prefix warning
- AGENTS.md - Added Testing Workflow section

**Testing:**
- Verified warning appears when creating "Test" prefix issues
- Verified BEADS_DB isolation works correctly
- Built successfully with `go build`


Test Epic

## Overview

[Describe the high-level goal and scope of this epic]

## Success Criteria

- [ ] Criteria 1
- [ ] Criteria 2
- [ ] Criteria 3

## Background

[Provide context and motivation]

## Scope

**In Scope:**
- Item 1
- Item 2

**Out of Scope:**
- Item 1
- Item 2


Add TTL to deletions manifest entries

Deletions manifest entries should have a TTL (time-to-live) to automatically expire after a certain period. Stale deletion entries can poison beads installations when an agent gets out of sync, causing issues to remain deleted even when they shouldn't be. Adding expiration would limit the blast radius of stale deletions.


Replace getStorageForRequest with Direct Access

Replace all getStorageForRequest(req) calls with s.storage


Convert magic numbers to named constants in FlushManager


Wire config to import pipeline

Connect import.orphan_handling config to importer.go and sqlite validation functions. Pass mode flag through call chain. Implement all four modes (strict/resurrect/skip/allow) with proper error messages and logging.


Implicit deletion cases do not check for tombstones in remaining side

In merge3WayWithTTL(), the implicit deletion cases (lines 426-435) handle when an issue exists in base and one side but not the other. The current logic does not check if the remaining side is a tombstone:

Case: inBase && inLeft && !inRight (deleted implicitly in right)
- If leftIssue is a tombstone, we should keep it (tombstone propagation)
- Currently: continue (drops the tombstone)

Case: inBase && !inLeft && inRight (deleted implicitly in left)
- If rightIssue is a tombstone, we should keep it
- Currently: continue (drops the tombstone)

This could cause tombstones to be lost during merge if one side has a tombstone and the other side implicitly deleted. The tombstone should win since its an explicit deletion record.

Files: internal/merge/merge.go:426-435


Add concurrent import race condition tests

Currently no tests verify behavior when multiple clones import simultaneously with external_ref matching.

Scenarios to test:
1. Two clones import same external_ref update at same time
2. Clone A imports while Clone B updates same issue
3. Verify transaction isolation prevents corruption
4. Document expected behavior (last-write-wins vs timestamp-based)

Related: bd-1022
Files: internal/importer/external_ref_test.go


Fix failing integration tests in beads-mcp

The `beads-mcp` test suite has failures in `tests/test_bd_client_integration.py` (assertion error in `test_init_creates_beads_directory`) and errors in `tests/test_worktree_separate_dbs.py` (setup failures finding database). These need to be investigated and fixed to ensure a reliable CI baseline.


Test dependency child


bd jira sync command

Add a built-in bd command for Jira synchronization.

**Requires**: Both import and export scripts working

**Features**:
- `bd jira sync --pull` - Import from Jira to beads
- `bd jira sync --push` - Export from beads to Jira
- `bd jira sync` - Bidirectional (pull then push, with conflict resolution)
- `bd jira status` - Show sync status and last sync time

**Conflict resolution**:
- Timestamp-based: newer update wins
- Option for --prefer-local or --prefer-jira to override
- Interactive mode for manual conflict resolution (optional)

**Integration**:
- Uses jira.* config settings from bd config
- Stores last sync timestamp in config
- Logs sync activity for audit

**Stretch goals**:
- Webhook integration for real-time sync
- Selective sync by JQL filter


Export deduplication breaks when JSONL and export_hashes table diverge

## Problem

The export deduplication feature (timestamp-only skipping) breaks when the JSONL file and export_hashes table get out of sync, causing exports to skip issues that aren't actually in the file.

## Symptoms

- `bd export` reports "Skipped 128 issue(s) with timestamp-only changes"
- JSONL file only has 38 lines but DB has 149 issues
- export_hashes table has 149 entries
- Auto-import doesn't trigger (hash matches despite missing data)
- Two repos on same commit show different issue counts

## Root Cause

shouldSkipExport() in autoflush.go compares current issue hash with stored export_hashes entry. If they match, it skips export assuming the issue is already in the JSONL.

This assumption fails when:
1. Git operations (pull, reset, checkout) change JSONL without clearing export_hashes
2. Manual JSONL edits or corruption
3. Import operations that modify DB but don't update export_hashes
4. Partial exports that update export_hashes but don't complete

## Impact

- **Critical data loss risk**: Issues appear to be tracked but aren't persisted to git
- Breaks multi-repo sync (root cause of today's debugging session)
- Auto-import fails to detect staleness (hash matches despite missing data)
- Silent data corruption (no error messages, just missing issues)

## Reproduction

1. Have DB with 149 issues, all in export_hashes table
2. Truncate JSONL to 38 lines (simulate git reset or corruption)
3. Run `bd export` - it skips 128 issues
4. JSONL still has only 38 lines but export thinks it succeeded

## Current Workaround

```bash
sqlite3 .beads/beads.db "DELETE FROM export_hashes"
bd export -o .beads/beads.jsonl
```

## Proposed Solutions

**Option 1: Verify JSONL integrity before skipping**
- Count lines in JSONL, compare with export_hashes count
- If mismatch, clear export_hashes and force full export
- Safe but adds I/O overhead

**Option 2: Hash-based JSONL validation**
- Store hash of entire JSONL file in metadata
- Before export, check if JSONL hash matches
- If mismatch, clear export_hashes
- More efficient, detects any JSONL corruption

**Option 3: Disable timestamp-only deduplication**
- Remove the feature entirely
- Always export all issues
- Simplest and safest, but creates larger git commits

**Option 4: Clear export_hashes on git operations**
- Add post-merge hook to clear export_hashes
- Clear on any import operation
- Defensive approach but may over-clear

## Recommended Fix

Combination of Options 2 + 4:
1. Store JSONL file hash in metadata after export
2. Check hash before export, clear export_hashes if mismatch
3. Clear export_hashes on import operations
4. Add `bd validate` check for JSONL/export_hashes sync

## Files Involved

- cmd/bd/autoflush.go (shouldSkipExport)
- cmd/bd/export.go (export with deduplication)
- internal/storage/sqlite/metadata.go (export_hashes table)

## Recovery Session (2025-10-29 21:30)

### What Happened
- Created 14 new hash ID issues (bd-f8b764c9 through bd-f8b764c9.1)
- bd sync appeared to succeed
- Canonical repo (~/src/beads): 162 issues in DB + JSONL ✓
- Secondary repo (fred/beads): Only 145 issues vs 162 in canonical ✗
- Both repos on same git commit but different issue counts!

### Bug Manifestation During Recovery

1. **Initial state**: fred/beads had 145 issues, 145 lines in JSONL, 145 export_hashes entries

2. **After git reset --hard origin/main**:
   - JSONL: 162 lines (from git)
   - DB: 150 issues (auto-import partially worked)
   - Auto-import failed with UNIQUE constraint error

3. **After manual import --resolve-collisions**:
   - DB: 160 issues
   - JSONL: Still 162 lines
   - export_hashes: 159 entries

4. **After bd export**:
   - **JSONL reduced to 17 lines!** ← The bug in action
   - export_hashes: 159 entries (skipped exporting 142 issues)
   - Silent data loss - no error message

5. **After clearing export_hashes and re-export**:
   - JSONL: 159 lines (missing 3 issues still)
   - DB: 159 issues
   - Still diverged from canonical

### The Bug Loop
Once export_hashes and JSONL diverge:
- Export skips issues already in export_hashes
- But those issues aren't actually in JSONL
- This creates corrupt JSONL with missing issues
- Auto-import can't detect the problem (file hash matches what was exported)
- Data is lost with no error messages

### Recovery Solution
Couldn't break the loop with export alone. Had to:
1. Copy .beads/beads.db from canonical repo
2. Clear export_hashes
3. Full re-export
4. Finally converged to 162 issues

### Key Learnings

1. **The bug is worse than we thought**: It can create corrupt exports (17 lines instead of 162!)

2. **Auto-import can't save you**: Once export is corrupt, auto-import just imports the corrupt data

3. **Silent failure**: No warnings, no errors, just missing issues

4. **Git operations trigger it**: git reset, git pull, etc. change JSONL without clearing export_hashes

5. **Import operations populate export_hashes**: Even manual imports update export_hashes, setting up future export failures

### Immediate Action Required

**DISABLE EXPORT DEDUPLICATION NOW**

This feature is fundamentally broken and causes data loss. Should be disabled until properly fixed.

Quick fix options:
- Set environment variable to disable feature
- Comment out shouldSkipExport check
- Always clear export_hashes before export
- Add validation that DB count == JSONL line count before allowing export

### Long-term Fix

Need Option 2 + 4 from proposed solutions:
1. Store JSONL file hash after every successful export
2. Before export, verify JSONL hash matches expected
3. If mismatch, log WARNING and clear export_hashes
4. Clear export_hashes on every import operation
5. Add git post-merge hook to clear export_hashes
6. Add `bd validate` command to detect divergence


Create Python adapter library

Create beads_mail_adapter.py library that wraps Agent Mail HTTP calls with health checks and graceful degradation.

Acceptance Criteria:
- AgentMailAdapter class with health check on init
- enabled flag auto-disables if server unreachable
- All methods wrapped in try/catch (non-blocking failures)
- Methods: reserve_issue(), release_issue(), notify(), check_inbox()
- Environment-based configuration (AGENT_MAIL_URL, AGENT_MAIL_TOKEN)
- Unit tests for enabled/disabled modes

File: lib/beads_mail_adapter.py


Test auto-start in fred


Fix: bd migrate-tombstones corrupts deletions manifest

When running 'bd migrate-tombstones' followed by 'bd sync', the operation adds thousands of issues to deletions.jsonl with author 'bd-doctor-hydrate' that should never have been deleted. This causes:
1. Issues are marked as deleted that were never intended for deletion
2. Subsequent 'bd sync' fails with 3-way merge errors
3. The migration operation corrupts database state

## Root Cause
The tombstone migration logic incorrectly identifies issues that should be migrated as 'deleted issues' and adds them to the deletions manifest instead of converting them to inline tombstones.

## Reproduction
1. bd sync --import-only
2. bd migrate-tombstones
3. bd sync
Result: See thousands of 'Skipping bd-xxxx (in deletions manifest: deleted 2025-12-14 by bd-doctor-hydrate)' lines and 3-way merge failures

## Impact
- Database becomes inconsistent
- Issues permanently lost from local database
- Requires full reset to recover

## Files to Investigate
- cmd/bd/migrate_tombstones.go - migration logic
- deletions manifest handling during migration


Add circular dependency detection to bd doctor

Added cycle detection as Check #10 in bd doctor command. Uses same recursive CTE query as DetectCycles() to find circular dependencies. Reports error status with count and fix suggestion if cycles found.


Import validation falsely reports data loss on collision resolution

## Problem

Post-import validation reports 'data loss detected!' when import count reduces due to legitimate collision resolution.

## Example

```
Import complete: 1 created, 8 updated, 142 unchanged, 19 skipped, 1 issues remapped
Post-import validation failed: import reduced issue count: 165 → 164 (data loss detected!)
```

This was actually successful collision resolution (bd-70419816 duplicated → remapped to-70419816), not data loss.

## Impact

- False alarms waste investigation time
- Undermines confidence in import validation
- Confuses users/agents about sync health

## Solution

Improve validation to distinguish:
- Collision-resolution merges (expected count reduction)
- Actual data loss (unexpected disappearance)

Track remapped issue count and adjust expected post-import count accordingly.


Vendor beads-merge Go code into internal/merge/

Copy beads-merge source code from @neongreen's repo into bd codebase.

**Tasks**:
- Create `internal/merge/` package
- Copy merge algorithm code
- Add attribution header to all files
- Update imports to use bd's internal types
- Add LICENSE/ATTRIBUTION file crediting @neongreen
- Keep original algorithm intact

**Source**: https://github.com/neongreen/mono/tree/main/beads-merge


Integration test: mutation to export latency

Measure time from bd create to JSONL update. Verify <500ms latency. Test with multiple rapid mutations to verify batching.

Test added to daemon_test.go as TestMutationToExportLatency().

Currently skipped with note that it should be enabled once bd-146 (event-driven daemon) is fully implemented and enabled by default.

The test structure is complete:
1. Sets up test environment with fast debounce (500ms)
2. SingleMutationLatency: measures latency from mutation to JSONL update
3. RapidMutationBatching: verifies multiple mutations batch into single export

Once event-driven mode is default, remove the t.Skip() line and the test will validate <500ms latency.


Update JSONL format to use hash IDs

Update JSONL import/export to use hash IDs, store aliases separately.

## Current JSONL Format
```jsonl
{"id":"bd-1c63eb84","title":"Fix bug","status":"open",...}
{"id":"bd-9063acda","title":"Add test","status":"open",...}
```

## New JSONL Format (Option A: Include Alias)
```jsonl
{"id":"bd-af78e9a2","alias":1,"title":"Fix bug","status":"open",...}
{"id":"bd-e5f6a7b8","alias":2,"title":"Add test","status":"open",...}
```

## New JSONL Format (Option B: Hash ID Only)
```jsonl
{"id":"bd-af78e9a2","title":"Fix bug","status":"open",...}
{"id":"bd-e5f6a7b8","title":"Add test","status":"open",...}
```

Store aliases in separate .beads/aliases.jsonl (local only, git-ignored):
```jsonl
{"hash":"bd-af78e9a2","alias":1}
{"hash":"bd-e5f6a7b8","alias":2}
```

**Recommendation**: Option B (hash only in main JSONL)
- Cleaner git diffs (no alias conflicts)
- Aliases are workspace-local preference
- Main JSONL is canonical, portable

## Export Changes
File: cmd/bd/export.go
```go
// Export issues with hash IDs
for _, issue := range issues {
    json := marshalIssue(issue)  // Uses issue.ID (hash)
    // Don't include alias in JSONL
}

// Separately export aliases to .beads/aliases.jsonl
exportAliases(issues)
```

## Import Changes
File: cmd/bd/import.go, internal/importer/importer.go
```go
// Import issues by hash ID
issue := unmarshalIssue(line)
// Assign new alias on import (don't use incoming alias)
issue.Alias = getNextAlias()

// No collision detection needed! Hash IDs are globally unique
```

## Dependency Reference Format
No change needed - already uses issue IDs:
```json
{"depends_on_id":"bd-af78e9a2","type":"blocks"}
```

## Files to Modify
- cmd/bd/export.go (use hash IDs)
- cmd/bd/import.go (import hash IDs, assign aliases)
- internal/importer/importer.go (remove collision detection!)
- .gitignore (add .beads/aliases.jsonl)

## Testing
- Test export produces hash IDs
- Test import assigns new aliases
- Test dependencies preserved with hash IDs
- Test no collision detection triggered


Jira export script (jsonl2jira.py)

Create a Python script to push beads issues to Jira.

**Requires**: Jira import script to be complete first (need external_ref matching logic working)

**Features needed**:
- Create new Jira issues from beads issues without external_ref
- Update existing Jira issues matched by external_ref
- Map beads fields back to Jira fields
- Handle Jira workflow transitions (status changes may need transitions)
- Support custom field mapping for design/acceptance_criteria/notes

**Challenges**:
- Jira status changes often require workflow transitions, not direct updates
- Need to discover valid transitions via API
- Custom fields vary by Jira instance

**Usage**:
```bash
bd export | python jsonl2jira.py --create-only  # Only create, don't update
bd export | python jsonl2jira.py                 # Create and update
```

**After creation**: Sets external_ref on beads issue to link back


Batch test 3


Short tests taking 13+ minutes (performance regression)


Audit all cmd/bd tests and group into suites

Analyze all 279 tests in cmd/bd and identify:
1. Which tests can share DB setup (most of them\!)
2. Which tests actually need isolation (export/import, git ops)
3. Optimal grouping into test suites

Create a mapping document showing:
- Current: 279 individual test functions
- Proposed: ~10-15 test suites with subtests
- Expected speedup per suite

Blocks all refactoring work.


Add comprehensive tests for show.go commands (show, update, edit, close)

Need to add tests for cmd/bd/show.go which contains show, update, edit, and close commands.

**Challenge**: The existing test patterns use rootCmd.SetArgs() and rootCmd.Execute(), but the global `store` variable needs to match what the commands use. Initial attempt created tests that failed with "no issue found" because the test's store instance wasn't the same as the command's store.

**Files to test**:
- show.go (contains showCmd, updateCmd, editCmd, closeCmd)

**Coverage needed**:
- show command (single issue, multiple issues, JSON output, with dependencies, with labels, with compaction)
- update command (status, priority, title, assignee, description, multiple fields, multiple issues)
- edit command (requires $EDITOR, may need mocking)
- close command (single issue, multiple issues, with reason, JSON output)

**Test approach**:
1. Study working test patterns in init_test.go, list_test.go, etc.
2. Ensure BEADS_NO_DAEMON=1 is set
3. Properly initialize database with bd init
4. Use the command's global store, not a separate instance
5. May need to reset global state between tests

**Success criteria**:
- All test functions pass
- Coverage for show.go increases significantly
- Tests follow existing patterns in cmd/bd/*_test.go


Auto-import runs during --no-auto-import operations via stats/ready commands

Even when using --no-auto-import flag, certain commands like 'bd stats' and 'bd ready' still trigger auto-import internally, which can cause the git history backfill bug to corrupt data.

Example:
  bd stats --no-auto-import
  # Still prints 'Purged bd-xxx (recovered from git history...)'

The flag should completely disable auto-import for the command, but it appears some code paths still trigger it.

Workaround: Use --allow-stale instead, or --sandbox mode.


Add validation for duplicate external_ref in batch imports

Currently, if a batch import contains multiple issues with the same external_ref, the behavior is undefined. We should detect and handle this case.

Current behavior:
- No validation for duplicate external_ref within a batch
- Last-write-wins or non-deterministic behavior

Proposed solution:
- Detect duplicate external_ref values in incoming batch
- Fail with clear error message OR
- Merge duplicates intelligently (use newest timestamp)
- Add test case for this scenario

Related: bd-1022


Event-driven daemon architecture

Replace 5-second polling sync loop with event-driven architecture that reacts instantly to changes. Eliminates stale data issues while reducing CPU ~60%. Key components: FileWatcher (fsnotify), Debouncer (500ms), RPC mutation events, optional git hooks. Target latency: <500ms (vs 5000ms). See event_driven_daemon.md for full design.

Production-ready after 3 critical fixes (commit 349b892):
- Skip redundant imports (mtime check prevents self-trigger loops)
- Add server.Stop() in serverErrChan case (clean shutdown)
- Fallback ticker (60s) when watcher unavailable (ensures remote sync)

Ready to make default after integration test (bd-1f4086c5.1) passes.


bd doctor: add SQLite integrity check (PRAGMA integrity_check)

Add a database integrity check using SQLite's PRAGMA integrity_check to detect corruption. Currently bd doctor checks schema compatibility but not data integrity. This would help diagnose corrupted databases that pass schema checks but have internal inconsistencies.


Document deletions manifest in AGENTS.md and README

Parent: bd-imj

## Task
Add documentation about the deletions manifest feature.

## Locations to Update

### AGENTS.md
- Explain that deletions.jsonl is tracked in git
- Document that `bd delete` records to the manifest
- Explain cross-clone propagation mechanism

### README.md
- Brief mention in .beads directory structure section
- Link to detailed docs if needed

### docs/deletions.md (new file)
- Full technical documentation
- Format specification
- Pruning policy
- Git history fallback
- Troubleshooting

## Acceptance Criteria
- AGENTS.md updated with deletion workflow
- README.md mentions deletions.jsonl purpose
- New docs/deletions.md with complete reference


Test parent issue


Documentation

Complete documentation for Agent Mail integration to enable adoption.


Fix bd doctor hash ID detection for short all-numeric hashes

bd doctor incorrectly flags hash-based IDs as sequential when they are short (3-4 chars) and all-numeric (e.g., pf-158).

Root cause: isHashID() in cmd/bd/migrate_hash_ids.go:328-358 uses faulty heuristic:
- For IDs < 5 chars, only returns true if contains letters
- But base36 hash IDs can be 3+ chars and all-numeric (MinLength: 3)
- Example: pf-158 is valid hash ID but flagged as sequential

Fix: Check multiple IDs (10-20 samples) instead of single-ID pattern matching:
- Sample IDs across database
- Check majority pattern (sequential vs hash format)
- Sequential: 1-4 digits (bd-1, bd-2...)
- Hash: 3-8 chars base36 (pf-158, pf-3s9...)

Impact: False positive warnings in bd doctor output


Add --json flags to all bd commands for agent-friendly output


Add integration test for cross-clone deletion propagation


Improve test coverage for cmd/bd/doctor/fix (23.9% → 50%)

The doctor/fix package has only 23.9% test coverage. The doctor fix functionality is important for troubleshooting.

Current coverage: 23.9%
Target coverage: 50%


Add external_ref change tracking and auditing

Currently we don't track when external_ref is added, removed, or changed. This would be useful for debugging and auditing.

Proposed features:
- Log event when external_ref changes
- Track in events table with old/new values
- Add query to find issues where external_ref changed
- Add metrics: issues with external_ref vs without

Use cases:
- Debugging import issues
- Understanding which issues are externally managed
- Auditing external system linkage

Related: bd-1022


Add --parent flag to bd onboard output

bd onboard didn't document --parent flag for epic subtasks, causing AI agents to guess wrong syntax. Added --parent example and CLI help section pointing to bd <cmd> --help.

Fixes: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/402


Issue with desc

This is a description


Optimize GetReadyWork performance - 752ms on 10K database (target: <50ms)

# Performance Analysis (10K Issue Database)

Analyzed using CPU profiles from benchmark suite on Apple M2 Pro.

## Operation Performance

| Operation                        | Time    | Allocations | Memory |
|----------------------------------|---------|-------------|--------|
| bd ready (GetReadyWork)          | ~752ms  | 167,466     | 16MB   |
| bd list (SearchIssues no filter) | ~11.6ms | 89,214      | 5.8MB  |
| bd list (SearchIssues filtered)  | ~9.2ms  | 62,365      | 3.5MB  |
| bd create (CreateIssue)          | ~2.6ms  | 146         | 8.6KB  |
| bd update (UpdateIssue)          | ~0.32ms | 364         | 15KB   |
| bd close (UpdateIssue)           | ~0.32ms | 364         | 15KB   |

**Target: <50ms for all operations on 10K database**

**Current issue: GetReadyWork is 15x over target (752ms vs 50ms)**

## Root Cause

GetReadyWork (internal/storage/sqlite/ready.go:90-128) uses recursive CTE to propagate blocking:
- 65x slower than SearchIssues
- Recalculates entire blocked issue tree on every call
- Algorithm:
  1. Find directly blocked issues via 'blocks' dependencies
  2. Recursively propagate blockage to descendants (max depth: 50)
  3. Exclude all blocked issues from results

## CPU Profile Analysis

- Database syscalls (pthread_cond_signal, syscall6): ~75%
- SQLite engine overhead: inherent to recursive CTE
- Application code (query construction): <1%

**Bottleneck is the recursive CTE query execution, not application code.**

## Optimization Recommendations

### High Impact (Likely to achieve <50ms target)

1. **Cache blocked issue calculation**
   - Add `blocked_issues` table updated on dependency changes
   - Trade write complexity for read speed (ready called >> dependency changes)
   - Eliminates recursive CTE on every read

2. **Add/verify database indexes**
   ```sql
   CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_dependencies_blocked
     ON dependencies(issue_id, type, depends_on_id);
   CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_issues_status
     ON issues(status);
   ```

### Medium Impact

3. **Reduce allocations** (167K allocations for GetReadyWork)
   - Profile `scanIssues()` for object pooling opportunities
   - Reuse slice capacity for repeated calls

### Low Impact (Not recommended)
- Query optimization for CRUD operations (already <3ms)
- Connection pooling tuning (not showing in profiles)

## Verification

Run benchmarks to validate optimization:
```bash
make bench-quick
go tool pprof -http=:8080 internal/storage/sqlite/bench-cpu-*.prof
```

Profile files automatically generated in `internal/storage/sqlite/`.


Test reservation expiration and renewal

Verify TTL-based reservation expiration works correctly.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Reserve with short TTL (30s)
- Verify other agents can't claim
- Wait for expiration
- Verify reservation auto-released
- Other agent can now claim
- Test renewal/heartbeat mechanism

File: tests/integration/test_reservation_ttl.py

Implemented comprehensive TTL/expiration test suite in tests/integration/test_reservation_ttl.py

Test Coverage:
✅ Short TTL reservations (30s) - verifies TTL is properly set
✅ Reservation blocking - confirms agent2 cannot claim while agent1 holds reservation
✅ Auto-release after expiration - validates expired reservations are auto-cleaned and become available
✅ Renewal/heartbeat - tests that re-reserving extends expiration time

All 4 tests passing in 56.9s total (including 30s+ wait time for expiration tests).

Mock server implements full TTL management:
- Reservation class with expiration tracking
- Auto-cleanup of expired reservations on each request
- Renewal support (same agent re-reserving)
- 409 conflict for cross-agent reservation attempts


Publish @beads/bd package to npm registry

Publish the npm package to the public npm registry:

## Prerequisites
- npm account created
- Organization @beads created (or use different namespace)
- npm login completed locally
- Package tested locally (bd-f282 completed)

## Publishing steps
1. Verify package.json version matches current bd version
2. Run npm pack and inspect tarball contents
3. Test installation from tarball one more time
4. Run npm publish --access public
5. Verify package appears on https://www.npmjs.com/package/@beads/bd
6. Test installation from registry: npm install -g @beads/bd

## Post-publish
- Add npm badge to README.md
- Update CHANGELOG.md with npm package release
- Announce in release notes

## Note
- May need to choose different name if @beads namespace unavailable
- Alternative: beads-cli, bd-cli, or unscoped beads-issue-tracker


GH#524: Package for Windows (winget)

Request to publish beads on winget for easy Windows installation. See: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/524


Improve internal/daemon test coverage (currently 22.5%)

Daemon functionality needs better coverage:
- Auto-start behavior
- Lock file management
- Discovery mechanisms
- Connection handling
- Error recovery

Current coverage: 58.3% (improved from 22.5% as of Nov 2025)


Fix bd sync race condition with daemon causing dirty working directory

After bd sync completes with sync.branch mode, subsequent bd commands or daemon file watcher would see a hash mismatch and trigger auto-import, which then schedules re-export, dirtying the working directory.

**Root cause:**
1. bd sync exports JSONL with NEW content (hash H1)
2. bd sync updates jsonl_content_hash = H1 in DB
3. bd sync restores JSONL from HEAD (OLD content, hash H0)
4. Now: file hash = H0, DB hash = H1 (MISMATCH)
5. Daemon or next CLI command sees mismatch, imports from OLD JSONL
6. Import triggers re-export → file is dirty

**Fix:**
After restoreBeadsDirFromBranch(), update jsonl_content_hash to match the restored file's hash. This ensures daemon and CLI see file hash = DB hash → no spurious import/export cycle.

Related: bd-c83r (multiple daemon prevention)


Import reports misleading '0 created, 0 updated' when actually importing all issues

When running 'bd import' on a fresh database (no existing issues), the command reports 'Import complete: 0 created, 0 updated' even though it successfully imported all issues from the JSONL file.

**Steps to reproduce:**
1. Delete .beads/beads.db
2. Run: bd import .beads/issues.jsonl
3. Observe output: 'Import complete: 0 created, 0 updated'
4. Run: bd list
5. Confirm: All issues are actually present in the database

**Expected behavior:**
Report the actual number of issues imported, e.g., 'Import complete: 523 created, 0 updated'

**Actual behavior:**
'Import complete: 0 created, 0 updated' (misleading - makes user think import failed)

**Impact:**
- Users think import failed when it succeeded
- Confusing during database sync operations (e.g., after git pull)
- Makes debugging harder (can't tell if import actually worked)

**Context:**
Discovered during VC session when syncing database after git pull. The misleading message caused confusion about whether the database was properly synced with the canonical JSONL file.


Merge timestamp tie-breaker should prefer local (left)

In mergeFieldByUpdatedAt, when timestamps are exactly equal, right wins. For consistency with IssueType (where local/left wins), equal timestamps should prefer left. Minor inconsistency.


Use -short flag in CI for PR checks

Update CI configuration to use -short flag for PR checks, run full tests nightly.

The slow tests already support testing.Short() and will be skipped.

Expected savings: ~20 seconds for PR checks (fast tests only)

Implementation:
- Update .github/workflows/ci.yml to add -short flag for PR tests
- Create/update nightly workflow for full test runs
- Update README/docs about test strategy

File: .github/workflows/ci.yml:30


Channel isolation test - beads

Resetting stale in_progress status from old executor run (13 days old)


Vendor and integrate beads-merge tool

Incorporate @neongreen's beads-merge 3-way merge tool into bd to solve:
- Multi-workspace deletion sync (bd-hv01)
- Git merge conflicts in JSONL
- Field-level intelligent merging

**Repository**: https://github.com/neongreen/mono/tree/main/beads-merge

**Integration approach**: Vendor the Go code with attribution, pending @neongreen's approval (GitHub issue #240)

**Benefits**:
- Prevents deletion resurrection bug
- Smart dependency merging (union + dedup)
- Timestamp handling (max wins)
- Detects deleted-vs-modified conflicts
- Works as git merge driver

**Acceptance criteria**:
- beads-merge code vendored into bd codebase
- Available as `bd merge` command
- Git merge driver setup during `bd init`
- Tests verify 3-way merge logic
- Documentation updated
- @neongreen credited


Test worktree sync branch commit


Add simple cleanup command to delete closed issues

Users want a simple command to delete all closed issues without requiring Anthropic API key (unlike compact). Requested in GH #243.


GH#510: Document sync-branch worktree behavior

User confused about beads creating worktree on main branch. Need docs explaining sync-branch worktree mechanism. See: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/510


Issue to reopen with reason


Add integration tests for multi-repo sync

Test: Clone A deletes issue, Clone B imports Clone A's JSONL. Verify Clone B handles deletion gracefully with resurrection. Test concurrent imports with same orphans (should be idempotent). Test round-trip fidelity (export→delete parent→import→verify structure).


bd-hv01: Multi-repo mode not tested with deletion tracking

Problem: Test suite has no coverage for multi-repo mode. ExportToMultiRepo creates multiple JSONL files but snapshot files are hardcoded to single JSONL location.

Impact: Deletion tracking likely silently broken for multi-repo users, could cause data loss.

Fix: Add test and update snapshot logic to handle multiple JSONL files.

Files: cmd/bd/deletion_tracking_test.go, cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go, cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go:24-34


Add "bd daemons" command for multi-daemon management

Add a new "bd daemons" command with subcommands to manage daemon processes across all beads repositories/worktrees. Should show all running daemons with metadata (version, workspace, uptime, last sync), allow stopping/restarting individual daemons, auto-clean stale processes, view logs, and show exclusive lock status.


Test update


Add close_reason field to CLI schema and documentation

PR #551 persists close_reason, but the CLI documentation may not mention this field as part of the issue schema.

## Current State
- close_reason is now persisted in database
- `bd show --json` will return close_reason in JSON output
- Documentation may not reflect this new field

## What's Missing
- CLI reference documentation for close_reason field
- Schema documentation showing close_reason is a top-level issue field
- Example output showing close_reason in bd show --json
- bd close command documentation should mention close_reason parameter is optional

## Suggested Action
1. Update README.md or CLI reference docs to list close_reason as an issue field
2. Add example to bd close documentation
3. Update any type definitions or schema specs
4. Consider adding close_reason to verbose list output (bd list --verbose)


bd validate - Comprehensive health check

Run all validation checks in one command.

Checks:
- Duplicates
- Orphaned dependencies
- Test pollution
- Git conflicts

Supports --fix-all for auto-repair.

Depends on bd-cbed9619.1, bd-0dcea000, bd-31aab707, bd-9826b69a.

Files: cmd/bd/validate.go (new)


Use in-memory filesystem for test git operations

Use tmpfs/ramdisk for git operations in tests to reduce I/O overhead.

Options:
1. Mount /tmp as tmpfs in CI (GitHub Actions supports this)
2. Use Go's testing.TB.TempDir() which may already use tmpfs on some systems
3. Explicitly create ramdisk for tests on macOS

Expected savings: 20-30% reduction in git operation time


Add is_tombstone flag to schema

Optionally add is_tombstone boolean field to issues table. Marks resurrected parents that were deleted. Allows distinguishing tombstones from normal deleted issues. Update schema.go and create migration.


Consider backwards compatibility for ready() and list() return type change

PR #481 changed the return types of `ready()` and `list()` from `list[Issue]` to `list[IssueMinimal] | CompactedResult`. This is a breaking change for MCP clients.

## Impact Assessment
Breaking change affects:
- Any MCP client expecting `list[Issue]` from ready()
- Any MCP client expecting `list[Issue]` from list()
- Client code that accesses full Issue fields (description, design, acceptance_criteria, timestamps, dependencies, dependents)

## Current Behavior
- ready() returns `list[IssueMinimal] | CompactedResult`
- list() returns `list[IssueMinimal] | CompactedResult`
- show() still returns full `Issue` (good)

## Considerations
**Pros of current approach:**
- Forces clients to use show() for full details (good for context efficiency)
- Simple mental model (always use show for full data)
- Documentation warns about this

**Cons:**
- Clients expecting list[Issue] will break
- No graceful degradation option
- No migration period

## Potential Solutions
1. Add optional parameter `full_details=false` to ready/list (would increase payload)
2. Create separate tools: ready_minimal/list_minimal + ready_full/list_full
3. Accept breaking change and document upgrade path (current approach)
4. Version the MCP server and document migration guide

## Recommendation
Current approach (solution 3) is reasonable if:
- Changelog clearly documents the breaking change
- Migration guide provided to clients
- Error handling is graceful for clients expecting specific fields


bd init UX Improvements

bd init leaves users with incomplete setup, requiring manual bd doctor --fix. Issues found: (1) git hooks not installed if user declines prompt, (2) no auto-migration when CLI is upgraded, (3) stale merge driver configs from old versions. Fix by making bd init more robust with better defaults and auto-migration.


Duplicate safety check message when confirmation required


Plugin should provide hooks instead of requiring global install


Investigate and upgrade to modernc.org/sqlite 1.39.1+

We had to pin modernc.org/sqlite to v1.38.2 due to a FOREIGN KEY constraint regression in v1.39.1 (SQLite 3.50.4).

**Issue:** [deleted:bd-47], GH #144

**Symptom:** CloseIssue fails with "FOREIGN KEY constraint failed (787)" when called via MCP/daemon, but works fine via CLI.

**Root Cause:** Unknown - likely stricter FK enforcement in SQLite 3.50.4 or modernc.org wrapper changes.

**Workaround:** Pinned to v1.38.2 (SQLite 3.49.x)

**TODO:**
1. Monitor modernc.org/sqlite releases for fixes
2. Check SQLite 3.50.5+ changelogs for FK-related fixes
3. Investigate why daemon mode fails but CLI succeeds (connection reuse? transaction isolation?)
4. Consider filing upstream issue with reproducible test case
5. Upgrade when safe


bd sync corrupts issues.jsonl in multi-clone environments

During parallel swarm operations on 2025-11-29, bd sync corrupted the issues database. Commit 93718056 purged all 80 issues from issues.jsonl.

Reproduction:
1. Multiple clones of same repo (polecat swarm)
2. Each clone runs bd sync in parallel
3. One sync overwrites others, resulting in data loss

Even in single-clone scenarios (~/src/beads), running bd sync after git pull seems to nuke the JSONL.

Workaround: Use bd import -i .beads/issues.jsonl --no-git-history instead of bd sync.

Root cause investigation needed. Options:
1. Pessimistic locking (flock)
2. Single point of merge (polecats on ephemeral branches)
3. Beads-level locking (bd sync --lock)


Add error handling guidance for export metadata update failures

## Problem
The bd-ymj fix treats all metadata update failures as warnings:

```go
if err := store.SetMetadata(ctx, "last_import_hash", currentHash); err != nil {
    log.log("Warning: failed to update last_import_hash: %v", err)
}
```

But if metadata updates fail, the NEXT export will fail with "JSONL content has changed since last import".

## Questions
1. Should metadata failures be critical (return error)?
2. Should we implement retry logic?
3. Is warning acceptable (safe, just requires import before next export)?

## Current Behavior
- Metadata failure is silent (only logged)
- User won't know until next export fails
- Next export requires import first (safe but annoying)

## Recommendation
Add clear comment explaining the trade-off:

```go
// Note: Metadata update failures are treated as warnings, not errors.
// This is acceptable because the worst case is the next export will
// require an import first, which is safe and prevents data loss.
// Alternative: Make this critical and fail the export if metadata
// updates fail (but this makes exports more fragile).
if err := store.SetMetadata(ctx, "last_import_hash", currentHash); err != nil {
    log.log("Warning: failed to update last_import_hash: %v", err)
    log.log("Next export may require running 'bd import' first")
}
```

## Files
- cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go

## Decision Needed
Choose approach based on failure mode preferences


bd sync should not stage gitignored snapshot files

## Problem

`gitCommitBeadsDir` in `cmd/bd/sync.go` runs `git add .beads/` which stages all files in the directory, including snapshot files that are listed in `.beads/.gitignore`.

If a snapshot file (e.g., `beads.left.meta.json`) was ever committed before being added to `.gitignore`, git continues to track it. This causes merge conflicts when multiple polecats run `bd sync` concurrently, since each one modifies and commits these temporary files.

## Root Cause

Line ~568 in sync.go:
```go
addCmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "git", "add", beadsDir)
```

This stages everything in `.beads/`, but `.gitignore` only prevents *untracked* files from being added - it doesn't affect already-tracked files.

## Suggested Fix

Option A: After `git add .beads/`, run `git reset` on snapshot files:
```go
exec.Command("git", "reset", "HEAD", ".beads/beads.*.jsonl", ".beads/*.meta.json")
```

Option B: Stage only specific files instead of the whole directory:
```go
exec.Command("git", "add", ".beads/issues.jsonl", ".beads/deletions.jsonl", ".beads/metadata.json")
```

Option C: Detect and untrack snapshot files if they're tracked:
```go
// Check if file is tracked: git ls-files --error-unmatch <file>
// If tracked, run: git rm --cached <file>
```

Option B is probably cleanest - explicitly add only the files that should be committed.


Prefix detection treats embedded hyphens as prefix delimiters

The prefix detection logic in bd import incorrectly identifies issues like 'vc-baseline-test' and 'vc-92cl-gate-test' as having different prefixes ('vc-baseline-' and 'vc-92cl-gate-') instead of recognizing them as having the standard 'vc-' prefix with hyphenated suffixes.

This breaks import with error: 'prefix mismatch detected: database uses vc- but found issues with prefixes: [vc-92cl-gate- (1 issues) vc-baseline- (1 issues)]'

The prefix should be determined by the pattern: prefix is everything up to and including the first hyphen. The suffix can contain hyphens without being treated as part of the prefix.

Example problematic IDs:
- vc-baseline-test (detected as prefix: vc-baseline-)
- vc-92cl-gate-test (detected as prefix: vc-92cl-gate-)
- vc-test (correctly detected as prefix: vc-)

Impact: Users cannot use descriptive multi-part IDs without triggering false prefix mismatch errors.