Add mutex protection for dirtyIssues map in autoflush.go

**Location:** cmd/bd/autoflush.go (global state)

**Issue:** Global dirtyIssues map is modified without synchronization across goroutines. Daemon event loop and flush manager both access this shared state with no documented mutex protection.

**Impact:** Potential race conditions leading to:
- Lost dirty tracking
- Concurrent map access panics
- Data corruption on flush

**Evidence:** 277 occurrences of Lock/Unlock patterns found in cmd/bd but no evidence of protection for dirty tracking.

**Fix:** Implement mutex-protected map or use sync.Map for concurrent access to dirtyIssues.


Update documentation for beads-merge integration

Document the integrated merge functionality.

**Updates needed**:
- AGENTS.md: Replace "use external beads-merge" with "bd merge"
- README.md: Add git merge driver section
- TROUBLESHOOTING.md: Update merge conflict resolution
- ADVANCED.md: Document 3-way merge algorithm
- Create CREDITS.md or ATTRIBUTION.md for @neongreen

**Highlight**: Deletion sync fix (bd-hv01)


bd-hv01: Refactor snapshot management into dedicated module

Problem: Snapshot logic is scattered across deletion_tracking.go. Would benefit from abstraction with SnapshotManager type.

Benefits: cleaner separation of concerns, easier to test in isolation, better encapsulation, could add observability/metrics.

Suggested improvements: add magic constants, track merge statistics, better error messages.

Files: cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go (refactor into new snapshot_manager.go)


Test label update feature


Fix row iterator resource leak in recursive dependency queries

Critical resource leak in findAllDependentsRecursive() where rows.Close() is called AFTER early return on error, never executing.

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go:1131-1136

Problem:
- rows.Close() placed after return statement
- On scan error, iterator never closed
- Can exhaust SQLite connections under moderate load

Fix: Move defer rows.Close() to execute on all code paths

Impact: Connection exhaustion during dependency traversal


Daemon crash recovery: panic handler + socket cleanup

Improve daemon cleanup on unexpected exit:
1. Add top-level recover() in runDaemonLoop to capture panics
2. Write daemon-error file with stack trace on panic
3. Prefer return over os.Exit where possible (so defers run)
4. In stopDaemon forced-kill path, also remove stale socket if present

This ensures better diagnostics and cleaner state after crashes.


Investigate database pollution - issue count anomalies

Multiple repos showing inflated issue counts suggesting cross-repo pollution:
- ~/src/dave/beads: 895 issues (675 open) - clearly polluted
- ~/src/stevey/src/beads: 280 issues (expected ~209-220) - possibly polluted

Need to investigate:
1. Source of pollution (multi-repo sync issues?)
2. How many duplicate/foreign issues exist
3. Whether recent sync operations caused cross-contamination
4. How to clean up and prevent future pollution

Investigation findings:

**Root cause identified:**
- NOT cross-repo contamination
- NOT automated test leakage (tests properly use t.TempDir())
- Manual testing during template feature development (Nov 2-4)
- Commit ba325a2: "test issues were accidentally committed during template feature development"

**Database growth timeline:**
- Nov 3: 19 issues (baseline)
- Nov 2-5: +244 issues (massive development spike)
- Nov 6-7: +40 issues (continued growth)
- Current: 291 issues → 270 after cleanup

**Test pollution breakdown:**
- 21 issues matching "Test " prefix pattern
- Most created Nov 2-5 during feature development
- Pollution from manual `./bd create "Test issue"` commands in production workspace
- All automated tests properly isolated with t.TempDir()

**Cleanup completed:**
- Ran scripts/cleanup-test-pollution.sh successfully
- Removed 21 test issues
- Database reduced from 291 → 270 issues (7.2% cleanup)
- JSONL synced to git

**Prevention strategy:**
- Filed follow-up issue for prevention mechanisms
- Script can be deleted once prevention is in place
- Tests are already properly isolated - no code changes needed there


Document CLI + hooks as recommended approach over MCP

Update documentation to position CLI + bd prime hooks as the primary recommended approach over MCP server, explaining why minimizing context matters even with large context windows (compute cost, energy, environment, latency).

## Goals

Position CLI + `bd prime` hooks as the **primary recommended approach** for AI agent integration, with MCP server as a legacy/fallback option.

Explore **hybrid mode** - if certain commands benefit from MCP (UX/DX advantages like no approval prompts), minimize MCP surface area to only those commands.

This requires production validation first - only update docs after CLI mode is proven reliable.

## Why Minimize Context (Even With Large Windows)

**Context window size ≠ free resource**

Large context windows (100k+, 200k+) don't mean we should fill them wastefully. Every token in context has real costs:

### Compute Cost
- **Processing overhead**: Larger context = more GPU/CPU cycles per request
- **Memory usage**: 10.5k tokens consume significant RAM/VRAM
- **Scaling impact**: Multiplied across all users, all sessions, all requests

### Energy & Environment
- **Electricity**: More compute = more power consumption
- **Carbon footprint**: Data centers running on grid power (not all renewable)
- **Sustainability**: Unnecessary token usage contributes to AI's environmental impact
- **Responsibility**: Efficient tools are better for the planet

### User Experience
- **Latency**: Larger context = slower processing (noticeable at 10k+ tokens)
- **Cost**: Many AI services charge per token (input + output)
- **Rate limits**: Context counts against API quotas

### Engineering Excellence
- **Efficiency**: Good engineering minimizes resource usage
- **Scalability**: Efficient tools scale better
- **Best practices**: Optimize for the common case

**The comparison:**

| Approach | Standing Context | Efficiency | User Cost | Environmental Impact |
|----------|-----------------|------------|-----------|---------------------|
| **CLI + hooks** | ~1-2k tokens | 80-90% reduction | Lower | Sustainable ✓ |
| **MCP minimal** | ~2-4k tokens | 60-80% reduction | Medium | Better ✓ |
| **MCP full** | ~10.5k tokens | Baseline | Higher | Wasteful ✗ |

**Functional equivalence:**
- CLI via Bash tool works just as well as MCP native calls
- Same features, same reliability
- No downside except initial learning curve

## Hybrid Mode: Minimal MCP Surface Area

**Philosophy:** MCP server doesn't have to expose everything.

If certain commands have legitimate UX/DX benefits from MCP (e.g., no approval prompts, cleaner syntax), we can expose ONLY those commands via MCP while using CLI for everything else.

### Potential MCP-Only Candidates (TBD)

Commands that might benefit from MCP native calls:
- `ready` - frequently checked, no side effects, approval prompt annoying
- `show` - read-only, frequently used, approval slows workflow
- `list` - read-only, no risk, approval adds friction

Commands that work fine via CLI:
- `create` - complex parameters, benefits from explicit confirmation
- `update` - state changes, good to see command explicitly
- `close` - state changes, explicit is better
- `dep` - relationships, good to see what's being linked
- `sync` - git operations, definitely want visibility

### Token Budget

**Full MCP** (current): ~10.5k tokens
- All ~20+ bd commands exposed
- All parameter schemas
- All descriptions and examples

**Minimal MCP** (proposed): ~2-4k tokens
- 3-5 high-frequency read commands only
- Simplified schemas
- Minimal descriptions
- Everything else via CLI

**Pure CLI**: ~1-2k tokens (only on SessionStart/PreCompact)
- No MCP tools loaded
- All commands via Bash

### Investigation Required

Before implementing hybrid mode, validate:

1. **Do MCP calls actually skip approval prompts?**
   - Test with Claude Code approval settings
   - Compare MCP tool calls vs Bash tool calls
   - Measure UX difference in real usage

2. **What's the actual token breakdown per command?**
   - Measure individual command schemas
   - Calculate token savings for minimal vs full

3. **Is approval prompt the only benefit?**
   - Are there other UX advantages to MCP?
   - Does native syntax actually improve experience?
   - User testing with both approaches

4. **Can we dynamically load MCP tools?**
   - Only load MCP when certain commands needed?
   - Hot-swap between CLI and MCP?
   - Probably not - MCP loads at startup

### Hybrid Mode Documentation (If Validated)

```markdown
## Choosing Your Integration Approach

Beads supports three AI agent integration approaches:

### CLI + Hooks (Recommended - Most Efficient)

**Setup:** `bd setup claude`

Uses Claude Code hooks to inject workflow context via `bd prime` command. Agent uses bd via Bash tool.

**Tokens:** ~1-2k (on SessionStart/PreCompact only)

**Pros:**
- Maximum efficiency (80-90% reduction vs full MCP)
- Lowest compute/energy usage
- Same functionality as MCP

**Cons:**
- Bash tool calls may require approval prompts
- Slightly more verbose in conversation

### Minimal MCP + Hooks (Balanced)

**Setup:** Install minimal MCP server (read-only commands) + `bd setup claude`

Exposes only high-frequency read commands via MCP (ready, show, list). Everything else via CLI.

**Tokens:** ~2-4k MCP + ~1-2k hooks

**Pros:**
- 60-80% reduction vs full MCP
- No approval prompts for common queries
- Cleaner syntax for frequent operations
- Still efficient

**Cons:**
- Requires MCP server (additional setup)
- Mixed interface (some MCP, some CLI)

### Full MCP + Hooks (Legacy)

**Setup:** Install full MCP server + `bd setup claude`

**Tokens:** ~10.5k MCP + hooks

**Pros:**
- All commands as native function calls
- Consistent interface

**Cons:**
- Highest token usage (worst for compute/energy/cost)
- Slowest processing
- Less sustainable

### Recommendation

1. **Start with CLI + hooks** - most efficient, works great
2. **Try minimal MCP** if approval prompts become annoying
3. **Avoid full MCP** - wasteful with no significant benefit
```

## Production Validation Checklist

Before making these documentation changes, validate CLI approach works reliably:

### Phase 1: Pure CLI Validation
- [ ] `bd prime` implemented and tested
- [ ] Hooks installed and working in Claude Code
- [ ] Real-world usage by at least 2-3 developers for 1+ weeks
- [ ] No significant usability issues reported
- [ ] Agent successfully uses bd via Bash tool
- [ ] Document which commands (if any) have approval prompt issues

### Phase 2: Hybrid Mode Investigation (Optional)
- [ ] Test if MCP calls skip approval prompts vs Bash calls
- [ ] Measure token cost per MCP command
- [ ] Identify minimal set of commands worth exposing via MCP
- [ ] Build minimal MCP server variant
- [ ] Validate token savings (should be 60-80% vs full MCP)
- [ ] User testing shows actual UX improvement

### Phase 3: Documentation Update
- [ ] Update based on validation results
- [ ] Include measured token counts (not estimates)
- [ ] Provide clear migration paths
- [ ] Update `bd doctor` recommendations

## Migration Guide (Optional)

For users currently using MCP:

```markdown
### Migrating from Full MCP to CLI + Hooks

Already using full MCP server? You can switch to the more efficient CLI approach:

1. Install hooks: `bd setup claude`
2. Test it works (hooks inject context, agent uses Bash tool)
3. Remove MCP server from `~/.claude/settings.json`
4. Restart Claude Code

You'll get the same functionality with 80-90% less token usage.

### Migrating to Minimal MCP (If Available)

If you find approval prompts annoying for certain commands:

1. Replace full MCP with minimal MCP in `~/.claude/settings.json`
2. Restart Claude Code
3. Verify high-frequency commands (ready, show, list) work via MCP
4. Everything else automatically uses CLI

You'll get 60-80% token reduction vs full MCP while keeping the UX benefits.
```

## Files to Update

- `README.md` - Add recommendation in AI Integration section
- `AGENTS.md` - Add "Choosing Your Integration Approach" section early
- `QUICKSTART.md` - Update AI integration section
- `docs/` - Any other AI integration docs if they exist
- `mcp-server/` - Create minimal variant if hybrid validated

## Future: Update `bd init`

Once validated, update `bd init` to:
- Default to recommending `bd setup claude` (hooks only)
- Mention minimal MCP as option for UX improvement
- Detect existing full MCP and suggest migration
- Provide token usage estimates for each approach

## MCP Server Architecture Note

**Key insight:** MCP server doesn't have to expose all bd functionality.

Current design exposes ~20+ commands (all bd subcommands). This is over-engineered.

**Better design:**
- **Minimal MCP**: 3-5 read-only commands (~2-4k tokens)
- **CLI**: Everything else via Bash tool
- **Hooks**: Context injection via `bd prime`

This achieves best of both worlds:
- Low token usage (efficient)
- No approval prompts for common queries (UX)
- Explicit visibility for state changes (safety)

If validation shows NO meaningful benefit to MCP (even minimal), skip hybrid mode entirely and recommend pure CLI.

- Documentation explains CLI + hooks as recommended approach
- Explains why context size matters (compute/energy/cost/latency)
- Token comparison table shows 80-90% reduction
- Migration guide for existing MCP users
- Only deployed AFTER production validation
- Clear that both approaches are supported


Cache getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() result during sync to avoid redundant calls

From bd-xo6b code review: getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() is called 3x per sync cycle.

**Current behavior:**
daemon_sync.go calls getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() three times per sync:
- Line 505: Snapshot capture before pull
- Line 575: Merge/prune after pull
- Line 613: Base snapshot update after import

**Cost per call:**
- Config lookup (likely cached, but still overhead)
- Path construction: O(N) where N = number of repos
- String allocations: (N + 1) × filepath.Join() calls

**Total per sync:** 3N path constructions + 3 config lookups + 3 slice allocations

**Impact:**
- For N=3 repos: Negligible (< 1ms)
- For N=10 repos: Still minimal
- For N=100+ repos: Wasteful

**Solution:**
Call once at sync start, reuse result:

```go
func createSyncFunc(...) func() {
    return func() {
        // ... existing setup ...

        // Call once at start
        multiRepoPaths := getMultiRepoJSONLPaths()

        // Snapshot capture
        if multiRepoPaths != nil {
            for _, path := range multiRepoPaths {
                if err := captureLeftSnapshot(path); err != nil { ... }
            }
        }

        // ... later ...

        // Merge/prune - reuse same paths
        if multiRepoPaths != nil {
            for _, path := range multiRepoPaths { ... }
        }

        // ... later ...

        // Base snapshot update - reuse same paths
        if multiRepoPaths != nil {
            for _, path := range multiRepoPaths { ... }
        }
    }
}
```

**Files:**
- cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go:449-636 (createSyncFunc)

**Note:** This is a performance optimization, not a correctness fix. Low priority unless multi-repo usage scales significantly.


Fix Windows test failures - metadata keys contain colons from absolute paths


Integration Layer Implementation

Build the adapter layer that makes Agent Mail optional and non-intrusive.

Progress: bd-m9th (Python adapter library) completed with full test coverage. Next: bd-fzbg (update python-agent example with Agent Mail integration).


Standardize daemon detection: use tryDaemonLock probe before RPC

Before attempting RPC connection, call tryDaemonLock() to check if lock is held:
- If lock NOT held: skip RPC attempt (no daemon running)
- If lock IS held: proceed with RPC + short timeout

This is extremely cheap and eliminates unnecessary connection attempts.

Apply across all client entry points that probe for daemon.


Fix Windows test failure: File permissions in TestAtomicWriteFile

On Windows, file permissions work differently. The test expects 0600 but gets 0666. Windows doesn't support Unix-style file permissions in the same way. Need to either skip this check on Windows or adjust expectations.

Test failure: utils_test.go:39: file permissions mismatch: got 666, want 600

Root cause: Windows filesystem doesn't support Unix-style permission bits. Need to use runtime.GOOS check or skip permission validation on Windows.


Separate canonical BD_GUIDE.md from AGENTS.md

Create architectural separation between bd-specific instructions and project-specific instructions.

## Problem
Currently AGENTS.md mixes:
- bd tool documentation (changes with bd upgrades)
- Project-specific workflow (stable, manually maintained)

This makes it hard to update bd instructions without touching project docs.

## Solution
1. Generate .beads/BD_GUIDE.md from 'bd onboard' output
2. Mark it as auto-generated (never manually edit)
3. Version-stamp header with bd version
4. AGENTS.md references it instead of duplicating content
5. Auto-update BD_GUIDE.md when bd version changes

## Implementation
- Add 'bd onboard --output .beads/BD_GUIDE.md' option
- Detect version changes and offer to regenerate
- Add header: '<!-- Auto-generated by bd v0.24.2 - DO NOT EDIT -->'
- Update AGENTS.md to reference BD_GUIDE.md

## Benefits
- Clear separation of concerns
- Deterministic updates (no agent LLM involved)
- Git-trackable diffs show exactly what changed
- Progressive disclosure (agents read when needed)

## Acceptance Criteria
- BD_GUIDE.md auto-generated and version-stamped
- AGENTS.md references it appropriately
- Upgrade workflow auto-updates BD_GUIDE.md
- Git diffs clearly show bd instruction changes


Run tests to ensure refactoring didn't break anything


Create queries.go with core issue CRUD methods


Add performance benchmarks for multi-repo hydration

The contributor-workflow-analysis.md asserts sub-second queries (line 702) and describes smart caching via file mtime tracking (Decision #4, lines 584-618), but doesn't provide concrete performance benchmarks.

VC's requirement (from VC feedback section):
- Executor polls GetReadyWork() every 5-10 seconds
- Queries must be sub-second (ideally <100ms)
- Smart caching must avoid re-parsing JSONLs on every query

Suggested performance targets to validate:
- File stat overhead: <1ms per repo
- Hydration (when needed): <500ms for typical JSONL (<25k)
- Query (from cache): <10ms
- Total GetReadyWork(): <100ms (VC's requirement)

Also test at scale:
- N=1 repo (baseline)
- N=3 repos (typical)
- N=10 repos (edge case)

These benchmarks are critical for library consumers like VC that run automated polling loops.


Code Review Sweep: thorough

Perform thorough code review sweep based on accumulated activity.

**AI Reasoning:**
Significant code activity with 7608 lines added and 120 files changed indicates substantial modifications. Multiple high-churn areas (cmd/bd, internal/rpc) suggest potential for subtle issues and emerging patterns that warrant review.

**Scope:** thorough
**Target Areas:** cmd/bd, internal/rpc, .beads
**Estimated Files:** 12
**Estimated Cost:** $5

**Task:**
Review files for non-obvious issues that agents miss during focused work:
- Inefficiencies (algorithmic, resource usage)
- Subtle bugs (race conditions, off-by-one, copy-paste)
- Poor patterns (coupling, complexity, duplication)
- Missing best practices (error handling, docs, tests)
- Unnamed anti-patterns

File discovered issues with detailed reasoning and suggestions.

code-review-sweep review-area:.beads review-area:cmd/bd review-area:internal/rpc


MCP server: "No workspace set" and "chunk longer than limit" errors

Two related errors reported in beads-mcp v0.21:

**Error 1: "No workspace set" after successful set_context**
```
✓ Set beads context
✗ list
  Error calling tool 'list': No workspace set. Either provide workspace_root
  parameter or call set_context() first.
```

Hypothesis: Environment variable persistence issue between MCP tool calls, or ContextVar not being set correctly by @with_workspace decorator.

**Error 2: "Separator is found, but chunk is longer than limit"**
```
✗ list
  Error calling tool 'list': Separator is found, but chunk is longer than limit
```

Hypothesis: MCP protocol output size limit exceeded. Large issue databases may produce JSON output that exceeds MCP stdio buffer limits.

Platform: Fedora 43, using copilot-cli with Sonnet 4.5

Workaround: CLI works fine (`bd list --status open --json`)

## Fixes Implemented

**Issue 1: "No workspace set" after successful set_context** ✅ FIXED

Root cause: os.environ doesn't persist across MCP tool calls. When set_context() set BEADS_WORKING_DIR in os.environ, that change was lost on the next tool call.

Solution:
- Added module-level _workspace_context dict for persistent storage (server.py:51)
- Modified set_context() to store in both persistent dict and os.environ (server.py:265-287)
- Modified with_workspace() decorator to check persistent context first (server.py:129-133)
- Updated where_am_i() to check persistent context (server.py:302-330)

**Issue 2: "chunk longer than limit"** ✅ FIXED

Root cause: MCP stdio protocol has buffer limits. Large issue lists with full dependencies/dependents exceed this.

Solution:
- Reduced default list limit from 50 to 20 (server.py:356, models.py:122)
- Reduced max list limit from 1000 to 100 (models.py:122)
- Strip dependencies/dependents from list() and ready() responses (server.py:343-350, 368-373)
- Full dependency details still available via show() command

## Testing

✅ Python syntax validated with py_compile
✅ Changes are backward compatible
✅ Persistent context falls back to os.environ for compatibility

Users should now be able to call set_context() once and have it persist across all subsequent tool calls. Large databases will no longer cause buffer overflow errors.


Create config.go with config and metadata methods


Add guidance for self-hosting projects

The contributor-workflow-analysis.md is optimized for OSS contributors making PRs to upstream projects. However, it doesn't address projects like VC that use beads for their own development (self-hosting).

Self-hosting projects differ from OSS contributors:
- No upstream/downstream distinction (they ARE the project)
- May run automated executors (not just humans)
- In bootstrap/early phase (stability matters)
- Single team/owner (not multiple contributors with permissions)

Guidance needed on:
- When self-hosting projects should stay single-repo (default, recommended)
- When they should adopt multi-repo (team planning, multi-phase dev)
- How automated executors should handle multi-repo (if at all)
- Special considerations for projects in bootstrap phase

Examples of self-hosting projects: VC (building itself with beads), internal tools, pet projects


Review multi-repo deletion tracking implementation

Thoroughly review the multi-repo deletion tracking fix (bd-4oob):

Files changed:
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go: Added getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() helper
- cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go: Updated snapshot capture/update logic for multi-repo
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking_test.go: Added 2 new tests (287 lines)

Review focus areas:
1. Correctness: Does getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() handle all edge cases?
2. Performance: Calling getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() 3x per sync (snapshot capture, merge, base update) - should we cache?
3. Error handling: What if some repos fail snapshot operations but others succeed?
4. Race conditions: Multiple daemons in different repos?
5. Test coverage: Are TestMultiRepoDeletionTracking and TestMultiRepoSnapshotIsolation sufficient?
6. Path handling: Absolute vs relative paths, tilde expansion

This is fresh code - needs careful review before considering deletion tracking production-ready.

Code review completed. Overall assessment: Core deletion tracking logic is sound, but error handling and path handling issues make this not yet production-ready for multi-repo scenarios.

Key findings:

CRITICAL ISSUES (Priority 1):
1. Inconsistent error handling in daemon_sync.go - snapshot/merge fail hard but base update warns. Can leave DB in inconsistent state with no rollback. See bd-sjmr.
2. No path normalization in getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() - tilde expansion, relative paths, duplicates not handled. See bd-iye7.

SHOULD FIX (Priority 2):
3. Missing test coverage for edge cases - empty paths, duplicates, partial failures. See bd-kdoh.
4. Performance - getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() called 3x per sync (minor issue). See bd-we4p.

WHAT WORKS WELL:
- Atomic file operations with PID-based temp files
- Good snapshot isolation between repos
- Race condition protection via exclusive locks
- Solid test coverage for happy path scenarios

VERDICT: Address bd-iye7 and bd-sjmr before considering deletion tracking production-ready for multi-repo mode.

Detailed review notes available in conversation history.


Fix Windows test failure: Directory permissions in TestEnsureDir

On Windows, directory permissions work differently. The test expects 0755 but gets 0777. Windows doesn't support Unix-style file permissions in the same way. Need to either skip this check on Windows or adjust expectations.

Test failure: utils_test.go:138: directory permissions mismatch: got 777, want 755

Root cause: Windows filesystem doesn't support Unix-style permission bits. Need to use runtime.GOOS check or skip permission validation on Windows.


Fix validatePreExport to use content hash instead of mtime

validatePreExport() in integrity.go:70 still uses isJSONLNewer() (mtime-based), creating inconsistent behavior. Auto-import correctly uses hasJSONLChanged() (hash-based) but export validation still uses the old mtime approach. This can cause false positive blocks after git operations.

Fix: Replace isJSONLNewer() call with hasJSONLChanged() in validatePreExport().

Impact: Without this fix, the bd-khnb solution is incomplete - we prevent resurrection but still have export blocking issues.


Write Agent Mail integration guide

Comprehensive guide for setting up and using Agent Mail with Beads.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Installation instructions
- Configuration (environment variables)
- Architecture diagram
- Benefits and tradeoffs
- When to use vs not use
- Troubleshooting section
- Migration from git-only mode

File: docs/AGENT_MAIL.md

Sections:
- Quick start
- How it works
- Integration points
- Graceful degradation
- Multi-machine deployment
- FAQ


Refactor create_test.go to use shared DB setup

Convert TestCreate_* functions to use test suites with shared database setup.

Example transformation:
- Before: 10 separate tests, each with newTestStore()
- After: 1 TestCreate() with 10 t.Run() subtests sharing one DB

Estimated speedup: 10x faster (1 DB setup instead of 10)


Propagate context through command handlers

Thread context from signal-aware parent through all command handlers.

## Context
Part of context propagation work. Builds on bd-rtp (signal-aware contexts).

## Current State
Many command handlers create their own context.Background() locally instead of receiving context from parent.

## Implementation
1. Add context parameter to command handler functions
2. Pass context from cobra command Run/RunE closures
3. Update all storage operations to use propagated context

## Example Pattern
```go
// Before
Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
    ctx := context.Background()
    store.GetIssues(ctx, ...)
}

// After
Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
    // ctx comes from parent signal-aware context
    store.GetIssues(ctx, ...)
}
```

## Files to Update
- All cmd/bd/*.go command handlers
- Ensure context flows from main -> cobra -> handlers -> storage

## Benefits
- Commands respect cancellation signals
- Consistent context handling
- Enables timeouts and deadlines

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] All command handlers use propagated context
- [ ] No new context.Background() calls in command handlers
- [ ] Context flows from signal handler to storage layer


Refactor AGENTS.md to use external references

Suggestion to use external references (e.g., "ALWAYS REFER TO ./beads/prompt.md") instead of including all instructions directly within AGENTS.md.
Reasons:
1. Agents can follow external references.
2. Prevents context pollution/stuffing in AGENTS.md as more tools append instructions.


troubleshoot GH#278 daemon exits every few secs


CLI tests (cli_fast_test.go) are slow and should be integration tests

The TestCLI_* tests in cmd/bd/cli_fast_test.go are taking 4-5 seconds each (40+ seconds total), making them the slowest part of the fast test suite.

Current timings:
- TestCLI_Import: 4.73s
- TestCLI_Blocked: 4.33s
- TestCLI_DepTree: 4.15s
- TestCLI_Close: 3.59s
- TestCLI_DepAdd: 3.50s
- etc.

These tests compile the bd binary once in init(), but then execute it multiple times per test with filesystem operations. Despite being named "fast", they're actually end-to-end CLI integration tests.

Options:
1. Tag with //go:build integration (move to integration suite)
2. Optimize: Use in-memory databases, reduce exec calls, better parallelization
3. Keep as-is but understand they're the baseline for "fast" tests

Total test suite currently: 13.8s (cmd/bd alone is 12.8s, and most of that is these CLI tests)

Fixed by reusing existing bd binary from repo root instead of rebuilding.

Before: 15+ minutes (rebuilding binary for every test package)
After: ~12 seconds (reuses pre-built binary)

The init() function now checks for ../../bd first before falling back to building. This means `go build && go test` is now fast.


Add bd doctor --fix flag to automatically repair issues

Implement a --fix flag for bd doctor that can automatically repair detected issues.

Requirements:
- Add --fix flag to bd doctor command
- Show all fixable issues and prompt for confirmation before applying fixes
- Organize fix implementations under doctor/fix/<type_of_fix>.go
- Each fix type should have its own file (e.g., doctor/fix/hooks.go, doctor/fix/sync.go)
- Display what will be fixed and ask user to confirm (Y/n) before proceeding
- Support fixing issues like:
  - Missing or broken git hooks
  - Sync problems with remote
  - File permission issues
  - Any other auto-repairable issues doctor detects

Implementation notes:
- Maintain separation between detection (existing doctor code) and repair (new fix code)
- Each fix should be idempotent and safe to run multiple times
- Provide clear output about what was fixed
- Log any fixes that fail with actionable error messages


Export doesn't update last_import_hash metadata causing perpetual 'JSONL content has changed' errors

After a successful export, the daemon doesn't update last_import_hash or last_import_mtime metadata. This causes hasJSONLChanged to return true on the next export attempt, blocking with 'refusing to export: JSONL content has changed since last import'.

Related to GH #334.

Scenario:
1. Daemon exports successfully → JSONL updated, hash changes
2. Metadata NOT updated (last_import_hash still points to old hash)
3. Next mutation triggers export
4. validatePreExport calls hasJSONLChanged
5. hasJSONLChanged sees current JSONL hash != last_import_hash
6. Export blocked with 'JSONL content has changed since last import'
7. Issue stuck: can't export, can't make progress

This creates a catch-22 where the system thinks JSONL changed externally when it was the daemon itself that changed it.

Current behavior:
- Import updates metadata (import.go:310-336)
- Export does NOT update metadata (daemon_sync.go:307)
- Result: metadata becomes stale after every export


bd config set succeeds but doesn't persist to config.toml

Commands like `bd config set daemon.auto_push true` return "Set daemon.auto_push = true" but the config file is never created and `bd info --json | jq '.config'` returns null.

**Steps to reproduce:**
1. Run `bd config set daemon.auto_push true`
2. See success message: "Set daemon.auto_push = true"
3. Check `cat .beads/config.toml` → file doesn't exist
4. Check `bd info --json | jq '.config'` → returns null

**Expected:**
- .beads/config.toml should be created with the setting
- bd info should show the config value

**Impact:**
Users can't enable auto-push/auto-commit via CLI as documented in AGENTS.md


URGENT: main branch has failing tests (syncbranch migration error)

The main branch has failing tests that are blocking CI for all PRs.

## Problem
All syncbranch_test.go tests failing with:
"migration external_ref_column failed: failed to create index on external_ref: sqlite3: SQL logic error: no such table: main.issues"

## Evidence
- Last 5 CI runs on main: ALL FAILED
- Tests fail locally on current main (bd6dca5)
- Affects: TestGet, TestSet, TestUnset in internal/syncbranch

## Impact
- Blocking all PR merges
- CI shows red for all branches
- Can't trust test results

## Root Cause
Migration order issue - trying to create index on external_ref column before the issues table exists, or before the external_ref column is added to the issues table.

## Quick Fix Needed
Need to investigate migration order in internal/storage/sqlite/migrations.go and ensure:
1. issues table is created first
2. external_ref column is added to issues table
3. THEN index on external_ref is created

This is CRITICAL - main should never have breaking tests.


Add command injection prevention tests for git rm in merge command

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

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

In cmd/bd/merge.go:121, exec.Command is called with variable fullPath, flagged by gosec G204 for potential command injection.

Add tests covering:
- File paths with shell metacharacters (;, |, &, $, etc.)
- Paths with spaces and special characters
- Paths attempting command injection (e.g., 'file; rm -rf /')
- Validation that fullPath is properly sanitized
- Only valid git-tracked files can be removed

This is a critical security path preventing arbitrary command execution.

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


Channel isolation test - beads

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


Create deployment scripts for GCP

Automated provisioning scripts for GCP Compute Engine deployment.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Terraform/gcloud scripts
- Static IP allocation
- Firewall rules
- NGINX reverse proxy config
- TLS setup (Let's Encrypt)
- Systemd service file

File: deployment/agent-mail/gcp/


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`


bd export should verify JSONL line count matches database count

After export completes, bd should verify that the JSONL file line count matches the number of issues exported. This would catch silent failures where the export appears to succeed but doesn't actually write all issues.

Real-world scenario from VC project:
- Ran direct SQL DELETE to remove 240 issues
- Ran 'bd export -o .beads/issues.jsonl'
- No error shown, appeared to succeed
- But JSONL file was not updated (still had old line count)
- Later session found all 240 issues still in JSONL
- Had to repeat the cleanup

If export had verified line count, it would have immediately shown:
  Error: Export verification failed
    Expected: 276 issues
    JSONL file: 516 lines
    Mismatch indicates export failed to write all issues

This is especially important because:
1. JSONL is source of truth in git
2. Silent export failures cause data inconsistency
3. Users assume export succeeded if no error shown
4. The verification is cheap (just count lines)

Implementation:
- After writing JSONL, count lines in file
- Compare to len(exportedIDs)
- If mismatch, remove temp file and return error
- Show clear error message with both counts


Test Agent Mail server failure scenarios

Verify graceful degradation across various failure modes.

Test Cases:
- Server never started
- Server crashes during operation
- Network partition (timeout)
- Server returns 500 error
- Invalid bearer token
- SQLite corruption

Acceptance Criteria:
- Agents continue working in all scenarios
- Clear log messages about degradation
- No crashes or data loss
- Beads JSONL remains consistent

File: tests/integration/test_mail_failures.py


Performance Testing Documentation

Create docs/performance-testing.md documenting the performance testing framework.

Sections:
1. Overview - What the framework does, goals
2. Running Benchmarks
   - make bench command
   - Running specific benchmarks
   - Interpreting output (ns/op, allocs/op)
3. Profiling and Analysis
   - Viewing CPU profiles with pprof
   - Reading flamegraphs
   - Memory profiling
   - Finding hotspots
4. User Diagnostics
   - bd doctor --perf usage
   - Sharing profiles with bug reports
   - Understanding the report output
5. Comparing Performance
   - Using benchstat for before/after comparisons
   - Detecting regressions
6. Tips for Optimization
   - Common patterns
   - When to profile vs benchmark

Style:
- Concise, practical examples
- Screenshots/examples of pprof output
- Clear command-line examples
- Focus on workflow, not theory


Add tests for daemon vs non-daemon parity in list filters

After bd-o43 RPC integration, we need tests to verify daemon mode behaves identically to direct mode for all new filter flags.

Test coverage needed:
- Pattern matching: --title-contains, --desc-contains, --notes-contains
- Date ranges: all 6 date filter flags (created/updated/closed after/before)
- Empty/null checks: --empty-description, --no-assignee, --no-labels
- Priority ranges: --priority-min, --priority-max
- Status normalization: --status all vs no status flag
- Date parsing: YYYY-MM-DD, RFC3339, and error cases
- Backward compat: deprecated --label flag still works

Oracle review findings (bd-o43):
- Date parsing should support multiple formats
- Status 'all' should be treated as unset
- NoLabels field was missing from RPC protocol
- Error messages should be clear and actionable

Test approach:
- Create RPC integration tests in internal/rpc/server_issues_epics_test.go
- Compare daemon client.List() vs direct store.SearchIssues() for same filters
- Verify error messages match between modes
- Test with real daemon instance, not just unit tests


Change default JSONL filename from beads.jsonl back to issues.jsonl throughout codebase


Create multi-agent race condition test

Automated test that runs 2+ agents simultaneously to verify collision prevention.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Script spawns 2 agents in parallel
- Both try to claim same issue
- Only one succeeds (via reservation)
- Other agent skips to different work
- Verify in JSONL that no duplicate claims
- Test with Agent Mail enabled/disabled

File: tests/integration/test_agent_race.py

Success Metric: Zero duplicate claims with Agent Mail, collisions without it


Daemons don't exit when parent process dies, causing accumulation and race conditions

Multiple daemon processes accumulate over time because daemons don't automatically stop when their parent process (e.g., coding agent) is killed. This causes:

1. Race conditions: 8+ daemons watching same .beads/beads.db, each with own 30s debounce timer
2. Git conflicts: Multiple daemons racing to commit/push .beads/issues.jsonl
3. Resource waste: Orphaned daemons from sessions days/hours old still running

Example: User had 8 daemons from multiple sessions (12:37AM, 7:20PM, 7:22PM, 7:47PM, 9:19PM yesterday + 9:54AM, 10:55AM today).

Solutions to consider:
1. Track parent PID and exit when parent dies
2. Use single global daemon instead of per-session
3. Document manual cleanup: pkill -f "bd daemon"
4. Add daemon lifecycle management (auto-cleanup of stale daemons)

Implementation complete:

1. Added ParentPID field to DaemonLockInfo struct (stored in daemon.lock JSON)
2. Daemon now tracks parent PID via os.Getppid() at startup
3. Both event loops (polling and event-driven) check parent process every 10 seconds
4. Daemon gracefully exits if parent process dies (detected via isProcessRunning check)
5. Handles edge cases:
   - ParentPID=0: Older daemons without tracking (ignored)
   - ParentPID=1: Adopted by init means parent died (exits)
   - Otherwise checks if parent process is still running

The fix prevents daemon accumulation by ensuring orphaned daemons automatically exit within 10 seconds of parent death.


Fix goroutine leak in daemon restart

Fire-and-forget goroutine in daemon restart leaks on every restart.

Location: cmd/bd/daemons.go:251

Problem:
go func() { _ = daemonCmd.Wait() }()

- Spawns goroutine without timeout or cancellation
- If daemon command never completes, goroutine leaks forever
- Each daemon restart leaks one more goroutine

Solution: Add timeout and cleanup:
go func() {
    done := make(chan struct{})
    go func() {
        _ = daemonCmd.Wait()
        close(done)
    }()

    select {
    case <-done:
        // Exited normally
    case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
        // Timeout - daemon should have forked by now
        _ = daemonCmd.Process.Kill()
    }
}()

Impact: Goroutine leak on every daemon restart

Effort: 2 hours


Test dependency child


Run bd doctor at end of bd init to verify setup

Run bd doctor diagnostics at end of bd init (after line 398 in init.go). If issues found, warn user immediately: '⚠ Setup incomplete. Run bd doctor --fix to complete setup.' Catches configuration problems before user encounters them in normal workflow.