Tests for messaging and graph links

Comprehensive test coverage for all new features.

Test files:
- cmd/bd/mail_test.go - mail command tests
- internal/storage/sqlite/graph_links_test.go - graph link tests
- internal/hooks/hooks_test.go - hook execution tests

Test cases:
- Mail send/inbox/read/ack lifecycle
- Thread creation and traversal (replies_to)
- Bidirectional relates_to
- Duplicate marking and queries
- Supersedes chains
- Ephemeral cleanup
- Identity resolution priority
- Hook execution (mock hooks)
- Schema migration preserves data

Target: >80% coverage on new code


Create release tag

Create annotated git tag.

```bash
git tag -a v0.39.0 -m "Release v0.39.0"
```

Verify: `git tag -l | tail -5`


bd create -f crashes with nil pointer dereference

GitHub issue #674. The markdown import feature crashes at markdown.go:338 because global variables (store, ctx, actor) aren't initialized when createIssuesFromMarkdown is called. The function uses globals set by cobra command framework but is being called before they're ready. Need to either initialize globals at start of function or pass them as parameters.


Wait for CI to pass

Monitor GitHub Actions - all checks must pass before release artifacts are built


Fix wisp leak in nodb mode writeIssuesToJSONL

writeIssuesToJSONL in nodb.go calls writeJSONLAtomic without filtering wisps. This means any wisps created during a nodb session would be written to issues.jsonl, leaking ephemeral data into the git-tracked file.

Fix: Add the same wisp filter pattern used in sync_export.go, autoflush.go, and export.go:

```go
// Filter out wisps before writing
filtered := make([]*types.Issue, 0, len(issues))
for _, issue := range issues {
    if !issue.Wisp {
        filtered = append(filtered, issue)
    }
}
issues = filtered
```

Location: cmd/bd/nodb.go:writeIssuesToJSONL()


Design contributor namespace isolation for beads pollution prevention

## Problem

When contributors work on beads-the-project using beads-the-tool, their personal work-tracking issues leak into PRs. The .beads/issues.jsonl is intentionally tracked (it's the project's issue database), but contributors' local issues pollute the diff.

This is a recursion problem unique to self-hosting projects.

## Possible Solutions to Explore

1. **Contributor namespaces** - Each contributor gets a private prefix (e.g., `bd-steve-xxxx`) that's gitignored or filtered
2. **Separate database** - Contributors use BEADS_DIR pointing elsewhere for personal tracking
3. **Issue ownership/visibility flags** - Mark issues as "local-only" vs "project"
4. **Prefix-based filtering** - Configure which prefixes are committed vs ignored

## Design Considerations

- Should be zero-friction for contributors (no manual setup)
- Must not break existing workflows
- Needs to work with sync/collaboration features
- Consider: what if a "personal" issue graduates to "project" issue?

## Expansion Needed

This is a placeholder. Needs detailed design exploration before implementation.


Implement or remove ExpectExit/ExpectStdout verification fields

The Verification struct in internal/types/workflow.go has ExpectExit and ExpectStdout fields that are never used by workflowVerifyCmd. Either implement the functionality or remove the dead fields.


Code Review: PR #551 - Persist close_reason to issues table

Code review of PR #551 which fixes close_reason persistence bug.

## Summary
The PR correctly fixes a bug where close_reason was only stored in the events table, not in the issues.close_reason column. This caused `bd show --json` to return empty close_reason.

## What Was Fixed
- ✅ CloseIssue now updates both close_reason and closed_at
- ✅ ReOpenIssue clears both close_reason and closed_at
- ✅ Comprehensive tests added for both storage and CLI layers
- ✅ Clear documentation in queries.go about dual storage strategy

## Quality Assessment
✅ Tests cover both storage layer and CLI JSON output
✅ Handles reopen case (clearing close_reason)
✅ Good comments explaining dual-storage design
✅ No known issues

## Potential Followups
See linked issues for suggestions.


Polecats get stuck on interactive shell prompts (cp/mv/rm -i)

During swarm operations, polecats frequently get stuck waiting for interactive prompts from shell commands like:
- cp prompting 'overwrite file? (y/n)'
- mv prompting 'overwrite file? (y/n)'
- rm prompting 'remove file?'

This happens because macOS aliases or shell configs may have -i flags set by default.

Root cause: Claude Code runs commands that trigger interactive confirmation prompts, but cannot respond to them, causing the agent to hang indefinitely.

Observed in: Multiple polecats during GH issues swarm (Dec 2024)
- Derrick, Roustabout, Prospector, Warboy all got stuck on y/n prompts

Suggested fixes:
1. AGENTS.md should instruct agents to always use -f flag with cp/mv/rm
2. Polecat startup could set shell aliases to use non-interactive versions
3. bd prime hook could include guidance about non-interactive commands
4. Consider detecting stuck prompts and auto-recovering


Swarm: Test epic for duplicate swarm

Swarm molecule orchestrating epic bd-4d9d.

Epic: bd-4d9d
Coordinator:


Commit release

Stage and commit all version changes.

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: Bump version to 0.99.0-test"
```

Review the commit to ensure all expected files are included.


Add covering index (label, issue_id) for label queries

GetIssuesByLabel joins labels table but requires table lookup after using idx_labels_label.

**Query (labels.go:165):**
```sql
SELECT ... FROM issues i
JOIN labels l ON i.id = l.issue_id
WHERE l.label = ?
```

**Problem:** Current idx_labels_label index doesn't cover issue_id, requiring row lookup.

**Solution:** Add migration:
```sql
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_labels_label_issue ON labels(label, issue_id);
```

This is a covering index - query can be satisfied entirely from the index without touching the labels table rows.


bd cook: needs field not converted to step dependencies

When cooking a formula with `needs` fields on steps, the dependencies are not created between sibling steps.

## Expected

Formula:
```yaml
steps:
  - id: inbox-check
    title: Check inbox
  - id: trigger-spawns
    title: Nudge polecats
    needs: [inbox-check]
```

Should create:
- mol-foo.inbox-check (no deps)
- mol-foo.trigger-spawns → depends on → mol-foo.inbox-check

## Actual

Both steps only depend on the parent proto:
- mol-foo.inbox-check → depends on → mol-foo
- mol-foo.trigger-spawns → depends on → mol-foo

The `needs` field is ignored.

## Impact

This breaks the step execution order. Steps that should wait for predecessors will run in parallel or out of order.

## Reproduction

```bash
bd cook mol-deacon-patrol.formula.yaml
bd show mol-deacon-patrol.trigger-pending-spawns
# Shows: Depends on mol-deacon-patrol (parent only)
# Should show: Depends on mol-deacon-patrol.inbox-check
```


Update cmd/bd/version.go to 0.30.4

Update the Version constant in cmd/bd/version.go:
```go
Version = "0.30.4"
```

```verify
grep -q 'Version = "0.30.4"' cmd/bd/version.go
```


Test child task


Parallel step detection in molecules

Detect and flag parallelizable steps in molecules.

## Detection Rules
Steps can run in parallel when:
1. No Needs dependencies between them
2. Not in same sequential chain
3. Across dynamic arms (arm-ace and arm-nux can parallelize)

## Output in bd mol show
```
patrol-x7k (mol-witness-patrol)
├── inbox-check [completed]
├── survey-workers [completed]
│   ├── arm-ace [parallel group A]
│   │   ├── capture [can parallelize]
│   │   ├── assess [needs: capture]
│   │   └── execute [needs: assess]
│   └── arm-nux [parallel group A]
│       ├── capture [can parallelize]
│       └── ...
├── aggregate [gate: waits for all-children]
```

## Flags
- `bd mol show <id> --parallel` - Highlight parallel opportunities
- `bd ready --mol <id>` - List all steps that can run now

## Future: Parallel Execution Hints
For agents using Task tool subagents:
- Identify independent arms that can run simultaneously
- Suggest parallelization strategy


Restart daemon with {{version}}

Restart the bd daemon to pick up new version:

```bash
bd daemon --stop
bd daemon --start
bd daemon --health  # Verify Version: {{version}}
```


Refactor: Extract shared child-fetching logic in swarm.go

Lines 162-181 (analyzeEpicForSwarm) and 630-649 (getSwarmStatus) have identical logic for fetching epic children via parent-child dependencies.

Extract to a shared helper function like:

```go
func getEpicChildren(ctx context.Context, s StorageInterface, epicID string) ([]*types.Issue, error)
```

This will reduce duplication and ensure consistent behavior between validate/status/create commands.


Merge: bd-14ie

branch: polecat/toast
target: main
source_issue: bd-14ie
rig: beads


Add tests for daemon functionality

Critical daemon functions have 0% test coverage including daemon lifecycle, health checks, and RPC server functionality. These are essential for system reliability and need comprehensive test coverage.


Ghost resurrection: remote status:closed wins during git merge

During bd sync, the 3-way git merge sometimes keeps remote's status:closed instead of local's status:tombstone. This causes ghost issues to resurrect even when tombstones exist.

Root cause: Git 3-way merge doesn't understand tombstone semantics. If base had closed, local changed to tombstone, and remote has closed, git might keep remote's version.

The early tombstone check in importer.go only prevents CREATION when tombstones exist in DB. But if applyDeletionsFromMerge hard-deletes the tombstones before import runs (because they're not in the merged result), the check doesn't help.

Potential fixes:
1. Make tombstones 'win' in the beads merge driver (internal/merge/merge.go)
2. Don't hard-delete tombstones in applyDeletionsFromMerge if they're in the DB
3. Export tombstones to a separate file that's not subject to merge

Ghost issues: bd-cb64c226.*, bd-cbed9619.*


Wait for CI

Monitor GitHub Actions for release completion.

https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/actions

Expected time: 5-10 minutes

Watch for:
- Build artifacts (all platforms)
- Test suite pass
- npm publish
- PyPI publish


Push to main

Push the release commit to origin.

```bash
git push origin main
```

If rejected, someone else pushed. Pull, rebase, try again.


Witness Patrol

Per-rig worker monitor patrol loop with progressive nudging.


bd swarm create command

Add bd swarm create to create a swarm molecule from an epic.

## Context
Swarms ARE persistent molecules - not separate JSON state. This command creates
a swarm molecule that:
- Links to the epic it orchestrates
- Has mol_type=swarm
- Specifies a coordinator
- Can be discovered by any agent

## Core Principle: Discovery Over Tracking
The swarm molecule doesn't track step-by-step state. Instead:
- Query bd ready --parent=<epic> to find the ready front
- Query bd list --parent=<epic> --status=closed to find completed
- Derive progress from children's statuses

## Implementation
1. New command: bd swarm create <epic-id> [--coordinator=<addr>]
2. Validate epic structure first (call bd swarm validate)
3. Create molecule bead:
   - mol_type: swarm
   - epic: <epic-id>
   - coordinator: <addr>
   - status: open
4. Return the swarm molecule ID

## Single-Issue Wrapping
If given a single issue (not epic), auto-wrap:
- Create an epic with that issue as child
- Then create swarm molecule

## Reference
~/gt/docs/swarm-architecture.md - 'Swarm Structure' section

## Acceptance
- bd swarm create <epic> creates a swarm molecule
- Molecule has mol_type=swarm
- Links to epic via epic field
- Validates structure before creation


Commit release v{{version}}

Stage and commit the version bump:

```bash
git add cmd/bd/version.go cmd/bd/info.go CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "release: v{{version}}"
```

Do NOT push yet - tag first.


bd find-duplicates - AI-powered duplicate detection

Find semantically duplicate issues.

Approaches:
1. Mechanical: Exact title/description matching
2. Embeddings: Cosine similarity (cheap, scalable)
3. AI: LLM-based semantic comparison (expensive, accurate)

Uses embeddings by default for >100 issues.

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


Monitor PyPI publish

Watch the PyPI publish action:
https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/actions/workflows/pypi-publish.yml

Verify at: https://pypi.org/project/beads-mcp/0.30.4/

Check:
```bash
pip index versions beads-mcp 2>/dev/null | grep -q '0.30.4'
```

```verify
pip index versions beads-mcp 2>/dev/null | grep -q '0.30.4' || curl -s https://pypi.org/pypi/beads-mcp/json | jq -e '.releases["0.30.4"]'
```


Create migration script for edge field to dependency conversion

Migration must:
1. Read existing JSONL with old fields
2. Convert field values to dependency records
3. Write updated JSONL without old fields
4. Handle edge cases (missing refs, duplicates)

Run via: bd migrate or automatic on bd prime


Fix JSON errors in show.go (update/close/edit commands)

Replace ~51 direct stderr writes with FatalErrorRespectJSON() in show.go.

Commands affected:
- updateCmd (~10 error handlers)
- closeCmd (~15 error handlers)
- editCmd (~10 error handlers)
- showCmd (already uses FatalErrorRespectJSON in some places)

Key error paths:
- ID resolution errors (lines 565, 570, 579)
- Validation errors (lines 474, 515, 524, 545)
- RPC/daemon errors (line 639+)
- Store operation errors


Deacon Patrol

Mayor's daemon patrol loop for handling callbacks, health checks, and cleanup.


Split large cmd/bd files: doctor.go (2948 lines), sync.go (2121 lines)

Code health review found several oversized files:

1. doctor.go - 2948 lines, 48 functions mixed together
   - Should split into doctor/checks/*.go for individual diagnostics
   - applyFixes() and previewFixes() are nearly identical

2. sync.go - 2121 lines
   - ZFC (Zero Flush Check) logic embedded inline (lines 213-247)
   - Multiple mode handlers should be extracted

3. init.go - 1732 lines
4. compact.go - 1097 lines
5. show.go - 1069 lines

Recommendation: Extract into focused sub-packages or split into logical files.


Commit and push release

git add -A && git commit && git push to trigger CI


bd repair: Check comments and events tables for orphans

bd repair currently checks dependencies and labels tables, but the schema also has comments and events tables with issue_id foreign keys that could be orphaned.

Add orphan detection and cleanup for:
- comments table (issue_id not in issues)
- events table (issue_id not in issues)


Test work item


Re: Thread Test 2

Got your message. Testing reply feature.


Fix N+1 query pattern in swarm status blocked check

In getSwarmStatus, when checking if an issue is blocked, we query each dependency individually with GetIssue. With 100 issues and 5 deps each, thats 500 extra queries. Fix: Build a status map upfront from the already-fetched childIssues slice. File: cmd/bd/swarm.go:706-710


Integrate migration detection into bd doctor

Multiple migration commands (migrate_hash_ids.go, migrate_issues.go, migrate_sync.go, migrate_tombstones.go, migrate.go) have TODOs suggesting integration into 'bd doctor' for automatic migration detection. This would allow bd doctor to detect when migrations are needed and suggest running them.

Files:
- cmd/bd/migrate_hash_ids.go:24
- cmd/bd/migrate_issues.go:15
- cmd/bd/migrate_sync.go:16
- cmd/bd/migrate_tombstones.go:72
- cmd/bd/migrate.go:22


Update beads_mcp/__init__.py to 0.30.4

Update __version__ in integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py:
```python
__version__ = "0.30.4"
```

```verify
grep -q '__version__ = "0.30.4"' integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
```


Add comments to 30+ silently ignored errors or fix them

Code health review found 30+ instances of error suppression using blank identifier without explanation:

Good examples (with comments):
- merge.go: _ = gitRmCmd.Run() // Ignore errors
- daemon_watcher.go: _ = watcher.Add(...) // Ignore error

Bad examples (no context):
- create.go:213: dbPrefix, _ = store.GetConfig(ctx, "issue_prefix")
- daemon_sync_branch.go: _ = daemonClient.Close()
- migrate_hash_ids.go, version_tracking.go: _ = store.Close()

Fix: Add comments explaining WHY errors are ignored, or handle them properly.


Consolidate migrate-* commands into migrate subcommands

Move migrate-hash-ids, migrate-issues, migrate-sync, migrate-tombstones under 'migrate' as subcommands. Reduces 5 top-level commands to 1.


Add {{version}} to versionChanges in info.go

Add new entry at the TOP of versionChanges array in cmd/bd/info.go:

```go
{
    Version: "{{version}}",
    Date:    "{{date}}",
    Changes: []string{
        // Add notable changes here
    },
},
```

Copy changes from CHANGELOG.md [Unreleased] section.


Support external: prefix in blocked_by field

Allow blocked_by to include external project references:

```bash
bd update gt-xyz --blocked-by="external:beads:mol-run-assignee"
```

Syntax: `external:<project>:<capability>`
- project: name from external_projects config
- capability: matches provides:<capability> label in target project

Storage: Store as-is in blocked_by array. Resolution happens at query time.

Part of cross-project dependency system.
See: gastown/docs/cross-project-deps.md


Agent bead prefix mismatch: gt- vs bd- for beads polecat agents

When spawning polecats in beads rig, gt sling tries to create agent beads with gt-beads-polecat-* prefix, but beads requires bd- prefix. Warning: 'issue ID gt-beads-polecat-obsidian does not match configured prefix bd'. Agent beads should use the rig's configured prefix.


Push release tag

Push the version tag to trigger CI release.

```bash
git push origin v0.41.0
```

This triggers GitHub Actions to build artifacts and publish.


Merge: beads-ocs

branch: polecat/valkyrie
target: main
source_issue: beads-ocs
rig: beads


Test actor direct


Implement global N-way collision resolution algorithm

**Summary:** Replaced pairwise collision resolution with a global N-way algorithm that deterministically resolves issue ID conflicts across multiple clones. The new approach groups collisions, deduplicates by content hash, and assigns sequential IDs to ensure consistent synchronization.

**Key Decisions:**
- Use content hash for global, stable sorting
- Group collisions by base ID
- Assign sequential IDs based on sorted unique versions
- Eliminate order-dependent remapping logic

**Resolution:** Implemented ResolveNWayCollisions function that guarantees deterministic issue ID assignment across multiple synchronization scenarios, solving the core challenge of maintaining consistency in distributed systems with potential conflicts.


Add --pinned and --no-pinned flags to bd list

Add filtering flags to bd list: --pinned shows only pinned issues, --no-pinned excludes pinned issues. Default behavior shows all issues with a pin indicator.


Merge: quartz-1767082908528

branch: polecat/quartz-1767082908528
target: main
source_issue: quartz-1767082908528
rig: beads


Crew worker dave in beads - human-managed persistent workspace.

role_type: crew
rig: beads
agent_state: idle
hook_bead: null
role_bead: gt-crew-role
cleanup_status: null


Merge: bd-kzda

branch: polecat/toast
target: main
source_issue: bd-kzda
rig: beads


Commit the release changes.

Commit the release changes.

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: bump version to v0.37.0"
```

instantiated_from: bd-mol-xga
step: commit-release


Fix G304 potential file inclusion in cmd/bd/tips.go:259

Linting issue: G304: Potential file inclusion via variable (gosec) at cmd/bd/tips.go:259:18. Error: if data, err := os.ReadFile(settingsPath); err == nil {


Swarm: Code Review: Swarm commands consolidation

Swarm molecule orchestrating epic bd-2ubv.

Epic: bd-2ubv
Coordinator:


Improve CheckStaleness error handling

## Problem

CheckStaleness returns 'false' (not stale) for multiple error conditions instead of returning errors. This masks problems.

**Location:** internal/autoimport/autoimport.go:253-285

## Edge Cases That Return False

1. **Invalid last_import_time format** (line 259-262)
2. **No JSONL file found** (line 267-277)
3. **JSONL stat fails** (line 279-282)

## Fix

Return errors for abnormal conditions:

```go
lastImportTime, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, lastImportStr)
if err != nil {
    return false, fmt.Errorf("corrupted last_import_time: %w", err)
}

if jsonlPath == "" {
    return false, fmt.Errorf("no JSONL file found")
}

stat, err := os.Stat(jsonlPath)
if err != nil {
    return false, fmt.Errorf("cannot stat JSONL: %w", err)
}
```

## Impact
Medium - edge cases are rare but should be handled

## Effort
30 minutes - requires updating callers in RPC server


GH#692: Code quality and refactoring improvements

Epic for implementing refactoring suggestions from GitHub issue #692 (rsnodgrass). These are code quality improvements that don't change functionality but improve maintainability, type safety, and performance.

Original issue: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/692

High priority items:
1. Replace map[string]interface{} with typed structs for JSON output
2. Adopt slices.SortFunc instead of sort.Slice (Go 1.21+)
3. Split large files (sync.go, init.go, show.go)
4. Introduce slog for structured logging in daemon

Lower priority:
5. Further CLI helper extraction
6. Preallocate slices in hot paths
7. Polish items (error wrapping, table-driven parsing)


Version Bump: test-squash

Release checklist for version test-squash. This molecule ensures all release steps are completed properly.


Merge: topaz-1767138533986

branch: polecat/topaz-1767138533986
target: main
source_issue: topaz-1767138533986
rig: beads


Verify version consistency

Confirm all versions match 0.39.0.

```bash
grep 'Version = ' cmd/bd/version.go
jq -r '.version' .claude-plugin/plugin.json
jq -r '.version' npm-package/package.json
grep 'version = ' integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
```

All should show 0.39.0.


Work on gt-8tmz.36: Validate expanded step IDs are unique...

Work on gt-8tmz.36: Validate expanded step IDs are unique. After ApplyExpansions in internal/formula/expand.go, new steps can be created that might have duplicate IDs. Add validation in ApplyExpansions to check for duplicate step IDs after expansion. If duplicates found, return an error with the duplicate IDs. Add test in expand_test.go. When done, commit and push to main.


gt mail send: support reading message body from stdin

Currently gt mail send -m requires the message as a command-line argument, which causes shell escaping issues with backticks, quotes, and special characters.

Add support for reading message body from stdin:
- gt mail send addr -s 'Subject' --stdin  # Read body from stdin
- echo 'body' | gt mail send addr -s 'Subject' -m -  # Convention: -m - means stdin

This would allow:
cat <<'EOF' | gt mail send addr -s 'Subject' --stdin
Message with `backticks` and 'quotes' safely
EOF

Without this, agents struggle to send handoff messages containing code snippets.