Bump version in all files

Run ./scripts/bump-version.sh {{version}} to update 10 version files. Then run with --commit after info.go is updated.


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.


Merge: bd-au0.5

branch: polecat/Searcher
target: main
source_issue: bd-au0.5
rig: beads


Work on gt-8tmz.34: Expansion var overrides not implement...

Work on gt-8tmz.34: Expansion var overrides not implemented. The ExpandRule.Vars field exists in internal/formula/types.go but is ignored during expansion in internal/formula/expand.go. Implement: 1) Pass rule.Vars to expandStep in ApplyExpansions, 2) Merge vars with formula defaults (rule.Vars wins), 3) Substitute vars in template placeholders, 4) Add test in expand_test.go. When done, commit and push to main.


Deprecate bd mol run after gt absorbs its semantics

bd mol run is a convenience combo (pour + update + pin) that feels like orchestration but lives in the data layer. This blurs the bd/gt architectural boundary.

## Current State
- bd mol run = bd pour + bd update --status=in_progress + bd pin --for me
- gt spawn depends on bd mol run (shells out to it)

## Proposed Change
Once gt spawn inlines the pour+assign+pin logic:
1. Deprecate bd mol run with a warning pointing to gt spawn
2. Eventually remove bd mol run entirely

## Why
- bd should be pure data operations (pour, update, pin, close)
- gt should own orchestration (spawn, sling, hook, handoff)
- Standalone bd users can run the three commands separately or script them

## Blocked By
gastown issue gt-r7jj2 (Move mol run semantics from bd into gt spawn)


Test daemon RPC delete handler

Add tests for the daemon-side RPC delete handler that processes delete requests from clients.

## What needs testing
- Daemon's Delete RPC handler implementation
- Processing delete requests from RPC clients
- Cascade deletion at daemon level
- Force deletion at daemon level
- Dry-run mode validation
- Error responses to clients
- Dependency validation before deletion
- Tombstone creation via daemon

## Test scenarios
1. Delete single issue via RPC
2. Delete multiple issues via RPC
3. Cascade deletion of dependents
4. Force delete with orphaned dependents
5. Dry-run returns what would be deleted without actual deletion
6. Error: invalid issue IDs
7. Error: insufficient permissions
8. Error: dependency blocks deletion (without force/cascade)

## Related
- Parent epic: bd-kyll
- Original issue: bd-7z4


Merge: bd-bqcc

branch: polecat/capable
target: main
source_issue: bd-bqcc
rig: beads


Schema: Add 'hooked' as valid status

Add 'hooked' to the valid status enum in the beads schema.

## Files to Update

1. `internal/types/types.go` - Add StatusHooked constant
2. `internal/storage/sqlite/schema.go` - Add 'hooked' to CHECK constraint
3. `internal/storage/sqlite/migrations/` - New migration to alter constraint

## Status Values After Change

- open
- in_progress
- blocked
- deferred
- hooked (NEW)
- closed
- pinned
- tombstone

## Validation

- bd update <id> --status=hooked should work
- bd list --status=hooked should filter correctly


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


Update local installations.

Update local installations.

```bash
# Upgrade Homebrew
brew upgrade steveyegge/beads/bd

# Or install from source
./scripts/bump-version.sh 0.37.0 --install

# Install MCP locally
pip install -e integrations/beads-mcp

# Restart daemons
pkill -f "bd daemon" || true
```

Verify: `bd --version` shows 0.37.0

instantiated_from: bd-mol-xga
step: update-local


Push release tag

Push the version tag to trigger CI release.

```bash
git push origin v0.39.0
```

This triggers GitHub Actions to build artifacts and publish.


Cleanup: --ephemeral flag

Update bd cleanup to handle ephemeral issues.

New flag:
- bd cleanup --ephemeral - deletes all CLOSED issues with ephemeral=true

Behavior:
- Only deletes if status=closed AND ephemeral=true
- Respects --dry-run flag
- Reports count of deleted ephemeral issues

This allows swarm cleanup to remove transient messages without affecting permanent issues.


Investigate Claude Code crash logging improvements

## Problem

Claude Code doesn't leave useful crash logs when it terminates unexpectedly. Investigation of a crash on 2025-12-26 showed:

- Debug logs in ~/.claude/debug/ just stop mid-stream with no error/exit message
- No signal handlers appear to log SIGTERM/SIGKILL/SIGINT
- No dedicated crash log file exists
- When Node.js crashes hard or gets killed, there's no record of why

## What we found

- Session debug log (02080b1a-...) stopped at 22:58:40 UTC mid-operation
- No 'exit', 'error', 'crash', 'signal' entries at end of file
- macOS DiagnosticReports showed Chrome crashes but no Node crashes
- System logs showed no relevant kill/OOM events

## Desired improvements

1. Exit handlers that log graceful shutdown
2. Signal handlers that log SIGTERM/SIGINT before exiting
3. A dedicated crash log or at least a 'last known state' file
4. Possibly CLI flags to enable verbose crash debugging

## Investigation paths

- Check if Claude Code has --debug or similar flags
- Look at Node.js crash handling best practices
- Consider if we can wrap claude invocations to capture crashes

## Related

This came up while investigating why a crew worker session crashed at end of a code review task.


Work on beads-7jl: Fix Windows installer file locking iss...

Work on beads-7jl: Fix Windows installer file locking issue (GH#652). Close file handle before extraction in postinstall.js. When done, submit MR (not PR) to integration branch for Refinery.


Merge: onyx-1767106262992

branch: polecat/onyx-1767106262992
target: main
source_issue: onyx-1767106262992
rig: beads


Verify the release is complete.

Verify the release is complete.

```bash
# Check GitHub release
gh release view v0.37.0

# Check Homebrew
brew update && brew info steveyegge/beads/bd

# Check npm
npm view @beads/bd version

# Check PyPI
pip index versions beads-mcp
```

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


Code smell: Repeated validation patterns could be centralized

Similar validation patterns appear in multiple commands (create.go, show.go, update.go, etc.):
- Check if resource exists
- Check if resource is in valid state
- Validate user input
- Check permissions

**Problem:**
- Duplicated validation logic
- Inconsistent validation between commands
- Hard to add new validation rules consistently

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Create internal/validation package
- [ ] Centralize common validation logic
- [ ] Use composition for validation chains
- [ ] Update commands to use shared validators
- [ ] Tests pass


Merge: obsidian-1767142004753

branch: polecat/obsidian-1767142004753
target: main
source_issue: obsidian-1767142004753
rig: beads


Test issue 2


test hook pin


Add tests for dependency management

Key dependency functions like mergeBidirectionalTrees, GetDependencyTree, and DetectCycles have low or no coverage. These are essential for maintaining data integrity in the dependency graph.


Push release tag

Push the version tag to trigger CI release.

```bash
git push origin v0.99.0-test
```

This triggers GitHub Actions to build artifacts and publish.


Add integration tests for bd reset command

End-to-end integration tests for the reset command.

## Test Scenarios

### Basic reset
1. Init beads, create some issues
2. Run bd reset --force
3. Verify .beads/ is fresh, issues gone

### Hard reset
1. Init beads, create issues, commit
2. Run bd reset --hard --force
3. Verify git history has reset commits

### Backup functionality
1. Init beads, create issues
2. Run bd reset --backup --force
3. Verify backup exists with correct contents
4. Verify main .beads/ is reset

### Dry run
1. Init beads, create issues
2. Run bd reset --dry-run
3. Verify nothing changed

### Confirmation prompt
1. Init beads
2. Run bd reset (no --force)
3. Verify prompts for confirmation
4. Test both y and n responses

## Location
tests/integration/reset_test.go or similar


Verify release artifacts

Check GitHub releases page - binaries for darwin/linux/windows should be available


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


Add tests for helper functions (GetDirtyIssueHash, GetAllDependencyRecords, export hashes)

Several utility functions have 0% coverage:
- GetDirtyIssueHash (dirty.go)
- GetAllDependencyRecords (dependencies.go)
- GetExportHash, SetExportHash, ClearAllExportHashes (hash.go)

These are lower priority but should have basic coverage.


Merge: bd-ykd9

branch: polecat/Doctor
target: main
source_issue: bd-ykd9
rig: beads


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 type: event for state transitions

Events capture operational state changes as immutable records.

Fields needed:
- event_type: string (namespaced category like patrol.muted, agent.started)
- actor: string (entity URI who caused this)
- target: string (entity URI or bead ID affected)
- payload: object (event-specific JSON data)

Example:
  id: evt-x7k2
  type: event
  event_type: patrol.muted
  actor: human:overseer
  target: agent:deacon
  payload: {reason: fixing deadlock, until: gt-abc1}

This enables:
- bd activity --follow showing events
- bd list --type=event --target=agent:deacon
- Full audit trail for operational state
- HOP-compatible transaction records


Add .beads-backup-* pattern to gitignore template

Update the gitignore template in doctor package to include backup directories.

## Change
Add `.beads-backup-*/` to the GitignoreTemplate in `cmd/bd/doctor/gitignore.go`

## Why
Backup directories created by `bd reset --backup` should not be committed to git.
They are local-only recovery tools.

## File
`cmd/bd/doctor/gitignore.go` - look for GitignoreTemplate constant


mol-beads-release

Release checklist for beads version {{version}}.

This molecule ensures all release steps are completed properly.
Variable: {{version}} - target version (e.g., 0.35.0)

## Step: update-release-notes
Update cmd/bd/info.go with release notes for {{version}}.

Add a new VersionChange entry at the top of versionChanges slice:
```go
{
    Version: "{{version}}",
    Date:    "YYYY-MM-DD",
    Changes: []string{
        "NEW: Feature description",
        "FIX: Bug fix description",
        "IMPROVED: Enhancement description",
    },
},
```

Run `git log --oneline v<previous>..HEAD` to see what changed.

## Step: update-changelog
Update CHANGELOG.md with detailed release notes.

Add a new section after [Unreleased]:
```markdown
## [{{version}}] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- **Feature name** (issue-id) - Description

### Changed
- **Change description** (issue-id)

### Fixed
- **Bug fix** (issue-id) - Description
```

Sort by importance, not chronologically.
Needs: update-release-notes

## Step: bump-version
Run the version bump script.

```bash
./scripts/bump-version.sh {{version}}
```

This updates version in all files:
- cmd/bd/version.go
- .claude-plugin/*.json
- integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
- npm-package/package.json
- Hook templates

Needs: update-changelog

## Step: run-tests
Run tests and verify lint passes.

```bash
go test -short ./...
```

CI will run full lint, but fix any obvious issues first.
Needs: bump-version

## Step: commit-release
Commit the release changes.

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: bump version to v{{version}}"
```

Needs: run-tests

## Step: push-and-tag
Push commit and create release tag.

```bash
git push origin main
git tag v{{version}}
git push origin v{{version}}
```

This triggers GitHub Actions release workflow.
Needs: commit-release

## Step: wait-for-ci
Wait for GitHub Actions to complete.

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

CI will:
- Build binaries via GoReleaser
- Create GitHub Release with assets
- Publish to npm (@beads/bd)
- Publish to PyPI (beads-mcp)
- Update Homebrew tap

Wait until all jobs succeed (~5-10 min).
Needs: push-and-tag

## Step: verify-release
Verify the release is complete.

```bash
# Check GitHub release
gh release view v{{version}}

# Check Homebrew
brew update && brew info steveyegge/beads/bd

# Check npm
npm view @beads/bd version

# Check PyPI
pip index versions beads-mcp
```

Needs: wait-for-ci

## Step: update-local
Update local installations with proper codesigning (macOS).

```bash
# Build from source in mayor/rig (canonical build location)
cd ~/gt/beads/mayor/rig
git pull
go build -o bd ./cmd/bd

# Sign and install (macOS requires codesigning to avoid "Killed: 9")
# Uses fix-gt script which handles both gt and bd binaries
fix-gt

# Or manually sign if fix-gt not available:
# xattr -cr bd && codesign -f -s - bd
# cp bd ~/go/bin/bd && codesign -f -s - ~/go/bin/bd
# cp bd ~/.local/bin/bd && codesign -f -s - ~/.local/bin/bd

# Install MCP locally
pip install -e integrations/beads-mcp

# Restart daemons
pkill -f "bd daemon" || true
```

Verify: `bd --version` shows {{version}}
Needs: verify-release

## Step: manual-publish
(Optional) Manual publish if CI failed.

```bash
# npm (requires npm login)
./scripts/bump-version.sh {{version}} --publish-npm

# PyPI (requires TWINE credentials)
./scripts/bump-version.sh {{version}} --publish-pypi

# Or both
./scripts/bump-version.sh {{version}} --publish-all
```

Only needed if CI publishing failed.
Needs: wait-for-ci


GH#519: bd sync fails when sync.branch is currently checked-out branch

bd sync tries to create worktree for sync.branch even when already on that branch. Should commit directly instead. See GitHub issue #519.


Remove dead test code in info_test.go

Code health review found cmd/bd/info_test.go has two tests permanently skipped:

- TestInfoCommand
- TestInfoCommandNoDaemon

Both skip with: 'Manual test - bd info command is working, see manual testing'

These are essentially dead code. Either automate them or remove them entirely.


Run bump-version.sh

Update all component versions atomically.

```bash
./scripts/bump-version.sh 0.41.0
```

This updates:
- cmd/bd/version.go
- .claude-plugin/*.json
- integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
- integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
- npm-package/package.json
- Hook templates
- README.md
- CHANGELOG.md (adds date)


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


Witness Patrol

Per-rig worker monitor patrol loop with progressive nudging.


GH#517: Claude sets priority wrong on new install

Claude uses 'medium/high/low' for priority instead of P0-P4. Update bd prime/onboard output to be clearer about priority syntax. See GitHub issue #517.


Code Review: Beads Refactoring Sprint

Epic for code smell fixes identified during Beads code review.

## Scope
11 issues covering:
- P2: Duplicated code in cook.go (2 issues)
- P3: Long functions and God Objects (5 issues)
- P4: Technical debt and cleanup (4 issues)

## Approach
Swarm with polecats, each taking 1-2 issues. All changes should:
1. Pass existing tests
2. Not change external behavior
3. Improve code maintainability

## Success Criteria
All 11 child issues closed with passing CI.


Merge: bd-likt

branch: polecat/Gater
target: main
source_issue: bd-likt
rig: beads


Update CHANGELOG header

Change [Unreleased] to [{{version}}] - {{date}} and add new empty [Unreleased] section above it.


Auto-repair stale merge driver configs with invalid placeholders

Old bd versions (<0.24.0) installed merge driver with invalid placeholders %L %R instead of %A %B. Add detection to bd doctor --fix: check if git config merge.beads.driver contains %L or %R, auto-repair to 'bd merge %A %O %A %B'. One-time migration for users who initialized with old versions.


Preflight: Check git status

Ensure working tree is clean before starting release.

```bash
git status
```

If there are uncommitted changes, either:
- Commit them first
- Stash them: `git stash`
- Abort and resolve


bd activity: Real-time molecule state feed

Implement activity feed command for watching molecule state transitions.

## Commands
```bash
bd activity --follow              # Real-time streaming
bd activity --mol <id>            # Activity for specific molecule
bd activity --since 5m            # Last 5 minutes
bd activity --type step           # Only step transitions
```

## Output Format
```
[14:32:01] ✓ patrol-x7k.inbox-check completed
[14:32:03] ✓ patrol-x7k.check-refinery completed
[14:32:08] + patrol-x7k.arm-ace bonded (5 steps)
[14:32:09] → patrol-x7k.arm-ace.capture in_progress
[14:32:10] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace.capture completed
[14:32:14] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace.decide completed (action: nudge-1)
[14:32:17] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace COMPLETE
[14:32:23] ✓ patrol-x7k SQUASHED → digest-x7k
```

## Event Types
- `+` bonded - New molecule/step created
- `→` in_progress - Step started
- `✓` completed - Step/molecule finished
- `✗` failed - Step failed
- `⊘` burned - Wisp discarded
- `◉` squashed - Wisp condensed to digest

## Implementation
- Could use SQLite triggers or polling
- --follow uses OS file watching or polling
- Filter by mol ID, type, time range


Exclude pinned issues from bd blocked

Update bd blocked to exclude pinned issues. Pinned issues are context markers and should not appear in the blocked work list.


Polecats should spawn with auto-accept mode enabled

During swarm bd-784c, polecats (Toast, Nux) were spawned without --dangerously-skip-permissions or equivalent auto-accept mode.

**Problem:**
Every edit, bash command, and tool use required manual confirmation via tmux send-keys. This defeats the purpose of autonomous polecat operation.

**Expected:**
Polecats in a swarm should run with permissions bypassed so they can work autonomously.

**Workaround used:**
- Manually sent Enter keys via tmux to accept prompts
- Eventually polecats entered 'bypass permissions on' mode after restart

**Suggestion:**
- gt sling should pass --dangerously-skip-permissions by default for polecats
- Or polecats should have a .claude/settings.local.json pre-configured for auto-accept


Sync branch integrity guards

Track sync branch parent commit. If sync branch was force-pushed, warn user and require confirmation before proceeding. Add option to reset to remote if user accepts rebase. Prevents silent corruption from forced pushes.


Test Molecule

A test molecule


Add warning when staleness check errors

## Problem

When ensureDatabaseFresh() calls CheckStaleness() and it errors (corrupted metadata, permission issues, etc.), we silently proceed with potentially stale data.

**Location:** cmd/bd/staleness.go:27-32

**Scenarios:**
- Corrupted metadata table
- Database locked by another process
- Permission issues reading JSONL file
- Invalid last_import_time format in DB

## Current Code

```go
isStale, err := autoimport.CheckStaleness(ctx, store, dbPath)
if err \!= nil {
    // If we can't determine staleness, allow operation to proceed
    // (better to show potentially stale data than block user)
    return nil
}
```

## Fix

```go
isStale, err := autoimport.CheckStaleness(ctx, store, dbPath)
if err \!= nil {
    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: Could not verify database freshness: %v\n", err)
    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Proceeding anyway. Data may be stale.\n\n")
    return nil
}
```

## Impact
Medium - users should know when staleness check fails

## Effort
Easy - 5 minutes


Commit release

Stage and commit all version changes.

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: Bump version to 0.39.0"
```

Review the commit to ensure all expected files are included.


bd mol burn should work on mols, not just wisps

Currently `bd mol burn` only works on wisps (Ephemeral=true):

```
$ bd mol burn bd-mol-p7i
Error: molecule bd-mol-p7i is not a wisp (Ephemeral=false)
Hint: mol burn only works with wisp molecules
      Use 'bd delete' to remove non-wisp issues
```

The name 'burn' implies destruction - it should work on any molecule, not just wisps. When called on a regular mol, it should convert to `bd delete --cascade`.

**Proposed behavior:**
- If wisp: current behavior (delete without tombstones)
- If mol: `bd delete <id> --cascade` (delete with tombstones)

This makes the metaphor consistent: burn = destroy a molecule, regardless of phase.


Merge: bd-au0.7

branch: polecat/dementus
target: main
source_issue: bd-au0.7
rig: beads


Add default limit to bd list (50 issues)

Add a sensible default limit of 50 issues to bd list output, matching patterns from gh cli (30) and jira-cli (50).

- Default to 50 when no --limit specified
- --limit 0 means unlimited (explicit override)
- Protects both agents and humans from overwhelming output

This is independent of the filter change but complementary.

## Implementation Plan

### Code Changes (cmd/bd/list.go)

1. **Change default limit** (init function, ~line 887):
```go
// Currently: listCmd.Flags().IntP("limit", "n", 0, "Limit results")
// Change to:
listCmd.Flags().IntP("limit", "n", 50, "Limit results (0 for unlimited)")
```

2. **Update help text**:
```go
"Limit results (default: 50, use 0 for unlimited)"
```

3. **Handle explicit 0** in Run function:
```go
// --limit 0 means unlimited
if cmd.Flags().Changed("limit") && limit == 0 {
    filter.Limit = 0 // No limit applied
} else if limit > 0 {
    filter.Limit = limit
} else {
    filter.Limit = 50 // Default
}
```

### Testing
- `bd list` shows max 50 issues
- `bd list --limit 10` shows max 10
- `bd list --limit 0` shows unlimited
- Verify output indicates truncation: "Showing 50 of 499 issues (use --limit 0 for all)"

### Documentation
- Note in help: default changed from unlimited to 50


bd list --parent: filter by parent issue

Add --parent flag to bd list to filter issues by parent.

Example:
```bash
bd list --parent=gt-h5n --status=open
```

Would show all open children of gt-h5n.

Useful for:
- Checking epic progress
- Finding swarmable work within an epic
- Molecule step listing


bd mol advance: Step through molecule execution

Implement bd mol advance for stepping through molecules.

## Command

```bash
bd mol advance <mol-id>
```

## Behavior

1. Load molecule state from .beads/molecules/<mol-id>.state.yaml
2. Find current step
3. Mark current step completed
4. Find next available step (respecting needs/deps)
5. Update state file
6. Output next step info (or COMPLETE if done)

## Step State Machine

```
pending → in_progress → completed
```

When advancing:
- Current step: in_progress → completed
- Next step: pending → in_progress

## Output

```bash
$ bd mol advance mol-deacon-patrol
✓ Step inbox-check completed
→ Next step: spawn-work

Title: Spawn polecat for ready work
Description: ...
```

Or if complete:
```bash
$ bd mol advance mol-deacon-patrol
✓ Step self-inspect completed
✓ Molecule COMPLETE

Run bd mol reset to loop, or gt handoff to cycle.
```

## Files

- cmd/bd/mol_advance.go
- internal/mol/state.go


Read operations should not modify database file

Read-only operations (bd list, bd ready, bd show) modify the database file. Every open sets WAL pragma, runs schema/migrations, and checkpoints on close. Need sqlite.NewReadOnly() that opens with mode=ro, skips WAL/schema/migrations, and skips checkpoint. See GH#804.


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


Replace map[string]interface{} with typed JSON response structs

Many CLI commands use map[string]interface{} for JSON output which loses type safety and compile-time error detection.

Files with map[string]interface{}:
- cmd/bd/compact.go (10+ instances)
- cmd/bd/cleanup.go
- cmd/bd/daemons.go
- cmd/bd/daemon_lifecycle.go

Example fix:
```go
// Before
result := map[string]interface{}{
    "status": "ok",
    "count": 42,
}

// After
type CompactResponse struct {
    Status string `json:"status"`
    Count  int    `json:"count"`
}
result := CompactResponse{Status: "ok", Count: 42}
```

Benefits:
- Compile-time type checking
- IDE autocompletion
- Easier refactoring
- Self-documenting API


Create release tag

Create annotated git tag.

```bash
git tag -a v0.41.0 -m "Release v0.41.0"
```

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


Consolidate maintenance commands into bd doctor --fix

Per rsnodgrass in GH#692:
> "The biggest improvement to beads from an ergonomics perspective would be to prune down commands. We have a lot of 'maintenance' commands that probably should just be folded into 'bd doctor --fix' automatically."

Current maintenance commands that could be consolidated:
- clean - Clean up temporary git merge artifacts
- cleanup - Delete closed issues and prune expired tombstones
- compact - Compact old closed issues
- detect-pollution - Detect and clean test issues
- migrate-* (5 commands) - Various migration utilities
- repair-deps - Fix orphaned dependency references
- validate - Database health checks

Proposal:
1. Make `bd doctor` the single entry point for health checks
2. Add `bd doctor --fix` to auto-fix common issues
3. Deprecate (but keep working) individual commands
4. Add `bd doctor --all` for comprehensive maintenance

This would reduce cognitive load for users - they just need to remember 'bd doctor'.

Note: This is higher impact but also higher risk - needs careful design to avoid breaking existing workflows.


Fix JSON error output consistency across all commands

## Problem

When `--json` flag is specified, error output should return JSON format, not plain text. Currently only `bd show` uses `FatalErrorRespectJSON` - all other commands use direct `fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, ...)`.

## Audit Findings (bd-au0.7)

| File | stderr writes | Commands affected |
|------|---------------|-------------------|
| show.go | 51 | update, close, edit |
| dep.go | 41 | dep add/remove/tree/cycles |
| label.go | 19 | label add/remove/list |
| comments.go | ~10 | comments add/list |
| epic.go | ~5 | epic status/close-eligible |

## Solution

Replace `fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, ...) + os.Exit(1)` patterns with `FatalErrorRespectJSON()` in all commands that support `--json` flag.

## Pattern

```go
// Before (inconsistent)
fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
os.Exit(1)

// After (respects --json)
FatalErrorRespectJSON("%v", err)
```

## Success Criteria

- All commands return JSON errors when `--json` flag is set
- Error format: `{"error": "message"}`
- Exit code 1 preserved for errors


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.


Formula parser: YAML schema for .formula.yaml files

Implement formula parsing from YAML:
- Define YAML schema for .formula.yaml files
- Parse steps, compose rules, vars
- Support extends for formula inheritance
- Validate formula structure

Schema should support:
- formula: name
- description: text
- version: number
- type: workflow|expansion|aspect
- vars: variable definitions
- steps: step definitions
- compose: composition rules

Gas Town tracking: gt-8tmz.12


bd cleanup --hard should skip tombstone creation for true permanent deletion

## Problem

When using bd cleanup --hard --older-than N --force, the command:
1. Deletes closed issues older than N days (converting them to tombstones with NOW timestamp)
2. Then tries to prune tombstones older than N days (finds none because they were just created)

This leaves the database bloated with fresh tombstones that will not be pruned.

## Expected Behavior

In --hard mode, the deletion should be permanent without creating tombstones, since the user explicitly requested bypassing sync safety.

## Workaround

Manually delete from database: sqlite3 .beads/beads.db 'DELETE FROM issues WHERE status=tombstone'

## Fix Options

1. In --hard mode, use a different delete path that does not create tombstones
2. After deleting, immediately prune the just-created tombstones regardless of age
3. Pass a skip_tombstone flag to the delete operation

Option 1 is cleanest - --hard should mean permanent delete without tombstone.


Merge: beads-ocs

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


Add bd doctor --fix flag to automatically repair issues

Add bd doctor --fix flag to automatically repair detected issues.

## Current State
- Doctor checks return issues with "Fix" field containing fix instructions
- No automatic fix execution
- User must manually follow fix instructions

## Implementation

### 1. Add --fix flag to doctor.go
```go
// In cmd/bd/doctor.go init()
doctorCmd.Flags().Bool("fix", false, "Automatically fix detected issues")
doctorCmd.Flags().Bool("yes", false, "Skip confirmation prompts (use with --fix)")
```

### 2. Create fix registry (cmd/bd/doctor/fix/registry.go)
```go
package fix

// Fixer can automatically repair an issue
type Fixer interface {
    // CanFix returns true if this fixer handles the given check name
    CanFix(checkName string) bool
    // Fix attempts to repair the issue, returns error if failed
    Fix(ctx context.Context, issue *CheckResult) error
    // Description returns human-readable description of what will be fixed
    Description() string
}

var registry []Fixer

func Register(f Fixer) {
    registry = append(registry, f)
}

func GetFixer(checkName string) Fixer {
    for _, f := range registry {
        if f.CanFix(checkName) {
            return f
        }
    }
    return nil
}
```

### 3. Implement fixers (one per file)

**cmd/bd/doctor/fix/hooks.go**
```go
type HooksFixer struct{}

func (f *HooksFixer) CanFix(name string) bool {
    return name == "git-hooks" || name == "hooks-outdated"
}

func (f *HooksFixer) Fix(ctx context.Context, issue *CheckResult) error {
    return hooks.Install(".", true) // force reinstall
}

func (f *HooksFixer) Description() string {
    return "Reinstall git hooks"
}

func init() {
    Register(&HooksFixer{})
}
```

**cmd/bd/doctor/fix/sync_branch.go**
```go
type SyncBranchFixer struct{}

func (f *SyncBranchFixer) CanFix(name string) bool {
    return name == "sync-branch-missing" || name == "sync-branch-diverged"
}

func (f *SyncBranchFixer) Fix(ctx context.Context, issue *CheckResult) error {
    // Reset to remote or create branch
    return syncbranch.ResetToRemote(ctx, repoRoot, branch, jsonlPath)
}
```

**cmd/bd/doctor/fix/merge_driver.go**
```go
type MergeDriverFixer struct{}

func (f *MergeDriverFixer) CanFix(name string) bool {
    return name == "merge-driver-missing" || name == "merge-driver-outdated"
}

func (f *MergeDriverFixer) Fix(ctx context.Context, issue *CheckResult) error {
    return setupMergeDriver()
}
```

### 4. Update doctor run logic

```go
func runDoctor(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
    issues := runAllChecks()

    if \!fixFlag {
        // Existing behavior - just display issues
        displayIssues(issues)
        return
    }

    // Collect fixable issues
    var fixable []FixableIssue
    for _, issue := range issues {
        if fixer := fix.GetFixer(issue.CheckName); fixer \!= nil {
            fixable = append(fixable, FixableIssue{issue, fixer})
        }
    }

    if len(fixable) == 0 {
        fmt.Println("No automatically fixable issues found")
        return
    }

    // Show what will be fixed
    fmt.Printf("Found %d fixable issues:\n", len(fixable))
    for i, f := range fixable {
        fmt.Printf("  %d. [%s] %s\n", i+1, f.Issue.CheckName, f.Fixer.Description())
    }

    // Confirm unless --yes
    if \!yesFlag {
        fmt.Print("\nProceed with fixes? [Y/n] ")
        // ... read confirmation
    }

    // Apply fixes
    for _, f := range fixable {
        fmt.Printf("Fixing %s... ", f.Issue.CheckName)
        if err := f.Fixer.Fix(ctx, f.Issue); err \!= nil {
            fmt.Printf("FAILED: %v\n", err)
        } else {
            fmt.Println("OK")
        }
    }
}
```

## Fixable Checks (Initial Set)

| Check | Fixer | Action |
|-------|-------|--------|
| git-hooks | HooksFixer | Reinstall hooks |
| hooks-outdated | HooksFixer | Update hooks |
| merge-driver-missing | MergeDriverFixer | Configure merge driver |
| sync-branch-diverged | SyncBranchFixer | Reset to remote |
| daemon-version-mismatch | DaemonFixer | Restart daemon |

## Testing
```bash
# Test with broken hooks
rm .git/hooks/pre-commit
bd doctor --fix --yes

# Verify fix applied
bd doctor  # Should pass now
```

## Success Criteria
- --fix flag triggers automatic repair
- User prompted for confirmation (unless --yes)
- Clear output showing what was fixed
- Graceful handling of fix failures
- At least 5 common issues auto-fixable


Push to main

Push the release commit to origin.

```bash
git push origin main
```

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


Protect pinned issues from bd cleanup/compact

Update bd cleanup and bd compact to never delete pinned issues, even if they are closed. Pinned issues should persist indefinitely as reference material.


bd show --short flag for compact output

## Request
Add a `--short` flag to `bd show` for compact, one-line output per issue.

## Use Case
When checking multiple issues quickly:
```bash
bd show bd-nkqx --short && bd show bd-oxgi --short
```

Currently fails with "unknown flag: --short"

## Expected Output
Something like:
```
bd-nkqx [closed] P1 task: Validate swarm schema design
bd-oxgi [closed] P1 task: Add mol_type schema field to beads
```

## Format Suggestion
`<id> [<status>] <priority> <type>: <title>`

Optional: include blocker count if any, e.g. `(blocked by 2)`


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


bd hook: detect agent from cwd instead of defaulting to $USER

**Problem:**
`bd hook` without `--agent` defaults to `$USER` (e.g., "stevey") instead of detecting the agent identity from the current working directory.

**Expected behavior:**
When running from `/Users/stevey/gt/beads/crew/dave`, the agent should be detected as `beads/crew/dave`.

**Current behavior:**
```bash
$ pwd
/Users/stevey/gt/beads/crew/dave
$ bd hook
Hook: stevey
  (empty)

$ bd hook --agent beads/crew/dave
Hook: beads/crew/dave
  📌 bd-hobo (mol) - open
```

**Fix:**
bd hook should use the same cwd-based agent detection that other commands use (similar to how `gt mail` determines identity from cwd).


Add thread-safety warning to git.ResetCaches() doc comment

Code review finding from bd-7di fix.

ResetCaches() reassigns sync.Once values which is not thread-safe. While this is only used in tests (which are single-threaded), the function is exported and could be misused.

Add a warning comment:
```go
// ResetCaches resets all cached git information.
// WARNING: Not thread-safe. Only call from single-threaded test contexts.
```

File: internal/git/gitdir.go


Implement core reset package (internal/reset)

Create the core reset logic in internal/reset/ package.

## Responsibilities
- ResetOptions struct with all flag options
- CountImpact() - count issues/tombstones that will be deleted
- ValidateState() - check .beads/ exists, check git dirty state
- ExecuteReset() - main reset logic (without CLI concerns)
- Integrate with daemon killall

## Interface Design
```go
type ResetOptions struct {
    Hard      bool   // Include git operations (git rm, commit)
    Backup    bool   // Create backup before reset
    DryRun    bool   // Preview only, don't execute
    SkipInit  bool   // Don't re-initialize after reset
}

type ResetResult struct {
    IssuesDeleted     int
    TombstonesDeleted int
    BackupPath        string  // if backup was created
    DaemonsKilled     int
}

type ImpactSummary struct {
    IssueCount      int
    OpenCount       int
    ClosedCount     int
    TombstoneCount  int
    HasUncommitted  bool  // git dirty state
}

func Reset(opts ResetOptions) (*ResetResult, error)
func CountImpact() (*ImpactSummary, error)
func ValidateState() error
```

## IMPORTANT: CLI vs Core Separation
- `Force` (skip confirmation) is NOT in ResetOptions - that's a CLI concern
- Core always executes when called; CLI decides whether to prompt first
- Keep CLI-agnostic: no prompts, no colored output, no user interaction
- Return errors for CLI to handle with user-friendly messages
- Unit testable in isolation

## Dependencies
- Uses daemon.KillAllDaemons() from internal/daemon/
- Calls bd init logic after reset (unless SkipInit)


Restart daemons

Restart bd daemons to pick up new version.

```bash
bd daemons killall
```

Daemons will auto-restart with new version on next bd command.

Verify:
```bash
bd daemons list
```


Test Parent Epic


bd sync deleted non-.beads files (skills/beads/*)

On 2025-12-23, commit 7b671662 (bd sync) inadvertently deleted 5 files from skills/beads/ that were added by PR #722 (commit e432fcc8). These files are outside .beads/ and should never be touched by bd sync.

Files deleted:
- skills/beads/README.md
- skills/beads/references/INTEGRATION_PATTERNS.md
- skills/beads/references/MOLECULES.md
- skills/beads/references/PATTERNS.md
- skills/beads/references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Investigation needed:
1. How did bd sync stage/commit files outside .beads/?
2. Was this a one-time accident or is there a systematic bug?
3. Add safeguards to prevent bd sync from touching non-.beads paths

Reported via GH#738.


Time-dependent worktree detection tests may be flaky


Add tests for import/export functionality

Import/export functions like ImportIssues, exportToJSONLWithStore, and AutoImportIfNewer have low coverage. These are critical for data integrity and multi-repo synchronization.


Create version-bump template as native Beads

Migrate the version-bump workflow from YAML to a native Beads template:

1. Create epic with template label: Release {{version}}
2. Create child tasks for each step (update version files, changelog, commit, push, publish)
3. Set up dependencies between tasks
4. Add verification commands in task descriptions

This serves as both migration and validation of the new system.


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)


bd swarm validate command

Add bd swarm validate to check epic structure for swarming.

## Context
Before running a swarm, we need to validate the epic structure:
- Are dependencies correct (not inverted)?
- Are there orphaned issues?
- Is the DAG well-formed?

The Ready Front model (not phases!) means dependencies define execution order.
Common mistake: 'Phase 1 before Phase 2' → inverted deps.
Correct thinking: 'Phase 2 needs Phase 1' → bd dep add phase2 phase1

## Implementation
1. New command: bd swarm validate <epic-id>
2. Walk the dependency DAG from epic children
3. Detect issues:
   - Root issues with no dependents (orphans?)
   - Leaf issues depending on nothing (missing deps?)
   - Cycles (impossible)
   - Disconnected subgraphs
4. Report:
   - Ready fronts (waves of parallel work)
   - Estimated worker-sessions
   - Max parallelism
   - Warnings for potential issues

## Reference
~/gt/docs/swarm-architecture.md - 'The Ready Front Model' section

## Acceptance
- bd swarm validate <epic> runs
- Reports ready fronts accurately
- Warns about structural issues
- Returns success/failure exit code


Optimization: Tombstones still synced, adding overhead

Tombstoned (deleted) issues are still processed during sync, adding overhead.

## Evidence
```
Import complete: 0 created, 0 updated, 407 unchanged, 100 skipped
```
Those 100 skipped are tombstones - they're read from JSONL, parsed, then filtered out.

## Current State (Beads repo)
- 408 total issues
- 99 tombstones (24% of database)
- Every sync reads and skips these 99 entries

## Impact
- Sync time increases with tombstone count
- JSONL file size grows indefinitely
- Git history accumulates tombstone churn

## Proposed Solutions

### 1. JSONL Compaction (`bd compact`)
Periodically rewrite JSONL without tombstones:
```bash
bd compact  # Removes tombstones, rewrites issues.jsonl
```
Trade-off: Loses delete history, but that's in git anyway.

### 2. Tombstone TTL
Auto-remove tombstones older than N days during sync:
```go
if issue.Deleted && time.Since(issue.UpdatedAt) > 7*24*time.Hour {
    // Skip writing to new JSONL
}
```

### 3. Archive File
Move old closed issues to `issues-archive.jsonl`:
- Not synced regularly
- Available for historical queries
- Main JSONL stays small

### 4. Lazy Tombstone Handling
Don't write tombstones to JSONL at all - just remove the line:
- Simpler, but loses cross-clone delete propagation
- Would need different delete propagation mechanism

## Recommendation
Start with `bd compact` command - simple, explicit, user-controlled.

## Related
- gt-tnss: Analysis - Beads database size and hygiene strategy
- gt-ox67: Maintenance - Regular cleanup of closed MR/gate beads


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%


Merge: bd-phtv

branch: polecat/Pinner
target: main
source_issue: bd-phtv
rig: beads


Merge: topaz-1767106269860

branch: polecat/topaz-1767106269860
target: main
source_issue: topaz-1767106269860
rig: beads


Update documentation for template system

Update AGENTS.md and help text to document the new template system:

- How to create a template (epic + template label + child issues)
- How to define variables (just use {{name}} placeholders)
- How to instantiate (bd template instantiate)
- Migration from YAML workflows (if any users had custom ones)


GH#505: Add bd reset/wipe command

Add command to cleanly reset/wipe beads database. User reports painful manual process to start fresh. See GitHub issue #505.


Merge: jasper-1767083473604

branch: polecat/jasper-1767083473604
target: main
source_issue: jasper-1767083473604
rig: beads


Push commit and create release tag.

Push commit and create release tag.

```bash
git push origin main
git tag v0.37.0
git push origin v0.37.0
```

This triggers GitHub Actions release workflow.

instantiated_from: bd-mol-xga
step: push-and-tag


Push commit and tag to origin

```bash
git push origin main
git push origin v0.30.4
```

This triggers GitHub Actions:
- GoReleaser build
- PyPI publish
- npm publish

```verify
git ls-remote origin refs/tags/v0.30.4 | grep -q 'v0.30.4'
```


Daemon should be singleton and aggressively kill stale instances

Found 2 bd daemons running (PIDs 76868, 77515) during shutdown. The daemon should:

1. Be a singleton - only one instance per rig allowed
2. On startup, check for existing daemon and kill it before starting
3. Use a PID file or lock file to enforce this

Currently stale daemons can accumulate, causing confusion and resource waste.

**Investigation 2025-12-21:**

The singleton mechanism is already implemented and working correctly:

1. **daemon.lock** uses flock (exclusive non-blocking) to prevent duplicate daemons
2. **bd.sock.startlock** coordinates concurrent auto-starts via O_CREATE|O_EXCL
3. **Registry** tracks all daemons globally in ~/.beads/registry.json

Testing shows:
- Trying to start a second daemon gives: 'Error: daemon already running (PID X)'
- Multiple daemons for *different* rigs is expected/correct behavior

The original report ('Found 2 bd daemons running PIDs 76868, 77515') was likely:
1. Two daemons for different rigs (expected), OR
2. An edge case that's since been fixed

Consider closing as RESOLVED or clarifying the original scenario.


Add daemon RPC support for gate commands.

## Current State
Gate commands require --no-daemon flag because they use direct SQLite access:
- Gate create needs to write await_type, await_id, timeout_ns, waiters fields
- Gate wait needs to update waiters JSON array
- Daemon RPC doesnt have methods for these operations

## Implementation

### 1. Add RPC methods to internal/rpc/protocol.go

```go
// Gate operations
type GateCreateArgs struct {
    Title     string        \`json:"title"\`
    AwaitType string        \`json:"await_type"\`
    AwaitID   string        \`json:"await_id"\`
    Timeout   time.Duration \`json:"timeout"\`
    Waiters   []string      \`json:"waiters"\`
}

type GateCreateResult struct {
    Issue *types.Issue \`json:"issue"\`
}

type GateListArgs struct {
    All bool \`json:"all"\` // Include closed gates
}

type GateListResult struct {
    Gates []*types.Issue \`json:"gates"\`
}

type GateWaitArgs struct {
    GateID  string   \`json:"gate_id"\`
    Waiters []string \`json:"waiters"\` // Additional waiters to add
}

type GateWaitResult struct {
    Gate        *types.Issue \`json:"gate"\`
    AddedCount  int          \`json:"added_count"\`
}
```

### 2. Add handler methods to internal/daemon/rpc_handler.go

```go
func (h *RPCHandler) GateCreate(ctx context.Context, args *rpc.GateCreateArgs) (*rpc.GateCreateResult, error) {
    now := time.Now()
    gate := &types.Issue{
        Title:     args.Title,
        IssueType: types.TypeGate,
        Status:    types.StatusOpen,
        Priority:  1,
        Assignee:  "deacon/",
        Wisp:      true,
        AwaitType: args.AwaitType,
        AwaitID:   args.AwaitID,
        Timeout:   args.Timeout,
        Waiters:   args.Waiters,
        CreatedAt: now,
        UpdatedAt: now,
    }
    gate.ContentHash = gate.ComputeContentHash()

    if err := h.store.CreateIssue(ctx, gate, h.actor); err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    return &rpc.GateCreateResult{Issue: gate}, nil
}

func (h *RPCHandler) GateList(ctx context.Context, args *rpc.GateListArgs) (*rpc.GateListResult, error) {
    gateType := types.TypeGate
    filter := types.IssueFilter{IssueType: &gateType}
    if !args.All {
        openStatus := types.StatusOpen
        filter.Status = &openStatus
    }

    gates, err := h.store.SearchIssues(ctx, "", filter)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    return &rpc.GateListResult{Gates: gates}, nil
}

func (h *RPCHandler) GateWait(ctx context.Context, args *rpc.GateWaitArgs) (*rpc.GateWaitResult, error) {
    gate, err := h.store.GetIssue(ctx, args.GateID)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    if gate.IssueType != types.TypeGate {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s is not a gate", args.GateID)
    }

    // Merge waiters (dedupe)
    waiterSet := make(map[string]bool)
    for _, w := range gate.Waiters {
        waiterSet[w] = true
    }
    added := 0
    for _, w := range args.Waiters {
        if !waiterSet[w] {
            gate.Waiters = append(gate.Waiters, w)
            waiterSet[w] = true
            added++
        }
    }

    if added > 0 {
        // Update via store
        updates := map[string]interface{}{
            "waiters": gate.Waiters,
        }
        if err := h.store.UpdateIssue(ctx, args.GateID, updates, h.actor); err != nil {
            return nil, err
        }
    }

    return &rpc.GateWaitResult{Gate: gate, AddedCount: added}, nil
}
```

### 3. Register methods in daemon

In internal/daemon/server.go, register the new methods:
```go
rpc.RegisterMethod("gate.create", h.GateCreate)
rpc.RegisterMethod("gate.list", h.GateList)
rpc.RegisterMethod("gate.wait", h.GateWait)
```

### 4. Add client methods to internal/rpc/client.go

```go
func (c *Client) GateCreate(ctx context.Context, args *GateCreateArgs) (*GateCreateResult, error) {
    var result GateCreateResult
    err := c.Call(ctx, "gate.create", args, &result)
    return &result, err
}

func (c *Client) GateList(ctx context.Context, args *GateListArgs) (*GateListResult, error) {
    var result GateListResult
    err := c.Call(ctx, "gate.list", args, &result)
    return &result, err
}

func (c *Client) GateWait(ctx context.Context, args *GateWaitArgs) (*GateWaitResult, error) {
    var result GateWaitResult
    err := c.Call(ctx, "gate.wait", args, &result)
    return &result, err
}
```

### 5. Update cmd/bd/gate.go to use daemon

```go
// In gateCreateCmd Run:
if daemonClient != nil {
    result, err := daemonClient.GateCreate(ctx, &rpc.GateCreateArgs{
        Title:     title,
        AwaitType: awaitType,
        AwaitID:   awaitID,
        Timeout:   timeout,
        Waiters:   notifyAddrs,
    })
    if err != nil {
        FatalError("gate create: %v", err)
    }
    gate = result.Issue
} else {
    // Existing direct store code
}
```

## Files to Modify

1. **internal/rpc/protocol.go** - Add Gate*Args/Result types
2. **internal/daemon/rpc_handler.go** - Add handler methods
3. **internal/daemon/server.go** - Register methods
4. **internal/rpc/client.go** - Add client methods
5. **cmd/bd/gate.go** - Use daemon client when available

## Testing

```bash
# Start daemon
bd daemon start

# Test via daemon (should work without --no-daemon)
bd gate create --await timer:5m --notify beads/dave
bd gate list
bd gate wait <id> --notify beads/alice

# Verify daemon handled it
bd daemons logs . | grep gate
```

## Success Criteria
- All gate commands work without --no-daemon
- Same behavior in daemon vs direct mode
- Waiters array updates correctly via RPC
- Tests pass for RPC gate operations


Polecat sessions terminate unexpectedly during work

During swarm bd-784c, polecat sessions (Toast, Nux) terminated mid-task without completing their work.

**Observed:**
- Polecats were actively working (edits in progress, tests running)
- Sessions suddenly showed 'not running' in gt polecat status
- tmux sessions existed but were empty/reset
- Work was partially complete (some commits made, issue still open)

**Timeline example:**
1. Toast working on bd-1tkd, making edits
2. Check status 30s later - session empty, state shows 'idle'
3. Had to re-sling to restart

**Impact:**
- Lost work progress
- Required manual intervention to restart
- Unclear if work was saved/committed

**Possible causes:**
- Session timeout?
- Claude Code crash?
- Resource limit?

**Suggestion:**
- Add session health monitoring
- Auto-restart on unexpected termination
- Log session exit reasons


Wait for CI to pass

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


Update integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml to 0.30.4

Update version in pyproject.toml:
```toml
version = "0.30.4"
```

```verify
grep -q 'version = "0.30.4"' integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
```


Test hooked status


Add EntityRef type for structured entity references

Create EntityRef struct with Name, Platform, Org, ID fields. This is the foundation for HOP entity tracking. Can render as entity://hop/<platform>/<org>/<id> when needed. Add to internal/types/types.go.


Feature: bd swarm list - discover existing swarm molecules

No command to list existing swarm molecules.

Add `bd swarm list` to show all swarm molecules:

```
bd swarm list

Active swarms:
  bd-xyz: Swarm: Feature X (3/10 complete, 2 active)
  bd-abc: Swarm: Bug fixes (0/5 complete)
```

Could also be achieved via `bd list --mol-type=swarm` but dedicated command would show richer info.


Merge: obsidian-1767106243818

branch: polecat/obsidian-1767106243818
target: main
source_issue: obsidian-1767106243818
rig: beads


Run bump-version.sh test-squash

Run ./scripts/bump-version.sh test-squash to update version in all files


Merge: bd-9usz

branch: polecat/slit
target: main
source_issue: bd-9usz
rig: beads


Verify npm package

Confirm npm package published.

```bash
npm show @beads/bd version
```

Should show 0.99.0-test.

Also check: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@beads/bd


bd prime: AI context loading and Claude Code integration

Implement `bd prime` command and Claude Code hooks for context recovery. Hooks work with BOTH MCP server and CLI approaches - they solve the context memory problem (keeping bd workflow fresh after compaction) not the tool access problem (MCP vs CLI).


Ephemeral issue cleanup and history compaction

## Problem

Beads history grows without bound. Every message, handoff, work assignment
stays in issues.jsonl forever. Enterprise users will balk at "git as database."

## Solution: Two-Tier Cleanup

### Tier 1: Ephemeral Cleanup (v1)

bd cleanup --ephemeral --closed

- Deletes closed issues where ephemeral=true from issues.jsonl
- Safe: only removes explicitly marked ephemeral + closed
- Preserves git history (commits still exist)
- Run after swarm completion

### Tier 2: History Compaction (v2)

bd compact --squash

- Rewrites issues.jsonl to remove tombstones
- Optionally squashes git history (interactive rebase equivalent)
- Preserves Merkle proofs for deleted items
- Advanced: cold storage tiering

## HOP Context

| Layer | HOP Role | Persistence |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| Execution trace | None | Ephemeral |
| Work scaffolding | None | Summarizable |
| Work outcome | CV entry | Permanent |
| Validation record | Stake proof | Permanent |

"Execution is ephemeral. Outcomes are permanent. You can't squash your CV."

## Success Criteria

- After cleanup --ephemeral: issues.jsonl only contains persistent work
- Work outcomes preserved (CV entries)
- Validation records preserved (stake proofs)
- Execution scaffolding removed (transient coordination)

## Implementation Plan (REVISED after code review)

See history/EPHEMERAL_MOLECULES_DESIGN.md for comprehensive design + review.

## Key Simplification

After code review, Tier 1 is MUCH simpler than originally designed:

- **Original**: Separate ephemeral repo with routing.ephemeral config
- **Revised**: Just set Wisp: true in cloneSubgraph()

The wisp field and bd cleanup --wisp already exist\!

## Child Tasks (in dependency order)

1. **bd-2vh3.2**: Tier 1 - Ephemeral spawning (SIMPLIFIED) [READY]
   - Just add Wisp: true to template.go:474
   - Add --persistent flag to opt out
2. **bd-2vh3.3**: Tier 2 - Basic bd mol squash command
3. **bd-2vh3.4**: Tier 3 - AI-powered squash summarization
4. **bd-2vh3.5**: Tier 4 - Auto-squash on molecule completion
5. **bd-2vh3.6**: Tier 5 - JSONL archive rotation (DEFERRED: post-1.0)

## What Already Exists

| Component | Location |
|-----------|----------|
| Ephemeral field | internal/types/types.go:45 |
| bd cleanup --wisp | cmd/bd/cleanup.go:72 |
| cloneSubgraph() | cmd/bd/template.go:456 |
| loadTemplateSubgraph() | cmd/bd/template.go |

## HOP Alignment

'Execution is ephemeral. Outcomes are permanent. You can't squash your CV.'


Restart beads daemon

Kill any running daemons so they pick up the new version:
```bash
bd daemons killall
```

Start fresh daemon:
```bash
bd list  # triggers daemon start
```

Verify daemon version:
```bash
bd version --daemon
```

```verify
bd version --daemon 2>&1 | grep -q '0.30.4'
```


Merge: bd-dxtc

branch: polecat/cheedo
target: main
source_issue: bd-dxtc
rig: beads


Upgrade Homebrew bd

brew update && brew upgrade bd


Run bump-version.sh

Update all component versions atomically.

```bash
./scripts/bump-version.sh 0.39.0
```

This updates:
- cmd/bd/version.go
- .claude-plugin/*.json
- integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
- integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
- npm-package/package.json
- Hook templates
- README.md
- CHANGELOG.md (adds date)


Implement Jira issue timestamp comparison for sync

In cmd/bd/jira.go:633, there's a TODO for a full implementation that would fetch the Jira issue and compare timestamps to detect conflicts during sync.

File: cmd/bd/jira.go:633


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)


Merge: garnet-1767142025508

branch: polecat/garnet-1767142025508
target: main
source_issue: garnet-1767142025508
rig: beads


Update CHANGELOG.md for {{version}}

In CHANGELOG.md:

1. Change `## [Unreleased]` section header to `## [{{version}}] - {{date}}`
2. Add new empty `## [Unreleased]` section above it
3. Review and clean up the changes list

Format:
```markdown
## [Unreleased]

## [{{version}}] - {{date}}

### Added
- ...

### Changed
- ...

### Fixed
- ...
```


Verify version consistency

Confirm all versions match 0.99.0-test.

```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 0.99.0-test.


bd init should stop running daemon to avoid stale cache

When running bd init, any running daemon continues with stale cached data, causing bd stats and other commands to show old counts.

Repro:
1. Have daemon running with 788 issues cached
2. Clean JSONL to 128 issues, delete db, run bd init
3. bd stats still shows 788 (daemon cache)
4. Must manually run bd daemon --stop

Fix: bd init should automatically stop any running daemon before reinitializing.


Update info.go versionChanges

Add entry to versionChanges in cmd/bd/info.go with agent-actionable changes for test-squash


bd mol squash handles wisp→digest

Update bd mol squash to handle ephemeral molecules.

## Behavior for Ephemeral Molecules
1. Delete wisp from .beads-ephemeral/
2. Create digest issue in .beads/ (permanent)
3. Digest has type:digest and squashed_from field

## Digest Format
```json
{
  "id": "<parent>.digest-NNN",
  "type": "digest",
  "title": "<proto> cycle @ <timestamp>",
  "description": "<summary from --summary flag>",
  "parent": "<proto-id>",
  "squashed_from": "<wisp-id>"
}
```

## Implementation
- Detect if molecule is ephemeral (check storage location or flag)
- Delete from ephemeral store
- Create digest in permanent store
- Return digest ID

## Testing
- Test squash of ephemeral mol creates digest
- Test wisp is deleted after squash
- Test digest is queryable


Merge: ruby-1767142029451

branch: polecat/ruby-1767142029451
target: main
source_issue: ruby-1767142029451
rig: beads


Witness Patrol

Per-rig worker monitor patrol loop with progressive nudging.


Implement bd pin/unpin commands

Add 'bd pin <id>' and 'bd unpin <id>' commands to toggle the pinned status of issues. Should support multiple IDs like other bd commands.


Verify npm package

Confirm npm package published.

```bash
npm show @beads/bd version
```

Should show 0.41.0.

Also check: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@beads/bd


Implement CLI command (cmd/bd/reset.go)

Wire up the reset command with Cobra CLI.

## Responsibilities
- Define command and all flags
- User confirmation prompt (unless --force)
- Display impact summary before confirmation
- Colored output and progress indicators
- Call core reset package
- Handle errors with user-friendly messages
- Register command with rootCmd in init()

## Flags
```go
--hard       bool   "Also remove from git and commit"
--force      bool   "Skip confirmation prompt"
--backup     bool   "Create backup before reset"
--dry-run    bool   "Preview what would happen"
--skip-init  bool   "Do not re-initialize after reset"
--verbose    bool   "Show detailed progress output"
```

## Output Format
```
⚠  This will reset beads to a clean state.

Will be deleted:
  • 47 issues (23 open, 24 closed)
  • 12 tombstones

Continue? [y/N] y

→ Stopping daemons... ✓
→ Removing .beads/... ✓
→ Initializing fresh... ✓

✓ Reset complete. Run 'bd onboard' to set up hooks.
```

## Implementation Notes
- Confirmation logic lives HERE, not in core package
- Use color package (github.com/fatih/color) for output
- Follow patterns from other commands (init.go, doctor.go)
- Add to rootCmd in init() function

## File Location
`cmd/bd/reset.go`


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.


Add unit tests for reset package

Comprehensive unit tests for internal/reset package.

## Test Cases

### ValidateState tests
- .beads/ exists → success
- .beads/ missing → appropriate error
- git dirty state detection

### CountImpact tests
- Empty .beads/ → zero counts
- With issues → correct count (open vs closed)
- With tombstones → correct count
- Returns HasUncommitted correctly

### Backup tests
- Creates backup with correct timestamp format
- Preserves all files and permissions
- Returns correct path
- Handles missing .beads/ gracefully
- Errors on pre-existing backup dir

### Git operation tests
- CheckGitState detects dirty, detached, not-a-repo
- GitRemoveBeads removes correct files
- GitCommitReset creates commit with message
- Operations skip gracefully when not in git repo

### Reset tests (with mocks/temp dirs)
- Soft reset removes files, calls init
- Hard reset includes git operations
- Dry run doesn't modify anything
- SkipInit flag prevents re-initialization
- Daemon killall is called
- Backup is created when requested

## Approach
- Can start with interface definitions (TDD style)
- Use testify for assertions
- Create temp directories for isolation
- Mock git operations where needed
- Test completion depends on implementation tasks

## File Location
`internal/reset/reset_test.go`
`internal/reset/backup_test.go`
`internal/reset/git_test.go`


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)


Fix FindBeadsDir to prioritize main repo .beads for worktrees

The FindBeadsDir function should prioritize finding .beads in the main repository root when accessed from a worktree, rather than finding worktree-local .beads directories. This ensures proper sharing of the database across all worktrees.


Hooks System

Implement hook system for extensibility.

Hook directory: .beads/hooks/
Hook files (executable scripts):
- on_create - runs after bd create
- on_update - runs after bd update
- on_close - runs after bd close
- on_message - runs after bd mail send

Hook invocation:
- Pass issue ID as first argument
- Pass event type as second argument
- Pass JSON issue data on stdin
- Run asynchronously (dont block command)

Example hook (GGT notification):
  #!/bin/bash
  gt notify --event=$2 --issue=$1

This allows GGT to register notification handlers without Beads knowing about GGT.


Remove molecule.go (simple instantiation)

molecule.go uses is_template field for simple single-issue cloning. This is too simple for what molecules should be - full DAG orchestration. The use case is covered by bd mol bond with a single-issue molecule. Delete molecule.go and its commands.


Remove legacy autoflush code paths

## Problem

The autoflush system has dual code paths - an old timer-based approach and a new FlushManager. Both are actively used based on whether flushManager is nil.

## Locations

- main.go:78-81: isDirty, needsFullExport, flushTimer marked 'used by legacy code'
- autoflush.go:291-369: Functions with 'Legacy path for backward compatibility with tests'

## Current Behavior

```go
// In markDirtyAndScheduleFlush():
if flushManager != nil {
    flushManager.MarkDirty(false)
    return
}
// Legacy path for backward compatibility with tests
```

## Proposed Fix

1. Ensure flushManager is always initialized (even in tests)
2. Remove the legacy timer-based code paths
3. Remove isDirty, needsFullExport, flushTimer globals
4. Update tests to use FlushManager

## Risk

Low - the FlushManager is the production path. Legacy code only runs when flushManager is nil (test scenarios).


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.


Gate await fields cleared by --no-daemon CLI access (not multi-repo)


Test pinned for stats


Push to main

Push the release commit to origin.

```bash
git push origin main
```

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


Graph Link: replies_to for conversation threading

Implement replies_to link type for message threading.

New command:
- bd mail reply <id> -m 'Response' creates a message with replies_to set

Query support:
- bd show <id> --thread shows full conversation thread
- Thread traversal in storage layer

Storage:
- replies_to column in issues table
- Index for efficient thread queries

This enables Reddit-style nested threads where messages reply to other messages.


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.


Add git operations for --hard reset

Implement git integration for hard reset mode.

## Operations Needed
1. `git rm -rf .beads/*.jsonl` - remove data files from index
2. `git commit -m 'beads: reset to clean state'` - commit removal
3. After re-init: `git add .beads/` and commit fresh state

## Edge Cases to Handle
- Uncommitted changes in .beads/ - warn or error
- Detached HEAD state - warn, maybe block
- Git not initialized - skip git ops, warn
- Git operations fail mid-way - clear error messaging

## Interface
```go
type GitState struct {
    IsRepo       bool
    IsDirty      bool   // uncommitted changes in .beads/
    IsDetached   bool   // detached HEAD
    Branch       string // current branch name
}

func CheckGitState(beadsDir string) (*GitState, error)
func GitRemoveBeads(beadsDir string) error
func GitCommitReset(message string) error
func GitAddAndCommit(beadsDir, message string) error
```

## Location
`internal/reset/git.go` - keep with reset package for now

Note: Codebase has no central git package. internal/compact/git.go is compact-specific.
Future refactoring could extract shared git utilities, but YAGNI for now.


refinery Handoff


Update info.go versionChanges

Add entry to versionChanges in cmd/bd/info.go.

This powers `bd info --whats-new` for agents.

```go
"0.39.0": {
    "summary": "Brief description",
    "changes": []string{
        "Key change 1",
        "Key change 2",
    },
},
```

Focus on workflow-impacting changes agents need to know.


Implement bd close --continue flag

Auto-advance to next step in molecule when closing an issue. Referenced by gt-um6q, gt-lz13. Needed for molecule navigation workflow.


GH#444: Fix inconsistent status naming in_progress vs in-progress

Documentation uses in-progress (hyphen) but code expects in_progress (underscore). Update all docs to use canonical in_progress. See GitHub issue #444.


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 activity --town: Aggregated town feed

Add --town flag to bd activity for aggregated cross-rig feed.

Behavior:
- Uses routes.jsonl to discover all rigs
- Aggregates activity from all rig beads
- Essential for Deacon's convoy tracking and cross-rig dep resolution

Usage:
  bd activity --follow --town   # Stream all rig activity

Related: hq-7h8jx (Convoy System epic in town beads)


gt handoff deadlock at handoff.go:125

When running 'gt handoff -m "message"' after successful MR submit, go panics with 'fatal error: all goroutines are asleep - deadlock\!' at handoff.go:125. The shutdown request still appears to be sent successfully but the command crashes. Stack trace shows issue is in runHandoff select statement.


RemoveDependency fails on external deps - FK violation in dirty_issues

In dependencies.go:225, RemoveDependency marks BOTH issueID and dependsOnID as dirty. For external refs (e.g., external:project:capability), dependsOnID doesn't exist in the issues table. This causes FK violation since dirty_issues.issue_id has FK constraint to issues.id.

Fix: Check if dependsOnID starts with 'external:' and only mark source issue as dirty, matching the logic in AddDependency (lines 162-170).

Repro: bd dep rm <issue> external:project:capability


Create and push tag

git tag v{{version}} && git push origin main && git push origin v{{version}}


Spawn-time bonding: --attach flag

Add --attach flag to bd mol spawn for on-the-fly composition.

COMMAND: bd mol spawn proto-feature --attach proto-docs --attach proto-testing

BEHAVIOR:
- Spawn the primary proto as normal
- For each --attach: spawn that proto and wire to primary
- Attachments become children of primary's root epic
- Dependencies wired based on bond type (default: sequential)

FLAGS:
- --attach PROTO: Attach a proto (can repeat)
- --attach-type TYPE: sequential (default) or parallel for all attachments
- --after ISSUE: Attachment point for attached protos

VARIABLE HANDLING:
- All attached protos share variable namespace
- Warn on variable name conflicts
- All --var flags apply to all protos

DESIGN NOTE: This is syntactic sugar. Equivalent to:
  bd mol spawn proto-A
  bd mol bond $new_epic_id proto-B

Keeping as separate task because it's a common UX pattern worth optimizing.


Add 'convoy' issue type with reactive completion

Add convoy as a new issue type with reactive completion semantics.

Behavior:
- Convoy has list of tracked issues (via 'tracks' relation)
- When all tracked issues close (including wontfix), convoy auto-closes
- Supports cross-prefix tracking (convoy in hq-* tracks gt-*, bd-*)

Implementation:
- New type: convoy
- Reactive completion trigger on tracked issue closure
- Query support: 'bd list --type=convoy'

Related: hq-7h8jx (Convoy System epic in town beads)


Merge: opal-1767142018955

branch: polecat/opal-1767142018955
target: main
source_issue: opal-1767142018955
rig: beads


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


Push version bump to GitHub

git push origin main - triggers CI but no release yet.


Verify GitHub release

Check the GitHub releases page.

https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/releases/tag/v0.41.0

Verify:
- Release created
- Binaries attached (linux, darwin, windows)
- Checksums present


Centralize error handling patterns in storage layer

80+ instances of inconsistent error handling across sqlite.go with mix of %w, %v, and no wrapping.

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go (throughout)

Problem:
- Some use fmt.Errorf("op failed: %w", err) - correct wrapping
- Some use fmt.Errorf("op failed: %v", err) - loses error chain
- Some return err directly - no context
- Hard to debug production issues
- Can't distinguish error types

Solution: Create internal/storage/sqlite/errors.go:
- Define sentinel errors (ErrNotFound, ErrInvalidID, etc.)
- Create wrapDBError(op string, err error) helper
- Convert sql.ErrNoRows to ErrNotFound
- Always wrap with operation context

Impact: Lost error context; inconsistent messages; hard to debug

Effort: 5-7 hours


Verify version consistency

Confirm all versions match 0.41.0.

```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 0.41.0.


Monitor GoReleaser CI job

Watch the GoReleaser action:
https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/actions/workflows/release.yml

Should complete in ~10 minutes and create:
- GitHub Release with binaries for all platforms
- Checksums and signatures

Check status:
```bash
gh run list --workflow=release.yml -L 1
gh run watch  # to monitor live
```

Verify release exists:
```bash
gh release view v0.30.4
```

```verify
gh release view v0.30.4 --json tagName -q .tagName | grep -q 'v0.30.4'
```


Audit and standardize JSON output across all commands

Ensure consistent JSON format and error handling when --json flag is used.

**Scope:**
1. Verify all commands respect --json flag
2. Standardize success response format
3. Standardize error response format
4. Document JSON schemas

**Commands to audit:**
- Core CRUD: create, update, delete, show, list, search ✓
- Queries: ready, blocked, stale, count, stats, status
- Deps: dep add/remove/tree/cycles
- Labels: label commands
- Comments: comments add/list/delete
- Epics: epic status/close-eligible
- Export/import: already support --json ✓

**Testing:**
- Success cases return valid JSON
- Error cases return valid JSON (not plain text)
- Consistent field naming (snake_case vs camelCase)
- Array vs object wrapping consistency

## Audit Complete (2025-12-25)

### Findings

**✓ All commands support --json flag**
- Query commands: ready, blocked, stale, count, stats, status
- Dep commands: add, remove, tree, cycles
- Label commands: add, remove, list, list-all
- Comments: list, add
- Epic: status, close-eligible

**✓ Field naming is consistent**
- All fields use snake_case: created_at, issue_type, dependency_count, etc.

**✗ Error output is INCONSISTENT**
- Only bd show uses FatalErrorRespectJSON (returns JSON errors)
- All other commands use fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, ...) (returns plain text)

### Files needing fixes

| File | stderr writes | Commands |
|------|---------------|----------|
| show.go | 51 | update, close, edit |
| dep.go | 41 | dep add/remove/tree/cycles |
| label.go | 19 | label add/remove/list |
| comments.go | ~10 | comments add/list |
| epic.go | ~5 | epic status/close-eligible |

### Follow-up

Created epic bd-28sq to track fixing all error handlers.


Make merge requests ephemeral wisps instead of permanent issues

## Problem

Merge requests (MRs) are currently created as regular beads issues (type: merge-request). This means they:
- Sync to JSONL and propagate via git
- Accumulate in the issue database indefinitely
- Clutter `bd list` output with closed MRs
- Create permanent records for inherently transient artifacts

MRs are process artifacts, not work products. They exist briefly while code awaits merge, then their purpose is fulfilled. The git merge commit and GitHub PR (if applicable) provide the permanent audit trail - the beads MR is redundant.

## Proposed Solution

Make MRs ephemeral wisps that exist only during the merge process:

1. **Create MRs as wisps**: When a polecat completes work and requests merge, create the MR in `.beads-wisp/` instead of `.beads/`

2. **Refinery visibility**: This works because all clones within a rig share the same database:
   ```
   beads/              ← Rig root
   ├── .beads/         ← Permanent issues (synced to JSONL)
   ├── .beads-wisp/    ← Ephemeral wisps (NOT synced)
   ├── crew/dave/      ← Uses rig's shared DB
   ├── polecats/*/     ← Uses rig's shared DB
   └── refinery/       ← Uses rig's shared DB
   ```
   The refinery can see wisp MRs immediately - same SQLite database.

3. **On merge completion**: Burn the wisp (delete without digest). The git merge commit IS the permanent record. No digest needed since:
   - Digest wouldn't be smaller than the MR itself (~200-300 bytes either way)
   - Git history provides complete audit trail
   - GitHub PR (if used) provides discussion/approval record

4. **On merge rejection/abandonment**: Burn the wisp. Optionally notify the source polecat via mail.

## Benefits

- **Clean JSONL**: MRs never pollute the permanent issue history
- **No accumulation**: Wisps are burned on completion, no cleanup needed
- **Correct semantics**: Wisps are for "operational ephemera" - MRs fit perfectly
- **Reduced sync churn**: Fewer JSONL updates, faster `bd sync`
- **Cleaner queries**: `bd list` shows work items, not process artifacts

## Implementation Notes

### Where MRs are created

Currently MRs are created by the witness or polecat when work is ready for merge. This code needs to:
- Set `wisp: true` on the MR issue
- Or use a dedicated wisp creation path

### Refinery changes

The refinery queries for pending MRs to process. It needs to:
- Query wisp storage as well as (or instead of) permanent storage
- Use `bd mol burn` or equivalent to delete processed MRs

### What about cross-rig MRs?

If an MR needs to be visible outside the rig (e.g., external collaborators):
- They would see the GitHub PR anyway
- Or we could create a permanent "merge completed" notification issue
- But this is likely unnecessary - MRs are internal coordination

### Migration

Existing MRs in permanent storage:
- Can be cleaned up with `bd cleanup` or manual deletion
- Or left to age out naturally
- No migration of open MRs needed (they'll complete under old system

## Alternatives Considered

1. **Auto-cleanup of closed MRs**: Keep MRs as permanent issues but auto-delete after 24h. Simpler but still creates sync churn and temporary JSONL pollution.

2. **MRs as mail only**: Polecat sends mail to refinery with merge details, no MR issue at all. Loses queryability (bd-801b [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-bqcc
bd-pvu0 [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-4opy
bd-i0rx [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-ao0s
bd-u0sb [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-uqfn
bd-8e0q [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: beads-ocs
bd-hvng [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-w193
bd-4sfl [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-14ie
bd-sumr [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-t4sb
bd-3x9o [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-by0d
bd-whgv [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-401h
bd-f3ll [P2] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-ot0w
bd-fmdy [P3] [merge-request] closed - Merge: bd-kzda).

3. **Separate merge queue**: Refinery maintains internal state for pending merges, not in beads at all. Clean but requires new infrastructure.

Wisps are the cleanest solution - they already exist, have the right semantics, and require minimal changes.

## Related

- Wisp architecture:
- Current MR creation: witness/refinery code paths
- bd-pvu0, bd-801b: Example MRs currently in permanent storage
EOF
)


Warn on invalid depends_on references in workflow templates

workflow.go:780-781 silently skips invalid dependency names. Should log a warning when a depends_on reference doesn't match any task ID in the template.


Reduce global state in cmd/bd/main.go (25+ variables)

Code health review found main.go has 25+ global variables (lines 57-112):

- dbPath, actor, store, jsonOutput, daemonClient, noDaemon
- rootCtx, rootCancel, autoFlushEnabled
- isDirty (marked 'USED BY LEGACY CODE')
- needsFullExport (marked 'USED BY LEGACY CODE')
- flushTimer (marked 'DEPRECATED')
- flushMutex, storeMutex, storeActive
- flushFailureCount, lastFlushError, flushManager
- skipFinalFlush, autoImportEnabled
- versionUpgradeDetected, previousVersion, upgradeAcknowledged

Impact:
- Hard to test individual commands
- Race conditions possible
- State leakage between commands

Fix: Move toward dependency injection. Remove deprecated variables. Consider cmd/bd/internal package.

COMPLETED: Migration of legacy flush state to FlushManager. The main work (isDirty, needsFullExport, flushTimer) moved to local vars in FlushManager.run() lines 170-173. This fixes the race conditions. Remaining globals are: Cobra flag bindings (standard), runtime state (store, daemonClient - structural), store coordination (storeActive/storeMutex). Future: move error tracking to FlushManager, create cmd/bd/internal for encapsulation.


Code Health Review Dec 2025: Technical Debt Cleanup

Epic grouping technical debt identified in the Dec 16, 2025 code health review.

## Overall Health Grade: B (Solid foundation, needs cleanup)

### P1 (High Priority):
- bd-74w1: Consolidate duplicate path-finding utilities
- [deleted:bd-b6xo]: Remove/fix ClearDirtyIssues() race condition
- [deleted:bd-b3og]: Fix TestImportBugIntegration deadlock

### P2 (Medium Priority):
- bd-05a8: Split large files (doctor.go, sync.go)
- bd-qioh: Standardize error handling patterns
- bd-rgyd: Split queries.go (1586 lines)
- bd-9g1z: Fix/remove TestFindJSONLPathDefault

### P3 (Low Priority):
- bd-ork0: Add comments to 30+ ignored errors
- bd-4nqq: Remove dead test code in info_test.go
- bd-dhza: Reduce global state in main.go

## Key Areas:
1. Code duplication in path utilities
2. Large monolithic files (5 files >1000 lines)
3. Global state (25+ variables, 3 deprecated)
4. Silent error suppression (30+ instances)
5. Test gaps and dead test code
6. Atomicity risks in batch operations


Wait for CI to pass

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


gt nudge doesn't work with crew addresses

## Bug

`gt nudge beads/crew/dave "message"` fails because it uses the polecat session manager which produces wrong session names.

## Expected
Session name: `gt-beads-crew-dave` (hyphen)

## Actual
Session name: `gt-beads-crew/dave` (slash, from polecat manager)

## Root Cause

In nudge.go line 46-57:
```go
rigName, polecatName, err := parseAddress(target)  // beads, crew/dave
sessionName := mgr.SessionName(polecatName)        // gt-beads-crew/dave (WRONG)
```

Should detect `crew/` prefix in polecatName and use `crewSessionName(rigName, crewName)` instead.

## Fix

```go
if strings.HasPrefix(polecatName, "crew/") {
    crewName := strings.TrimPrefix(polecatName, "crew/")
    sessionName = crewSessionName(rigName, crewName)
} else {
    sessionName = mgr.SessionName(polecatName)
}
```


Release v0.33.2

Version bump workflow for beads release 0.33.2.

## Variables
- `0.33.2` - The new version number (e.g., 0.31.0)
- `2025-12-21` - Release date (YYYY-MM-DD format)

## Workflow Steps
1. Kill running daemons
2. Run tests and linting
3. Bump version in all files (10 files total)
4. Update cmd/bd/info.go with release notes
5. Commit and push version bump
6. Create and push git tag
7. Update Homebrew formula
8. Upgrade local Homebrew installation
9. Verify installation

## Files Updated by bump-version.sh
- cmd/bd/version.go
- .claude-plugin/plugin.json
- .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
- integrations/beads-mcp/pyproject.toml
- integrations/beads-mcp/src/beads_mcp/__init__.py
- README.md
- npm-package/package.json
- cmd/bd/templates/hooks/* (4 files)
- CHANGELOG.md

## Manual Step Required
- cmd/bd/info.go - Add versionChanges entry with release notes


Agent beads: structured labels for filtering

## Agent Beads Need Queryable Labels

Currently agent beads have role_type/rig in description text, not as labels. This breaks @group resolution in gt mail.

## Current State

```json
{
  "id": "gt-gastown-witness",
  "issue_type": "agent",
  "description": "...\\nrole_type: witness\\nrig: gastown\\n..."
}
```

Cannot query: `bd list --type=agent --label=role_type:witness` returns nothing.

## Required

Agent bead creation should add labels:
- `role_type:<type>` (witness, refinery, crew, polecat, dog, mayor, deacon)
- `rig:<rig>` (gastown, beads, or "town" for town-level)

## Where to Fix

gt polecat/crew/agent creation commands should add labels:
```bash
bd create --type=agent ... --labels="role_type:witness,rig:gastown"
```

## Queries Enabled

```bash
bd list --type=agent --label=role_type:witness    # All witnesses
bd list --type=agent --label=rig:gastown          # All gastown agents
bd list --type=agent --label=role_type:dog        # All dogs
```

## Acceptance
- New agent beads created with role_type/rig labels
- Existing agent beads backfilled (one-time script)
- @group patterns work in gt mail router


bd distill: Extract formula from mol/epic

Extract a formula from completed work (mol, wisp, or epic).

**Key change**: Distill works on execution artifacts (mols/wisps/epics), not protos.
Protos are ephemeral - they don't persist. Distillation extracts patterns from
actual executed work.

## Usage
```bash
bd distill bd-mol-xyz -o my-workflow.formula.json
bd distill bd-epic-abc -o feature-workflow.formula.json
```

## Use Cases
- **Emergent patterns**: Structured work manually, want to templatize it
- **Modified execution**: Poured a formula, added custom steps, want to capture
- **Learning from success**: Extract what made a complex mol succeed

## Implementation
1. Load mol/wisp/epic subgraph (root + all children)
2. Convert to formula JSON structure
3. Extract variables from patterns (titles, descriptions)
4. Generate step IDs from issue titles (slugify)
5. Write .formula.json file

## Output Format
```json
{
  "formula": "my-workflow",
  "description": "...",
  "version": 1,
  "vars": { ... },
  "steps": [ ... ]
}
```

## Architecture Note
This closes the formula lifecycle loop:
  Formulas ──cook──→ Mols ──distill──→ Formulas

All sharing happens via formulas. Mols contain execution context and aren't shared.


Dead code: fetchAndRebaseInWorktree() marked DEPRECATED but still exists

attached_args: Remove dead code fetchAndRebaseInWorktree

The function fetchAndRebaseInWorktree() in internal/syncbranch/worktree.go (lines 811-830) is marked as DEPRECATED with a comment:

```go
// fetchAndRebaseInWorktree is DEPRECATED - kept for reference only.
// Use contentMergeRecovery instead to avoid tombstone resurrection.
```

Since contentMergeRecovery() is the replacement and is being used, this dead code should be removed to reduce maintenance burden.

Location: internal/syncbranch/worktree.go:811-830


bd cook: waits_for field not preserved in cooked protos

The `waits_for` field in formula steps is not preserved in the cooked proto.

## Formula

```yaml
- id: aggregate
  title: Aggregate arm results
  needs: [survey-workers]
  waits_for: all-children
  description: |
    This is a **fanout gate**...
```

## Expected

The cooked proto step should have metadata indicating it's a gate:
- Label: `gate:all-children` or
- Field in issue metadata indicating wait behavior

## Actual

The `waits_for` field is silently ignored. Only the description mentions 'fanout gate'.

## Impact

The execution engine cannot determine which steps are gates that need to wait
for dynamically-bonded children. This breaks the Christmas Ornament pattern
where aggregate steps must wait for all polecat-arm wisps to complete.

## Related

bd-hr39: needs field not converted to step dependencies


Release v0.34.0

Minor version release for beads v0.34.0. This bead serves as my persistent work assignment; the actual release steps are tracked in an attached wisp.


Correction: Pinned field already in v0.31.0

Quick correction - the Pinned field is already in the current bd v0.31.0:

```go
// In beads internal/types/types.go
Pinned bool `json:"pinned,omitempty"`
```

So you just need to:
1. Add `Pinned bool `json:"pinned,omitempty"`` to BeadsMessage in types.go
2. Sort pinned messages first in listBeads() after fetching

No migration needed - the field is already there.

-- Mayor


Test message

This is a test message body


Restart daemon with 0.33.2

Restart the bd daemon to pick up new version:

```bash
bd daemon --stop
bd daemon --start
bd daemon --health  # Verify Version: 0.33.2
```


gt polecat done should auto-stop running session

Currently 'gt polecat done' fails if session is running, requiring a separate 'gt session stop' first. This is unnecessary friction - done should just stop the session automatically since that's always what you want.


Tier 2: Basic bd mol squash command

Add bd mol squash command for basic molecule execution compression.

## Command

bd mol squash <molecule-id> [flags]
  --dry-run         Preview what would be squashed
  --keep-children   Don't delete ephemeral children after squash
  --json            JSON output

## Implementation

1. Find all ephemeral children of molecule (parent-child deps)
2. Concatenate child descriptions/notes into digest
3. Create digest issue in main repo with:
   - Title: 'Molecule Execution Summary: <original-title>'
   - digest_of: [list of squashed child IDs]
   - ephemeral: false (digest is permanent)
4. Delete ephemeral children (unless --keep-children)
5. Link digest to parent work item

## Schema Changes

Add to Issue struct:
- SquashedAt *time.Time
- SquashDigest string (ID of digest)
- DigestOf []string (IDs of squashed children)

## Acceptance Criteria

- bd mol squash <id> creates digest, removes children
- --dry-run shows preview
- Digest has proper metadata linking


Add tests for mol spawn --attach

Code review (bd-obep) found no tests for the spawn --attach functionality.

**Test cases needed:**
1. Basic attach - spawn proto with one --attach
2. Multiple attachments - spawn with --attach A --attach B
3. Attach types - verify sequential vs parallel bonding
4. Error case: attaching non-proto (missing template label)
5. Variable aggregation - vars from primary + attachments combined
6. Dry-run output includes attachment info

**Implementation notes:**
- Tests should use in-memory storage
- Create test protos, spawn with attachments, verify dependency structure
- Check that sequential uses 'blocks' type, parallel uses 'parent-child'


--parent flag reports success but doesn't persist to JSONL

The --parent flag for bd update reports success but the change doesn't persist.

Reported by: Mayor
Location: show.go:810-814 handles the logic

Symptoms:
- bd update <id> --parent=<new-parent> returns success
- But the parent change is not written to JSONL
- Subsequent bd show reveals parent unchanged

This shipped in v0.39.1 as part of bd-cj2e (--parent flag for reparenting).

Investigation: Check the update path from show.go through to JSONL export. The RPC/daemon layer may be dropping the parent field, or the storage layer isn't persisting it.


Rename 'wisp' back to 'ephemeral' in beads API

The beads API uses 'wisp' terminology (Wisp field, bd wisp command) but the underlying SQLite column is 'ephemeral'.

This creates cognitive overhead since wisp is a Gas Town concept.

Rename to use 'ephemeral' consistently:
- types.Issue.Wisp → types.Issue.Ephemeral
- JSON field: wisp → ephemeral
- CLI: bd wisp → bd ephemeral (or just use flags on existing commands)

The SQLite column already uses 'ephemeral' so no schema migration needed.


Add bd state and bd set-state helper commands

Convenience commands for the labels-as-state pattern documented in LABELS.md.

`bd state <role> <dimension>` - Query the current value of a state dimension
Example: bd state witness-alpha patrol → outputs: active

`bd set-state <role> <dimension>=<value> [--reason "..."]` - Atomically creates an event bead and updates the label
Example: bd set-state witness-alpha patrol=muted --reason "Investigating stuck polecat"

This would combine the manual steps:
1. bd create "<reason>" -t event --parent <role>
2. bd label remove <role> <dimension>:<old-value>
3. bd label add <role> <dimension>:<new-value>

Into a single atomic operation.

Discovered from: bd-31ae


Improve version bump molecule with missing steps

During v0.32.1 release, discovered missing steps in the release molecule:

**Missing from molecule:**
1. Rebuild ~/go/bin/bd (only did ~/.local/bin/bd)
2. Install beads-mcp from local source: `uv tool install --reinstall ./integrations/beads-mcp`
3. Restart daemons with `bd daemons killall`
4. (Optional) Publish beads-mcp to PyPI

**Current molecule steps (bd-6s61):**
1. Update CHANGELOG.md
2. Update info.go versionChanges
3. Run bump-version.sh
4. Run tests and linting
5. Update local installation
6. Commit and push release
7. Wait for CI
8. Verify release artifacts

**Proposed additions:**
- After "Update local installation": rebuild BOTH ~/.local/bin/bd AND ~/go/bin/bd
- Add: "Install beads-mcp from source" step
- Add: "Restart daemons" step
- Add: "Verify all versions match" step that checks all artifacts

**Also learned:**
- Must run from mayor/rig to avoid git conflicts with bd sync (already documented in bump-version.sh)

CORRECTION: npm publishing IS automated and working!

**Package naming:**
- OLD: `beads` (npm) - deprecated, stuck at 0.2.1
- CURRENT: `@beads/bd` (npm) - scoped package, auto-published by CI

**How it works:**
- CI uses OIDC trusted publishing (no token needed)
- Workflow: .github/workflows/release.yml → publish-npm job
- Permissions: `id-token: write` enables GitHub OIDC
- To install: `npm install -g @beads/bd` (not `npm install beads`)

**All publishing is automated on tag push:**
1. GitHub Release - goreleaser ✓
2. PyPI - publish-pypi job ✓
3. Homebrew - update-homebrew job ✓
4. npm (@beads/bd) - publish-npm job ✓

**Remaining molecule improvements (local steps only):**
- Rebuild BOTH ~/.local/bin/bd AND ~/go/bin/bd
- Install beads-mcp from source: `uv tool install --reinstall ./integrations/beads-mcp`
- Restart daemons: `bd daemons killall`
- Run from mayor/rig to avoid git conflicts with bd sync
- Final verification step to check all local versions match


Commit changes and create v0.30.4 tag

```bash
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: Bump version to 0.30.4"
git tag -a v0.30.4 -m "Release v0.30.4"
```

```verify
git describe --tags --exact-match HEAD 2>/dev/null | grep -q 'v0.30.4'
```


Add composite index (status, priority) for common list queries

SearchIssues and GetReadyWork frequently filter by status and sort by priority. Currently uses two separate indexes.

**Common query pattern (queries.go:1646-1647):**
```sql
WHERE status = ?
ORDER BY priority ASC, created_at DESC
```

**Problem:** Index merge or full scan when both columns are used.

**Solution:** Add migration:
```sql
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_issues_status_priority ON issues(status, priority);
```

**Expected impact:** Faster bd list, bd ready with filters. Particularly noticeable at 10K+ issues.


beads-release

Beads release workflow - from version bump to verified release.

This formula orchestrates a complete release cycle:
1. Preflight checks (clean git, up to date)
2. Documentation updates (CHANGELOG, info.go)
3. Version bump (all components)
4. Git operations (commit, tag, push)
5. CI verification (GitHub Actions)
6. Artifact verification (GitHub, npm, PyPI)
7. Local installation update
8. Daemon restart

## Usage

```bash
bd wisp create beads-release --var version=0.37.0
```

Or assign to a polecat:
```bash
gt sling beads/polecats/p1 --formula beads-release --var version=0.37.0
```