Centralize BD_DEBUG logging into debug package

The codebase has 43 scattered instances of `if os.Getenv("BD_DEBUG") != ""` debug checks across 6 files. Centralize into a debug logging package.

Current locations:
- `cmd/bd/main.go` - 15 checks
- `cmd/bd/autoflush.go` - 6 checks
- `cmd/bd/nodb.go` - 4 checks
- `internal/rpc/server.go` - 2 checks
- `internal/rpc/client.go` - 5 checks
- `cmd/bd/daemon_autostart.go` - 11 checks

Target structure:
```
internal/debug/
└── debug.go
```

Benefits:
- Centralized debug logging
- Easier to add structured logging later
- Testable (can mock debug output)
- Consistent debug message format

Impact: Removes 43 scattered checks, improves code clarity


Extract normalizeLabels to shared utility package

The `normalizeLabels` function appears in multiple locations with identical implementation. Extract to a shared utility package.

Current locations:
- `internal/rpc/server.go:37` (53 lines) - full implementation
- `cmd/bd/list.go:50-52` - uses the server version (needs to use new shared version)

Function purpose:
- Trims whitespace from labels
- Removes empty strings
- Deduplicates labels
- Preserves order

Target structure:
```
internal/util/
├── strings.go         # String utilities
    └── NormalizeLabels([]string) []string
```

Impact: DRY principle, single source of truth, easier to test


Extract SQLite migrations into separate files

The file `internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go` is 2,136 lines and contains 11 sequential migrations alongside core storage logic. Extract migrations into a versioned system.

Current issues:
- 11 migration functions mixed with core logic
- Hard to see migration history
- Sequential migrations slow database open
- No clear migration versioning

Migration functions to extract:
- `migrateDirtyIssuesTable()`
- `migrateIssueCountersTable()`
- `migrateExternalRefColumn()`
- `migrateCompositeIndexes()`
- `migrateClosedAtConstraint()`
- `migrateCompactionColumns()`
- `migrateSnapshotsTable()`
- `migrateCompactionConfig()`
- `migrateCompactedAtCommitColumn()`
- `migrateExportHashesTable()`
- Plus 1 more (11 total)

Target structure:
```
internal/storage/sqlite/
├── sqlite.go          # Core storage (~800 lines)
├── schema.go          # Table definitions (~200 lines)
├── migrations.go      # Migration orchestration (~200 lines)
└── migrations/        # Individual migrations
    ├── 001_initial_schema.go
    ├── 002_dirty_issues.go
    ├── 003_issue_counters.go
    [... through 011_export_hashes.go]
```

Benefits:
- Clear migration history
- Each migration self-contained
- Easier to review migration changes in PRs
- Future migrations easier to add


Remove unreachable utility functions

Several small utility functions are unreachable:

Files to clean:
1. `internal/storage/sqlite/hash.go` - `computeIssueContentHash` (line 17)
   - Check if entire file can be deleted if only contains this function

2. `internal/config/config.go` - `FileUsed` (line 151)
   - Delete unused config helper

3. `cmd/bd/git_sync_test.go` - `verifyIssueOpen` (line 300)
   - Delete dead test helper

4. `internal/compact/haiku.go` - `HaikuClient.SummarizeTier2` (line 81)
   - Tier 2 summarization not implemented
   - Options: implement feature OR delete method

Impact: Removes 50-100 LOC depending on decisions


Remove unreachable RPC methods

Several RPC server and client methods are unreachable and should be removed:

Server methods (internal/rpc/server.go):
- `Server.GetLastImportTime` (line 2116)
- `Server.SetLastImportTime` (line 2123)
- `Server.findJSONLPath` (line 2255)

Client methods (internal/rpc/client.go):
- `Client.Import` (line 311) - RPC import not used (daemon uses autoimport)

Evidence:
```bash
go run golang.org/x/tools/cmd/deadcode@latest -test ./...
```

Impact: Removes ~80 LOC of unused RPC code


Refactor sqlite.go (2298 lines)

Break down internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go into smaller, more focused modules. The file is currently 2298 lines and should be split into logical components.


Wrap git operations in GitClient interface

Create internal/daemonrunner/git.go with GitClient interface (HasUpstream, HasChanges, Commit, Push, Pull). Default implementation using os/exec. Use in Syncer and Run loop for testability.


Document bd edit command and verify MCP exclusion

Follow-up from PR #152:
1. Add "bd edit" to AGENTS.md with "Humans only" note
2. Verify MCP server doesn't expose bd edit command
3. Consider adding test for command registration


npm package for bd with native binaries

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

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

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

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

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


deletions.jsonl recreated locally after tombstone migration

After running bd migrate-tombstones and removing deletions.jsonl from git, the file gets recreated locally on subsequent bd commands.

**Steps to reproduce:**
1. Run bd migrate-tombstones (converts to inline tombstones)
2. Remove deletions.jsonl from git and filesystem
3. Run bd sync or bd stats
4. deletions.jsonl reappears

**Expected behavior:**
After migration, deletions.jsonl should not be recreated. All tombstone data should come from inline tombstones in issues.jsonl.

**Workaround:** Add deletions.jsonl to .gitignore to prevent re-tracking. File still gets created but won't pollute the repo.


bd sync fails with orphaned issues and duplicate ID conflict

After fixing the deleted_at TEXT column scanning bug (commit 18b1eb2), bd sync still fails with two issues:

1. Orphan Detection Warning: 12 orphaned child issues whose parents no longer exist (bd-cb64c226.* and bd-cbed9619.*)

2. Import Failure: UNIQUE constraint failed for bd-360 - this tombstone exists in both DB and JSONL

Error: "Import failed: error creating depth-0 issues: bulk insert issues: failed to insert issue bd-360: sqlite3: constraint failed: UNIQUE constraint failed: issues.id"

Fix options:
- Delete orphaned child issues with bd delete
- Resolve bd-360 duplicate (in deletions.jsonl vs tombstone in DB)
- Reset sync branch: git branch -f beads-sync main && git push --force-with-lease origin beads-sync

Fixed tombstone constraint violation bug. When deleting closed issues, the CHECK constraint (status = 'closed') = (closed_at IS NOT NULL) was violated because CreateTombstone didn't clear closed_at. Fix: set closed_at = NULL in tombstone creation SQL.

The sync data corruption (orphaned issues in beads-sync branch) requires manual cleanup: reset sync branch with 'git branch -f beads-sync main && git push --force-with-lease origin beads-sync'


Update bash-agent example with Agent Mail integration

Add Agent Mail integration to examples/bash-agent/agent.sh using curl for HTTP calls.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Health check function using curl
- Reserve issue before claiming
- Send notifications on status change
- Release on completion
- Graceful degradation if curl fails
- No bash errors when Agent Mail unavailable

File: examples/bash-agent/agent.sh


Remove all deletions.jsonl code except migration

There's deletions manifest code spread across the entire codebase that should have been removed after tombstone migration:

Files with deletions code (non-migration):
- internal/deletions/ - entire package
- cmd/bd/sync.go - 25+ references, auto-compact, sanitize
- cmd/bd/delete.go - dual-writes to deletions.jsonl
- internal/importer/importer.go - checks deletions manifest
- internal/syncbranch/worktree.go - merges deletions.jsonl
- cmd/bd/doctor/fix/sync.go - cleanupDeletionsManifest
- cmd/bd/doctor/fix/deletions.go - HydrateDeletionsManifest
- cmd/bd/integrity.go - checks deletions for data loss
- cmd/bd/deleted.go - entire command
- cmd/bd/compact.go - pruneDeletionsManifest
- cmd/bd/doctor.go - checkDeletionsManifest
- Plus many more

Action: Aggressively remove all non-migration deletions code. Tombstones are the only deletion mechanism now.

Completed deletions.jsonl cleanup - removed all obsolete code and tests


Test issue


Fix daemon/direct mode inconsistency in relate and duplicate commands

The relate.go and duplicate.go commands have inconsistent daemon/direct mode handling:

When daemonClient is connected, they resolve IDs via RPC but then perform updates directly via store.UpdateIssue(), bypassing the daemon.

Affected locations:
- relate.go:125-139 (runRelate update)
- relate.go:235-246 (runUnrelate update)
- duplicate.go:120 (runDuplicate update)
- duplicate.go:207 (runSupersede update)

Should either use RPC for updates when daemon is running, or document why direct access is intentional.


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%


Update python-agent example with Agent Mail integration

Modify examples/python-agent/agent.py to use Agent Mail adapter at 4 integration points.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Import and initialize adapter
- Check inbox before find_ready_work()
- Reserve issue before claim_task()
- Notify on status changes
- Release reservation on complete_task()
- Works identically when Agent Mail disabled
- No changes required to core Beads CLI

File: examples/python-agent/agent.py


bd sync --import-only doesn't update DB mtime causing bd doctor false warning


Extract duplicated validation logic from CLI commands

~150 lines of identical validation logic duplicated between cmd_create.go and cmd_update.go

Duplication found:
- validateBeadFields(): 2 identical copies (50+ lines each)
- parseTimeWithDefault(): 2 identical copies (30 lines each)
- Flag definitions: 15+ duplicate registrations

Solution: Extract to shared packages:
- internal/validation/bead.go - Centralized validation
- internal/utils/time.go - Consolidate time parsing (already exists)
- cmd/bd/flags.go - Shared flag registration

Impact: Changes require touching 2+ files; high risk of inconsistency; steep learning curve

Effort: 4-6 hours


Investigate TestRoutingIntegration failure

TestRoutingIntegration/maintainer_with_SSH_remote failed during pre-commit check with "expected role maintainer, got contributor".
This occurred while running `go test -short ./...` on darwin/arm64.
The failure appears unrelated to storage/sqlite changes.
Need to investigate if this is a flaky test or environmental issue.


Debug test 2


Add functional tests for FlushManager correctness verification


Import fails on same-content-different-ID instead of treating as update

## Problem

The importer still has rename detection (importer.go:482-500) that triggers when same content hash has different IDs. With hash IDs, this shouldn't happen, but when it does (test data, bugs, legacy data), the import fails:

```
failed to handle rename bd-ce75 -> bd-5a90: rename collision handling removed - should not occur with hash IDs
```

## Current Behavior

1. Importer finds same content hash with different IDs
2. Calls handleRename() (line 490)
3. handleRename() errors out (line 294): "rename collision handling removed"
4. Import fails

## Expected Behavior

Same content hash + different IDs should be treated as an **update**, not a rename:
- Keep existing ID (already in database)
- Update fields if incoming has newer timestamp
- Discard incoming ID (it's wrong - hash should have generated same ID)

## Impact

- Import fails on legitimate edge cases (test data, data corruption)
- Cryptic error message
- Blocks sync operations

## Fix

In handleRename() or import loop, instead of erroring:
```go
// Same content, different ID - treat as update
if incoming.UpdatedAt.After(existing.UpdatedAt) {
    existing.Status = incoming.Status
    // ... copy other fields
    s.UpdateIssue(ctx, existing)
}
result.Updated++
```

## Files
- internal/importer/importer.go:271-294 (handleRename)
- internal/importer/importer.go:482-500 (rename detection)

## Repro
Import JSONL with bd-ce75 and bd-5a90 (both "Test parent issue" but different content hashes).


Improve Beads test coverage from 46% to 80%


Update documentation for merge driver auto-config

Update documentation to reflect the new merge driver auto-configuration during `bd init`.

**Files to update:**
- README.md - Mention merge driver setup in initialization section
- AGENTS.md - Update onboarding section about merge driver
- Possibly QUICKSTART.md

**Content:**
- Explain what the merge driver does
- Show --skip-merge-driver flag usage
- Manual installation steps for post-init setup


Add --yes flag to bd doctor --fix for non-interactive mode

## Feature Request

Add a `--yes` or `-y` flag to `bd doctor --fix` that automatically confirms all prompts, enabling non-interactive usage in scripts and CI/CD pipelines.

## Current Behavior
`bd doctor --fix` prompts for confirmation before applying fixes, which blocks automated workflows.

## Desired Behavior
`bd doctor --fix --yes` should apply all fixes without prompting.

## Use Cases
- CI/CD pipelines that need to auto-fix issues
- Scripts that automate repository setup
- Pre-commit hooks that want to silently fix issues


Test Thread

Initial message for threading test


Use in-memory filesystem for test git operations

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

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

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


Tests take too long - unacceptable for project size

## Problem

Running `go test ./internal/importer/... -v` takes an unacceptably long time (minutes). For a project this size, tests should complete in seconds.

## Impact

- Slows down development iteration
- AI agents waste time waiting for tests
- Blocks rapid bug fixes and validation
- Poor developer experience

## Investigation Needed

- Profile which tests are slow
- Check for unnecessary sleeps, timeouts, or integration tests
- Look for tests that could be parallelized
- Consider splitting unit vs integration tests

## Goal

Test suite for a single package should complete in <5 seconds, ideally <2 seconds.

## Optimizations Applied

1. **Added t.Parallel() to CLI tests** (13 tests) - allows concurrent execution
2. **Removed unnecessary 200ms sleep** in daemon_autoimport_test.go - Execute() forces auto-import synchronously
3. **Reduced filesystem settle wait** from 100ms → 50ms on non-Windows platforms
4. **Optimized debouncer test sleeps** (9 reductions):
   - Before debounce waits: 30ms → 20ms, 20ms → 10ms
   - After debounce waits: 40ms → 35ms, 30ms → 35ms, etc.
   - Thread safety test: 100ms → 70ms
   - Sequential cycles: 50ms → 40ms (3x)
   - Cancel tests: 70-80ms → 60ms

## Results

### cmd/bd package (main improvement target):
- **Before**: 5+ minutes (timeout)
- **After**: ~18-20 seconds
- **Speedup**: ~15-18x faster

### internal/importer package:
- **After**: <1 second (0.9s)

### Full test suite (with `-short` flag):
- Most packages complete in <2s
- Total runtime constrained by sequential integration tests

## Known Issues

- TestConcurrentExternalRefImports hangs due to :memory: connection pool issue (bd-b121)
- Some sync_branch tests may need sequential execution (git worktree conflicts)


Implement health checks in daemon event loop

Add health checks to checkDaemonHealth() function in daemon_event_loop.go:170:
- Database integrity check
- Disk space check
- Memory usage check

Currently it's just a no-op placeholder.


Add error handling test for cmd.Help() in search command

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

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

In cmd/bd/search.go:39, the return value of cmd.Help() is not checked, flagged by errcheck linter.

Add test to verify:
- Error handling when cmd.Help() fails (e.g., output redirection fails)
- Proper error propagation to caller
- Command still exits gracefully on help error

This ensures the search command handles help errors properly and doesn't silently ignore failures.

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


bd sync should not stage gitignored snapshot files

## Problem

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

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

## Root Cause

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

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

## Suggested Fix

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

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

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

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


Fix daemon exiting after 5s on macOS due to PID 1 parent monitoring

GitHub issue #278 reports that the daemon exits after <=5 seconds on macOS because it incorrectly treats PID 1 (launchd) as a dead parent.

When the daemon detaches on macOS, it gets reparented to PID 1 (launchd), which is the init process. The checkParentProcessAlive function was incorrectly treating PID 1 as a sign that the parent died.

Fixed by changing the logic to treat PID 1 as a valid parent for detached daemons.


Test child issue


bd cleanup should also prune expired tombstones

## Problem

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

## Current Behavior

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

## Expected Behavior

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

## Impact

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

## Proposed Solution

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

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

## Files to Modify

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

## Acceptance Criteria

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


Implement auto-merge functionality in duplicates command

The duplicates.go file has a TODO at line 95 to implement the performMerge function for automatic duplicate merging. Currently it just prints a warning message. This would automate the merge process instead of just suggesting commands.


GH#518: Document bd setup command

bd setup is undiscoverable. Add to README/docs. Currently only findable by grepping source. See GitHub issue #518.


Add sync resilience guardrails for forced pushes and prefix mismatches

Beads can get into unrecoverable sync states when remote forces pushes occur (e.g., rebases) combined with prefix mismatches from multi-worker scenarios. Add detection, prevention, and auto-recovery features to handle this gracefully.


Pre-sync integrity check (bd sync --check)

Add bd sync --check flag that detects problematic states before attempting sync: forced pushes on sync branch (via git reflog), prefix mismatches in JSONL, orphaned children with missing parents. Output combined diagnostic without modifying state.


Improve sync error messages

When bd sync fails, immediately surface the actual root cause (prefix mismatch, orphaned children, forced push detected, etc.) instead of requiring multiple retries to discover it. Make errors actionable with specific recovery steps.


Auto-recovery mode (bd sync --auto-recover)

Add bd sync --auto-recover flag that: detects problematic sync state, backs up .beads/issues.db with timestamp, rebuilds DB from JSONL atomically, verifies consistency, reports what was fixed. Provides safety valve when sync integrity fails.


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.


GH#540: Add silent quick-capture mode (bd q)

Add bd q alias for quick capture that outputs only issue ID. Useful for piping/scripting. See GitHub issue #540.


Add 'town report' command for aggregated swarm status

## Problem
Getting a full swarm status requires running 6+ commands:
- `town list <rig>` for each rig
- `town mail inbox` as Boss
- `bd list --status=open/in_progress` per rig

This is slow and error-prone for both humans and agents.

## Proposed Solution
Add `town report [RIG]` command that aggregates:
- All rigs with polecat states (running/stopped, awake/asleep)
- Boss inbox summary (unread count, recent senders)
- Aggregate issue counts per rig (open/in_progress/blocked)

Example output:
```
=== beads ===
Polecats: 5 (5 running, 0 stopped)
Issues: 20 open, 0 in_progress, 0 blocked

=== gastown ===
Polecats: 6 (4 running, 2 stopped)
Issues: 0 open, 0 in_progress, 0 blocked

=== Boss Mail ===
Unread: 10 | Total: 22
Recent: rictus (21:19), scrotus (21:14), immortanjoe (21:14)
```

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] `town report` shows all rigs
- [ ] `town report <rig>` shows single rig detail
- [ ] Output is concise and scannable
- [ ] Completes in <2 seconds


show commit hash in 'bd version' when built from source'


Updated title


Measure notification latency vs git sync

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

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

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

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


Deletions not propagated across multi-workspace sync

## Problem

When working with multiple beads workspaces (clones) sharing the same git remote, deleted issues keep coming back.

## Reproduction

1. Clone A deletes issue `bd-xyz` via `bd delete bd-xyz --force`
2. Clone A daemon syncs and pushes to GitHub
3. Clone B still has `bd-xyz` in its database
4. Clone B daemon exports and pushes its JSONL
5. Clone A pulls and imports → `bd-xyz` comes back!

## Root Cause

**No deletion tracking mechanism.** The system has no way to distinguish between:
- "Issue doesn't exist in JSONL because it was deleted"
- "Issue doesn't exist in JSONL because the export is stale"

Import treats missing issues as "not in this export" rather than "explicitly deleted."

## Solution Options

1. **Tombstone records** - Keep deleted issues in JSONL with `"status":"deleted"` or `"deleted_at"` field
2. **Deletion log** - Separate `.beads/deletions.jsonl` file tracking all deleted IDs
3. **Three-way merge** - Import compares: DB state, old JSONL, new JSONL
4. **Manual conflict resolution** - Detect resurrection and prompt user

## Related

- Similar to resurrection logic for orphaned children (bd-cc4f)
- beads-merge tool handles this better with 3-way merge


Fix GH #227: bd edit broken pipe errors

bd edit command gets "broken pipe" errors when using daemon mode because editing can take minutes and the daemon connection times out.

Solution: Force bd edit to always use direct mode (--no-daemon) since it's human-only and interactive.

Fixed by checking cmd.Name() == "edit" in main.go PersistentPreRun and setting noDaemon = true.


Daemon performAutoImport should update jsonl_content_hash after import

The daemon's performAutoImport function was not updating jsonl_content_hash after successful import, unlike the CLI import path. This could cause repeated imports if the file hash and DB hash diverge.

Fix: Added hash update after validatePostImport succeeds, using repoKey for multi-repo support.


Add --body-file flag to bd create for reading descriptions from files

## Problem

Creating issues with long/complex descriptions via CLI requires shell escaping gymnastics:

```bash
# Current workaround - awkward heredoc quoting
bd create --title="..." --description="$(cat <<'EOF'
...markdown...
EOF
)"

# Often fails with quote escaping errors in eval context
# Agents resort to writing temp files then reading them
```

## Proposed Solution

Add `--body-file` and `--description-file` flags to read description from a file, matching `gh` CLI pattern.

```bash
# Natural pattern that aligns with training data
cat > /tmp/desc.md << 'EOF'
...markdown content...
EOF

bd create --title="..." --body-file=/tmp/desc.md
```

## Implementation

### 1. Add new flags to `bd create`

```go
createCmd.Flags().String("body-file", "", "Read description from file (use - for stdin)")
createCmd.Flags().String("description-file", "", "Alias for --body-file")
```

### 2. Flag precedence

- If `--body-file` or `--description-file` is provided, read from file
- If value is `-`, read from stdin
- Otherwise fall back to `--body` or `--description` flag
- If neither provided, description is empty (current behavior)

### 3. Error handling

- File doesn't exist → clear error message
- File not readable → clear error message
- stdin specified but not available → clear error message

## Benefits

✅ **Matches training data**: `gh issue create --body-file file.txt` is a common pattern
✅ **No shell escaping issues**: File content is read directly
✅ **Works with any content**: Markdown, special characters, quotes, etc.
✅ **Agent-friendly**: Agents already write complex content to temp files
✅ **User-friendly**: Easier for humans too when pasting long descriptions

## Related Commands

Consider adding similar support to:
- `bd update --body-file` (for updating descriptions)
- `bd comment --body-file` (if/when we add comments)

## Examples

```bash
# From file
bd create --title="Add new feature" --body-file=feature.md

# From stdin
echo "Quick description" | bd create --title="Bug fix" --body-file=-

# With other flags
bd create \
  --title="Security issue" \
  --type=bug \
  --priority=0 \
  --body-file=security-report.md \
  --label=security
```

## Testing

- Test with normal files
- Test with stdin (`-`)
- Test with non-existent files (error handling)
- Test with binary files (should handle gracefully)
- Test with empty files (valid - empty description)
- Test that `--description-file` and `--body-file` are equivalent aliases


Convert magic numbers to named constants in FlushManager


Benchmark git traffic reduction

Automated benchmark comparing git operations with/without Agent Mail.

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

File: tests/benchmarks/git_traffic.py

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

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

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

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


Fix FOREIGN KEY constraint failures in AddComment and ApplyCompaction

The 'CloseIssue', 'UpdateIssueID', and 'RemoveLabel' methods were fixed in PR #348 to prevent foreign key constraint failures when operating on non-existent issues.

However, the Oracle identified two other methods that follow the same problematic pattern:
1. `AddComment` (in `internal/storage/sqlite/events.go`)
2. `ApplyCompaction` (in `internal/storage/sqlite/compact.go`)

These methods attempt to insert an event record after updating the issue, without verifying that the issue update actually affected any rows. This leads to a foreign key constraint failure if the issue does not exist.

We need to:
1. Create reproduction tests for these failure cases
2. Apply the same fix pattern: check `RowsAffected()` after the update, and return a proper "issue not found" error if it is 0, before attempting to insert the event.
3. Standardize the error message format to "issue %s not found" or "issue not found: %s" for consistency.


Deletion propagation via deletions manifest

## Problem

When `bd cleanup -f` or `bd delete` removes issues in one clone, those deletions don't propagate to other clones. The import logic only creates/updates, never deletes. This causes "resurrection" where deleted issues reappear.

## Root Cause

Import sees DB issues not in JSONL and assumes they're "local unpushed work" rather than "intentionally deleted upstream."

## Solution: Deletions Manifest

Add `.beads/deletions.jsonl` - an append-only log of deleted issue IDs with metadata.

### Format
```jsonl
{"id":"bd-xxx","ts":"2025-11-25T10:00:00Z","by":"stevey"}
{"id":"bd-yyy","ts":"2025-11-25T10:05:00Z","by":"claude","reason":"duplicate of bd-zzz"}
```

### Fields
- `id`: Issue ID (required)
- `ts`: ISO 8601 UTC timestamp (required)
- `by`: Actor who deleted (required)
- `reason`: Optional context ("cleanup", "duplicate of X", etc.)

### Import Logic
```
For each DB issue not in JSONL:
  1. Check deletions manifest → if found, delete from DB
  2. Fallback: check git history → if found, delete + backfill manifest
  3. Neither → keep (local unpushed work)
```

### Conflict Resolution
Simultaneous deletions from multiple clones are handled naturally:
- Append-only design means both clones append their deletion records
- On merge, file contains duplicate entries (same ID, different timestamps)
- `LoadDeletions` deduplicates by ID (keeps any/first entry)
- Result: deletion propagates correctly, duplicates are harmless

### Pruning Policy
- Default retention: 7 days (configurable via `deletions.retention_days`)
- Auto-compact during `bd sync` is **opt-in** (disabled by default)
- Hard cap: `deletions.max_entries` (default 50000)
- Git fallback handles pruned entries (self-healing)

### Self-Healing
When git fallback catches a resurrection (pruned entry), it backfills the manifest. One-time git scan cost, then fast again.

### Size Estimates
- ~80 bytes/entry
- 7-day retention with 100 deletions/day = ~56KB
- Git compressed: ~10KB

## Benefits
- ✅ Deletions propagate across clones
- ✅ O(1) lookup (no git scan in normal case)
- ✅ Works in shallow clones
- ✅ Survives history rewrite
- ✅ Audit trail (who deleted what when)
- ✅ Self-healing via git fallback
- ✅ Bounded size via time-based pruning

## References
- Investigation session: 2025-11-25
- Related: bd-2q6d (stale database warnings)


Fix: bd migrate-tombstones corrupts deletions manifest

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

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

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

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

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


Improve test coverage for internal/syncbranch (33.0% → 70%)

The syncbranch package has only 33.0% test coverage. This package handles git sync operations and is critical for data integrity.

Current coverage: 33.0%
Target coverage: 70%


Detect and warn about outdated git hooks

Users may have outdated git hooks installed that reference removed flags (e.g., --resolve-collisions). bd should detect this and warn users to reinstall.


Document -short flag in testing guide

Add documentation about the -short flag and how it's used to skip slow tests. Should explain that developers can run 'go test -short ./...' for fast iteration and 'go test ./...' for full coverage.


Audit and fix JSONL filename mismatches across all repo clones

## Problem

Multiple clones of repos are configured with different JSONL filenames (issues.jsonl vs beads.jsonl), causing:
1. JSONL files to be resurrected after deletion (one clone pushes issues.jsonl, another pushes beads.jsonl)
2. Agents unable to see issues filed by other agents after sync
3. Merge conflicts and data inconsistencies

## Root Cause

When repos were "bd doctored" or initialized at different times, some got issues.jsonl (old default) and others got beads.jsonl (Beads repo specific). These clones push their respective files, creating duplicates.

## Task

Scan all repo clones under ~/src/ (1-2 levels deep) and standardize their JSONL configuration.

### Step 1: Find all beads-enabled repos

```bash
# Find all directories named 'beads' at levels 1-2 under ~/src/
find ~/src -maxdepth 2 -type d -name beads
```

### Step 2: For each repo found, check configuration

For each directory from Step 1, check:
- Does `.beads/metadata.json` exist?
- What is the `jsonl_export` value?
- What JSONL files actually exist in `.beads/`?
- Are there multiple JSONL files (problem!)?

### Step 3: Create audit report

Generate a report showing:
```
Repo Path                           | Config        | Actual Files           | Status
----------------------------------- | ------------- | ---------------------- | --------
~/src/beads                         | beads.jsonl   | beads.jsonl            | OK
~/src/dave/beads                    | issues.jsonl  | issues.jsonl           | MISMATCH
~/src/emma/beads                    | issues.jsonl  | issues.jsonl, beads.jsonl | DUPLICATE!
```

### Step 4: Determine canonical name for each repo

For repos that are the SAME git repository (check `git remote -v`):
- Group them together
- Determine which JSONL filename should be canonical (majority wins, or beads.jsonl for the beads repo itself)
- List which clones need to be updated

### Step 5: Generate fix script

Create a script that for each mismatched clone:
1. Updates `.beads/metadata.json` to use the canonical name
2. If JSONL file needs renaming: `git mv .beads/old.jsonl .beads/new.jsonl`
3. Removes any duplicate JSONL files: `git rm .beads/duplicate.jsonl`
4. Commits the change
5. Syncs: `bd sync`

### Expected Output

1. Audit report showing all repos and their config status
2. List of repos grouped by git remote (same repository)
3. Fix script or manual instructions for standardizing each repo
4. Verification that after fixes, all clones of the same repo use the same JSONL filename

### Edge Cases

- Handle repos without metadata.json (use default discovery)
- Handle repos with no git remote (standalone/local)
- Handle repos that are not git repositories
- Don't modify repos with uncommitted changes (warn instead)

### Success Criteria

- All clones of the same git repository use the same JSONL filename
- No duplicate JSONL files in any repo
- All configurations documented in metadata.json
- bd doctor passes on all repos


Remove unused global daemon infrastructure (internal/daemonrunner/)

The internal/daemonrunner/ package (1,468 LOC) contains the old global daemon implementation that is no longer used. We now use per-workspace daemons.

Deadcode analysis shows all these functions are unreachable:
- Daemon.Start, runGlobalDaemon, setupLock
- validateSingleDatabase, validateSchemaVersion
- registerDaemon, unregisterDaemon
- validateDatabaseFingerprint
- Full git client implementation (NewGitClient, HasUpstream, HasChanges, Commit, Push, Pull)
- Helper functions: isGitRepo, gitHasUpstream, gitHasChanges, gitCommit

The entire package appears unused since switching to per-workspace daemon architecture.

Files to remove:
- daemon.go (9,436 bytes)
- git.go (3,510 bytes)
- sync.go (6,401 bytes)
- fingerprint.go (2,076 bytes)
- process.go (3,332 bytes)
- rpc.go (994 bytes)
- config.go (486 bytes)
- logger.go (1,579 bytes)
- flock_*.go (platform-specific file locking)
- signals_*.go (platform-specific signal handling)
- All test files

Total cleanup: ~1,500 LOC


Issue with labels


Add path normalization to getMultiRepoJSONLPaths()

From bd-xo6b code review: getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() does not handle non-standard paths correctly.

Problems:
- No tilde expansion: ~/repos/foo treated as literal path
- No absolute path conversion: ../other-repo breaks if working directory changes
- No duplicate detection: If Primary=. and Additional=[.], same JSONL processed twice
- No empty string handling: Empty paths create invalid /.beads/issues.jsonl

Impact:
Config with tilde or relative paths will fail

Fix needed:
1. Use filepath.Abs() for all paths
2. Add tilde expansion via os.UserHomeDir()
3. Deduplicate paths (use map to track seen paths)
4. Filter out empty strings
5. Validate paths exist and are readable

Files:
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go:333-358 (getMultiRepoJSONLPaths function)


Add bd reset command for clean slate restart

Implement a command to reset beads to a clean starting state.

**Context:** GitHub issue #479 - users sometimes get beads into an invalid state after updates, and there's no clean way to start fresh. The git backup/restore mechanism that protects against accidental deletion also makes it hard to intentionally reset.

**Current workaround** (from maphew):
```bash
bd daemons killall
git rm .beads/*.jsonl
git commit -m 'remove old issues'
rm .beads/*
bd init
bd onboard
```

**Desired:** A proper `bd reset` command that handles this cleanly and safely.


Fix mypy errors in beads-mcp

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


GH#402: Add --parent flag documentation to bd onboard

bd onboard output is missing --parent flag for epic subtasks. Agents guess wrong syntax (--deps parent:). See GitHub issue #402.


RPC diagnostics: BD_RPC_DEBUG timing logs

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

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


Auto-migrate database on CLI version bump

When CLI is upgraded (e.g., 0.24.0 → 0.24.1), database version becomes stale. Add auto-migration in PersistentPreRun or daemon startup. Check dbVersion != CLIVersion and run bd migrate automatically. Fixes recurring UX issue where bd doctor shows version mismatch after every CLI upgrade.


Fix: --parent flag doesn't create parent-child dependency

When using `bd create --parent <id>`, the code generates a hierarchical child ID (e.g., bd-123.1) but never creates a parent-child dependency. This causes `bd epic status` to show zero children even though child issues exist.

Root cause: create.go generates child ID using store.GetNextChildID() but never calls store.AddDependency() with type parent-child.

Fix: After creating the issue when parentID is set, automatically add a parent-child dependency linking child -> parent.


Auto-invoke 3-way merge for JSONL conflicts

Currently when git pull encounters merge conflicts in .beads/issues.jsonl, the post-merge hook fails with an error message pointing users to manual resolution or the beads-merge tool.

This is a poor user experience - the conflict detection is working, but we should automatically invoke the advanced 3-way merging instead of just telling users about it.

**Current behavior:**
- Detect conflict markers in JSONL
- Display error with manual resolution options
- Exit with failure

**Desired behavior:**
- Detect conflict markers in JSONL
- Automatically invoke beads-merge 3-way merge
- Only fail if automatic merge cannot resolve the conflicts

**Reference:**
- beads-merge tool: https://github.com/neongreen/mono/tree/main/beads-merge
- Error occurs in post-merge hook during bd sync after git pull


Add WaitGroup tracking to FileWatcher goroutines

FileWatcher spawns goroutines without WaitGroup tracking, causing race condition on shutdown.

Location: cmd/bd/daemon_watcher.go:123-182, 215-291

Problem:
- Goroutines spawned without sync.WaitGroup
- Close() cancels context but doesn't wait for goroutines to exit
- Race condition: goroutine may access fw.debouncer during Close() cleanup
- No guarantee goroutine stopped before fw.watcher.Close() is called

Solution:
- Add sync.WaitGroup field to FileWatcher
- Track goroutines with wg.Add(1) and defer wg.Done()
- Call wg.Wait() in Close() before cleanup

Impact: Race condition on daemon shutdown; potential panic

Effort: 2 hours


Add simple cleanup command to delete closed issues

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


Test dependency parent


Enhance dep tree to show full dependency graph

When running `bd dep tree <issue-id>`, the current output only shows the issue itself without its dependency relationships.

## Current Behavior

```
$ bd dep tree gt-0iqq
🌲 Dependency tree for gt-0iqq:

→ gt-0iqq: Implement Boss (global overseer) [P2] (open)
```

This doesn't show any of the dependency structure.

## Desired Behavior

Show the full dependency DAG rooted at the given issue. For example:

```
$ bd dep tree gt-0iqq
🌲 Dependency tree for gt-0iqq:

gt-0iqq: Implement Boss (global overseer) [P2] (open)
├── gt-0xh4: Boss session management [P2] (open) [READY]
│   ├── gt-le7c: Boss mail identity [P2] (open)
│   │   ├── gt-r8fe: Boss human escalation queue [P2] (open)
│   │   └── gt-vdak: Boss dispatch loop [P2] (open)
│   │       └── gt-kgy6: Boss resource management [P2] (open)
│   │           └── gt-93iv: Boss wake daemon [P2] (open)
│   └── gt-vdak: (shown above)
```

## Suggested Options

- `--direction=down|up|both` - Show dependents (what this blocks), dependencies (what blocks this), or both
- `--status=open` - Filter to only show issues with a given status
- `--depth=N` - Limit tree depth
- Handle DAG cycles gracefully (show "(shown above)" or similar for already-displayed nodes)

## Use Case

When reorganizing a set of related issues (like I just did with the Boss implementation), being able to visualize the full dependency graph helps verify the structure is correct before syncing.


Proposal workflow (propose/withdraw/accept)

Implement commands and state machine for moving issues between personal planning repos and canonical upstream repos, enabling contributors to propose work without polluting PRs.


Critical: Beads deletes issues during sync (GH#464)

# Findings

## Root Cause 1: git-history-backfill deletes issues during repo ID mismatch

**Location:** internal/importer/importer.go, purgeDeletedIssues()

The git-history-backfill mechanism checks git history to find deleted issues. When there's a repo ID mismatch (e.g., database from a different clone or after remote URL change), this can incorrectly treat local issues as deleted because they don't exist in the remote's git history.

**Fix Applied:** Added safety guard at lines 971-987 in importer.go that:
- Checks issue status before deletion via git-history-backfill
- Prevents deletion of open/in_progress issues
- Provides clear warning with actionable steps
- Suggests using --no-git-history flag or bd delete for explicit deletion

## Root Cause 2: Daemon sync race condition overwrites local unpushed changes

**Location:** cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go, performAutoImport()

The daemon sync's auto-import function pulls from remote without checking for uncommitted local changes. This can overwrite local work that hasn't been pushed yet.

**Fix Applied:** Added warning at lines 565-575 in daemon_sync.go that:
- Checks for uncommitted changes before pulling
- Warns user about potential overwrite
- Suggests running 'bd sync' to commit/push first
- Continues with pull but user is informed

## Additional Safety Improvements

1. Enhanced repo ID mismatch error message (daemon_sync.go:362-371)
   - Added warning about deletion risk
   - Clarified that mismatch can cause incorrect deletions

2. Safety guard in deletions manifest processing (importer.go:886-902)
   - Prevents deletion of open/in_progress issues in deletions.jsonl
   - Provides diagnostic information
   - Suggests recovery options

3. Updated tests (purge_test.go)
   - Changed test to use closed issue (safe to delete)
   - Verifies safety guard works correctly

## Testing

All tests pass:
- go test ./internal/importer/... ✓
- go build ./cmd/bd/ ✓

The safety guards now prevent both root causes from deleting active work.


Add tests for 3-way merge scenarios

Comprehensive test coverage for merge logic.

**Test cases**:
- Simple field updates (left vs right)
- Dependency merging (union + dedup)
- Timestamp handling (max wins)
- Deletion detection (deleted in one, modified in other)
- Conflict generation (incompatible changes)
- Issue resurrection prevention (bd-hv01 regression test)

**Files**:
- `internal/merge/merge_test.go`
- `cmd/bd/merge_test.go`


TestHooksCheckGitHooks failing - version mismatch (0.23.0 vs 0.23.1)

The test is checking embedded hook versions and expecting 0.23.1, but got 0.23.0. This appears to be a version consistency issue that needs investigation.

Test output:
```
Hook pre-commit version mismatch: got 0.23.0, want 0.23.1
Hook post-merge version mismatch: got 0.23.0, want 0.23.1
Hook pre-push version mismatch: got 0.23.0, want 0.23.1
```

This is blocking the landing of GH #274 fix.


Add tests for getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() edge cases

From bd-xo6b code review: Missing test coverage for getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() edge cases.

Current test gaps:
- No tests for empty paths in config
- No tests for duplicate paths
- No tests for tilde expansion
- No tests for relative paths
- No tests for symlinks
- No tests for paths with spaces
- No tests for invalid/non-existent paths

Test cases needed:

1. Empty path handling:
   Primary = empty, Additional = [empty]
   Expected: Should either use . as default or error gracefully

2. Duplicate detection:
   Primary = ., Additional = [., ./]
   Expected: Should return unique paths only

3. Path normalization:
   Primary = ~/repos/main, Additional = [../other, ./foo/../bar]
   Expected: Should expand to absolute canonical paths

4. Partial failure scenarios:
   What if snapshot capture succeeds for repos 1-2 but fails on repo 3?
   Test that system does not end up in inconsistent state

Files:
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking_test.go (add new tests)

Dependencies:
Depends on fixing getMultiRepoJSONLPaths() path normalization first.


Add database maintenance commands section to QUICKSTART.md

**Problem:**
Users don't discover `bd compact` or `bd cleanup` commands until their database grows large. These maintenance commands aren't mentioned in quickstart documentation.

Related to issue #349 item #4.

**Current state:**
docs/QUICKSTART.md ends at line 217 with "See README.md for full documentation" but has no mention of maintenance operations.

**Proposed addition:**
Add a "Database Maintenance" section after line 140 (before "Advanced: Agent Mail" section) covering:
- When database grows (many closed issues)
- How to view compaction statistics
- How to compact old issues
- How to delete closed issues
- Warning about permanence

**Example content:**
```markdown
## Database Maintenance

As your project accumulates closed issues, the database grows. Use these commands to manage size:

```bash
# View compaction statistics
bd compact --stats

# Preview compaction candidates (30+ days closed)
bd compact --analyze --json

# Apply agent-generated summary
bd compact --apply --id bd-42 --summary summary.txt

# Immediately delete closed issues (use with caution!)
bd cleanup --force
```

**When to compact:**
- Database file > 10MB with many old closed issues
- After major project milestones
- Before archiving a project phase
```

**Files to modify:**
- docs/QUICKSTART.md (add section after line 140)


bd migrate --update-repo-id triggers auto-import that resurrects deleted issues

**Bug:** Running `bd migrate --update-repo-id` can resurrect previously deleted issues from git history.

## What Happened

User deleted 490 closed issues:
- Deletion committed successfully (06d655a) with JSONL at 48 lines
- Database had 48 issues after deletion
- User ran `bd migrate --update-repo-id` to fix legacy database
- Migration triggered daemon auto-import
- JSONL had been restored to 538 issues (from commit 6cd3a32 - before deletion)
- Auto-import loaded the old JSONL over the cleaned database
- Result: 490 deleted issues resurrected

## Root Cause

The auto-import logic in `cmd/bd/sync.go:130-136`:
```go
if isJSONLNewer(jsonlPath) {
    fmt.Println("→ JSONL is newer than database, importing first...")
    if err := importFromJSONL(ctx, jsonlPath, renameOnImport); err != nil {
```

This checks if JSONL mtime is newer than database and auto-imports. The problem:
1. Git operations (pull, merge, checkout) can restore old JSONL files
2. Restored file has recent mtime (time of git operation)
3. Auto-import sees "newer" JSONL and imports it
4. Old data overwrites current database state

## Timeline

- 19:59: Commit 6cd3a32 restored JSONL to 538 issues from d99222d
- 20:22: Commit 3520321 (bd sync)
- 20:23: Commit 06d655a deleted 490 issues → JSONL now 48 lines
- 20:23: User ran `bd migrate --update-repo-id`
- Migration completed, daemon started
- Daemon saw JSONL (restored earlier to 538) was "newer" than database
- Auto-import resurrected 490 deleted issues

## Impact

- **Critical data loss bug** - user deletions can be undone silently
- Affects any workflow that uses git branches, merges, or checkouts
- Auto-import has no safety checks against importing older data
- Users have no warning that old data will overwrite current state

## Fix Options

1. **Content-based staleness** (not mtime-based)
   - Compare JSONL content hash vs database content hash
   - Only import if content actually changed
   - Prevents re-importing old data with new mtime

2. **Database timestamp check**
   - Store "last export timestamp" in database metadata
   - Only import JSONL if it's newer than last export
   - Prevents importing old JSONL after git operations

3. **User confirmation**
   - Before auto-import, show diff of what will change
   - Require confirmation for large changes (>10% issues affected)
   - Safety valve for destructive imports

4. **Explicit sync mode**
   - Disable auto-import entirely
   - Require explicit `bd sync` or `bd import` commands
   - Trade convenience for safety

## Recommended Solution

Combination of #1 and #2:
- Add `last_export_timestamp` to database metadata
- Check JSONL mtime > last_export_timestamp before importing
- Add content hash check as additional safety
- Show warning if importing would delete >10 issues

This preserves auto-import convenience while preventing data loss.

## Files Involved

- `cmd/bd/sync.go:130-136` - Auto-import logic
- `cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go` - Daemon export/import cycle
- `internal/autoimport/autoimport.go` - Staleness detection

## Reproduction Steps

1. Create and delete some issues, commit to git
2. Checkout an earlier commit (before deletion)
3. Checkout back to current commit
4. JSONL file now has recent mtime but old content
5. Run any bd command that triggers auto-import
6. Deleted issues are resurrected


Add bd init --contributor wizard

Interactive wizard for OSS contributor setup. Guides user through: fork workflow setup, separate planning repo configuration, auto-detection of fork relationships, examples of common OSS workflows.


Optimize CLI test suite - eliminate redundant git init calls

Current: Each of 13 CLI tests calls git init (31s total). Solution: Use single test binary built once in init(), skip git operations where possible, or use mock filesystem.


Beads Messaging & Knowledge Graph (v0.30.2)

Add messaging semantics and extended graph links to Beads, enabling it to serve as
the universal substrate for knowledge work - issues, messages, documents, and threads
as nodes in a queryable graph.

## Motivation

Gas Town (GGT) needs inter-agent communication. Rather than a separate mail system,
collapse messaging into Beads - one system, one sync, one query interface, all in git.

This also positions Beads as a foundation for:
- Company-wide issue tracking (like Notion)
- Threaded conversations (like Reddit/Slack)
- Knowledge graphs with loose associations
- Arbitrary workflow UIs built on top

## New Issue Type

**message** - ephemeral communication between workers
- sender: who sent it
- assignee: recipient
- priority: P0 (urgent) to P4 (routine)
- status: open (unread) -> closed (read)
- ephemeral: true = can be bulk-deleted after swarm

## New Graph Links

**replies_to** - conversation threading
- Messages reply to messages
- Enables Reddit-style nested threads
- Different from parent_id (not hierarchy, its conversation flow)

**relates_to** - loose see also associations
- Bidirectional knowledge graph edges
- Not blocking, not hierarchical, just related
- Enables discovery and traversal

**duplicates** - deduplication at scale
- Mark issue B as duplicate of canonical issue A
- Close B, link to A
- Essential for large issue databases

**supersedes** - version chains
- Design Doc v2 supersedes Design Doc v1
- Track evolution of artifacts

## New Fields (optional, any issue type)

- sender (string) - who created this (for messages)
- ephemeral (boolean) - can be bulk-deleted when closed

## New Commands

Messaging:
- bd mail send <recipient> -s Subject -m Body
- bd mail inbox (list open messages for me)
- bd mail read <id> (show message content)
- bd mail ack <id> (mark as read/close)
- bd mail reply <id> -m Response (reply to thread)

Graph links:
- bd relate <id1> <id2> (create relates_to link)
- bd duplicate <id> --of <canonical> (mark as duplicate)
- bd supersede <id> --with <new> (mark superseded)

Cleanup:
- bd cleanup --ephemeral (delete closed ephemeral issues)

## Identity Configuration

Workers need identity for sender field:
- BEADS_IDENTITY env var
- Or .beads/config.json: identity field

## Hooks (for GGT integration)

Beads as platform - extensible without knowing about GGT.
Hook files in .beads/hooks/:
- 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)

GGT registers hooks to notify daemons of new messages.

## Schema Changes (Migration Required)

Add to issue schema:
- type: message (new valid type)
- sender: string (optional)
- ephemeral: boolean (optional)
- replies_to: string (issue ID, optional)
- relates_to: []string (issue IDs, optional)
- duplicates: string (canonical issue ID, optional)
- superseded_by: string (new issue ID, optional)

Migration adds fields as optional - existing beads unchanged.

## Success Criteria

1. bd mail send/inbox/read/ack/reply work end-to-end
2. replies_to creates proper thread structure
3. relates_to, duplicates, supersedes links queryable
4. Hooks fire on create/update/close/message
5. Identity configurable via env or config
6. Migration preserves all existing data
7. All new features have tests

All features implemented: messaging, graph links, hooks, cleanup, tests, and documentation


Schema: Add message type and new fields

Add to internal/storage/sqlite/schema.go and models:

New issue_type value:
- message

New optional fields on Issue struct:
- Sender string (who sent this)
- Ephemeral bool (can be bulk-deleted)
- RepliesTo string (issue ID for threading)
- RelatesTo []string (issue IDs for knowledge graph)
- Duplicates string (canonical issue ID)
- SupersededBy string (replacement issue ID)

Update:
- internal/storage/sqlite/schema.go - add columns
- internal/models/issue.go - add fields to struct
- internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go - CRUD operations
- Create migration from v0.30.1

Ensure backward compatibility - all new fields optional.


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

Added comprehensive tests for hooks, mail commands, and graph links


Documentation for messaging and graph links

Document all new features.

Files to update:
- README.md - brief mention of messaging capability
- AGENTS.md - update for AI agents using bd mail
- docs/messaging.md (new) - full messaging reference
- docs/graph-links.md (new) - graph link reference
- CHANGELOG.md - v0.30.2 release notes

Topics to cover:
- Mail commands with examples
- Graph link types and use cases
- Identity configuration
- Hooks setup for notifications
- Migration notes

Added messaging.md, graph-links.md, updated AGENTS.md and CHANGELOG.md


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.

Implemented bd mail reply command and bd show --thread flag


Graph Link: relates_to for knowledge graph

Implement relates_to link type for loose associations.

New command:
- bd relate <id1> <id2> - creates bidirectional relates_to link

Query support:
- bd show <id> --related shows related issues
- bd list --related-to <id>

Storage:
- relates_to stored as JSON array of issue IDs
- Consider: separate junction table for efficiency at scale?

This enables 'see also' connections without blocking or hierarchy.

Implemented bd relate/unrelate commands with bidirectional linking


Graph Link: duplicates for deduplication

Implement duplicates link type for marking issues as duplicates.

New command:
- bd duplicate <id> --of <canonical> - marks id as duplicate of canonical
- Auto-closes the duplicate issue

Query support:
- bd show <id> shows 'Duplicate of: <canonical>'
- bd list --duplicates shows all duplicate pairs

Storage:
- duplicates column pointing to canonical issue ID

Essential for large issue databases with many similar reports.

Implemented bd duplicate and bd supersede commands


Graph Link: supersedes for version chains

Implement supersedes link type for version tracking.

New command:
- bd supersede <id> --with <new> - marks id as superseded by new
- Auto-closes the superseded issue

Query support:
- bd show <id> shows 'Superseded by: <new>'
- bd show <new> shows 'Supersedes: <id>'
- bd list --superseded shows version chains

Storage:
- superseded_by column pointing to replacement issue

Useful for design docs, specs, and evolving artifacts.


Mail Commands: bd mail send/inbox/read/ack

Implement core mail commands in cmd/bd/mail.go

Commands:
- bd mail send <recipient> -s 'Subject' -m 'Body' [--urgent]
  - Creates issue with type=message, sender=identity, assignee=recipient
  - --urgent sets priority=0

- bd mail inbox [--from <sender>] [--priority <n>]
  - Lists open messages where assignee=my identity
  - Sorted by priority, then date

- bd mail read <id>
  - Shows full message content (subject, body, sender, timestamp)
  - Does NOT close (separate from ack)

- bd mail ack <id>
  - Marks message as read by closing it
  - Can ack multiple: bd mail ack <id1> <id2> ...

Requires: Identity configuration (bd-kwro.7)

Implemented bd mail send/inbox/read/ack commands with both daemon and direct mode support


Identity Configuration

Implement identity system for sender field.

Configuration sources (in priority order):
1. --identity flag on commands
2. BEADS_IDENTITY environment variable
3. .beads/config.json: {"identity": "worker-name"}
4. Default: git user.name or hostname

New config file support:
- .beads/config.json for per-repo settings
- identity field for messaging

Helper function:
- GetIdentity() string - resolves identity from sources

Update bd mail send to use GetIdentity() for sender field.

Implemented GetIdentity() with priority chain: flag > BEADS_IDENTITY env > config.yaml > git user.name > hostname


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.

Implemented hooks system with on_create, on_update, on_close, on_message events


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.

Implemented --ephemeral flag for bd cleanup command


Optimize cmd/bd long-mode tests by switching to in-process testing

The long-mode CLI tests in cmd/bd are slow (1.4-4.4 seconds each) because they spawn full bd processes via exec.Command() for every operation.

Current approach:
- Each runBD() call spawns new bd process via exec.Command(testBD, args...)
- Each process initializes Go runtime, loads SQLite, parses CLI flags
- Tests run serially (create → update → show → close)
- Even with --no-daemon flag, there's significant process spawn overhead

Example timing from test run:
- TestCLI_PriorityFormats: 2.21s
- TestCLI_Show: 2.26s
- TestCLI_Ready: 2.29s
- TestCLI_Import: 4.42s

Optimization strategy:
1. Convert most tests to in-process testing (call bd functions directly)
2. Reuse test databases across related operations instead of fresh init each time
3. Keep a few exec.Command() tests that batch multiple operations to verify the CLI path works end-to-end

This should reduce test time from ~40s to ~5s for the affected tests.

Converted all CLI tests in cli_fast_test.go to use in-process testing via rootCmd.Execute(). Created runBDInProcess() helper that:
- Calls rootCmd.Execute() directly instead of spawning processes
- Uses mutex to serialize execution (rootCmd/viper not thread-safe)
- Properly cleans up global state (store, daemonClient)
- Returns only stdout to avoid JSON parsing issues with stderr warnings

Performance results:
- In-process tests: ~0.6s each (cached even faster)
- exec.Command tests: ~3.7s each
- Speedup: ~10x faster

Kept TestCLI_EndToEnd() that uses exec.Command for end-to-end validation of the actual binary.


Sync protection mechanism resurrects deleted issues

During bd sync, the 'Protecting N issue(s) from left snapshot' logic resurrects issues that are in the deletions manifest, causing UNIQUE constraint failures on subsequent syncs.

## Reproduction
1. Delete an issue with bd delete (creates tombstone + deletions.jsonl entry)
2. Run bd sync - succeeds
3. Run bd sync again - fails with 'UNIQUE constraint failed: issues.id'

## Root Cause
The protection mechanism (designed to prevent data loss during 3-way merge) keeps a snapshot of issues before sync. When importing after pull, it restores issues from this snapshot even if they're in the deletions manifest.

## Observed Behavior
- bd-3pd was deleted and added to deletions.jsonl
- First sync exports tombstone, commits, pulls, imports - succeeds
- Second sync: protection restores bd-3pd from left snapshot
- Import tries to create bd-3pd which already exists → UNIQUE constraint error

## Expected Behavior
Issues in deletions manifest should NOT be restored by protection mechanism.

## Workaround
Manually delete from DB: sqlite3 .beads/beads.db 'DELETE FROM issues WHERE id = "bd-xxx"'

## Files to Investigate
- cmd/bd/sync.go - protection logic
- cmd/bd/snapshot_manager.go - left snapshot handling
- internal/importer/importer.go - import with protection


GH#483: Pre-commit hook should not fail when .beads exists but bd sync fails

Pre-commit hook exit 1 on bd sync --flush-only failure blocks commits even when user removed beads but .beads dir reappears. Should warn not fail. See: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/483


Add tests for bd init --team wizard

Write integration tests for the team wizard:
- Test branch detection
- Test sync branch creation
- Test protected branch workflow
- Test auto-sync configuration


Optimize test suite performance - cut runtime by 50%+

## Problem
Test suite takes ~20.8 seconds, with 95% of time spent in just 2 tests:
- TestHashIDs_MultiCloneConverge: 11.08s (53%)
- TestHashIDs_IdenticalContentDedup: 8.78s (42%)

Both tests in beads_hash_multiclone_test.go perform extensive Git operations (bare repos, multiple clones, sync rounds).

## Goal
Cut total test time by at least 50% (to ~10 seconds or less).

## Analysis
Tests already have some optimizations:
- --shared --depth=1 --no-tags for fast cloning
- Disabled hooks, gc, fsync
- Support -short flag

## Impact
- Faster development feedback loop
- Reduced CI costs and time
- Better developer experience


Duplicate DefaultRetentionDays constants

## Problem

There are now two constants for the same value:

1. `deletions.DefaultRetentionDays = 7` in `internal/deletions/deletions.go:184`
2. `configfile.DefaultDeletionsRetentionDays = 7` in `internal/configfile/configfile.go:102`

## Impact
- DRY violation
- Risk of values getting out of sync
- Confusing which one to use

## Fix
Remove the constant from `deletions` package and have it import from `configfile`, or create a shared constants package.


Performance Testing Framework

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

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

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


Blocking issue


bd preflight: PR readiness checks for contributors

## Vision

Encode project-specific institutional knowledge into executable checks. CONTRIBUTING.md is documentation that's read once and forgotten; `bd preflight` is documentation that runs at exactly the right moment.

## Problem Statement

Contributors face a "last mile" problem - they do the work but stumble on project-specific gotchas at PR time:
- Nix vendorHash gets stale when go.sum changes
- Beads artifacts leak into PRs (see bd-umbf for namespace solution)
- Version mismatches between version.go and default.nix
- Tests/lint not run locally before pushing
- Other project-specific checks that only surface when CI fails

These are too obscure to remember, exist in docs nobody reads end-to-end, and waste CI round-trips.

## Why beads?

Beads already has a foothold in the contributor workflow. It knows:
- Git state (staged files, branch, dirty status)
- Project structure
- The specific issue being worked on
- Project-specific configuration

## Proposed Interface

### Tier 1: Checklist Mode (v1)

    $ bd preflight
    PR Readiness Checklist:

    [ ] Tests pass: go test -short ./...
    [ ] Lint passes: golangci-lint run ./...
    [ ] No beads pollution: check .beads/issues.jsonl diff
    [ ] Nix hash current: go.sum unchanged or vendorHash updated
    [ ] Version sync: version.go matches default.nix

    Run 'bd preflight --check' to validate automatically.

### Tier 2: Check Mode (v2)

    $ bd preflight --check
    ✓ Tests pass
    ✓ Lint passes
    ⚠ Beads pollution: 3 issues in diff - are these project issues or personal?
    ✗ Nix hash stale: go.sum changed, vendorHash needs update
      Fix: sha256-KRR6dXzsSw8OmEHGBEVDBOoIgfoZ2p0541T9ayjGHlI=
    ✓ Version sync

    1 error, 1 warning. Run 'bd preflight --fix' to auto-fix where possible.

### Tier 3: Fix Mode (v3)

    $ bd preflight --fix
    ✓ Updated vendorHash in default.nix
    ⚠ Cannot auto-fix beads pollution - manual review needed

## Checks to Implement

| Check | Description | Auto-fixable |
|-------|-------------|--------------|
| tests | Run go test -short ./... | No |
| lint | Run golangci-lint | Partial (gofmt) |
| beads-pollution | Detect personal issues in diff | No (see bd-umbf) |
| nix-hash | Detect stale vendorHash | Yes (if nix available) |
| version-sync | version.go matches default.nix | Yes |
| no-debug | No TODO/FIXME/console.log | Warn only |
| clean-stage | No unintended files staged | Warn only |

## Future: Configuration

Make checks configurable per-project via .beads/preflight.yaml:

    preflight:
      checks:
        - name: tests
          run: go test -short ./...
          required: true
        - name: no-secrets
          pattern: "**/*.env"
          staged: deny
        - name: custom-check
          run: ./scripts/validate.sh

This lets any project using beads define their own preflight checks.

## Implementation Phases

### Phase 1: Static Checklist
- Implement bd preflight with hardcoded checklist for beads
- No execution, just prints what to check
- Update CONTRIBUTING.md to reference it

### Phase 2: Automated Checks
- Implement bd preflight --check
- Run tests, lint, detect stale hashes
- Clear pass/fail/warn output

### Phase 3: Auto-fix
- Implement bd preflight --fix
- Fix vendorHash, version sync
- Integrate with bd-umbf solution for pollution

### Phase 4: Configuration
- .beads/preflight.yaml support
- Make it useful for other projects using beads
- Plugin/hook system for custom checks

## Dependencies

- bd-umbf: Namespace isolation for beads pollution (blocking for full solution)

## Success Metrics

- Fewer CI failures on first PR push
- Reduced "fix nix hash" commits
- Contributors report preflight caught issues before CI


Improve test coverage for cmd/bd CLI (26.2% → 50%)

The main CLI package (cmd/bd) has only 26.2% test coverage. CLI commands should have at least 50% coverage to ensure reliability.

Key areas with low/no coverage:
- daemon_autostart.go (multiple 0% functions)
- compact.go (several 0% functions)
- Various command handlers

Current coverage: 26.2%
Target coverage: 50%


Add tests for performFlush error handling in FlushManager

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

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

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

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

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

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


Fix `bd sync` failure due to daemon auto-export timestamp skew

`bd sync` fails with false-positive "JSONL is newer than database" after daemon auto-export.
Root Cause: Daemon exports local changes to JSONL, updating its timestamp. `bd sync` sees JSONL.mtime > DB.mtime and assumes external changes, blocking export.
Proposed Fixes:
1. `bd sync` auto-imports if timestamp matches but content differs (or just auto-imports).
2. Content-based comparison instead of timestamp only.


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.


Fix bd sync race condition with daemon causing dirty working directory

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

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

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

Related: bd-c83r (multiple daemon prevention)


Test P1 priority


Add close_reason to JSONL export format documentation

PR #551 now persists close_reason to the database, but there's a question about whether this field should be exported to JSONL format.

## Current State
- close_reason is stored in issues.close_reason column
- close_reason is also stored in events table (audit trail)
- The JSONL export format may or may not include close_reason

## Questions
1. Should close_reason be exported to JSONL format?
2. If yes, where should it go (root level or nested in events)?
3. Should there be any special handling to avoid duplication?
4. How should close_reason be handled during JSONL import?

## Why This Matters
- JSONL is the git-friendly sync format
- Other beads instances import from JSONL
- close_reason is meaningful data that should be preserved across clones

## Suggested Action
- Check if close_reason is currently exported in JSONL
- If not, add it to the export schema
- Document the field in JSONL format spec
- Add tests for round-trip (export -> import -> verify close_reason)


Add test coverage for internal/validation package


Benchmark Suite for Critical Operations

Extend existing benchmark suite with comprehensive benchmarks for critical operations at 10K-20K scale.

Existing benchmarks (keep these):
- cycle_bench_test.go - Cycle detection up to 5K issues (linear, tree, dense graphs)
- compact_bench_test.go - Compaction candidate queries (100 issues)
- internal/rpc/bench_test.go - Daemon vs direct mode comparison

New benchmarks to add in sqlite_bench_test.go (~10-12 total):
1. GetReadyWork - Simple, deep hierarchies, cross-linked (CRITICAL - not currently benchmarked)
2. SearchIssues - No filters, complex filters (CRITICAL - not currently benchmarked)
3. CreateIssue - Single issue creation
4. UpdateIssue - Status/priority/assignee changes
5. AddDependency - Extend to 10K/20K scale (currently only up to 5K)
6. JSONL Export - Full export performance
7. JSONL Import - Import performance

Scale levels:
- Large: 10K issues (5K open, 5K closed)
- XLarge: 20K issues (10K open, 10K closed)

Implementation:
- NEW FILE: internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite_bench_test.go
- Keep existing cycle_bench_test.go and compact_bench_test.go unchanged
- Build tag: //go:build bench
- Standard testing.B benchmarks
- b.ReportAllocs() for memory tracking
- Test both SQLite and JSONL-imported databases

Always generates CPU and memory profiles for analysis.


Add .beads/README.md during 'bd init' for project documentation and promotion

When 'bd init' is run, automatically generate a .beads/README.md file that:

1. Briefly explains what Beads is (AI-native issue tracking that lives in your repo)
2. Links to the main repository: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads
3. Provides a quick reference of essential commands:
   - bd create: Create new issues
   - bd list: View all issues
   - bd update: Modify issue status/details
   - bd show: View issue details
   - bd sync: Sync with git remote
4. Highlights key benefits for AI coding agents and developers
5. Encourages developers to try it out

The README should be enthusiastic and compelling to get open source contributors excited about using Beads for their AI-assisted development workflows.


Improve test coverage for internal/rpc (47.5% → 60%)

The RPC package has only 47.5% test coverage. RPC is the communication layer for daemon operations.

Current coverage: 47.5%
Target coverage: 60%


Extract computeJSONLHash helper to eliminate code duplication

SHA256 hash computation is duplicated in 3 places:
- cmd/bd/integrity.go:50-52
- cmd/bd/sync.go:611-613
- cmd/bd/import.go:318-319

Extract to shared helper function computeJSONLHash(jsonlPath string) (string, error) that includes proper #nosec comment and error handling.


Create Python adapter library

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

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

File: lib/beads_mail_adapter.py


Add integration test for cross-clone deletion propagation


Add 'new' as alias for 'create' command


Implement bd migrate command

Add bd migrate command to move issues between repos with filtering. Should support: filtering by status/priority/labels, dry-run mode, preserving dependencies, handling source_repo field updates.


bd-hv01: Brittle string comparison breaks with JSON field reordering

## Problem
deletion_tracking.go:125 uses string comparison to detect unchanged issues:

```go
if leftLine, existsInLeft := leftIndex[id]; existsInLeft && leftLine == baseLine {
    deletions = append(deletions, id)
}
```

This breaks if:
- JSON field order changes (legal in JSON)
- Timestamps updated by import/export
- Whitespace/formatting changes
- Floating point precision varies

## Example Failure
```json
// baseLine
{"id":"bd-1","priority":1,"status":"open"}
// leftLine (same data, different order)
{"id":"bd-1","status":"open","priority":1}
```
These are semantically identical but string comparison fails.

## Fix
Parse and compare JSON semantically:
```go
func jsonEquals(a, b string) bool {
    var objA, objB map[string]interface{}
    json.Unmarshal([]byte(a), &objA)
    json.Unmarshal([]byte(b), &objB)
    return reflect.DeepEqual(objA, objB)
}
```

## Files Affected
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go:125
- cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go:134-170 (buildIDToLineMap)


Investigate performance issues in VS Code Copilot (Windows)

Beads unusable in Windows 11 VS Code Copilot chat with Sonnet 4.5.
Summary event happens every 3-4 turns, taking 3 minutes.
Copilot summarizes after ~125k tokens despite model supporting 1M.
Large context size of beads might be triggering aggressive summarization.
Need workaround or optimization for context size.


getLocalSyncBranch silently ignores YAML parse errors

In autoimport.go:170-172, YAML parsing errors are silently ignored. If a user has malformed YAML in config.yaml, sync-branch will just silently be empty with no feedback.

Recommendation: Add debug logging since this function is only called during auto-import, and debugging silent failures is painful.

Add: debug.Logf("Warning: failed to parse config.yaml: %v", err)


Install and test MCP Agent Mail locally

Install MCP Agent Mail on a single development machine and verify basic functionality.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Server installed via one-line installer
- Server running on port 8765
- Can register a project via HTTP
- Can register an agent identity
- Web UI accessible at /mail

Tested local installation. Server runs on port 8765, web UI works. MCP API tool execution has errors - needs debugging. See /tmp/bd-muls-report.md for details.


Pre-push hook and daemon export produce different JSONL

After committing and pushing, git status shows .beads/beads.jsonl as dirty. Investigation shows:

1. Pre-push hook ran successfully and exported DB → JSONL
2. Push completed
3. Shortly after, daemon exported DB → JSONL again with different content
4. Diff shows comments added to old issues (bd-23a8, bd-6049, bd-87a0)

Timeline:
- Commit c731c45 "Update beads JSONL"
- Pre-push hook exported JSONL
- Push succeeded
- Daemon PID 33314 exported again with different content

Questions:
1. Did someone run a command between commit and daemon export?
2. Is there a timing issue where pre-push hook doesn't capture all DB changes?
3. Should pre-commit hook flush daemon changes before committing?

The comments appear to be from Nov 5 (created_at: 2025-11-05T08:38:46Z) but are only appearing in JSONL now. This suggests the DB had these comments but they weren't exported during pre-push.

Possible causes:
- Pre-push hook uses BEADS_NO_DAEMON=1 which might skip pending writes
- Daemon has unflushed changes in memory
- Race condition between pre-push export and daemon's periodic export

Improved fix based on oracle code review:
1. Pre-push now flushes pending changes first (prevents debounce race)
2. Uses git status --porcelain to catch all change types
3. Handles both beads.jsonl and issues.jsonl
4. Works even if bd not installed (git-only check)


Speed up main_test.go - tests hang indefinitely due to nil rootCtx

## Problem

main_test.go tests are hanging indefinitely, making them unusable and blocking development.

## Root Cause

Tests that call flushToJSONL() or autoImportIfNewer() hang forever because:
- rootCtx is nil in test environment (defined in cmd/bd/main.go:67)
- flushToJSONL() uses rootCtx for DB operations (autoflush.go:503)
- When rootCtx is nil, DB calls timeout/hang indefinitely

## Affected Tests (10+)

- TestAutoFlushOnExit
- TestAutoFlushJSONLContent
- TestAutoFlushErrorHandling
- TestAutoImportIfNewer
- TestAutoImportDisabled
- TestAutoImportWithUpdate
- TestAutoImportNoUpdate
- TestAutoImportMergeConflict
- TestAutoImportConflictMarkerFalsePositive
- TestAutoImportClosedAtInvariant

## Proof

```bash
# Before fix: TestAutoFlushJSONLContent HANGS (killed after 2+ min)
# After adding rootCtx init: Completes in 0.04s
# Speedup: ∞ → 0.04s
```

## Solution

See MAIN_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_PLAN.md for complete fix plan.

**Quick Fix (5 min)**: Add to each hanging test:
```go
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
defer cancel()
oldRootCtx := rootCtx
rootCtx = ctx
defer func() { rootCtx = oldRootCtx }()
```

**Full Optimization (40 min total)**:
1. Fix rootCtx (5 min) - unblocks tests
2. Reduce sleep durations 10x (2 min) - saves ~280ms
3. Use in-memory DBs (10 min) - saves ~1s
4. Share test fixtures (15 min) - saves ~1.2s
5. Fix skipped debounce test (5 min)

## Expected Results

- Tests go from hanging → <5s total runtime
- Keep critical integration test coverage
- Tests caught real bugs: bd-270, bd-206, bd-160

## Files

- Analysis: MAIN_TEST_REFACTOR_NOTES.md
- Solution: MAIN_TEST_OPTIMIZATION_PLAN.md
- Tests: cmd/bd/main_test.go (18 tests, 1322 LOC)

## Priority

P1 - Blocking development, tests unusable in current state


Improve test coverage for internal/daemon (27.3% → 60%)

The daemon package has only 27.3% test coverage. The daemon is critical for background operations and reliability.

Key areas needing tests:
- Daemon autostart logic
- Socket handling
- PID file management
- Health checks

Current coverage: 27.3%
Target coverage: 60%


> bd sync --no-daemon
→ Exporting pending changes to JSONL...
→ Committing changes to sync branch 'beads-sync'...
Error committing to sync branch: failed to create worktree: failed to create worktree parent directory: mkdir /var/home/matt/dev/beads/fix-ci/.git: not a directory

**Problem Diagnosed**: The `bd sync` command was failing with "mkdir /var/home/matt/dev/beads/fix-ci/.git: not a directory" because it was being executed from the wrong directory.

**Root Cause**: The command was run from `/var/home/matt/dev/beads` (where the `fix-ci` worktree exists) instead of the main repository directory `/var/home/matt/dev/beads/main`. Since `fix-ci` is a git worktree with a `.git` file (not directory), the worktree creation logic failed when trying to create `<current_dir>/.git/beads-worktrees/<branch>`.

**Solution Verified**: Execute `bd sync` from the main repository directory:
```bash
cd main && bd sync --dry-run
```


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


Add security tests for file path validation in clean command

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

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

In cmd/bd/clean.go:118, os.Open(gitignorePath) is flagged by gosec G304 for potential file inclusion via variable without validation.

Add tests covering:
- Path traversal attempts (../../etc/passwd)
- Absolute paths outside project directory
- Symlink following behavior
- Non-existent file handling
- Validation that only .gitignore files in valid locations are opened

This is a security-sensitive code path that needs validation to prevent unauthorized file access.

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


Ghost resurrection: remote status:closed wins during git merge

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

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

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

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

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

Fixed by adding ID-based fallback matching in merge3WayWithTTL. When IssueKey (ID+CreatedAt+CreatedBy) doesn't match due to timestamp precision differences, the merge now falls back to ID-based matching to ensure tombstones win over live issues.


GH#243: Recurring stale daemon.lock causes 5s delays

User reports daemon.lock keeps becoming stale after running Claude with beads.

Symptom:
- bd ready takes 5 seconds (exact)
- daemon.lock exists but socket is missing
- bd daemons killall temporarily fixes it
- Problem recurs after using beads with AI agents

User on v0.22.0, Macbook M2, 132 issues (89 closed)

Hypothesis: Daemon is crashing or exiting uncleanly during agent sessions, leaving stale lock file.

Need to:
1. Add crash logging to daemon to understand why it's exiting
2. Improve cleanup on daemon exit (ensure lock is always removed)
3. Add automatic stale lock detection/cleanup
4. Consider making daemon more resilient to crashes

Oracle analysis complete. Converting to epic with 5 focused sub-issues:
1. RPC fast-fail with socket stat + short timeouts (P0)
2. Standardize daemon detection with lock probe (P1)
3. Crash recovery improvements (P2)
4. Self-heal stale artifacts (P2)
5. Diagnostics and debugging (P3)


Measure git operation reduction

Quantify the reduction in git operations (pulls, commits, pushes) when using Agent Mail for coordination.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Baseline: count git ops for 10 issues without Agent Mail
- With Agent Mail: count git ops for 10 issues
- Document reduction percentage
- Verify 70-80% reduction claim
- Measure impact on .git directory size growth

Success Metric: ≥70% reduction in git operations


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

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

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

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

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


bd blocked shows empty (GH#545)

bd blocked only shows dependency-blocked issues, not status=blocked issues.

Either:
- Include status=blocked issues, OR
- Document/rename to clarify behavior

Fix in: cmd/bd/blocked.go


No logging/debugging for tombstone resurrection events

Per the design document bd-zvg Open Question 1: Should resurrection log a warning? Recommendation was Yes. Currently, when an expired tombstone loses to a live issue (resurrection), there is no logging or debugging output. This makes it hard to understand why an issue reappeared. Recommendation: Add optional debug logging when resurrection occurs, e.g., Issue bd-abc resurrected (tombstone expired). Files: internal/merge/merge.go:359-366, 371-378, 400-405, 410-415


Documentation

Complete documentation for Agent Mail integration to enable adoption.


Fix Homebrew warning about Ruby file location

Homebrew warning: Found Ruby file outside steveyegge/beads tap formula directory.
Warning points to: /opt/homebrew/Library/Taps/steveyegge/homebrew-beads/bd.rb
It should likely be inside a Formula/ directory or similar structure expected by Homebrew taps.


bd-hv01: Non-atomic snapshot operations can cause data loss

## Problem
In sync.go:146-155 and daemon_sync.go:502-505, snapshot capture failures are logged as warnings but sync continues:

```go
if err := exportToJSONL(ctx, jsonlPath); err != nil { ... }
if err := captureLeftSnapshot(jsonlPath); err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: failed to capture snapshot...")
}
```

If export succeeds but snapshot capture fails, the merge uses stale snapshot data, potentially deleting wrong issues.

## Impact
- Critical data integrity issue
- Could delete issues incorrectly during multi-workspace sync

## Fix
Make snapshot capture mandatory:
```go
if err := captureLeftSnapshot(jsonlPath); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("failed to capture snapshot (required for deletion tracking): %w", err)
}
```

## Files Affected
- cmd/bd/sync.go:146-155
- cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go:502-505


Doctor should exclude merge artifacts from 'multiple JSONL' warning

Doctor command warns about 'multiple JSONL files' when .base.jsonl and .left.jsonl merge artifacts exist. These are expected during/after merge operations and should be excluded from the warning.


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

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

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


GH#403: bd doctor --fix circular error message

bd doctor --fix suggests running bd doctor --fix for deletions manifest issue. Fix to provide actual resolution. See GitHub issue #403.


bd sync --squash: batch multiple syncs into single commit

For solo developers who don't need real-time multi-agent coordination, add a --squash option to bd sync that accumulates changes and commits them in a single commit rather than one commit per sync.

This addresses the git history pollution concern (many 'bd sync: timestamp' commits) while preserving the default behavior needed for orchestration.

**Proposed behavior:**
- `bd sync --squash` accumulates pending exports
- Only commits when explicitly requested or on session end
- Default behavior unchanged (immediate commits for orchestration)

**Use case:** Solo developers who want cleaner git history but don't need real-time coordination between agents.

**Related:** PR #411 (docs: reduce bd sync commit pollution)
**See also:** Multi-repo support as alternative solution (docs/MULTI_REPO_AGENTS.md)


Add richer query capabilities to bd list

Current bd list filters are limited to basic field matching (status, priority, type, assignee, label). This forces users to resort to piping through jq for common queries.

Missing query capabilities:
- Pattern matching: --title-contains, --desc-contains
- Date ranges: --created-after, --updated-before, --closed-after
- Empty/null checks: --empty-description, --no-assignee, --no-labels
- Numeric ranges: --priority-min, --priority-max
- Complex boolean logic: --and, --or operators
- Full-text search: --search across all text fields
- Negation: --not-status, --exclude-label

Example use cases:
- Find issues with empty descriptions
- Find stale issues not updated in 30 days
- Find high-priority bugs with no assignee
- Search for keyword across title/description/notes

Implementation approach:
- Add query builder pattern to storage layer
- Support --query DSL for complex queries
- Keep simple flags for common cases
- Add --json output for programmatic use

## Progress Update

**Completed:**
- ✅ Extended IssueFilter struct with new fields (pattern matching, date ranges, empty/null checks, priority ranges)
- ✅ Updated SQLite SearchIssues implementation
- ✅ Added CLI flags to list.go
- ✅ Added parseTimeFlag helper
- ✅ Comprehensive tests added - all passing

**Remaining:**
- ⚠ RPC layer needs updating (internal/rpc/protocol.go ListArgs)
- ⚠ Daemon handler needs to forward new filters
- ⚠ End-to-end testing with daemon mode
- 📝 Documentation updates

**Files Modified:**
- internal/types/types.go
- internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go
- cmd/bd/list.go
- cmd/bd/list_test.go

**Next Steps:**
1. Update RPC protocol
2. Update daemon handler
3. Test with daemon mode
4. Update docs


Improve CheckStaleness error handling

## Problem

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

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

## Edge Cases That Return False

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

## Fix

Return errors for abnormal conditions:

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

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

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

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

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


GH#509: bd doesn't find .beads when running from nested worktrees

When worktrees are nested under main repo (.worktrees/feature/), bd stops at worktree git root instead of continuing to find .beads in parent. See GitHub issue #509 for detailed fix suggestion.


Enhance `bd doctor` to verify Claude Code integration

Add checks to `bd doctor` that verify Claude Code integration is properly set up when .claude/ directory or Claude environment is detected.


Fix bd doctor to recommend issues.jsonl as canonical (not beads.jsonl)