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)


Complete remaining sync branch daemon tests

4 remaining test scenarios in daemon_sync_branch_test.go need completion:

⚠ MINOR FIXES (apply same pattern as TestSyncBranchCommitAndPush_Success):
1. TestSyncBranchCommitAndPush_NoChanges
   - Reorder: call initMainBranch() BEFORE creating JSONL
   - Pattern: init branch → create issue → export JSONL → test

2. TestSyncBranchCommitAndPush_WorktreeHealthCheck
   - Same reordering needed
   - Verify worktree corruption detection and auto-repair

🔧 MORE WORK NEEDED (remote branch setup):
3. TestSyncBranchPull_Success
   - Issue: remote doesn't have sync branch after push
   - Need to verify branch is pushed to remote correctly
   - Then test pull from clone2

4. TestSyncBranchIntegration_EndToEnd
   - Full workflow: Agent A commits → Agent B pulls → Agent B commits → Agent A pulls
   - Same remote branch issue

Pattern to apply (from TestSyncBranchCommitAndPush_Success):
- Call initMainBranch(t, dir) BEFORE creating issues/JSONL
- This ensures sync branch worktree has changes to commit

Acceptance:
- All 7 tests pass
- go test -v -run TestSyncBranch ./cmd/bd/ succeeds


Proposal: Custom status states via config

Proposal to add 'custom status states' via `bd config`.
Users could define an optional issue status enum (e.g., awaiting_review, review_in_progress) in the config.
This would enable multi-step pipelines to process issues where each step correlates to a specific status.

Examples:
- awaiting_verification
- awaiting_docs
- awaiting_testing


Ready issue


Add unit tests for hasJSONLChanged() function

The hasJSONLChanged() function has no unit tests. Should test:
- Normal case: hash matches
- Normal case: hash differs
- Edge case: empty file
- Edge case: missing metadata (first run)
- Edge case: corrupted metadata
- Edge case: file read errors
- Edge case: invalid hash format in metadata

Also add performance benchmarks for large JSONL files.


Implement git worktree management

Create git worktree lifecycle management for separate beads branch.

Tasks:
- Create internal/git/worktree.go
- Implement CreateBeadsWorktree(branch, path)
- Implement RemoveBeadsWorktree(path)
- Implement CheckWorktreeHealth(path)
- Configure sparse checkout (only .beads/)
- Implement SyncJSONLToWorktree()
- Handle worktree errors gracefully
- Auto-cleanup on config change

Estimated effort: 3-4 days


Add TestThreeCloneCollision for regression protection

Add a 3-clone collision test to document behavior and provide regression protection.

Purpose:
- Verify content convergence regardless of sync order
- Document the ID non-determinism behavior (IDs may be assigned differently based on sync order)
- Provide regression protection for multi-way collisions

Test design:
- 3 clones create same ID with different content
- Test two different sync orders (A→B→C vs C→A→B)
- Assert content sets match (ignore specific ID assignments)
- Add comment explaining ID non-determinism is expected behavior

Known limitation:
- Content always converges correctly (all issues present with correct titles)
- Numeric ID assignments (test-2 vs test-3) depend on sync order
- This is acceptable if content convergence is the primary goal


Modify EnsureIDs to support parent resurrection

Update internal/storage/sqlite/ids.go:189-202 to call TryResurrectParent before failing on missing parent. Add resurrection mode flag, log resurrected parents for transparency. Maintain backwards compatibility with strict validation mode.


Debug test 2


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


Document error handling strategy for metadata update failures

Multiple places silently ignore metadata update failures (sync.go:614-617, import.go:320-322) with non-fatal warnings. This is intentional (degrades gracefully to mtime-based approach) but not well documented.

Add comments explaining:
- Why these failures are non-fatal
- How system degrades gracefully
- What the fallback behavior is (mtime-based detection)


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


Add performance optimization to hasJSONLChanged with mtime fast-path

hasJSONLChanged() reads entire JSONL file to compute SHA256 hash on every check. For large databases (50MB+), this is expensive and called frequently by daemon.

Optimization: Check mtime first as fast-path. Only compute hash if mtime changed. This catches git operations (mtime changes but content doesn't) while avoiding expensive hash computation in common case (mtime unchanged = content unchanged).

Performance impact: 99% of checks will use fast path, only git operations need slow path.


Fix TestListCommand duplicate dependency constraint violation


Code Review Sweep: thorough

Perform thorough code review sweep based on accumulated activity.

**AI Reasoning:**
Significant code volume added (150,273 lines) across multiple critical areas, including cmd/bd, internal/storage/sqlite, and internal/rpc. High file change count (616) indicates substantial refactoring or new functionality. The metrics suggest potential for subtle architectural or implementation issues that warrant review.

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

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

File discovered issues with detailed reasoning and suggestions.


Refactor AGENTS.md to use external references

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


Latency test 1


Extract daemon server functions to daemon_server.go


Implement `bd setup claude` command for Claude Code integration

Create a `bd setup claude` command that installs Claude Code integration files (slash commands and hooks). This is idempotent and safe to run multiple times.


Refactor: extract common helpers in sync-branch hook checks

Code review of #532 fix identified duplication between checkSyncBranchHookCompatibility and checkSyncBranchHookQuick.

Suggested refactoring:
1. Extract getPrePushHookPath(path string) helper for git dir + hook path resolution
2. Extract extractHookVersion(hookContent string) helper for version parsing
3. Consider whether Warning for custom hooks is appropriate (vs OK with info message)
4. Document the intentional behavior difference between full check (Warning for custom) and quick check (OK for custom)


Investigate why test issues persist in database

Test issues (bd-0do3, bd-cjxp, bd-phr2, etc.) keep appearing in ready/list output, cluttering real work. These appear to be leftover test data from test runs.

Need to investigate:
1. Why are test issues not being cleaned up after tests?
2. Are tests creating issues in the main database instead of test databases?
3. Should we add better test isolation or cleanup hooks?
4. Can we add a label/prefix to distinguish test issues from real issues?

These test issues have characteristics:
- Empty descriptions
- Generic titles like "Test issue 0", "Bug P0", "Issue to reopen with reason"
- Created around 2025-11-07 19:00-19:07
- Some assigned to test users like "alice", "bob", "testuser"

## Root Cause Analysis

**Problem**: Python MCP integration tests created test issues in production `.beads/beads.db` instead of isolated test databases.

**Evidence**:
- 29 test issues created on Nov 7, 2025 at 19:00-19:07
- Patterns: "Bug P0", "Test issue X", assignees "alice"/"bob"/"testuser"
- Git commit 0e8936b shows test issues committed to .beads/beads.jsonl
- Tests were being fixed for workspace isolation around the same time

**Why It Happened**:
1. Before commit 0e8936b, `test_client_lazy_initialization()` didn't set `BEADS_WORKING_DIR`
2. Tests fell back to discovering `.beads/` in the project root directory
3. Auto-sync committed test issues to production database

**Resolution**:
1. ✅ Closed 29 test pollution issues (bd-0do3, bd-cjxp, etc.)
2. ✅ Added `failIfProductionDatabase()` guard in Go test helpers
3. ✅ Added production pollution checks in RPC test setup
4. ✅ Created `conftest.py` with pytest safety checks for Python tests
5. ✅ Added `BEADS_TEST_MODE` env var to mark test execution
6. ✅ Tests now fail fast if they detect production database usage

**Prevention**:
- All test helper functions now verify database paths are in temp directories
- Python tests fail immediately if BEADS_DB points to production
- BEADS_TEST_MODE flag helps identify test vs production execution
- Clear error messages guide developers to use proper test isolation

**Files Modified**:
- cmd/bd/test_helpers_test.go - Added failIfProductionDatabase()
- internal/rpc/rpc_test.go - Added temp directory verification
- integrations/beads-mcp/tests/conftest.py - New file with pytest safeguards


Switch from deletions manifest to inline tombstones

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

## Problem Statement

The current deletions manifest approach has several issues:

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

## Proposed Solution: Inline Tombstones

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

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

### Benefits

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

### Design Decisions Needed

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

### Migration Strategy

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

## Related Issues

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


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.


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)


bd doctor: add configuration value validation

Currently bd doctor checks for missing config files but doesn't validate config values. Add validation for: invalid priority values, malformed sync intervals, invalid branch names, unsupported storage backends, etc. This would catch misconfigurations before they cause runtime errors.


Improve Beads test coverage from 46% to 80%


Improve internal/daemon test coverage (currently 22.5%)

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

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


Add security tests for WriteFile permissions in doctor command

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

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

In cmd/bd/doctor/gitignore.go:98, os.WriteFile uses 0644 permissions, flagged by gosec G306 as potentially too permissive.

Add tests to verify:
- File is created with appropriate permissions (0600 or less)
- Existing file permissions are not loosened
- File ownership is correct
- Sensitive data handling if .gitignore contains secrets

This ensures .gitignore files are created with secure permissions to prevent unauthorized access.

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


Fix gosec lint warnings in doctor.go, main.go, and fix subdirectory

CI lint job failing with 4 gosec warnings:
- cmd/bd/doctor.go:664 (G304: file inclusion via variable)
- cmd/bd/doctor/fix/database_config.go:166 (G304: file inclusion via variable)
- cmd/bd/doctor/fix/untracked.go:61 (G204: subprocess launched with variable)
- cmd/bd/main.go:645 (G304: file inclusion via variable)

Either suppress with `// #nosec` if false positives, or refactor to validate paths properly.


Consider extracting error handling helpers

Evaluate creating FatalError() and WarnError() helpers as suggested in ERROR_HANDLING.md to reduce boilerplate and enforce consistency. Prototype in a few files first to validate the approach.


Clarify exclusive lock protocol compatibility with multi-repo

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

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

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


GH#488: Support claude.local.md for local-only config

Allow CLAUDE.local.md for testing bd without committing to repo or overriding shared CLAUDE.md. Not every repo wants committed AI config. See: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/488


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.


bd prime: Detect ephemeral branches and adjust workflow output

When 'bd prime' runs on a branch with no upstream (ephemeral branch), it should output a different SESSION CLOSE PROTOCOL.

**Current output (wrong for ephemeral branches):**
```
[ ] 1. git status
[ ] 2. git add <files>
[ ] 3. bd sync
[ ] 4. git commit -m "..."
[ ] 5. bd sync
[ ] 6. git push
```

**Needed output for ephemeral branches:**
```
[ ] 1. git status
[ ] 2. git add <files>
[ ] 3. bd sync --from-main  (pull updates from main)
[ ] 4. git commit -m "..."
[ ] 5. (no push - branch is ephemeral)
```

**Detection:** `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u}` returns error code 128 if no upstream.

Also update Sync & Collaboration section to mention `bd sync --from-main` for ephemeral branches.

**Use case:** Gastown polecats work on ephemeral local branches that are never pushed. Their code gets merged to main via local merge, and beads changes stay local (communicated via gm mail to Overseer).


Test dependency parent


Publish official devcontainer configuration

Devcontainer configuration implemented. Manual testing required in actual devcontainer environment (Codespaces or VSCode Remote Containers). All code changes complete, tests pass, linting clean.


Remove obsolete stale.go command (executor tables never implemented)


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.


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


Add test case for symmetric collision (both clones create same ID simultaneously)

TestTwoCloneCollision demonstrates the problem, but we need a simpler unit test for the collision resolver itself.

Test should verify:
- Two issues with same ID, different content
- Content hash determines winner deterministically
- Result is same regardless of which clone imports first
- No title swapping occurs

This can be a simpler test than the full integration test.


Unit tests for Debouncer

Test debouncer batches multiple triggers into single action. Test timer reset on subsequent triggers. Test cancel during wait. Test thread safety.


bd-hv01: Storage backend extensibility broken by type assertion

Problem: deletion_tracking.go:69-82 uses type assertion for DeleteIssue which breaks if someone adds a new storage backend.

Fix: Check capability before starting merge or add DeleteIssue to Storage interface.

Files: cmd/bd/deletion_tracking.go:69-82, internal/storage/storage.go


Auto-repair stale merge driver configs with invalid placeholders

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


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 dependency naming inconsistencies (GH #440)

Parent-child dependency documentation is backwards and UI labels are confusing.\n\nProblems:\n1. DEPENDENCIES.md says 'bd dep add PARENT CHILD' but this is rejected\n2. bd show displays epic children under 'Blocks' instead of 'Children'\n3. bd dep tree EPIC shows nothing (need --direction=up)\n4. Inconsistent with 'bd epic status' which uses 'children'\n\nSee: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/issues/440


Multi-repo hydration layer

Build core infrastructure to hydrate database from N repos (N≥1), with smart caching via file mtime tracking and routing writes to correct JSONL based on source_repo metadata.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Update daemon commit logic for separate branch

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

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

Estimated effort: 3-4 days


Convert magic numbers to named constants in FlushManager


Add schema compatibility probe to prevent silent migration failures

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

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

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

Related: #262


bd resolve-conflicts - Git merge conflict resolver

Automatically resolve JSONL merge conflicts.

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

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

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


Final validation test


CLI accepts both hash IDs and aliases

Update all CLI commands to accept both hash IDs (bd-af78e9a2) and aliases (#42, or just 42).

## Parsing Logic
```go
// internal/utils/id_parser.go
func ParseIssueID(input string) (issueID string, err error) {
    // Hash ID: bd-af78e9a2
    if strings.HasPrefix(input, "bd-") {
        return input, nil
    }

    // Alias: #42 or 42
    aliasStr := strings.TrimPrefix(input, "#")
    alias, err := strconv.Atoi(aliasStr)
    if err != nil {
        return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid issue ID: %s", input)
    }

    // Resolve alias to hash ID
    return storage.GetIssueIDByAlias(alias)
}
```

## Commands to Update
All commands that accept issue IDs:

### 1. bd show
```bash
bd show bd-af78e9a2        # Hash ID
bd show #42                # Alias
bd show 42                 # Alias (shorthand)
bd show bd-af78e9a2 #42    # Mixed (multiple IDs)
```

### 2. bd update
```bash
bd update #42 --status in_progress
bd update bd-af78e9a2 --priority 1
```

### 3. bd close
```bash
bd close #42 --reason "Done"
```

### 4. bd dep add/tree
```bash
bd dep add #42 #1 --type blocks
bd dep tree bd-af78e9a2
```

### 5. bd label add/remove
```bash
bd label add #42 critical
```

### 6. bd merge
```bash
bd merge #42 #43 --into #41
```

## Display Format
Default to showing aliases in output:
```bash
$ bd list
#1   Fix authentication bug          P1  open
#2   Add logging to daemon           P2  open
#42  Investigate jujutsu integration P3  open
```

With `--format=hash` flag:
```bash
$ bd list --format=hash
bd-af78e9a2  Fix authentication bug          P1  open
bd-e5f6a7b8  Add logging to daemon           P2  open
bd-1a2b3c4d  Investigate jujutsu integration P3  open
```

## Files to Modify
- internal/utils/id_parser.go (new)
- cmd/bd/show.go
- cmd/bd/update.go
- cmd/bd/close.go
- cmd/bd/reopen.go
- cmd/bd/dep.go
- cmd/bd/label.go
- cmd/bd/merge.go
- cmd/bd/list.go (add --format flag)

## Testing
- Test hash ID parsing
- Test alias parsing (#42, 42)
- Test mixed IDs in single command
- Test error on invalid ID
- Test alias resolution failure


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.


bd message: Fix inefficient client-side filtering for --unread-only


deletions.jsonl gets corrupted with full issue objects instead of deletion records

## Bug Description

The deletions.jsonl file was found to contain full issue objects (like issues.jsonl) instead of deletion records.

### Expected Format (DeletionRecord)
```json
{"id":"bd-xxx","timestamp":"2025-...","actor":"user","reason":"deleted"}
```

### Actual Content Found
```json
{"id":"bd-03r","title":"Document deletions manifest...","description":"...","status":"closed",...}
```

## Impact
- bd sync sanitization step reads deletions.jsonl and removes any matching IDs from issues.jsonl
- With 60 full issue objects in deletions.jsonl, ALL 60 issues were incorrectly removed during sync
- This caused complete data loss of the issue database

## Root Cause (suspected)
Something wrote issues.jsonl content to deletions.jsonl. Possible causes:
- Export writing to wrong file
- File path confusion during sync
- Race condition between export and deletion tracking

## Related Issues
- bd-0b2: --no-git-history flag (just fixed)
- bd-4pv: export outputs only 1 issue after corruption
- bd-4t7: auto-import runs during --no-auto-import

## Reproduction
Unknown - discovered during bd sync session on 2025-11-26

## Fix
Need to investigate what code path could write issue objects to deletions.jsonl


~/src/beads daemon has 'sql: database is closed' errors - zombie daemon


Issue to close


WASM integration testing

Comprehensive testing of WASM build. Child of epic bd-44d0.

## Tasks
- [ ] Unit tests for WASM module
- [ ] Integration tests with real JSONL files
- [ ] Test all bd commands for parity
- [ ] Performance benchmarks
- [ ] Test in actual Claude Code Web sandbox
- [ ] Document any limitations

## Test Coverage Target
- >90% of bd CLI commands work identically


Database pollution in ~/src/dave/vc: 895 issues vs canonical 310

~/src/dave/vc/.beads/beads.db has 895 total issues (675 open, 149 closed), but canonical ~/src/vc/.beads/vc.db has only 310 issues (230 open). This is 585 extra issues - likely pollution from other repositories.

Need to:
1. Identify which issues are polluted (use detect-pollution)
2. Compare issue IDs between dave/vc and canonical vc databases
3. Determine pollution source (beads repo? other repos?)
4. Clean up polluted database
5. Root cause: why did pollution occur?

Investigation findings so far:
- Polluted DB (~/src/dave/vc/.beads/beads.db): 241 issues (180 open, 43 closed)
- Canonical DB (~/src/vc/.beads/vc.db): 310 issues (230 open, 62 closed)
- Contradiction: Polluted has FEWER issues, not more (241 < 310, diff of 69)
- Only 1 unique ID in polluted: vc-55fi
- All source_repo fields are set to "." in both databases
- Issue description claims 895 issues in polluted vs 310 canonical - numbers don't match current state
- Possible: Pollution was already partially cleaned, or issue description refers to different database?


bd doctor should detect fresh clone and recommend 'bd init'

When running `bd doctor` on a fresh clone (JSONL exists, no .db file), it should:

1. Detect this is a fresh clone situation
2. Recommend `bd init --prefix <detected-prefix>` as the fix
3. Show the prefix detected from the JSONL file

Currently it shows various warnings (git hooks, merge driver, etc.) but doesn't address the fundamental issue: the database needs to be hydrated.


Add guidance for self-hosting projects

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

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

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

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


Add monitoring and alerting

Observability for production Agent Mail server.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Health check endpoint (/health)
- Prometheus metrics export
- Grafana dashboard
- Alerts for server downtime
- Alerts for high error rate
- Log aggregation config

File: deployment/agent-mail/monitoring/


Fix bd init to bootstrap from sync-branch when configured

When sync-branch is configured in config.yaml, bd init should import from that branch instead of HEAD. Currently it reads HEAD:.beads/issues.jsonl which may be empty or stale when issues are on the sync branch. Location: cmd/bd/autoimport.go:97 checkGitForIssues()


Test Epic

## Overview

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

## Success Criteria

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

## Background

[Provide context and motivation]

## Scope

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

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


Test parent issue


Update GetStatistics to report tombstone count separately

Per bd-2m7 design: 'Should tombstones appear in bd stats? Recommendation: Yes, as separate counter: 5 deleted (tombstones)'

Currently GetStatistics counts tombstones in TotalIssues without distinguishing them.

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/events.go:114-121

Add to Statistics struct and query:
- DeletedIssues (tombstone count)
- Exclude tombstones from TotalIssues or document that it includes them


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Implement `bd setup cursor` for Cursor IDE integration

Create a `bd setup cursor` command that integrates Beads workflow into Cursor IDE via .cursorrules file. Unlike Claude Code (which has hooks), Cursor uses a static rules file to provide context to its AI.


bd delete bulk operations fight with auto-import/daemon causing data resurrection

When bulk deleting issues (e.g., 244 closed issues older than 24h), the process fights with auto-import and daemon infrastructure:

**Expected behavior:**
- Delete 244 issues from 468-issue database
- Export to JSONL (224 lines)
- Commit and push
- Result: 224 issues

**Actual behavior:**
- Delete 244 issues
- Import runs (from stale git JSONL with 468 issues)
- Resurrects deleted issues back into database
- Export writes 356 lines (not 224)
- Math: 468 - 244 = 224, but got 356 (132 issues resurrected)

**Root cause:**
Auto-import keeps re-importing from git during the delete operation, before the new JSONL is committed. The workflow is:
1. Delete from DB
2. Auto-import runs (reads old JSONL from git with deleted issues still present)
3. Issues come back
4. Export writes partially-deleted state

**Solution options:**
1. Add `--no-auto-import` flag to bulk delete operations
2. Atomic delete-export-commit operation that suppresses imports
3. Dedicated `bd prune` command that handles this correctly
4. Lock file to prevent auto-import during bulk mutations

**Impact:**
- Bulk cleanup operations don't work reliably
- Makes it nearly impossible to prune old closed issues
- Confusing UX (delete 244, but only 112 actually removed)

**FIXED**: Auto-import now skips during delete operations to prevent resurrection.

**Root cause confirmed**: Auto-import was running in PersistentPreRun before delete executed, causing it to re-import stale JSONL from git and resurrect deleted issues.

**Solution implemented**:
1. Added delete to skip list in main.go PersistentPreRun (alongside import and sync --dry-run)
2. Delete operations now complete atomically without auto-import interference
3. Added comprehensive test (TestBulkDeleteNoResurrection) to prevent regression

**Test verification**:
- Creates 20 issues, deletes 10
- Verifies no resurrection after delete
- Confirms JSONL has correct count (10 remaining)
- All existing tests still pass


Integration Testing

Verify cache removal doesn't break any workflows


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.


Default to YES for git hooks and merge driver installation

Currently bd init prompts user to install git hooks and merge driver, but setup is incomplete if user declines. Change to install by default unless --skip-hooks or --skip-merge-driver flags are passed. Better safe defaults. If installation fails, warn user and suggest bd doctor --fix.


Investigate jujutsu integration for beads

Research and document how beads could integrate with jujutsu (jj), the next-generation VCS. Key areas to explore:
- How jj's operation model differs from git (immutable operations, working-copy-as-commit)
- JSONL sync strategy with jj's conflict resolution model
- Daemon compatibility with jj's more frequent rewrites
- Whether auto-import/export needs changes for jj workflows
- Example configurations and documentation updates needed


Add Result.ConvertedToTombstone counter for import statistics

The import Result struct has SkippedDeleted but doesn't distinguish between:
1. Issues skipped because they're in deletions manifest (old behavior)
2. Issues converted from deletions.jsonl to tombstones (new bd-dve behavior)

Add a new ConvertedToTombstone counter to track legacy deletions converted to tombstones during import. This provides better visibility into the migration process.


Test issue 0


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


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


Baseline quality gate failure: lint

The lint quality gate is failing on the baseline (main branch).

This blocks the executor from claiming work until fixed.

Error: golangci-lint failed: exit status 1

Output:
```
cmd/bd/search.go:39:12: Error return value of `cmd.Help` is not checked (errcheck)
			cmd.Help()
			        ^
cmd/bd/clean.go:118:15: G304: Potential file inclusion via variable (gosec)
	file, err := os.Open(gitignorePath)
	             ^
cmd/bd/doctor/gitignore.go:98:12: G306: Expect WriteFile permissions to be 0600 or less (gosec)
	if err := os.WriteFile(gitignorePath, []byte(GitignoreTemplate), 0644); err != nil {
	          ^
cmd/bd/merge.go:121:16: G204: Subprocess launched with variable (gosec)
			gitRmCmd := exec.Command("git", "rm", "-f", "--quiet", fullPath)
			            ^
cmd/bd/doctor.go:167:20: `cancelled` is a misspelling of `canceled` (misspell)
		fmt.Println("Fix cancelled.")
		                 ^
cmd/bd/flush_manager.go:139:42: `cancelling` is a misspelling of `canceling` (misspell)
		// Send shutdown request FIRST (before cancelling context)
		                                       ^
cmd/bd/flush_manager.go:261:15: `cancelled` is a misspelling of `canceled` (misspell)
			// Context cancelled (shouldn't normally happen)
			           ^
cmd/bd/flush_manager.go:269:55: (*FlushManager).performFlush - result 0 (error) is always nil (unparam)
func (fm *FlushManager) performFlush(fullExport bool) error {
                                                      ^
8 issues:
* errcheck: 1
* gosec: 3
* misspell: 3
* unparam: 1

```


Add integration tests for CompactedResult in MCP server

The CompactedResult model is used for list operations when results exceed COMPACTION_THRESHOLD (20 items), but there are no integration tests verifying the actual MCP server behavior with large result sets.

## What's Missing
- Integration test that mocks a large result set (>20 issues) and verifies CompactedResult is returned
- Verification that preview_count matches PREVIEW_COUNT (5)
- Verification that total_count reflects actual result size
- Test that compaction threshold is configurable (currently hardcoded COMPACTION_THRESHOLD=20)

## Why This Matters
The compaction logic is critical for preventing context overflow with large lists. Without integration tests, we can't verify it works correctly with the actual MCP protocol.

## Suggested Implementation
Create test_mcp_compaction.py with:
1. test_list_with_large_result_set_returns_compacted_result()
2. test_ready_work_respects_compaction_threshold()
3. test_compacted_result_structure_is_valid()


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.


Add import.orphan_handling config option

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


Vendor beads-merge Go code into internal/merge/

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

## Fixes Implemented

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

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

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

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

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

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

## Testing

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

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


Implement "bd daemons logs" subcommand

Add command to view daemon logs for a specific workspace. Requires daemon logging to file (may need separate issue for log infrastructure).


wish: list & ready show issues as hierarchy tree

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


Test update


Support --reason flag in daemon mode for reopen command

The reopen.go command has a TODO at line 61 to add reason as a comment once RPC supports AddComment. Currently --reason flag is ignored in daemon mode with a warning.


Test graceful degradation when server unavailable

Verify that agents continue working normally when Agent Mail server is stopped or unreachable.

Acceptance Criteria:
- Agent detects server unavailable on startup
- Logs "falling back to Beads-only mode"
- All bd commands work normally
- Agent can claim issues (no reservations, like today)
- Git sync operates as normal
- No errors or crashes

Success Metric: Zero functional difference when Agent Mail unavailable


Test all core bd commands in WASM for feature parity

Comprehensive testing of bd-wasm against native bd:
- Test all CRUD operations (create, update, show, close)
- Test dependency management (dep add, dep tree)
- Test sync operations (sync, import, export)
- Verify JSONL output matches native bd
- Run existing Go test suite in WASM if possible
- Benchmark performance (should be within 2x of native)


Merge3Way public API does not expose TTL parameter

The public Merge3Way() function in merge.go does not allow callers to configure the tombstone TTL. It hard-codes the default via merge3WayWithTTL(). While merge3WayWithTTL() exists, it is unexported (lowercase). This means the CLI and tests cannot configure TTL at merge time. Use cases: testing with different TTL values, per-repository TTL configuration, debugging with short TTL, supporting --ttl flag in bd merge command (mentioned in design doc bd-zvg). Recommendation: Export Merge3WayWithTTL (rename to uppercase). Files: internal/merge/merge.go:77, 292-298


Rename last_import_hash metadata key to jsonl_content_hash

The metadata key 'last_import_hash' is misleading because it's updated on both import AND export (sync.go:614, import.go:320).

Better names:
- jsonl_content_hash (more accurate)
- last_sync_hash (clearer intent)

This is a breaking change requiring migration of existing metadata values.


Add bd hooks install command to embed git hooks in binary

Currently git hooks are installed via `examples/git-hooks/install.sh`, which only exists in the beads source repo. Users who install bd via installer/homebrew/npm can't easily install hooks.

**Proposal:**
Add `bd hooks install` command that:
- Embeds hook scripts in the bd binary (using go:embed)
- Installs them to .git/hooks/ in current repo
- Backs up existing hooks
- Makes them executable

**Commands:**
- `bd hooks install` - Install all hooks
- `bd hooks uninstall` - Remove hooks
- `bd hooks list` - Show installed hooks status

**Benefits:**
- Works for all bd users, not just source repo users
- More discoverable (shows in bd --help)
- Consistent with bd workflow
- Can version hooks with bd releases


Add unit tests for getLocalSyncBranch

The new getLocalSyncBranch() function in autoimport.go (bd-0is fix) has no dedicated unit tests.

Should test:
- Returns empty string when no config.yaml exists
- Returns empty string when config.yaml has no sync-branch key
- Returns value when sync-branch is set with double quotes
- Returns value when sync-branch is set with single quotes
- Returns value when sync-branch is set without quotes
- Returns BEADS_SYNC_BRANCH env var when set (takes precedence)
- Handles edge cases: empty file, whitespace-only lines, comments

Location: cmd/bd/autoimport_test.go


Add index usage verification test for external_ref lookups

Currently we test that idx_issues_external_ref index exists, but we don't verify that it's actually being used by the query planner.

Proposed solution:
- Add test using EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN
- Verify that 'SEARCH TABLE issues USING INDEX idx_issues_external_ref' appears in plan
- Ensures O(1) lookup performance is maintained

Related: bd-1022
Files: internal/storage/sqlite/external_ref_test.go:260


Add "bd daemons" command for multi-daemon management

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


Test parent issue


GetNextChildID doesn't attempt parent resurrection from JSONL history

When creating a child issue with --parent flag, GetNextChildID fails immediately if parent doesn't exist in DB, without attempting to resurrect it from JSONL history. This breaks the intended resurrection workflow and causes 'parent issue X does not exist' errors even when the parent exists in JSONL.

Related to GH #334 and #278.

Current behavior:
- GetNextChildID checks if parent exists in DB
- If not found, returns error immediately
- No resurrection attempt

Expected behavior:
- GetNextChildID should call TryResurrectParent before failing
- Parent should be restored as tombstone if found in JSONL history
- Child creation should succeed if resurrection succeeds

Impact: Users cannot create child issues for parents that were deleted but exist in JSONL history.


Imperator does not know its own mail identity


Enforce daemon singleton per workspace with file locking

Agent in ~/src/wyvern discovered 4 simultaneous daemon processes running, causing infinite directory recursion (.beads/.beads/.beads/...). Each daemon used relative paths and created nested .beads/ directories.

Root cause: No singleton enforcement. Multiple `bd daemon` processes can start in same workspace.

Expected: One daemon per workspace (each workspace = separate .beads/ dir with bd.sock)
Actual: Multiple daemons can run simultaneously in same workspace

Note: Separate git clones = separate workspaces = separate daemons (correct). Git worktrees share .beads/ and have known limitations (documented, use --no-daemon).

## Fix Summary

Successfully prevented the nested .beads/.beads/ recursion bug by implementing two safeguards:

1. **Path Canonicalization in FindDatabasePath()** (beads.go):
   - Added filepath.Abs() + filepath.EvalSymlinks() to normalize all database paths
   - Prevents relative path edge cases that create nested directories
   - Ensures all daemons see the same canonical path

2. **Nested Directory Detection** (daemon_lifecycle.go):
   - Added explicit check for ".beads/.beads" pattern in setupDaemonLock()
   - Fails fast with clear error message if nested structure detected
   - Provides user hints about proper usage

## Root Cause

The daemon lock (added Oct 22, 2025) correctly prevents simultaneous daemons in the SAME workspace. However, when BEADS_DB used a relative path (e.g., ".beads/beads.db") from inside the .beads directory, FindDatabasePath() would resolve it to a nested path creating a separate workspace:
- First daemon: /workspace/.beads/beads.db
- Second daemon from .beads/: /workspace/.beads/.beads/beads.db ← Different lock file!

## Testing

All acceptance criteria passed:
✅ 1. Second daemon start fails with "daemon already running" error
✅ 2. Killing daemon releases lock, new daemon can start
✅ 3. No infinite .beads/ recursion possible (tested nested BEADS_DB path)
✅ 4. Works with auto-start mechanism

The fix addresses the edge case while maintaining the existing lock mechanism's correctness.


Add tests for Integration Layer Implementation

While implementing bd-wfmw, noticed missing tests

Reviewed existing coverage:
- Basic test coverage exists in lib/test_beads_mail_adapter.py
- Integration tests cover failure scenarios in tests/integration/test_mail_failures.py
- Good coverage of: enabled/disabled modes, graceful degradation, 409 conflicts, HTTP errors, config
- Missing: authorization headers detail, request body structure validation, concurrent reservation timing, TTL edge cases


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.


Rapid 4


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.


Run bd doctor at end of bd init to verify setup

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


Add migration guide for library consumers

The contributor-workflow-analysis.md has excellent migration examples for CLI users (lines 508-549) but lacks examples for library consumers like VC that use beadsLib in Go/TypeScript code.

Library consumers need to know:
- Whether their existing code continues to work unchanged (backward compatibility)
- How config.toml is automatically read (transparent hydration)
- When and how to use explicit multi-repo configuration
- What happens if config.toml doesn't exist (defaults)

Example needed:
```go
// Before (v0.17.3)
store, err := beadsLib.NewSQLiteStorage(".beads/vc.db")

// After (v0.18.0 with multi-repo) - still works!
store, err := beadsLib.NewSQLiteStorage(".beads/vc.db")
// Automatically reads .beads/config.toml if present

// Explicit multi-repo (if needed)
cfg := beadsLib.Config{
    Primary: ".beads/vc.db",
    Additional: []string{"~/.beads-planning"},
}
store, err := beadsLib.NewStorageWithConfig(cfg)
```


Issue 2 to reopen


Widespread double JSON encoding bug in daemon mode RPC calls

Multiple CLI commands had the same double JSON encoding bug found in bd-1048. All commands that called ResolveID via RPC used string(resp.Data) instead of properly unmarshaling the JSON response. This caused IDs to retain JSON quotes ("bd-1048" instead of bd-1048), which then got double-encoded when passed to subsequent RPC calls.

Affected commands:
- bd show (3 instances)
- bd dep add/remove/tree (5 instances)
- bd label add/remove/list (3 instances)
- bd reopen (1 instance)

Root cause: resp.Data is json.RawMessage (already JSON-encoded), so string() conversion preserves quotes.

Fix: Replace all string(resp.Data) with json.Unmarshal(resp.Data, &id) for proper deserialization.

All commands now tested and working correctly with daemon mode.


string(rune()) pattern in other test files still only works for single digits

The bd-c5m fix only addressed worktree_divergence_test.go, but several other test files have the same issue:

- cmd/bd/stale_test.go:218, 234
- cmd/bd/export_integrity_integration_test.go:45-47, 279-280
- internal/storage/sqlite/comments_test.go:146, 165
- internal/storage/sqlite/blocked_cache_test.go:292
- internal/storage/sqlite/compact_bench_test.go:117
- internal/storage/sqlite/cycle_detection_test.go:418

These use string(rune('0'+i)) which produces wrong characters when i >= 10.
Should use strconv.Itoa(i) instead.


Add TestNWayCollision for 5+ clones

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

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

## Implementation Tasks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    tmpDir := t.TempDir()

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

## Testing Strategy

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

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

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

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


Audit Current Cache Usage

Understand exactly what code depends on the storage cache


Improve timestamp comparison readability in import

The timestamp comparison logic uses double-negative which can be confusing:

Current code:
if !incoming.UpdatedAt.After(existing.UpdatedAt) {
    // skip update
}

More readable:
if incoming.UpdatedAt.After(existing.UpdatedAt) {
    // perform update
} else {
    // skip (local is newer)
}

This is a minor refactor for code clarity.

Related: bd-1022
Files: internal/importer/importer.go:411, 488


bd doctor --fix needs non-interactive mode (-y/--yes flag)

When running `bd doctor --fix` in non-interactive mode (scripts, CI, Claude Code), it prompts 'Continue? (Y/n):' and fails with EOF.

**Expected**: A `-y` or `--yes` flag to auto-confirm fixes.

**Workaround**: Currently have to run `bd init` instead, but that's not discoverable from the doctor output.


Make MCP compaction settings configurable (COMPACTION_THRESHOLD, PREVIEW_COUNT)

Currently COMPACTION_THRESHOLD (20) and PREVIEW_COUNT (5) are hardcoded constants at the module level. This prevents users from tuning context engineering behavior.

## Current State
```python
COMPACTION_THRESHOLD = 20  # Compact results with more than 20 issues
PREVIEW_COUNT = 5          # Show first 5 issues in preview
```

## Problems
1. No way for MCP clients to request different preview sizes
2. No way to disable compaction for debugging
3. No way to adapt to different context window sizes
4. Values are not documented in tool schema

## Recommended Solution
Add environment variables or MCP tool parameters:
- `BEADS_MCP_COMPACTION_THRESHOLD` env var (default: 20)
- `BEADS_MCP_PREVIEW_COUNT` env var (default: 5)
- Optional `compact_threshold` and `preview_size` parameters to list/ready tools

## Implementation Notes
- Keep current defaults for backward compatibility
- Read from environment at server initialization
- Document in CONTEXT_ENGINEERING.md
- Add tests verifying env var behavior


Add validation for duplicate external_ref in batch imports

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

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

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

Related: bd-1022


Design hash ID generation algorithm

Design and specify the hash-based ID generation algorithm.

## Requirements
- Deterministic: same inputs → same ID
- Collision-resistant: ~2^32 space for 8-char hex
- Fast: <1μs per generation
- Includes timestamp for uniqueness
- Includes creator/workspace for distributed uniqueness

## Proposed Algorithm
```go
func GenerateIssueID(title, desc string, created time.Time, workspaceID string) string {
    h := sha256.New()
    h.Write([]byte(title))
    h.Write([]byte(desc))
    h.Write([]byte(created.Format(time.RFC3339Nano)))
    h.Write([]byte(workspaceID))
    hash := hex.EncodeToString(h.Sum(nil))
    return "bd-" + hash[:8]  // 8-char prefix = 2^32 space
}
```

## Open Questions
1. 8 chars (2^32) or 16 chars (2^64) for collision resistance?
2. Include priority/type in hash? (Pro: more entropy. Con: immutable)
3. How to handle workspace ID generation? (hostname? UUID?)
4. What if title+desc change? (Answer: ID stays same - hash only used at creation)

## Deliverables
- Design doc: docs/HASH_ID_DESIGN.md
- Collision probability analysis
- Performance benchmarks
- Prototype implementation in internal/types/id_generator.go


Add BEADS_DAEMON_MODE flag handling

Add environment variable BEADS_DAEMON_MODE (values: poll, events). Default to 'poll' for Phase 1. Wire into daemon startup to select runEventLoop vs runEventDrivenLoop.


SearchIssues N+1 query causes context timeout with GetLabels

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


Refactor: Move staleness check inside daemon branch

## Problem

Currently ensureDatabaseFresh() is called before the daemon mode check, but it checks daemonClient != nil internally and returns early. This is redundant.

**Location:** All read commands (list.go:196, show.go:27, ready.go:102, status.go:80, etc.)

## Current Pattern

Call happens before daemon check, function checks daemonClient internally.

## Better Pattern

Move staleness check to direct mode branch only, after daemon check.

## Impact
Low - minor performance improvement (avoids one function call per command in daemon mode)

## Effort
Medium - requires refactoring 8 command files

## Priority
Low - can defer to future cleanup PR


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


Add bd deleted command for audit trail

Parent: bd-imj

Add command to view deletion history.

Usage:
  bd deleted              # Show recent deletions (last 7 days)
  bd deleted --since=30d  # Show deletions in last 30 days
  bd deleted --all        # Show all tracked deletions
  bd deleted bd-xxx       # Show deletion details for specific issue

Output format:
  bd-xxx  2025-11-25 10:00  stevey  duplicate of bd-yyy
  bd-yyy  2025-11-25 10:05  claude  cleanup

Acceptance criteria:
- List deletions with timestamp, actor, reason
- Filter by time range
- Lookup specific issue ID
- JSON output option for scripting


Auto-detect scenarios and prompt users

Detect when user is in fork/contributor scenario and prompt with helpful suggestions. Check: git remote relationships, existing .beads config, repo ownership. Suggest appropriate wizard.


> 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 bd migrate-tombstones command

Create migration command to convert existing deletions.jsonl entries to tombstones. Support --dry-run and --verbose flags. Archive old file with .migrated suffix. Per design bd-dli.


bd validate - Comprehensive health check

Run all validation checks in one command.

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

Supports --fix-all for auto-repair.

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

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


Add transaction helper to replace manual COMMIT/ROLLBACK

Create tx.go with withTx helper that handles transaction lifecycle. Replace manual transaction blocks in create/insert/update paths.

Refactoring complete:
- Created withTx() helper in util.go
- Added ExecInTransaction() as deprecated wrapper for backward compatibility
- Refactored all manual transaction blocks to use withTx():
  - events.go: AddComment
  - dirty.go: MarkIssuesDirty, ClearDirtyIssuesByID
  - labels.go: executeLabelOperation
  - dependencies.go: AddDependency, RemoveDependency
  - compact.go: ApplyCompaction
- All tests pass successfully


Remove duplicate countIssuesInJSONLFile function

init.go and doctor.go both defined countIssuesInJSONLFile. Removed the init.go version which is now unused. The doctor.go version (which calls countJSONLIssues) is the canonical implementation.


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

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

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


Run final validation and cleanup checks

Final validation pass to ensure all cleanup objectives met and no regressions introduced.

Validation checklist:
1. Dead code verification: `go run golang.org/x/tools/cmd/deadcode@latest -test ./...`
2. Test coverage: `go test -cover ./...`
3. Build verification: `go build ./cmd/bd/`
4. Linting: `golangci-lint run`
5. Integration tests
6. Metrics verification
7. Git clean check

Final metrics to report:
- LOC removed: ~____
- Files deleted: ____
- Files created: ____
- Test coverage: ____%
- Build time: ____ (before/after)
- Test run time: ____ (before/after)

Impact: Confirms all cleanup objectives achieved successfully

## Validation Results (Oct 31, 2025)

**Dead Code:** ✅ Removed 5 unreachable functions (~200 LOC)
- computeIssueContentHash, shouldSkipExport (autoflush.go)
- addDependencyUnchecked, removeDependencyIfExists (dependencies.go)
- isUniqueConstraintError (util.go)

**Tests:** ✅ All pass
**Coverage:**
- Main package: 39.6%
- cmd/bd: 19.5%
- internal/daemon: 37.8%
- internal/storage/sqlite: 58.1%
- internal/rpc: 58.6%

**Build:** ✅ Clean (24.5 MB binary)
**Linting:** 247 issues (mostly errcheck on defer/Close statements)
**Integration Tests:** ✅ All pass
**Metrics:** 55,622 LOC across 200 Go files
**Git:** 3 files modified (dead code removal)


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


CRDT-based architecture for guaranteed convergence (v2.0)

## Vision
Redesign beads around Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) to provide mathematical guarantees for N-way collision resolution at arbitrary scale.

## Current Limitations
- Content-hash based collision resolution fails at 5+ clones
- Non-deterministic convergence in multi-round scenarios
- UNIQUE constraint violations during rename operations
- No formal proof of convergence properties

## CRDT Benefits
- Provably convergent (Strong Eventual Consistency)
- Commutative/Associative/Idempotent operations
- No coordination required between clones
- Scales to 100+ concurrent workers
- Well-understood mathematical foundations

## Proposed Architecture

### 1. UUID-Based IDs
Replace sequential IDs with UUIDs:
- Current: bd-1c63eb84, bd-9063acda, bd-4d80b7b1
- CRDT: bd-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
- Human aliases maintained separately: #42 maps to UUID

### 2. Last-Write-Wins (LWW) Elements
Each field becomes an LWW register:
- title: (timestamp, clone_id, value)
- status: (timestamp, clone_id, value)
- Deterministic conflict resolution via Lamport timestamp + clone_id tiebreaker

### 3. Operation Log
Track all operations as CRDT ops:
- CREATE(uuid, timestamp, clone_id, fields)
- UPDATE(uuid, field, timestamp, clone_id, value)
- DELETE(uuid, timestamp, clone_id) - tombstone, not hard delete

### 4. Sync as Merge
Syncing becomes merging two CRDT states:
- No merge conflicts possible
- Deterministic merge function
- Guaranteed convergence

## Implementation Phases

### Phase 1: Research & Design (4 weeks)
- Study existing CRDT implementations (Automerge, Yjs, Loro)
- Design schema for CRDT-based issue tracking
- Prototype LWW-based Issue CRDT
- Benchmark performance vs current system

### Phase 2: Parallel Implementation (6 weeks)
- Implement CRDT storage layer alongside SQLite
- Build conversion tools: SQLite ↔ CRDT
- Maintain backward compatibility with v1.x format
- Migration path for existing databases

### Phase 3: Testing & Validation (4 weeks)
- Formal verification of convergence properties
- Stress testing with 100+ clone scenario
- Performance profiling and optimization
- Documentation and examples

### Phase 4: Migration & Rollout (4 weeks)
- Release v2.0-beta with CRDT backend
- Gradual migration from v1.x
- Monitoring and bug fixes
- Final v2.0 release

## Risks & Mitigations

**Risk 1: Performance overhead**
- Mitigation: Benchmark early, optimize hot paths
- CRDTs can be slower than append-only logs
- May need compaction strategy

**Risk 2: Storage bloat**
- Mitigation: Implement operation log compaction
- Tombstone garbage collection for deleted issues
- Periodic snapshots to reduce log size

**Risk 3: Breaking changes**
- Mitigation: Maintain v1.x compatibility layer
- Gradual migration tools
- Dual-mode operation during transition

**Risk 4: Complexity**
- Mitigation: Use battle-tested CRDT libraries
- Comprehensive documentation
- Clear migration guide

## Success Criteria
- 100-clone collision test passes without failures
- Formal proof of convergence properties
- Performance within 2x of current system
- Zero manual conflict resolution required
- Backward compatible with v1.x databases

## Timeline
18-20 weeks total (4-5 months)

## References
- Automerge: https://automerge.org
- Yjs: https://docs.yjs.dev
- Loro: https://loro.dev
- CRDT theory: Shapiro et al, A comprehensive study of CRDTs
- Related issues: bd-e6d71828, bd-7a2b58fc,-1


bd doctor: handle missing daemon registry gracefully

When no daemon has ever been started, bd doctor shows an error parsing the registry: 'failed to parse registry: invalid character 0 after top-level value'. The doctor should handle the case where ~/.bd/daemon/registry.json doesn't exist, treating it as 'no daemon running' rather than an error.


Improve integration test coverage for stateful features


Update AGENTS.md and README.md with "bd daemons" documentation

Document the new "bd daemons" command and all subcommands in AGENTS.md and README.md. Include examples and troubleshooting guidance.


Configure database connection pool limits for daemon mode

Database connection pool not configured for file-based databases when running in daemon mode.

Location: internal/storage/sqlite/sqlite.go:108-116

Problem:
- Daemon is a long-running server handling concurrent RPC requests
- Multiple CLI commands hit same daemon simultaneously
- Go default: unlimited connections (MaxOpenConns=0)
- SQLite IMMEDIATE transactions serialize on write lock
- Can have 100+ goroutines blocked waiting, each holding connection
- Results in connection exhaustion and 'database is locked' errors

Current code only limits in-memory DBs:
if isInMemory {
    db.SetMaxOpenConns(1)
    db.SetMaxIdleConns(1)
}
// File DBs: UNLIMITED connections!

Fix:
if !isInMemory {
    maxConns := runtime.NumCPU() + 1  // 1 writer + N readers
    db.SetMaxOpenConns(maxConns)
    db.SetMaxIdleConns(2)
    db.SetConnMaxLifetime(0)
}

Impact: 'database is locked' errors under concurrent load in daemon mode

Note: NOT an issue for direct CLI usage (each process isolated). Only affects daemon mode where multiple CLI commands share one database pool.

Effort: 1 hour


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


Migration tool for existing users

Ensure smooth migration for existing users to separate branch workflow.

Tasks:
- Add bd migrate --separate-branch command
- Detect existing repos, migrate cleanly
- Preserve git history
- Add rollback mechanism
- Test migration on beads' own repo (dogfooding)
- Communication plan (GitHub discussion, docs)
- Version compatibility checks

Estimated effort: 2-3 days


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)


Code Health & Technical Debt Cleanup

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

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

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

Estimated Effort: 11 days across 4 phases


Config option sync.require_confirmation_on_mass_delete

Add config option for paranoid users who want confirmation before pushing after mass deletion.

Option: sync.require_confirmation_on_mass_delete
Default: false

When enabled AND safety check triggers:
- Prompt user for confirmation before pushing
- Show them what would be pushed

For users who have been burned and want extra safety. Most users will not need this.

Location: internal/config/ and internal/syncbranch/worktree.go
Parent issue: bd-3s8


Auto-routing and maintainer detection

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


Help agents understand version changes with bd info --whats-new

**Problem** (from GH Discussion #239 by @maphew):
Weekly major versions mean agents need to adapt workflows, but currently there's no efficient way to communicate "what changed that affects you."

**Proposed solutions:**

1. **bd info --whats-new** - Show agent-actionable changes since last version
   ```
   Since v0.20.1:
   • Hash IDs eliminate collisions - remove ID coordination workarounds
   • Event-driven daemon (opt-in) - add BEADS_DAEMON_MODE=events
   • Merge driver auto-configured - conflicts rarer
   ```

2. **Version-aware bd onboard** - Detect version changes and show diff of agent-relevant changes

3. **AGENTS.md top section** - "🆕 Recent Changes (Last 3 Versions)" with workflow impacts

**Why agents need this:**
- Raw CHANGELOG is token-heavy and buried in release details
- Full bd onboard re-run wasteful if only 2-3 things changed
- Currently requires user to manually explain updates

**Related:** https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/discussions/239


Clarify .beads/.gitattributes handling in Protected Branches docs

Protected Branches docs quick start leaves untracked `.beads` directory and `.gitattributes`.
Question: Are these changes meant to be checked into the protected branch?
Need to clarify if these should be ignored or committed, or if the instructions are missing a step.


sync tries to create worktree in .git file

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


bd import auto-detects wrong prefix from directory name instead of issue IDs

When importing issues.jsonl into a fresh database, 'bd import' prints:

  ✓ Initialized database with prefix 'beads' (detected from issues)

But the issues all have prefix 'bd-' (e.g., bd-03r). It appears to be detecting the prefix from the directory name (.beads/) rather than from the actual issue IDs in the JSONL.

This causes import to fail with:
  validate ID prefix for bd-03r: issue ID 'bd-03r' does not match configured prefix 'beads'

Workaround: Run 'bd config set issue_prefix bd' before import, or use 'bd init --prefix bd'.


Tombstone import creates duplicate entries when deletions.jsonl has entries already in JSONL

In the tombstone import logic (bd-dve), when a non-tombstone issue is in both JSONL and deletions.jsonl, we:
1. Skip the issue (line 149-155)
2. Create a tombstone from deletions.jsonl (lines 161-171)

This means if the JSONL contains issue 'bd-abc' (non-tombstone) and deletions.jsonl also has 'bd-abc', we skip the JSONL version but then add a tombstone version from deletions.jsonl. This is intentional but the skipped issue count may be confusing.

Consider: should we track converted-to-tombstone separately from skipped-deleted in the Result struct?


Add tests for tombstone edge cases

Missing test coverage for tombstone implementation:

1. Test tombstone validation (deleted_at requirement)
2. Test GetReadyWork excludes tombstones
3. Test SearchIssues behavior with tombstones
4. Integration test for creating/retrieving a tombstone via the delete command
5. Test that status=tombstone update is rejected


Add transaction boundaries for export metadata updates

## Problem
Metadata updates happen after export, but there's no transaction ensuring atomicity between:
1. JSONL file write (exportToJSONLWithStore)
2. Metadata update (updateExportMetadata)
3. Database mtime update (TouchDatabaseFile)

If process crashes between these steps, metadata will be inconsistent.

## Example Failure Scenario
```
1. Export to JSONL succeeds
2. [CRASH] Process killed before metadata update
3. Next export: "JSONL content has changed" error
4. User must run import to fix metadata
```

## Options

### Option 1: Tolerate Inconsistency (Current)
- Simple, no code changes
- Safe (worst case: need import before next export)
- Annoying for users if crashes are frequent

### Option 2: Add Write-Ahead Log
- Write metadata intent to temp file
- Complete operations
- Clean up temp file
- More complex, better guarantees

### Option 3: Store Metadata in JSONL Comments
- Add metadata as JSON comment in JSONL file
- Single atomic write
- Requires JSONL format change

### Option 4: Defensive Checks
- On startup, verify metadata matches JSONL
- Auto-fix if mismatch detected
- Simplest improvement

## Recommendation
Start with Option 4 (defensive checks), consider others if needed.

## Files
- cmd/bd/daemon_sync.go
- Possibly: cmd/bd/main.go (startup checks)

## Related
This is lower priority - current behavior is safe, just not ideal


Test reservation expiration and renewal

Verify TTL-based reservation expiration works correctly.

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

File: tests/integration/test_reservation_ttl.py

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

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

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

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


Add commit and branch to bd version output

The 'bd version' command reports commit and branch correctly when built with 'go build' (thanks to Go 1.25+ automatic VCS info embedding), but NOT when installed with 'go install' or 'make install'. Need to either: 1) Update Makefile to use 'go build' instead of 'go install', or 2) Add explicit ldflags to both Makefile and .goreleaser.yml to ensure commit/branch are always set regardless of build method.


Implement postinstall script for binary download

Create npm/scripts/postinstall.js that downloads platform-specific binaries:

## Platform detection
- Detect os.platform() and os.arch()
- Map to GitHub release asset names:
  - linux-amd64 → bd-linux-amd64
  - linux-arm64 → bd-linux-arm64
  - darwin-amd64 → bd-darwin-amd64
  - darwin-arm64 → bd-darwin-arm64
  - win32-x64 → bd-windows-amd64.exe

## Download logic
- Fetch from GitHub releases: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/releases/latest/download/${asset}
- Save to npm/bin/bd (or bd.exe on Windows)
- Set executable permissions (chmod +x)
- Handle errors gracefully with helpful messages

## Error handling
- Check for unsupported platforms
- Retry on network failures
- Provide manual download instructions if automated fails
- Skip download if binary already exists (for local development)


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

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

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

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

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


Add circular dependency detection to bd doctor

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


Week 1 task


Extract migration functions to migrations.go

Move migrateDirtyIssuesTable, migrateExternalRefColumn, migrateCompositeIndexes, migrateClosedAtConstraint, migrateCompactionColumns, migrateSnapshotsTable, migrateCompactionConfig, migrateCompactedAtCommitColumn, migrateExportHashesTable, migrateContentHashColumn to a separate migrations.go file


formatVanishedIssues output order is non-deterministic


Test coverage improvement initiative (47.8% → 65%)

Umbrella epic for improving overall test coverage from 47.8% to 65%+.

## Summary

| Package | Current | Target | Issue |
|---------|---------|--------|-------|
| internal/compact | 18.2% | 70% | bd-thgk |
| cmd/bd/doctor/fix | 23.9% | 50% | bd-fx7v |
| cmd/bd | 26.2% | 50% | bd-llfl |
| internal/daemon | 27.3% | 60% | bd-n386 |
| cmd/bd/setup | 28.4% | 50% | bd-sh4c |
| internal/syncbranch | 33.0% | 70% | bd-io8c |
| internal/export | 37.1% | 60% | bd-6sm6 |
| internal/lockfile | 42.0% | 60% | bd-9w3s |
| internal/rpc | 47.5% | 60% | bd-m8ro |
| internal/beads | 48.1% | 70% | bd-tvu3 |
| internal/storage | N/A | basic | bd-a15d |

## Packages with good coverage (no action needed)
- internal/types: 91.0%
- internal/utils: 88.9%
- internal/deletions: 84.3%
- internal/config: 84.2%
- internal/autoimport: 83.5%
- internal/validation: 80.8%
- internal/merge: 78.9%
- internal/routing: 74.3%
- internal/storage/sqlite: 73.1%
- internal/importer: 70.2%

Overall target: 65%+ (from current 47.8%)


Publish bd-wasm to npm

Package and publish WASM build to npm. Child of epic bd-44d0.

## Tasks
- [ ] Optimize WASM bundle (compression)
- [ ] Create README for npm package
- [ ] Set up npm publishing workflow
- [ ] Publish v0.1.0-alpha
- [ ] Test installation in clean environment
- [ ] Update beads AGENTS.md with installation instructions

## Package Name
bd-wasm (or @beads/wasm-cli)


Test Issue


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 without committing
- Commits accumulated changes on session end or explicit `bd sync` (without --squash)
- 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)