beads/AGENTS.md

Agent Instructions

See AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md for full instructions.

This file exists for compatibility with tools that look for AGENTS.md.

Key Sections

• Issue Tracking - How to use bd for work management
• Development Guidelines - Code standards and testing
• Visual Design System - Status icons, colors, and semantic styling for CLI output

Visual Design Anti-Patterns

NEVER use emoji-style icons (🔴🟠🟡🔵⚪) in CLI output. They cause cognitive overload.

ALWAYS use small Unicode symbols with semantic colors:

• Status: ○ ◐ ● ✓ ❄
• Priority: ● P0 (filled circle with color)

See AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md for full development guidelines.

Agent Warning: Interactive Commands

DO NOT use bd edit - it opens an interactive editor ($EDITOR) which AI agents cannot use.

Use bd update with flags instead:

bd update <id> --description "new description"
bd update <id> --title "new title"
bd update <id> --design "design notes"
bd update <id> --notes "additional notes"
bd update <id> --acceptance "acceptance criteria"

Landing the Plane (Session Completion)

When ending a work session, you MUST complete ALL steps below. Work is NOT complete until git push succeeds.

MANDATORY WORKFLOW:

1. File issues for remaining work - Create issues for anything that needs follow-up
2. Run quality gates (if code changed) - Tests, linters, builds
3. Update issue status - Close finished work, update in-progress items
4. PUSH TO REMOTE - This is MANDATORY:

   git pull --rebase
   bd sync
   git push
   git status  # MUST show "up to date with origin"
   

5. Clean up - Clear stashes, prune remote branches
6. Verify - All changes committed AND pushed
7. Hand off - Provide context for next session

CRITICAL RULES:

• Work is NOT complete until git push succeeds
• NEVER stop before pushing - that leaves work stranded locally
• NEVER say "ready to push when you are" - YOU must push
• If push fails, resolve and retry until it succeeds