2c5acc9060
Previously, bd repo commands (list, add, remove, sync) failed with
'unexpected end of JSON input' when repos.additional config key
had an empty value. GetConfig() returns ('', nil) for missing keys,
and json.Unmarshal fails on empty strings.
Added empty value check before JSON parsing to return empty map
in this case. Added tests for repo config helper functions.
bd - Beads
Distributed, git-backed graph issue tracker for AI agents.
Beads provides a persistent, structured memory for coding agents. It replaces messy markdown plans with a dependency-aware graph, allowing agents to handle long-horizon tasks without losing context.
⚡ Quick Start
# Install (macOS/Linux)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/steveyegge/beads/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
# Initialize (Humans run this once)
bd init
# Tell your agent
echo "Use 'bd' for task tracking" >> AGENTS.md
🛠 Features
- Git as Database: Issues stored as JSONL in
.beads/. Versioned, branched, and merged like code. - Agent-Optimized: JSON output, dependency tracking, and auto-ready task detection.
- Zero Conflict: Hash-based IDs (
bd-a1b2) prevent merge collisions in multi-agent/multi-branch workflows. - Invisible Infrastructure: SQLite local cache for speed; background daemon for auto-sync.
- Compaction: Semantic "memory decay" summarizes old closed tasks to save context window.
📖 Essential Commands
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
bd ready |
List tasks with no open blockers. |
bd create "Title" -p 0 |
Create a P0 task. |
bd dep add <child> <parent> |
Link tasks (blocks, related, parent-child). |
bd show <id> |
View task details and audit trail. |
bd quickstart |
Interactive guide for AI agents. |
🔗 Hierarchy & Workflow
Beads supports hierarchical IDs for epics:
bd-a3f8(Epic)bd-a3f8.1(Task)bd-a3f8.1.1(Sub-task)
Stealth Mode: Run bd init --stealth to use Beads locally without committing files to the main repo. Perfect for personal use on shared projects.
📦 Installation
- npm:
npm install -g @beads/bd - Homebrew:
brew install steveyegge/beads/bd - Go:
go install github.com/steveyegge/beads/cmd/bd@latest
Requirements: Linux (glibc 2.32+), macOS, or Windows.
🌐 Community Tools
- beads_viewer - Keyboard-driven terminal UI with kanban board, insights panel, and graph view. Built by @Dicklesworthstone.
- beads.el - Emacs UI to browse, edit, and manage beads. Built by @ctietze.
- beads-ui - Local web interface with live updates and kanban board.
npx beads-ui start. Built by @mantoni. - bdui - Real-time terminal UI with tree view, dependency graph, and vim-style navigation. Built by @assimelha.
- perles - Terminal UI with BQL (Beads Query Language) and multi-view kanban. Built by @zjrosen.
- vscode-beads - VS Code extension with issues panel and daemon management. Built by @jdillon.
