beads/docs/DAEMON.md

Daemon Management Guide

For: AI agents and developers managing bd background processes Version: 0.21.0+

Overview

bd runs a background daemon per workspace for auto-sync, RPC operations, and real-time monitoring. This guide covers daemon management, event-driven mode, and troubleshooting.

Do I Need the Daemon?

TL;DR: For most users, the daemon runs automatically and you don't need to think about it.

When Daemon Helps (default: enabled)

Scenario	Benefit
Multi-agent workflows	Prevents database locking conflicts
Team collaboration	Auto-syncs JSONL to git in background
Long coding sessions	Changes saved even if you forget bd sync
Real-time monitoring	Enables bd watch and status updates

When to Disable Daemon

Scenario	How to Disable
Git worktrees (no sync-branch)	Auto-disabled for safety
CI/CD pipelines	BEADS_NO_DAEMON=true
Offline work	--no-daemon (no git push available)
Resource-constrained	BEADS_NO_DAEMON=true
Deterministic testing	Use exclusive lock (see below)

Git Worktrees and Daemon

Automatic safety: Daemon is automatically disabled in git worktrees unless sync-branch is configured. This prevents commits going to the wrong branch.

Enable daemon in worktrees: Configure sync-branch to safely use daemon across all worktrees:

bd config set sync-branch beads-sync

With sync-branch configured, daemon commits to a dedicated branch using an internal worktree, so your current branch is never affected. See WORKTREES.md for details.

Local-Only Users

If you're working alone on a local project with no git remote:

• Daemon still helps: Batches writes, handles auto-export to JSONL
• But optional: Use --no-daemon if you prefer direct database access
• No network calls: Daemon doesn't phone home or require internet

# Check if daemon is running
bd info | grep daemon

# Force direct mode for one command
bd --no-daemon list

# Disable for entire session
export BEADS_NO_DAEMON=true

Architecture

Per-Workspace Model (LSP-style):

MCP Server (one instance)
    ↓
Per-Project Daemons (one per workspace)
    ↓
SQLite Databases (complete isolation)

Each workspace gets its own daemon:

• Socket at .beads/bd.sock (.beads/bd.pipe on Windows)
• Auto-starts on first command (unless disabled)
• Handles auto-sync, batching, background operations
• Complete database isolation (no cross-project pollution)

Managing Daemons

List All Running Daemons

# See all daemons across workspaces
bd daemons list --json

# Example output:
# [
#   {
#     "workspace": "/Users/alice/projects/webapp",
#     "pid": 12345,
#     "socket": "/Users/alice/projects/webapp/.beads/bd.sock",
#     "version": "0.21.0",
#     "uptime_seconds": 3600
#   }
# ]

Check Daemon Health

# Check for version mismatches, stale sockets
bd daemons health --json

# Example output:
# {
#   "healthy": false,
#   "issues": [
#     {
#       "workspace": "/Users/alice/old-project",
#       "issue": "version_mismatch",
#       "daemon_version": "0.20.0",
#       "cli_version": "0.21.0"
#     }
#   ]
# }

When to use:

• After upgrading bd (check for version mismatches)
• Debugging sync issues
• Periodic health monitoring

Stop/Restart Daemons

# Stop specific daemon by workspace path
bd daemons stop /path/to/workspace --json

# Stop by PID
bd daemons stop 12345 --json

# Restart (stop + auto-start on next command)
bd daemons restart /path/to/workspace --json
bd daemons restart 12345 --json

# Stop ALL daemons
bd daemons killall --json
bd daemons killall --force --json  # Force kill if graceful fails

View Daemon Logs

# View last 100 lines
bd daemons logs /path/to/workspace -n 100

# Follow mode (tail -f style)
bd daemons logs 12345 -f

# Debug sync issues
bd daemons logs . -n 500 | grep -i "export\|import\|sync"

Common log patterns:

• [INFO] Auto-sync: export complete - Successful JSONL export
• [WARN] Git push failed: ... - Push error (auto-retry)
• [ERROR] Version mismatch - Daemon/CLI version out of sync

Version Management

Automatic Version Checking (v0.16.0+):

bd automatically handles daemon version mismatches:

• Version compatibility checked on every connection
• Old daemons automatically detected and restarted
• No manual intervention needed after upgrades
• Works with MCP server and CLI

After upgrading bd:

# 1. Check for mismatches
bd daemons health --json

# 2. Restart all daemons with new version
bd daemons killall

# 3. Next bd command auto-starts daemon with new version
bd ready

Troubleshooting version mismatches:

• Daemon won't stop: bd daemons killall --force
• Socket file stale: rm .beads/bd.sock (auto-cleans on next start)
• Multiple bd versions installed: which bd and bd version

Event-Driven Daemon Mode (Default)

Default since v0.21.0: Event-driven mode replaces 5-second polling with instant reactivity.

Benefits

• ⚡ <500ms latency (vs ~5000ms with polling)
• 🔋 ~60% less CPU usage (no continuous polling)
• 🎯 Instant sync on mutations and file changes
• 🛡️ Dropped events safety net prevents data loss
• 🔄 Periodic remote sync pulls updates from other clones

How It Works

Architecture:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    EVENT-DRIVEN MODE                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                  │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  EXPORT FLOW (Mutation-Triggered)                         │   │
│  │                                                           │   │
│  │  FileWatcher (platform-native)                            │   │
│  │      ├─ .beads/issues.jsonl (file changes)                │   │
│  │      └─ RPC mutations (create, update, close)             │   │
│  │           ↓                                               │   │
│  │      Debouncer (500ms batch window)                       │   │
│  │           ↓                                               │   │
│  │      Export → Git Commit → Git Push (if --auto-push)      │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                  │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │  IMPORT FLOW (Periodic Remote Sync)                       │   │
│  │                                                           │   │
│  │  remoteSyncTicker (default: 30s, configurable)            │   │
│  │           ↓                                               │   │
│  │      Git Pull (from sync branch or origin)                │   │
│  │           ↓                                               │   │
│  │      Import JSONL → Database                              │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Platform-native APIs:

• Linux: inotify
• macOS: FSEvents (via kqueue)
• Windows: ReadDirectoryChangesW

Key behaviors:

• Mutation events from RPC trigger immediate export (debounced 500ms)
• Periodic remote sync pulls updates from other clones (default 30s interval)
• Polling fallback if fsnotify unavailable (network filesystems)

Enabling Event-Driven Mode

Event-driven mode is the default as of v0.21.0. No configuration needed.

# Event-driven mode starts automatically
bd daemon --start

# Explicitly enable (same as default)
BEADS_DAEMON_MODE=events bd daemon --start

Available modes:

• events (default) - Event-driven mode with instant reactivity
• poll - Traditional 5-second polling, fallback for edge cases

Configuration

Environment Variables:

Variable	Values	Default	Description
BEADS_DAEMON_MODE	poll, events	events	Daemon operation mode
BEADS_WATCHER_FALLBACK	true, false	true	Fall back to polling if fsnotify fails
BEADS_REMOTE_SYNC_INTERVAL	duration	30s	How often to pull from remote (event mode)

config.yaml settings:

# .beads/config.yaml

# Interval for daemon to pull remote sync branch updates
# Accepts Go duration strings: "30s", "1m", "5m", etc.
# Minimum: 5s (values below are clamped)
# Set to "0" to disable periodic remote sync (not recommended)
remote-sync-interval: "30s"

Configuration precedence:

1. BEADS_REMOTE_SYNC_INTERVAL environment variable (highest)
2. remote-sync-interval in .beads/config.yaml
3. Default: 30 seconds

Remote Sync Interval

The remote-sync-interval controls how often the daemon pulls from remote to check for updates from other clones.

Value	Use Case
30s (default)	Good balance for most workflows
1m	Lower network traffic, acceptable for solo work
5m	Very low traffic, for slow-changing projects
5s (minimum)	Fastest updates, higher network usage

Minimum value: 5 seconds (lower values are clamped to prevent git rate limiting and excessive network traffic)

Disabling remote sync:

# Set to 0 to disable (not recommended - other clones' changes won't sync)
export BEADS_REMOTE_SYNC_INTERVAL=0

Switch to Polling Mode

For edge cases (NFS, containers, WSL) where fsnotify is unreliable:

# Explicitly use polling mode
BEADS_DAEMON_MODE=poll bd daemon --start

# With custom interval
bd daemon --start --interval 10s

Troubleshooting Event-Driven Mode

If watcher fails to start:

# Check daemon logs for errors
bd daemons logs /path/to/workspace -n 100

# Common error patterns:
# - "File watcher unavailable: ..." - fsnotify init failed
# - "Falling back to polling" - watcher disabled, using polls
# - "Resource limit exceeded" - too many open files

Common causes:

1. Network filesystem (NFS, SMB) - fsnotify may not work

   • Solution: Use polling mode or local filesystem

2. Container environment - may need privileged mode

   • Solution: Add --privileged or specific capabilities

3. Resource limits - check ulimit -n (open file descriptors)

   • Solution: Increase limit: ulimit -n 4096

4. WSL/virtualization - reduced fsnotify reliability

   • Solution: Test in native environment or use polling

Fallback behavior:

If BEADS_DAEMON_MODE=events but watcher fails:

• Daemon automatically falls back to polling (if BEADS_WATCHER_FALLBACK=true)
• Warning logged: File watcher unavailable, falling back to polling
• All functionality works normally (just higher latency)

Performance Comparison

Metric	Polling Mode	Event-Driven Mode
Sync Latency	~5000ms	<500ms
CPU Usage	~2-3% (continuous)	~0.5% (idle)
Memory	30MB	35MB (+5MB for watcher)
File Events	Polled every 5s	Instant detection
Git Updates	Polled every 5s	Instant detection

Future (Phase 2): Event-driven mode will become default once proven stable in production.

Auto-Start Behavior

Default (v0.9.11+): Daemon auto-starts on first bd command

# No manual start needed
bd ready  # Daemon starts automatically if not running

# Check status
bd info --json | grep daemon_running

Disable auto-start:

# Require manual daemon start
export BEADS_AUTO_START_DAEMON=false

# Start manually
bd daemon --start

Auto-start with exponential backoff:

• 1st attempt: immediate
• 2nd attempt: 100ms delay
• 3rd attempt: 200ms delay
• Max retries: 5
• Logs available: bd daemons logs . -n 50

Daemon Configuration

Environment Variables:

Variable	Values	Default	Description
BEADS_AUTO_START_DAEMON	true, false	true	Auto-start daemon on commands
BEADS_DAEMON_MODE	poll, events	poll	Sync mode (polling vs events)
BEADS_WATCHER_FALLBACK	true, false	true	Fall back to poll if events fail
BEADS_NO_DAEMON	true, false	false	Disable daemon entirely (direct DB)

Example configurations:

# Force direct mode (no daemon)
export BEADS_NO_DAEMON=true

# Event-driven with strict requirements
export BEADS_DAEMON_MODE=events
export BEADS_WATCHER_FALLBACK=false

# Disable auto-start (manual control)
export BEADS_AUTO_START_DAEMON=false

Git Worktrees Warning

⚠️ Important Limitation: Daemon mode does NOT work correctly with git worktree.

The Problem:

• Git worktrees share the same .git directory and .beads database
• Daemon doesn't know which branch each worktree has checked out
• Can commit/push to wrong branch

Solutions:

1. Use --no-daemon flag (recommended):

   bd --no-daemon ready
   bd --no-daemon create "Fix bug" -p 1
   

2. Disable via environment (entire session):

   export BEADS_NO_DAEMON=1
   bd ready  # All commands use direct mode
   

3. Disable auto-start (less safe):

   export BEADS_AUTO_START_DAEMON=false
   

Automatic detection: bd detects worktrees and warns if daemon is active.

See GIT_INTEGRATION.md for more details.

Exclusive Lock Protocol (Advanced)

For external tools that need full database control (e.g., CI/CD, deterministic execution).

When .beads/.exclusive-lock file exists:

• Daemon skips all operations for the locked database
• External tool has complete control over git sync and database
• Stale locks (dead process) auto-cleaned

Lock file format (JSON):

{
  "holder": "my-tool",
  "pid": 12345,
  "hostname": "build-server",
  "started_at": "2025-11-08T08:00:00Z",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Quick example:

# Create lock
echo '{"holder":"my-tool","pid":'$$',"hostname":"'$(hostname)'","started_at":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","version":"1.0.0"}' > .beads/.exclusive-lock

# Do work (daemon won't interfere)
bd create "My issue" -p 1

# Release lock
rm .beads/.exclusive-lock

Use cases:

• VibeCoder (deterministic execution)
• CI/CD pipelines (controlled sync timing)
• Testing frameworks (isolated test runs)

See EXCLUSIVE_LOCK.md for complete documentation.

Common Daemon Issues

Stale Sockets

Symptoms: bd ready shows "daemon not responding"

Solutions:

# Auto-cleanup on next command
bd daemons list  # Removes stale sockets

# Manual cleanup
rm .beads/bd.sock
bd ready  # Auto-starts fresh daemon

Version Mismatch

Symptoms: bd ready shows "version mismatch" error

Solutions:

# Check versions
bd version
bd daemons health --json

# Restart all daemons
bd daemons killall
bd ready  # Auto-starts with CLI version

Daemon Won't Stop

Symptoms: bd daemons stop hangs or times out

Solutions:

# Force kill
bd daemons killall --force

# Nuclear option (all bd processes)
pkill -9 bd

# Clean up socket
rm .beads/bd.sock

Memory Leaks

Symptoms: Daemon process grows to 100+ MB

Solutions:

# Check current memory usage
ps aux | grep "bd daemon"

# Restart daemon
bd daemons restart .

# Check logs for issues
bd daemons logs . -n 200 | grep -i "memory\|leak\|oom"

Expected memory usage:

• Baseline: ~30MB
• With watcher: ~35MB
• Per issue: ~500 bytes (10K issues = ~5MB)

Multi-Workspace Best Practices

When managing multiple projects:

# Check all daemons
bd daemons list --json

# Stop unused workspaces to free resources
bd daemons stop /path/to/old-project

# Health check before critical work
bd daemons health --json

# Clean restart after major upgrades
bd daemons killall
# Daemons restart on next command per workspace

Resource limits:

• Each daemon: ~30-35MB memory
• 10 workspaces: ~300-350MB total
• CPU: <1% per daemon (idle), 2-3% (active sync)
• File descriptors: ~10 per daemon

When to disable daemons:

• ✅ Git worktrees (use --no-daemon)
• ✅ Embedded/resource-constrained environments
• ✅ Testing/CI (deterministic execution)
• ✅ Offline work (no git push available)

See Also

• AGENTS.md - Main agent workflow guide
• EXCLUSIVE_LOCK.md - External tool integration
• GIT_INTEGRATION.md - Git workflow and merge strategies
• commands/daemons.md - Daemon command reference