diff --git a/internal/beads/routes.go b/internal/beads/routes.go
index 320520bb..11e4461d 100644
--- a/internal/beads/routes.go
+++ b/internal/beads/routes.go
@@ -130,6 +130,30 @@ func WriteRoutes(beadsDir string, routes []Route) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// GetPrefixForRig returns the beads prefix for a given rig name.
+// The prefix is returned without the trailing hyphen (e.g., "bd" not "bd-").
+// If the rig is not found in routes, returns "gt" as the default.
+// The townRoot should be the Gas Town root directory (e.g., ~/gt).
+func GetPrefixForRig(townRoot, rigName string) string {
+	beadsDir := filepath.Join(townRoot, ".beads")
+	routes, err := LoadRoutes(beadsDir)
+	if err != nil || routes == nil {
+		return "gt" // Default prefix
+	}
+
+	// Look for a route where the path starts with the rig name
+	// Routes paths are like "gastown/mayor/rig" or "beads/mayor/rig"
+	for _, r := range routes {
+		parts := strings.SplitN(r.Path, "/", 2)
+		if len(parts) > 0 && parts[0] == rigName {
+			// Return prefix without trailing hyphen
+			return strings.TrimSuffix(r.Prefix, "-")
+		}
+	}
+
+	return "gt" // Default prefix
+}
+
 // FindConflictingPrefixes checks for duplicate prefixes in routes.
 // Returns a map of prefix -> list of paths that use it.
 func FindConflictingPrefixes(beadsDir string) (map[string][]string, error) {
diff --git a/internal/beads/routes_test.go b/internal/beads/routes_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..06561dc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/beads/routes_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+package beads
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestGetPrefixForRig(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a temporary directory with routes.jsonl
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	beadsDir := filepath.Join(tmpDir, ".beads")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(beadsDir, 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	routesContent := `{"prefix": "gt-", "path": "gastown/mayor/rig"}
+{"prefix": "bd-", "path": "beads/mayor/rig"}
+{"prefix": "hq-", "path": "."}
+`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(beadsDir, "routes.jsonl"), []byte(routesContent), 0644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		rig      string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{"gastown", "gt"},
+		{"beads", "bd"},
+		{"unknown", "gt"}, // default
+		{"", "gt"},        // empty rig -> default
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.rig, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := GetPrefixForRig(tmpDir, tc.rig)
+			if result != tc.expected {
+				t.Errorf("GetPrefixForRig(%q, %q) = %q, want %q", tmpDir, tc.rig, result, tc.expected)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetPrefixForRig_NoRoutesFile(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	// No routes.jsonl file
+
+	result := GetPrefixForRig(tmpDir, "anything")
+	if result != "gt" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected default 'gt' when no routes file, got %q", result)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgentBeadIDsWithPrefix(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		fn       func() string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{"PolecatBeadIDWithPrefix bd beads obsidian",
+			func() string { return PolecatBeadIDWithPrefix("bd", "beads", "obsidian") },
+			"bd-beads-polecat-obsidian"},
+		{"PolecatBeadIDWithPrefix gt gastown Toast",
+			func() string { return PolecatBeadIDWithPrefix("gt", "gastown", "Toast") },
+			"gt-gastown-polecat-Toast"},
+		{"WitnessBeadIDWithPrefix bd beads",
+			func() string { return WitnessBeadIDWithPrefix("bd", "beads") },
+			"bd-beads-witness"},
+		{"RefineryBeadIDWithPrefix bd beads",
+			func() string { return RefineryBeadIDWithPrefix("bd", "beads") },
+			"bd-beads-refinery"},
+		{"CrewBeadIDWithPrefix bd beads max",
+			func() string { return CrewBeadIDWithPrefix("bd", "beads", "max") },
+			"bd-beads-crew-max"},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := tc.fn()
+			if result != tc.expected {
+				t.Errorf("got %q, want %q", result, tc.expected)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/cmd/sling.go b/internal/cmd/sling.go
index 874d0526..5f719fcc 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/sling.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/sling.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/session"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/style"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/tmux"
+	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/workspace"
 )
 
 var slingCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -790,8 +791,9 @@ func detectActor() string {
 
 // agentIDToBeadID converts an agent ID to its corresponding agent bead ID.
 // Uses canonical naming: prefix-rig-role-name
+// The prefix is looked up from routes.jsonl based on the rig name.
 func agentIDToBeadID(agentID string) string {
-	// Handle simple cases
+	// Handle simple cases (town-level agents always use gt- prefix)
 	if agentID == "mayor" {
 		return beads.MayorBeadID()
 	}
@@ -807,15 +809,21 @@ func agentIDToBeadID(agentID string) string {
 
 	rig := parts[0]
 
+	// Look up the prefix for this rig from routes.jsonl
+	prefix := "gt" // default
+	if townRoot, err := workspace.FindFromCwd(); err == nil && townRoot != "" {
+		prefix = beads.GetPrefixForRig(townRoot, rig)
+	}
+
 	switch {
 	case len(parts) == 2 && parts[1] == "witness":
-		return beads.WitnessBeadID(rig)
+		return beads.WitnessBeadIDWithPrefix(prefix, rig)
 	case len(parts) == 2 && parts[1] == "refinery":
-		return beads.RefineryBeadID(rig)
+		return beads.RefineryBeadIDWithPrefix(prefix, rig)
 	case len(parts) == 3 && parts[1] == "crew":
-		return beads.CrewBeadID(rig, parts[2])
+		return beads.CrewBeadIDWithPrefix(prefix, rig, parts[2])
 	case len(parts) == 3 && parts[1] == "polecats":
-		return beads.PolecatBeadID(rig, parts[2])
+		return beads.PolecatBeadIDWithPrefix(prefix, rig, parts[2])
 	default:
 		return ""
 	}