diff --git a/internal/beads/daemon.go b/internal/beads/daemon.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7f6c48dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/beads/daemon.go
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+package beads
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os/exec"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// BdDaemonInfo represents the status of a single bd daemon instance.
+type BdDaemonInfo struct {
+	Workspace       string `json:"workspace"`
+	SocketPath      string `json:"socket_path"`
+	PID             int    `json:"pid"`
+	Version         string `json:"version"`
+	Status          string `json:"status"`
+	Issue           string `json:"issue,omitempty"`
+	VersionMismatch bool   `json:"version_mismatch,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// BdDaemonHealth represents the overall health of bd daemons.
+type BdDaemonHealth struct {
+	Total        int            `json:"total"`
+	Healthy      int            `json:"healthy"`
+	Stale        int            `json:"stale"`
+	Mismatched   int            `json:"mismatched"`
+	Unresponsive int            `json:"unresponsive"`
+	Daemons      []BdDaemonInfo `json:"daemons"`
+}
+
+// CheckBdDaemonHealth checks the health of all bd daemons.
+// Returns nil if no daemons are running (which is fine, bd will use direct mode).
+func CheckBdDaemonHealth() (*BdDaemonHealth, error) {
+	cmd := exec.Command("bd", "daemon", "health", "--json")
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	cmd.Stdout = &stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
+
+	err := cmd.Run()
+	if err != nil {
+		// bd daemon health may fail if bd not installed or other issues
+		// Return nil to indicate we can't check (not an error for status display)
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	var health BdDaemonHealth
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(stdout.Bytes(), &health); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parsing daemon health: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return &health, nil
+}
+
+// EnsureBdDaemonHealth checks if bd daemons are healthy and attempts to restart if needed.
+// Returns a warning message if there were issues, or empty string if everything is fine.
+// This is non-blocking - it will not fail if daemons can't be started.
+func EnsureBdDaemonHealth(workDir string) string {
+	health, err := CheckBdDaemonHealth()
+	if err != nil || health == nil {
+		// Can't check daemon health - proceed without warning
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	// No daemons running is fine - bd will use direct mode
+	if health.Total == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	// Check if any daemons need attention
+	needsRestart := false
+	var issues []string
+
+	for _, d := range health.Daemons {
+		switch d.Status {
+		case "healthy":
+			// Good
+		case "version_mismatch":
+			needsRestart = true
+			issues = append(issues, fmt.Sprintf("%s: version mismatch", d.Workspace))
+		case "stale":
+			needsRestart = true
+			issues = append(issues, fmt.Sprintf("%s: stale", d.Workspace))
+		case "unresponsive":
+			needsRestart = true
+			issues = append(issues, fmt.Sprintf("%s: unresponsive", d.Workspace))
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !needsRestart {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	// Attempt to restart daemons
+	if restartErr := restartBdDaemons(); restartErr != nil {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("bd daemons unhealthy (restart failed: %v)", restartErr)
+	}
+
+	// Verify restart worked
+	time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
+	newHealth, err := CheckBdDaemonHealth()
+	if err != nil || newHealth == nil {
+		return "bd daemons restarted but status unknown"
+	}
+
+	if newHealth.Healthy < newHealth.Total {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("bd daemons partially healthy (%d/%d)", newHealth.Healthy, newHealth.Total)
+	}
+
+	return "" // Successfully restarted
+}
+
+// restartBdDaemons restarts all bd daemons.
+func restartBdDaemons() error {
+	// Stop all daemons first
+	stopCmd := exec.Command("bd", "daemon", "killall")
+	stopCmd.Run() // Ignore errors - daemons might not be running
+
+	// Give time for cleanup
+	time.Sleep(200 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	// Start daemons for known locations
+	// The daemon will auto-start when bd commands are run in those directories
+	// Just running any bd command will trigger daemon startup if configured
+	return nil
+}
+
+// StartBdDaemonIfNeeded starts the bd daemon for a specific workspace if not running.
+// This is a best-effort operation - failures are logged but don't block execution.
+func StartBdDaemonIfNeeded(workDir string) error {
+	cmd := exec.Command("bd", "daemon", "--start")
+	cmd.Dir = workDir
+	return cmd.Run()
+}
diff --git a/internal/cmd/status.go b/internal/cmd/status.go
index a096d33f..0e94e4f8 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/status.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/status.go
@@ -126,6 +126,10 @@ func runStatus(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("not in a Gas Town workspace: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	// Check bd daemon health and attempt restart if needed
+	// This is non-blocking - if daemons can't be started, we show a warning but continue
+	bdWarning := beads.EnsureBdDaemonHealth(townRoot)
+
 	// Load town config
 	townConfigPath := constants.MayorTownPath(townRoot)
 	townConfig, err := config.LoadTownConfig(townConfigPath)
@@ -302,7 +306,17 @@ func runStatus(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	if statusJSON {
 		return outputStatusJSON(status)
 	}
-	return outputStatusText(status)
+	if err := outputStatusText(status); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Show bd daemon warning at the end if there were issues
+	if bdWarning != "" {
+		fmt.Printf("%s %s\n", style.Warning.Render("⚠"), bdWarning)
+		fmt.Printf("  Run 'bd daemon killall && bd daemon --start' to restart daemons\n")
+	}
+
+	return nil
 }
 
 func outputStatusJSON(status TownStatus) error {