SkillsSKILLS
Productivity

beads▌

steveyegge/beads · updated Apr 8, 2026

$npx skills add https://github.com/steveyegge/beads --skill beads
summary

Dolt-backed issue tracker for multi-session work with dependencies and conversation compaction survival.

  • ›Persists task context across conversation compaction and multiple sessions using a local Dolt database, with atomic claim-and-start workflow to prevent race conditions
  • ›Tracks task dependencies, blockers, and discovery relationships; use bd ready to surface unblocked work and bd show <id> --long to recover full context after compaction
  • ›Essential commands: bd create , bd ready
skill.md

Beads - Persistent Task Memory for AI Agents

Graph-based issue tracker that survives conversation compaction. Provides persistent memory for multi-session work with complex dependencies.

bd vs TodoWrite

Decision test: "Will I need this context in 2 weeks?" YES = bd, NO = TodoWrite.

bd (persistent) TodoWrite (ephemeral)
Multi-session, dependencies, compaction survival Single-session linear tasks
Dolt-backed team sync Conversation-scoped

See BOUNDARIES.md for detailed comparison.

Prerequisites

bd --version  # Requires v0.60.0+
  • bd CLI installed and in PATH
  • Git repository (optional — use BEADS_DIR + --stealth for git-free operation)
  • Initialization: bd init run once (humans do this, not agents)

CLI Reference

Run bd prime for AI-optimized workflow context (auto-loaded by hooks). Run bd <command> --help for specific command usage.

Essential commands: bd ready, bd create, bd show, bd update, bd close, bd dolt push

Session Protocol

  1. bd ready — Find unblocked work
  2. bd show <id> — Get full context
  3. bd update <id> --claim — Claim and start work atomically
  4. Add notes as you work (critical for compaction survival)
  5. bd close <id> --reason "..." — Complete task
  6. bd dolt push — Push to Dolt remote (if configured)

Output

Append --json to any command for structured output. Use bd show <id> --long for extended metadata. Status icons: ○ open ◐ in_progress ● blocked ✓ closed ❄ deferred.

Error Handling

Error Fix
database not found bd init <prefix> in project root
not in a git repository git init first
disk I/O error (522) Move .beads/ off cloud-synced filesystem
Status updates lag Use server mode: bd dolt start

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for full details.

Examples

Track a multi-session feature:

bd create "OAuth integration" -t epic -p 1 --json
bd create "Token storage" -t task --deps blocks:oauth-id --json
bd ready --json                    # Shows unblocked work
bd update <id> --claim --json      # Claim and start
bd close <id> --reason "Implemented with refresh tokens" --json

Recover after compaction: bd list --status in_progress --json then bd show <id> --long

Discover work mid-task: bd create "Found bug" -t bug -p 1 --deps discovered-from:<current-id> --json

Advanced Features

Feature CLI Resource
Molecules (templates) bd mol --help MOLECULES.md
Chemistry (pour/wisp) bd pour, bd wisp CHEMISTRY_PATTERNS.md
Agent beads bd agent --help AGENTS.md
Async gates bd gate --help ASYNC_GATES.md
Worktrees bd worktree --help WORKTREES.md

Resources

Category Files
Getting Started BOUNDARIES.md, CLI_REFERENCE.md, WORKFLOWS.md
Core Concepts DEPENDENCIES.md, ISSUE_CREATION.md, PATTERNS.md
Resilience RESUMABILITY.md, TROUBLESHOOTING.md
Advanced MOLECULES.md, CHEMISTRY_PATTERNS.md, AGENTS.md, ASYNC_GATES.md, WORKTREES.md
Reference STATIC_DATA.md, INTEGRATION_PATTERNS.md

Validation

If bd --version reports newer than 0.60.0, this skill may be stale. Run bd prime for current CLI guidance — it auto-updates with each bd release and is the canonical source of truth (ADR-0001).