Beads Skill

Expert guidance for using Beads (bd) to track tasks, dependencies, and workflows in a git-backed issue graph.

When to trigger

• The user mentions Beads, bd, or wants dependency-aware task tracking for agents.
• The task involves bd init, bd ready, bd sync, formulas/molecules, or agent hooks.

Core rules

• Prefer CLI + hooks (bd setup <recipe>) when shell access exists; use MCP only when CLI is unavailable.
• For agent one-shot commands, default to direct mode: bd --no-daemon ....
• Always use --json for machine parsing (bd list, bd show, bd create, etc.).
• Use bd ready (or bd list --ready) to select unblocked work; add dependencies with bd dep add before starting.
• Run bd sync to export DB state to JSONL; it does not commit/push by default.
• Use bd daemon (with --auto-commit/--auto-push) or bd sync --full only when background automation is explicitly needed.
• Default backend is SQLite; use bd init --backend dolt for Dolt-backed storage.

Workflow

1. Initialize: verify with bd status; if needed, run bd init (choose backend and branch). See references/cli-reference.md.
2. Integrate: install hooks with bd setup <recipe> or configure manually. See references/integrations.md.
3. Manage issues: create, update status, close with reason; maintain dependencies; use bd list, bd ready, bd blocked, bd stats.
4. Sync + context: bd prime on session start; bd sync after issue changes and bd sync --import after pull; use bd sync --status to verify state.
5. Advanced workflows: formulas, molecules, gates (bd formula, bd mol, bd gate). See references/workflows.md.
6. Recovery: use bd status, bd daemon status, and bd doctor when sync or database issues appear. See references/recovery.md.

Output expectations

• Provide exact commands with flags and IDs; prefer --json and include --no-daemon unless daemon mode is the goal.
• Ask for backend, repo location, and desired workflow if ambiguous.
• Call out whether a command affects git-tracked JSONL vs local DB.

References

• CLI commands and options: references/cli-reference.md
• Core concepts and storage: references/concepts.md
• Workflows: formulas, molecules, gates: references/workflows.md
• Editor/agent integrations + MCP: references/integrations.md
• Recovery and troubleshooting: references/recovery.md