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Advanced bd Features

This guide covers advanced features for power users and specific use cases.

Table of Contents

Renaming Prefix

Change the issue prefix for all issues in your database. This is useful if your prefix is too long or you want to standardize naming.

# Preview changes without applying
bd rename-prefix kw- --dry-run

# Rename from current prefix to new prefix
bd rename-prefix kw-

# JSON output
bd rename-prefix kw- --json

The rename operation:

  • Updates all issue IDs (e.g., knowledge-work-1 → kw-1)
  • Updates all text references in titles, descriptions, design notes, etc.
  • Updates dependencies and labels
  • Updates the counter table and config

Prefix validation rules:

  • Max length: 8 characters
  • Allowed characters: lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens
  • Must start with a letter
  • Must end with a hyphen (or will be trimmed to add one)
  • Cannot be empty or just a hyphen

Example workflow:

# You have issues like knowledge-work-1, knowledge-work-2, etc.
bd list  # Shows knowledge-work-* issues

# Preview the rename
bd rename-prefix kw- --dry-run

# Apply the rename
bd rename-prefix kw-

# Now you have kw-1, kw-2, etc.
bd list  # Shows kw-* issues

Duplicate Detection

Find issues with identical content using automated duplicate detection:

# Find all content duplicates in the database
bd duplicates

# Show duplicates in JSON format
bd duplicates --json

# Automatically merge all duplicates
bd duplicates --auto-merge

# Preview what would be merged
bd duplicates --dry-run

# Detect duplicates during import
bd import -i issues.jsonl --dedupe-after

How it works:

  • Groups issues by content hash (title, description, design, acceptance criteria)
  • Only groups issues with matching status (open with open, closed with closed)
  • Chooses merge target by reference count (most referenced) or smallest ID
  • Reports duplicate groups with suggested merge commands

Example output:

🔍 Found 3 duplicate group(s):

━━ Group 1: Fix authentication bug
→ bd-10 (open, P1, 5 references)
  bd-42 (open, P1, 0 references)
  Suggested: bd merge bd-42 --into bd-10

💡 Run with --auto-merge to execute all suggested merges

AI Agent Workflow:

  1. Periodic scans: Run bd duplicates to check for duplicates
  2. During import: Use --dedupe-after to detect duplicates after collision resolution
  3. Auto-merge: Use --auto-merge to automatically consolidate duplicates
  4. Manual review: Use --dry-run to preview merges before executing

Merging Duplicate Issues

Consolidate duplicate issues into a single issue while preserving dependencies and references:

# Merge bd-42 and bd-43 into bd-41
bd merge bd-42 bd-43 --into bd-41

# Merge multiple duplicates at once
bd merge bd-10 bd-11 bd-12 --into bd-10

# Preview merge without making changes
bd merge bd-42 bd-43 --into bd-41 --dry-run

# JSON output
bd merge bd-42 bd-43 --into bd-41 --json

What the merge command does:

  1. Validates all issues exist and prevents self-merge
  2. Closes source issues with reason Merged into bd-X
  3. Migrates all dependencies from source issues to target
  4. Updates text references across all issue descriptions, notes, design, and acceptance criteria

Example workflow:

# You discover bd-42 and bd-43 are duplicates of bd-41
bd show bd-41 bd-42 bd-43

# Preview the merge
bd merge bd-42 bd-43 --into bd-41 --dry-run

# Execute the merge
bd merge bd-42 bd-43 --into bd-41
# ✓ Merged 2 issue(s) into bd-41

# Verify the result
bd show bd-41  # Now has dependencies from bd-42 and bd-43
bd dep tree bd-41  # Shows unified dependency tree

Important notes:

  • Source issues are permanently closed (status: closed)
  • All dependencies pointing to source issues are redirected to target
  • Text references like "see bd-42" are automatically rewritten to "see bd-41"
  • Operation cannot be undone (but git history preserves the original state) AI Agent Workflow:

When agents discover duplicate issues, they should:

  1. Search for similar issues: bd list --json | grep "similar text"
  2. Compare issue details: bd show bd-41 bd-42 --json
  3. Merge duplicates: bd merge bd-42 --into bd-41
  4. File a discovered-from issue if needed: bd create "Found duplicates during bd-X" --deps discovered-from:bd-X

Git Worktrees

Git worktrees work with bd. Each worktree can have its own .beads directory, or worktrees can share a database via redirects (see Database Redirects).

With Dolt backend: Each worktree operates directly on the database — no special coordination needed. Use bd dolt push to sync with Dolt remotes when ready.

With Dolt server mode: Multiple worktrees can connect to the same Dolt server for concurrent access without conflicts.

Database Redirects

Multiple git clones can share a single beads database using redirect files. This is useful for:

  • Multi-agent setups where several clones work on the same issues
  • Development environments with multiple checkout directories
  • Avoiding duplicate databases across clones

Setting Up a Redirect

Create a .beads/redirect file pointing to the shared database location:

# In your secondary clone
mkdir -p .beads
echo "../main-clone/.beads" > .beads/redirect

# Or use an absolute path
echo "/path/to/shared/.beads" > .beads/redirect

The redirect file should contain a single path (relative or absolute) to the target .beads directory.

Example setup:

repo/
├── main-clone/
│   └── .beads/
│       └── beads.db      ← Actual database
├── agent-1/
│   └── .beads/
│       └── redirect      ← Points to ../main-clone/.beads
└── agent-2/
    └── .beads/
        └── redirect      ← Points to ../main-clone/.beads

Checking Active Location

Use bd where to see which database is actually being used:

bd where
# /path/to/main-clone/.beads
#   (via redirect from /path/to/agent-1/.beads)
#   prefix: bd
#   database: /path/to/main-clone/.beads/beads.db

bd where --json
# {"path": "...", "redirected_from": "...", "prefix": "bd", "database_path": "..."}

Limitations

  • Single-level redirects only: Redirect chains are not followed (A → B → C won't work)
  • Target must exist: The redirect target directory must exist and contain a valid database

When to Use Redirects

Good use cases:

  • Multiple AI agents working on the same project
  • Parallel development clones (feature work, bug fixes)
  • Testing clones that should see production issues

Not recommended for:

  • Separate projects (use separate databases)
  • Long-lived forks (they should have their own issues)
  • Git worktrees (each should have its own .beads directory)

Handling Merge Conflicts

With hash-based IDs (v0.20.1+), ID collisions are eliminated. Different issues get different hash IDs, so concurrent creation doesn't cause conflicts.

Dolt Native Merge (Default)

Dolt handles merge conflicts natively with cell-level merge. When concurrent changes affect the same issue field, Dolt detects and resolves conflicts automatically where possible:

# Pull with automatic merge
bd dolt pull

# Check for unresolved conflicts
bd vc conflicts

# Resolve if needed
bd vc resolve

Understanding Same-ID Scenarios

When you encounter the same ID during import, it's an update operation, not a collision:

  • Hash IDs are content-based and remain stable across updates
  • Same ID + different fields = normal update to existing issue
  • bd automatically applies updates when importing

Preview changes before importing:

# Preview an import
bd import -i data.jsonl --dry-run

# Output shows:
# Exact matches (idempotent): 15
# New issues: 5
# Updates: 3
#
# Issues to be updated:
#   bd-a3f2: Fix authentication (changed: priority, status)
#   bd-b8e1: Add feature (changed: description)

Custom Git Hooks

Git hooks can be used to integrate beads with your git workflow:

Using the Installer (Recommended)

bd hooks install

This installs hooks for beads data consistency checks during git operations.

See DOLT.md for details on how the Dolt backend handles sync natively.

Extensible Database

Note: Custom table extensions via UnderlyingDB() are a SQLite-only pattern. With the Dolt backend, build standalone integration tools using bd's CLI with --json flags, or use bd query for direct SQL access. See EXTENDING.md for details.

For SQLite-backend users, you can extend bd with your own tables and queries:

  • Add custom metadata to issues
  • Build integrations with other tools
  • Implement custom workflows
  • Create reports and analytics

See EXTENDING.md for complete documentation.

Architecture: Storage, RPC, and MCP

Understanding the role of each component:

Beads (Core)

  • Dolt database (primary) — Version-controlled SQL, the source of truth for all issues, dependencies, labels
  • SQLite database (legacy) — Still supported for simple single-user setups
  • Storage layer — Interface-based CRUD operations, dependency resolution, collision detection
  • Business logic — Ready work calculation, merge operations, import/export
  • CLI commands — Direct database access via bd command

RPC Layer (Server Mode)

  • Multi-writer access — Connects to a running Dolt server (bd dolt start) for concurrent clients
  • Used in multi-agent setups — Gas Town and similar environments where multiple agents write simultaneously
  • Not needed for single-user — embedded mode handles all local operations

MCP Server (Optional)

  • Protocol adapter — Translates MCP calls to direct CLI invocations
  • Workspace routing — Finds correct .beads directory based on working directory
  • Stateless — Doesn't cache or store any issue data itself
  • Editor integration — Makes bd available to Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients

Key principle: All heavy lifting (dependency graphs, collision resolution, merge logic) happens in the core bd storage layer. The RPC and MCP layers are thin adapters.

Next Steps