{"id":50825678,"url":"https://github.com/annaleighsmith/bt","last_synced_at":"2026-06-13T18:42:41.787Z","repository":{"id":344992909,"uuid":"1180535423","full_name":"annaleighsmith/bt","owner":"annaleighsmith","description":"A minimal, local-first issue tracker for AI agents. 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Issues live in plain JSONL files alongside your code.\n\n## Install\n\n```bash\n# From source\ngo build -o bt . \u0026\u0026 mv bt ~/go/bin/\n\n# Or via go install (once published)\ngo install github.com/annaleighsmith/bt@latest\n```\n\n## Quick Start\n\n```bash\nbt init                                    # create .beads/ workspace\nbt create \"Fix login bug\" -t bug -p 1      # or: bt add\nbt ready                                   # what to work on next\nbt show \u003cid\u003e                               # full details + dependencies\nbt close \u003cid\u003e                              # mark done\ngit add .beads/ \u0026\u0026 git commit -m \"Sync beads\"\n```\n\n## Commands\n\n```bash\nbt init                                    # create .beads/ workspace in current repo\nbt create \"title\" -t bug -p 1 -d \"details\" # create an issue (aliases: add)\nbt create \"title\" -q                      # quiet mode — prints only the ID (for scripting)\nbt list [--all] [--status S] [--json]     # list issues (default: non-terminal)\nbt show \u003cid\u003e [--json]                     # full issue details + dependencies\nbt ready [--json]                         # open + unblocked, not deferred\nbt update \u003cid\u003e --claim                    # assign to self + in_progress (aliases: edit)\nbt update \u003cid\u003e -p 0 -t bug -a user       # set priority, type, assignee\nbt update \u003cid\u003e --add-label fix            # add/remove labels\nbt close \u003cid\u003e --reason \"shipped\"          # close an issue\nbt dep add \u003cid\u003e \u003cblocked-by\u003e              # wire a dependency\nbt dep rm|list \u003cid\u003e                       # remove / show dependencies\nbt archive --before 2025-01-01            # move old closed issues to archive.jsonl\nbt prompt --inject AGENTS.md              # add issue tracking docs to AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md\n```\n\nShort IDs work: `a1b` resolves to `pfx-a1b2` if unambiguous. All read commands accept `--json`.\n\n## Concurrency\n\nbt uses `flock` to serialize writes to the JSONL file. Multiple agents can read concurrently, but writes queue behind a file lock. This is the intentional trade-off: no database means no WAL, no indexes, no connection overhead — but also no concurrent writes.\n\nIn practice this is fine for most setups. Each write holds the lock for a few milliseconds, so even 30 agents writing back-to-back serialize in ~120ms total. If you need dozens of agents writing *sustained* high-throughput, bt isn't the right tool — use something with a real database.\n\n## Related Projects\n\nbt is part of the [beads](https://github.com/steveyegge/beads) ecosystem. All three tools read and write the same `.beads/issues.jsonl` format and can share a workspace.\n\n- **[beads](https://github.com/steveyegge/beads)** (Go) — the original. Part of a larger ecosystem (GasTown) with Dolt-backed storage, git hooks, merge drivers, Linear integration, and more.\n- **[beads_rust](https://github.com/Dicklesworthstone/beads_rust)** (Rust) — a Rust port with a SQLite backend.\n- **bt** (Go) — a minimal alternative that skips the database entirely. JSONL is the source of truth, `flock` handles concurrency. Optimized for small-to-medium projects (\u003c 2-3K issues) where per-command speed matters more than query power.\n\n## Suggested AGENTS.md Section\n\nAdd this to your project's `AGENTS.md` so AI agents know how to use bt:\n\n````markdown\n## Issue Tracking\n\nThis project uses **bt** for issue tracking. Issues live in `.beads/issues.jsonl`. Run `bt --help` for full usage.\n\n```bash\nbt ready                                   # what to work on next (open, unblocked, not deferred)\nbt show \u003cid\u003e                               # full issue details + dependencies\nbt create \"title\" -p 2 -t bug              # file an issue\nbt create \"title\" -q                       # quiet mode — prints only the ID (for scripting)\nbt update \u003cid\u003e --claim                     # assign to self + mark in_progress\nbt close \u003cid\u003e                              # mark work done\nbt dep add \u003cissue\u003e \u003cblocked-by\u003e            # wire a dependency\ngit add .beads/ \u0026\u0026 git commit -m \"Sync beads\"  # persist changes\n```\n````\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fannaleighsmith%2Fbt","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fannaleighsmith%2Fbt","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fannaleighsmith%2Fbt/lists"}