https://github.com/steveyegge/beads
Beads - A memory upgrade for your coding agent
https://github.com/steveyegge/beads
agents claude-code coding
Last synced: 11 days ago
JSON representation
Beads - A memory upgrade for your coding agent
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/steveyegge/beads
- Owner: steveyegge
- License: mit
- Created: 2025-10-12T03:09:46.000Z (4 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-01-22T21:04:56.000Z (20 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-22T22:56:26.625Z (20 days ago)
- Topics: agents, claude-code, coding
- Language: Go
- Homepage:
- Size: 98.8 MB
- Stars: 12,096
- Watchers: 62
- Forks: 729
- Open Issues: 114
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
- Security: SECURITY.md
- Agents: AGENTS.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-ai-agents - steveyegge/beads - Beads is a graph-based issue tracker that upgrades AI coding agents' memory and task management capabilities by organizing complex workstreams into interconnected issues for improved long-term planning and execution. (Agent Integration & Deployment Tools / AI Agent Orchestration)
- StarryDivineSky - steveyegge/beads
- awesome-AI-driven-development - bd - Beads Issue Tracker 🔗 - a lightweight memory system for coding agents, using a graph-based issue tracker. (Project & Knowledge Management / Other IDEs)
- awesome-rainmana - steveyegge/beads - Beads - A memory upgrade for your coding agent (Go)
README
# bd - Beads
**Distributed, git-backed graph issue tracker for AI agents.**
[](LICENSE)
[](https://goreportcard.com/report/github.com/steveyegge/beads)
[](https://github.com/steveyegge/beads/releases)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@beads/bd)
[](https://pypi.org/project/beads-mcp/)
Beads provides a persistent, structured memory for coding agents. It replaces messy markdown plans with a dependency-aware graph, allowing agents to handle long-horizon tasks without losing context.
## ⚡ Quick Start
```bash
# Install (macOS/Linux/FreeBSD)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/steveyegge/beads/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
# Initialize (Humans run this once)
bd init
# Tell your agent
echo "Use 'bd' for task tracking" >> AGENTS.md
```
## 🛠 Features
* **Git as Database:** Issues stored as JSONL in `.beads/`. Versioned, branched, and merged like code.
* **Agent-Optimized:** JSON output, dependency tracking, and auto-ready task detection.
* **Zero Conflict:** Hash-based IDs (`bd-a1b2`) prevent merge collisions in multi-agent/multi-branch workflows.
* **Invisible Infrastructure:** SQLite local cache for speed; background daemon for auto-sync.
* **Compaction:** Semantic "memory decay" summarizes old closed tasks to save context window.
## 📖 Essential Commands
| Command | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `bd ready` | List tasks with no open blockers. |
| `bd create "Title" -p 0` | Create a P0 task. |
| `bd dep add ` | Link tasks (blocks, related, parent-child). |
| `bd show ` | View task details and audit trail. |
## 🔗 Hierarchy & Workflow
Beads supports hierarchical IDs for epics:
* `bd-a3f8` (Epic)
* `bd-a3f8.1` (Task)
* `bd-a3f8.1.1` (Sub-task)
**Stealth Mode:** Run `bd init --stealth` to use Beads locally without committing files to the main repo. Perfect for personal use on shared projects.
**Contributor vs Maintainer:** When working on open-source projects:
* **Contributors** (forked repos): Run `bd init --contributor` to route planning issues to a separate repo (e.g., `~/.beads-planning`). Keeps experimental work out of PRs.
* **Maintainers** (write access): Beads auto-detects maintainer role via SSH URLs or HTTPS with credentials. Only need `git config beads.role maintainer` if using GitHub HTTPS without credentials but you have write access.
## 📦 Installation
* **npm:** `npm install -g @beads/bd`
* **Homebrew:** `brew install beads`
* **Go:** `go install github.com/steveyegge/beads/cmd/bd@latest`
**Requirements:** Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, or Windows.
## 🌐 Community Tools
See [docs/COMMUNITY_TOOLS.md](docs/COMMUNITY_TOOLS.md) for a curated list of community-built UIs, extensions, and integrations—including terminal interfaces, web UIs, editor extensions, and native apps.
## 📝 Documentation
* [Installing](docs/INSTALLING.md) | [Agent Workflow](AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md) | [Articles](ARTICLES.md) | [Sync Branch Mode](docs/PROTECTED_BRANCHES.md) | [Troubleshooting](docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md) | [FAQ](docs/FAQ.md)
* [](https://deepwiki.com/steveyegge/beads)