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Claude Code

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Claude Code Integration

How to use beads with Claude Code.

Setup

Quick Setup

bash
bd setup claude

This installs:

  • SessionStart hook - Runs bd prime on session start
  • PreCompact hook - Runs bd dolt push before context compaction

Manual Setup

Add to your Claude Code hooks configuration:

json
{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": ["bd prime"],
    "PreCompact": ["bd dolt push"]
  }
}

Verify Setup

bash
bd setup claude --check

How It Works

  1. Session startsbd prime injects ~1-2k tokens of context
  2. You work → Use bd CLI commands directly
  3. Session compactsbd dolt push saves work to Dolt remote
  4. Session ends → Changes synced via git

Essential Commands for Agents

Creating Issues

bash
# Always include description for context
bd create "Fix authentication bug" \
  --description="Login fails with special characters in password" \
  -t bug -p 1 --json

# Link discovered issues
bd create "Found SQL injection" \
  --description="User input not sanitized in query builder" \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-42 --json

Working on Issues

bash
# Find ready work
bd ready --json

# Start work
bd update bd-42 --claim --json

# Complete work
bd close bd-42 --reason "Fixed in commit abc123" --json

Querying

bash
# List open issues
bd list --status open --json

# Show issue details
bd show bd-42 --json

# Check blocked issues
bd blocked --json

Syncing

bash
# ALWAYS run at session end
bd dolt push

Best Practices

Always Use --json

bash
bd list --json          # Parse programmatically
bd create "Task" --json # Get issue ID from output
bd show bd-42 --json    # Structured data

Always Include Descriptions

bash
# Good
bd create "Fix auth bug" \
  --description="Login fails when password contains quotes" \
  -t bug -p 1 --json

# Bad - no context for future work
bd create "Fix auth bug" -t bug -p 1 --json
bash
# When you discover issues during work
bd create "Found related bug" \
  --deps discovered-from:bd-current --json

Push Before Session End

bash
# ALWAYS run before ending
bd dolt push

Plugin (Optional)

For enhanced UX with slash commands:

bash
# In Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add gastownhall/beads
/plugin install beads
# Restart Claude Code

Adds slash commands:

  • /beads:ready - Show ready work
  • /beads:create - Create issue
  • /beads:show - Show issue
  • /beads:update - Update issue
  • /beads:close - Close issue

Troubleshooting

Context not injected

bash
# Check hook setup
bd setup claude --check

# Manually prime
bd prime

Changes not syncing

bash
# Force push
bd dolt push

# Check system health
bd doctor

Database not found

bash
# Initialize beads
bd init --quiet

See Also