JSON Output Schema Contract

Last reviewed: 2026-08-07

Freshness source: cmd/bd/output.go, cmd/bd/errors.go, and cmd/bd/protocol/json_contract_test.go.

All bd commands that support --json output can wrap their response in a uniform envelope by setting BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1. This will become the default format in v2.0.

Migration Guide

Opt in to the envelope format

export BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1

Envelope format (BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1, default in v2.0)

Every --json command wraps output as:

{"schema_version": 1, "data": <original-payload>}

The original payload is untouched inside .data — no type corruption, no field injection. Works identically for objects, arrays, and maps.

When a --limit-truncated listing runs in envelope mode (currently wired for bd ready), the envelope also carries a pagination key:

{"schema_version": 1, "data": [...], "pagination": {"returned": 10, "total": 42, "truncated": true}}

total is omitted when unknown; the whole pagination key is absent when the result was not truncated. Legacy mode keeps the stderr text hint instead.

Updating consumers

# Before (legacy):
bd list --json | jq '.[0].id'
bd show beads-abc --json | jq '.[0].title'

# After (envelope):
bd list --json | jq '.data[0].id'
bd show beads-abc --json | jq '.data[0].title'

# Version check (object commands, e.g. create):
bd create "Example" --json | jq '.schema_version'

Timeline

• Current release: Legacy format is default. Set BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1 to opt in. A deprecation notice is printed to stderr when --json is used without the env var — but only when stderr is a terminal, and at most once per invocation, so scripts capturing stderr will not see it.
• v2.0: Envelope becomes the default. BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=0 available as temporary escape hatch for one release cycle.

Schema Version

Current version: 1

The schema_version field is an integer that increments when:

• Fields are added, renamed, or removed
• Output structure changes (e.g., nesting depth)
• Field types change (e.g., string to integer)

Additive changes (new optional fields) do NOT bump the version.

Output Formats

Envelope mode (BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1)

All commands emit a uniform envelope:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "data": {
    "id": "beads-abc",
    "title": "Example issue",
    "status": "open"
  }
}

Arrays are wrapped the same way:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "data": [
    {"id": "beads-abc", "title": "First"},
    {"id": "beads-def", "title": "Second"}
  ]
}

Legacy mode (default, until v2.0)

Object commands (create, ping, etc.)

Commands that return a single result emit a JSON object with schema_version as a top-level field alongside the data:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "id": "beads-abc",
  "title": "Example issue",
  "status": "open",
  "priority": 1,
  "issue_type": "task",
  "created_at": "2026-04-20T12:00:00Z"
}

List commands (list, ready, search, stale, show, close, update, etc.)

Commands that return one or more issues emit a raw JSON array — including show, close, and update, which return one element per requested ID. Array output carries no top-level schema_version field:

[
  {"id": "beads-abc", "title": "First", ...},
  {"id": "beads-def", "title": "Second", ...}
]

Error output

Errors with --json active emit JSON — most error paths write it to stderr, though some command-result error paths emit the same shape to stdout:

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "error": "issue not found: beads-xyz",
  "code": "not_found"
}

code and hint (a remediation suggestion) are both optional — only error and schema_version are always present. In envelope mode (BD_JSON_ENVELOPE=1) the error payload moves inside the envelope: {"schema_version": 1, "data": {"error": ..., "code": ..., "hint": ...}}. JSON-mode errors exit with code 1.

Field Contracts by Command

bd list --json

Required fields per item:

• id (string): Issue ID (e.g., "beads-abc")
• title (string): Issue title
• status (string): open, in_progress, closed, deferred
• priority (number): 0-4
• issue_type (string): bug, feature, task, epic, chore
• created_at (string): RFC3339 timestamp

Optional fields:

• description, owner, updated_at, closed_at
• labels (string[]): Attached labels
• dependencies (object[]): Dependency records
• dependency_count, dependent_count, comment_count (number)
• parent (string|null): Parent issue ID

bd ready --json

Same schema as bd list --json. Items are filtered to unblocked issues only. Each item includes dependency_count, dependent_count, comment_count, and optional parent fields. In envelope mode a --limit-truncated result adds the envelope-level pagination key (see the envelope section above).

bd blocked --json

Returns issues that are blocked by unresolved dependencies. Each item includes all standard issue fields plus:

• blocked_by_count (number): Number of blocking dependencies
• blocked_by (string[]): IDs of blocking issues

bd show --json

Returns a top-level JSON array with one element per requested ID; items do not carry schema_version (this shape is pinned by a contract test — a change here is a breaking wire change). Same required fields as list items, plus:

• description (string)
• acceptance_criteria (string)
• revision (number): guarded-write optimistic-concurrency token; always present, including a legacy 0
• dependencies (object[]): Full dependency records
• comments (object[]): Comment thread — present only with --include-comments; the default response returns comment_count only (count-only, be-ijck6q)
• comments_omitted (boolean, optional): true only when comment_count is nonzero and comments was left out of the response (no --include-comments). Absent when comments were included or when there are none to omit (ga-clgh)

import --json

Returns a summary object when --json is active:

• source (string): File path or "stdin"
• created (number): Issues created
• updated (number): Existing issues updated
• unchanged (number, optional): Rows identical to local state, untouched
• skipped (number): Issues skipped (stale rows + dedup)
• dedup_skipped (number): Issues skipped by --dedup title match
• memories (number): Memory records imported
• ids (string[]): IDs of created issues
• updated_issues (object[]): Per-issue summary of what an update changed
• tie_kept_local_ids (string[]): Equal-updated_at rows where local state won
• stale_skipped_ids (string[]): Rows older than the local issue, skipped
• skipped_dependencies (string[]): Dependency edges whose target id was absent
• dry_run (boolean): Whether --dry-run was active

bd export --json

Outputs JSONL (one JSON object per line), not wrapped in an envelope. Each line is a self-contained issue or memory record, discriminated by _type ("issue" / "memory"). Export lines do not carry schema_version — that field belongs to the --json command envelope, not to the interchange stream. The interchange's own version marker is the optional _schema header record ({"_schema":"beads-jsonl/1"}), which readers skip.

Issue records carry an optional wisp_plane boolean: the explicit wisps-plane marker. Export stamps it on rows that live in the wisps table when the row flags alone cannot prove the plane (a no_history: true record is otherwise ambiguous — an unpromoted no-history wisp and a promoted one look identical). Import routes the storage plane by this marker, never by no_history: marker absent means the durable issues table. The marker is a fresh key rather than a reuse of the legacy wisp boolean so that older readers, which do not know it, degrade to flag routing instead of importing marked rows as ephemeral (purge-eligible and export-excluded). The v0.35– v0.37 wisp key — those streams' spelling of ephemeral — is still honored as a read-side legacy alias.

Consumer Guidelines

1. Check schema_version on object output. If the version is higher than expected, log a warning but attempt to parse anyway (additive changes are backward-compatible).

2. For list commands, parse the output as a JSON array directly.

3. Ignore unknown fields. New fields may be added without bumping the schema version.

4. Use --json flag, not --format json. The --json flag is the stable contract; --format is for human-readable variants.