- CollectionMemory & State
- Classificationagent-native
- LicenseMIT
- MCPOptional
- Agent SkillAvailable
- InterfacesAgent Skill · MCP · CLI · STDIO · http
- Verified2026-10-19
What it does
Beads (bd) is a dependency-aware work graph for coding agents, stored in a Dolt version-controlled SQL database. Official docs: traditional trackers were not designed for agents; Beads uses hash IDs (bd-a1b2) so concurrent agents do not collide, bd ready so an agent only claims unblocked work, and Dolt push/pull so the graph survives context loss across machines.
This is not fact memory. Distinct from agentmemory (shared memory server), and Claude-Mem (tool-call firehose + compression): Beads tracks issues, blockers, formulas/molecules, and bd remember project insights as a work graph, not a fact/RAG store.
Agent-facing interfaces
- Interaction pattern: CLI + optional MCP / agent setup recipes
- Catalog protocols: Agent Skill, MCP, CLI, STDIO, http
- MCP: ✅ Available — optional; the primary surface is the bd CLI
- Agent Skill: ✅ Bundled with bd setup (not npx skills add)
- Onboarding type:
mcp
How agents onboard
Interaction pattern: CLI + optional MCP / agent setup recipes
brew install beads
# or: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gastownhall/beads/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
# or: npm install -g @beads/bd
cd your-project
bd init --quiet
bd setup claude # also: codex, cursor, factory, mux, gemini, copilot, …
bd ready --json
See the full onboarding section in the dossier.
Protocol surface
| Interface | Detail |
|---|---|
| CLI | bd — --json on list/show/create |
| MCP | beads-mcp stdio |
| Agent setup | bd setup claude\|codex\|cursor\|… |
| Sync | bd dolt push / bd dolt pull |
| Docs | https://beads.gascity.com — also /llms.txt index |
Verification
Last verified 2026-10-19.
Sources:
- https://api.github.com/repos/gastownhall/beads