Beads Tutorial: Git-Backed Task Graph Memory for Coding Agents

Learn how to use steveyegge/beads to give coding agents durable, dependency-aware task memory with structured issue graphs instead of ad-hoc markdown plans.

Why This Track Matters

Beads gives coding agents a structured, persistent memory layer for long-horizon work, reducing context loss and coordination issues across branches and collaborators.

This track focuses on:

• installing and initializing bd in real projects
• modeling task dependencies and readiness flows
• integrating Beads with AGENTS.md and agent workflows
• operating Beads safely in contributor and maintainer modes

Current Snapshot (auto-updated)

• repository: steveyegge/beads
• stars: about 23.5k
• latest release: v1.0.4 (published 2026-05-09)

Mental Model

flowchart LR
    A[Agent task intake] --> B[Beads issue graph]
    B --> C[Dependencies and blockers]
    C --> D[Ready queue and claims]
    D --> E[Execution and updates]
    E --> F[Durable memory and audit trail]

Chapter Guide

Chapter	Key Question	Outcome
01 - Getting Started	How do I install and initialize Beads in a project?	Working baseline
02 - Architecture and Data Model	How does Beads structure memory and task graphs?	Strong architecture model
03 - Core Workflow Commands	How do I run day-to-day task operations effectively?	Better operator throughput
04 - Dependency Graph and Hierarchy Patterns	How do I model blockers, epics, and sub-tasks cleanly?	Reliable planning structure
05 - Agent Integration and AGENTS.md Patterns	How do coding agents adopt Beads consistently?	Better agent behavior
06 - Multi-Branch Collaboration and Protected Flows	How do teams avoid conflicts across branches and roles?	Safer collaboration
07 - Troubleshooting and Operations	How do I recover from common setup/runtime issues?	Operator confidence
08 - Contribution Workflow and Ecosystem Extensions	How do I contribute and extend Beads responsibly?	Contributor readiness

What You Will Learn

• how to replace markdown TODO drift with graph-backed task memory
• how to drive ready/blocked workflows through structured dependencies
• how to integrate Beads into coding-agent instruction contracts
• how to operate and extend Beads in team environments

Source References

• Beads Repository
• Beads README
• Agent Workflow Instructions
• Installing Guide
• FAQ

Related Tutorials

• AGENTS.md Tutorial
• Codex CLI Tutorial
• Claude Code Tutorial
• Mini-SWE-Agent Tutorial

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Start with Chapter 1: Getting Started.

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Full Chapter Map

1. Chapter 1: Getting Started
2. Chapter 2: Architecture and Data Model
3. Chapter 3: Core Workflow Commands
4. Chapter 4: Dependency Graph and Hierarchy Patterns
5. Chapter 5: Agent Integration and AGENTS.md Patterns
6. Chapter 6: Multi-Branch Collaboration and Protected Flows
7. Chapter 7: Troubleshooting and Operations
8. Chapter 8: Contribution Workflow and Ecosystem Extensions

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