islandflow/AGENTS.md

# Agent Instructions

See [AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md](AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md) for full instructions.

This file exists for compatibility with tools that look for AGENTS.md.

## Key Sections

- **Issue Tracking** - How to use bd for work management
- **Development Guidelines** - Code standards and testing
- **Visual Design System** - Status icons, colors, and semantic styling for CLI output

## Visual Design Anti-Patterns

**NEVER use emoji-style icons** (🔴🟠🟡🔵⚪) in CLI output. They cause cognitive overload.

**ALWAYS use small Unicode symbols** with semantic colors:
- Status: `○ ◐ ● ✓ ❄`
- Priority: `● P0` (filled circle with color)

See [AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md](AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md) for full development guidelines.

## Agent Warning: Interactive Commands

**DO NOT use `bd edit`** - it opens an interactive editor ($EDITOR) which AI agents cannot use.

Use `bd update` with flags instead:
```bash
bd update <id> --description "new description"
bd update <id> --title "new title"
bd update <id> --design "design notes"
bd update <id> --notes "additional notes"
bd update <id> --acceptance "acceptance criteria"

# Use stdin for descriptions with special characters (backticks, !, nested quotes)
echo 'Description with `backticks` and "quotes"' | bd create "Title" --description=-
echo 'Updated text' | bd update <id> --description=-
```

## Testing Commands (No Ambiguity)

- Default local test command: `make test` (or `./scripts/test.sh`).
- Full CGO-enabled suite: `make test-full-cgo` (or `./scripts/test-cgo.sh ./...`).
- On macOS, do **not** run raw `CGO_ENABLED=1 go test ./...` unless ICU flags are set; use the script/Make target above.
- If you need package- or test-scoped CGO runs:
```bash
./scripts/test-cgo.sh ./cmd/bd/...
./scripts/test-cgo.sh -run '^TestName$' ./cmd/bd/...
```

## Non-Interactive Shell Commands

**ALWAYS use non-interactive flags** with file operations to avoid hanging on confirmation prompts.

Shell commands like `cp`, `mv`, and `rm` may be aliased to include `-i` (interactive) mode on some systems, causing the agent to hang indefinitely waiting for y/n input.

**Use these forms instead:**
```bash
# Force overwrite without prompting
cp -f source dest           # NOT: cp source dest
mv -f source dest           # NOT: mv source dest
rm -f file                  # NOT: rm file

# For recursive operations
rm -rf directory            # NOT: rm -r directory
cp -rf source dest          # NOT: cp -r source dest
```

**Other commands that may prompt:**
- `scp` - use `-o BatchMode=yes` for non-interactive
- `ssh` - use `-o BatchMode=yes` to fail instead of prompting
- `apt-get` - use `-y` flag
- `brew` - use `HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1` env var

## Landing the Plane (Session Completion)

**When ending a work session**, you MUST complete ALL steps below. Work is NOT complete until `git push` succeeds.

**MANDATORY WORKFLOW:**

1. **File issues for remaining work** - Create issues for anything that needs follow-up
2. **Run quality gates** (if code changed) - Tests, linters, builds
3. **Update issue status** - Close finished work, update in-progress items
4. **PUSH TO REMOTE** - This is MANDATORY:
   ```bash
   git pull --rebase
   git push
   git status  # MUST show "up to date with origin"
   ```
5. **Clean up** - Clear stashes, prune remote branches
6. **Verify** - All changes committed AND pushed
7. **Hand off** - Provide context for next session

**CRITICAL RULES:**
- Work is NOT complete until `git push` succeeds
- NEVER stop before pushing - that leaves work stranded locally
- NEVER say "ready to push when you are" - YOU must push
- If push fails, resolve and retry until it succeeds

<!-- BEGIN BEADS INTEGRATION -->
## Issue Tracking with bd (beads)

**IMPORTANT**: This project uses **bd (beads)** for ALL issue tracking. Do NOT use markdown TODOs, task lists, or other tracking methods.

### Why bd?

- Dependency-aware: Track blockers and relationships between issues
- Git-friendly: Dolt-powered version control with native sync
- Agent-optimized: JSON output, ready work detection, discovered-from links
- Prevents duplicate tracking systems and confusion

### Quick Start

**Check for ready work:**

```bash
bd ready --json
```

**Create new issues:**

```bash
bd create "Issue title" --description="Detailed context" -t bug|feature|task -p 0-4 --json
bd create "Issue title" --description="What this issue is about" -p 1 --deps discovered-from:bd-123 --json

# Use stdin for descriptions with special characters (backticks, !, nested quotes)
echo 'Description with `backticks` and "quotes"' | bd create "Title" --description=- --json
```

**Claim and update:**

```bash
bd update <id> --claim --json
bd update bd-42 --priority 1 --json
```

**Complete work:**

```bash
bd close bd-42 --reason "Completed" --json
```

### Issue Types

- `bug` - Something broken
- `feature` - New functionality
- `task` - Work item (tests, docs, refactoring)
- `epic` - Large feature with subtasks
- `chore` - Maintenance (dependencies, tooling)

### Priorities

- `0` - Critical (security, data loss, broken builds)
- `1` - High (major features, important bugs)
- `2` - Medium (default, nice-to-have)
- `3` - Low (polish, optimization)
- `4` - Backlog (future ideas)

### Workflow for AI Agents

1. **Check ready work**: `bd ready` shows unblocked issues
2. **Claim your task atomically**: `bd update <id> --claim`
3. **Work on it**: Implement, test, document
4. **Discover new work?** Create linked issue:
   - `bd create "Found bug" --description="Details about what was found" -p 1 --deps discovered-from:<parent-id>`
5. **Complete**: `bd close <id> --reason "Done"`

### Auto-Sync

bd automatically syncs via Dolt:

- Each write auto-commits to Dolt history
- Use `bd dolt push`/`bd dolt pull` for remote sync
- No manual export/import needed!

### Important Rules

- ✅ Use bd for ALL task tracking
- ✅ Always use `--json` flag for programmatic use
- ✅ Link discovered work with `discovered-from` dependencies
- ✅ Check `bd ready` before asking "what should I work on?"
- ❌ Do NOT create markdown TODO lists
- ❌ Do NOT use external issue trackers
- ❌ Do NOT duplicate tracking systems

For more details, see README.md and docs/QUICKSTART.md.

<!-- END BEADS INTEGRATION -->