Beads Issue Tracker for Claude FAQs

Question 1

When should I use Beads instead of TodoWrite?

Accepted Answer

Use Beads for multi-session work, complex dependencies, or strategic research. Use TodoWrite for simple, linear tasks that you expect to finish within a single session.

Question 2

How does Beads differ from a standard TODO list?

Accepted Answer

Beads is a graph-based system that tracks complex dependencies and persists data across multiple Claude sessions, ensuring context isn't lost during session compaction.

Question 3

What is 'compaction' and why does Beads help?

Accepted Answer

Compaction is when an LLM's conversation history is summarized to save space. Beads stores data in a persistent database, allowing the AI to retain 'long-term memory' of tasks after this summary occurs.

Question 4

Does this skill work across different coding projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports project-local databases in a .beads/ directory and a global fallback at ~/.beads/ for cross-project task management.

Question 5

Can I export my issue data for other tools?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the Beads CLI supports a --json flag for all core operations, allowing for structured data export and integration with other programmatic workflows.

Beads Issue Tracker for Claude

Key Features

Use Cases

Beads Issue Tracker for Claude

Key Features

Use Cases