VS Code extension for managing Beads issues. Uses bd for project discovery and Dolt lifecycle control, and reads issue data directly from Dolt SQL for a faster UI.
Kanban Board View
- Toggle between Table and Board views for issues
- Drag cards between columns to change status
- See status distribution at a glance (Open, In Progress, Blocked, Closed)
- All columns collapsible for focused workflow (closed by default)
- Cards show title, ID, type, priority, assignee, and labels
- Filter-aware: shows "3/5" count when filters hide items
- Click any card to open details
Issues Panel
- Sortable, filterable table with global search
- Filter by status, priority, type, assignee, and labels
- Multi-column sorting (shift+click for secondary sort)
- Persistent column visibility, order, and sort preferences
- Filter presets: Not Closed, Blocked, Epics
- Click-to-copy bead IDs
Details Panel
- View/edit title, description, status, priority, type, labels, assignee
- Colored inline dropdowns for quick field editing
- Markdown rendering in description/notes with timezone-aware timestamps
- Dependency management with grouped relationship types (blocks, related, parent-child)
Multi-Project & Dolt-Aware UI
- Auto-detects
.beadsdirectories in workspace - Project switcher and compact dashboard controls
- Direct Dolt-backed reads for issues, details, and comments
- Configurable Dolt change polling for near-real-time updates
See docs/development.md for build commands, architecture, and beads setup.
- VS Code 1.85.0+
- Beads CLI (
bd) in PATH - Initialized project (
bd init)
Install from VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX, or search "Beads" in VS Code/Cursor/VSCodium Extensions.
- Initialize:
bd init - Click the Beads icon in the Activity Bar
- If needed, use the dashboard controls to inspect/start/stop Dolt for the active project
- Click column headers to sort (shift+click for multi-column)
- Search by title, description, or bead ID
- Filter by status, priority, type, assignee, labels
- Use filter presets or create custom filter combinations
- Show/hide and reorder columns via ⋮ menu
- Click row to view details, click bead ID to copy
- Click badges to edit type/status/priority inline
- "Assign to me" quick action for assignee
- Add/remove labels with auto-generated colors
- Markdown rendering in description/notes
- View dependencies grouped by relationship type
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
Beads: Switch Project |
Select active project |
Beads: Refresh |
Refresh all views |
Beads: Create New Issue |
Create issue via quick input |
Beads: Start Dolt Server |
Start Dolt for active project |
Beads: Stop Dolt Server |
Stop Dolt for active project |
Beads: Show Dolt Status |
Log Dolt status for the project |
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
beads.pathToBd |
"bd" |
Path to bd CLI |
beads.refreshInterval |
3000 |
Dolt change polling interval in ms (0 = disable) |
beads.renderMarkdown |
true |
Render markdown in text fields |
beads.userId |
"" |
Your user ID for "Assign to me" (defaults to $USER) |
beads.tooltipHoverDelay |
1000 |
Delay in ms before showing tooltip on hover (0 = disable) |
"No Beads projects found" - Run bd init in project root
Dolt not available / issues not loading - Use the dashboard actions to inspect Dolt status or start the Dolt server for the active project
Commands fail - Check "Beads" output channel, verify bd in PATH
Built with ❤️ using Claude Code
Icon inspired by Beads icons created by imaginationlol - Flaticon
Issue type icons from Font Awesome Free (CC BY 4.0)
Apache License 2.0