Track work with beads issue tracker using TDD workflow. Create issues for RED (failing tests), GREEN (implementation), and REFACTOR phases.
/plugin marketplace add dot-do/workers/plugin install dot-do-workers-do@dot-do/workersThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
Beads (bd) is a git-native issue tracker that lives in your repository. Use it to track multi-session work with dependency graphs. For TDD workflows, create separate issues for each phase: RED, GREEN, REFACTOR.
| Use Beads | Use TodoWrite |
|---|---|
| Multi-session work | Single session tasks |
| Complex dependencies | Linear task lists |
| Needs persistent context | Ephemeral tracking |
| TDD phase tracking | Simple checklists |
| Collaborative work | Solo quick tasks |
Create an issue for writing the failing test:
bd create --title="RED: [Feature] tests" --type=task --priority=0 --labels="tdd-red,[feature-area]"
Issue content should include:
Mark in_progress when starting:
bd update [issue-id] --status=in_progress
Close when test is written and failing:
bd close [issue-id] --reason="Test written, failing as expected"
Create an issue for the implementation (depends on RED):
bd create --title="GREEN: Implement [Feature]" --type=task --priority=0 --labels="tdd-green,[feature-area]"
bd dep add [green-id] [red-id] # GREEN depends on RED
Issue content should include:
Close when tests pass:
bd close [issue-id] --reason="Tests passing"
Create an issue for refactoring (depends on GREEN):
bd create --title="REFACTOR: Clean up [Feature]" --type=task --priority=1 --labels="tdd-refactor,[feature-area]"
bd dep add [refactor-id] [green-id] # REFACTOR depends on GREEN
Issue content should include:
Close when refactoring complete:
bd close [issue-id] --reason="Refactored, tests still green"
bd ready # Show issues with no blockers
bd list --status=open # All open issues
bd list --status=in_progress # Active work
bd blocked # See what's blocked and why
bd create --title="..." --type=task|bug|feature|epic --priority=0-4
# Priority: 0=critical, 1=high, 2=medium, 3=low, 4=backlog
bd dep add [issue] [depends-on] # issue is blocked by depends-on
bd show [issue] # See dependencies and dependents
bd update [id] --status=in_progress # Claim work
bd update [id] --status=blocked # Mark blocked
bd close [id] # Complete work
bd close [id1] [id2] [id3] # Close multiple at once
bd sync --from-main # Pull beads updates from main branch
bd sync --status # Check sync status
Use these labels consistently:
| Label | Phase | Description |
|---|---|---|
tdd-red | RED | Writing failing tests |
tdd-green | GREEN | Implementing to pass tests |
tdd-refactor | REFACTOR | Cleaning up while green |
Plus feature-area labels like: auth, api, ui, database, etc.
# 1. Create RED issue
bd create --title="RED: User authentication tests" \
--type=task --priority=0 \
--labels="tdd-red,auth" \
--description="Write tests for login, logout, session management"
# 2. Create GREEN issue (blocked by RED)
bd create --title="GREEN: Implement user authentication" \
--type=task --priority=0 \
--labels="tdd-green,auth"
bd dep add workers-xxxx workers-yyyy # GREEN blocked by RED
# 3. Create REFACTOR issue (blocked by GREEN)
bd create --title="REFACTOR: Clean up auth module" \
--type=task --priority=1 \
--labels="tdd-refactor,auth"
bd dep add workers-zzzz workers-xxxx # REFACTOR blocked by GREEN
# 4. Work through in order
bd update workers-yyyy --status=in_progress # Start RED
# ... write tests ...
bd close workers-yyyy --reason="Tests written, failing"
bd update workers-xxxx --status=in_progress # Start GREEN
# ... implement ...
bd close workers-xxxx --reason="Tests passing"
bd update workers-zzzz --status=in_progress # Start REFACTOR
# ... refactor ...
bd close workers-zzzz --reason="Refactored, tests green"
For large features, use parallel subagents to create TDD issue chains:
Launch parallel agents to create beads issues for each module:
- Agent 1: Create RED/GREEN/REFACTOR chain for Module A
- Agent 2: Create RED/GREEN/REFACTOR chain for Module B
- Agent 3: Create RED/GREEN/REFACTOR chain for Module C
Each agent creates 3 issues with proper dependencies.
bd ready # Find available work
bd show [id] # Review issue details
bd update [id] --status=in_progress
bd close [completed-ids] # Close finished work
bd sync --from-main # Pull latest from main
git add . && git commit # Commit changes
tdd-* labels to find phase-specific work