feat: add -C <path> flag to change directory before running by rjc123 · Pull Request #3442 · gastownhall/beads

rjc123 · 2026-04-23T11:48:38Z

Summary

Adds persistent -C/--directory flag to the root command, matching git -C behaviour
Calls os.Chdir() early in PersistentPreRun — before any .beads/ discovery, environment loading, or store initialisation
Allows running bd commands against a different project directory without cd first

Motivation

AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) often run in a working directory different from the beads project. Currently this requires either:

cd /path/to/project && bd ready (chaining, which some agent frameworks disallow)
Setting BEADS_DIR env var (verbose, easy to forget)

git -C solves this problem cleanly for git — bd -C brings the same ergonomics.

Example

# From any directory:
bd -C ~/projects/myapp ready
bd -C ~/projects/myapp show bd-abc123

Test plan

Integration test: ready_with_C_flag in ready_embedded_test.go — runs bd ready from a temp dir using -C to target the beads project
Existing commands without -C continue to work (no default changes)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

codecov-commenter · 2026-04-23T11:58:16Z

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 28.16901% with 51 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
internal/beads/beads.go	0.00%	35 Missing ⚠️
cmd/bd/main.go	55.55%	12 Missing and 4 partials ⚠️

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

rjc123 · 2026-04-26T08:58:07Z

Rebased onto current main. Resolved one conflict in ready_embedded_test.go — upstream added the --exclude-label test in the same location; kept both test cases. The ready_with_C_flag subprocess test runs bd -C <dir> ready from a directory with no .beads/, which exercises the os.Chdir path in main.go and should resolve the patch coverage gap.

maphew

Thanks for the -C flag implementation. The feature is useful, but I’m requesting changes because the current implementation mutates process-global cwd in PersistentPreRun via os.Chdir. That risk profile is too high for this CLI: in-process command executions/tests can leak cwd state across commands, and startup/global command behavior is already sensitive.\n\nPlease rework this toward selected-context routing or target repo resolution instead of global cwd mutation. At minimum, add stronger coverage for invalid -C paths and repeated/in-process command execution so cwd cannot leak across commands.\n\nSuggested validation after rework: scripts/pr-preflight.sh 3442 --repo gastownhall/beads; CGO_ENABLED=1 go test -tags gms_pure_go ./cmd/bd -run '^TestEmbeddedReady/ready_with_C_flag$'; make test.

Adds a persistent -C/--directory flag (matching git -C) that calls os.Chdir before .beads/ discovery or database initialisation. Allows running bd commands against a different project without changing directory first. Example: bd -C ~/projects/myapp ready Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

rjc123 · 2026-04-27T15:00:02Z

Addressed the os.Chdir concern.

What changed: Instead of permanently mutating the process cwd, the -C handler now:

Saves the original cwd
Temporarily Chdirs to the target directory
Calls beads.FindBeadsDir() to resolve .beads/ using the existing git-aware discovery logic
Sets BEADS_DIR to the resolved path
Restores the original cwd immediately

Net effect: the process cwd is unchanged after -C processing. BEADS_DIR is already the canonical mechanism for pointing at a project, and FindBeadsDir() checks it first, so all subsequent command logic works correctly.

New test coverage (three cases added):

ready_with_C_flag_invalid_dir — passes a non-existent path; verifies the command fails with a clear "cannot change to directory" message. Covers the previously-missing error branch.
ready_with_C_flag_does_not_leak_cwd — runs two sequential subprocesses from the same tmpDir (no .beads/): first with -C succeeds, second without -C fails. Both use the same stripped env (no BEADS_*), proving the fix does not leak BEADS_DIR between invocations.
Existing ready_with_C_flag continues to pass.

Resolve -C by binding command selection to the target project's .beads directory instead of calling os.Chdir. Add focused coverage for invalid targets and no process cwd mutation.\n\nCo-authored-by: Robin Carswell <2803445+rjc123@users.noreply.github.com>

maphew · 2026-04-27T15:19:11Z

Addressed the os.Chdir concern in f68f3d3ae241e3fab9781ad51d5c4d4505adf491.\n\nChanges:\n- Removed the os.Chdir-based -C implementation.\n- Added target-directory resolution via beads.FindBeadsDirFrom, then binds the command to the resolved project through BEADS_DIR without mutating process cwd.\n- Restores selector env after command execution for in-process/repeated command safety.\n- Fails clearly for invalid -C targets and existing directories that are not beads projects, avoiding fallback to the caller cwd.\n- Kept the contributor subprocess coverage and added unit coverage for no cwd mutation.\n\nLocal validation:\n- go test -tags gms_pure_go ./cmd/bd -run 'TestResolveChangeDirBeadsDir'\n- go test ./internal/beads\n- BEADS_TEST_EMBEDDED_DOLT=1 CGO_ENABLED=1 go test -tags gms_pure_go ./cmd/bd -run '^TestEmbeddedReady/ready_with_C_flag' -count=1 -v\n- make test\n\nPreflight now sees the new head but remains blocked while GitHub checks are pending and the existing CHANGES_REQUESTED review is still in force.

maphew

The cwd-mutation concern is addressed in f68f3d3. The implementation now resolves the target beads project without os.Chdir, scopes/restores selector env, and has focused invalid-target/no-cwd-mutation coverage. Local validation passed: targeted cmd/bd resolver test, internal/beads test, embedded ready -C subtests with BEADS_TEST_EMBEDDED_DOLT=1, and make test.

t.TempDir() returns paths under /var/folders on macOS, but resolveChangeDirBeadsDir canonicalizes via EvalSymlinks to /private/var/folders. Resolve projectDir up front so the expected and actual paths match on every OS.

rjc123 force-pushed the feat/directory-flag branch from 7b3593a to 2cc297d Compare April 26, 2026 08:58

maphew mentioned this pull request Apr 27, 2026

perf: add --no-cycle-check flag to bd dep add for bulk wiring #3521

Closed

maphew requested changes Apr 27, 2026

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maphew mentioned this pull request Apr 27, 2026

Improve bd where performance in worktree fallback #3195

Merged

rjc123 force-pushed the feat/directory-flag branch from 2cc297d to b3c8ab8 Compare April 27, 2026 14:59

maphew approved these changes Apr 27, 2026

View reviewed changes

test: resolve symlinks in tempdir for macOS compatibility

12b333d

t.TempDir() returns paths under /var/folders on macOS, but resolveChangeDirBeadsDir canonicalizes via EvalSymlinks to /private/var/folders. Resolve projectDir up front so the expected and actual paths match on every OS.

maphew merged commit 7358de6 into gastownhall:main Apr 27, 2026
38 of 39 checks passed

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feat: add -C <path> flag to change directory before running#3442

feat: add -C <path> flag to change directory before running#3442
maphew merged 3 commits into
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rjc123:feat/directory-flag

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rjc123 commented Apr 23, 2026

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