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bd prime

Generated from bd help --doc prime

bd prime​

Output essential Beads workflow context in AI-optimized markdown format.

Automatically detects if MCP server is active and adapts output:

  • MCP mode: Brief workflow reminders (~50 tokens)
  • CLI mode: Full command reference (~1-2k tokens)

Designed for Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Codex SessionStart hooks to prevent agents from forgetting bd workflow after context compaction.

Config options:

  • no-git-ops: When true, outputs stealth mode (no git commands in session close protocol). Set via: bd config set no-git-ops true Useful when you want to control when commits happen manually.

    Workflow customization:

    • Place a .beads/PRIME.md file in the local clone or resolved workspace to override the default output entirely.
    • Use --export to dump the default content for customization.
    • Use --memories-only for hook contexts that should inject only persistent memories.

Memory injection caps: Large memory sets can exceed what a session-start hook host will ingest, and hosts truncate silently. Cap what prime injects with --max-memories N and/or --max-memory-chars N (or the prime.max-memories / prime.max-memory-chars config keys; an explicit flag wins, and an explicit 0 forces unlimited). Caps apply at whole-memory boundaries, at least one memory is always emitted, and a banner ahead of the entries reports how many were elided and how to browse the rest with bd memories. --max-memory-chars caps the total bytes of the injected memory entries; the section header and elision banner are excluded from the budget.

bd prime [flags]

Flags:

      --export                 Output default content (ignores PRIME.md override)
      --full                   Force full CLI output (ignore MCP detection)
      --hook-json              Wrap output in the SessionStart hook JSON envelope (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex)
      --max-memories int       Cap injected persistent memories to N entries (0 = unlimited; falls back to the prime.max-memories config key)
      --max-memory-chars int   Cap the total bytes of injected memory entries, at whole-memory boundaries; section header and banner are not counted (0 = unlimited; falls back to the prime.max-memory-chars config key)
      --mcp                    Force MCP mode (minimal output)
      --memories-only          Output only persistent memories for compact hook contexts
      --stealth                Stealth mode (no git operations, flush only)