bd-what-to-work-on-next_skill

Overview

This skill helps you decide what to work on next by analyzing the bd (beads) issue tracker. It inspects open issues, dependencies, blockers, and stale items and produces clear next-step recommendations. Use it to focus work, remove bottlenecks, and keep the project flowing.

How this skill works

The skill runs bd commands to gather live state from the .beads/issues.jsonl file tracked in git. It aggregates outputs from bd ready, bd blocked, bd graph, bd stale, and bd status to detect ready work, blockers, dependency impact, and neglected issues. It then scores and ranks candidate issues using rules like readiness, number of dependents, and staleness to recommend what to tackle next.

When to use it

• At the start of a work session to pick the highest-impact task
• When you need to find work that has no blockers and is actionable now
• To identify and prioritize dependency resolution work
• When reviewing backlog health and stale items before planning
• To understand which issues unlock the most downstream work

Best practices

• Run bd status and bd ready first for a quick snapshot
• Resolve blockers for issues that have many dependents to maximize impact
• Include your role and available skills when asking for recommendations
• Use bd graph to visualize dependencies before changing priorities
• Update issues after work to keep the distributed tracker accurate

Example use cases

• A developer needs one clear, unblocked task to start a two-hour focus slot
• A tech lead wants to find which blocked issue, if resolved, will free several downstream tasks
• A maintainer is auditing the backlog for stale issues to triage or close
• A planner prepares for sprint planning by listing ready items and critical dependencies
• An integrator inspects the dependency graph to sequence work across teams