gastownhall__beads/docs/cli-reference/gate.md

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bd gate	Gates are async wait conditions that block workflow steps.

{/* AUTO-GENERATED: do not edit manually */}

Generated from bd help --doc gate.

Gates are async wait conditions that block workflow steps.

Gates are created automatically when a formula step has a gate field. They must be closed (manually or via watchers) for the blocked step to proceed.

Gate types: human - Requires manual bd close (Phase 1) timer - Expires after timeout (Phase 2) gh:run - Waits for GitHub workflow (Phase 3) gh:pr - Waits for PR merge (Phase 3) bead - Waits for cross-rig bead to close (Phase 4)

For bead gates, await_id format is <rig>:<bead-id> (e.g., "other-project:op-abc123").

Examples: bd gate list # Show all open gates bd gate list --all # Show all gates including closed bd gate check # Evaluate all open gates bd gate check --type=bead # Evaluate only bead gates bd gate resolve <id> # Close a gate manually

bd gate [flags]

bd gate add-waiter

Register an agent as a waiter on a gate bead.

When the gate closes, the waiter will receive a wake notification via 'bd gate wake'. The waiter is typically the worker's address (e.g., "my-project/workers/agent-1").

This is used by 'bd done --phase-complete' to register for gate wake notifications.

bd gate add-waiter <gate-id> <waiter> [flags]

bd gate check

Evaluate gate conditions and automatically close resolved gates.

By default, checks all open gates. Use --type to filter by gate type.

Gate types: gh - Check all GitHub gates (gh:run and gh:pr) gh:run - Check GitHub Actions workflow runs gh:pr - Check pull request merge status timer - Check timer gates (auto-expire based on timeout) bead - Check cross-rig bead gates all - Check all gate types

GitHub gates use the 'gh' CLI to query status:

• gh:run checks 'gh run view <id> --json status,conclusion'
• gh:pr checks 'gh pr view <id> --json state,title'

A gate is resolved when:

• gh:run: status=completed AND conclusion=success
• gh:pr: state=MERGED
• timer: current time > created_at + timeout
• bead: target bead status=closed

A gate is escalated when:

• gh:run: status=completed AND conclusion in (failure, canceled)
• gh:pr: state=CLOSED

Examples: bd gate check # Check all gates bd gate check --type=gh # Check only GitHub gates bd gate check --type=gh:run # Check only workflow run gates bd gate check --type=timer # Check only timer gates bd gate check --type=bead # Check only cross-rig bead gates bd gate check --dry-run # Show what would happen without changes bd gate check --escalate # Escalate expired/failed gates

bd gate check [flags]

Flags:

      --dry-run       Show what would happen without making changes
  -e, --escalate      Escalate failed/expired gates
  -l, --limit int     Limit results (default 100) (default 100)
  -t, --type string   Gate type to check (gh, gh:run, gh:pr, timer, bead, all)

bd gate create

Create an ad-hoc gate issue that blocks another issue until resolved.

The blocked issue will not appear in 'bd ready' until the gate is resolved via 'bd gate resolve'.

Gate types: human - Requires manual 'bd gate resolve' (default) timer - Auto-resolves after --timeout duration gh:run - Waits for GitHub Actions workflow gh:pr - Waits for PR merge

Examples: bd gate create --blocks bd-abc bd gate create --type=human --blocks bd-abc --reason="Need design review" bd gate create --type=timer --blocks bd-abc --timeout=2h bd gate create --type=gh:pr --blocks bd-abc --await-id=42

bd gate create [flags]

Flags:

      --await-id string   Condition identifier (run ID, PR number, etc.)
      --blocks string     Issue ID to block (required)
  -r, --reason string     Reason for the gate
      --timeout string    Timeout duration (e.g., 2h, 30m)
  -t, --type string       Gate type (human, timer, gh:run, gh:pr) (default "human")

bd gate discover

Discovers GitHub workflow run IDs for gates awaiting CI/CD completion.

This command finds open gates with await_type="gh:run" that don't have an await_id, queries recent GitHub workflow runs, and matches them using heuristics:

• Branch name matching
• Commit SHA matching
• Time proximity (runs within 5 minutes of gate creation)

Once matched, the gate's await_id is updated with the GitHub run ID, enabling subsequent polling to check the run's status.

Examples: bd gate discover # Auto-discover run IDs for all matching gates bd gate discover --dry-run # Preview what would be matched (no updates) bd gate discover --branch main --limit 10 # Only match runs on 'main' branch

bd gate discover [flags]

Flags:

  -b, --branch string      Filter runs by branch (default: current branch)
  -n, --dry-run            Preview mode: show matches without updating
  -l, --limit int          Max runs to query from GitHub (default 10)
  -a, --max-age duration   Max age for gate/run matching (default 30m0s)

bd gate list

List all gate issues in the current beads database.

By default, shows only open gates. Use --all to include closed gates.

bd gate list [flags]

Flags:

  -a, --all         Show all gates including closed
  -n, --limit int   Limit results (default 50) (default 50)

bd gate resolve

Close a gate issue to unblock the step waiting on it.

This is equivalent to 'bd close <gate-id>' but with a more explicit name. Use --reason to provide context for why the gate was resolved.

bd gate resolve <gate-id> [flags]

Flags:

  -r, --reason string   Reason for resolving the gate

bd gate show

Display details of a gate issue including its waiters.

This is similar to 'bd show' but validates that the issue is a gate.

bd gate show <gate-id> [flags]