tbd

A set of workflow rules for tbd, a command-line task tracker that stores lightweight issues in a Git repository. It defines how to recover context, close issues, sync work, push changes, and wait for CI, the automated build and test checks.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when managing tbd issues, recovering after a new or shortened session, committing and pushing changes, watching pull-request checks, and synchronizing issue data.
Why use it?
It gives coding sessions a fixed way to finish work and keep task status aligned with the repository. It also prevents declaring work complete before CI has finished and passed.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/jlevy/speculate/tbd
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jlevy/speculate

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 1,116 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 1,116 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.01116 $0.01116
Opus 5 $0.00558 $0.00558
Sonnet 5 $0.00223 $0.00223
Haiku 4.5 $0.00112 $0.00112

Measured 2d ago against content hash e48bc8ac34fe, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

tbd scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

.cursor/rules/tbd.mdc · 124 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 124 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

tbd Workflow

tbd provides lightweight, git-native task and issue tracking using beads, which are just lightweight issues managed from the CLI.

Context Recovery: Run tbd prime after compaction, clear, or new session. Hooks auto-call this in Claude Code when .tbd/ detected.

SESSION CLOSING PROTOCOL

CRITICAL: Before saying “done” or “complete”, you MUST run this checklist:

[ ] 1. Stage and commit: git add + git commit
[ ] 2. Push to remote: git push
[ ] 3. Start CI watch (BLOCKS until done): gh pr checks <PR> --watch 2>&1
[ ] 4. While CI runs: tbd close/update <id> for issues worked on
[ ] 5. While CI runs: tbd sync
[ ] 6. Return to step 3 and CONFIRM CI passed
[ ] 7. If CI failed: fix, re-push, restart from step 3

NON-NEGOTIABLE Requirements

CI: Wait for --watch to finish

The --watch flag blocks until ALL checks complete. Do NOT see “passing” in early output and move on—wait for the final summary showing all checks passed.

tbd: Update issues and sync

Every session must end with tbd in a clean state:

  • Close/update every issue you worked on
  • Run tbd sync and confirm it completed

Work is not done until pushed, CI passes, and tbd is synced.

Core Rules

  • Track all task work not being done immediately as beads using tbd (discovered work, future work, TODOs for the session, multi-session work)
  • When in doubt, prefer tbd for tracking tasks, bugs, and issues
  • Use tbd create for creating beads
  • Git workflow: update or close issues and run tbd sync at session end
  • If not given specific directions, check tbd ready for available work

Essential Commands

Finding Work

  • tbd ready - Show issues ready to work (no blockers)
  • tbd list --status open - All open issues
  • tbd list --status in_progress - Your active work
  • tbd show <id> - Detailed issue view with dependencies

Creating & Updating

  • tbd create "title" --type task|bug|feature --priority P2 - New issue
    • Priority: P0-P4 (P0=critical, P2=medium, P4=backlog). Do NOT use "high"/"medium"/"low"
  • tbd update <id> --status in_progress - Claim work
  • tbd update <id> --assignee username - Assign to someone
  • tbd close <id> - Mark complete
  • tbd close <id> --reason "explanation" - Close with reason
  • Tip: When creating multiple issues, use parallel subagents for efficiency

Read the full file on GitHub · 124 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 2d ago First seen · 124 lines · 1,116 tokens per session scan A e48bc8ac34fe

Subscribe to this mod's changes

tbd is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository jlevy/speculate (34 stars, last pushed 6mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 1,116 tokens to every session, about $0.0056 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.