> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://beads.gascity.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# bd init-safety

> Explain bd init flag semantics and the destroy-token format

Generated from `bd help --doc init-safety`.

bd init flag safety contract.

Every bd init invocation resolves project\_id from exactly one explicitly
named source (local reinit, remote adoption, or a fresh mint). When the
source is ambiguous, bd init refuses.

FLAG SURFACE

bd init                       Mint a new identity. Bootstraps from
origin if it has refs/dolt/data.

bd init --reinit-local        Re-initialize local .beads/ over existing
local data. Does NOT authorize discarding
remote history. If origin has Dolt data
this will refuse — pair with
\--discard-remote to override.

bd init --reinit-local \      Discard the remote's Dolt history and
\--discard-remote          replace it with the local reinit. First
bd dolt push after this will be a
history-replacing force-push.

bd init --force               Deprecated alias for --reinit-local.
Kept working for ≥2 releases.

bd init --from-jsonl          Import from configured import.path. If
origin has Dolt data, this refuses unless
\--discard-remote authorizes replacing that
remote history.

ADOPTING A REMOTE

If you want to use the remote's existing history, use:

bd bootstrap

bd init will automatically suggest this when a remote is detected.

DESTROY-TOKEN (non-interactive only)

When running with no TTY (CI, agents, piped input), --discard-remote
requires an explicit --destroy-token value. The token format is:

DESTROY-\<issue-prefix>

For example, if your issue prefix is "bd", the token is "DESTROY-bd":

bd init --reinit-local --discard-remote --destroy-token=DESTROY-bd

In interactive (TTY) mode you confirm via a typed prompt instead. The
token is not echoed by bd's runtime error messages — this is a
deliberate guard against pattern-matched one-liners (see
engdocs/adr/0002-init-safety-invariants.md).

EXIT CODES

10    refused: remote has Dolt history and you selected local history
without --discard-remote
11    refused: existing local data and you declined the destroy confirm
12    refused: --discard-remote passed without a valid --destroy-token
(non-interactive mode)

RECOVERY

If you hit a refusal, see docs/recovery/init-safety.md for step-by-step recovery
playbooks for each exit code.

```
bd init-safety [flags]
```