> ## 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 swarm

> Swarm management for structured epics

Generated from `bd help --doc swarm`.

Swarm management commands for coordinating parallel work on epics.

A swarm is a structured body of work defined by an epic and its children,
with dependencies forming a DAG (directed acyclic graph) of work.

```
bd swarm [command]
```

## bd swarm create

Create a swarm molecule to orchestrate parallel work on an epic.

The swarm molecule:

* Links to the epic it orchestrates
* Has mol\_type=swarm for discovery
* Specifies a coordinator (optional)
* Can be picked up by any coordinator agent

If given a single issue (not an epic), it will be auto-wrapped:

* Creates an epic with that issue as its only child
* Then creates the swarm molecule for that epic

Examples:
bd swarm create bd-epic-123                          # Create swarm for epic
bd swarm create bd-epic-123 --coordinator=observer/   # With specific coordinator
bd swarm create bd-task-456                          # Auto-wrap single issue

```
bd swarm create [epic-id] [flags]
```

**Flags:**

```
      --coordinator string   Coordinator address (e.g., my-project/witness)
      --force                Create new swarm even if one already exists
```

## bd swarm list

List all swarm molecules with their status.

Shows each swarm molecule with:

* Progress (completed/total issues)
* Active workers
* Epic ID and title

Examples:
bd swarm list         # List all swarms
bd swarm list --json  # Machine-readable output

```
bd swarm list [flags]
```

## bd swarm status

Show the current status of a swarm, computed from beads.

Accepts either:

* An epic ID (shows status for that epic's children)
* A swarm molecule ID (follows the link to find the epic)

Displays issues grouped by state:

* Completed: Closed issues
* Active: Issues currently in\_progress (with assignee)
* Ready: Open issues with all dependencies satisfied
* Blocked: Open issues waiting on dependencies

The status is COMPUTED from beads, not stored separately.
If beads changes, status changes.

Examples:
bd swarm status gt-epic-123       # Show swarm status by epic
bd swarm status gt-swarm-456      # Show status via swarm molecule
bd swarm status gt-epic-123 --json  # Machine-readable output

```
bd swarm status [epic-or-swarm-id] [flags]
```

## bd swarm validate

Validate an epic's structure to ensure it's ready for swarm execution.

Checks for:

* Correct dependency direction (requirement-based, not temporal)
* Orphaned issues (roots with no dependents)
* Missing dependencies (leaves that should depend on something)
* Cycles (impossible to resolve)
* Disconnected subgraphs

Reports:

* Ready fronts (waves of parallel work)
* Estimated worker-sessions
* Maximum parallelism
* Warnings for potential issues

Examples:
bd swarm validate gt-epic-123           # Validate epic structure
bd swarm validate gt-epic-123 --verbose # Include detailed issue graph

```
bd swarm validate [epic-id] [flags]
```

**Flags:**

```
      --verbose   Include detailed issue graph in output
```