Pacman Mode in Beads: Eating Tasks Without a Server

Part 1: skill drift. Part 2: spec drift. Part 3: volatility tracking.

Part 4: coordination without a server.

The Problem (One Paragraph)

Multiple agents run in parallel. None knows what’s done, what’s blocked, or who owns what. Servers solve this but introduce a new failure: the server.

The Solution (One Idea)

Use files as the coordination layer.

.beads/
├── scoreboard.json
├── agents.json
└── pause.json

Git syncs them. No infra. No single point of failure.

The Skill: bd pacman

One command acts as a coordination surface.

bd pacman

YOU: claude   SCORE: 3
DOTS: bd-abc, bd-xyz
BLOCKERS: bd-456 ← bd-789
LEADERBOARD: codex 5, claude 3

ᗧ = you. ○ = tasks. 👻 = blockers.

The Workflow (Short and Repeatable)

1) Join the board

AGENT_NAME=codex bd pacman --join

2) Take work

bd close bd-123

3) Sync

git push

4) Hand off

git pull
bd pacman

That’s the loop.

The Kill Switch

Pause every agent with one file.

bd pacman --pause "PRODUCTION DOWN"

Every bd command checks:

func checkPauseSignal() {
    if paused() { fmt.Println("PAUSED") }
}

Resume:

bd pacman --resume

Short Use Cases Across Shadowbook

Here’s what Pacman looks like alongside the rest of the system—small, repeatable snippets.

Pacman: Coordination Without a Server

AGENT_NAME=codex bd pacman --join
bd close bd-123

Wobble: Find Skill Drift

bd wobble
# drift detected between ~/.claude/skills and ~/.codex/skills

Collisions: Stop Silent Skill Overrides

bd skills collisions --quiet
# collisions found in project + global registries

Spec Drift: Catch “Specs Moved, Code Didn’t”

bd spec scan
# unacknowledged changes in specs/

Stability Drift: Volatility Over Time

bd spec volatility --trend specs/auth.md

Ready: See Work Without Blockers

bd ready

Recent: Get a Fast Activity Pulse

bd recent

Preflight: Gate Before You Ship

bd preflight --check

If you want a full “feature → file → command” index, I can add it.

Why Files Beat Servers (One Line)

Servers die. Files persist.

Try It

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anupamchugh/shadowbook/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
cd your-project && bd init
bd pacman --join
bd pacman