bl is a keyboard-first terminal backlog for people and coding agents. Native tasks are
Markdown files in Git, and every worktree of a repository shares one live queue. Other supported
backends include GitHub Issues and Projects v2, Linear, Beads, Backlog.md, Jira and external adapters.
Install bl, then run this inside a Git repository:
bl init
bl new 'Ship the first feature !high #release' --ac 'Feature works'
bl ls
bl show BL-1 --json
bl next --explain --jsonbl init writes root backlog.yaml. Optional backlog.local.yaml overrides it
before user per-project settings; ignore this private file. Both use the
project schema and share the same trust
boundary. See configuration.
Run bl to open the TUI: j/k move, enter opens, / filters, n creates,
? lists every key, q quits. Every command accepts --json, and
bl instructions workflow prints the agent loop for the installed version.
| Source | Support |
|---|---|
| Native files | Full read and write |
| Backlog.md | Edit in place, or import |
| Beads | Local checkout through bd 1.3.0 |
| GitHub Issues and Projects v2 | Single-field edits and comments |
| Linear | Single-field edits and comments |
| External adapters | JSON-RPC over stdio |
| Jira Cloud | Discovered transitions, confirmed single-assignee replacement and ADF comments |
Around the backlog: MCP, hooks and actions, an event stream, and optional claims through Worklease 1.10.1 or later, so concurrent agents never pick up the same item.
Examples has a ready-to-copy project for each source and setup.
Using bl:
- User guide: install, import, TUI, configuration, agents, automation
- CLI
- TUI and keymap
- Query language
- Readiness and ranking
- MCP
- Hooks, actions, and agent handoff
- Events
- Worklease coordination
- Config schemas: project, user
Sources:
- Native format
- Backlog.md source and import
- Beads
- Remote sources and OAuth
- GitHub (live verification)
- Linear (live verification)
- Jira Cloud (API probe)
- External adapter protocol v1 (schema)
Project:
- Design: decisions, architecture, budgets
- Development and releases
- Benchmarks
- TUI stack spike
- Demo tape (recording)