Quickstart, in about a minute

Install bacio, run init in a repo, open the TUI, then let your agent in. The four steps below are the whole loop — the sidebar covers everything beyond.

1. Install

On macOS and Linux, install with Homebrew:

$ brew tap mrgeoffrich/bacio
$ brew install bacio

On Windows, install with Scoop:

$ scoop bucket add bacio https://github.com/mrgeoffrich/scoop-bacio
$ scoop install bacio

Verify the install:

$ bacio --version
bacio version vX.Y.Z

Other install paths (build from source, uninstall, where the binary lands) live on the Install page.

2. Initialize a repo

Inside any git repo, run bacio init. It registers the repo in bacio's database (at ~/.bacio/db.sqlite) and allocates a 4-letter prefix for issue keys.

$ cd ~/code/my-project
$ bacio init
Prefix:    MYPR
Name:      my-project
Path:      /Users/you/code/my-project
NextIssue: MYPR-1
Created:   2026-05-12 14:33 AEST

init is optional — any mutating bacio command (e.g. bacio issue add) inside a fresh git working tree auto-registers the repo and allocates a prefix from its name. bacio status is the lone exception: it's strictly read-only and reports registered: false rather than binding the repo. Run init explicitly when you want to pick the prefix yourself (bacio init --prefix AUTH). See bacio init for the details.

3. Open the TUI

Open the full-screen kanban for the current repo:

$ bacio tui

Four tabs, all keyboard:

• Board — kanban view, one column per state.
• Features — group issues into shipping units.
• Docs — markdown notes that live next to the work.
• History — audit log of every mutation, with actor and op.

Switch tabs with 1–4. The footer always shows the keybindings for whatever view you're in — there's no hidden help screen. q (or ctrl-c) quits; inside an overlay esc closes the overlay first. See the keybindings cheat sheet for the full surface.

4. Let your agent in

bacio ships with a skill — one markdown file that teaches Claude Code the JSON CLI. Install it once per repo:

$ bacio install-skill
installed bacio skill (12345 bytes) at /Users/you/code/my-project/.claude/skills/bacio/SKILL.md

Restart Claude Code in this repo so the new skill loads. From here, your agent can file issues, link features, write doc pages, and read history — all without leaving the repo. Re-run install-skill after upgrading bacio (brew upgrade bacio / scoop update bacio) to pick up doc updates.

Looking for higher-level workflows (file-issue, triage, stand-up, plan-feature)? See bacio install-sample-skills.