Beads store on a managed dolt sql-server

Default bd runs Dolt embedded: every bd call opens the database and takes a store flock (~1s+, serialized). Under orchestrator concurrency — loop + drive + watch read planes — bd calls queue behind their own lock and ETIMEDOUT. Server mode flips it: a persistent dolt sql-server owns the data dir, bd hits a socket, and per-call startup disappears.

What the setup is

• Data — .beads/dolt/ (server-mode convention; the embedded .beads/embeddeddolt/ content is the same <db>/.dolt layout — the move is a rename, not a conversion).
• Endpoint — 127.0.0.1:<port>, pinned in .beads/config.yaml (dolt.host/dolt.port) and .beads/dolt-server.port.
• Managed lifecycle — dolt.auto-start: false in the dolt: config block: bd must not spawn an unsupervised twin — endpoint down is a fast connection-refused, not a surprise fork. A systemd --user unit beads-dolt-<repo>-<hash6>.service (Restart=on-failure; the hash keys the unit to the store path so same-named repos can't collide) keeps the server up across reboots (linger required).
• Same config file, both paths — .beads/dolt-server-config.yaml is the unit's --config and what bd dolt start reuses manually — one port, no drift.

Install / migrate

node scripts/beads-dolt-server.ts install            # store at ./.beads or $BEADS_DIR
node scripts/beads-dolt-server.ts install --beads /path/to/.beads --port 37934
node scripts/beads-dolt-server.ts status             # mode, endpoint reachability, unit state

install is idempotent: moves embeddeddolt/ → dolt/, writes the server config + port file, flips metadata.json to dolt_mode: server, adds the dolt: block + gc.endpoint_* markers to config.yaml, renders the unit, systemctl --user enable --now, then bd dolt test.

Cold start

Endpoint down (bd fails fast with "auto-start is disabled"):

systemctl --user start beads-dolt-<repo>-<hash>.service   # managed path — `status` prints the name
bd dolt start                                            # manual fallback — same config, same port

The unit survives reboot only with linger (loginctl enable-linger <user>). Logs: journalctl --user -u beads-dolt-<repo>-<hash>.service (or .beads/dolt-server.log for bd dolt start).

Revert to embedded

node scripts/beads-dolt-server.ts uninstall        # unit + endpoint block gone
cd <repo> && mv .beads/dolt .beads/embeddeddolt
# metadata.json: dolt_mode → "embedded", drop dolt_server_host
# remove the dolt: block from .beads/config.yaml

uninstall leaves the store server-mode pointing at a dead endpoint — the mv + metadata flip is what completes a real revert.