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Overview

The bd mol current command shows where you are in a molecule workflow. It displays all steps with their status, highlights the current step, identifies what’s ready to work on next, and shows overall progress.

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Usage

# Show current molecule for assigned agent
bd mol current

# Show specific molecule
bd mol current <molecule-id>

# Show molecules for specific agent
bd mol current --for alice

# View first 50 steps of large molecule
bd mol current bd-large-mol --limit 50

# View specific step range
bd mol current bd-large-mol --range 100-150

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Arguments

  • [molecule-id] - Optional molecule ID. If not provided, infers from in_progress issues assigned to current agent.

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Options

  • --for <agent> - Show molecules for specific agent/assignee
  • --limit <n> - Maximum number of steps to display (default: auto, 0 = show summary for large molecules)
  • --range <start-end> - Display specific step range (e.g., “1-50”, “100-150”)
  • --json - Output results in JSON format

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Step Status Indicators

Each step is shown with a status indicator:
  • [done] - Step is complete (closed)
  • [current] - Step is in_progress (you are here)
  • [ready] - Step is ready to start (unblocked)
  • [blocked] - Step is blocked by dependencies
  • [pending] - Step is waiting

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Large Molecule Handling

For molecules with more than 100 steps, a summary is shown instead of the full list: 
Molecule: bd-mega-project
  Large scale refactoring initiative

Progress: 45 / 237 steps (19.0%)
Current step: bd-mega-project.phase2.auth

Note: This molecule has 237 steps (threshold: 100).
To view steps, use one of:
  bd mol current bd-mega-project --limit 50        # First 50 steps
  bd mol current bd-mega-project --range 1-50     # Steps 1-50
  bd mol progress bd-mega-project                 # Efficient progress summary
Use --limit or --range to view specific sections.

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Examples

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Show Current Work

See which molecule you’re currently working on: 
bd mol current
Output: 
You're working on molecule bd-feature-auth
  Implement user authentication
  Assigned to: alice

  [done] bd-auth-1: Design authentication flow
  [done] bd-auth-2: Set up database schema
  [current] bd-auth-3: Implement login endpoint <- YOU ARE HERE
  [ready] bd-auth-4: Implement logout endpoint
  [blocked] bd-auth-5: Add session management
  [pending] bd-auth-6: Write integration tests

Progress: 2/6 steps complete

Next ready: bd-auth-4 - Implement logout endpoint
  Start with: bd update bd-auth-4 --claim

💡 Run `bd show bd-auth-3` to see detailed instructions.

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Show Specific Molecule

Check status of any molecule by ID: 
bd mol current bd-deploy-staging

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Show Another Agent’s Work

See what another agent is working on: 
bd mol current --for bob
Output shows all molecules with in_progress steps assigned to Bob.

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View Large Molecule Steps

For molecules with many steps, use --limit or --range: 
# First 50 steps
bd mol current bd-large-refactor --limit 50

# Steps 100-150
bd mol current bd-large-refactor --range 100-150

# Next 20 steps after step 50
bd mol current bd-large-refactor --range 51-70

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Multiple Active Molecules

If working on multiple molecules simultaneously: 
bd mol current
Output: 
You're working on molecule bd-feature-auth
  Implement user authentication
  [current] bd-auth-3: Implement login endpoint <- YOU ARE HERE
  Progress: 2/6 steps complete

You're working on molecule bd-bugfix-cache
  Fix cache invalidation bug
  [current] bd-cache-2: Add test case <- YOU ARE HERE
  Progress: 1/3 steps complete

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JSON Output

[
  {
    "molecule_id": "bd-feature-auth",
    "molecule_title": "Implement user authentication",
    "assignee": "alice",
    "current_step": {
      "id": "bd-auth-3",
      "title": "Implement login endpoint",
      "status": "in_progress"
    },
    "next_step": {
      "id": "bd-auth-4",
      "title": "Implement logout endpoint",
      "status": "open"
    },
    "steps": [
      {
        "issue": { "id": "bd-auth-1", "title": "Design authentication flow" },
        "status": "done",
        "is_current": false
      },
      {
        "issue": { "id": "bd-auth-3", "title": "Implement login endpoint" },
        "status": "current",
        "is_current": true
      }
    ],
    "completed": 2,
    "total": 6
  }
]

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Workflow Integration

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Starting Work

Begin work on the next ready step: 
# Check what's ready
bd mol current

# Claim the next step
bd update bd-auth-4 --claim

# Verify you're on it
bd mol current

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Completing Steps

When closing a step, bd close automatically shows the next step: 
bd close bd-auth-3 --reason "Login endpoint implemented"
Output: 
✓ Closed bd-auth-3

Next ready in molecule:
  bd-auth-4: Implement logout endpoint

→ Marked in_progress (use --no-auto to skip)

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Monitoring Progress

Track molecule progress over time: 
# Morning: check status
bd mol current
# Progress: 2/6 steps complete

# ... work on steps ...

# Evening: check status
bd mol current
# Progress: 4/6 steps complete

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Use Cases

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Agent Onboarding

New agent joins project and checks assigned work: 
# What am I working on?
bd mol current

# What's the current step about?
bd show bd-auth-3

# Start working
bd update bd-auth-3 --claim

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Multi-Agent Coordination

Team lead checks team progress: 
# Check Alice's work
bd mol current --for alice

# Check Bob's work
bd mol current --for bob

# Identify bottlenecks
for agent in alice bob charlie; do
  echo "\n=== $agent ==="
  bd mol current --for $agent --json | \
    jq -r '.[].steps[] | select(.status == "blocked") | .issue.title'
done

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Patrol Status Checks

Monitor ephemeral patrol molecule progress: 
# Check patrol status
bd mol current wisp-patrol-run-$(date +%Y%m%d)

# See detailed step info
bd mol current wisp-patrol-run-$(date +%Y%m%d) --json | \
  jq '.steps[] | {id: .issue.id, status: .status}'

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Release Management

Track release molecule across phases: 
# Check release progress
bd mol current bd-release-v2.0

# View specific phase
bd mol show bd-release-v2.0 | grep -A5 "Phase 2"

# View deployment steps (assuming they're steps 50-75)
bd mol current bd-release-v2.0 --range 50-75

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Finding Your Molecule

If you can’t remember the molecule ID: 
# Show your current molecules
bd mol current

# List all open epics (molecules)
bd list --type epic --status open

# Search by title
bd list --type epic | grep auth

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Fallback Behavior

When no molecule ID is provided, bd mol current looks for molecules in this order:
  1. Molecules with in_progress steps assigned to you
  2. Molecules bonded to your hooked issues
  3. If none found, shows helpful message:
No molecules in progress for alice.

To start work on a molecule:
  bd mol wisp create <proto-id>  # Instantiate as ephemeral wisp
  bd update <step-id> --claim    # Claim a step
  • bd mol show - Display molecule structure and all steps
  • bd mol progress - Efficient progress summary (no step list)
  • bd show - View detailed instructions for a specific step
  • bd update - Claim a step or update its status
  • bd close - Complete a step (auto-advances to next)
  • bd list - List all issues including molecules

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