tracer update

Update fields on an existing issue

Syntax

tracer update <ISSUE_ID> [OPTIONS]

Description

Updates one or more fields on an existing issue. Only specified fields are changed; unspecified fields remain unchanged.

Arguments

ISSUE_ID · string · required

The ID of the issue to update (e.g., bd-1).

Options

--title · string

Update the issue title.

--description · string

Update the issue description.

--status · enum

Update the issue status. Valid values: open, in_progress, blocked, closed.

--priority · integer

Update the priority (0-4).

--issue-type · enum

Update the issue type. Valid values: bug, feature, task, epic, chore.

--assignee · string

Update the assignee.

--json · boolean

Output the updated issue in JSON format.

Examples

Start working on an issue

tracer update bd-5 --status in_progress

Output Format

Human-readable

✓ Updated issue bd-5

JSON (with —json flag)

{
  "id": "bd-5",
  "title": "Fix null pointer in parser",
  "description": "Parser crashes when input is empty or malformed",
  "design": "",
  "acceptance_criteria": "",
  "notes": "",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "priority": 0,
  "issue_type": "bug",
  "assignee": "agent-1",
  "estimated_minutes": null,
  "created_at": "2026-03-02T14:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-03-04T10:30:00Z",
  "closed_at": null,
  "external_ref": null,
  "dependencies": []
}

Issue not found

Error: Issue bd-999 not found

Auto-assignment Behavior

When you update an issue to in_progress status without specifying an assignee, tracer automatically assigns it to the current actor (from $TRACE_ACTOR or $USER).

# This automatically assigns to current user
tracer update bd-5 --status in_progress

# Equivalent to:
tracer update bd-5 --status in_progress --assignee "$USER"

Every update creates an event in the issue’s history. Use tracer show <id> --full to see the complete event timeline.

Common status workflow:

# Claim work
tracer update bd-5 --status in_progress

# Hit a blocker
tracer update bd-5 --status blocked

# Resume work
tracer update bd-5 --status in_progress

# Complete (or use tracer close)
tracer update bd-5 --status closed