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Syntax

tracer close <ISSUE_ID>... [OPTIONS]

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Description

Closes one or more issues and records the reason for closure. This sets the status to closed and adds a timestamp.

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Arguments

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ISSUE_ID
string
required
One or more issue IDs to close (e.g., bd-1 bd-2 bd-3).

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Options

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--reason
string
default:"Completed"
Reason for closing the issue. Recorded in the issue’s event history.
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--json
boolean
Output the closed issue(s) in JSON format.

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Examples

tracer close bd-5

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Output Format

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Human-readable (single issue)

✓ Closed issue bd-5

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Human-readable (multiple issues)

✓ Closed issue bd-1
✓ Closed issue bd-2
✓ Closed issue bd-3

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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": "closed",
    "priority": 0,
    "issue_type": "bug",
    "assignee": "agent-1",
    "estimated_minutes": null,
    "created_at": "2026-03-02T14:30:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2026-03-04T11:00:00Z",
    "closed_at": "2026-03-04T11:00:00Z",
    "external_ref": null,
    "dependencies": []
  }
]

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Issue not found

Error: Issue bd-999 not found

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Closure Reasons

Common closure reasons:
  • "Completed" (default) - Work finished successfully
  • "Fixed and tested" - Bug resolved
  • "Implemented" - Feature completed
  • "Duplicate of bd-X" - Duplicate issue
  • "Won't fix" - Out of scope or declined
  • "Cannot reproduce" - Bug not reproducible
  • "Obsolete" - No longer relevant

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Batch Closing

Close related work efficiently: 
# Close all subtasks of an epic
tracer close bd-5 bd-6 bd-7 bd-8 --reason "Epic bd-1 complete"

# Close discovered issues
tracer close bd-15 bd-16 --reason "All auth issues resolved"
Closing an issue sets closed_at timestamp and creates a Closed event with the specified reason. The issue remains in the database and can be queried with tracer list --status closed.
For AI agents, include implementation details in the reason:
tracer close bd-5 --reason "Implemented null checks in parser.rs:42-48, added tests"
This creates a helpful audit trail for humans reviewing completed work.

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