Fresh config via 'project add' leaves config/DB inconsistent: auto-created 'main' is default in config but never synced to the DB

[groksrc]

Summary

On a brand-new config dir, the first bm project add <name> produces a wedged state: config.json contains the auto-created main project AND default_project: "main", but the projects table only contains the explicitly added project — and no row has is_default=1. Every default-project code path then fails with Project not found: 'main'.

Repro

export BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR=/tmp/bm-fresh/config BASIC_MEMORY_HOME=/tmp/bm-fresh/home
bm project add qa /tmp/bm-fresh/notes --local
bm tool read-note "anything"
# Error during read_note: Project not found: 'main'
bm project list   # shows only 'qa'

config.json after: projects = {main: $BASIC_MEMORY_HOME, qa: ...}, default_project: main. DB after: only qa, is_default empty everywhere.

Root cause (observed, not fully traced)

ConfigManager auto-creates main (config.py ~:191) when initializing a fresh config, but project add only inserts the added project into the DB — nothing reconciles the auto-created main (or the default_project pointer) into the projects table. Reconciliation presumably happens on some other path (server/sync startup), which a CLI-only flow never hits.

Severity

Combined with the set-default bug (filed separately), the user cannot self-heal from the CLI: reads fail on the missing default and bm project default <name> refuses to run. Workaround today: pass --project everywhere or hand-edit config.json.

Possible directions

• Reconcile config projects -> DB during project add / CLI init (same reconciliation the server path uses)
• Or: don't auto-create main/default_project in config when the first real action is an explicit project add — make the added project the default when it is the only one

Found during manual QA (same session as #972).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[claude]

Triage & Fix: Fresh config project add leaves config/DB inconsistent

Classification: Bug — High priority, affects CLI component and DB sync

Root cause (confirmed):

1. BasicMemoryConfig.model_post_init auto-creates main in config when no projects exist (fresh install)
2. bm project add qa /path adds qa to both config AND DB, but main is only in config
3. Config has default_project: "main" but DB has no main row and no is_default=True row
4. Every MCP tool lookup fails with "Project not found: 'main'"
5. The lifespan reconcile_projects_with_config that normally fixes this is not called in the ASGI client path used by CLI (local ASGITransport does not execute FastAPI lifespan startup)

Fix plan: In project_service.add_project, after creating the new project, check if the config's default_project points to a project that doesn't exist in DB. If so, promote the newly added project as the default (update both config and DB). This is the targeted fix suggested in the issue.

• Gather context and analyze issue
• Read relevant source files (config.py, project add CLI, DB reconciliation)
• Classify issue and add labels
• Implement fix in project_service.add_project
• Add regression test
• Run checks (just fast-check)
• Commit and push

View job run