HKUDS/Vibe-Trading · error · ValueError

artifact '{artifact.name}' already exists in universe '{arti

Error message

artifact '{artifact.name}' already exists in universe '{artifact.universe}'

What it means

The in-memory/file strategy store enforces the same uniqueness rule as the SQLite one: register_artifact scans existing artifacts and raises ValueError when an artifact with the same name and universe is already present, before any validation-status checks run.

Source

Thrown at agent/src/strategy_store/store.py:169

        self._lock = threading.RLock()
        self._artifacts: dict[str, Artifact] = {}
        self._bench_results: list[BenchResult] = []
        self._decay_snapshots: list[DecaySnapshot] = []
        self._bench_counter: int = 0
        self._decay_counter: int = 0

    # -- Artifact CRUD -------------------------------------------------------

    @_synchronized
    def register_artifact(self, artifact: Artifact) -> str:
        """Register a new artifact, assigning an ID and timestamps.

        Returns:
            The assigned ``artifact_id``.
        """
        for existing in self._artifacts.values():
            if existing.name == artifact.name and existing.universe == artifact.universe:
                raise ValueError(
                    f"artifact '{artifact.name}' already exists in "
                    f"universe '{artifact.universe}'"
                )
        # A brand-new record has no prior validation history, so its implicit
        # "current" state is UNVALIDATED — registering directly with
        # validation_status=APPROVED would skip the VALIDATED step.
        validate_validation_status_transition(
            ValidationStatus.UNVALIDATED, artifact.validation_status
        )
        now = _now_iso()
        artifact_id = artifact.id or _new_artifact_id()
        stored = replace(
            artifact,
            id=artifact_id,
            created_at=artifact.created_at or now,
            updated_at=now,
        )
        self._artifacts[artifact_id] = stored

View on GitHub (pinned to 80ffdda44c)

Solutions

Query the store for the (name, universe) pair first and update instead of re-registering
Reset/recreate the store between import runs in scripts and tests

Example fix

# before
store.register_artifact(artifact)
# after
existing = next((a for a in store._artifacts.values() if a.name == artifact.name and a.universe == artifact.universe), None)
if existing is None:
    store.register_artifact(artifact)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

dup = any(a.name == artifact.name and a.universe == artifact.universe for a in store._artifacts.values())
if not dup:
    store.register_artifact(artifact)

Try / catch

try:
    store.register_artifact(artifact)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'already exists' in str(e): pass  # idempotent re-registration
    else: raise

Prevention

Reset stores between test cases and notebook re-runs
Check for the (name, universe) pair before registering
Treat register as create-only; use update for changes

When it happens

Trigger: Registering the same artifact twice into the same store instance (e.g. via _register_active_artifact in tests or replays), or reloading an import script without a fresh store.

Common situations: Notebook sessions re-running a registration cell; test fixtures that forget to reset the store; dual-writing code paths registering the active artifact again.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of HKUDS/Vibe-Trading@80ffdda44c (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3404c34c877363b0. Report an issue: GitHub.