JuliusBrussee/caveman · error

replacement memory %s already exists

Error message

replacement memory %s already exists

What it means

Error "replacement memory %s already exists" thrown in JuliusBrussee/caveman.

Source

Thrown at mem/store.go:233

	defer tx.Rollback()

	var old Memory
	if err := scanMemory(tx.QueryRow(memorySelect+` WHERE id = ? AND valid_until IS NULL`, oldID), &old); err != nil {
		if err == sql.ErrNoRows {
			return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("memory %s is not current", oldID)
		}
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("read current memory: %w", err)
	}
	if old.Text == newText {
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("replacement text is identical to current memory")
	}
	newID := memID(newText)
	var exists int
	if err := tx.QueryRow(`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM memories WHERE id = ?`, newID).Scan(&exists); err != nil {
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("check replacement memory: %w", err)
	}
	if exists > 0 {
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("replacement memory %s already exists", newID)
	}
	now := time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339Nano)
	if _, err := tx.Exec(
		`INSERT INTO memories
		   (id, text, created_at, valid_from, supersedes)
		 VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
		newID, newText, now, now, oldID,
	); err != nil {
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("insert replacement memory: %w", err)
	}
	res, err := tx.Exec(
		`UPDATE memories
		    SET valid_until = ?, superseded_by = ?
		  WHERE id = ? AND valid_until IS NULL`,
		now, newID, oldID,
	)
	if err != nil {
		return Memory{}, fmt.Errorf("expire old memory: %w", err)

View on GitHub (pinned to 27d5a3981a)

Solutions

1. Choose a different id; the replacement memory already exists.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at mem/store.go:233 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of JuliusBrussee/caveman@27d5a3981a (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6eddd0b91876cef5. Report an issue: GitHub.