MemPalace/mempalace · error · ValueError

project_dirs was provided but is empty; pass at least one pr

Error message

project_dirs was provided but is empty; pass at least one project root or pass project_dirs=None to auto-detect from drawer metadata

What it means

Error "project_dirs was provided but is empty; pass at least one project root or pass project_dirs=None to auto-detect from drawer metadata" thrown in MemPalace/mempalace.

Source

Thrown at mempalace/sync.py:231

    Returns a SyncReport with bucket counts. Dry-run by default; pass
    dry_run=False to actually delete drawers and matching closets.

    Holds ``mine_palace_lock`` for the whole call so the classify pass and
    the apply branch see the same drawer snapshot. Raises
    ``MineAlreadyRunning`` if another mine is in progress on this palace.

    On apply (``dry_run=False``), at least one of ``wing`` or
    ``project_dirs`` must be set so a caller cannot accidentally prune
    every wing in a multi-project palace via auto-detected roots.
    """
    if not dry_run and not wing and not project_dirs:
        raise ValueError(
            "sync apply requires explicit wing= or project_dirs= so it cannot "
            "auto-prune every wing in a multi-project palace; pass --wing or "
            "a project directory"
        )
    if project_dirs is not None and not project_dirs:
        raise ValueError(
            "project_dirs was provided but is empty; pass at least one project "
            "root or pass project_dirs=None to auto-detect from drawer metadata"
        )

    counts = {
        "scanned": 0,
        "kept": 0,
        "gitignored": 0,
        "missing": 0,
        "no_source": 0,
        "out_of_scope": 0,
    }
    by_source: dict = defaultdict(int)
    removable_ids: list = []
    removable_sources: set = set()

    with mine_palace_lock(palace_path):
        col = get_collection(palace_path, create=False)

View on GitHub (pinned to 06cb6987f0)

Solutions

1. Pass at least one project root, or pass project_dirs=None to auto-detect

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at mempalace/sync.py:231 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: project_dirs was given as an empty list.

AI-assisted analysis of MemPalace/mempalace@06cb6987f0 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d9c90c90a9b0ee2f. Report an issue: GitHub.