block/buzz · critical · anyhow::Error

Failed to backfill pubkey_allowlist (required when BUZZ_REQU

Error message

Failed to backfill pubkey_allowlist (required when BUZZ_REQUIRE_RELAY_MEMBERSHIP=true): {e}

What it means

backfill_from_allowlist() migrates existing pubkey_allowlist entries into relay_members for the deployment community, deliberately before owner bootstrap so enabling membership does not lock existing users out. With enforcement on, any DB failure during this idempotent migration is fatal; without enforcement it is logged and skipped.

Source

Thrown at crates/buzz-relay/src/main.rs:312

                }
            }
        }
    };

    // NIP-43: migrate any existing pubkey_allowlist entries to relay_members.
    // Idempotent — safe to run every startup. Must run before bootstrap_owner
    // so that existing allowlist users become relay members before the owner
    // is promoted (otherwise enabling membership locks everyone out).
    if let Some(community) = deployment_community {
        match db.backfill_from_allowlist(community).await {
            Ok(0) => {}
            Ok(n) => info!("Backfilled {n} pubkey_allowlist entries into relay_members"),
            Err(e) => {
                if config.require_relay_membership {
                    error!(
                        "Fatal: failed to backfill allowlist with membership enforcement enabled: {e}"
                    );
                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                        "Failed to backfill pubkey_allowlist (required when BUZZ_REQUIRE_RELAY_MEMBERSHIP=true): {e}"
                    ));
                } else {
                    error!("Failed to backfill pubkey_allowlist (non-fatal): {e}");
                }
            }
        }
    }

    // NIP-43: ensure the configured relay owner always holds the owner role
    // within the deployment community.
    if let (Some(community), Some(owner_pubkey)) =
        (deployment_community, config.relay_owner_pubkey.as_ref())
    {
        match db.bootstrap_owner(community, owner_pubkey).await {
            Ok(()) => info!(pubkey = %owner_pubkey, "Relay owner bootstrapped"),
            Err(e) => {
                if config.require_relay_membership {

View on GitHub (pinned to f956e6fe06)

Solutions

Inspect {e} for the failing statement or constraint
Ensure migrations are current so relay_members matches the expected shape
Retry boot — the backfill is idempotent and resumes cleanly

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Validate before calling

# The backfill writes relay_members: confirm the table is reachable and writable.
psql "$DATABASE_URL" -c 'select 1 from relay_members limit 1' || { echo 'relay_members unreadable'; exit 1; }

Try / catch

# docker-compose: bounded restarts; the backfill is idempotent and resumes
relay:
  restart: on-failure:5

Prevention

Apply migrations before enabling membership enforcement so relay_members exists
Run the enforcement rollout against a rehearsed copy of the allowlist first
Watch the 'Backfilled N pubkey_allowlist entries' log to confirm completion after restart

When it happens

Trigger: DB write errors inserting relay_members rows; duplicate/conflicting rows from a partially completed earlier backfill; schema drift after skipped migrations.

Common situations: Enabling NIP-43 enforcement on an older deployment with a populated allowlist; a previous boot crashed mid-backfill; replica-promoted DB with constraint drift.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of block/buzz@f956e6fe06 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8f7bd4781467cee0. Report an issue: GitHub.