gastownhall/beads · error

batch create: %w

Error message

batch create: %w

What it means

Inside the apply transaction, `tx.CreateIssues` bulk-inserts all plan nodes' issues. Any storage/DB failure is wrapped as `batch create: ...`, and because it happens in a transaction the entire graph apply is rolled back — no partial nodes are left behind.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/graph_apply.go:965

		for i, node := range plan.Nodes {
			issue, err := graphApplyNodeIssue(node, opts, actor, owner)
			if err != nil {
				return err
			}
			if node.Assignee != "" {
				if node.AssignAfterCreate {
					pendingAssignees[i] = node.Assignee
				} else {
					issue.Assignee = node.Assignee
				}
			}

			issues = append(issues, issue)
		}

		if err := tx.CreateIssues(ctx, issues, actor); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("batch create: %w", err)
		}

		for i, node := range plan.Nodes {
			keyToID[node.Key] = issues[i].ID
		}

		// Resolve MetadataRefs now that all IDs are known.
		for i, node := range plan.Nodes {
			if len(node.MetadataRefs) == 0 {
				continue
			}
			metaJSON, err := types.MergeMetadataRefs(issues[i].Metadata, node.MetadataRefs, keyToID)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("node %q: %w", node.Key, err)
			}
			updates := map[string]interface{}{
				"metadata": metaJSON,
			}

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Inspect the wrapped inner error to identify the driver-level cause.
2. Verify the storage backend (Dolt) is running and reachable.
3. Check for duplicate/conflicting issue keys already present in the database.
4. Re-run the apply after fixing storage conditions; the transactional rollback means retry is safe.

if err := bd Doctor/health check; storage unreachable, abort before apply:
if !storageReachable(doltAddr) { return errors.New("storage backend unavailable; aborting graph apply") }

err := bd.GraphApply(ctx, plan)
if err != nil && strings.HasPrefix(err.Error(), "batch create:") {
  // transaction rolled back; safe to retry after checking backend health
  return retryWithBackoff(func() error { _, err := bd.GraphApply(ctx, plan); return err }, 3)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any underlying driver/Dolt error during batch insert: constraint violations, storage backend unavailable, invalid field values that pass client validation but fail at the driver, or I/O errors.

Common situations: Dolt server down or unreachable mid-apply; duplicate issue keys colliding with existing data; corrupted local Dolt database; disk full.

Related errors

• node %q: updating metadata refs: %w
• graph create: %w
• line %d (%s): %w
• resolving ID %s: %w
• failed to check parent issue: %w

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7655ad7761bc276b. Report an issue: GitHub.