What causes "capture dependency edges for rename %s -> %s: %w" in gastownhall/beads?

Check database connectivity and retry the rename; the transaction is rolled back so it is safe to retry.

capture dependency edges for rename %s -> %s: %w

Error message

capture dependency edges for rename %s -> %s: %w

What it means

This error wraps a failure while snapshotting the dependency edges of an issue immediately before its ID is renamed inside a transaction. The library captures all edges referencing oldID first so the journal can replay the rename correctly; if reading those edges fails, the rename is aborted to avoid an unrecoverable journal entry. It is only raised when journaling is enabled (journalEnabled).

Source

Thrown at internal/storage/issueops/bulk_ops.go:250

	if err := RecomputeIsBlockedInTx(ctx, tx, affectedIssues, affectedWisps); err != nil {
		return int(rowsAffected), fmt.Errorf("recompute is_blocked after source-repo delete: %w", err)
	}

	return int(rowsAffected), nil
}

//nolint:gosec // G201: table names are hardcoded
func UpdateIssueIDInTx(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx, oldID, newID string, issue *types.Issue, actor string) error {
	// Capture the edges under the OLD id before the rename rewrites them; they
	// are what the journal replays as a remove/re-add pair around the identity
	// change.
	var renameEdges []journalDependencyEdge
	if journalEnabled(ctx, tx) {
		var err error
		renameEdges, err = dependencyEdgesForIssueIDsInTx(ctx, tx, []string{oldID})
		if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("capture dependency edges for rename %s -> %s: %w", oldID, newID, err)
		}
	}
	if IsActiveWispInTx(ctx, tx, oldID) {
		if err := updateWispIDInTx(ctx, tx, oldID, newID, issue, actor); err != nil {
			return err
		}
	} else if err := updateIssueIDInTx(ctx, tx, oldID, newID, issue, actor); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	return recordRenameInJournal(ctx, tx, oldID, newID, actor, renameEdges)
}

// recordRenameInJournal replays a rename as the operations a consumer can apply
// without understanding identity changes: drop the old edges, delete the old
// bead, create the new one, re-add the edges under the new id.
func recordRenameInJournal(ctx context.Context, tx DBTX, oldID, newID, actor string, edges []journalDependencyEdge) error {
	for _, edge := range edges {
		if err := RecordDepEventInTx(ctx, tx, EventDepRemove, edge.source, edge.kind, edge.target, edge.metadata, actor); err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

Check database connectivity and retry the rename; the transaction is rolled back so it is safe to retry.
Verify the dependencies table schema matches the installed migration set (bd doctor / migrations up to date).
If journaling is misconfigured, fix or temporarily disable the journal and re-run the rename.
Inspect the wrapped error (%w) for the driver-level cause (lock timeout, IO error) and address that root cause.

Example fix

// before
err := store.UpdateIssueID(ctx, oldID, newID, issue, actor) // fails on flaky Dolt connection
// after
if err := pingStore(ctx, store); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("store unavailable, retry rename later: %w", err)
}
err := store.UpdateIssueID(ctx, oldID, newID, issue, actor)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if err := store.Ping(ctx); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("storage unavailable before rename: %w", err)
}

Try / catch

if err := store.UpdateIssueID(ctx, oldID, newID, issue, actor); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "capture dependency edges for rename") {
        // journal/DB read failed; safe to retry after connectivity check
        return retryLater(err)
    }
    return err
}

Prevention

Ping or health-check the storage backend before bulk renames.
Keep journal/aux schema migrations current.
Avoid renames during concurrent Dolt push/pull windows.

When it happens

Trigger: Calling UpdateIssueIDInTx (or UpdateIssueID) while the Dolt/journal is enabled and dependencyEdgesForIssueIDsInTx fails: the underlying SELECT over the dependencies table errors (connection drop, table locked, schema mismatch).

Common situations: Database connectivity loss mid-rename; a migration left the dependencies table in an unexpected schema; concurrent Dolt push/pull locking the table; running against an aux/journal store that is temporarily unavailable.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8cfe88a3d97a75f7. Report an issue: GitHub.