gastownhall/beads · error

committing migration step: %w

Error message

committing migration step: %w

What it means

This error is returned when `CALL DOLT_COMMIT('-m', ?)` fails while committing a migration step (internal/storage/schema/schema.go:1753). The code deliberately tolerates a 'nothing to commit' result (an idempotent no-op migration) but any other commit error aborts the pass. It means the migration's changes and cursor row are staged but not durably committed to Dolt history.

Source

Thrown at internal/storage/schema/schema.go:1753

	for table := range dirtyAfter {
		if _, wasDirty := dirtyBeforeStep[table]; wasDirty {
			continue
		}
		tableSet[table] = struct{}{}
	}
	tables := make([]string, 0, len(tableSet))
	for table := range tableSet {
		tables = append(tables, table)
	}
	sort.Strings(tables)
	for _, table := range tables {
		if err := DrainCall(ctx, db, "CALL DOLT_ADD('-f', ?)", table); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("dolt add %s: %w", table, err)
		}
	}
	if err := DrainCall(ctx, db, "CALL DOLT_COMMIT('-m', ?)", "schema: apply migration "+migrationName); err != nil {
		if !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(err.Error()), "nothing to commit") {
			return fmt.Errorf("committing migration step: %w", err)
		}
	}
	return nil
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped inner error to identify the actual DOLT_COMMIT failure cause.
2. Check disk space and write permissions on the .beads directory; free space or fix the mount and retry.
3. Run `bd doctor` to detect and repair working-set/database corruption.
4. Ensure no concurrent `bd`/Dolt processes touch the database; kill stale processes and retry the migration pass.
5. If Dolt history/working set is corrupted, restore the .beads database from backup and re-run migrations.

Example fix

// before: commit fails silently blocked by full disk
# committing migration step: write .dolt/noms: no space left on device
// after: free space (or relocate the data dir), verify, retry
df -h .beads
bd doctor
bd migrate up

// Check storage headroom and writability before a committing migration pass
if info, err := os.Statfs(".beads"); err == nil && info.Bavail*uint64(info.Bsize) < minFreeBytes {
    return fmt.Errorf("insufficient disk space for migration commits")
}
if f, err := os.Create(".beads/.write-test"); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf(".beads not writable: %w", err)
} else { f.Close(); os.Remove(".beads/.write-test") }

if err := runMigrations(ctx, db, src, min, 0, true); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "committing migration step: ") &&
       !strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(err.Error()), "nothing to commit") {
        // real DOLT_COMMIT failure: free disk / repair via bd doctor,
        // then retry — per-step design makes retries converge
        if fixErr := repairAndVerify(ctx); fixErr != nil { return fixErr }
        return runMigrations(ctx, db, src, min, 0, true)
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: DOLT_COMMIT fails during commitMigrationStep with an error other than 'nothing to commit': Dolt merge/working-set conflicts, an author identity or commit environment problem, storage write failure (disk full, permissions), or internal Dolt state errors on the embedded path.

Common situations: Disk full while Dolt writes the commit; corrupted working set after a crash; .beads directory permissions changed (read-only mount); concurrent access corrupting the working set; an old/incompatible embedded Dolt engine version rejecting the commit.

Related errors

• committing migrations: %w
• committing migration %s: %w
• failed to commit is_blocked repairs to Dolt: %w
• failed to commit dependency key repairs: %w
• failed to commit orphaned dependency removals: %w

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/da4c14247529e320. Report an issue: GitHub.