gastownhall/beads · error

failed to import config %q: %w

Error message

failed to import config %q: %w

What it means

importFromLocalJSONLWithOpts imports memory records found in the JSONL as config entries via store.SetConfig. If the Dolt-backed SetConfig write fails, the error is wrapped with the offending config key so you know which memory record could not be persisted.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/import_shared.go:1153

	return importFromLocalJSONLWithOpts(ctx, store, localPath, true)
}

// importFromLocalJSONLWithOpts is the shared implementation. It detects
// memory records (lines with "_type":"memory") and imports them via
// SetConfig, while routing regular issue records through the normal path.
// conflictSkip selects insert-if-new (true) vs UPSERT (false) for issue rows.
func importFromLocalJSONLWithOpts(ctx context.Context, store storage.DoltStorage, localPath string, conflictSkip bool) (*importLocalResult, error) {
	issues, configEntries, err := parseJSONLFile(localPath)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	result := &importLocalResult{}

	// Import memories
	for key, value := range configEntries {
		if err := store.SetConfig(ctx, key, value); err != nil {
			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to import config %q: %w", key, err)
		}
		result.Memories++
	}

	// Import issues
	if len(issues) > 0 {
		// Auto-detect prefix from first issue if not already configured
		configuredPrefix, err := store.GetConfig(ctx, "issue_prefix")
		if err == nil && strings.TrimSpace(configuredPrefix) == "" {
			firstPrefix := utils.ExtractIssuePrefix(issues[0].ID)
			if firstPrefix != "" {
				if err := store.SetConfig(ctx, "issue_prefix", firstPrefix); err != nil {
					return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to set issue_prefix from imported issues: %w", err)
				}
			}
		}

		opts := ImportOptions{

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Read the inner %w error — it names the actual DB failure (locked, permission, connection)
2. Check DB connectivity/server: `bd doctor` or verify the Dolt server is running
3. If on gateway/hosted mode with read-only credentials, ensure writes are permitted or run from a rig with write access
4. Free disk space / clear DB locks, then retry the import

Example fix

// before: importing memories into a read-only gateway DB
bd bootstrap  # fails: failed to import config "beads:memory:xyz": ...
// after: use credentials/endpoint with write access, or set the config explicitly
bd config set beads:memory:xyz "value"

// Ensure the store is reachable and writable before importing
if err := store.SetConfig(ctx, "_import_probe", "1"); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("store not writable: %w", err)
}
_ = store.SetConfig(ctx, "_import_probe", "")

if err := store.SetConfig(ctx, key, value); err != nil {
    log.Printf("config %q not imported: %v", key, err)
    // check cause: locked DB, permission denied, or connection refused
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `bd bootstrap`, `bd init --from-jsonl`, or the auto-import fallback when a line with "_type":"memory" parsed fine but store.SetConfig(ctx, key, value) failed — typically a database-level failure: DB not open/locked, schema missing, permission denied, or gateway read-only credentials.

Common situations: Importing into a hosted/gateway database with read-only credentials; a Dolt server that is down or locked by another process; importing into a freshly created DB whose config table schema isn't initialized yet; disk full on the Dolt data directory.

Related errors

• failed to set issue_prefix from imported issues: %w
• failed to load config: %w
• db: SetConfig %s: %w
• ErrTransaction
• ErrQuery

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/386569968ea5ede6. Report an issue: GitHub.