gastownhall/beads · error

linking proto A: %w

Error message

linking proto A: %w

What it means

After the compound is created, bondProtoProtoInto links proto A to it with a parent-child dependency; if w.AddDependency fails the bond aborts with this error naming proto A.

Source

Thrown at cmd/bd/mol_bond.go:350

		Labels:      []string{MoleculeLabel},
		BondedFrom: []types.BondRef{
			{SourceID: protoA.ID, BondType: bondType, BondPoint: ""},
			{SourceID: protoB.ID, BondType: bondType, BondPoint: ""},
		},
	}
	if err := w.CreateIssue(ctx, compound, actorName); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating compound: %w", err)
	}
	compoundID := compound.ID

	// Add parent-child dependencies from compound to both proto roots
	depA := &types.Dependency{
		IssueID:     protoA.ID,
		DependsOnID: compoundID,
		Type:        types.DepParentChild,
	}
	if err := w.AddDependency(ctx, depA, actorName); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("linking proto A: %w", err)
	}

	depB := &types.Dependency{
		IssueID:     protoB.ID,
		DependsOnID: compoundID,
		Type:        types.DepParentChild,
	}
	if err := w.AddDependency(ctx, depB, actorName); err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("linking proto B: %w", err)
	}

	// For sequential/conditional bonding, add blocking dependency: B blocks on A
	// Sequential: B runs after A completes (any outcome)
	// Conditional: B runs only if A fails
	if bondType == types.BondTypeSequential || bondType == types.BondTypeConditional {
		depType := types.DepBlocks
		if bondType == types.BondTypeConditional {
			depType = types.DepConditionalBlocks

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Check the wrapped inner error for the driver cause.
2. Close competing bd processes and retry the bond; note the compound may already exist from the failed attempt — check for it before re-running to avoid duplicates.
3. Verify the .beads storage is writable and healthy (bd doctor), then re-run.

// verify compound exists and is writable before linking deps
if _, err := w.GetIssue(ctx, compoundID); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("compound %s not retrievable: %w", compoundID, err)
}

if err := bond(ctx, w, a, b, bt, actor); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "linking proto A:") {
        // compound was created; look it up before retrying to avoid duplicates
    }
    return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: w.AddDependency(ctx, depA, actorName) errors right after compound creation — driver write failure, lock contention, or the compound ID not yet visible to the writer.

Common situations: Database lock from a concurrent bd process mid-bond, or an earlier partial bond leaving inconsistent state the writer rejects.

Related errors

• load dependency records: %w
• read dependencies for %s: %w
• copy dependency %s→%s: %w
• creating compound: %w
• no store is open for this workspace

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/12fb32e464f13a00. Report an issue: GitHub.