gastownhall/beads · error

sync to backup: %w

Error message

sync to backup: %w

What it means

BackupAdd reported an address conflict (another backup remote already points at the same file:// URL) and the code recovered by syncing via the existing remote's name via BackupSync(ctx, syncDB, conflict) — but that sync itself failed. This means the pre-existing backup remote (e.g. "default" registered by `bd backup init`) could not be synced to the destination.

Source

Thrown at internal/storage/dolt/store.go:1320

		return err
	}
	backupName := "backup_export"

	syncDB, err := s.oneShotConn(0)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	defer syncDB.Close()

	// Register as a backup remote (idempotent — remove first if exists).
	_ = versioncontrolops.BackupRemove(ctx, s.db, backupName)
	if err := versioncontrolops.BackupAdd(ctx, s.db, backupName, backupURL); err != nil {
		// Another backup (e.g. "default" registered by `bd backup init`) may
		// already point to this URL. In that case, sync using the existing
		// remote name rather than failing.
		if conflict := versioncontrolops.ExtractAddressConflictName(err); conflict != "" {
			if syncErr := versioncontrolops.BackupSync(ctx, syncDB, conflict); syncErr != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("sync to backup: %w", syncErr)
			}
			return nil
		}
		return fmt.Errorf("register backup remote: %w", err)
	}
	if err := versioncontrolops.BackupSync(ctx, syncDB, backupName); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("sync to backup: %w", err)
	}
	return nil
}

// RestoreDatabase restores the database from a Dolt backup at dir.
// When force is true, an existing database is overwritten.
func (s *DoltStore) RestoreDatabase(ctx context.Context, dir string, force bool) error {
	info, err := os.Stat(dir)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("backup source does not exist: %w", err)
	}

View on GitHub (pinned to 71377f2769)

Solutions

1. Inspect the wrapped BackupSync error: for corrupt/partial destination state, delete the destination directory contents and re-run the backup.
2. Verify the existing conflicting remote's URL matches your intended destination (`dolt backup` / backup list); if it points elsewhere, remove or rename it and retry.
3. Check available disk space at the destination — a full disk aborts the sync partway.
4. Retry after resolving transient connection issues; syncDB operations go over SQL and inherit connection-class failures.

// ensure the conflicting existing remote actually points at the same dir
rows, err := db.Query("CALL DOLT_BACKUP('-v')")
// compare each remote's URL against your intended file:// URL before syncing

if err := store.BackupDatabase(ctx, dir); err != nil {
    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "sync to backup") {
        // stale/corrupt destination: wipe and start clean
        os.RemoveAll(dir)
        os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755)
        err = store.BackupDatabase(ctx, dir)
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: BackupAdd returned an address-conflict error, ExtractAddressConflictName yielded a remote name, and BackupSync on that remote failed — e.g. the existing remote's URL differs from the target, the destination directory is corrupt/not a Dolt backup, or the connection dropped mid-sync.

Common situations: `bd backup init` previously registered a remote with the same URL pointing at a stale or wiped directory; the destination contains a partial/failed backup that Dolt refuses to update; disk full during the sync; server connection error on syncDB.

Related errors

• register backup remote: %w
• sync to backup: %w
• register backup remote: %w
• sync backup %s: %w
• database not available: %w

AI-assisted analysis of gastownhall/beads@71377f2769 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/68685fdbee350047. Report an issue: GitHub.