lfnovo/open-notebook · error · HTTPException

{embed_request.item_type} not found

Error message

{embed_request.item_type} not found

What it means

404 from POST /api/embed when the item being embedded does not exist: NotFoundError from the domain layer is translated to 404 with the requested item_type interpolated into the message ('source not found' / 'note not found').

Source

Thrown at api/routers/embedding.py:118

                command_id = await note_item.save()
                if not command_id and note_item.content and note_item.content.strip():
                    raise HTTPException(
                        status_code=500, detail="Failed to submit note embedding job"
                    )
                message = "Note embedding job submitted"

            return EmbedResponse(
                success=True,
                message=message,
                item_id=item_id,
                item_type=item_type,
                command_id=command_id,
            )

    except HTTPException:
        raise
    except NotFoundError:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=404, detail=f"{embed_request.item_type} not found"
        )
    except OpenNotebookError:
        raise
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(
            f"Error embedding {embed_request.item_type} {embed_request.item_id}: {str(e)}"
        )
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=500, detail=f"Error embedding content: {str(e)}"
        )

View on GitHub (pinned to a7de90d38a)

Solutions

  1. Verify the item exists: GET the corresponding source or note endpoint with the same ID
  2. If deleted, drop the embed request or re-create the item first
  3. Ensure the ID is the full, exact database ID (no truncation or extra whitespace)
  4. Refresh the client's item list to avoid stale IDs
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const exists = await (itemType === 'source' ? api.getSource(itemId) : api.getNote(itemId)).then(() => true).catch(() => false);
if (!exists) throw new Error(`${itemType} ${itemId} not found — refresh IDs`);

Try / catch

try {
  await api.embed({ item_id: itemId, item_type: itemType });
} catch (e) {
  if (e.status === 404) { evictFromCache(itemType, itemId); return; }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: POST /api/embed with an item_id that was deleted, belongs to another notebook, or is malformed — the lookup inside the embed flow raises NotFoundError before any embedding starts.

Common situations: Client holds a stale item ID (item deleted in UI), race between delete and embed, or copy/paste error in the ID.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Could not be found', 'does not exist', 'not found in database': the resource-not-found family when an ID, slug, key, or URI lookup comes back empty — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of lfnovo/open-notebook@a7de90d38a (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/79b256c76bbb1404. Report an issue: GitHub.