lfnovo/open-notebook · critical · RuntimeError

Failed to load default models configuration

Error message

Failed to load default models configuration

What it means

Raised by ModelManager.get_defaults() when DefaultModels.get_instance() returns None — i.e. the singleton default-models row cannot be loaded from SurrealDB. Every model lookup (embedding, STT, TTS, default LLM, content processing) funnels through get_defaults(), so this error blocks nearly all AI features. It usually means the database is unreachable, migrations have not created the DefaultModels record, or the record was deleted.

Source

Thrown at open_notebook/ai/models.py:291

            return AIFactory.create_speech_to_text(
                model_name=model.name,
                provider=provider,
                config=config,
            )
        elif model.type == "text_to_speech":
            return AIFactory.create_text_to_speech(
                model_name=model.name,
                provider=provider,
                config=config,
            )
        else:
            raise ConfigurationError(f"Invalid model type: {model.type}")

    async def get_defaults(self) -> DefaultModels:
        """Get the default models configuration from database"""
        defaults = await DefaultModels.get_instance()
        if not defaults:
            raise RuntimeError("Failed to load default models configuration")
        return defaults

    async def get_speech_to_text(self, **kwargs) -> Optional[SpeechToTextModel]:
        """Get the default speech-to-text model"""
        defaults = await self.get_defaults()
        model_id = defaults.default_speech_to_text_model
        if not model_id:
            return None
        model = await self.get_model(model_id, **kwargs)
        assert model is None or isinstance(model, SpeechToTextModel), (
            f"Expected SpeechToTextModel but got {type(model)}"
        )
        return model

    async def get_text_to_speech(self, **kwargs) -> Optional[TextToSpeechModel]:
        """Get the default text-to-speech model"""
        defaults = await self.get_defaults()
        model_id = defaults.default_text_to_speech_model

View on GitHub (pinned to a7de90d38a)

Solutions

1. Verify SurrealDB is running (make database) and restart the API so startup migrations/seed run
2. Check OPEN_NOTEBOOK_DB* env vars point to the intended namespace/database
3. Query SurrealDB directly (SELECT * FROM default_models) to confirm the singleton exists; if missing, restart API to re-seed or recreate via the Settings API
4. As a last resort, clear and re-run migrations on a dev database

from open_notebook.database.repository import repo_query
rows = await repo_query("SELECT * FROM default_models LIMIT 1")
if not rows:
    # trigger setup / seeding before any AI call
    ...

try:
    model = await model_manager.get_default_model('language')
except RuntimeError as e:
    if 'default models configuration' in str(e):
        raise HTTPException(503, 'Models not configured — run setup')
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling any of get_speech_to_text, get_text_to_speech, get_embedding_model, get_default_model, or content_process before the DefaultModels row exists; running against a fresh/empty SurrealDB; pointing OPEN_NOTEBOOK_DB at the wrong namespace/database; API started before SurrealDB (schema migrations that seed defaults never ran).

Common situations: Fresh install where startup migrations didn't run (API started before database), wrong SurrealDB connection env vars, a migrated schema missing the seeded DefaultModels singleton, or accidentally deleting the settings record via the UI/API.

Related errors

• Error fetching models: {str(e)}
• Error creating model: {str(e)}
• Search failed: {str(e)}
• No model configured for {selection_reason}. Please go to Set
• Model is not a LanguageModel: {model}. Please check that the

AI-assisted analysis of lfnovo/open-notebook@a7de90d38a (2026-08-27). Data as JSON: /api/errors/479877b82b6be474. Report an issue: GitHub.