mastra-ai/mastra · error · Error

No active thread context and no cursor or threadId was provi

Error message

No active thread context and no cursor or threadId was provided for mode="messages". Pass a threadId (use mode="threads" to discover thread IDs) or a message ID as cursor.

What it means

For mode="messages", Mastra needs a thread to read from: either an explicitly passed threadId, a cursor, or the agent's current thread. When none can be resolved (resource scope, no default thread), it throws with guidance to pass a threadId or message-ID cursor.

Source

Thrown at packages/memory/src/tools/om-tools.ts:1450

          currentThreadId: currentThreadId || '',
          page: page ?? 0,
          limit: limit ?? 20,
          before,
          after,
        });
      }

      const usedDefaultThreadId = !explicitThreadId && !cursor && Boolean(currentThreadId);
      const defaultThreadNote =
        usedDefaultThreadId && isResourceScope ? `threadId wasn't passed so used default ${currentThreadId}.\n\n` : '';
      // Reuse the shared `resolvedExplicitThreadId` ('current' -> currentThreadId) mapping,
      // falling back to the current thread when no threadId or cursor was provided.
      const resolvedThreadId = resolvedExplicitThreadId || (usedDefaultThreadId ? currentThreadId : undefined);
      const hasResolvedThreadId = typeof resolvedThreadId === 'string' && resolvedThreadId.length > 0;
      const hasCursor = typeof cursor === 'string' && cursor.length > 0;

      if (!hasResolvedThreadId && !hasCursor) {
        throw new Error(
          isResourceScope
            ? 'No active thread context and no cursor or threadId was provided for mode="messages". Pass a threadId (use mode="threads" to discover thread IDs) or a message ID as cursor.'
            : 'No active thread context for mode="messages". This tool is limited to the current thread and no current thread could be resolved.',
        );
      }

      let targetThreadId: string | undefined;
      let threadScope: string | undefined;

      if (!isResourceScope) {
        targetThreadId = currentThreadId;
        threadScope = currentThreadId || undefined;
      } else if (hasResolvedThreadId) {
        if (!resourceId) {
          throw new Error('Resource ID is required for recall');
        }
        if (!memory.getThreadById) {
          throw new Error('Memory instance cannot verify thread access for recall');

View on GitHub (pinned to 75dd419e61)

Solutions

  1. Pass an explicit threadId to the tool call (discover one with mode="threads").
  2. Provide a message ID as cursor to continue browsing from that point.
  3. Invoke the tool within an agent run where threadId is supplied so currentThreadId resolves.

Example fix

// before
const res = await recallTool.execute({ context: { mode: 'messages' } });
// after
const res = await recallTool.execute({ context: { mode: 'messages', threadId: 'thread-abc' } });
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const hasThread = typeof threadId === 'string' && threadId.length > 0;
const hasCursor = typeof cursor === 'string' && cursor.length > 0;
if (!hasThread && !hasCursor && !currentThreadId) {
  throw new Error('Provide threadId or cursor for mode="messages"');
}

Type guard

function canRecallMessages(args: { threadId?: string; cursor?: string; currentThreadId?: string }): boolean {
  return Boolean(args.threadId || args.cursor || args.currentThreadId);
}

Try / catch

try {
  return await recall({ mode: 'messages', threadId });
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof Error && err.message.includes('No active thread context')) {
    const threads = await recall({ mode: 'threads', resourceId });
    return recall({ mode: 'messages', threadId: threads.threads[0]?.id });
  }
  throw err;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: mode="messages" called with no threadId, no cursor, and no currentThreadId resolvable in the run context (usedDefaultThreadId with empty currentThreadId).

Common situations: Invoking the recall tool outside an agent run so no 'current thread' exists; agent run without threadId while the tool needs conversation history; asking 'show messages' before any conversation started.

Understand the failure class

Background: Missing required parameter errors: what 'X is required' and 'the required X param is missing' mean, and how to fix them — this error's family across 27 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of mastra-ai/mastra@75dd419e61 (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6a9793576726ddff. Report an issue: GitHub.