thedotmack/claude-mem · error

observation_search: "query" is required

Error message

observation_search: "query" is required

What it means

The observation_search tool handler requires a 'query' argument and throws this error when it is missing, not a string, or blank after trimming. Search without a query is meaningless, so the handler fails fast before building the ServerSearchObservationsRequest.

Solutions

1. Supply a non-empty query string, e.g. { query: 'deployment errors' }
2. If you want unfiltered listing, use a broad query term or a different listing tool instead of an empty query
3. Guard the caller: if (!query?.trim()) skip the call or prompt the user for input
4. Verify the MCP client is not URL-encoding/trimming the query down to nothing

Example fix

// before
await callTool('observation_search', { limit: 10 });
// after
await callTool('observation_search', { query: 'typescript build failure', limit: 10 });

function canSearch(args) {
  return typeof args?.query === 'string' && args.query.trim().length > 0;
}
if (!canSearch(args)) return []; // skip the call instead of erroring

function hasQuery(args: unknown): args is { query: string } & Record<string, unknown> {
  return typeof (args as any)?.query === 'string' && (args as any).query.trim().length > 0;
}

try {
  return await callTool('observation_search', { query, limit });
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes('"query" is required')) {
    return { results: [], skipped: 'empty query' };
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking observation_search with args where query is undefined, null, a non-string, or '' / whitespace-only (handler check: typeof args?.query !== 'string' || args.query.trim().length === 0).

Common situations: Clients sending only limit or projectId; a UI passing an empty search box value straight through; refactors renaming query to q or searchTerm; agents constructing empty search calls to 'list all' observations.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 libraries.

Related errors

• " " is required
• Missing required argument: name
• observation_context: "query" is required
• observation_generation_status: "jobId" is required
• observation_record_event: "eventType" is required

AI-assisted analysis of thedotmack/claude-mem@d8bc9755e7 (2026-09-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a0065e8399b734fe. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/servers/mcp-server.ts:311

    ...(args.platformSource !== undefined ? { platformSource: normalizeMcpPlatformSource(args.platformSource) } : {}),
    ...(args.payload !== undefined ? { payload: args.payload } : {}),
    ...(args.generate !== undefined ? { generate: args.generate } : {}),
  };
  const response = await ctx.client.recordEvent(request);
  return formatJsonResult(response);
});

interface ObservationSearchArgs {
  projectId?: string;
  query: string;
  limit?: number;
  platformSource?: string | null;
}

const handleObservationSearch = wrapHandler('observation_search', async (args: ObservationSearchArgs) => {
  const ctx = requireServerForObservationTool('observation_search');
  if (typeof args?.query !== 'string' || args.query.trim().length === 0) {
    throw new Error('observation_search: "query" is required');
  }
  const projectId = args.projectId && args.projectId.trim().length > 0 ? args.projectId : ctx.projectId;
  const request: ServerSearchObservationsRequest = {
    projectId,
    query: args.query,
    ...(args.limit !== undefined ? { limit: args.limit } : {}),
    ...(args.platformSource !== undefined ? { platformSource: normalizeMcpPlatformSource(args.platformSource) } : {}),
  };
  const response = await ctx.client.searchObservations(request);
  return formatJsonResult(response);
});

interface ObservationContextArgs {
  projectId?: string;
  query: string;
  limit?: number;
  platformSource?: string | null;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to d8bc9755e7)