thedotmack/claude-mem · error

Settings file is corrupted. Delete ${settingsPath} to reset.

Error message

Settings file is corrupted. Delete ${settingsPath} to reset.

What it means

HTTP 500 from the settings GET/PUT handler when the settings file at paths.settings() exists but parseJsonWithBom cannot parse it — i.e. the file is present and readable yet not valid JSON (BOM is tolerated; syntax is not). The worker logs the parse error with the path and tells the user to delete the file to reset to defaults.

Source

Thrown at src/services/worker/http/routes/SettingsRoutes.ts:69

      res.status(400).json({
        success: false,
        error: validation.error
      });
      return;
    }

    const settingsPath = paths.settings();
    this.ensureSettingsFile(settingsPath);
    let settings: any = {};

    if (existsSync(settingsPath)) {
      const settingsData = readFileSync(settingsPath, 'utf-8');
      try {
        settings = parseJsonWithBom(settingsData);
      } catch (parseError) {
        const normalizedParseError = parseError instanceof Error ? parseError : new Error(String(parseError));
        logger.error('HTTP', 'Failed to parse settings file', { settingsPath }, normalizedParseError);
        res.status(500).json({
          success: false,
          error: `Settings file is corrupted. Delete ${settingsPath} to reset.`
        });
        return;
      }
    }

    const settingKeys = [
      'CLAUDE_MEM_MODEL',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_CONTEXT_OBSERVATIONS',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_WORKER_PORT',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_WORKER_HOST',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_PROVIDER',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_CLAUDE_AUTH_METHOD',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_API_KEY',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_MODEL',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_GEMINI_RATE_LIMITING_ENABLED',
      'CLAUDE_MEM_OPENROUTER_API_KEY',

View on GitHub (pinned to e2d1df569a)

Solutions

1. Run a JSON validator on the path shown in the error (settingsPath) and fix the syntax error
2. Or delete the file to reset all settings to defaults, then re-apply your changes one at a time
3. Prefer the settings API over hand-editing so writes are always well-formed

Example fix

// before: settings.json
{ "CLAUDE_MEM_WORKER_PORT": 37777, }  // trailing comma -> 500

// after
{ "CLAUDE_MEM_WORKER_PORT": 37777 }

import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
function settingsFileValid(path: string): boolean {
  try { JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, 'utf-8').replace(/^\uFEFF/, '')); return true; }
  catch { return false; }
}

function isSettingsCorrupt(body: unknown, status: number): boolean {
  return status === 500 && typeof body === 'object' && body !== null &&
    String((body as { error?: string }).error).startsWith('Settings file is corrupted');
}

When it happens

Trigger: Hand-editing settings.json and leaving a trailing comma, unquoted key or unclosed brace; an editor or sync tool writing partial content; merging conflict markers left in the file; the file truncated by a crash mid-write.

Common situations: Users tweaking CLAUDE_MEM_MODEL or port values manually; dotfile managers syncing a broken file across machines; two processes writing the file concurrently so one reads a half-written state.

Related errors

• generation parse error: ${outcome.reason}
• generation job ${job.id} not found in scope
• [uninstall] Could not read selected runtime from settings, d
• [uninstall] Could not read settings for server runtime clean
• claude-mem: could not read ${USER_SETTINGS_PATH} while check

AI-assisted analysis of thedotmack/claude-mem@e2d1df569a (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c641d001aff4b812. Report an issue: GitHub.