zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error

{flag} = true requires memory.backend = "sqlite" (typed memo

Error message

{flag} = true requires memory.backend = "sqlite" (typed memory storage is SQLite-only), but memory.backend = {:?}

What it means

Typed memory features (memory.types.enabled = true or memory.consolidation_extract_facts = true) persist typed rows in SQLite only. create_memory_for_agent refuses to construct the agent's memory when such a flag is set but the global memory.backend is not sqlite, rather than silently dropping typed data. The message interpolates the exact flag that tripped (memory.types.enabled or memory.consolidation_extract_facts).

Source

Thrown at crates/zeroclaw-memory/src/lib.rs:1007

    let backend_kind = agent_cfg.memory.backend;

    // Typed-memory producers are SQLite-only. Config::validate already
    // rejects this combination on every save path, but boot is
    // deliberately validation-resilient (a hand-edited config still
    // starts the daemon so the operator can repair it via /config), so
    // enforce again here: failing agent-memory construction is an
    // operator-visible startup error and keeps background consolidation
    // from ever running typed writes into a backend that would reject
    // them deep inside spawned work.
    if config.memory.types.enabled || config.memory.consolidation_extract_facts {
        let flag = if config.memory.types.enabled {
            "memory.types.enabled"
        } else {
            "memory.consolidation_extract_facts"
        };
        let global_kind = backend_kind_from_dotted(&config.memory.backend);
        if global_kind != "sqlite" {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "{flag} = true requires memory.backend = \"sqlite\" (typed memory storage is SQLite-only), but memory.backend = {:?}",
                config.memory.backend
            );
        }
        if !matches!(backend_kind, ConfigBackend::Sqlite) {
            anyhow::bail!(
                "{flag} = true requires every agent on the sqlite memory backend (typed memory storage is SQLite-only), but agents.{agent_alias}.memory.backend = {backend_kind:?}"
            );
        }
    }

    // Markdown branch: the wrapper composes per-agent dirs, not a
    // shared backend. Skip the inner-backend factory entirely, but still
    // apply the install-wide policy decorator to own and peer Markdown
    // stores before composition.
    if matches!(backend_kind, ConfigBackend::Markdown) {
        let own_workspace = config.agent_workspace_dir(agent_alias);
        let own: Arc<dyn Memory> = Arc::new(ScannedMemory::new(

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

1. Set `memory.backend = "sqlite"` if typed memory is required.
2. Disable the flagged features (`memory.types.enabled = false`, `memory.consolidation_extract_facts = false`) if the current backend must stay.
3. Audit the merged config for which layer set the flag — the message names the specific flag.

Example fix

# before
[memory]
backend = "lucid"
types.enabled = true

# after
[memory]
backend = "sqlite"
types.enabled = true

// Mirror the factory's rule before calling create_memory_for_agent
// (TOML: memory.types.enabled / memory.consolidation_extract_facts)
let typed_enabled = config.memory.types_enabled || config.memory.consolidation_extract_facts;
if typed_enabled && backend_kind_from_dotted(&config.memory.backend) != "sqlite" {
    anyhow::bail!(
        "typed-memory flags require memory.backend = \"sqlite\"; current: {:?}",
        config.memory.backend
    );
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling create_memory_for_agent with a typed flag enabled while memory.backend is "lucid", "qdrant", "markdown", or "none" (backend_kind_from_dotted of the global backend != "sqlite").

Common situations: Enabling fact extraction/consolidation on deployments that run lucid for vector recall; merging config layers where one layer sets typed flags and another sets the backend; copying a typed-memory example config onto an existing non-sqlite deployment.

Related errors

• {flag} = true requires every agent on the sqlite memory back
• matrix: `homeserver` is required
• Cannot persist empty Telegram identity
• transcription.max_audio_bytes must be greater than zero
• Edge TTS binary_path must be a bare command name without pat

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/595483b51ab4cebc. Report an issue: GitHub.