[BUG] Broken file sync when using mcp

[krksgbr]

Bug Description

File sync is broken when using the MCP server.

alembic/env.py unconditionally sets BASIC_MEMORY_ENV="test" at module import time, which causes is_test_env to always return True, so the MCP server skips starting the watch service.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Install basic-memory 0.17.0 via uv tool install basic-memory
2. Start the mcp server: bm mcp
3. Check logs: grep "Test environment" ~/.basic-memory/basic-memory.log
4. Observe: "Test environment detected - skipping local file sync"

Expected Behavior

The MCP server should start the watch service and sync files created/modified externally.

Actual Behavior

MCP server startup logs:

Test environment detected - skipping local file sync

• Files modified outside of MCP tools are never indexed.
• recent_activity returns empty results even when notes exist on disk.

Environment

• OS: macOS 15.1 (Darwin 25.1.0)
• Python version: 3.12.10
• Basic Memory version: 0.17.0
• Installation method: uv tool install

Additional Context

I think the issue is in basic_memory/alembic/env.py:

os.environ["BASIC_MEMORY_ENV"] = "test"

This runs whenever alembic migrations are imported (which happens during MCP server startup via run_migrations). The is_test_env property in config.py then checks:

os.getenv("BASIC_MEMORY_ENV", "").lower() == "test"  # Always True!

To debug, add this to basic_memory/config.py in the is_test_env property:

@property
def is_test_env(self) -> bool:
    logger.info(f"DEBUG is_test_env: self.env={self.env!r}, BASIC_MEMORY_ENV={os.getenv('BASIC_MEMORY_ENV')!r}, PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST={os.getenv('PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST')!r}")
    result = (
        self.env == "test"
        or os.getenv("BASIC_MEMORY_ENV", "").lower() == "test"
        or os.getenv("PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST") is not None
    )
    logger.info(f"DEBUG is_test_env result: {result}")
    return result

Then restart the MCP server and check ~/.basic-memory/basic-memory.log.

DEBUG is_test_env: self.env='user', BASIC_MEMORY_ENV='test', PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST=None
DEBUG is_test_env result: True

Note: self.env='user' (correctly set via pydantic-settings), but os.getenv('BASIC_MEMORY_ENV') returns 'test' because alembic/env.py overwrote it.

Possible Solution

Only set the env var when actually running under pytest:

if os.getenv("PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST") is not None:
    os.environ["BASIC_MEMORY_ENV"] = "test"

[phernandez]

@claude the user is pointing out a legit issue. Investigate and make a PR fix

[claude]

Claude finished @phernandez's task in 2m 33s —— View job • claude/issue-481-20251229-1510 • Create PR ➔

---

Fix implemented and pushed

Summary

Fixed the file sync issue where the MCP server was skipping the watch service due to alembic/env.py unconditionally setting BASIC_MEMORY_ENV="test" at module import time.

Changes Made

File: src/basic_memory/alembic/env.py

Changed from:

os.environ["BASIC_MEMORY_ENV"] = "test"

To:

# Trigger: only set test env when actually running under pytest
# Why: alembic/env.py is imported during normal operations (MCP server startup, migrations)
#      but we only want test behavior during actual test runs
# Outcome: prevents is_test_env from returning True in production, enabling watch service
if os.getenv("PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST") is not None:
    os.environ["BASIC_MEMORY_ENV"] = "test"

Why This Works

1. Production: When the MCP server starts, PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST is not set, so BASIC_MEMORY_ENV remains unset and is_test_env returns False, enabling the watch service
2. Tests: During pytest runs, PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST is always set, so the env var is set AND is_test_env checks for PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST directly as a third condition
3. Belt and suspenders: tests/__init__.py also sets the env var for extra safety

Next Steps

--- | Branch: claude/issue-481-20251229-1510

[phernandez]

@krksgbr thanks for the bug report. This should be fixed in release v0.17.1