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PR Review Complete ✅

I've reviewed PR #482 against the Basic Memory team checklist. This is a well-executed bug fix with excellent literate programming style.

Code Quality & Standards ✅

• Follows Basic Memory's coding conventions - Excellent adherence to CLAUDE.md literate programming style
• Python 3.12+ type annotations - Not applicable (no new functions)
• 100-character line length - All lines comply
• No commented-out code - Clean implementation
• Decision Point Comments - Outstanding! The change includes a perfect example of the required comment format:

  # 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

Testing & Documentation ✅

• Test safety verified - Multiple layers of test protection:
  1. PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST is automatically set by pytest (lines 24-29 in alembic/env.py)
  2. tests/__init__.py also sets BASIC_MEMORY_ENV='test' as backup (line 4)
  3. config.is_test_env checks PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST directly as third condition (config.py:249)
• Edge cases covered - The triple-check approach (env var + pytest detection + tests/init.py) is robust
• [✓] Documentation - PR description clearly explains the problem and solution
• [⚠️] Test coverage gap - See recommendation below

Recommendation: Consider adding a test that verifies config.is_test_env returns False when alembic.env is imported outside pytest context. This would ensure the fix works as intended.

Basic Memory Architecture ✅

• Preserves local-first architecture - Fix enables the file watch service in production
• No database changes - No Alembic migrations needed
• Minimal diff - Perfect example of "smallest change that satisfies the request" (CLAUDE.md line 64)
• Fixes root cause - Addresses the import-time side effect that broke MCP server startup

Security & Performance ✅

• No security concerns - Only changes when env var is set
• No performance impact - Single env var check at import time
• Proper error handling - Uses defensive check (is not None)

Compatibility ✅

• Cross-platform - os.getenv() works on all platforms
• No emojis/unicode in code - Clean ASCII only

Context Verification

I verified the fix is sound by checking:

1. src/basic_memory/config.py:236-250 - is_test_env property checks PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST as third condition
2. src/basic_memory/mcp/server.py:43-44 - MCP server skips file sync when is_test_env is True
3. tests/init.py:4 - Sets BASIC_MEMORY_ENV='test' as additional safety layer
4. Issue [BUG] Broken file sync when using mcp #481 - This fixes the exact problem where is_test_env was always True, preventing watch service

Summary

Approve with minor recommendation. This PR demonstrates excellent code quality:

• ✅ Minimal, surgical fix
• ✅ Outstanding literate programming comments
• ✅ Triple-layer test safety
• ✅ Solves the root cause

The only suggestion is to add a test that verifies config.is_test_env behaves correctly when alembic.env is imported in non-test contexts, but this is not blocking.

Great work on following the literate programming guidelines! The decision point comment is a textbook example of what CLAUDE.md requests.