fix search escape issues, and empty forward reference resolving for entities

Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>

Author: phernandez

src/basic_memory/api/routers/knowledge_router.py

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     FileServiceDep,
     ProjectConfigDep,
     AppConfigDep,
+    SyncServiceDep,
 )
 from basic_memory.schemas import (
     EntityListResponse,
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ async def create_or_update_entity(
     entity_service: EntityServiceDep,
     search_service: SearchServiceDep,
     file_service: FileServiceDep,
+    sync_service: SyncServiceDep,
 ) -> EntityResponse:
     """Create or update an entity. If entity exists, it will be updated, otherwise created."""
     logger.info(
@@ -85,6 +87,17 @@ async def create_or_update_entity(
 
     # reindex
     await search_service.index_entity(entity, background_tasks=background_tasks)
+
+    # Attempt immediate relation resolution when creating new entities
+    # This helps resolve forward references when related entities are created in the same session
+    if created:
+        try:
+            await sync_service.resolve_relations()
+            logger.debug(f"Resolved relations after creating entity: {entity.permalink}")
+        except Exception as e:
+            # Don't fail the entire request if relation resolution fails
+            logger.warning(f"Failed to resolve relations after entity creation: {e}")
+
     result = EntityResponse.model_validate(entity)
 
     logger.info(

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/write_note.py

@@ -120,7 +120,10 @@ async def write_note(
         summary.append(f"- Resolved: {resolved}")
         if unresolved:
             summary.append(f"- Unresolved: {unresolved}")
-            summary.append("\nUnresolved relations will be retried on next sync.")
+            summary.append("\nNote: Unresolved relations point to entities that don't exist yet.")
+            summary.append(
+                "They will be automatically resolved when target entities are created or during sync operations."
+            )
 
     if tag_list:
         summary.append(f"\n## Tags\n- {', '.join(tag_list)}")

src/basic_memory/repository/search_repository.py

@@ -144,15 +144,36 @@ def _prepare_search_term(self, term: str, is_prefix: bool = True) -> str:
 
         # Characters that can cause FTS5 syntax errors when used as operators
         # We're more conservative here - only quote when we detect problematic patterns
-        problematic_chars = ['"', "'", "(", ")", "[", "]", "+", "!", "@", "#", "$", "%", "^", "&", "=", "|", "\\", "~", "`"]
-        
+        problematic_chars = [
+            '"',
+            "'",
+            "(",
+            ")",
+            "[",
+            "]",
+            "+",
+            "!",
+            "@",
+            "#",
+            "$",
+            "%",
+            "^",
+            "&",
+            "=",
+            "|",
+            "\\",
+            "~",
+            "`",
+        ]
+
         # Characters that indicate we should quote (spaces, dots, colons, etc.)
-        needs_quoting_chars = [" ", ".", ":", ";", ",", "<", ">", "?", "/"]
-        
+        # Adding hyphens here because FTS5 can have issues with hyphens followed by wildcards
+        needs_quoting_chars = [" ", ".", ":", ";", ",", "<", ">", "?", "/", "-"]
+
         # Check if term needs quoting
         has_problematic = any(c in term for c in problematic_chars)
         has_spaces_or_special = any(c in term for c in needs_quoting_chars)
-        
+
         if has_problematic or has_spaces_or_special:
             # Escape any existing quotes by doubling them
             escaped_term = term.replace('"', '""')
@@ -215,15 +236,21 @@ async def search(
 
         # Handle permalink match search, supports *
         if permalink_match:
-            # Clean and prepare permalink for FTS5 GLOB match
-            permalink_text = self._prepare_search_term(
-                permalink_match.lower().strip(), is_prefix=False
-            )
+            # For GLOB patterns, don't use _prepare_search_term as it will quote slashes
+            # GLOB patterns need to preserve their syntax
+            permalink_text = permalink_match.lower().strip()
             params["permalink"] = permalink_text
             if "*" in permalink_match:
                 conditions.append("permalink GLOB :permalink")
             else:
-                conditions.append("permalink MATCH :permalink")
+                # For exact matches without *, we can use FTS5 MATCH
+                # but only prepare the term if it doesn't look like a path
+                if "/" in permalink_text:
+                    conditions.append("permalink = :permalink")
+                else:
+                    permalink_text = self._prepare_search_term(permalink_text, is_prefix=False)
+                    params["permalink"] = permalink_text
+                    conditions.append("permalink MATCH :permalink")
 
         # Handle entity type filter
         if search_item_types:

tests/repository/test_search_repository.py

@@ -320,9 +320,14 @@ def test_terms_with_existing_wildcard_unchanged(self, search_repository):
     def test_boolean_operators_preserved(self, search_repository):
         """Boolean operators should be preserved without modification."""
         assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("hello AND world") == "hello AND world"
-        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("cat OR dog") == "cat OR dog" 
-        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("project NOT meeting") == "project NOT meeting"
-        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("(hello AND world) OR test") == "(hello AND world) OR test"
+        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("cat OR dog") == "cat OR dog"
+        assert (
+            search_repository._prepare_search_term("project NOT meeting") == "project NOT meeting"
+        )
+        assert (
+            search_repository._prepare_search_term("(hello AND world) OR test")
+            == "(hello AND world) OR test"
+        )
 
     def test_programming_terms_should_work(self, search_repository):
         """Programming-related terms with special chars should be searchable."""
@@ -347,8 +352,14 @@ def test_quoted_strings_handled_properly(self, search_repository):
 
     def test_file_paths_no_prefix_wildcard(self, search_repository):
         """File paths should not get prefix wildcards."""
-        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("config.json", is_prefix=False) == '"config.json"'
-        assert search_repository._prepare_search_term("docs/readme.md", is_prefix=False) == '"docs/readme.md"'
+        assert (
+            search_repository._prepare_search_term("config.json", is_prefix=False)
+            == '"config.json"'
+        )
+        assert (
+            search_repository._prepare_search_term("docs/readme.md", is_prefix=False)
+            == '"docs/readme.md"'
+        )
 
     def test_spaces_handled_correctly(self, search_repository):
         """Terms with spaces should be quoted."""
@@ -359,17 +370,17 @@ def test_spaces_handled_correctly(self, search_repository):
     async def test_search_with_special_characters_returns_results(self, search_repository):
         """Integration test: search with special characters should work gracefully."""
         # This test ensures the search doesn't crash with FTS5 syntax errors
-        
+
         # These should all return empty results gracefully, not crash
         results1 = await search_repository.search(search_text="C++")
         assert isinstance(results1, list)  # Should not crash
-        
+
         results2 = await search_repository.search(search_text="function()")
         assert isinstance(results2, list)  # Should not crash
-        
+
         results3 = await search_repository.search(search_text="+++malformed+++")
         assert isinstance(results3, list)  # Should not crash, return empty results
-        
+
         results4 = await search_repository.search(search_text="email@domain.com")
         assert isinstance(results4, list)  # Should not crash
 
@@ -379,9 +390,9 @@ async def test_boolean_search_still_works(self, search_repository):
         # These should not crash and should respect boolean logic
         results1 = await search_repository.search(search_text="hello AND world")
         assert isinstance(results1, list)
-        
+
         results2 = await search_repository.search(search_text="cat OR dog")
         assert isinstance(results2, list)
-        
+
         results3 = await search_repository.search(search_text="project NOT meeting")
         assert isinstance(results3, list)