feat: add insert_before_section and insert_after_section edit operations (#648)

Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: phernandez

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/edit_note.py

@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ def _format_error_response(
 
 
 @mcp.tool(
-    description="Edit an existing markdown note using various operations like append, prepend, find_replace, or replace_section.",
+    description="Edit an existing markdown note using various operations like append, prepend, find_replace, replace_section, insert_before_section, or insert_after_section.",
     annotations={"destructiveHint": False, "openWorldHint": False},
 )
 async def edit_note(
@@ -190,6 +190,8 @@ async def edit_note(
                   - "prepend": Add content to the beginning of the note (creates the note if it doesn't exist)
                   - "find_replace": Replace occurrences of find_text with content (note must exist)
                   - "replace_section": Replace content under a specific markdown header (note must exist)
+                  - "insert_before_section": Insert content before a section heading without consuming it (note must exist)
+                  - "insert_after_section": Insert content after a section heading without consuming it (note must exist)
         content: The content to add or use for replacement
         project: Project name to edit in. Optional - server will resolve using hierarchy.
                 If unknown, use list_memory_projects() to discover available projects.
@@ -257,7 +259,14 @@ async def edit_note(
         logger.info("MCP tool call", tool="edit_note", identifier=identifier, operation=operation)
 
         # Validate operation
-        valid_operations = ["append", "prepend", "find_replace", "replace_section"]
+        valid_operations = [
+            "append",
+            "prepend",
+            "find_replace",
+            "replace_section",
+            "insert_before_section",
+            "insert_after_section",
+        ]
         if operation not in valid_operations:
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Invalid operation '{operation}'. Must be one of: {', '.join(valid_operations)}"
@@ -266,8 +275,9 @@ async def edit_note(
         # Validate required parameters for specific operations
         if operation == "find_replace" and not find_text:
             raise ValueError("find_text parameter is required for find_replace operation")
-        if operation == "replace_section" and not section:
-            raise ValueError("section parameter is required for replace_section operation")
+        section_ops = ("replace_section", "insert_before_section", "insert_after_section")
+        if operation in section_ops and not section:
+            raise ValueError("section parameter is required for section-based operations")
 
         # Use the PATCH endpoint to edit the entity
         try:
@@ -389,6 +399,10 @@ async def edit_note(
                     summary.append("operation: Find and replace operation completed")
                 elif operation == "replace_section":
                     summary.append(f"operation: Replaced content under section '{section}'")
+                elif operation == "insert_before_section":
+                    summary.append(f"operation: Inserted content before section '{section}'")
+                elif operation == "insert_after_section":
+                    summary.append(f"operation: Inserted content after section '{section}'")
 
             # Count observations by category (reuse logic from write_note)
             categories = {}

src/basic_memory/schemas/request.py

@@ -65,7 +65,14 @@ class EditEntityRequest(BaseModel):
     Supports various operation types for different editing scenarios.
     """
 
-    operation: Literal["append", "prepend", "find_replace", "replace_section"]
+    operation: Literal[
+        "append",
+        "prepend",
+        "find_replace",
+        "replace_section",
+        "insert_before_section",
+        "insert_after_section",
+    ]
     content: str
     section: Optional[str] = None
     find_text: Optional[str] = None
@@ -75,8 +82,16 @@ class EditEntityRequest(BaseModel):
     @classmethod
     def validate_section_for_replace_section(cls, v, info):
         """Ensure section is provided for replace_section operation."""
-        if info.data.get("operation") == "replace_section" and not v:
-            raise ValueError("section parameter is required for replace_section operation")
+        if (
+            info.data.get("operation")
+            in (
+                "replace_section",
+                "insert_before_section",
+                "insert_after_section",
+            )
+            and not v
+        ):
+            raise ValueError("section parameter is required for section-based operations")
         return v
 
     @field_validator("find_text")

src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py

@@ -888,6 +888,14 @@ def apply_edit_operation(
                 raise ValueError("section cannot be empty or whitespace only")
             return self.replace_section_content(current_content, section, content)
 
+        elif operation in ("insert_before_section", "insert_after_section"):
+            if not section:
+                raise ValueError("section is required for insert section operations")
+            if not section.strip():
+                raise ValueError("section cannot be empty or whitespace only")
+            position = "before" if operation == "insert_before_section" else "after"
+            return self.insert_relative_to_section(current_content, section, content, position)
+
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"Unsupported operation: {operation}")
 
@@ -979,6 +987,73 @@ def replace_section_content(
 
         return "\n".join(result_lines)
 
+    def insert_relative_to_section(
+        self,
+        current_content: str,
+        section_header: str,
+        new_content: str,
+        position: str,
+    ) -> str:
+        """Insert content before or after a section heading without consuming it.
+
+        Unlike replace_section_content, this preserves the section heading and its
+        existing content. The new content is inserted immediately before or after
+        the heading line.
+
+        Args:
+            current_content: The current markdown content
+            section_header: The section header to anchor on (e.g., "## Section Name")
+            new_content: The content to insert
+            position: "before" to insert above the heading, "after" to insert below it
+
+        Returns:
+            The updated content with new_content inserted relative to the heading
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If the section header is not found or appears more than once
+        """
+        # Normalize the section header (ensure it starts with #)
+        if not section_header.startswith("#"):
+            section_header = "## " + section_header
+
+        lines = current_content.split("\n")
+        matching_indices = [
+            i for i, line in enumerate(lines) if line.strip() == section_header.strip()
+        ]
+
+        if len(matching_indices) == 0:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Section '{section_header}' not found in document. "
+                f"Use replace_section to create a new section."
+            )
+        if len(matching_indices) > 1:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Multiple sections found with header '{section_header}'. "
+                f"Section insertion requires unique headers."
+            )
+
+        idx = matching_indices[0]
+
+        if position == "before":
+            # Insert new content before the section heading
+            before = lines[:idx]
+            after = lines[idx:]
+            # Ensure blank line separation
+            insert_lines = new_content.rstrip("\n").split("\n")
+            if before and before[-1].strip() != "":
+                insert_lines = [""] + insert_lines
+            return "\n".join(before + insert_lines + [""] + after)
+        else:
+            # Insert new content after the section heading line
+            before = lines[: idx + 1]
+            after = lines[idx + 1 :]
+            insert_lines = new_content.rstrip("\n").split("\n")
+            # Ensure blank line separation so inserted text doesn't merge
+            # with existing section content into a single paragraph
+            if after and after[0].strip() != "":
+                insert_lines = insert_lines + [""]
+            return "\n".join(before + insert_lines + after)
+
     def _prepend_after_frontmatter(self, current_content: str, content: str) -> str:
         """Prepend content after frontmatter, preserving frontmatter structure."""
 

test-int/cli/test_cli_tool_edit_note_integration.py

@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ def test_edit_note_replace_section_fails_without_section(
     )
 
     assert result.exit_code != 0
-    assert "section parameter is required for replace_section operation" in result.output
+    assert "section parameter is required for section-based operations" in result.output
 
 
 def test_edit_note_append_creates_nonexistent_note_cli(

tests/mcp/test_tool_edit_note.py

@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ async def test_edit_note_replace_section_missing_section(client, test_project):
             content="new content",
         )
 
-    assert "section parameter is required for replace_section operation" in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "section parameter is required for section-based operations" in str(exc_info.value)
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -611,3 +611,96 @@ async def test_edit_note_preserves_permalink_when_frontmatter_missing(client, te
     assert f"permalink: {test_project.name}/test/test-note" in second_result
     assert f"[Session: Using project '{test_project.name}']" in second_result
     # The edit should succeed without validation errors
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_insert_before_section_operation(client, test_project):
+    """Test inserting content before a section heading."""
+    # Create initial note with sections
+    await write_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        title="Insert Before Doc",
+        directory="docs",
+        content="# Doc\n\n## Overview\nOverview content.\n\n## Details\nDetail content.",
+    )
+
+    result = await edit_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        identifier="docs/insert-before-doc",
+        operation="insert_before_section",
+        content="--- inserted divider ---",
+        section="## Details",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, str)
+    assert "Edited note (insert_before_section)" in result
+    assert f"project: {test_project.name}" in result
+    assert "Inserted content before section '## Details'" in result
+    assert f"[Session: Using project '{test_project.name}']" in result
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_insert_after_section_operation(client, test_project):
+    """Test inserting content after a section heading."""
+    # Create initial note with sections
+    await write_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        title="Insert After Doc",
+        directory="docs",
+        content="# Doc\n\n## Overview\nOverview content.\n\n## Details\nDetail content.",
+    )
+
+    result = await edit_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        identifier="docs/insert-after-doc",
+        operation="insert_after_section",
+        content="Inserted after overview heading",
+        section="## Overview",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, str)
+    assert "Edited note (insert_after_section)" in result
+    assert f"project: {test_project.name}" in result
+    assert "Inserted content after section '## Overview'" in result
+    assert f"[Session: Using project '{test_project.name}']" in result
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_insert_before_section_missing_section(client, test_project):
+    """Test insert_before_section without section parameter raises ValueError."""
+    await write_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        title="Test Note",
+        directory="test",
+        content="# Test\nContent here.",
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="section parameter is required"):
+        await edit_note(
+            project=test_project.name,
+            identifier="test/test-note",
+            operation="insert_before_section",
+            content="new content",
+        )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_insert_before_section_not_found(client, test_project):
+    """Test insert_before_section when section doesn't exist returns error."""
+    await write_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        title="Test Note",
+        directory="test",
+        content="# Test\n\n## Existing\nContent here.",
+    )
+
+    result = await edit_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        identifier="test/test-note",
+        operation="insert_before_section",
+        content="new content",
+        section="## Nonexistent",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, str)
+    assert "# Edit Failed" in result

tests/schemas/test_schemas.py

@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ def test_edit_entity_request_find_replace_empty_find_text():
 def test_edit_entity_request_replace_section_empty_section():
     """Test that replace_section operation requires non-empty section parameter."""
     with pytest.raises(
-        ValueError, match="section parameter is required for replace_section operation"
+        ValueError, match="section parameter is required for section-based operations"
     ):
         EditEntityRequest.model_validate(
             {
@@ -356,6 +356,46 @@ def test_edit_entity_request_replace_section_empty_section():
         )
 
 
+def test_edit_entity_request_insert_before_section():
+    """Test insert_before_section is a valid operation."""
+    edit_request = EditEntityRequest.model_validate(
+        {
+            "operation": "insert_before_section",
+            "content": "content to insert",
+            "section": "## Target Section",
+        }
+    )
+    assert edit_request.operation == "insert_before_section"
+    assert edit_request.section == "## Target Section"
+
+
+def test_edit_entity_request_insert_after_section():
+    """Test insert_after_section is a valid operation."""
+    edit_request = EditEntityRequest.model_validate(
+        {
+            "operation": "insert_after_section",
+            "content": "content to insert",
+            "section": "## Target Section",
+        }
+    )
+    assert edit_request.operation == "insert_after_section"
+    assert edit_request.section == "## Target Section"
+
+
+def test_edit_entity_request_insert_before_section_empty_section():
+    """Test that insert_before_section requires non-empty section parameter."""
+    with pytest.raises(
+        ValueError, match="section parameter is required for section-based operations"
+    ):
+        EditEntityRequest.model_validate(
+            {
+                "operation": "insert_before_section",
+                "content": "content",
+                "section": "",
+            }
+        )
+
+
 # New tests for timeframe parsing functions
 class TestTimeframeParsing:
     """Test cases for parse_timeframe() and validate_timeframe() functions."""