fix(init): error on existing-brain dim mismatch + embedding-migration recipe

Adds A4 hard-error path: when `gbrain init --embedding-dimensions N` is
run against an existing brain whose `content_chunks.embedding` column is
a different `vector(M)`, init exits 1 with an inline four-step ALTER
recipe and a pointer to docs/embedding-migrations.md.

This kills the silent-corruption pattern surfaced by issue #673: the
v0.27 schema seeded `('embedding_dimensions', '1536')` regardless of the
flag, so users got a config saying 768 but a column at 1536 — first
sync write blew up with "expected 1536, got 768."

A4's contract:
  1. Connect to engine BEFORE saveConfig so we can read the live column type
  2. If column exists AND dim != requested, exit 1 (loud failure)
  3. If column doesn't exist (fresh init) OR dim matches, proceed normally

Recipe in docs/embedding-migrations.md (and inlined in init's error
output) covers all four destructive steps codex's plan-review caught:
  1. DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding (HNSW won't survive ALTER)
  2. ALTER TABLE content_chunks ALTER COLUMN embedding TYPE vector(N)
  3. UPDATE content_chunks SET embedding = NULL, embedded_at = NULL
  4. CREATE INDEX HNSW *only if N <= 2000* (pgvector cap)

Step 4 is conditional: dims > 2000 (e.g. Voyage 4 Large 2048d) cannot
be HNSW-indexed in pgvector; the recipe explicitly says "Skip reindex"
in that case so the user doesn't paste a CREATE INDEX that crashes.

Helper `readContentChunksEmbeddingDim` and message builder
`embeddingMismatchMessage` live in src/core/embedding-dim-check.ts so
doctor 8b (next commit) can reuse the same source of truth.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Garry Tan
2026-05-06 18:01:18 -07:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.7
parent 8cdd11dfa9
commit 306fc0e1ef
4 changed files with 362 additions and 0 deletions
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# Switching embedding models or dimensions on an existing brain
GBrain stores embeddings in a fixed-dimension `vector(N)` column on
`content_chunks`. If you switch to a model with a different dimension
(e.g. `text-embedding-3-large` 1536 → `voyage-multilingual-large-2` 2048,
or back to a smaller model like `nomic-embed-text` 768), the on-disk
column type doesn't change automatically.
`gbrain init` and `gbrain doctor` both detect and refuse to silently
proceed in this case. This doc is the recipe they point at.
## Why we don't do this automatically
Switching dimensions requires:
1. Dropping the HNSW vector index (pgvector won't survive an `ALTER COLUMN TYPE`).
2. Altering the column type.
3. Wiping every existing embedding (the old vectors are unusable in the new space).
4. Re-embedding the entire corpus (can take hours on a 50K-page brain and costs $1-100 in API calls depending on model).
5. Conditionally recreating the index (HNSW supports up to 2000 dimensions per pgvector; above that you must use exact scans).
That's not an upgrade-time auto-run. It's a deliberate, expensive
operation. Run it when you've decided you actually want the new model.
## Recipe — manual `psql` against your brain
Replace `<NEW_DIMS>` with your target dimension count.
```sql
BEGIN;
-- 1. Drop the HNSW index. It can't survive the column type change.
DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding;
-- 2. Alter the column type. (You can DROP COLUMN + ADD COLUMN instead
-- if the existing data is already gone — same end state.)
ALTER TABLE content_chunks ALTER COLUMN embedding TYPE vector(<NEW_DIMS>);
-- 3. Clear stale embeddings so they don't survive into the new space.
-- Either truncate (faster, drops all chunks) or null out (preserves
-- chunk text so re-embed regenerates without re-chunking):
UPDATE content_chunks SET embedding = NULL, embedded_at = NULL;
-- 4. Recreate the HNSW index ONLY IF dims <= 2000. Above that, leave it
-- indexless and rely on exact scans (gbrain searchVector handles this
-- automatically — search just gets slower, not broken).
-- For dims <= 2000 (e.g. 1024, 1536, 768):
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding
ON content_chunks USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);
-- For dims > 2000 (e.g. 2048 Voyage 4 Large): skip step 4.
COMMIT;
```
Then update gbrain's config so it knows the new dim:
```bash
gbrain config set embedding_model <model>
gbrain config set embedding_dimensions <NEW_DIMS>
```
And re-embed the corpus:
```bash
gbrain embed --stale
```
## PGLite (local brain)
Same recipe, but you connect to the embedded database differently:
```bash
gbrain config get database_url # confirm engine: pglite
# Open a psql-equivalent — for PGLite, the easiest path is to write a small
# script that imports PGLiteEngine and runs the SQL via engine.executeRaw.
# Or migrate to Postgres temporarily (gbrain migrate --to supabase) if you
# want a real psql connection.
```
For most PGLite users the simpler path is to **wipe and re-init** if your
corpus is small enough that re-syncing is faster than hand-crafting the
migration:
```bash
mv ~/.gbrain/brain.pglite ~/.gbrain/brain.pglite.bak
gbrain init --pglite --embedding-dimensions <NEW_DIMS>
gbrain sync # re-imports your brain repo from disk
```
## Verify
After the recipe lands, `gbrain doctor --fast` should report green and
`gbrain doctor` (full) should say check 8b passes:
```
✓ embedding_provider dim parity: config 768 / column vector(768) / live probe 768
```
If it doesn't, file an issue with the doctor output and the SQL you ran.
## v0.29+ plans
`gbrain migrate-embedding-dim --to <N>` is a tracked TODO. It will run
the recipe above with progress reporting + an explicit confirmation
gate. Until that lands, this manual recipe is the canonical path.
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@@ -195,6 +195,32 @@ async function initPGLite(opts: {
const engine = await createEngine({ engine: 'pglite' });
try {
await engine.connect({ database_path: dbPath, engine: 'pglite' });
// v0.28.5 (A4): refuse to silently re-template an existing brain with a
// mismatched embedding dimension. Loud failure beats the v0.27 silent-
// corruption pattern that surfaced as #673.
if (opts.aiOpts?.embedding_dimensions) {
const { readContentChunksEmbeddingDim, embeddingMismatchMessage } = await import('../core/embedding-dim-check.ts');
const existing = await readContentChunksEmbeddingDim(engine);
if (existing.exists && existing.dims !== null && existing.dims !== opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions) {
console.error('\n' + embeddingMismatchMessage({
currentDims: existing.dims,
requestedDims: opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions,
requestedModel: opts.aiOpts.embedding_model,
source: 'init',
}) + '\n');
if (opts.jsonOutput) {
console.log(JSON.stringify({
status: 'error',
reason: 'embedding_dim_mismatch',
current_dims: existing.dims,
requested_dims: opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions,
}));
}
process.exit(1);
}
}
await engine.initSchema();
const config: GBrainConfig = {
@@ -304,6 +330,30 @@ async function initPostgres(opts: {
// Non-fatal
}
// v0.28.5 (A4): refuse to silently re-template an existing brain with a
// mismatched embedding dimension (mirror of the PGLite path above).
if (opts.aiOpts?.embedding_dimensions) {
const { readContentChunksEmbeddingDim, embeddingMismatchMessage } = await import('../core/embedding-dim-check.ts');
const existing = await readContentChunksEmbeddingDim(engine);
if (existing.exists && existing.dims !== null && existing.dims !== opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions) {
console.error('\n' + embeddingMismatchMessage({
currentDims: existing.dims,
requestedDims: opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions,
requestedModel: opts.aiOpts.embedding_model,
source: 'init',
}) + '\n');
if (opts.jsonOutput) {
console.log(JSON.stringify({
status: 'error',
reason: 'embedding_dim_mismatch',
current_dims: existing.dims,
requested_dims: opts.aiOpts.embedding_dimensions,
}));
}
process.exit(1);
}
}
console.log('Running schema migration...');
await engine.initSchema();
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/**
* Detect existing-brain embedding-dimension mismatch (v0.28.5 — A4).
*
* `gbrain init --embedding-dimensions N` on an existing brain whose
* `content_chunks.embedding` column is a different `vector(M)` would
* silently create a config/column drift: the config gets templated to N
* but the column stays at M. The first sync write blows up with
* "expected M, got N" — the silent-corruption pattern v0.28.5 is shipped
* to kill.
*
* Loud-failure path: `gbrain init` AND `gbrain doctor` both consult this
* helper. On mismatch they emit the same inline ALTER recipe (see
* `embeddingMismatchMessage`) plus a pointer to `docs/embedding-migrations.md`.
*/
import type { BrainEngine } from './engine.ts';
import { PGVECTOR_HNSW_VECTOR_MAX_DIMS } from './vector-index.ts';
export interface ColumnDimResult {
/** Whether the `content_chunks.embedding` column exists. False on a fresh brain. */
exists: boolean;
/** Parsed `vector(N)` dimension if known. null when the column doesn't exist or the type isn't vector. */
dims: number | null;
}
/**
* Read the actual dimension of `content_chunks.embedding` from the engine.
*
* Uses information_schema + a vector-specific catalog query. Returns
* { exists: false, dims: null } on a fresh brain that doesn't have the
* column yet. Returns { exists: true, dims: null } on a brain whose
* column type isn't `vector` (shouldn't happen but defensive).
*/
export async function readContentChunksEmbeddingDim(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<ColumnDimResult> {
// Probe column existence first to avoid noisy errors on fresh brains.
const existsRows = await engine.executeRaw<{ exists: boolean }>(
`SELECT EXISTS (
SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE table_schema = 'public'
AND table_name = 'content_chunks'
AND column_name = 'embedding'
) AS exists`,
);
const exists = !!existsRows?.[0]?.exists;
if (!exists) return { exists: false, dims: null };
// pgvector stores dim in pg_type.typmod when atttypmod is set; format_type
// returns the human-readable `vector(N)`. We parse N out of that.
const formatRows = await engine.executeRaw<{ formatted: string | null }>(
`SELECT format_type(a.atttypid, a.atttypmod) AS formatted
FROM pg_attribute a
JOIN pg_class c ON c.oid = a.attrelid
JOIN pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace
WHERE n.nspname = 'public'
AND c.relname = 'content_chunks'
AND a.attname = 'embedding'
AND NOT a.attisdropped`,
);
const formatted = formatRows?.[0]?.formatted ?? null;
if (!formatted) return { exists: true, dims: null };
const m = formatted.match(/vector\((\d+)\)/i);
return { exists: true, dims: m ? parseInt(m[1], 10) : null };
}
/**
* Build the human-readable ALTER recipe printed inline to stderr (or
* delivered via `gbrain doctor` output) when an existing brain's column
* dim doesn't match the requested dim.
*
* Steps cover the four-step contract from `docs/embedding-migrations.md`:
* 1. DROP INDEX (HNSW can't survive ALTER COLUMN TYPE)
* 2. ALTER COLUMN TYPE
* 3. Wipe stale embeddings
* 4. Conditional reindex (HNSW only when dims <= 2000)
*/
export function embeddingMismatchMessage(opts: {
currentDims: number;
requestedDims: number;
requestedModel?: string;
source?: 'init' | 'doctor';
}): string {
const { currentDims, requestedDims, requestedModel, source } = opts;
const supportsHnsw = requestedDims <= PGVECTOR_HNSW_VECTOR_MAX_DIMS;
const reindexLine = supportsHnsw
? `CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding\n ON content_chunks USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);`
: `-- Skip reindex. dims=${requestedDims} exceeds pgvector's HNSW cap of ${PGVECTOR_HNSW_VECTOR_MAX_DIMS};\n-- searchVector falls back to exact scan.`;
const header = source === 'doctor'
? `Embedding dimension mismatch detected.`
: `Refusing to silently re-template existing brain.`;
const lines = [
header,
``,
` Existing column: vector(${currentDims})`,
` Requested: vector(${requestedDims})${requestedModel ? ` (${requestedModel})` : ''}`,
``,
`Switching dims is destructive: it drops every embedding in your brain and`,
`requires a full re-embed (potentially hours and $1-100 in API calls).`,
``,
`If you actually want to switch, run this manually against your brain's DB:`,
``,
` BEGIN;`,
` DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding;`,
` ALTER TABLE content_chunks ALTER COLUMN embedding TYPE vector(${requestedDims});`,
` UPDATE content_chunks SET embedding = NULL, embedded_at = NULL;`,
` ${reindexLine.split('\n').join('\n ')}`,
` COMMIT;`,
``,
`Then re-embed:`,
` gbrain config set embedding_dimensions ${requestedDims}`,
requestedModel ? ` gbrain config set embedding_model ${requestedModel}` : '',
` gbrain embed --stale`,
``,
`Full guide: docs/embedding-migrations.md`,
].filter(Boolean);
return lines.join('\n');
}
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/**
* v0.28.5 (A4) — Existing-brain dimension-mismatch detection unit tests.
*
* Pairs with `gbrain init` and `gbrain doctor`'s loud-failure paths. Validates
* that:
* 1. readContentChunksEmbeddingDim correctly reports null on a fresh brain.
* 2. After initSchema, it returns the actual templated dim (1536 default,
* or whatever was passed via gateway config).
* 3. embeddingMismatchMessage produces a recipe that explicitly drops the
* HNSW index, alters the column, wipes embeddings, and conditionally
* reindexes — codex's #8 finding from plan review.
*/
import { test, expect, describe } from 'bun:test';
import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
import {
readContentChunksEmbeddingDim,
embeddingMismatchMessage,
} from '../src/core/embedding-dim-check.ts';
describe('readContentChunksEmbeddingDim', () => {
test('returns { exists: false, dims: null } on a fresh brain', async () => {
const engine = new PGLiteEngine();
await engine.connect({});
try {
const result = await readContentChunksEmbeddingDim(engine);
expect(result.exists).toBe(false);
expect(result.dims).toBeNull();
} finally {
await engine.disconnect();
}
}, 30000);
test('returns dims from a migrated brain (default 1536)', async () => {
const engine = new PGLiteEngine();
await engine.connect({});
try {
await engine.initSchema();
const result = await readContentChunksEmbeddingDim(engine);
expect(result.exists).toBe(true);
expect(result.dims).toBe(1536);
} finally {
await engine.disconnect();
}
}, 30000);
});
describe('embeddingMismatchMessage', () => {
test('inlines all four recipe steps for HNSW-eligible dims', () => {
const msg = embeddingMismatchMessage({
currentDims: 1536,
requestedDims: 768,
requestedModel: 'nomic-embed-text',
source: 'init',
});
expect(msg).toContain('vector(1536)');
expect(msg).toContain('vector(768)');
expect(msg).toContain('DROP INDEX IF EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding');
expect(msg).toContain('ALTER TABLE content_chunks ALTER COLUMN embedding TYPE vector(768)');
expect(msg).toContain('UPDATE content_chunks SET embedding = NULL');
expect(msg).toContain('CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding');
expect(msg).toContain('docs/embedding-migrations.md');
});
test('skips HNSW recreate when requested dims exceed pgvector cap', () => {
// Codex finding #8: 2048d (Voyage 4 Large) cannot be HNSW-indexed in pgvector.
// The recipe must NOT instruct a CREATE INDEX HNSW for that dim.
const msg = embeddingMismatchMessage({
currentDims: 1536,
requestedDims: 2048,
requestedModel: 'voyage-4-large',
source: 'init',
});
expect(msg).toContain('vector(2048)');
expect(msg).toContain('Skip reindex');
expect(msg).toContain('exceeds pgvector\'s HNSW cap');
// The HNSW CREATE INDEX line must NOT appear in the 2048d recipe.
expect(msg).not.toContain('CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_chunks_embedding\n ON content_chunks USING hnsw');
});
test('source: doctor uses a different header than source: init', () => {
const initMsg = embeddingMismatchMessage({ currentDims: 1536, requestedDims: 768, source: 'init' });
const doctorMsg = embeddingMismatchMessage({ currentDims: 1536, requestedDims: 768, source: 'doctor' });
expect(initMsg).toContain('Refusing to silently re-template');
expect(doctorMsg).toContain('Embedding dimension mismatch detected');
});
});