Data dir resolution hardcoded in several places — ignores BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR

[groksrc]

Summary

Several modules hardcode Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" to locate Basic Memory state instead of using BasicMemoryConfig.data_dir_path / ConfigManager.config_dir. This means they ignore the BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR environment variable, which users/tests rely on to redirect Basic Memory state (for isolated worktrees, containerized runs, multi-instance setups, etc.).

Any feature accessed through these call sites will silently read/write the wrong directory when BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR is set.

Known offending call sites

• src/basic_memory/utils.py:284 — log_path = Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" / log_filename (file logging)
• src/basic_memory/ignore_utils.py:66 — return Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" / \".bmignore\" (global ignore file lookup)
• src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py:92 — self.status_path = Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" / WATCH_STATUS_JSON
• src/basic_memory/services/project_service.py:1140 — watch_status_path = Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" / WATCH_STATUS_JSON
• src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/rclone_commands.py:147 — return Path.home() / \".basic-memory\" / \"bisync-state\" / project_name

Example impact

If a user runs with BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR=/opt/bm-sandbox:

• Config and the SQLite DB live under /opt/bm-sandbox/ (correct — honors the env var).
• But the watch status file, log file, .bmignore, and rclone bisync state all end up under ~/.basic-memory/ (wrong).

This causes split state, stale watchers, log leakage across isolated instances, and broken .bmignore behavior depending on which code path the user hits first.

Proposed fix

Follow-up to #741:

1. #741 introduces resolve_data_dir() as a module-level helper in config.py (the single source of truth, honoring BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR).
2. This issue: update every call site above to use resolve_data_dir() (or an equivalent already-available config accessor) instead of hardcoding Path.home() / \".basic-memory\".
3. Add a regression test that exercises each of those code paths under a non-default BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR and asserts the file/dir they touch lives under the redirected data dir.

Keeping it out of #741 to avoid scope creep on the FastEmbed cache fix.

[claude]

Claude finished @groksrc's task in 1m 37s —— View job

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Issue Triage

• Analyze issue and classify type/priority
• Review offending call sites in the codebase
• Check for duplicate issues
• Apply appropriate labels (bug applied)
• Provide triage summary

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Analysis

Type: Bug (environment variable ignored in multiple code paths)

Priority: Medium — affects users and tests relying on BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR to isolate Basic Memory state (containerized runs, CI, multi-instance setups). No data loss, but causes split state and subtle misbehavior.

Component: Cross-cutting — sync, services, cli/cloud, plus utils and ignore_utils

Complexity: Medium — 5 known call sites to update plus regression tests, but each fix is mechanical

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Verified Call Sites

All 5 hardcoded paths confirmed in the codebase:

File	Line	Hardcoded Path	Purpose
src/basic_memory/utils.py	284	Path.home() / ".basic-memory" / log_filename	File logging
src/basic_memory/ignore_utils.py	66	Path.home() / ".basic-memory" / ".bmignore"	Global ignore file
src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py	92	Path.home() / ".basic-memory" / WATCH_STATUS_JSON	Watch status
src/basic_memory/services/project_service.py	1140	Path.home() / ".basic-memory" / WATCH_STATUS_JSON	System status endpoint
src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/rclone_commands.py	147	Path.home() / ".basic-memory" / "bisync-state" / project_name	rclone bisync state

Proposed Fix

The fix is already partially designed: BasicMemoryConfig.data_dir_path (line 710 in config.py) and ConfigManager.config_dir (line 742) both honor BASIC_MEMORY_CONFIG_DIR. The issue mentions that #741 will introduce a module-level resolve_data_dir() helper — but that helper doesn't exist yet.

Option A: Wait for #741 to land, then use resolve_data_dir() at each call site.

Option B: Add resolve_data_dir() directly in this PR (it's a one-liner that mirrors BasicMemoryConfig.data_dir_path) and update all 5 call sites.

For sites that already have access to app_config (e.g., watch_service.py receives BasicMemoryConfig), use app_config.data_dir_path directly. For standalone helpers (utils.py, ignore_utils.py, rclone_commands.py), a module-level resolve_data_dir() is cleaner.

No Duplicate Found

Searched open issues — this is a distinct follow-up to #741 as noted by the author.