fix(mcp): strip active project prefix on edit_note autocreate

src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/edit_note.py

@@ -78,6 +78,33 @@ def _parse_identifier_to_title_and_directory(identifier: str) -> tuple[str, str]
     return title, directory
 
 
+def _strip_active_project_prefix(
+    identifier: str,
+    project_permalink: str,
+    *,
+    include_project: bool,
+) -> str:
+    """Drop a leading active-project segment before deriving a file path.
+
+    Trigger: append/prepend auto-create receives a permalink-shaped identifier
+        such as 'example/notes/note' or 'memory://example/notes/note'.
+    Why: permalinks carry the project slug (permalinks_include_project) and
+        memory:// URLs route by it, but the slug is not part of the on-disk path;
+        keeping it would create a '<project>/' folder.
+    Outcome: the remainder is used as directory/title. Plain identifiers are
+        only stripped when generated permalinks include the project slug, so a
+        real folder named like the project stays reachable as 'example/example/...'.
+    """
+    is_memory_url = identifier.startswith("memory://")
+    cleaned = identifier[len("memory://") :] if is_memory_url else identifier
+    if not (is_memory_url or include_project):
+        return identifier
+    prefix = f"{project_permalink}/"
+    if cleaned.startswith(prefix):
+        return cleaned[len(prefix) :]
+    return identifier
+
+
 # Suffixes mimetypes maps to text/markdown (extension matching is case-insensitive),
 # mirroring FileService.is_markdown which gates the index-file endpoint server-side.
 _MARKDOWN_SUFFIXES = (".md", ".markdown")
@@ -871,7 +898,14 @@ async def edit_note(
                         #      content, while find_replace/replace_section require existing
                         #      content to modify
                         # Outcome: note is created via the same path as write_note
-                        title, directory = _parse_identifier_to_title_and_directory(identifier)
+                        create_identifier = _strip_active_project_prefix(
+                            identifier.strip(),
+                            active_project.permalink,
+                            include_project=ConfigManager().config.permalinks_include_project,
+                        )
+                        title, directory = _parse_identifier_to_title_and_directory(
+                            create_identifier
+                        )
 
                         # Validate directory path (same security check as write_note)
                         project_path = active_project.home

tests/mcp/test_tool_edit_note.py

@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.clients import KnowledgeClient
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools.edit_note import (
+    _parse_identifier_to_title_and_directory,
     _resolve_after_disk_recovery,
     _revision_conflict_detail,
+    _strip_active_project_prefix,
     edit_note,
 )
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools.read_note import read_note
@@ -81,6 +83,73 @@ def test_edit_note_workspace_project_route_helper_rejects_invalid_inputs(
         edit_note_module._compose_workspace_project_route(**route_kwargs)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("identifier", "project_permalink", "include_project", "expected"),
+    [
+        (
+            "test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+            "test-project",
+            True,
+            "scratch/repro/note-c",
+        ),
+        (
+            "memory://test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+            "test-project",
+            True,
+            "scratch/repro/note-c",
+        ),
+        (
+            "memory://test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+            "test-project",
+            False,
+            "scratch/repro/note-c",
+        ),
+        (
+            # Plain path keeps a real folder named like the project when
+            # permalinks do not include the project slug.
+            "test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+            "test-project",
+            False,
+            "test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+        ),
+        (
+            "scratch/repro/note-a",
+            "test-project",
+            True,
+            "scratch/repro/note-a",
+        ),
+        (
+            "other-project/scratch/note",
+            "test-project",
+            True,
+            "other-project/scratch/note",
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_strip_active_project_prefix(identifier, project_permalink, include_project, expected):
+    """Project-qualified create identifiers drop only the active project slug."""
+    assert (
+        _strip_active_project_prefix(
+            identifier,
+            project_permalink,
+            include_project=include_project,
+        )
+        == expected
+    )
+
+
+def test_strip_active_project_prefix_feeds_create_parser():
+    """Stripped permalinks parse into the project-relative directory/title."""
+    create_identifier = _strip_active_project_prefix(
+        "test-project/scratch/repro/note-c",
+        "test-project",
+        include_project=True,
+    )
+    title, directory = _parse_identifier_to_title_and_directory(create_identifier)
+    assert title == "note-c"
+    assert directory == "scratch/repro"
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_edit_note_append_operation(client, test_project):
     """Test appending content to an existing note."""
@@ -388,6 +457,46 @@ async def test_edit_note_append_creates_json_format(client, test_project):
     assert result["operation"] == "append"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_append_strips_project_prefix_on_autocreate(client, test_project):
+    """Project-prefixed identifiers must not create a nested project directory."""
+    identifier = f"{test_project.permalink}/scratch/repro/note-c"
+    result = await edit_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        identifier=identifier,
+        operation="append",
+        content="Disposable reproduction note.",
+        output_format="json",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, dict)
+    assert result["fileCreated"] is True
+    assert result["file_path"] == "scratch/repro/note-c.md"
+    assert (Path(test_project.path) / "scratch" / "repro" / "note-c.md").exists()
+    assert not (Path(test_project.path) / test_project.permalink / "scratch").exists()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_edit_note_append_strips_project_prefix_memory_url_on_autocreate(
+    client, test_project
+):
+    """memory:// URLs that include the active project create at the relative path."""
+    identifier = f"memory://{test_project.permalink}/scratch/repro/note-mem"
+    result = await edit_note(
+        project=test_project.name,
+        identifier=identifier,
+        operation="append",
+        content="Disposable memory-url reproduction note.",
+        output_format="json",
+    )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, dict)
+    assert result["fileCreated"] is True
+    assert result["file_path"] == "scratch/repro/note-mem.md"
+    assert (Path(test_project.path) / "scratch" / "repro" / "note-mem.md").exists()
+    assert not (Path(test_project.path) / test_project.permalink / "scratch").exists()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_edit_note_memory_url_unresolved_project_never_autocreates(client, test_project):
     """A failed memory URL route must not create a phantom note in the active project."""