fix: prevent CLI commands from hanging on exit (#471)

Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/basic_memory/cli/app.py

@@ -34,8 +34,15 @@ def app_callback(
     # Initialize logging for CLI (file only, no stdout)
     init_cli_logging()
 
-    # Run initialization for every command unless --version was specified
-    if not version and ctx.invoked_subcommand is not None:
+    # Run initialization for commands that don't use the API
+    # Skip for 'mcp' command - it has its own lifespan that handles initialization
+    # Skip for API-using commands (status, sync, etc.) - they handle initialization via deps.py
+    api_commands = {"mcp", "status", "sync", "project", "tool"}
+    if (
+        not version
+        and ctx.invoked_subcommand is not None
+        and ctx.invoked_subcommand not in api_commands
+    ):
         from basic_memory.services.initialization import ensure_initialization
 
         app_config = ConfigManager().config

src/basic_memory/cli/commands/command_utils.py

@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 """utility functions for commands"""
 
-from typing import Optional
+import asyncio
+from typing import Optional, TypeVar, Coroutine, Any
 
 from mcp.server.fastmcp.exceptions import ToolError
 import typer
 
 from rich.console import Console
 
+from basic_memory import db
 from basic_memory.mcp.async_client import get_client
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools.utils import call_post, call_get
@@ -15,6 +17,30 @@ from basic_memory.schemas import ProjectInfoResponse
 
 console = Console()
 
+T = TypeVar("T")
+
+
+def run_with_cleanup(coro: Coroutine[Any, Any, T]) -> T:
+    """Run an async coroutine with proper database cleanup.
+
+    This helper ensures database connections are cleaned up before the event
+    loop closes, preventing process hangs in CLI commands.
+
+    Args:
+        coro: The coroutine to run
+
+    Returns:
+        The result of the coroutine
+    """
+
+    async def _with_cleanup() -> T:
+        try:
+            return await coro
+        finally:
+            await db.shutdown_db()
+
+    return asyncio.run(_with_cleanup())
+
 
 async def run_sync(project: Optional[str] = None, force_full: bool = False):
     """Run sync operation via API endpoint.

src/basic_memory/cli/commands/mcp.py

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 """MCP server command with streamable HTTP transport."""
 
-import asyncio
 import os
 import typer
 from typing import Optional
@@ -8,7 +7,7 @@ from typing import Optional
 from basic_memory.cli.app import app
 from basic_memory.config import ConfigManager, init_mcp_logging
 
-# Import mcp instance
+# Import mcp instance (has lifespan that handles initialization and file sync)
 from basic_memory.mcp.server import mcp as mcp_server  # pragma: no cover
 
 # Import mcp tools to register them
@@ -17,8 +16,6 @@ import basic_memory.mcp.tools  # noqa: F401  # pragma: no cover
 # Import prompts to register them
 import basic_memory.mcp.prompts  # noqa: F401  # pragma: no cover
 from loguru import logger
-import threading
-from basic_memory.services.initialization import initialize_file_sync
 
 config = ConfigManager().config
 
@@ -43,6 +40,8 @@ if not config.cloud_mode_enabled:
         - stdio: Standard I/O (good for local usage)
         - streamable-http: Recommended for web deployments (default)
         - sse: Server-Sent Events (for compatibility with existing clients)
+
+        Initialization, file sync, and cleanup are handled by the MCP server's lifespan.
         """
         # Initialize logging for MCP (file only, stdout breaks protocol)
         init_mcp_logging()
@@ -59,27 +58,8 @@ if not config.cloud_mode_enabled:
             os.environ["BASIC_MEMORY_MCP_PROJECT"] = project_name
             logger.info(f"MCP server constrained to project: {project_name}")
 
-        app_config = ConfigManager().config
-
-        def run_file_sync():
-            """Run file sync in a separate thread with its own event loop."""
-            loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
-            asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
-            try:
-                loop.run_until_complete(initialize_file_sync(app_config))
-            except Exception as e:
-                logger.error(f"File sync error: {e}", err=True)
-            finally:
-                loop.close()
-
-        logger.info(f"Sync changes enabled: {app_config.sync_changes}")
-        if app_config.sync_changes:
-            # Start the sync thread
-            sync_thread = threading.Thread(target=run_file_sync, daemon=True)
-            sync_thread.start()
-            logger.info("Started file sync in background")
-
-        # Now run the MCP server (blocks)
+        # Run the MCP server (blocks)
+        # Lifespan handles: initialization, migrations, file sync, cleanup
         logger.info(f"Starting MCP server with {transport.upper()} transport")
 
         if transport == "stdio":

src/basic_memory/cli/commands/status.py

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 """Status command for basic-memory CLI."""
 
-import asyncio
 from typing import Set, Dict
 from typing import Annotated, Optional
 
@@ -165,8 +164,10 @@ def status(
     verbose: bool = typer.Option(False, "--verbose", "-v", help="Show detailed file information"),
 ):
     """Show sync status between files and database."""
+    from basic_memory.cli.commands.command_utils import run_with_cleanup
+
     try:
-        asyncio.run(run_status(project, verbose))  # pragma: no cover
+        run_with_cleanup(run_status(project, verbose))  # pragma: no cover
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Error checking status: {e}")
         typer.echo(f"Error checking status: {e}", err=True)