From 58dd6963bdfcf7682cbb7666c1223cf75773295a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:42:22 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] chore(core): use ty for typechecking

Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
---
 justfile                                      |   8 +-
 .../api/v2/routers/prompt_router.py           |  71 ++++----
 .../api/v2/routers/resource_router.py         |   6 +-
 src/basic_memory/api/v2/utils.py              | 117 ++++++++-----
 .../cli/commands/cloud/api_client.py          |  70 ++++----
 src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py         |   2 +-
 src/basic_memory/config.py                    |   7 +-
 src/basic_memory/importers/utils.py           |  13 +-
 src/basic_memory/markdown/schemas.py          |  40 ++++-
 src/basic_memory/mcp/prompts/utils.py         |  14 +-
 src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py       |  27 ++-
 src/basic_memory/models/base.py               |   5 +-
 .../repository/fastembed_provider.py          |   4 +-
 .../repository/openai_provider.py             |   2 +-
 src/basic_memory/repository/repository.py     |   7 +-
 .../repository/search_repository_base.py      |  47 +++---
 .../repository/sqlite_search_repository.py    |   2 +-
 src/basic_memory/schemas/memory.py            |   2 +-
 src/basic_memory/schemas/response.py          |   2 +-
 src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py   |  20 ++-
 src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py        |  18 +-
 .../test_output_format_json_integration.py    |   3 +-
 test-int/mcp/test_pagination_integration.py   |   3 +-
 test-int/semantic/test_search_diagnostics.py  |  15 +-
 test-int/semantic/test_semantic_coverage.py   |   4 +-
 test-int/test_db_wal_mode.py                  |  17 +-
 tests/api/v2/conftest.py                      |   3 +-
 .../api/v2/test_knowledge_router_telemetry.py |  35 ++--
 tests/api/v2/test_memory_hydration.py         |  29 +++-
 tests/api/v2/test_project_router.py           |  26 ++-
 tests/api/v2/test_search_hydration.py         |   5 +-
 tests/api/v2/test_search_router_telemetry.py  |  18 +-
 .../cloud/test_cloud_api_client_and_utils.py  |   1 +
 tests/cli/test_auto_update.py                 |  25 +--
 tests/cli/test_cli_telemetry.py               |   4 +-
 tests/cli/test_cloud_authentication.py        |  11 +-
 tests/cli/test_cloud_promo.py                 |  10 +-
 tests/cli/test_json_output.py                 |  14 +-
 .../test_issue_254_foreign_key_constraints.py |   1 +
 .../markdown/test_date_frontmatter_parsing.py |   1 +
 .../test_entity_parser_error_handling.py      |   2 +
 tests/markdown/test_markdown_processor.py     |   1 +
 tests/markdown/test_observation_edge_cases.py |   7 +
 tests/markdown/test_parser_edge_cases.py      |   2 +
 tests/markdown/test_relation_edge_cases.py    |   6 +
 tests/mcp/conftest.py                         |   4 +-
 ...test_permalink_collision_file_overwrite.py |   2 +
 tests/mcp/test_project_context.py             |  33 ++--
 tests/mcp/test_project_context_telemetry.py   |   3 +-
 .../mcp/test_recent_activity_prompt_modes.py  |   3 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_build_context.py          |   4 +
 tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py              |   4 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_project_management.py     |   2 +
 tests/mcp/test_tool_read_note.py              |   8 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_recent_activity.py        |   3 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_utils.py                  |  34 ++--
 tests/mcp/test_tool_utils_cloud_auth.py       |  10 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_workspace_management.py   |  10 +-
 tests/mcp/test_tool_write_note.py             |   4 +-
 tests/mcp/test_ui_sdk.py                      |   7 +-
 tests/repository/test_entity_repository.py    |   6 +-
 tests/repository/test_fastembed_provider.py   |  10 +-
 tests/repository/test_hybrid_fusion.py        |  43 ++++-
 .../repository/test_observation_repository.py |   4 +-
 tests/repository/test_openai_provider.py      |  10 +-
 .../test_postgres_search_repository.py        |   6 +
 tests/repository/test_relation_repository.py  |   7 +-
 .../test_search_repository_edit_bug_fix.py    |   2 +
 tests/repository/test_semantic_search_base.py |  27 ++-
 .../test_sqlite_vector_search_repository.py   |  19 ++-
 tests/repository/test_vector_pagination.py    |  37 +++-
 tests/repository/test_vector_threshold.py     |  49 ++++--
 tests/schema/test_resolver.py                 |   3 +
 tests/schema/test_validator.py                |   2 +
 tests/schemas/test_search.py                  |   5 +-
 tests/services/test_entity_service.py         | 158 +++++++++---------
 .../test_entity_service_disable_permalinks.py |   3 +-
 tests/services/test_project_service.py        |  21 ++-
 tests/services/test_search_service.py         |   4 +
 tests/services/test_semantic_search.py        |   4 +-
 .../services/test_task_scheduler_semantic.py  |  25 +--
 tests/sync/test_sync_service.py               |   8 +-
 tests/sync/test_sync_service_incremental.py   |  79 ++++-----
 tests/sync/test_watch_service_reload.py       |  35 ++--
 tests/test_config.py                          |  13 +-
 tests/test_production_cascade_delete.py       |  67 ++++++--
 tests/utils/test_file_utils.py                |   3 +-
 tests/utils/test_parse_tags.py                |   4 +-
 88 files changed, 961 insertions(+), 551 deletions(-)

diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index e12fcbe97..04c5b25af 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -170,13 +170,17 @@ lint: fix
 fix:
     uv run ruff check --fix --unsafe-fixes src tests test-int
 
-# Type check code (pyright)
+# Type check code (ty)
 typecheck:
+    uv run ty check src tests test-int
+
+# Type check code (pyright)
+typecheck-pyright:
     uv run pyright
 
 # Type check code (ty)
 typecheck-ty:
-    uv run ty check src/
+    just typecheck
 
 # Clean build artifacts and cache files
 clean:
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/prompt_router.py b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/prompt_router.py
index c6e58ec0f..69cc1c3cc 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/prompt_router.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/prompt_router.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 """
 
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from typing import Any
 from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, status, Path
 from loguru import logger
 
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ async def continue_conversation(
 
     # Initialize search results
     search_results = []
+    hierarchical_results_for_count = []
 
     # Get data needed for template
     if request.topic:
@@ -91,7 +93,8 @@ async def continue_conversation(
         # Limit to a reasonable number of total results
         all_hierarchical_results = all_hierarchical_results[:10]
 
-        template_context = {
+        hierarchical_results_for_count = all_hierarchical_results
+        template_context: dict[str, Any] = {
             "topic": request.topic,
             "timeframe": request.timeframe,
             "hierarchical_results": all_hierarchical_results,
@@ -110,6 +113,7 @@ async def continue_conversation(
 
         hierarchical_results = recent_context.results[:5]  # Limit to top 5 recent items
 
+        hierarchical_results_for_count = hierarchical_results
         template_context = {
             "topic": f"Recent Activity from ({request.timeframe})",
             "timeframe": request.timeframe,
@@ -129,9 +133,6 @@ async def continue_conversation(
         relation_count = 0
         entity_count = 0
 
-        # Get the hierarchical results from the template context
-        hierarchical_results_for_count = template_context.get("hierarchical_results", [])
-
         # For topic-based search
         if request.topic:
             for item in hierarchical_results_for_count:
@@ -159,29 +160,24 @@ async def continue_conversation(
                             elif related.type == "entity":  # pragma: no cover
                                 entity_count += 1  # pragma: no cover
 
-        # Build metadata
-        metadata = {
-            "query": request.topic,
-            "timeframe": request.timeframe,
-            "search_count": len(search_results)
-            if request.topic
-            else 0,  # Original search results count
-            "context_count": len(hierarchical_results_for_count),
-            "observation_count": observation_count,
-            "relation_count": relation_count,
-            "total_items": (
+        prompt_metadata = PromptMetadata(
+            query=request.topic,
+            timeframe=request.timeframe,
+            search_count=len(search_results) if request.topic else 0,
+            context_count=len(hierarchical_results_for_count),
+            observation_count=observation_count,
+            relation_count=relation_count,
+            total_items=(
                 len(hierarchical_results_for_count)
                 + observation_count
                 + relation_count
                 + entity_count
             ),
-            "search_limit": request.search_items_limit,
-            "context_depth": request.depth,
-            "related_limit": request.related_items_limit,
-            "generated_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
-        }
-
-        prompt_metadata = PromptMetadata(**metadata)
+            search_limit=request.search_items_limit,
+            context_depth=request.depth,
+            related_limit=request.related_items_limit,
+            generated_at=datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+        )
 
         return PromptResponse(
             prompt=rendered_prompt, context=template_context, metadata=prompt_metadata
@@ -229,7 +225,7 @@ async def search_prompt(
     results = await search_service.search(query, limit=limit, offset=offset)
     search_results = await to_search_results(entity_service, results)
 
-    template_context = {
+    template_context: dict[str, Any] = {
         "query": request.query,
         "timeframe": request.timeframe,
         "results": search_results,
@@ -241,22 +237,19 @@ async def search_prompt(
         # Render template
         rendered_prompt = await template_loader.render("prompts/search.hbs", template_context)
 
-        # Build metadata
-        metadata = {
-            "query": request.query,
-            "timeframe": request.timeframe,
-            "search_count": len(search_results),
-            "context_count": len(search_results),
-            "observation_count": 0,  # Search results don't include observations
-            "relation_count": 0,  # Search results don't include relations
-            "total_items": len(search_results),
-            "search_limit": limit,
-            "context_depth": 0,  # No context depth for basic search
-            "related_limit": 0,  # No related items for basic search
-            "generated_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
-        }
-
-        prompt_metadata = PromptMetadata(**metadata)
+        prompt_metadata = PromptMetadata(
+            query=request.query,
+            timeframe=request.timeframe,
+            search_count=len(search_results),
+            context_count=len(search_results),
+            observation_count=0,
+            relation_count=0,
+            total_items=len(search_results),
+            search_limit=limit,
+            context_depth=0,
+            related_limit=0,
+            generated_at=datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+        )
 
         return PromptResponse(
             prompt=rendered_prompt, context=template_context, metadata=prompt_metadata
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/resource_router.py b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/resource_router.py
index d459bb9d9..4ebf94506 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/resource_router.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/routers/resource_router.py
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ async def create_resource(
                 action="create",
                 phase="search_index",
             ):
-                await search_service.index_entity(entity)  # pyright: ignore
+                await search_service.index_entity(entity)
 
             return ResourceResponse(
                 entity_id=entity.id,
@@ -326,6 +326,8 @@ async def update_resource(
                         "updated_at": file_metadata.modified_at,
                     },
                 )
+            if updated_entity is None:
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=f"Entity {entity_id} not found")
 
             with telemetry.scope(
                 "api.resource.update.search_index",
@@ -333,7 +335,7 @@ async def update_resource(
                 action="update",
                 phase="search_index",
             ):
-                await search_service.index_entity(updated_entity)  # pyright: ignore
+                await search_service.index_entity(updated_entity)
 
             return ResourceResponse(
                 entity_id=entity.id,
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/utils.py b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/utils.py
index 7c0ac65d4..2977e3ef8 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/api/v2/utils.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/api/v2/utils.py
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
-from typing import Optional, List
+from typing import Any, Protocol, Optional, List, Sequence
 
 from basic_memory import telemetry
-from basic_memory.models import Entity as EntityModel
-from basic_memory.repository import EntityRepository
 from basic_memory.repository.search_repository import SearchIndexRow
 from basic_memory.schemas.memory import (
     EntitySummary,
@@ -13,19 +11,38 @@
     ContextResult,
 )
 from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType, SearchResult
-from basic_memory.services import EntityService
 from basic_memory.services.context_service import (
     ContextResultRow,
     ContextResult as ServiceContextResult,
 )
 
 
+class EntityBatchLookup(Protocol):
+    async def find_by_ids(self, ids: List[int]) -> Sequence[Any]: ...
+
+
+class EntityServiceBatchLookup(Protocol):
+    async def get_entities_by_id(self, ids: List[int]) -> Sequence[Any]: ...
+
+
+def _required_str(value: str | None, field_name: str) -> str:
+    """Return a required search field or fail before producing invalid response data."""
+    if value is None:
+        raise ValueError(f"Search result is missing required field: {field_name}")
+    return value
+
+
+def _search_item_type(value: str | SearchItemType) -> SearchItemType:
+    """Normalize repository row type strings into the public search enum."""
+    return value if isinstance(value, SearchItemType) else SearchItemType(value)
+
+
 async def to_graph_context(
     context_result: ServiceContextResult,
-    entity_repository: EntityRepository,
+    entity_repository: EntityBatchLookup,
     page: Optional[int] = None,
     page_size: Optional[int] = None,
-):
+) -> GraphContext:
     with telemetry.scope(
         "memory.hydrate_context",
         domain="memory",
@@ -44,17 +61,18 @@ async def to_graph_context(
                 + context_item.observations
                 + context_item.related_results
             ):
-                if item.type == SearchItemType.ENTITY:
+                item_type = _search_item_type(item.type)
+                if item_type == SearchItemType.ENTITY:
                     # Entity's own ID for its external_id
                     entity_ids_needed.add(item.id)
-                elif item.type == SearchItemType.OBSERVATION:
+                elif item_type == SearchItemType.OBSERVATION:
                     # Parent entity ID for entity_external_id
-                    if item.entity_id:  # pyright: ignore
-                        entity_ids_needed.add(item.entity_id)  # pyright: ignore
-                elif item.type == SearchItemType.RELATION:
+                    if item.entity_id:
+                        entity_ids_needed.add(item.entity_id)
+                elif item_type == SearchItemType.RELATION:
                     # Source and target entity IDs for external_ids
-                    if item.from_id:  # pyright: ignore
-                        entity_ids_needed.add(item.from_id)  # pyright: ignore
+                    if item.from_id:
+                        entity_ids_needed.add(item.from_id)
                     if item.to_id:
                         entity_ids_needed.add(item.to_id)
 
@@ -75,57 +93,60 @@ async def to_graph_context(
                 entity_external_id_lookup[e.id] = e.external_id
 
         # Helper function to convert items to summaries
-        def to_summary(item: SearchIndexRow | ContextResultRow):
-            match item.type:
+        def to_summary(
+            item: SearchIndexRow | ContextResultRow,
+        ) -> EntitySummary | ObservationSummary | RelationSummary:
+            item_type = _search_item_type(item.type)
+            match item_type:
                 case SearchItemType.ENTITY:
                     return EntitySummary(
                         external_id=entity_external_id_lookup.get(item.id, ""),
                         entity_id=item.id,
-                        title=item.title,  # pyright: ignore
+                        title=_required_str(item.title, "title"),
                         permalink=item.permalink,
                         content=item.content,
-                        file_path=item.file_path,
+                        file_path=_required_str(item.file_path, "file_path"),
                         created_at=item.created_at,
                     )
                 case SearchItemType.OBSERVATION:
                     entity_ext_id = None
-                    if item.entity_id:  # pyright: ignore
-                        entity_ext_id = entity_external_id_lookup.get(item.entity_id)  # pyright: ignore
+                    entity_title = None
+                    if item.entity_id:
+                        entity_ext_id = entity_external_id_lookup.get(item.entity_id)
+                        entity_title = entity_title_lookup.get(item.entity_id)
                     return ObservationSummary(
                         observation_id=item.id,
-                        entity_id=item.entity_id,  # pyright: ignore
+                        entity_id=item.entity_id,
                         entity_external_id=entity_ext_id,
-                        title=entity_title_lookup.get(item.entity_id),  # pyright: ignore
-                        file_path=item.file_path,
-                        category=item.category,  # pyright: ignore
-                        content=item.content,  # pyright: ignore
-                        permalink=item.permalink,  # pyright: ignore
+                        title=entity_title,
+                        file_path=_required_str(item.file_path, "file_path"),
+                        category=_required_str(item.category, "category"),
+                        content=_required_str(item.content, "content"),
+                        permalink=_required_str(item.permalink, "permalink"),
                         created_at=item.created_at,
                     )
                 case SearchItemType.RELATION:
-                    from_title = entity_title_lookup.get(item.from_id) if item.from_id else None  # pyright: ignore
+                    from_title = entity_title_lookup.get(item.from_id) if item.from_id else None
                     to_title = entity_title_lookup.get(item.to_id) if item.to_id else None
                     from_ext_id = (
                         entity_external_id_lookup.get(item.from_id) if item.from_id else None
-                    )  # pyright: ignore
+                    )
                     to_ext_id = entity_external_id_lookup.get(item.to_id) if item.to_id else None
                     return RelationSummary(
                         relation_id=item.id,
-                        entity_id=item.entity_id,  # pyright: ignore
-                        title=item.title,  # pyright: ignore
-                        file_path=item.file_path,
-                        permalink=item.permalink,  # pyright: ignore
-                        relation_type=item.relation_type,  # pyright: ignore
+                        entity_id=item.entity_id,
+                        title=_required_str(item.title, "title"),
+                        file_path=_required_str(item.file_path, "file_path"),
+                        permalink=_required_str(item.permalink, "permalink"),
+                        relation_type=_required_str(item.relation_type, "relation_type"),
                         from_entity=from_title,
-                        from_entity_id=item.from_id,  # pyright: ignore
+                        from_entity_id=item.from_id,
                         from_entity_external_id=from_ext_id,
                         to_entity=to_title,
                         to_entity_id=item.to_id,
                         to_entity_external_id=to_ext_id,
                         created_at=item.created_at,
                     )
-                case _:  # pragma: no cover
-                    raise ValueError(f"Unexpected type: {item.type}")
 
         with telemetry.scope(
             "memory.hydrate_context.shape_results",
@@ -137,12 +158,16 @@ def to_summary(item: SearchIndexRow | ContextResultRow):
             hierarchical_results = []
             for context_item in context_result.results:
                 primary_result = to_summary(context_item.primary_result)
-                observations = [to_summary(obs) for obs in context_item.observations]
+                observations = [
+                    summary
+                    for summary in (to_summary(obs) for obs in context_item.observations)
+                    if isinstance(summary, ObservationSummary)
+                ]
                 related = [to_summary(rel) for rel in context_item.related_results]
                 hierarchical_results.append(
                     ContextResult(
                         primary_result=primary_result,
-                        observations=observations,  # pyright: ignore[reportArgumentType]
+                        observations=observations,
                         related_results=related,
                     )
                 )
@@ -170,7 +195,9 @@ def to_summary(item: SearchIndexRow | ContextResultRow):
         )
 
 
-async def to_search_results(entity_service: EntityService, results: List[SearchIndexRow]):
+async def to_search_results(
+    entity_service: EntityServiceBatchLookup, results: List[SearchIndexRow]
+) -> list[SearchResult]:
     with telemetry.scope(
         "search.hydrate_results",
         domain="search",
@@ -187,7 +214,7 @@ async def to_search_results(entity_service: EntityService, results: List[SearchI
                     all_entity_ids.add(eid)
 
         # Single batch fetch for all entities
-        entities_by_id: dict[int, EntityModel] = {}
+        entities_by_id: dict[int, Any] = {}
         with telemetry.scope(
             "search.hydrate_results.fetch_entities",
             domain="search",
@@ -222,20 +249,20 @@ async def to_search_results(entity_service: EntityService, results: List[SearchI
                     entity_id = result.entity_id
 
                 # Look up entities by their specific IDs
-                parent_entity = entities_by_id.get(result.entity_id) if result.entity_id else None  # pyright: ignore
-                from_entity = entities_by_id.get(result.from_id) if result.from_id else None  # pyright: ignore
+                parent_entity = entities_by_id.get(result.entity_id) if result.entity_id else None
+                from_entity = entities_by_id.get(result.from_id) if result.from_id else None
                 to_entity = entities_by_id.get(result.to_id) if result.to_id else None
 
                 search_results.append(
                     SearchResult(
-                        title=result.title,  # pyright: ignore
-                        type=result.type,  # pyright: ignore
+                        title=_required_str(result.title, "title"),
+                        type=_search_item_type(result.type),
                         permalink=result.permalink,
-                        score=result.score,  # pyright: ignore
+                        score=result.score if result.score is not None else 0.0,
                         entity=parent_entity.permalink if parent_entity else None,
                         content=result.content,
                         matched_chunk=result.matched_chunk_text,
-                        file_path=result.file_path,
+                        file_path=_required_str(result.file_path, "file_path"),
                         metadata=result.metadata,
                         entity_id=entity_id,
                         observation_id=observation_id,
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/api_client.py b/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/api_client.py
index 8f77963b8..98dacc2f7 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/api_client.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/cloud/api_client.py
@@ -99,41 +99,39 @@ async def make_api_request(
             response = await client.request(method=method, url=url, headers=headers, json=json_data)
             response.raise_for_status()
             return response
+        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
+            response = e.response
+
+            # Try to parse error detail from response
+            error_detail = None
+            try:
+                error_detail = response.json()
+            except Exception:
+                # If JSON parsing fails, we'll handle it as a generic error
+                pass
+
+            # Check for subscription_required error (403)
+            if response.status_code == 403 and isinstance(error_detail, dict):
+                # Handle both FastAPI HTTPException format (nested under "detail")
+                # and direct format
+                detail_obj = error_detail.get("detail", error_detail)
+                if (
+                    isinstance(detail_obj, dict)
+                    and detail_obj.get("error") == "subscription_required"
+                ):
+                    message = detail_obj.get("message", "Active subscription required")
+                    subscribe_url = detail_obj.get(
+                        "subscribe_url", "https://basicmemory.com/subscribe"
+                    )
+                    raise SubscriptionRequiredError(
+                        message=message, subscribe_url=subscribe_url
+                    ) from e
+
+            # Raise generic CloudAPIError with status code and detail
+            raise CloudAPIError(
+                f"API request failed: {e}",
+                status_code=response.status_code,
+                detail=error_detail if isinstance(error_detail, dict) else {},
+            ) from e
         except httpx.HTTPError as e:
-            # Check if this is a response error with response details
-            if hasattr(e, "response") and e.response is not None:  # pyright: ignore [reportAttributeAccessIssue]
-                response = e.response  # type: ignore
-
-                # Try to parse error detail from response
-                error_detail = None
-                try:
-                    error_detail = response.json()
-                except Exception:
-                    # If JSON parsing fails, we'll handle it as a generic error
-                    pass
-
-                # Check for subscription_required error (403)
-                if response.status_code == 403 and isinstance(error_detail, dict):
-                    # Handle both FastAPI HTTPException format (nested under "detail")
-                    # and direct format
-                    detail_obj = error_detail.get("detail", error_detail)
-                    if (
-                        isinstance(detail_obj, dict)
-                        and detail_obj.get("error") == "subscription_required"
-                    ):
-                        message = detail_obj.get("message", "Active subscription required")
-                        subscribe_url = detail_obj.get(
-                            "subscribe_url", "https://basicmemory.com/subscribe"
-                        )
-                        raise SubscriptionRequiredError(
-                            message=message, subscribe_url=subscribe_url
-                        ) from e
-
-                # Raise generic CloudAPIError with status code and detail
-                raise CloudAPIError(
-                    f"API request failed: {e}",
-                    status_code=response.status_code,
-                    detail=error_detail if isinstance(error_detail, dict) else {},
-                ) from e
-
             raise CloudAPIError(f"API request failed: {e}") from e
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py b/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py
index 6486b4c25..8b4457901 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/cli/commands/tool.py
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ def recent_activity(
         with force_routing(local=local, cloud=cloud):
             result = run_with_cleanup(
                 mcp_recent_activity(
-                    type=type,  # pyright: ignore[reportArgumentType]
+                    type=type or "",
                     depth=depth if depth is not None else 1,
                     timeframe=timeframe if timeframe is not None else "7d",
                     page=page,
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/config.py b/src/basic_memory/config.py
index 3fa875806..61eb4556d 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/config.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/config.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 from enum import Enum
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Dict, Literal, Optional, List, Tuple
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, Literal, Optional, List, Tuple
 
 from loguru import logger
 from pydantic import AliasChoices, BaseModel, Field, model_validator
@@ -122,6 +122,11 @@ class ProjectEntry(BaseModel):
 class BasicMemoryConfig(BaseSettings):
     """Pydantic model for Basic Memory global configuration."""
 
+    if TYPE_CHECKING:
+        # Pydantic accepts raw constructor data and validates/coerces it at runtime.
+        # Model attributes remain strongly typed after initialization.
+        def __init__(self, **data: Any) -> None: ...
+
     env: Environment = Field(default="dev", description="Environment name")
 
     projects: Dict[str, ProjectEntry] = Field(
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/importers/utils.py b/src/basic_memory/importers/utils.py
index 9c2f987bf..ef07a0f9d 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/importers/utils.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/importers/utils.py
@@ -39,23 +39,24 @@ def format_timestamp(timestamp: Any) -> str:  # pragma: no cover
     Returns:
         A formatted string representation of the timestamp.
     """
+    parsed_timestamp = timestamp
     if isinstance(timestamp, str):
         try:
             # Try ISO format
-            timestamp = datetime.fromisoformat(timestamp.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
+            parsed_timestamp = datetime.fromisoformat(timestamp.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
         except ValueError:
             try:
                 # Try unix timestamp as string
-                timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(float(timestamp)).astimezone()
+                parsed_timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(float(timestamp)).astimezone()
             except ValueError:
                 # Return as is if we can't parse it
                 return timestamp
     elif isinstance(timestamp, (int, float)):
         # Unix timestamp
-        timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp).astimezone()
+        parsed_timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp).astimezone()
 
-    if isinstance(timestamp, datetime):
-        return timestamp.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
+    if isinstance(parsed_timestamp, datetime):
+        return parsed_timestamp.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
 
     # Return as is if we can't format it
-    return str(timestamp)  # pragma: no cover
+    return str(parsed_timestamp)  # pragma: no cover
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/markdown/schemas.py b/src/basic_memory/markdown/schemas.py
index f7c2d078c..cde881cc1 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/markdown/schemas.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/markdown/schemas.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 """Schema models for entity markdown files."""
 
 from datetime import datetime
-from typing import List, Optional
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, List, Optional
 
-from pydantic import BaseModel
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, model_validator
 
 
 class Observation(BaseModel):
@@ -38,23 +38,47 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
 class EntityFrontmatter(BaseModel):
     """Required frontmatter fields for an entity."""
 
-    metadata: dict = {}
+    if TYPE_CHECKING:
+        # Frontmatter may be built from raw YAML keys. The validator below
+        # gathers those keys into the metadata mapping used at runtime.
+        def __init__(self, **data: Any) -> None: ...
+
+    metadata: dict[str, Any] = Field(default_factory=dict)
+
+    @model_validator(mode="before")
+    @classmethod
+    def collect_metadata(cls, data: Any) -> Any:
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            return data
+
+        if "metadata" not in data:
+            return {"metadata": data}
+
+        metadata = data.get("metadata") or {}
+        extras = {key: value for key, value in data.items() if key != "metadata"}
+        if extras:
+            return {"metadata": {**extras, **metadata}}
+        return data
 
     @property
     def tags(self) -> List[str]:
-        return self.metadata.get("tags") if self.metadata else None  # pyright: ignore
+        tags = self.metadata.get("tags")
+        return [str(tag) for tag in tags] if isinstance(tags, list) else []
 
     @property
     def title(self) -> str:
-        return self.metadata.get("title") if self.metadata else None  # pyright: ignore
+        title = self.metadata.get("title")
+        return title if isinstance(title, str) else ""
 
     @property
     def type(self) -> str:
-        return self.metadata.get("type", "note") if self.metadata else "note"  # pyright: ignore
+        note_type = self.metadata.get("type", "note")
+        return note_type if isinstance(note_type, str) else "note"
 
     @property
-    def permalink(self) -> str:
-        return self.metadata.get("permalink") if self.metadata else None  # pyright: ignore
+    def permalink(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        permalink = self.metadata.get("permalink")
+        return permalink if isinstance(permalink, str) else None
 
 
 class EntityMarkdown(BaseModel):
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/mcp/prompts/utils.py b/src/basic_memory/mcp/prompts/utils.py
index 0e680b61e..ba0fe4643 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/mcp/prompts/utils.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/mcp/prompts/utils.py
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ def format_prompt_context(context: PromptContext) -> str:
     sections = []
 
     # Process each context
-    for context in context.results:  # pyright: ignore
-        for primary in context.primary_results:  # pyright: ignore
+    for context_item in context.results:
+        for primary in context_item.primary_results:
             if primary.permalink not in added_permalinks:
                 primary_permalink = primary.permalink
 
@@ -121,8 +121,8 @@ def format_prompt_context(context: PromptContext) -> str:
                 section += f"- **Created**: {primary.created_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')}\n"
 
                 # Add content snippet
-                if hasattr(primary, "content") and primary.content:  # pyright: ignore
-                    content = primary.content or ""  # pyright: ignore  # pragma: no cover
+                if hasattr(primary, "content") and primary.content:
+                    content = primary.content or ""  # pragma: no cover
                     if content:  # pragma: no cover
                         section += f"\n**Excerpt**:\n{content}\n"  # pragma: no cover
 
@@ -132,14 +132,14 @@ def format_prompt_context(context: PromptContext) -> str:
                     """)
                 sections.append(section)
 
-        if context.related_results:  # pyright: ignore
-            section += dedent(  # pyright: ignore
+        if context_item.related_results:
+            section += dedent(
                 """   
                 ## Related Context
                 """
             )
 
-            for related in context.related_results:  # pyright: ignore
+            for related in context_item.related_results:
                 section_content = dedent(f"""
                     - type: **{related.type}**
                     - title: {related.title}
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py b/src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py
index 09dc8916c..229bc28c7 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/mcp/tools/read_note.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """Read note tool for Basic Memory MCP server."""
 
 from textwrap import dedent
-from typing import Optional, Literal
+from typing import Optional, Literal, cast
 
 import yaml
 
@@ -235,13 +235,22 @@ def _empty_json_payload() -> dict:
                         "frontmatter": None,
                     }
 
-                def _search_results(payload: object) -> list[dict]:
+                def _search_results(payload: object) -> list[dict[str, object]]:
                     if not isinstance(payload, dict):
                         return []
-                    results = payload.get("results")
-                    return results if isinstance(results, list) else []
+                    payload_dict = cast(dict[str, object], payload)
+                    results = payload_dict.get("results")
+                    if not isinstance(results, list):
+                        return []
+                    return [
+                        cast(dict[str, object], result)
+                        for result in results
+                        if isinstance(result, dict)
+                    ]
 
-                async def _search_candidates(identifier_text: str, *, title_only: bool) -> dict:
+                async def _search_candidates(
+                    identifier_text: str, *, title_only: bool
+                ) -> dict[str, object]:
                     # Trigger: direct entity resolution failed for the caller's identifier.
                     # Why: search_notes applies the same memory:// normalization and tool-level
                     #      query handling as the rest of MCP routing, which raw client calls skip.
@@ -257,16 +266,16 @@ async def _search_candidates(identifier_text: str, *, title_only: bool) -> dict:
                         output_format="json",
                         context=context,
                     )
-                    return response if isinstance(response, dict) else {}
+                    return cast(dict[str, object], response) if isinstance(response, dict) else {}
 
-                def _result_title(item: dict) -> str:
+                def _result_title(item: dict[str, object]) -> str:
                     return str(item.get("title") or "")
 
-                def _result_permalink(item: dict) -> Optional[str]:
+                def _result_permalink(item: dict[str, object]) -> Optional[str]:
                     value = item.get("permalink")
                     return str(value) if value else None
 
-                def _result_file_path(item: dict) -> Optional[str]:
+                def _result_file_path(item: dict[str, object]) -> Optional[str]:
                     value = item.get("file_path")
                     return str(value) if value else None
 
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/models/base.py b/src/basic_memory/models/base.py
index 471f14e24..ea1e17c3e 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/models/base.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/models/base.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Base model class for SQLAlchemy models."""
 
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncAttrs
 from sqlalchemy.orm import DeclarativeBase
 
@@ -7,4 +9,5 @@
 class Base(AsyncAttrs, DeclarativeBase):
     """Base class for all models"""
 
-    pass
+    if TYPE_CHECKING:
+        id: int
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/repository/fastembed_provider.py b/src/basic_memory/repository/fastembed_provider.py
index e36351487..5ade579e9 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/repository/fastembed_provider.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/repository/fastembed_provider.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 from basic_memory.repository.semantic_errors import SemanticDependenciesMissingError
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from fastembed import TextEmbedding  # type: ignore[import-not-found]  # pragma: no cover
+    from fastembed import TextEmbedding  # pragma: no cover
 
 
 class FastEmbedEmbeddingProvider(EmbeddingProvider):
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ async def _load_model(self) -> "TextEmbedding":
 
             def _create_model() -> "TextEmbedding":
                 try:
-                    from fastembed import TextEmbedding  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
+                    from fastembed import TextEmbedding
                 except (
                     ImportError
                 ) as exc:  # pragma: no cover - exercised via tests with monkeypatch
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/repository/openai_provider.py b/src/basic_memory/repository/openai_provider.py
index b44e13b77..24a5ac04b 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/repository/openai_provider.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/repository/openai_provider.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ async def _get_client(self) -> Any:
                 return self._client
 
             try:
-                from openai import AsyncOpenAI  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
+                from openai import AsyncOpenAI
             except ImportError as exc:  # pragma: no cover - covered via monkeypatch tests
                 raise SemanticDependenciesMissingError(
                     "OpenAI dependency is missing. "
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/repository/repository.py b/src/basic_memory/repository/repository.py
index 63cba2d21..558321d87 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/repository/repository.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/repository/repository.py
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ async def create_all(self, data_list: List[dict]) -> Sequence[T]:
 
             return await self.select_by_ids(session, [model.id for model in model_list])  # pyright: ignore [reportAttributeAccessIssue]
 
-    async def update(self, entity_id: int, entity_data: dict | T) -> Optional[T]:
+    async def update(self, entity_id: int, entity_data: dict[str, Any] | T) -> Optional[T]:
         """Update an entity with the given data."""
         logger.debug(f"Updating {self.Model.__name__} {entity_id} with data: {entity_data}")
         async with db.scoped_session(self.session_maker) as session:
@@ -279,12 +279,13 @@ async def update(self, entity_id: int, entity_data: dict | T) -> Optional[T]:
                 entity = result.scalars().one()
 
                 if isinstance(entity_data, dict):
-                    for key, value in entity_data.items():
+                    update_data = cast(dict[str, Any], entity_data)
+                    for key, value in update_data.items():
                         if key in self.valid_columns:
                             setattr(entity, key, value)
 
                 elif isinstance(entity_data, self.Model):
-                    for column in self.Model.__table__.columns.keys():
+                    for column in self.valid_columns:
                         setattr(entity, column, getattr(entity_data, column))
 
                 await session.flush()  # Make sure changes are flushed
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/repository/search_repository_base.py b/src/basic_memory/repository/search_repository_base.py
index 7783aa282..f44db34ba 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/repository/search_repository_base.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/repository/search_repository_base.py
@@ -1068,39 +1068,48 @@ def emit_progress(entity_id: int) -> None:
                 write_seconds_total=result.write_seconds_total,
             )
             batch_total_seconds = time.perf_counter() - batch_start
-            metric_attrs = {
-                "backend": backend_name,
-                "skip_only_batch": result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
-            }
             telemetry.record_histogram(
                 "vector_sync_batch_total_seconds",
                 batch_total_seconds,
                 unit="s",
-                **metric_attrs,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
             telemetry.add_counter(
-                "vector_sync_entities_total", result.entities_total, **metric_attrs
+                "vector_sync_entities_total",
+                result.entities_total,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
             telemetry.add_counter(
                 "vector_sync_entities_skipped",
                 result.entities_skipped,
-                **metric_attrs,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
             telemetry.add_counter(
                 "vector_sync_entities_deferred",
                 result.entities_deferred,
-                **metric_attrs,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
             telemetry.add_counter(
                 "vector_sync_embedding_jobs_total",
                 result.embedding_jobs_total,
-                **metric_attrs,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
+            )
+            telemetry.add_counter(
+                "vector_sync_chunks_total",
+                result.chunks_total,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
-            telemetry.add_counter("vector_sync_chunks_total", result.chunks_total, **metric_attrs)
             telemetry.add_counter(
                 "vector_sync_chunks_skipped",
                 result.chunks_skipped,
-                **metric_attrs,
+                backend=backend_name,
+                skip_only_batch=result.embedding_jobs_total == 0,
             )
             if batch_span is not None:
                 batch_span.set_attributes(
@@ -1675,33 +1684,33 @@ def _log_vector_sync_complete(
     ) -> None:
         """Log completion and slow-entity warnings with a consistent format."""
         backend_name = type(self).__name__.removesuffix("SearchRepository").lower()
-        metric_attrs = {
-            "backend": backend_name,
-            "skip_only_entity": entity_skipped and embedding_jobs_count == 0,
-        }
         telemetry.record_histogram(
             "vector_sync_prepare_seconds",
             prepare_seconds,
             unit="s",
-            **metric_attrs,
+            backend=backend_name,
+            skip_only_entity=entity_skipped and embedding_jobs_count == 0,
         )
         telemetry.record_histogram(
             "vector_sync_queue_wait_seconds",
             queue_wait_seconds,
             unit="s",
-            **metric_attrs,
+            backend=backend_name,
+            skip_only_entity=entity_skipped and embedding_jobs_count == 0,
         )
         telemetry.record_histogram(
             "vector_sync_embed_seconds",
             embed_seconds,
             unit="s",
-            **metric_attrs,
+            backend=backend_name,
+            skip_only_entity=entity_skipped and embedding_jobs_count == 0,
         )
         telemetry.record_histogram(
             "vector_sync_write_seconds",
             write_seconds,
             unit="s",
-            **metric_attrs,
+            backend=backend_name,
+            skip_only_entity=entity_skipped and embedding_jobs_count == 0,
         )
         if total_seconds > 10:
             logger.warning(
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/repository/sqlite_search_repository.py b/src/basic_memory/repository/sqlite_search_repository.py
index 06eb41c07..474c8c5ca 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/repository/sqlite_search_repository.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/repository/sqlite_search_repository.py
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ async def _ensure_sqlite_vec_loaded(self, session) -> None:
             pass
 
         try:
-            import sqlite_vec  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
+            import sqlite_vec
         except ImportError as exc:
             raise SemanticDependenciesMissingError(
                 "sqlite-vec package is missing. "
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/schemas/memory.py b/src/basic_memory/schemas/memory.py
index f1a27e974..a0af709ce 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/schemas/memory.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/schemas/memory.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ def normalize_memory_url(url: str | None) -> str:
 memory_url = TypeAdapter(MemoryUrl)
 
 
-def memory_url_path(url: memory_url) -> str:  # pyright: ignore
+def memory_url_path(url: str) -> str:
     """
     Returns the uri for a url value by removing the prefix "memory://" from a given MemoryUrl.
 
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/schemas/response.py b/src/basic_memory/schemas/response.py
index 0feb78953..f9343c82d 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/schemas/response.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/schemas/response.py
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ class EntityResponse(SQLAlchemyModel):
     note_type: NoteType
 
     # COMPAT(v0.18): old clients expect entity_type; remove when no longer needed
-    @computed_field  # type: ignore[prop-decorator]
+    @computed_field
     @property
     def entity_type(self) -> str:
         return self.note_type
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py b/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
index 67de97375..9d7f294bf 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
@@ -288,7 +288,9 @@ async def create_entity_with_content(self, schema: EntitySchema) -> EntityWriteR
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
                 content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title, schema.note_type, content_frontmatter["permalink"]
+                    schema.title,
+                    schema.note_type,
+                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
                 )
 
         # Get unique permalink (prioritizing content frontmatter) unless disabled
@@ -393,7 +395,9 @@ async def update_entity_with_content(
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
                 content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title, schema.note_type, content_frontmatter["permalink"]
+                    schema.title,
+                    schema.note_type,
+                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
                 )
 
         # Check if we need to update the permalink based on content frontmatter (unless disabled)
@@ -522,7 +526,9 @@ async def fast_write_entity(
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
                 content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title, schema.note_type, content_frontmatter["permalink"]
+                    schema.title,
+                    schema.note_type,
+                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
                 )
 
         # --- Permalink Resolution ---
@@ -663,9 +669,9 @@ async def fast_edit_entity(
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
                 content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    update_data.get("title", entity.title),
-                    update_data.get("note_type", entity.note_type),
-                    content_frontmatter["permalink"],
+                    _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("title", entity.title)),
+                    _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("note_type", entity.note_type)),
+                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
                 )
 
             metadata = normalize_frontmatter_metadata(content_frontmatter or {})
@@ -1002,7 +1008,7 @@ async def update_entity_relations(
                 target_entity: Optional[Entity] = None
                 if not isinstance(resolved, Exception):
                     # Type narrowing: resolved is Optional[Entity] here, not Exception
-                    target_entity = resolved  # type: ignore
+                    target_entity = resolved
 
                 # if the target is found, store the id
                 target_id = target_entity.id if target_entity else None
diff --git a/src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py b/src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py
index 9a53b8d13..4a7d29b7d 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/sync/watch_service.py
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ async def _watch_projects_cycle(self, projects: Sequence[Project], stop_event: a
 
             # create coroutines to handle changes
             change_handlers = [
-                self.handle_changes(project, changes)  # pyright: ignore
+                self.handle_changes(project, set(changes))
                 for project, changes in project_changes.items()
             ]
 
@@ -502,19 +502,19 @@ async def handle_changes(self, project: Project, changes: Set[FileChange]) -> No
 
         # Add a concise summary instead of a divider
         if processed:
-            changes = []  # pyright: ignore
+            change_summary: list[str] = []
             if add_count > 0:
-                changes.append(f"[green]{add_count} added[/green]")  # pyright: ignore
+                change_summary.append(f"[green]{add_count} added[/green]")
             if modify_count > 0:
-                changes.append(f"[yellow]{modify_count} modified[/yellow]")  # pyright: ignore
+                change_summary.append(f"[yellow]{modify_count} modified[/yellow]")
             if moved_count > 0:
-                changes.append(f"[blue]{moved_count} moved[/blue]")  # pyright: ignore
+                change_summary.append(f"[blue]{moved_count} moved[/blue]")
             if delete_count > 0:
-                changes.append(f"[red]{delete_count} deleted[/red]")  # pyright: ignore
+                change_summary.append(f"[red]{delete_count} deleted[/red]")
 
-            if changes:
-                self.console.print(f"{', '.join(changes)}", style="dim")  # pyright: ignore
-                logger.info(f"changes: {len(changes)}")
+            if change_summary:
+                self.console.print(f"{', '.join(change_summary)}", style="dim")
+                logger.info(f"changes: {len(change_summary)}")
 
         duration_ms = int((time.time() - start_time) * 1000)
         self.state.last_scan = datetime.now()
diff --git a/test-int/mcp/test_output_format_json_integration.py b/test-int/mcp/test_output_format_json_integration.py
index 220818d41..4f2b0568e 100644
--- a/test-int/mcp/test_output_format_json_integration.py
+++ b/test-int/mcp/test_output_format_json_integration.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 import json
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 from fastmcp import Client
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@
 from basic_memory.mcp.clients.knowledge import KnowledgeClient
 
 
-def _json_content(tool_result) -> dict | list:
+def _json_content(tool_result) -> Any:
     """Parse a FastMCP tool result content block into JSON."""
     assert len(tool_result.content) == 1
     assert tool_result.content[0].type == "text"
diff --git a/test-int/mcp/test_pagination_integration.py b/test-int/mcp/test_pagination_integration.py
index 0d6928f76..cfed3fb62 100644
--- a/test-int/mcp/test_pagination_integration.py
+++ b/test-int/mcp/test_pagination_integration.py
@@ -7,12 +7,13 @@
 """
 
 import json
+from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 from fastmcp import Client
 
 
-def _json_content(tool_result) -> dict | list:
+def _json_content(tool_result) -> Any:
     """Parse a FastMCP tool result content block into JSON."""
     assert len(tool_result.content) == 1
     assert tool_result.content[0].type == "text"
diff --git a/test-int/semantic/test_search_diagnostics.py b/test-int/semantic/test_search_diagnostics.py
index ef6ba45ce..664e9972c 100644
--- a/test-int/semantic/test_search_diagnostics.py
+++ b/test-int/semantic/test_search_diagnostics.py
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 import pytest
 
 from basic_memory.config import DatabaseBackend
@@ -335,11 +337,10 @@ async def test_similarity_formula_analysis(sqlite_engine_factory, tmp_path):
 
         from basic_memory import db as bm_db
 
-        async with bm_db.scoped_session(service.repository.session_maker) as session:
-            await service.repository._prepare_vector_session(session)
-            raw_rows = await service.repository._run_vector_query(
-                session, query_embedding, candidate_limit=20
-            )
+        repo = cast(Any, service.repository)
+        async with bm_db.scoped_session(repo.session_maker) as session:
+            await repo._prepare_vector_session(session)
+            raw_rows = await repo._run_vector_query(session, query_embedding, candidate_limit=20)
 
         print(f"\nQuery: '{query_text}'")
         print(f"  {'chunk_key':<40} {'distance':>10} {'sim_old':>12} {'sim_new':>12}")
@@ -347,7 +348,7 @@ async def test_similarity_formula_analysis(sqlite_engine_factory, tmp_path):
             dist = float(row["best_distance"])
             sim_old = 1.0 / (1.0 + max(dist, 0.0))
             # New formula: L2 distance → cosine similarity for normalized embeddings
-            sim_new = service.repository._distance_to_similarity(dist)
+            sim_new = repo._distance_to_similarity(dist)
             print(f"  {row['chunk_key']:<40} {dist:>10.4f} {sim_old:>12.4f} {sim_new:>12.4f}")
 
 
@@ -431,7 +432,7 @@ async def test_chunking_produces_reasonable_chunks(sqlite_engine_factory, tmp_pa
     service = await create_search_service(
         sqlite_engine_factory, DIAG_COMBO, tmp_path, embedding_provider=provider
     )
-    repo = service.repository
+    repo = cast(Any, service.repository)
 
     # Simulate a typical entity with observations
     text_input = (
diff --git a/test-int/semantic/test_semantic_coverage.py b/test-int/semantic/test_semantic_coverage.py
index a5d72faca..43179a7a3 100644
--- a/test-int/semantic/test_semantic_coverage.py
+++ b/test-int/semantic/test_semantic_coverage.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 import pytest
 
 from basic_memory.config import DatabaseBackend
@@ -194,7 +196,7 @@ async def test_postgres_vector_dimension_detection(postgres_engine_factory, tmp_
         postgres_engine_factory, PG_FASTEMBED, tmp_path, embedding_provider=provider
     )
 
-    repo = search_service.repository
+    repo = cast(Any, search_service.repository)
 
     # First entity triggers _ensure_vector_tables
     entity = await search_service.entity_repository.create(
diff --git a/test-int/test_db_wal_mode.py b/test-int/test_db_wal_mode.py
index a95626f81..acd8993bd 100644
--- a/test-int/test_db_wal_mode.py
+++ b/test-int/test_db_wal_mode.py
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 from sqlalchemy import text
 
 
+def _first_value(row):
+    assert row is not None
+    return row[0]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_wal_mode_enabled(engine_factory, db_backend):
     """Test that WAL mode is enabled on filesystem database connections."""
@@ -19,7 +24,7 @@ async def test_wal_mode_enabled(engine_factory, db_backend):
     # Execute a query to verify WAL mode is enabled
     async with engine.connect() as conn:
         result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA journal_mode"))
-        journal_mode = result.fetchone()[0]
+        journal_mode = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
         # WAL mode should be enabled for filesystem databases
         assert journal_mode.upper() == "WAL"
@@ -35,7 +40,7 @@ async def test_busy_timeout_configured(engine_factory, db_backend):
 
     async with engine.connect() as conn:
         result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA busy_timeout"))
-        busy_timeout = result.fetchone()[0]
+        busy_timeout = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
         # Busy timeout should be 10 seconds (10000 milliseconds)
         assert busy_timeout == 10000
@@ -51,7 +56,7 @@ async def test_synchronous_mode_configured(engine_factory, db_backend):
 
     async with engine.connect() as conn:
         result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA synchronous"))
-        synchronous = result.fetchone()[0]
+        synchronous = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
         # Synchronous should be NORMAL (1)
         assert synchronous == 1
@@ -67,7 +72,7 @@ async def test_cache_size_configured(engine_factory, db_backend):
 
     async with engine.connect() as conn:
         result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA cache_size"))
-        cache_size = result.fetchone()[0]
+        cache_size = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
         # Cache size should be -64000 (64MB)
         assert cache_size == -64000
@@ -83,7 +88,7 @@ async def test_temp_store_configured(engine_factory, db_backend):
 
     async with engine.connect() as conn:
         result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA temp_store"))
-        temp_store = result.fetchone()[0]
+        temp_store = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
         # temp_store should be MEMORY (2)
         assert temp_store == 2
@@ -114,7 +119,7 @@ async def test_windows_locking_mode_when_on_windows(tmp_path, monkeypatch, confi
     ):
         async with engine.connect() as conn:
             result = await conn.execute(text("PRAGMA locking_mode"))
-            locking_mode = result.fetchone()[0]
+            locking_mode = _first_value(result.fetchone())
 
             # Locking mode should be NORMAL on Windows
             assert locking_mode.upper() == "NORMAL"
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/conftest.py b/tests/api/v2/conftest.py
index af6cedd8f..633415d6c 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/conftest.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Fixtures for V2 API tests."""
 
+from collections.abc import Generator
 from typing import Any, AsyncGenerator
 
 import pytest
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ async def client(app: FastAPI) -> AsyncGenerator[AsyncClient, None]:
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
-def task_scheduler_spy(app: FastAPI) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+def task_scheduler_spy(app: FastAPI) -> Generator[list[dict[str, Any]], None, None]:
     """Capture scheduled task specs without executing them."""
     scheduled: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
 
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/test_knowledge_router_telemetry.py b/tests/api/v2/test_knowledge_router_telemetry.py
index 21090dc7f..05e5ee2af 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/test_knowledge_router_telemetry.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/test_knowledge_router_telemetry.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 from fastapi import BackgroundTasks, Response
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ async def read_file_content(self, path):
             raise AssertionError("non-fast create should not re-read file content")
 
     result = await knowledge_router_module.create_entity(
-        project_id="project-123",
+        project_id=123,
         data=Entity(
             title="Telemetry Entity",
             directory="notes",
@@ -94,11 +95,11 @@ async def read_file_content(self, path):
             content="telemetry content",
         ),
         background_tasks=BackgroundTasks(),
-        entity_service=FakeEntityService(),
-        search_service=FakeSearchService(),
+        entity_service=cast(Any, FakeEntityService()),
+        search_service=cast(Any, FakeSearchService()),
         task_scheduler=FakeTaskScheduler(),
-        file_service=FakeFileService(),
-        app_config=SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False),
+        file_service=cast(Any, FakeFileService()),
+        app_config=cast(Any, SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False)),
         fast=False,
     )
 
@@ -159,13 +160,13 @@ async def read_file_content(self, path):
         ),
         response=response,
         background_tasks=BackgroundTasks(),
-        project_id="project-123",
-        entity_service=FakeEntityService(),
-        search_service=FakeSearchService(),
-        entity_repository=FakeEntityRepository(),
+        project_id=123,
+        entity_service=cast(Any, FakeEntityService()),
+        search_service=cast(Any, FakeSearchService()),
+        entity_repository=cast(Any, FakeEntityRepository()),
         task_scheduler=FakeTaskScheduler(),
-        file_service=FakeFileService(),
-        app_config=SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False),
+        file_service=cast(Any, FakeFileService()),
+        app_config=cast(Any, SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False)),
         entity_id=entity.external_id,
         fast=False,
     )
@@ -220,13 +221,13 @@ async def read_file_content(self, path):
     result = await knowledge_router_module.edit_entity_by_id(
         data=EditEntityRequest(operation="append", content="edited telemetry content"),
         background_tasks=BackgroundTasks(),
-        project_id="project-123",
-        entity_service=FakeEntityService(),
-        search_service=FakeSearchService(),
-        entity_repository=FakeEntityRepository(),
+        project_id=123,
+        entity_service=cast(Any, FakeEntityService()),
+        search_service=cast(Any, FakeSearchService()),
+        entity_repository=cast(Any, FakeEntityRepository()),
         task_scheduler=FakeTaskScheduler(),
-        file_service=FakeFileService(),
-        app_config=SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False),
+        file_service=cast(Any, FakeFileService()),
+        app_config=cast(Any, SimpleNamespace(semantic_search_enabled=False)),
         entity_id=entity.external_id,
         fast=False,
     )
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/test_memory_hydration.py b/tests/api/v2/test_memory_hydration.py
index 2c6b2337c..5154c3942 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/test_memory_hydration.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/test_memory_hydration.py
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@
 
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 
 from basic_memory.api.v2.utils import to_graph_context
+from basic_memory.schemas.memory import EntitySummary, ObservationSummary, RelationSummary
 from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType
 from basic_memory.services.context_service import (
     ContextMetadata,
@@ -28,9 +30,9 @@ def _make_entity(id: int, title: str, external_id: str) -> SimpleNamespace:
     return SimpleNamespace(id=id, title=title, external_id=external_id)
 
 
-def _make_row(*, type: str, id: int, root_id: int, **kwargs) -> ContextResultRow:
+def _make_row(*, type: str, id: int, root_id: int, **kwargs: Any) -> ContextResultRow:
     now = kwargs.pop("created_at", datetime.now(timezone.utc))
-    defaults = dict(
+    defaults: dict[str, Any] = dict(
         title=f"Item {id}",
         permalink=f"notes/{id}",
         file_path=f"notes/{id}.md",
@@ -159,20 +161,31 @@ async def test_to_graph_context_batches_entity_hydration_for_recent_activity():
     assert set(repo.calls[0]) == {1, 2, 3}
 
     first_result = graph.results[0]
-    assert first_result.primary_result.external_id == "ext-root"
-    assert first_result.observations[0].entity_external_id == "ext-root"
-    assert first_result.observations[0].title == "Root"
+    first_primary = first_result.primary_result
+    assert isinstance(first_primary, EntitySummary)
+    assert first_primary.external_id == "ext-root"
+
+    first_observation = first_result.observations[0]
+    assert isinstance(first_observation, ObservationSummary)
+    assert first_observation.entity_external_id == "ext-root"
+    assert first_observation.title == "Root"
 
     relation = first_result.related_results[0]
+    assert isinstance(relation, RelationSummary)
     assert relation.from_entity == "Root"
     assert relation.from_entity_external_id == "ext-root"
     assert relation.to_entity == "Child"
     assert relation.to_entity_external_id == "ext-child"
 
     second_result = graph.results[1]
-    assert second_result.primary_result.entity_external_id == "ext-child"
-    assert second_result.primary_result.title == "Child"
-    assert second_result.related_results[0].external_id == "ext-peer"
+    second_primary = second_result.primary_result
+    assert isinstance(second_primary, ObservationSummary)
+    assert second_primary.entity_external_id == "ext-child"
+    assert second_primary.title == "Child"
+
+    peer_result = second_result.related_results[0]
+    assert isinstance(peer_result, EntitySummary)
+    assert peer_result.external_id == "ext-peer"
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/test_project_router.py b/tests/api/v2/test_project_router.py
index dec6e3438..921a6babe 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/test_project_router.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/test_project_router.py
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@
 from basic_memory.schemas.v2 import ProjectResolveResponse
 
 
+def _project_item(project: ProjectItem | None) -> ProjectItem:
+    assert project is not None
+    return project
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_list_projects(client: AsyncClient, test_project: Project, v2_projects_url):
     """Test listing projects returns default_project from the database."""
@@ -67,10 +72,12 @@ async def test_update_project_path_by_id(
         assert response.status_code == 200
         status_response = ProjectStatusResponse.model_validate(response.json())
         assert status_response.status == "success"
-        assert status_response.new_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
+        new_project = _project_item(status_response.new_project)
+        old_project = _project_item(status_response.old_project)
+        assert new_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
         # Normalize paths for cross-platform comparison (Windows uses backslashes, API returns forward slashes)
-        assert Path(status_response.new_project.path) == Path(new_path)
-        assert status_response.old_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
+        assert Path(new_project.path) == Path(new_path)
+        assert old_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -122,10 +129,12 @@ async def test_set_default_project_by_id(
     status_response = ProjectStatusResponse.model_validate(response.json())
     assert status_response.status == "success"
     assert status_response.default is True
-    assert status_response.new_project.external_id == created_project.external_id
-    assert status_response.new_project.is_default is True
-    assert status_response.old_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
-    assert status_response.old_project.is_default is False
+    new_project = _project_item(status_response.new_project)
+    old_project = _project_item(status_response.old_project)
+    assert new_project.external_id == created_project.external_id
+    assert new_project.is_default is True
+    assert old_project.external_id == test_project.external_id
+    assert old_project.is_default is False
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -155,7 +164,8 @@ async def test_delete_project_by_id(
     assert response.status_code == 200
     status_response = ProjectStatusResponse.model_validate(response.json())
     assert status_response.status == "success"
-    assert status_response.old_project.external_id == created_project.external_id
+    old_project = _project_item(status_response.old_project)
+    assert old_project.external_id == created_project.external_id
     assert status_response.new_project is None
 
     # Verify it's deleted - trying to get it should return 404
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/test_search_hydration.py b/tests/api/v2/test_search_hydration.py
index 2a067e929..0d3858cf8 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/test_search_hydration.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/test_search_hydration.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -22,9 +23,9 @@ def _make_entity(id: int, permalink: str) -> SimpleNamespace:
     return SimpleNamespace(id=id, permalink=permalink)
 
 
-def _make_row(*, type: str, id: int, **kwargs) -> SearchIndexRow:
+def _make_row(*, type: str, id: int, **kwargs: Any) -> SearchIndexRow:
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-    defaults = dict(
+    defaults: dict[str, Any] = dict(
         project_id=1,
         file_path=f"notes/{id}.md",
         created_at=now,
diff --git a/tests/api/v2/test_search_router_telemetry.py b/tests/api/v2/test_search_router_telemetry.py
index bd8507306..eb53bd553 100644
--- a/tests/api/v2/test_search_router_telemetry.py
+++ b/tests/api/v2/test_search_router_telemetry.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 import importlib
 from contextlib import contextmanager
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_search_router_wraps_request_in_manual_operation() -> None:
+    router = cast(Any, search_router_module)
     operations: list[tuple[str, dict]] = []
 
     class FakeSearchService:
@@ -28,22 +30,22 @@ def fake_operation(name: str, **attrs):
     async def fake_to_search_results(entity_service, results):
         return []
 
-    original_operation = search_router_module.telemetry.operation
-    original_to_search_results = search_router_module.to_search_results
-    search_router_module.telemetry.operation = fake_operation
-    search_router_module.to_search_results = fake_to_search_results
+    original_operation = router.telemetry.operation
+    original_to_search_results = router.to_search_results
+    router.telemetry.operation = fake_operation
+    router.to_search_results = fake_to_search_results
     try:
-        response = await search_router_module.search(
+        response = await router.search(
             SearchQuery(text="hello world"),
             FakeSearchService(),
             object(),
-            project_id="project-123",
+            project_id=123,
             page=2,
             page_size=5,
         )
     finally:
-        search_router_module.telemetry.operation = original_operation
-        search_router_module.to_search_results = original_to_search_results
+        router.telemetry.operation = original_operation
+        router.to_search_results = original_to_search_results
 
     assert response.current_page == 2
     assert operations == [
diff --git a/tests/cli/cloud/test_cloud_api_client_and_utils.py b/tests/cli/cloud/test_cloud_api_client_and_utils.py
index b17da47db..0325a0c8d 100644
--- a/tests/cli/cloud/test_cloud_api_client_and_utils.py
+++ b/tests/cli/cloud/test_cloud_api_client_and_utils.py
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ async def api_request(**kwargs):
     created = await create_cloud_project("My Project", api_request=api_request)
     assert created.new_project is not None
     assert created.new_project["name"] == "My Project"
+    assert seen["create_payload"] is not None
     # Path should be permalink-like (kebab)
     assert seen["create_payload"]["path"] == "my-project"
     assert seen["create_payload"]["visibility"] == "workspace"
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_auto_update.py b/tests/cli/test_auto_update.py
index 0e4044922..662da549e 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_auto_update.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_auto_update.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import subprocess
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from io import StringIO
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 from rich.console import Console
 
@@ -36,6 +37,10 @@ def save_config(self, config: BasicMemoryConfig) -> None:
         self.save_calls += 1
 
 
+def _config_manager(manager: StubConfigManager) -> Any:
+    return cast(Any, manager)
+
+
 def _capture_console() -> tuple[Console, StringIO]:
     """Create a Console that writes to an in-memory buffer."""
     buf = StringIO()
@@ -91,7 +96,7 @@ def test_interval_gate_skips_check_when_recent(tmp_path):
     config.update_check_interval = 3600
     manager = StubConfigManager(config)
 
-    result = run_auto_update(config_manager=manager)
+    result = run_auto_update(config_manager=_config_manager(manager))
 
     assert result.status == AutoUpdateStatus.SKIPPED
     assert result.checked is False
@@ -103,7 +108,7 @@ def test_auto_update_disabled_skips_periodic(tmp_path):
     config.auto_update = False
     manager = StubConfigManager(config)
 
-    result = run_auto_update(config_manager=manager)
+    result = run_auto_update(config_manager=_config_manager(manager))
 
     assert result.status == AutoUpdateStatus.SKIPPED
     assert result.checked is False
@@ -121,7 +126,7 @@ def test_force_bypasses_auto_update_disabled(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
 
     result = run_auto_update(
         force=True,
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.local/share/uv/tools/basic-memory/bin/python",
     )
 
@@ -171,7 +176,7 @@ def _fake_run_subprocess(command, **kwargs):
     monkeypatch.setattr("basic_memory.cli.auto_update._run_subprocess", _fake_run_subprocess)
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/opt/homebrew/Cellar/basic-memory/0.18.0/bin/python",
     )
 
@@ -196,7 +201,7 @@ def _fake_run_subprocess(command, **kwargs):
     monkeypatch.setattr("basic_memory.cli.auto_update._run_subprocess", _fake_run_subprocess)
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.local/share/uv/tools/basic-memory/bin/python",
     )
 
@@ -215,7 +220,7 @@ def test_unknown_manager_returns_manual_update_guidance(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
 
     result = run_auto_update(
         force=True,
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/usr/local/bin/python3",
     )
 
@@ -229,7 +234,7 @@ def test_uvx_runtime_is_skipped(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     manager = StubConfigManager(config)
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.cache/uv/archive-v0/abc123/bin/python",
     )
 
@@ -256,7 +261,7 @@ def _fake_run_subprocess(command, **kwargs):
     monkeypatch.setattr("basic_memory.cli.auto_update._run_subprocess", _fake_run_subprocess)
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.local/share/uv/tools/basic-memory/bin/python",
         silent=True,
     )
@@ -281,7 +286,7 @@ def _raise_oserror(command, **kwargs):
     monkeypatch.setattr("basic_memory.cli.auto_update._run_subprocess", _raise_oserror)
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.local/share/uv/tools/basic-memory/bin/python",
     )
 
@@ -300,7 +305,7 @@ def test_mixed_timezone_timestamp_does_not_crash_interval_gate(monkeypatch, tmp_
     )
 
     result = run_auto_update(
-        config_manager=manager,
+        config_manager=_config_manager(manager),
         executable="/Users/me/.local/share/uv/tools/basic-memory/bin/python",
     )
 
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cli_telemetry.py b/tests/cli/test_cli_telemetry.py
index a5b2fd2ea..c1330f9ed 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cli_telemetry.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cli_telemetry.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 from basic_memory.cli import app as cli_app
 
 
@@ -38,7 +40,7 @@ def fake_operation(name: str, **attrs):
     monkeypatch.setattr(cli_app.telemetry, "operation", fake_operation)
 
     ctx = FakeContext(invoked_subcommand="status")
-    cli_app.app_callback(ctx, version=None)
+    cli_app.app_callback(cast(Any, ctx), version=None)
 
     assert ctx.resources == [resource]
     assert operations == [
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cloud_authentication.py b/tests/cli/test_cloud_authentication.py
index 0fe73205e..10c1526ca 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cloud_authentication.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cloud_authentication.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import httpx
 import pytest
@@ -28,6 +29,10 @@ async def login(self) -> bool:
         return self._login_ok
 
 
+def _auth(auth: _StubAuth) -> Any:
+    return cast(Any, auth)
+
+
 def _make_http_client_factory(handler):
     @asynccontextmanager
     async def _factory():
@@ -61,7 +66,7 @@ async def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
             await make_api_request(
                 "GET",
                 "https://test.com/api/endpoint",
-                auth=auth,
+                auth=_auth(auth),
                 http_client_factory=_make_http_client_factory(handler),
             )
 
@@ -88,7 +93,7 @@ async def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
             await make_api_request(
                 "GET",
                 "https://test.com/api/endpoint",
-                auth=auth,
+                auth=_auth(auth),
                 http_client_factory=_make_http_client_factory(handler),
             )
 
@@ -110,7 +115,7 @@ async def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
             await make_api_request(
                 "GET",
                 "https://test.com/api/endpoint",
-                auth=auth,
+                auth=_auth(auth),
                 http_client_factory=_make_http_client_factory(handler),
             )
 
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_cloud_promo.py b/tests/cli/test_cloud_promo.py
index 823703d71..2167838c4 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_cloud_promo.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_cloud_promo.py
@@ -263,7 +263,10 @@ def save_config(self, config):
     assert result.exit_code == 0
     assert "Cloud promo messages disabled" in result.stdout
     assert len(instances) == 1
-    assert instances[0].saved_config.cloud_promo_opt_out is True
+    manager = instances[0]
+    assert isinstance(manager, _StubConfigManager)
+    assert manager.saved_config is not None
+    assert manager.saved_config.cloud_promo_opt_out is True
 
 
 def test_cloud_promo_command_on_clears_opt_out(monkeypatch):
@@ -294,7 +297,10 @@ def save_config(self, config):
     assert result.exit_code == 0
     assert "Cloud promo messages enabled" in result.stdout
     assert len(instances) == 1
-    assert instances[0].saved_config.cloud_promo_opt_out is False
+    manager = instances[0]
+    assert isinstance(manager, _StubConfigManager)
+    assert manager.saved_config is not None
+    assert manager.saved_config.cloud_promo_opt_out is False
 
 
 # --- _is_interactive_session tests ---
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_json_output.py b/tests/cli/test_json_output.py
index 7a33988ea..5468ed643 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_json_output.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_json_output.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 from basic_memory.cli.main import app as cli_app
 from basic_memory.mcp.clients.project import ProjectClient
 from basic_memory.schemas.project_info import ProjectList
-from basic_memory.schemas.sync_report import SyncReportResponse
+from basic_memory.schemas.sync_report import SkippedFileResponse, SyncReportResponse
 
 # Importing registers subcommands on the shared app instance.
 import basic_memory.cli.commands.project as project_cmd  # noqa: F401
@@ -76,12 +76,12 @@ def _mock_config_manager():
     moves={},
     checksums={},
     skipped_files=[
-        {
-            "path": "bad/file.md",
-            "reason": "parse error",
-            "failure_count": 3,
-            "first_failed": datetime(2025, 6, 15, 12, 0, 0),
-        }
+        SkippedFileResponse(
+            path="bad/file.md",
+            reason="parse error",
+            failure_count=3,
+            first_failed=datetime(2025, 6, 15, 12, 0, 0),
+        )
     ],
     total=0,
 )
diff --git a/tests/db/test_issue_254_foreign_key_constraints.py b/tests/db/test_issue_254_foreign_key_constraints.py
index 58cf528da..347eaa77d 100644
--- a/tests/db/test_issue_254_foreign_key_constraints.py
+++ b/tests/db/test_issue_254_foreign_key_constraints.py
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ async def test_issue_254_reproduction(project_service: ProjectService):
         # Create project and entity
         await project_service.add_project(test_project_name, test_project_path)
         project = await project_service.get_project(test_project_name)
+        assert project is not None
 
         from basic_memory.repository.entity_repository import EntityRepository
 
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_date_frontmatter_parsing.py b/tests/markdown/test_date_frontmatter_parsing.py
index 47273a31e..7bbd67220 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_date_frontmatter_parsing.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_date_frontmatter_parsing.py
@@ -358,4 +358,5 @@ async def test_parse_file_with_reserved_frontmatter_field_content(tmp_path):
     assert entity_markdown.frontmatter.metadata.get("content") == "Template for topic notes"
     assert entity_markdown.frontmatter.metadata.get("handler") == "some-handler-value"
     # The actual body content should be parsed correctly
+    assert entity_markdown.content is not None
     assert "Template Body" in entity_markdown.content
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_entity_parser_error_handling.py b/tests/markdown/test_entity_parser_error_handling.py
index 5b3528f3f..fbe6b6b4f 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_entity_parser_error_handling.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_entity_parser_error_handling.py
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ async def test_parse_file_with_completely_invalid_yaml(tmp_path):
     assert result.frontmatter.title == "broken_yaml"  # Default from filename
     assert result.frontmatter.type == "note"  # Default type
     # Content should include the whole file since frontmatter parsing failed
+    assert result.content is not None
     assert "# Content" in result.content
 
 
@@ -374,6 +375,7 @@ async def test_frontmatter_roundtrip_preserves_user_metadata(tmp_path):
     assert result.frontmatter.type == "litnote"  # NOT overwritten to "note"
     assert "citekey" in result.frontmatter.metadata
     assert result.frontmatter.metadata["citekey"] == "authorTitleYear2024"
+    assert result.content is not None
 
     # Simulate what write_frontmatter does
     post = frontmatter.Post(result.content, **result.frontmatter.metadata)
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_markdown_processor.py b/tests/markdown/test_markdown_processor.py
index 21be72543..ac4727a49 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_markdown_processor.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_markdown_processor.py
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ async def test_update_preserves_content(markdown_processor: MarkdownProcessor, t
     result = await markdown_processor.read_file(path)
 
     # Original content preserved
+    assert result.content is not None
     assert "Original content here." in result.content
 
     # Both observations present
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_observation_edge_cases.py b/tests/markdown/test_observation_edge_cases.py
index b587de804..5e1bf3619 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_observation_edge_cases.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_observation_edge_cases.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ def test_invalid_context():
     tokens = md.parse("- [test] Content (unclosed")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert obs["content"] == "Content (unclosed"
     assert obs["context"] is None
 
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ def test_invalid_context():
     tokens = md.parse("- [test] Content (with) extra) parens)")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert obs["content"] == "Content"
     assert obs["context"] == "with) extra) parens"
 
@@ -48,6 +50,7 @@ def test_complex_format():
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
 
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert obs["category"] == "complex test"
     assert set(obs["tags"]) == {"tag1", "tag2", "tag3"}
     assert obs["content"] == "This is #tag1#tag2 with #tag3 content"
@@ -55,6 +58,7 @@ def test_complex_format():
     # Pydantic model validation
     observation = Observation.model_validate(obs)
     assert observation.category == "complex test"
+    assert observation.tags is not None
     assert set(observation.tags) == {"tag1", "tag2", "tag3"}
     assert observation.content == "This is #tag1#tag2 with #tag3 content"
 
@@ -99,6 +103,7 @@ def test_unicode_content():
     tokens = md.parse("- [test] Emoji test 👍 #emoji #test (Testing emoji)")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert "👍" in obs["content"]
     assert "emoji" in obs["tags"]
 
@@ -106,6 +111,7 @@ def test_unicode_content():
     tokens = md.parse("- [中文] Chinese text 测试 #language (Script test)")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert obs["category"] == "中文"
     assert "测试" in obs["content"]
 
@@ -113,6 +119,7 @@ def test_unicode_content():
     tokens = md.parse("- [test] Mixed 中文 and 👍 #mixed")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     obs = parse_observation(token)
+    assert obs is not None
     assert "中文" in obs["content"]
     assert "👍" in obs["content"]
 
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_parser_edge_cases.py b/tests/markdown/test_parser_edge_cases.py
index 00ae5d238..702b65e37 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_parser_edge_cases.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_parser_edge_cases.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ async def test_unicode_content(tmp_path):
 
     assert "测试" in entity.frontmatter.metadata["tags"]
     assert "chinese" not in entity.frontmatter.metadata["tags"]
+    assert entity.content is not None
     assert "🧪" in entity.content
 
     # Verify Unicode in observations
@@ -191,6 +192,7 @@ async def test_null_bytes_stripped(tmp_path):
         content=content,
     )
 
+    assert entity.content is not None
     assert "\x00" not in entity.content
     assert "Some content" in entity.content
     assert "with nulls" in entity.content
diff --git a/tests/markdown/test_relation_edge_cases.py b/tests/markdown/test_relation_edge_cases.py
index 0d7e1bb0c..2547e4412 100644
--- a/tests/markdown/test_relation_edge_cases.py
+++ b/tests/markdown/test_relation_edge_cases.py
@@ -58,18 +58,21 @@ def test_context_handling():
     tokens = md.parse("- type [[Target]] (unclosed")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["context"] is None
 
     # Multiple parens
     tokens = md.parse("- type [[Target]] (with (nested) parens)")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["context"] == "with (nested) parens"
 
     # Empty context
     tokens = md.parse("- type [[Target]] ()")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["context"] is None
 
 
@@ -103,18 +106,21 @@ def test_unicode_targets():
     tokens = md.parse("- type [[测试]]")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["target"] == "测试"
 
     # Unicode in type
     tokens = md.parse("- 使用 [[Target]]")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["type"] == "使用"
 
     # Unicode in context
     tokens = md.parse("- type [[Target]] (测试)")
     token = next(t for t in tokens if t.type == "inline")
     rel = parse_relation(token)
+    assert rel is not None
     assert rel["context"] == "测试"
 
     # Model validation with Unicode
diff --git a/tests/mcp/conftest.py b/tests/mcp/conftest.py
index 64366b9c8..db77585f4 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/conftest.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Tests for the MCP server implementation using FastAPI TestClient."""
 
-from typing import AsyncGenerator
+from typing import Any, AsyncGenerator, cast
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="function")
 def mcp() -> FastMCP:
-    return mcp_server  # pyright: ignore [reportReturnType]
+    return cast(Any, mcp_server)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="function")
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_permalink_collision_file_overwrite.py b/tests/mcp/test_permalink_collision_file_overwrite.py
index dbdae340c..a25ca9a59 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_permalink_collision_file_overwrite.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_permalink_collision_file_overwrite.py
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ async def test_notes_with_similar_titles_maintain_separate_files(app, test_proje
         )
 
         permalink = None
+        assert isinstance(result, str)
         # Extract permalink from result
         for line in result.split("\n"):
             if line.startswith("permalink:"):
@@ -180,6 +181,7 @@ async def test_notes_with_similar_titles_maintain_separate_files(app, test_proje
                 break
 
         # Verify each note can be read back with its own content
+        assert permalink is not None
         content = await read_note(permalink, project=test_project.name)
         assert f"Unique content for {title}" in content, (
             f"Note with title '{title}' should maintain its unique content"
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_project_context.py b/tests/mcp/test_project_context.py
index 94a5c94f2..09af793e4 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_project_context.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_project_context.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from typing import Any, AsyncIterator, cast
+
 import pytest
 
 
@@ -22,6 +24,10 @@ async def set_state(self, key: str, value: object, **kwargs) -> None:
         self._state[key] = value
 
 
+def _ctx(context: _ContextState) -> Any:
+    return cast(Any, context)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_returns_none_when_no_default_and_no_project(config_manager, monkeypatch):
     from basic_memory.mcp.project_context import resolve_project_parameter
@@ -186,7 +192,7 @@ async def fake_get_available_workspaces(context=None):
         fake_get_available_workspaces,
     )
 
-    resolved = await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=context)
+    resolved = await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=_ctx(context))
     assert resolved.tenant_id == only_workspace.tenant_id
     assert await context.get_state("active_workspace") == only_workspace.model_dump()
 
@@ -220,7 +226,7 @@ async def fake_get_available_workspaces(context=None):
     )
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Multiple workspaces are available"):
-        await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=_ContextState())
+        await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=_ctx(_ContextState()))
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -307,7 +313,7 @@ async def fail_if_called(context=None):  # pragma: no cover
         fail_if_called,
     )
 
-    resolved = await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=context)
+    resolved = await resolve_workspace_parameter(context=_ctx(context))
     assert resolved.tenant_id == cached_workspace.tenant_id
 
 
@@ -340,7 +346,7 @@ async def fail_if_called():  # pragma: no cover
         fail_if_called,
     )
 
-    resolved = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=context)
+    resolved = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=_ctx(context))
     assert resolved == cached_project.name
 
 
@@ -366,8 +372,8 @@ async def fake_default_lookup():
         fake_default_lookup,
     )
 
-    first = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=context)
-    second = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=context)
+    first = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=_ctx(context))
+    second = await resolve_project_parameter(project=None, context=_ctx(context))
 
     assert first == "cloud-default"
     assert second == "cloud-default"
@@ -397,7 +403,7 @@ async def fail_if_called(*args, **kwargs):  # pragma: no cover
         fail_if_called,
     )
 
-    resolved = await get_active_project(client=None, context=context)
+    resolved = await get_active_project(client=cast(Any, None), context=_ctx(context))
     assert resolved == cached_project
 
 
@@ -426,7 +432,9 @@ async def fail_if_called(*args, **kwargs):  # pragma: no cover
         fail_if_called,
     )
 
-    resolved = await get_active_project(client=None, project="my-research", context=context)
+    resolved = await get_active_project(
+        client=cast(Any, None), project="my-research", context=_ctx(context)
+    )
     assert resolved == cached_project
 
 
@@ -464,9 +472,9 @@ async def fake_resolve_project_parameter(project=None, **kwargs):
     )
 
     active_project, resolved_path, is_memory_url = await resolve_project_and_path(
-        client=None,
+        client=cast(Any, None),
         identifier="memory://my-research/notes/roadmap.md",
-        context=context,
+        context=_ctx(context),
     )
 
     assert active_project == cached_project
@@ -709,7 +717,7 @@ async def test_factory_mode_skips_workspace_resolution(self, config_manager, mon
 
         # Set up a factory (simulates what cloud MCP server does)
         @asynccontextmanager
-        async def fake_factory(workspace=None):
+        async def fake_factory(workspace: Any = None) -> AsyncIterator[Any]:
             from httpx import ASGITransport, AsyncClient
             from basic_memory.api.app import app as fastapi_app
 
@@ -733,10 +741,11 @@ async def fail_if_called(**kwargs):  # pragma: no cover
 
         # Patch get_cloud_control_plane_client to fail if called
         @asynccontextmanager
-        async def fail_control_plane():  # pragma: no cover
+        async def fail_control_plane() -> AsyncIterator[Any]:  # pragma: no cover
             raise AssertionError(
                 "get_cloud_control_plane_client must not be called in factory mode"
             )
+            yield
 
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             "basic_memory.mcp.async_client.get_cloud_control_plane_client",
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_project_context_telemetry.py b/tests/mcp/test_project_context_telemetry.py
index c0f90ef4e..1863bc765 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_project_context_telemetry.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_project_context_telemetry.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 import importlib
 from contextlib import contextmanager
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ async def fake_get_available_workspaces(context=None):
     monkeypatch.setattr(project_context.telemetry, "span", fake_span)
     monkeypatch.setattr(project_context, "get_available_workspaces", fake_get_available_workspaces)
 
-    resolved = await project_context.resolve_workspace_parameter(context=context)
+    resolved = await project_context.resolve_workspace_parameter(context=cast(Any, context))
 
     assert resolved.tenant_id == workspace.tenant_id
     assert spans == [
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_recent_activity_prompt_modes.py b/tests/mcp/test_recent_activity_prompt_modes.py
index 4a632eeda..2c29333f4 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_recent_activity_prompt_modes.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_recent_activity_prompt_modes.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 """
 
 import pytest
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.prompts.recent_activity import recent_activity_prompt
 
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ async def fake_fn(**kwargs):
 
     monkeypatch.setattr("basic_memory.mcp.prompts.recent_activity.recent_activity", fake_fn)
 
-    await recent_activity_prompt(timeframe=None, project=None)  # pyright: ignore[reportGeneralTypeIssues]
+    await recent_activity_prompt(timeframe=cast(Any, None), project=None)
 
     assert captured_kwargs["timeframe"] == "7d"
     assert captured_kwargs["project"] is None
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_build_context.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_build_context.py
index 64d0fbece..a0bccdc0b 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_build_context.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_build_context.py
@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@ async def test_get_discussion_context_timeframe(client, test_graph, test_project
         timeframe="30d",
     )
 
+    assert isinstance(recent, dict)
+    assert isinstance(older, dict)
+
     # Calculate total related items
     total_recent_related = (
         sum(len(item["related_results"]) for item in recent["results"]) if recent["results"] else 0
@@ -161,6 +164,7 @@ async def test_build_context_string_depth_parameter(client, test_graph, test_pro
     # Test valid string depth parameter — should convert to int
     try:
         result = await build_context(url=test_url, depth="2", project=test_project.name)
+        assert isinstance(result, dict)
         assert isinstance(result["metadata"]["depth"], int)
         assert result["metadata"]["depth"] == 2
     except ToolError:
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py
index 996c66cbd..0da74ae08 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_contracts.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import inspect
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 from basic_memory.mcp import tools
 
@@ -134,7 +136,7 @@
 
 def _signature_params(tool_obj: object) -> list[str]:
     params = []
-    for param in inspect.signature(tool_obj).parameters.values():
+    for param in inspect.signature(cast(Callable[..., Any], tool_obj)).parameters.values():
         if param.name == "context":
             continue
         params.append(param.name)
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_project_management.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_project_management.py
index dd98e22a3..e5fea5524 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_project_management.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_project_management.py
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ async def test_create_and_delete_project_and_name_match_branch(
         project_path=str(project_root),
         set_default=False,
     )
+    assert isinstance(result, str)
     assert result.startswith("✓")
     assert "My Project" in result
 
@@ -495,6 +496,7 @@ async def test_list_memory_projects_json_includes_workspace_info(app, test_proje
     ):
         result = await list_memory_projects(output_format="json", workspace="org-tenant-abc")
 
+    assert isinstance(result, dict)
     by_name = {p["name"]: p for p in result["projects"]}
 
     # Cloud project carries workspace info
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_read_note.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_read_note.py
index 5fa4dbfb2..8775bdb35 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_read_note.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_read_note.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ async def test_read_note_title_search_fallback_fetches_by_permalink(monkeypatch,
     direct_identifier = memory_url_path("Fallback Title Note")
 
     class SelectiveKnowledgeClient(OriginalKnowledgeClient):
-        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> int:
+        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> str:
             # Fail on the direct identifier to force fallback to title search
             if identifier == direct_identifier:
                 raise RuntimeError("force direct lookup failure")
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ async def fake_search_notes_fn(*, query, search_type, **kwargs):
 
     # Ensure direct resolution doesn't short-circuit the fallback logic.
     class FailingKnowledgeClient(OriginalKnowledgeClient):
-        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> int:
+        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> str:
             raise RuntimeError("force fallback")
 
     monkeypatch.setattr(clients_mod, "KnowledgeClient", FailingKnowledgeClient)
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ async def test_read_note_title_fallback_requires_exact_title_match(monkeypatch,
     OriginalKnowledgeClient = clients_mod.KnowledgeClient
 
     class StrictFailingKnowledgeClient(OriginalKnowledgeClient):
-        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> int:
+        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> str:
             if strict:
                 raise RuntimeError("force strict direct lookup failure")
             return await super().resolve_entity(identifier, strict=strict)
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ async def test_read_note_memory_url_fallback_uses_search_tool_normalization(
     search_calls: list[tuple[str, str, str | None]] = []
 
     class SelectiveKnowledgeClient(OriginalKnowledgeClient):
-        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> int:
+        async def resolve_entity(self, identifier: str, *, strict: bool = False) -> str:
             if strict and identifier.endswith("test/memory-url-fallback-note"):
                 raise RuntimeError("force direct lookup failure")
             return await super().resolve_entity(identifier, strict=strict)
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_recent_activity.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_recent_activity.py
index 8ef7b7862..630de8497 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_recent_activity.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_recent_activity.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Tests for discussion context MCP tool."""
 
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -235,7 +236,7 @@ class P:
         path = "/tmp/p"
 
     proj_activity = await recent_activity_module._get_project_activity(
-        client=None, project_info=P(), params={}, depth=1
+        client=None, project_info=cast(Any, P()), params={}, depth=1
     )
     assert proj_activity.item_count == 2
     assert "folder" in proj_activity.active_folders
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils.py
index 2d7820d07..69526c11e 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils.py
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 """Tests for MCP tool utilities."""
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 import pytest
-from httpx import HTTPStatusError
+from httpx import HTTPStatusError, Request
 from mcp.server.fastmcp.exceptions import ToolError
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools.utils import (
+    call_delete,
     call_get,
     call_post,
     call_put,
-    call_delete,
     get_error_message,
 )
 
@@ -26,7 +28,9 @@ def __init__(self, status_code=200):
         def raise_for_status(self):
             if self.status_code >= 400:
                 raise HTTPStatusError(
-                    message=f"HTTP Error {self.status_code}", request=None, response=self
+                    message=f"HTTP Error {self.status_code}",
+                    request=Request("GET", "http://test.com"),
+                    response=cast(Any, self),
                 )
 
     return MockResponse
@@ -57,13 +61,17 @@ async def delete(self, *args, **kwargs):
         return self._responses["delete"]
 
 
+def _client(client: _Client) -> Any:
+    return cast(Any, client)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_call_get_success(mock_response):
     """Test successful GET request."""
     client = _Client()
     client.set_response("get", mock_response())
 
-    response = await call_get(client, "http://test.com")
+    response = await call_get(_client(client), "http://test.com")
     assert response.status_code == 200
 
 
@@ -74,7 +82,7 @@ async def test_call_get_error(mock_response):
     client.set_response("get", mock_response(404))
 
     with pytest.raises(ToolError) as exc:
-        await call_get(client, "http://test.com")
+        await call_get(_client(client), "http://test.com")
     assert "Resource not found" in str(exc.value)
 
 
@@ -86,7 +94,7 @@ async def test_call_post_success(mock_response):
     response.json = lambda: {"test": "data"}
     client.set_response("post", response)
 
-    response = await call_post(client, "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
+    response = await call_post(_client(client), "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
     assert response.status_code == 200
 
 
@@ -100,7 +108,7 @@ async def test_call_post_error(mock_response):
     client.set_response("post", response)
 
     with pytest.raises(ToolError) as exc:
-        await call_post(client, "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
+        await call_post(_client(client), "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
     assert "Internal server error" in str(exc.value)
 
 
@@ -110,7 +118,7 @@ async def test_call_put_success(mock_response):
     client = _Client()
     client.set_response("put", mock_response())
 
-    response = await call_put(client, "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
+    response = await call_put(_client(client), "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
     assert response.status_code == 200
 
 
@@ -121,7 +129,7 @@ async def test_call_put_error(mock_response):
     client.set_response("put", mock_response(400))
 
     with pytest.raises(ToolError) as exc:
-        await call_put(client, "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
+        await call_put(_client(client), "http://test.com", json={"test": "data"})
     assert "Invalid request" in str(exc.value)
 
 
@@ -131,7 +139,7 @@ async def test_call_delete_success(mock_response):
     client = _Client()
     client.set_response("delete", mock_response())
 
-    response = await call_delete(client, "http://test.com")
+    response = await call_delete(_client(client), "http://test.com")
     assert response.status_code == 200
 
 
@@ -142,7 +150,7 @@ async def test_call_delete_error(mock_response):
     client.set_response("delete", mock_response(403))
 
     with pytest.raises(ToolError) as exc:
-        await call_delete(client, "http://test.com")
+        await call_delete(_client(client), "http://test.com")
     assert "Access denied" in str(exc.value)
 
 
@@ -153,7 +161,7 @@ async def test_call_get_with_params(mock_response):
     client.set_response("get", mock_response())
 
     params = {"key": "value", "test": "data"}
-    await call_get(client, "http://test.com", params=params)
+    await call_get(_client(client), "http://test.com", params=params)
 
     assert len(client.calls) == 1
     method, _args, kwargs = client.calls[0]
@@ -199,7 +207,7 @@ async def test_call_post_with_json(mock_response):
     client.set_response("post", response)
 
     json_data = {"key": "value", "nested": {"test": "data"}}
-    await call_post(client, "http://test.com", json=json_data)
+    await call_post(_client(client), "http://test.com", json=json_data)
 
     assert len(client.calls) == 1
     method, _args, kwargs = client.calls[0]
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils_cloud_auth.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils_cloud_auth.py
index a121ecc03..b08532f6a 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils_cloud_auth.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_utils_cloud_auth.py
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 """Cloud auth error translation tests for MCP tool HTTP helpers."""
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 import pytest
-from httpx import HTTPStatusError
+from httpx import HTTPStatusError, Request
 from mcp.server.fastmcp.exceptions import ToolError
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.tools.utils import call_post
@@ -20,8 +22,8 @@ def raise_for_status(self):
         if self.status_code >= 400:
             raise HTTPStatusError(
                 message=f"HTTP Error {self.status_code}",
-                request=None,
-                response=self,
+                request=Request("POST", "http://test/v2/projects/"),
+                response=cast(Any, self),
             )
 
 
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ async def test_call_post_401_with_cloud_key_shows_actionable_remediation(config_
     )
 
     with pytest.raises(ToolError) as exc:
-        await call_post(client, "/v2/projects/", json={"name": "test"})
+        await call_post(cast(Any, client), "/v2/projects/", json={"name": "test"})
 
     message = str(exc.value)
     assert "configured cloud API key was rejected" in message
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_workspace_management.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_workspace_management.py
index 0cf3f8c8c..0df206355 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_workspace_management.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_workspace_management.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Tests for workspace MCP tools."""
 
+from typing import Any, cast
+
 import pytest
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.project_context import get_available_workspaces, set_workspace_provider
@@ -100,8 +102,8 @@ async def fake_get_available_workspaces(context=None):
         fake_get_available_workspaces,
     )
 
-    first = await list_workspaces(context=context)
-    second = await list_workspaces(context=context)
+    first = await list_workspaces(context=cast(Any, context))
+    second = await list_workspaces(context=cast(Any, context))
 
     assert "# Available Workspaces (1)" in first
     assert "# Available Workspaces (1)" in second
@@ -184,11 +186,11 @@ async def counting_provider() -> list[WorkspaceInfo]:
     context = _ContextState()
 
     # First call: provider is invoked, result cached
-    first = await get_available_workspaces(context=context)
+    first = await get_available_workspaces(context=cast(Any, context))
     assert len(first) == 1
     assert call_count["provider"] == 1
 
     # Second call: served from context cache, provider not called again
-    second = await get_available_workspaces(context=context)
+    second = await get_available_workspaces(context=cast(Any, context))
     assert len(second) == 1
     assert call_count["provider"] == 1
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_tool_write_note.py b/tests/mcp/test_tool_write_note.py
index a4d29b8d8..f73198f0f 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_tool_write_note.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_tool_write_note.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Tests for note tools that exercise the full stack with SQLite."""
 
 from textwrap import dedent
+from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -204,6 +205,7 @@ async def test_issue_93_write_note_respects_custom_permalink_existing_note(app,
 
     assert "# Created note" in result1
     assert f"project: {test_project.name}" in result1
+    assert isinstance(result1, str)
 
     # Extract the auto-generated permalink
     initial_permalink = None
@@ -287,7 +289,7 @@ async def test_write_note_with_tag_array_from_bug_report(app, test_project):
     was passing an array of tags and getting a type mismatch error.
     """
     # This is the exact payload from the bug report
-    bug_payload = {
+    bug_payload: dict[str, Any] = {
         "project": test_project.name,
         "title": "Title",
         "directory": "folder",
diff --git a/tests/mcp/test_ui_sdk.py b/tests/mcp/test_ui_sdk.py
index 4b7bb9a35..975d8221f 100644
--- a/tests/mcp/test_ui_sdk.py
+++ b/tests/mcp/test_ui_sdk.py
@@ -5,9 +5,11 @@
 - basic_memory.mcp.tools.ui_sdk (_text_block, search_notes_ui, read_note_ui)
 """
 
+from typing import cast
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock
 
 import pytest
+from mcp.types import TextContent
 
 from basic_memory.mcp.ui.sdk import (
     MissingMCPUIServerError,
@@ -133,5 +135,6 @@ class TestTextBlock:
     def test_returns_single_text_content(self):
         blocks = _text_block("hello world")
         assert len(blocks) == 1
-        assert blocks[0].type == "text"
-        assert blocks[0].text == "hello world"
+        block = cast(TextContent, blocks[0])
+        assert block.type == "text"
+        assert block.text == "hello world"
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_entity_repository.py b/tests/repository/test_entity_repository.py
index f2c9fcf0e..8a47d76de 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_entity_repository.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_entity_repository.py
@@ -935,7 +935,8 @@ async def test_get_all_file_paths_project_isolation(
 async def test_permalink_exists(entity_repository: EntityRepository, sample_entity: Entity):
     """Test checking if a permalink exists without loading full entity."""
     # Existing permalink should return True
-    assert await entity_repository.permalink_exists(sample_entity.permalink) is True  # pyright: ignore [reportArgumentType]
+    assert sample_entity.permalink is not None
+    assert await entity_repository.permalink_exists(sample_entity.permalink) is True
 
     # Non-existent permalink should return False
     assert await entity_repository.permalink_exists("nonexistent/permalink") is False
@@ -990,7 +991,8 @@ async def test_get_file_path_for_permalink(
 ):
     """Test getting file_path for a permalink without loading full entity."""
     # Existing permalink should return file_path
-    file_path = await entity_repository.get_file_path_for_permalink(sample_entity.permalink)  # pyright: ignore [reportArgumentType]
+    assert sample_entity.permalink is not None
+    file_path = await entity_repository.get_file_path_for_permalink(sample_entity.permalink)
     assert file_path == sample_entity.file_path
 
     # Non-existent permalink should return None
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_fastembed_provider.py b/tests/repository/test_fastembed_provider.py
index 4974317b8..bc0aed7ca 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_fastembed_provider.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_fastembed_provider.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ def embed(self, texts: list[str], batch_size: int = 64, **kwargs):
 async def test_fastembed_provider_lazy_loads_and_reuses_model(monkeypatch):
     """Provider should instantiate FastEmbed lazily and reuse the loaded model."""
     module = type(sys)("fastembed")
-    module.TextEmbedding = _StubTextEmbedding
+    setattr(module, "TextEmbedding", _StubTextEmbedding)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "fastembed", module)
     _StubTextEmbedding.init_count = 0
 
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ async def test_fastembed_provider_lazy_loads_and_reuses_model(monkeypatch):
 async def test_fastembed_provider_dimension_mismatch_raises_error(monkeypatch):
     """Provider should fail fast when model output dimensions differ from configured dimensions."""
     module = type(sys)("fastembed")
-    module.TextEmbedding = _StubTextEmbedding
+    setattr(module, "TextEmbedding", _StubTextEmbedding)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "fastembed", module)
 
     provider = FastEmbedEmbeddingProvider(model_name="stub-model", dimensions=4)
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ def _raising_import(name, globals=None, locals=None, fromlist=(), level=0):
 async def test_fastembed_provider_passes_runtime_knobs_to_fastembed(monkeypatch):
     """Provider should pass optional runtime tuning knobs through to FastEmbed."""
     module = type(sys)("fastembed")
-    module.TextEmbedding = _StubTextEmbedding
+    setattr(module, "TextEmbedding", _StubTextEmbedding)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "fastembed", module)
     _StubTextEmbedding.last_init_kwargs = {}
     _StubTextEmbedding.last_embed_kwargs = {}
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ async def test_fastembed_provider_passes_runtime_knobs_to_fastembed(monkeypatch)
 async def test_fastembed_provider_parallel_one_disables_multiprocessing(monkeypatch):
     """parallel=1 should not pass FastEmbed multiprocessing kwargs."""
     module = type(sys)("fastembed")
-    module.TextEmbedding = _StubTextEmbedding
+    setattr(module, "TextEmbedding", _StubTextEmbedding)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "fastembed", module)
     _StubTextEmbedding.last_embed_kwargs = {}
 
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ async def test_fastembed_provider_parallel_one_disables_multiprocessing(monkeypa
 async def test_fastembed_provider_parallel_two_passes_multiprocessing(monkeypatch):
     """parallel>1 should keep passing FastEmbed multiprocessing kwargs."""
     module = type(sys)("fastembed")
-    module.TextEmbedding = _StubTextEmbedding
+    setattr(module, "TextEmbedding", _StubTextEmbedding)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "fastembed", module)
     _StubTextEmbedding.last_embed_kwargs = {}
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_hybrid_fusion.py b/tests/repository/test_hybrid_fusion.py
index 10f4cc82c..c0226f0dd 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_hybrid_fusion.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_hybrid_fusion.py
@@ -7,11 +7,16 @@
 """
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any, Optional, cast
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from basic_memory.repository.embedding_provider import EmbeddingProvider
+from basic_memory.repository.search_index_row import SearchIndexRow
 from basic_memory.repository.search_repository_base import FUSION_BONUS, SearchRepositoryBase
+from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType, SearchRetrievalMode
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -30,7 +35,6 @@ class FakeRow:
     to_id: int | None = None
     relation_type: str | None = None
     entity_id: int | None = None
-    content_snippet: str | None = None
     category: str | None = None
     created_at: str | None = None
     updated_at: str | None = None
@@ -46,7 +50,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self._semantic_vector_k = 100
         self._semantic_min_similarity = 0.0
         # _search_hybrid calls _assert_semantic_available which checks this
-        self._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"dimensions": 384})()
+        self._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider()
         self._vector_dimensions = 384
         self._vector_tables_initialized = True
         self.session_maker = None
@@ -58,7 +62,21 @@ async def init_search_index(self):
     def _prepare_search_term(self, term, is_prefix=True):
         return term  # pragma: no cover
 
-    async def search(self, **kwargs):
+    async def search(
+        self,
+        search_text: Optional[str] = None,
+        permalink: Optional[str] = None,
+        permalink_match: Optional[str] = None,
+        title: Optional[str] = None,
+        note_types: Optional[list[str]] = None,
+        after_date: Optional[datetime] = None,
+        search_item_types: Optional[list[SearchItemType]] = None,
+        metadata_filters: Optional[dict[str, Any]] = None,
+        retrieval_mode: SearchRetrievalMode = SearchRetrievalMode.FTS,
+        min_similarity: Optional[float] = None,
+        limit: int = 10,
+        offset: int = 0,
+    ) -> list[SearchIndexRow]:
         return []  # pragma: no cover
 
     async def _ensure_vector_tables(self):
@@ -83,7 +101,24 @@ def _distance_to_similarity(self, distance: float) -> float:
         return 1.0 / (1.0 + max(distance, 0.0))  # pragma: no cover
 
 
-HYBRID_KWARGS = dict(
+def _fake_embedding_provider() -> EmbeddingProvider:
+    return cast(
+        EmbeddingProvider,
+        type(
+            "EP",
+            (),
+            {
+                "model_name": "fake",
+                "dimensions": 384,
+                "embed_query": AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384),
+                "embed_documents": AsyncMock(return_value=[]),
+                "runtime_log_attrs": lambda self: {},
+            },
+        )(),
+    )
+
+
+HYBRID_KWARGS: dict[str, Any] = dict(
     search_text="test",
     permalink=None,
     permalink_match=None,
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_observation_repository.py b/tests/repository/test_observation_repository.py
index 27b863995..25641c8ab 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_observation_repository.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_observation_repository.py
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
-import sqlalchemy
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_sessionmaker
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 
 from basic_memory import db
 from basic_memory.models import Entity, Observation, Project
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ async def test_create_observation_entity_does_not_exist(
         "content": "Test content",
         "context": "test-context",
     }
-    with pytest.raises(sqlalchemy.exc.IntegrityError):
+    with pytest.raises(IntegrityError):
         await observation_repository.create(observation_data)
 
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_openai_provider.py b/tests/repository/test_openai_provider.py
index e76882a60..b55d0c41c 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_openai_provider.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_openai_provider.py
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ def _reset_embedding_provider_cache_fixture():
 async def test_openai_provider_lazy_loads_and_reuses_client(monkeypatch):
     """Provider should instantiate AsyncOpenAI lazily and reuse a single client."""
     module = type(sys)("openai")
-    module.AsyncOpenAI = _StubAsyncOpenAI
+    setattr(module, "AsyncOpenAI", _StubAsyncOpenAI)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "openai", module)
     monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "test-key")
     _StubAsyncOpenAI.init_count = 0
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ async def test_openai_provider_lazy_loads_and_reuses_client(monkeypatch):
 async def test_openai_provider_dimension_mismatch_raises_error(monkeypatch):
     """Provider should fail fast when response dimensions differ from configured dimensions."""
     module = type(sys)("openai")
-    module.AsyncOpenAI = _StubAsyncOpenAI
+    setattr(module, "AsyncOpenAI", _StubAsyncOpenAI)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "openai", module)
     monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "test-key")
 
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ def _raising_import(name, globals=None, locals=None, fromlist=(), level=0):
 async def test_openai_provider_missing_api_key_raises_error(monkeypatch):
     """OPENAI_API_KEY is required unless api_key is passed explicitly."""
     module = type(sys)("openai")
-    module.AsyncOpenAI = _StubAsyncOpenAI
+    setattr(module, "AsyncOpenAI", _StubAsyncOpenAI)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "openai", module)
     monkeypatch.delenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", raising=False)
 
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ def __init__(self, *, api_key: str, base_url=None, timeout=30.0):
             self.embeddings = shared_api
 
     module = type(sys)("openai")
-    module.AsyncOpenAI = _ConcurrentAsyncOpenAI
+    setattr(module, "AsyncOpenAI", _ConcurrentAsyncOpenAI)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "openai", module)
     monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "test-key")
 
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ def __init__(self, *, api_key: str, base_url=None, timeout=30.0):
             self.embeddings = _MalformedEmbeddingsApi()
 
     module = type(sys)("openai")
-    module.AsyncOpenAI = _MalformedAsyncOpenAI
+    setattr(module, "AsyncOpenAI", _MalformedAsyncOpenAI)
     monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, "openai", module)
     monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "test-key")
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_postgres_search_repository.py b/tests/repository/test_postgres_search_repository.py
index 4ac72859c..20f455b10 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_postgres_search_repository.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_postgres_search_repository.py
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ async def embed_query(self, text: str) -> list[float]:
     async def embed_documents(self, texts: list[str]) -> list[list[float]]:
         return [self._vectorize(text) for text in texts]
 
+    def runtime_log_attrs(self) -> dict[str, object]:
+        return {}
+
     @staticmethod
     def _vectorize(text: str) -> list[float]:
         normalized = text.lower()
@@ -715,6 +718,9 @@ async def embed_query(self, text: str) -> list[float]:
     async def embed_documents(self, texts: list[str]) -> list[list[float]]:
         return [[0.0] * 8 for _ in texts]
 
+    def runtime_log_attrs(self) -> dict[str, object]:
+        return {}
+
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_postgres_dimension_mismatch_triggers_table_recreation(session_maker, test_project):
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_relation_repository.py b/tests/repository/test_relation_repository.py
index 1bfc07cdd..06f054ebf 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_relation_repository.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_relation_repository.py
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
-import sqlalchemy
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 
 from basic_memory import db
-from basic_memory.models import Entity, Relation, Project
+from basic_memory.models import Entity, Project, Relation
 from basic_memory.repository.relation_repository import RelationRepository
 
 
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ async def test_create_relation_entity_does_not_exist(
         "relation_type": "test_relation",
         "context": "test-context",
     }
-    with pytest.raises(sqlalchemy.exc.IntegrityError):
+    with pytest.raises(IntegrityError):
         await relation_repository.create(relation_data)
 
 
@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ async def test_find_relation(relation_repository: RelationRepository, sample_rel
         to_permalink=sample_relation.to_entity.permalink,
         relation_type=sample_relation.relation_type,
     )
+    assert relation is not None
     assert relation.id == sample_relation.id
 
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_search_repository_edit_bug_fix.py b/tests/repository/test_search_repository_edit_bug_fix.py
index 864a8f3c2..98eebdffd 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_search_repository_edit_bug_fix.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_search_repository_edit_bug_fix.py
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ async def test_index_item_respects_project_isolation_during_edit():
     results1_after = await repo1.search(search_text="project 1 content EDITED")
     assert len(results1_after) == 1
     assert results1_after[0].title == "Test Note in Project 1"
+    assert results1_after[0].content_snippet is not None
     assert "EDITED" in results1_after[0].content_snippet
 
     # CRITICAL TEST: Verify project 2's note is still there (the bug would delete it)
@@ -167,6 +168,7 @@ async def test_index_item_respects_project_isolation_during_edit():
     assert len(results2_after) == 1, "Project 2's note disappeared after editing project 1's note!"
     assert results2_after[0].title == "Test Note in Project 2"
     assert results2_after[0].project_id == project2_id
+    assert results2_after[0].content_snippet is not None
     assert "original" in results2_after[0].content_snippet  # Should still be original
 
     # Double-check: project 1 should not be able to see project 2's note
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_semantic_search_base.py b/tests/repository/test_semantic_search_base.py
index f42a32f06..1e8a58db1 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_semantic_search_base.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_semantic_search_base.py
@@ -6,13 +6,16 @@
 
 import asyncio
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from datetime import datetime
 from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
 
 import pytest
 
 import basic_memory.repository.search_repository_base as search_repository_base_module
 from basic_memory.repository.fastembed_provider import FastEmbedEmbeddingProvider
+from basic_memory.repository.search_index_row import SearchIndexRow
 from basic_memory.repository.search_repository_base import (
     MAX_VECTOR_CHUNK_CHARS,
     SearchRepositoryBase,
@@ -71,7 +74,21 @@ async def init_search_index(self):
     def _prepare_search_term(self, term, is_prefix=True):
         return term
 
-    async def search(self, **kwargs):
+    async def search(
+        self,
+        search_text: str | None = None,
+        permalink: str | None = None,
+        permalink_match: str | None = None,
+        title: str | None = None,
+        note_types: list[str] | None = None,
+        after_date: datetime | None = None,
+        search_item_types: list[SearchItemType] | None = None,
+        metadata_filters: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        retrieval_mode: SearchRetrievalMode = SearchRetrievalMode.FTS,
+        min_similarity: float | None = None,
+        limit: int = 10,
+        offset: int = 0,
+    ) -> list[SearchIndexRow]:
         return []
 
     async def _ensure_vector_tables(self):
@@ -637,9 +654,13 @@ async def _yielding_write_scope():
     )
 
     prepared = await repo._prepare_entity_vector_jobs_window([1, 2])
+    prepared_results = [
+        result for result in prepared if isinstance(result, _PreparedEntityVectorSync)
+    ]
 
-    assert [result.sync_start for result in prepared] == [10.0, 11.0]
-    assert [result.prepare_seconds for result in prepared] == [2.0, 2.0]
+    assert len(prepared_results) == 2
+    assert [result.sync_start for result in prepared_results] == [10.0, 11.0]
+    assert [result.prepare_seconds for result in prepared_results] == [2.0, 2.0]
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_sqlite_vector_search_repository.py b/tests/repository/test_sqlite_vector_search_repository.py
index ea25675c0..6daf20f65 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_sqlite_vector_search_repository.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_sqlite_vector_search_repository.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import asyncio
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from typing import Any, cast
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
 
 import pytest
@@ -27,6 +28,9 @@ async def embed_query(self, text: str) -> list[float]:
     async def embed_documents(self, texts: list[str]) -> list[list[float]]:
         return [self._vectorize(text) for text in texts]
 
+    def runtime_log_attrs(self) -> dict[str, object]:
+        return {}
+
     @staticmethod
     def _vectorize(text: str) -> list[float]:
         normalized = text.lower()
@@ -81,8 +85,9 @@ def _enable_semantic(
         pytest.skip("sqlite-vec dependency is required for sqlite vector repository tests.")
 
     search_repository._semantic_enabled = True
-    search_repository._embedding_provider = embedding_provider or StubEmbeddingProvider()
-    search_repository._vector_dimensions = search_repository._embedding_provider.dimensions
+    provider = embedding_provider or StubEmbeddingProvider()
+    search_repository._embedding_provider = provider
+    search_repository._vector_dimensions = provider.dimensions
     search_repository._vector_tables_initialized = False
 
 
@@ -355,9 +360,10 @@ async def fake_scoped_session(session_maker):
     monkeypatch.setattr(repo, "_upsert_scheduled_chunk_records", _stub_upsert)
 
     prepared = await repo._prepare_entity_vector_jobs_window([1, 2])
+    prepared_results = [result for result in prepared if not isinstance(result, BaseException)]
 
     assert fetched_windows == [[1, 2]]
-    assert [result.entity_id for result in prepared] == [1, 2]
+    assert [result.entity_id for result in prepared_results] == [1, 2]
     assert max_active_write_scopes == 1
 
 
@@ -418,9 +424,10 @@ async def fake_scoped_session(session_maker):
     monkeypatch.setattr(repo, "_upsert_scheduled_chunk_records", _stub_upsert)
 
     prepared = await asyncio.wait_for(repo._prepare_entity_vector_jobs_window([1]), timeout=1.0)
+    prepared_results = [result for result in prepared if not isinstance(result, BaseException)]
 
-    assert len(prepared) == 1
-    assert prepared[0].entity_id == 1
+    assert len(prepared_results) == 1
+    assert prepared_results[0].entity_id == 1
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -535,7 +542,7 @@ async def capturing_execute(stmt, params=None):
 
     async with db.scoped_session(search_repository.session_maker) as session:
         await search_repository._prepare_vector_session(session)
-        session.execute = capturing_execute
+        cast(Any, session).execute = capturing_execute
 
         query_embedding = [0.1] * search_repository._vector_dimensions
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_vector_pagination.py b/tests/repository/test_vector_pagination.py
index 79cf30399..821ce84ad 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_vector_pagination.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_vector_pagination.py
@@ -6,11 +6,15 @@
 
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
 from basic_memory.repository.search_repository_base import SearchRepositoryBase
+from basic_memory.repository.search_index_row import SearchIndexRow
+from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType, SearchRetrievalMode
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -43,7 +47,21 @@ async def init_search_index(self):
     def _prepare_search_term(self, term, is_prefix=True):
         return term  # pragma: no cover
 
-    async def search(self, **kwargs):
+    async def search(
+        self,
+        search_text: str | None = None,
+        permalink: str | None = None,
+        permalink_match: str | None = None,
+        title: str | None = None,
+        note_types: list[str] | None = None,
+        after_date: datetime | None = None,
+        search_item_types: list[SearchItemType] | None = None,
+        metadata_filters: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+        retrieval_mode: SearchRetrievalMode = SearchRetrievalMode.FTS,
+        min_similarity: float | None = None,
+        limit: int = 10,
+        offset: int = 0,
+    ) -> list[SearchIndexRow]:
         return []  # pragma: no cover
 
     async def _ensure_vector_tables(self):
@@ -73,6 +91,20 @@ async def fake_scoped_session(session_maker):
     yield AsyncMock()
 
 
+class _EmbeddingProvider:
+    dimensions = 384
+    model_name = "stub"
+
+    async def embed_query(self, text: str) -> list[float]:
+        return [0.0] * self.dimensions
+
+    async def embed_documents(self, texts: list[str]) -> list[list[float]]:
+        return [[0.0] * self.dimensions for _ in texts]
+
+    def runtime_log_attrs(self) -> dict[str, object]:
+        return {}
+
+
 def _make_descending_vector_rows(count: int) -> list[dict]:
     """Build vector rows with scores descending from ~1.0 to ~0.5."""
     rows = []
@@ -98,8 +130,7 @@ async def test_page1_scores_gte_page2_scores():
     # 20 results with descending scores
     fake_rows = _make_descending_vector_rows(20)
 
-    mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _EmbeddingProvider()
 
     fake_index_rows = {i: FakeRow(id=i) for i in range(20)}
 
diff --git a/tests/repository/test_vector_threshold.py b/tests/repository/test_vector_threshold.py
index 267b95d65..f4da09edf 100644
--- a/tests/repository/test_vector_threshold.py
+++ b/tests/repository/test_vector_threshold.py
@@ -2,15 +2,20 @@
 
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any, Optional, cast
 from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from basic_memory.repository.embedding_provider import EmbeddingProvider
+from basic_memory.repository.search_index_row import SearchIndexRow
 from basic_memory.repository.search_repository_base import (
     SMALL_NOTE_CONTENT_LIMIT,
     TOP_CHUNKS_PER_RESULT,
     SearchRepositoryBase,
 )
+from basic_memory.schemas.search import SearchItemType, SearchRetrievalMode
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -46,7 +51,21 @@ async def init_search_index(self):
     def _prepare_search_term(self, term, is_prefix=True):
         return term  # pragma: no cover
 
-    async def search(self, **kwargs):
+    async def search(
+        self,
+        search_text: Optional[str] = None,
+        permalink: Optional[str] = None,
+        permalink_match: Optional[str] = None,
+        title: Optional[str] = None,
+        note_types: Optional[list[str]] = None,
+        after_date: Optional[datetime] = None,
+        search_item_types: Optional[list[SearchItemType]] = None,
+        metadata_filters: Optional[dict[str, Any]] = None,
+        retrieval_mode: SearchRetrievalMode = SearchRetrievalMode.FTS,
+        min_similarity: Optional[float] = None,
+        limit: int = 10,
+        offset: int = 0,
+    ) -> list[SearchIndexRow]:
         return []  # pragma: no cover
 
     async def _ensure_vector_tables(self):
@@ -90,13 +109,20 @@ def _make_vector_rows(scores: list[float]) -> list[dict]:
     return rows
 
 
+def _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed: AsyncMock) -> EmbeddingProvider:
+    return cast(
+        EmbeddingProvider,
+        type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})(),
+    )
+
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def fake_scoped_session(session_maker):
     """Fake scoped_session that yields a mock session object."""
     yield AsyncMock()
 
 
-COMMON_SEARCH_KWARGS = dict(
+COMMON_SEARCH_KWARGS: dict[str, Any] = dict(
     search_text="test",
     permalink=None,
     permalink_match=None,
@@ -119,7 +145,7 @@ async def test_threshold_zero_returns_all():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9, 0.5, 0.3])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     with (
         patch(
@@ -150,7 +176,7 @@ async def test_threshold_filters_low_scores():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9, 0.5, 0.3])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     with (
         patch(
@@ -183,7 +209,7 @@ async def test_threshold_returns_empty_when_all_below():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.5, 0.4, 0.3])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     mock_fetch = AsyncMock()
 
@@ -214,7 +240,7 @@ async def test_per_query_min_similarity_overrides_instance_default():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9, 0.5, 0.3])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     with (
         patch(
@@ -247,7 +273,7 @@ async def test_per_query_min_similarity_tightens_threshold():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9, 0.5, 0.3])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     with (
         patch(
@@ -280,7 +306,7 @@ async def test_matched_chunk_text_populated_on_vector_results():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9, 0.7])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     with (
         patch(
@@ -335,7 +361,7 @@ async def test_top_n_chunks_joined_in_matched_chunk_text():
     fake_rows = _make_multi_chunk_vector_rows(si_id=0, scores=chunk_scores)
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     # content_snippet exceeds SMALL_NOTE_CONTENT_LIMIT → top-N chunks path
     large_content = "x" * (SMALL_NOTE_CONTENT_LIMIT + 1)
@@ -358,6 +384,7 @@ async def test_top_n_chunks_joined_in_matched_chunk_text():
 
     assert len(results) == 1
     text = results[0].matched_chunk_text
+    assert text is not None
 
     # Top 5 chunks by similarity: 0.9, 0.85, 0.8, 0.75, 0.6 (0.4 and 0.3 excluded)
     parts = text.split("\n---\n")
@@ -378,7 +405,7 @@ async def test_small_note_returns_full_content_as_matched_chunk():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     small_content = "This is a short note with all the important details."
     assert len(small_content) <= SMALL_NOTE_CONTENT_LIMIT
@@ -413,7 +440,7 @@ async def test_large_note_returns_chunks_not_full_content():
     fake_rows = _make_vector_rows([0.9])
 
     mock_embed = AsyncMock(return_value=[0.0] * 384)
-    repo._embedding_provider = type("EP", (), {"embed_query": mock_embed, "dimensions": 384})()
+    repo._embedding_provider = _fake_embedding_provider(mock_embed)
 
     large_content = "x" * (SMALL_NOTE_CONTENT_LIMIT + 500)
 
diff --git a/tests/schema/test_resolver.py b/tests/schema/test_resolver.py
index 4c45b8136..babc71d9e 100644
--- a/tests/schema/test_resolver.py
+++ b/tests/schema/test_resolver.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ async def test_inline_schema_uses_type_for_entity(self, mock_search_fn):
             "schema": {"field": "string"},
         }
         result = await resolve_schema(frontmatter, mock_search_fn)
+        assert result is not None
         assert result.entity == "CustomType"
 
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ async def test_inline_schema_defaults_entity_to_unknown(self, mock_search_fn):
             "schema": {"field": "string"},
         }
         result = await resolve_schema(frontmatter, mock_search_fn)
+        assert result is not None
         assert result.entity == "unknown"
 
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -61,6 +63,7 @@ async def test_inline_schema_respects_validation_mode(self, mock_search_fn):
             "settings": {"validation": "strict"},
         }
         result = await resolve_schema(frontmatter, mock_search_fn)
+        assert result is not None
         assert result.validation_mode == "strict"
 
 
diff --git a/tests/schema/test_validator.py b/tests/schema/test_validator.py
index 5d30431a7..4b5a9a266 100644
--- a/tests/schema/test_validator.py
+++ b/tests/schema/test_validator.py
@@ -182,6 +182,7 @@ def test_enum_invalid_value_warn_mode(self):
         assert result.passed is True  # warn mode
         fr = result.field_results[0]
         assert fr.status == "enum_mismatch"
+        assert fr.message is not None
         assert "archived" in fr.message
         assert len(result.warnings) == 1
 
@@ -323,6 +324,7 @@ def test_enum_frontmatter_invalid_value_warn(self):
         result = validate_note("test-note", schema, [], [], frontmatter={"status": "archived"})
         assert result.passed is True
         assert result.field_results[0].status == "enum_mismatch"
+        assert result.field_results[0].message is not None
         assert "archived" in result.field_results[0].message
         assert len(result.warnings) == 1
 
diff --git a/tests/schemas/test_search.py b/tests/schemas/test_search.py
index b1fe51e89..b2fd8639e 100644
--- a/tests/schemas/test_search.py
+++ b/tests/schemas/test_search.py
@@ -47,7 +47,10 @@ def test_search_retrieval_mode_defaults_to_fts():
     query = SearchQuery(text="search implementation")
     assert query.retrieval_mode == SearchRetrievalMode.FTS
 
-    vector_query = SearchQuery(text="search implementation", retrieval_mode="vector")
+    vector_query = SearchQuery(
+        text="search implementation",
+        retrieval_mode=SearchRetrievalMode.VECTOR,
+    )
     assert vector_query.retrieval_mode == SearchRetrievalMode.VECTOR
 
 
diff --git a/tests/services/test_entity_service.py b/tests/services/test_entity_service.py
index df071ce84..1a97ab825 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_entity_service.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_entity_service.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import uuid
 from pathlib import Path
 from textwrap import dedent
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 import yaml
@@ -21,6 +22,12 @@
 from basic_memory.utils import generate_permalink
 
 
+def _permalink(entity: EntityModel | EntitySchema) -> str:
+    permalink = entity.permalink
+    assert permalink is not None
+    return permalink
+
+
 class _DeleteTestEmbeddingProvider:
     """Deterministic embedding provider for entity delete cleanup tests."""
 
@@ -138,7 +145,7 @@ async def test_create_entity(
     assert len(entity.relations) == 0
 
     # Verify we can retrieve it using permalink
-    retrieved = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity.permalink)
+    retrieved = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity))
     assert retrieved.title == "Test Entity"
     assert retrieved.note_type == "test"
     assert retrieved.created_at is not None
@@ -249,13 +256,13 @@ async def test_get_by_permalink(entity_service: EntityService):
     entity2 = await entity_service.create_entity(entity2_data)
 
     # Find by type1 and name
-    found = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity1_data.permalink)
+    found = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity1_data))
     assert found is not None
     assert found.id == entity1.id
     assert found.note_type == entity1.note_type
 
     # Find by type2 and name
-    found = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity2_data.permalink)
+    found = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity2_data))
     assert found is not None
     assert found.id == entity2.id
     assert found.note_type == entity2.note_type
@@ -276,7 +283,7 @@ async def test_get_entity_success(entity_service: EntityService):
     await entity_service.create_entity(entity_data)
 
     # Get by permalink
-    retrieved = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity_data.permalink)
+    retrieved = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity_data))
 
     assert isinstance(retrieved, EntityModel)
     assert retrieved.title == "TestEntity"
@@ -294,12 +301,12 @@ async def test_delete_entity_success(entity_service: EntityService):
     await entity_service.create_entity(entity_data)
 
     # Act using permalink
-    result = await entity_service.delete_entity(entity_data.permalink)
+    result = await entity_service.delete_entity(_permalink(entity_data))
 
     # Assert
     assert result is True
     with pytest.raises(EntityNotFoundError):
-        await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity_data.permalink)
+        await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity_data))
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -318,7 +325,7 @@ async def test_delete_entity_by_id(entity_service: EntityService):
     # Assert
     assert result is True
     with pytest.raises(EntityNotFoundError):
-        await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity_data.permalink)
+        await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity_data))
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -332,7 +339,7 @@ async def test_delete_entity_removes_search_and_vector_state(
     if app_config.database_backend == DatabaseBackend.SQLITE:
         pytest.importorskip("sqlite_vec")
 
-    repository = search_service.repository
+    repository = cast(Any, search_service.repository)
     repository._semantic_enabled = True
     repository._embedding_provider = _DeleteTestEmbeddingProvider()
     repository._vector_dimensions = repository._embedding_provider.dimensions
@@ -403,7 +410,7 @@ async def test_create_entity_with_special_chars(entity_service: EntityService):
     assert entity.title == name
 
     # Verify after retrieval using permalink
-    await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity_data.permalink)
+    await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity_data))
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -424,7 +431,7 @@ async def test_get_entities_by_permalinks(entity_service: EntityService):
     await entity_service.create_entity(entity2_data)
 
     # Open nodes by path IDs
-    permalinks = [entity1_data.permalink, entity2_data.permalink]
+    permalinks = [_permalink(entity1_data), _permalink(entity2_data)]
     found = await entity_service.get_entities_by_permalinks(permalinks)
 
     assert len(found) == 2
@@ -451,7 +458,7 @@ async def test_get_entities_some_not_found(entity_service: EntityService):
     await entity_service.create_entity(entity_data)
 
     # Try to open two nodes, one exists, one doesn't
-    permalinks = [entity_data.permalink, "type1/non_existent"]
+    permalinks = [_permalink(entity_data), "type1/non_existent"]
     found = await entity_service.get_entities_by_permalinks(permalinks)
 
     assert len(found) == 1
@@ -482,6 +489,7 @@ async def test_update_note_entity_content(entity_service: EntityService, file_se
     )
 
     entity = await entity_service.create_entity(schema)
+    assert entity.entity_metadata is not None
     assert entity.entity_metadata.get("status") == "draft"
 
     # Update content with a relation
@@ -599,12 +607,14 @@ async def test_create_or_update_existing(entity_service: EntityService, file_ser
         )
     )
 
-    entity.content = "Updated content"
+    entity_for_update = cast(Any, entity)
+    entity_for_update.content = "Updated content"
 
     # Update name
-    updated, created = await entity_service.create_or_update_entity(entity)
+    updated, created = await entity_service.create_or_update_entity(entity_for_update)
 
     assert updated.title == "test"
+    assert updated.entity_metadata is not None
     assert updated.entity_metadata["status"] == "final"
     assert created is False
 
@@ -847,7 +857,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_append(entity_service: EntityService, file_service: F
 
     # Edit entity with append operation
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink, operation="append", content="Appended content"
+        identifier=_permalink(entity), operation="append", content="Appended content"
     )
 
     # Verify content was appended
@@ -873,7 +883,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_prepend(entity_service: EntityService, file_service:
 
     # Edit entity with prepend operation
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink, operation="prepend", content="Prepended content"
+        identifier=_permalink(entity), operation="prepend", content="Prepended content"
     )
 
     # Verify content was prepended
@@ -899,7 +909,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace(entity_service: EntityService, file_serv
 
     # Edit entity with find_replace operation
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="find_replace",
         content="new content",
         find_text="old content",
@@ -939,7 +949,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section(
 
     # Edit entity with replace_section operation
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="New section 1 content",
         section="## Section 1",
@@ -970,7 +980,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_create_new(
 
     # Edit entity with replace_section operation for non-existent section
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="New section content",
         section="## New Section",
@@ -1007,7 +1017,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_invalid_operation(entity_service: EntityService):
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Unsupported operation"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink, operation="invalid_operation", content="content"
+            identifier=_permalink(entity), operation="invalid_operation", content="content"
         )
 
 
@@ -1026,7 +1036,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_missing_find_text(entity_service: Entity
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="find_text is required"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink, operation="find_replace", content="new content"
+            identifier=_permalink(entity), operation="find_replace", content="new content"
         )
 
 
@@ -1045,7 +1055,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_missing_section(entity_service: Entit
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="section is required"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink, operation="replace_section", content="new content"
+            identifier=_permalink(entity), operation="replace_section", content="new content"
         )
 
 
@@ -1079,7 +1089,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_with_observations_and_relations(
 
     # Edit entity by appending content with new observations/relations
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="append",
         content="\n- [category] New observation\n- relates to [[New Entity]]",
     )
@@ -1185,7 +1195,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_not_found(entity_service: EntityService)
     # Try to replace text that doesn't exist
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Text to replace not found: 'nonexistent'"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="find_replace",
             content="new content",
             find_text="nonexistent",
@@ -1210,7 +1220,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_multiple_occurrences_expected_one(
     # Try to replace with expected count of 1 when there are 2
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Expected 1 occurrences of 'banana', but found 2"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="find_replace",
             content="replacement",
             find_text="banana",
@@ -1235,7 +1245,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_multiple_occurrences_success(
 
     # Replace with correct expected count
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="find_replace",
         content="apple",
         find_text="banana",
@@ -1264,7 +1274,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_empty_find_text(entity_service: EntitySe
     # Try with empty find_text
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="find_text cannot be empty or whitespace only"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="find_replace",
             content="new content",
             find_text="   ",  # whitespace only
@@ -1301,7 +1311,10 @@ async def test_edit_entity_find_replace_multiline(
     new_text = "This is new content\nthat replaces the old paragraph."
 
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink, operation="find_replace", content=new_text, find_text=find_text
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
+        operation="find_replace",
+        content=new_text,
+        find_text=find_text,
     )
 
     # Verify replacement worked
@@ -1341,7 +1354,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_multiple_sections_error(entity_servic
     # Try to replace section when multiple exist
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Multiple sections found with header '## Section 1'"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="replace_section",
             content="New content",
             section="## Section 1",
@@ -1364,7 +1377,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_empty_section(entity_service: EntityS
     # Try with empty section
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="section cannot be empty or whitespace only"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="replace_section",
             content="new content",
             section="   ",  # whitespace only
@@ -1398,7 +1411,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_header_variations(
 
     # Test replacing with different header format (no ##)
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="New section content",
         section="Section Name",  # No ## prefix
@@ -1438,7 +1451,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_at_end_of_document(
 
     # Replace the last section
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="New last section content",
         section="## Last Section",
@@ -1485,7 +1498,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_with_subsections(
 
     # Replace parent section (should only replace content until first subsection)
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="New parent content",
         section="## Parent Section",
@@ -1530,7 +1543,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_replace_section_strips_duplicate_header(
     # Replace section with content that includes the duplicate header
     # (This is what LLMs sometimes do)
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="replace_section",
         content="## Testing\nNew content for testing section",
         section="## Testing",
@@ -1577,7 +1590,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_before_section(
     )
 
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="insert_before_section",
         content="Inserted before section 2",
         section="## Section 2",
@@ -1617,7 +1630,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_after_section(
     )
 
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="insert_after_section",
         content="Inserted after section 1 heading",
         section="## Section 1",
@@ -1648,7 +1661,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_before_section_not_found(entity_service: Entit
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Section '## Missing' not found"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="insert_before_section",
             content="new content",
             section="## Missing",
@@ -1669,7 +1682,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_after_section_not_found(entity_service: Entity
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Section '## Missing' not found"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="insert_after_section",
             content="new content",
             section="## Missing",
@@ -1692,7 +1705,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_before_section_multiple_sections_error(
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Multiple sections found"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="insert_before_section",
             content="new content",
             section="## Dup",
@@ -1715,7 +1728,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_before_section_missing_section_param(
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="section is required"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="insert_before_section",
             content="new content",
         )
@@ -1735,7 +1748,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_before_section_empty_section(entity_service: E
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="section cannot be empty"):
         await entity_service.edit_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             operation="insert_before_section",
             content="new content",
             section="   ",
@@ -1764,7 +1777,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_after_section_at_end_of_document(
     )
 
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="insert_after_section",
         content="Inserted after the last section heading",
         section="## Only Section",
@@ -1800,7 +1813,7 @@ async def test_edit_entity_insert_after_section_preserves_paragraph_separation(
     )
 
     updated = await entity_service.edit_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         operation="insert_after_section",
         content="Inserted line",
         section="## Section",
@@ -1840,7 +1853,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_success(
     # Move entity
     assert entity.permalink == f"{generate_permalink(project_config.name)}/original/test-note"
     await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         destination_path="moved/test-note.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
@@ -1854,7 +1867,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_success(
     assert new_path.exists()
 
     # Verify database was updated
-    updated_entity = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(entity.permalink)
+    updated_entity = await entity_service.get_by_permalink(_permalink(entity))
     assert updated_entity.file_path == "moved/test-note.md"
 
     # Verify file content is preserved
@@ -1886,7 +1899,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_with_permalink_update(
 
     # Move entity
     await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         destination_path="moved/test-note.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
@@ -1900,7 +1913,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_with_permalink_update(
 
     # Verify frontmatter was updated with new permalink
     new_content, _ = await file_service.read_file("moved/test-note.md")
-    assert moved_entity.permalink in new_content
+    assert _permalink(moved_entity) in new_content
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -1924,7 +1937,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_creates_destination_directory(
 
     # Move to deeply nested path that doesn't exist
     await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         destination_path="deeply/nested/folders/test-note.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
@@ -1978,7 +1991,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_source_file_missing(
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Source file not found:"):
         await entity_service.move_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             destination_path="new/path.md",
             project_config=project_config,
             app_config=app_config,
@@ -2016,7 +2029,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_destination_exists(
     # Try to move entity1 to entity2's location
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Destination already exists:"):
         await entity_service.move_entity(
-            identifier=entity1.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity1),
             destination_path=entity2.file_path,
             project_config=project_config,
             app_config=app_config,
@@ -2044,7 +2057,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_invalid_destination_path(
     # Test absolute path
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Invalid destination path:"):
         await entity_service.move_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             destination_path="/absolute/path.md",
             project_config=project_config,
             app_config=app_config,
@@ -2053,7 +2066,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_invalid_destination_path(
     # Test empty path
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Invalid destination path:"):
         await entity_service.move_entity(
-            identifier=entity.permalink,
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
             destination_path="",
             project_config=project_config,
             app_config=app_config,
@@ -2131,7 +2144,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_preserves_observations_and_relations(
 
     # Move entity
     await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         destination_path="moved/test-note.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
@@ -2139,6 +2152,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_preserves_observations_and_relations(
 
     # Get moved entity
     moved_entity = await entity_service.link_resolver.resolve_link("moved/test-note.md")
+    assert moved_entity is not None
 
     # Verify observations and relations are preserved
     assert len(moved_entity.observations) == 1
@@ -2158,6 +2172,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_rollback_on_database_failure(
     file_service: FileService,
     project_config: ProjectConfig,
     entity_repository: EntityRepository,
+    monkeypatch,
 ):
     """Test that filesystem changes are rolled back on database failures."""
     # Create test entity
@@ -2175,33 +2190,25 @@ async def test_move_entity_rollback_on_database_failure(
 
     app_config = BasicMemoryConfig(update_permalinks_on_move=False)
 
-    # Mock repository update to fail
-    original_update = entity_repository.update
-
     async def failing_update(*args, **kwargs):
         return None  # Simulate failure
 
-    entity_repository.update = failing_update
-
-    try:
-        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Move failed:"):
-            await entity_service.move_entity(
-                identifier=entity.permalink,
-                destination_path="moved/test-note.md",
-                project_config=project_config,
-                app_config=app_config,
-            )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(entity_repository, "update", failing_update)
 
-        # Verify rollback - original file should still exist
-        assert await file_service.exists(original_path)
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Move failed:"):
+        await entity_service.move_entity(
+            identifier=_permalink(entity),
+            destination_path="moved/test-note.md",
+            project_config=project_config,
+            app_config=app_config,
+        )
 
-        # Verify destination file was cleaned up
-        destination_path = project_config.home / "moved/test-note.md"
-        assert not destination_path.exists()
+    # Verify rollback - original file should still exist
+    assert await file_service.exists(original_path)
 
-    finally:
-        # Restore original update method
-        entity_repository.update = original_update
+    # Verify destination file was cleaned up
+    destination_path = project_config.home / "moved/test-note.md"
+    assert not destination_path.exists()
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -2238,7 +2245,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_with_complex_observations(
 
     # Move entity
     await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=_permalink(entity),
         destination_path="moved/complex-note.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
@@ -2246,6 +2253,7 @@ async def test_move_entity_with_complex_observations(
 
     # Verify moved entity maintains structure
     moved_entity = await entity_service.link_resolver.resolve_link("moved/complex-note.md")
+    assert moved_entity is not None
 
     # Check observations with tags and context
     design_obs = [obs for obs in moved_entity.observations if obs.category == "design"][0]
@@ -2612,7 +2620,7 @@ async def test_delete_entity_by_permalink_already_deleted(entity_service: Entity
     assert await entity_service.delete_entity(created.id) is True
 
     # Delete again by permalink - should return True (EntityNotFoundError caught)
-    assert await entity_service.delete_entity(entity_data.permalink) is True
+    assert await entity_service.delete_entity(_permalink(entity_data)) is True
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/services/test_entity_service_disable_permalinks.py b/tests/services/test_entity_service_disable_permalinks.py
index 9ac684374..42cc0da9f 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_entity_service_disable_permalinks.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_entity_service_disable_permalinks.py
@@ -204,13 +204,14 @@ async def test_move_entity_with_permalinks_disabled(
     # Create entity
     entity = await entity_service.create_entity(entity_data)
     original_permalink = entity.permalink
+    assert original_permalink is not None
 
     # Now disable permalinks
     app_config_disabled = BasicMemoryConfig(disable_permalinks=True, update_permalinks_on_move=True)
 
     # Move entity
     moved = await entity_service.move_entity(
-        identifier=entity.permalink,
+        identifier=original_permalink,
         destination_path="new_folder/test_entity.md",
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config_disabled,
diff --git a/tests/services/test_project_service.py b/tests/services/test_project_service.py
index 8e58f8480..c4c0cb26a 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_project_service.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_project_service.py
@@ -233,9 +233,10 @@ async def test_set_default_project_async(project_service: ProjectService, test_p
             assert project.is_default is True
 
             # Make sure old default is no longer default
-            old_default_project = await project_service.repository.get_by_name(original_default)
-            if old_default_project:
-                assert old_default_project.is_default is not True
+            if original_default:
+                old_default_project = await project_service.repository.get_by_name(original_default)
+                if old_default_project:
+                    assert old_default_project.is_default is not True
 
         finally:
             # Restore original default (only if it exists in database)
@@ -327,8 +328,10 @@ async def test_add_project_with_set_default_true(project_service: ProjectService
 
         try:
             # Get original default project from database
-            original_default_project = await project_service.repository.get_by_name(
-                original_default
+            original_default_project = (
+                await project_service.repository.get_by_name(original_default)
+                if original_default
+                else None
             )
 
             # Add project with set_default=True
@@ -345,7 +348,9 @@ async def test_add_project_with_set_default_true(project_service: ProjectService
 
             # Verify original default is no longer default in database
             if original_default_project:
+                assert original_default is not None
                 refreshed_original = await project_service.repository.get_by_name(original_default)
+                assert refreshed_original is not None
                 assert refreshed_original.is_default is not True
 
             # Verify only one project has is_default=True
@@ -394,8 +399,10 @@ async def test_add_project_with_set_default_false(project_service: ProjectServic
             assert new_project.is_default is not True
 
             # Verify original default is still default
-            original_default_project = await project_service.repository.get_by_name(
-                original_default
+            original_default_project = (
+                await project_service.repository.get_by_name(original_default)
+                if original_default
+                else None
             )
             if original_default_project:
                 assert original_default_project.is_default is True
diff --git a/tests/services/test_search_service.py b/tests/services/test_search_service.py
index b4040cce9..d71f0d5f4 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_search_service.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_search_service.py
@@ -994,6 +994,7 @@ async def test_index_entity_with_duplicate_observations(
 
     # Reload entity with observations (get_by_permalink eagerly loads observations)
     entity = await entity_repo.get_by_permalink("test/duplicate-obs")
+    assert entity is not None
 
     # Verify we have duplicate observations
     assert len(entity.observations) == 2
@@ -1052,6 +1053,7 @@ async def test_index_entity_dedupes_observations_by_permalink(
 
     # Reload entity with observations (get_by_permalink eagerly loads observations)
     entity = await entity_repo.get_by_permalink("test/dedupe-test")
+    assert entity is not None
     assert len(entity.observations) == 3
 
     # Index the entity
@@ -1103,6 +1105,7 @@ async def test_index_entity_multiple_categories_same_content(
 
     # Reload entity with observations (get_by_permalink eagerly loads observations)
     entity = await entity_repo.get_by_permalink("test/multi-category")
+    assert entity is not None
     assert len(entity.observations) == 2
 
     # Verify permalinks are different due to different categories
@@ -1156,6 +1159,7 @@ async def test_index_entity_markdown_strips_nul_bytes(search_service, session_ma
     }
     entity = await entity_repo.create(entity_data)
     entity = await entity_repo.get_by_permalink("test/nul-test")
+    assert entity is not None
 
     # Index with NUL-containing content (simulates rclone-preallocated file)
     nul_content = "# NUL Test\x00\x00\nSome content\x00here"
diff --git a/tests/services/test_semantic_search.py b/tests/services/test_semantic_search.py
index 7bbf6b2e9..7776cf0dd 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_semantic_search.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_semantic_search.py
@@ -175,7 +175,9 @@ async def test_semantic_vector_sync_batch_skips_embed_opt_out_and_reports_skips(
     result = await search_service.sync_entity_vectors_batch([41, 42])
 
     sync_batch.assert_awaited_once()
-    assert sync_batch.await_args.args[0] == [42]
+    sync_batch_args = sync_batch.await_args
+    assert sync_batch_args is not None
+    assert sync_batch_args.args[0] == [42]
     assert result.entities_total == 2
     assert result.entities_synced == 1
     assert result.entities_skipped == 1
diff --git a/tests/services/test_task_scheduler_semantic.py b/tests/services/test_task_scheduler_semantic.py
index c4de471d0..6dd0233c0 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_task_scheduler_semantic.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_task_scheduler_semantic.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import asyncio
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -56,14 +57,14 @@ async def test_reindex_entity_task_chains_vector_sync_when_semantic_enabled(tmp_
     project_config = ProjectConfig(name="test-project", home=tmp_path)
 
     scheduler = await get_task_scheduler(
-        entity_service=entity_service,
-        sync_service=sync_service,
-        search_service=search_service,
+        entity_service=cast(Any, entity_service),
+        sync_service=cast(Any, sync_service),
+        search_service=cast(Any, search_service),
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
     )
     # Enable background tasks for this test — uses stubs, no real DB race risk
-    scheduler._test_mode = False  # pyright: ignore [reportAttributeAccessIssue]
+    cast(Any, scheduler)._test_mode = False
     scheduler.schedule("reindex_entity", entity_id=42)
     await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
 
@@ -86,14 +87,14 @@ async def test_reindex_entity_task_skips_vector_sync_when_semantic_disabled(tmp_
     project_config = ProjectConfig(name="test-project", home=tmp_path)
 
     scheduler = await get_task_scheduler(
-        entity_service=entity_service,
-        sync_service=sync_service,
-        search_service=search_service,
+        entity_service=cast(Any, entity_service),
+        sync_service=cast(Any, sync_service),
+        search_service=cast(Any, search_service),
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
     )
     # Enable background tasks for this test — uses stubs, no real DB race risk
-    scheduler._test_mode = False  # pyright: ignore [reportAttributeAccessIssue]
+    cast(Any, scheduler)._test_mode = False
     scheduler.schedule("reindex_entity", entity_id=42)
     await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
 
@@ -116,14 +117,14 @@ async def test_sync_entity_vectors_task_maps_to_search_service(tmp_path):
     project_config = ProjectConfig(name="test-project", home=tmp_path)
 
     scheduler = await get_task_scheduler(
-        entity_service=entity_service,
-        sync_service=sync_service,
-        search_service=search_service,
+        entity_service=cast(Any, entity_service),
+        sync_service=cast(Any, sync_service),
+        search_service=cast(Any, search_service),
         project_config=project_config,
         app_config=app_config,
     )
     # Enable background tasks for this test — uses stubs, no real DB race risk
-    scheduler._test_mode = False  # pyright: ignore [reportAttributeAccessIssue]
+    cast(Any, scheduler)._test_mode = False
     scheduler.schedule("sync_entity_vectors", entity_id=7)
     await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
 
diff --git a/tests/sync/test_sync_service.py b/tests/sync/test_sync_service.py
index 0be9b8488..db76f996c 100644
--- a/tests/sync/test_sync_service.py
+++ b/tests/sync/test_sync_service.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 from textwrap import dedent
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -1783,7 +1784,8 @@ async def test_sync_file_continues_on_semantic_dependency_error(
     await sync_service.sync(project_dir)
 
     # Patch index_entity to raise SemanticDependenciesMissingError
-    original_index = sync_service.search_service.index_entity
+    search_service_mock = cast(Any, sync_service.search_service)
+    original_index = search_service_mock.index_entity
     call_count = 0
 
     async def index_with_semantic_error(entity, **kwargs):
@@ -1791,7 +1793,7 @@ async def index_with_semantic_error(entity, **kwargs):
         call_count += 1
         raise SemanticDependenciesMissingError("sqlite-vec package is missing")
 
-    sync_service.search_service.index_entity = AsyncMock(side_effect=index_with_semantic_error)
+    search_service_mock.index_entity = AsyncMock(side_effect=index_with_semantic_error)
 
     try:
         # Modify the file so it gets re-synced
@@ -1809,4 +1811,4 @@ async def index_with_semantic_error(entity, **kwargs):
         # Verify circuit breaker was NOT triggered (failure not recorded)
         assert "semantic_test.md" not in sync_service._file_failures
     finally:
-        sync_service.search_service.index_entity = original_index
+        search_service_mock.index_entity = original_index
diff --git a/tests/sync/test_sync_service_incremental.py b/tests/sync/test_sync_service_incremental.py
index beca0db45..44401e462 100644
--- a/tests/sync/test_sync_service_incremental.py
+++ b/tests/sync/test_sync_service_incremental.py
@@ -19,9 +19,31 @@
 
 from basic_memory.config import ProjectConfig
 from basic_memory.indexing.models import IndexingBatchResult
+from basic_memory.models import Project
 from basic_memory.sync.sync_service import SyncService
 
 
+async def _current_project(sync_service: SyncService) -> Project:
+    project_id = sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
+    assert project_id is not None
+
+    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(project_id)
+    assert project is not None
+    return project
+
+
+def _last_scan_timestamp(project: Project) -> float:
+    timestamp = project.last_scan_timestamp
+    assert timestamp is not None
+    return timestamp
+
+
+def _last_file_count(project: Project) -> int:
+    file_count = project.last_file_count
+    assert file_count is not None
+    return file_count
+
+
 async def create_test_file(path: Path, content: str = "test content") -> None:
     """Create a test file with given content."""
     path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
@@ -59,11 +81,9 @@ async def test_first_sync_uses_full_scan(sync_service: SyncService, project_conf
     assert "file2.md" in report.new
 
     # Verify watermark was set
-    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
+    project = await _current_project(sync_service)
     assert project.last_scan_timestamp is not None
-    assert project.last_file_count >= 2  # May include config files
+    assert _last_file_count(project) >= 2  # May include config files
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -168,11 +188,8 @@ async def test_force_full_bypasses_watermark_optimization(
     assert len(report.new) == 2
 
     # Verify watermark was set
-    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
-    assert project.last_scan_timestamp is not None
-    initial_timestamp = project.last_scan_timestamp
+    project = await _current_project(sync_service)
+    initial_timestamp = _last_scan_timestamp(project)
 
     # Sleep to ensure time passes
     await sleep_past_watermark()
@@ -202,11 +219,8 @@ async def test_force_full_bypasses_watermark_optimization(
     assert "file1.md" in report.modified
 
     # Verify watermark was still updated after force_full
-    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
-    assert project.last_scan_timestamp is not None
-    assert project.last_scan_timestamp > initial_timestamp
+    project = await _current_project(sync_service)
+    assert _last_scan_timestamp(project) > initial_timestamp
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -534,9 +548,7 @@ async def test_watermark_updated_after_successful_sync(
     await create_test_file(project_dir / "file1.md", "# File 1")
 
     # Get project before sync
-    project_before = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
+    project_before = await _current_project(sync_service)
     assert project_before.last_scan_timestamp is None
     assert project_before.last_file_count is None
 
@@ -546,14 +558,12 @@ async def test_watermark_updated_after_successful_sync(
     sync_end = time.time()
 
     # Verify watermark was set
-    project_after = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
+    project_after = await _current_project(sync_service)
     assert project_after.last_scan_timestamp is not None
-    assert project_after.last_file_count >= 1  # May include config files
+    assert _last_file_count(project_after) >= 1  # May include config files
 
     # Watermark should be between sync start and end
-    assert sync_start <= project_after.last_scan_timestamp <= sync_end
+    assert sync_start <= _last_scan_timestamp(project_after) <= sync_end
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -572,14 +582,13 @@ async def test_watermark_uses_sync_start_time(
     sync_end = time.time()
 
     # Get watermark
-    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
+    project = await _current_project(sync_service)
 
     # Watermark should be closer to start than end
     # (In practice, watermark == sync_start_timestamp captured in sync())
-    time_from_start = abs(project.last_scan_timestamp - sync_start)
-    time_from_end = abs(project.last_scan_timestamp - sync_end)
+    project_timestamp = _last_scan_timestamp(project)
+    time_from_start = abs(project_timestamp - sync_start)
+    time_from_end = abs(project_timestamp - sync_end)
 
     assert time_from_start < time_from_end
 
@@ -600,10 +609,8 @@ async def test_watermark_file_count_accurate(
     await sync_service.sync(project_dir)
 
     # Verify file count
-    project1 = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
-    initial_count = project1.last_file_count
+    project1 = await _current_project(sync_service)
+    initial_count = _last_file_count(project1)
     assert initial_count >= 3  # May include config files
 
     # Add more files
@@ -615,10 +622,8 @@ async def test_watermark_file_count_accurate(
     await sync_service.sync(project_dir)
 
     # Verify updated count increased by 2
-    project2 = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
-    assert project2.last_file_count == initial_count + 2
+    project2 = await _current_project(sync_service)
+    assert _last_file_count(project2) == initial_count + 2
 
 
 # ==============================================================================
@@ -667,9 +672,7 @@ async def test_empty_directory_handles_incremental_scan(
     assert len(report1.new) == 0
 
     # Verify watermark was set even for empty directory
-    project = await sync_service.project_repository.find_by_id(
-        sync_service.entity_repository.project_id
-    )
+    project = await _current_project(sync_service)
     assert project.last_scan_timestamp is not None
     # May have config files, so just check it's set
     assert project.last_file_count is not None
diff --git a/tests/sync/test_watch_service_reload.py b/tests/sync/test_watch_service_reload.py
index f6ee8ff9e..45cc59167 100644
--- a/tests/sync/test_watch_service_reload.py
+++ b/tests/sync/test_watch_service_reload.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 import asyncio
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -33,11 +34,15 @@ async def get_active_projects(self):
         return self.projects_return or []
 
 
+def _watch_service(config: BasicMemoryConfig, repo: _Repo) -> WatchService:
+    return WatchService(config, cast(Any, repo), quiet=True)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_schedule_restart_uses_config_interval(monkeypatch):
     config = BasicMemoryConfig(watch_project_reload_interval=2)
     repo = _Repo()
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     stop_event = asyncio.Event()
     slept: list[int] = []
@@ -58,12 +63,12 @@ async def fake_sleep(seconds):
 async def test_watch_projects_cycle_handles_empty_project_list(monkeypatch):
     config = BasicMemoryConfig()
     repo = _Repo()
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     stop_event = asyncio.Event()
     stop_event.set()
 
-    captured = {"args": None, "kwargs": None}
+    captured: dict[str, Any] = {"args": None, "kwargs": None}
 
     async def awatch_stub(*args, **kwargs):
         captured["args"] = args
@@ -76,18 +81,20 @@ async def awatch_stub(*args, **kwargs):
 
     await watch_service._watch_projects_cycle([], stop_event)
 
+    kwargs = captured["kwargs"]
+    assert isinstance(kwargs, dict)
     assert captured["args"] == ()
-    assert captured["kwargs"]["debounce"] == config.sync_delay
-    assert captured["kwargs"]["watch_filter"] == watch_service.filter_changes
-    assert captured["kwargs"]["recursive"] is True
-    assert captured["kwargs"]["stop_event"] is stop_event
+    assert kwargs["debounce"] == config.sync_delay
+    assert kwargs["watch_filter"] == watch_service.filter_changes
+    assert kwargs["recursive"] is True
+    assert kwargs["stop_event"] is stop_event
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_run_handles_no_projects(monkeypatch):
     config = BasicMemoryConfig()
     repo = _Repo(projects_return=[])
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     slept: list[int] = []
 
@@ -120,7 +127,7 @@ async def test_run_reloads_projects_each_cycle(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
             ],
         ]
     )
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     cycle_count = 0
 
@@ -159,7 +166,7 @@ async def test_run_filters_cloud_only_projects_each_cycle(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
             Project(id=2, name="cloud-only", path="cloud-slug", permalink="cloud-only"),
         ]
     )
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     seen_project_names: list[list[str]] = []
 
@@ -200,7 +207,7 @@ async def test_run_keeps_cloud_projects_with_local_bisync(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
             ),
         ]
     )
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     seen_project_names: list[list[str]] = []
 
@@ -226,7 +233,7 @@ async def test_run_continues_after_cycle_error(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     repo = _Repo(
         projects_return=[Project(id=1, name="test", path=str(tmp_path / "test"), permalink="test")]
     )
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     call_count = 0
     slept: list[int] = []
@@ -261,7 +268,7 @@ async def test_timer_task_cancelled_properly(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     repo = _Repo(
         projects_return=[Project(id=1, name="test", path=str(tmp_path / "test"), permalink="test")]
     )
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     created_tasks: list[asyncio.Task] = []
     real_create_task = asyncio.create_task
@@ -312,7 +319,7 @@ async def test_new_project_addition_scenario(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
     ]
 
     repo = _Repo(projects_side_effect=[initial_projects, initial_projects, updated_projects])
-    watch_service = WatchService(config, repo, quiet=True)
+    watch_service = _watch_service(config, repo)
 
     cycle_count = 0
     project_lists_used: list[list[Project]] = []
diff --git a/tests/test_config.py b/tests/test_config.py
index 5c4fe5d79..b852ead53 100644
--- a/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_config.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import tempfile
 import pytest
 from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 from basic_memory.config import (
     BasicMemoryConfig,
@@ -13,6 +14,10 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 
+def _migrate_legacy_projects(data: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return cast(dict[str, Any], cast(Any, BasicMemoryConfig.migrate_legacy_projects)(data))
+
+
 class TestBasicMemoryConfig:
     """Test BasicMemoryConfig behavior with BASIC_MEMORY_HOME environment variable."""
 
@@ -1346,7 +1351,7 @@ def test_migrate_promotes_local_sync_path_to_path(self):
                 }
             }
         }
-        result = BasicMemoryConfig.migrate_legacy_projects(data)
+        result = _migrate_legacy_projects(data)
         assert result["projects"]["specs"]["path"] == "/Users/test/Documents/specs"
 
     def test_migrate_does_not_overwrite_absolute_path(self):
@@ -1360,7 +1365,7 @@ def test_migrate_does_not_overwrite_absolute_path(self):
                 }
             }
         }
-        result = BasicMemoryConfig.migrate_legacy_projects(data)
+        result = _migrate_legacy_projects(data)
         assert result["projects"]["specs"]["path"] == "/Users/test/Documents/specs"
 
     def test_migrate_skips_entries_without_local_sync_path(self):
@@ -1373,7 +1378,7 @@ def test_migrate_skips_entries_without_local_sync_path(self):
                 }
             }
         }
-        result = BasicMemoryConfig.migrate_legacy_projects(data)
+        result = _migrate_legacy_projects(data)
         assert result["projects"]["cloud-only"]["path"] == "cloud-only"
 
     def test_migrate_handles_mixed_projects(self, tmp_path):
@@ -1391,7 +1396,7 @@ def test_migrate_handles_mixed_projects(self, tmp_path):
                 },
             }
         }
-        result = BasicMemoryConfig.migrate_legacy_projects(data)
+        result = _migrate_legacy_projects(data)
         assert result["projects"]["local-proj"]["path"] == local_path
         assert result["projects"]["cloud-only"]["path"] == "cloud-only"
         assert result["projects"]["cloud-bisync"]["path"] == bisync_path
diff --git a/tests/test_production_cascade_delete.py b/tests/test_production_cascade_delete.py
index 455f2e128..148d311b0 100644
--- a/tests/test_production_cascade_delete.py
+++ b/tests/test_production_cascade_delete.py
@@ -12,10 +12,15 @@
 import sys
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Optional
+from typing import Any, Optional
 
 from sqlalchemy import text
-from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine, async_sessionmaker
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import (
+    AsyncEngine,
+    AsyncSession,
+    async_sessionmaker,
+    create_async_engine,
+)
 
 
 class ProductionCascadeTest:
@@ -33,8 +38,34 @@ def __init__(self, db_path: Optional[Path] = None):
         # Create backup path
         self.backup_path = self.db_path.with_suffix(".db.backup")
 
-        self.engine = None
-        self.session_maker = None
+        self.engine: AsyncEngine | None = None
+        self.session_maker: async_sessionmaker[AsyncSession] | None = None
+
+    def _engine(self) -> AsyncEngine:
+        assert self.engine is not None
+        return self.engine
+
+    def _session_maker(self) -> async_sessionmaker[AsyncSession]:
+        assert self.session_maker is not None
+        return self.session_maker
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _first_int(result: Any) -> int:
+        row = result.fetchone()
+        assert row is not None
+        return int(row[0])
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _lastrowid(result: Any) -> int:
+        value = result.lastrowid
+        assert isinstance(value, int)
+        return value
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _rowcount(result: Any) -> int:
+        value = result.rowcount
+        assert isinstance(value, int)
+        return value
 
     async def setup(self):
         """Setup database connection."""
@@ -59,21 +90,21 @@ async def setup(self):
     async def cleanup(self):
         """Cleanup database connection."""
         if self.engine:
-            await self.engine.dispose()
+            await self._engine().dispose()
 
     async def check_foreign_keys_enabled(self) -> bool:
         """Check if foreign keys are enabled in this session."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             # Enable foreign keys like production does
             await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON"))
 
             result = await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys"))
-            fk_enabled = result.fetchone()[0]
+            fk_enabled = self._first_int(result)
             return bool(fk_enabled)
 
     async def check_schema(self):
         """Check current database schema for foreign key constraints."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON"))
 
             # Check entity table foreign keys
@@ -96,7 +127,7 @@ async def check_schema(self):
 
     async def create_test_data(self) -> tuple[int, int]:
         """Create test project and entity. Returns (project_id, entity_id)."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON"))
 
             # Create test project
@@ -119,7 +150,7 @@ async def create_test_data(self) -> tuple[int, int]:
                     "updated_at": now,
                 },
             )
-            project_id = result.lastrowid
+            project_id = self._lastrowid(result)
 
             # Create test entity linked to project
             entity_sql = """
@@ -143,7 +174,7 @@ async def create_test_data(self) -> tuple[int, int]:
                     "updated_at": now,
                 },
             )
-            entity_id = result.lastrowid
+            entity_id = self._lastrowid(result)
 
             await session.commit()
 
@@ -152,19 +183,19 @@ async def create_test_data(self) -> tuple[int, int]:
 
     async def verify_test_data_exists(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool:
         """Verify test data exists before deletion."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             # Check project exists
             result = await session.execute(
                 text("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM project WHERE id = :project_id"),
                 {"project_id": project_id},
             )
-            project_count = result.fetchone()[0]
+            project_count = self._first_int(result)
 
             # Check entity exists
             result = await session.execute(
                 text("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entity WHERE id = :entity_id"), {"entity_id": entity_id}
             )
-            entity_count = result.fetchone()[0]
+            entity_count = self._first_int(result)
 
             exists = project_count > 0 and entity_count > 0
             if exists:
@@ -180,7 +211,7 @@ async def verify_test_data_exists(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool
 
     async def test_cascade_delete(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool:
         """Test if deleting project cascades to delete entity."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON"))
 
             try:
@@ -191,7 +222,7 @@ async def test_cascade_delete(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool:
                     text("DELETE FROM project WHERE id = :project_id"), {"project_id": project_id}
                 )
 
-                if result.rowcount == 0:
+                if self._rowcount(result) == 0:
                     print("❌ Project deletion failed - no rows affected")
                     return False
 
@@ -203,7 +234,7 @@ async def test_cascade_delete(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool:
                     text("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entity WHERE id = :entity_id"),
                     {"entity_id": entity_id},
                 )
-                entity_count = result.fetchone()[0]
+                entity_count = self._first_int(result)
 
                 if entity_count == 0:
                     print("✅ CASCADE DELETE working: Entity was automatically deleted")
@@ -228,7 +259,7 @@ async def test_cascade_delete(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int) -> bool:
 
     async def cleanup_test_data(self, project_id: int, entity_id: int):
         """Clean up any remaining test data."""
-        async with self.session_maker() as session:
+        async with self._session_maker()() as session:
             await session.execute(text("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON"))
 
             try:
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_file_utils.py b/tests/utils/test_file_utils.py
index d731bad38..dc1cbf09b 100644
--- a/tests/utils/test_file_utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils/test_file_utils.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import string
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ async def test_compute_checksum_error():
     """Test checksum error handling."""
     with pytest.raises(FileError):
         # Try to hash an object that can't be encoded
-        await compute_checksum(object())  # pyright: ignore [reportArgumentType]
+        await compute_checksum(cast(Any, object()))
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_parse_tags.py b/tests/utils/test_parse_tags.py
index c61dc9e21..bd99d7aa9 100644
--- a/tests/utils/test_parse_tags.py
+++ b/tests/utils/test_parse_tags.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Tests for parse_tags utility function."""
 
-from typing import List, Union
+from typing import Any, List, Union, cast
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class TagObject:
         def __str__(self) -> str:
             return "tag1,tag2"
 
-    result = parse_tags(TagObject())  # pyright: ignore [reportArgumentType]
+    result = parse_tags(cast(Any, TagObject()))
     assert result == ["tag1", "tag2"]
 
 

From a3e4badcf953bc85437b231bad72b1288a36f03f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:54:44 -0500
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] fix(core): preserve empty frontmatter permalink semantics

Signed-off-by: phernandez <paul@basicmachines.co>
---
 src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py   | 53 ++++++++++++-------
 .../test_entity_service_write_result.py       | 22 ++++++++
 2 files changed, 55 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py b/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
index 9d7f294bf..51e9876a8 100644
--- a/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
+++ b/src/basic_memory/services/entity_service.py
@@ -60,6 +60,11 @@ class EntityWriteResult:
     search_content: str
 
 
+def _frontmatter_permalink(value: object) -> str | None:
+    """Return an explicit frontmatter permalink only when YAML parsed a real string."""
+    return value if isinstance(value, str) and value else None
+
+
 class EntityService(BaseService[EntityModel]):
     """Service for managing entities in the database."""
 
@@ -287,11 +292,13 @@ async def create_entity_with_content(self, schema: EntitySchema) -> EntityWriteR
                 schema.note_type = content_frontmatter["type"]
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
-                content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title,
-                    schema.note_type,
-                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
-                )
+                content_permalink = _frontmatter_permalink(content_frontmatter["permalink"])
+                if content_permalink is not None:
+                    content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
+                        schema.title,
+                        schema.note_type,
+                        content_permalink,
+                    )
 
         # Get unique permalink (prioritizing content frontmatter) unless disabled
         if self.app_config and self.app_config.disable_permalinks:
@@ -394,11 +401,13 @@ async def update_entity_with_content(
                 schema.note_type = content_frontmatter["type"]
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
-                content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title,
-                    schema.note_type,
-                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
-                )
+                content_permalink = _frontmatter_permalink(content_frontmatter["permalink"])
+                if content_permalink is not None:
+                    content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
+                        schema.title,
+                        schema.note_type,
+                        content_permalink,
+                    )
 
         # Check if we need to update the permalink based on content frontmatter (unless disabled)
         new_permalink = entity.permalink  # Default to existing
@@ -525,11 +534,13 @@ async def fast_write_entity(
                 schema.note_type = content_frontmatter["type"]
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
-                content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    schema.title,
-                    schema.note_type,
-                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
-                )
+                content_permalink = _frontmatter_permalink(content_frontmatter["permalink"])
+                if content_permalink is not None:
+                    content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
+                        schema.title,
+                        schema.note_type,
+                        content_permalink,
+                    )
 
         # --- Permalink Resolution ---
         if self.app_config and self.app_config.disable_permalinks:
@@ -668,11 +679,13 @@ async def fast_edit_entity(
                 update_data["note_type"] = _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["type"])
 
             if "permalink" in content_frontmatter:
-                content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
-                    _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("title", entity.title)),
-                    _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("note_type", entity.note_type)),
-                    _coerce_to_string(content_frontmatter["permalink"]),
-                )
+                content_permalink = _frontmatter_permalink(content_frontmatter["permalink"])
+                if content_permalink is not None:
+                    content_markdown = self._build_frontmatter_markdown(
+                        _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("title", entity.title)),
+                        _coerce_to_string(update_data.get("note_type", entity.note_type)),
+                        content_permalink,
+                    )
 
             metadata = normalize_frontmatter_metadata(content_frontmatter or {})
             update_data["entity_metadata"] = {k: v for k, v in metadata.items() if v is not None}
diff --git a/tests/services/test_entity_service_write_result.py b/tests/services/test_entity_service_write_result.py
index 31bd62280..95daac423 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_entity_service_write_result.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_entity_service_write_result.py
@@ -27,6 +27,28 @@ async def test_create_entity_with_content_returns_full_and_search_content(
     assert result.search_content == "Create body content"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("permalink_line", ["permalink:", "permalink: null", 'permalink: ""'])
+async def test_create_entity_ignores_empty_frontmatter_permalink(
+    entity_service, file_service, permalink_line: str
+) -> None:
+    result = await entity_service.create_entity_with_content(
+        EntitySchema(
+            title="Empty Frontmatter Permalink",
+            directory="notes",
+            note_type="note",
+            content=f"---\n{permalink_line}\n---\nCreate body content",
+        )
+    )
+
+    file_path = file_service.get_entity_path(result.entity)
+    file_content, _ = await file_service.read_file(file_path)
+
+    assert result.entity.permalink == "test-project/notes/empty-frontmatter-permalink"
+    assert "permalink: test-project/notes/empty-frontmatter-permalink" in file_content
+    assert "permalink: None" not in file_content
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_update_entity_with_content_returns_full_and_search_content(
     entity_service, file_service