From 59433bc896f3e43cfff715a7050474ff23115c9d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bill Ballou <bill@bballou.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2026 17:13:53 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] feat(update_sections): require ifMatch with force opt-out

Add `force` parameter to updateSections method that allows bypassing
the ifMatch version check. When neither ifMatch nor force is provided,
returns an error with guidance on how to properly use version control.

This implements the core safety feature: by default, update_sections
requires a versionId to prevent accidental overwrites. Callers must
either:
1. Pass a valid ifMatch parameter from read_note's versionId
2. Explicitly set force:true to bypass the check (not recommended)

Updated 8 existing tests to use force:true since they test behavior
other than the version checking feature.
---
 src/tools/note-tools.ts  | 17 ++++++++++++++++-
 tests/note-tools.test.ts | 16 ++++++++--------
 2 files changed, 24 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/tools/note-tools.ts b/src/tools/note-tools.ts
index d6e8137..1c616e8 100644
--- a/src/tools/note-tools.ts
+++ b/src/tools/note-tools.ts
@@ -905,7 +905,8 @@ export class NoteTools {
 		path: string,
 		edits: SectionEdit[],
 		ifMatch?: string,
-		validateLinks: boolean = true
+		validateLinks: boolean = true,
+		force: boolean = false
 	): Promise<CallToolResult> {
 		// Validate path
 		if (!path || path.trim() === '') {
@@ -930,6 +931,20 @@ export class NoteTools {
 			};
 		}
 
+		// Require ifMatch unless force is true
+		if (!ifMatch && !force) {
+			return {
+				content: [{
+					type: "text",
+					text: JSON.stringify({
+						error: 'Version check required',
+						message: 'The ifMatch parameter is required to prevent overwriting concurrent changes. First call read_note with withLineNumbers:true to get the versionId, then pass it as ifMatch. To bypass this check, set force:true (not recommended).'
+					}, null, 2)
+				}],
+				isError: true
+			};
+		}
+
 		// Resolve file
 		const file = PathUtils.resolveFile(this.app, path);
 		
diff --git a/tests/note-tools.test.ts b/tests/note-tools.test.ts
index 60981fe..68a12de 100644
--- a/tests/note-tools.test.ts
+++ b/tests/note-tools.test.ts
@@ -933,7 +933,7 @@ Some text
 
 			const result = await noteTools.updateSections('test.md', [
 				{ startLine: 2, endLine: 3, content: 'New Line 2\nNew Line 3' }
-			]);
+			], undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 			expect(result.isError).toBeUndefined();
 			expect(mockVault.modify).toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -958,7 +958,7 @@ Some text
 
 			const result = await noteTools.updateSections('test.md', [
 				{ startLine: 1, endLine: 10, content: 'New' }
-			]);
+			], undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 			expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
 			expect(result.content[0].text).toContain('Invalid line range');
@@ -993,7 +993,7 @@ Some text
 
 			const result = await noteTools.updateSections('test.md', [
 				{ startLine: 1, endLine: 1, content: 'New' }
-			]);
+			], undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 			expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
 			expect(result.content[0].text).toContain('Update error');
@@ -1005,7 +1005,7 @@ Some text
 
 			const result = await noteTools.updateSections('nonexistent.md', [
 				{ startLine: 1, endLine: 1, content: 'New' }
-			]);
+			], undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 			expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
 			expect(result.content[0].text).toContain('not found');
@@ -1017,7 +1017,7 @@ Some text
 
 			const result = await noteTools.updateSections('folder', [
 				{ startLine: 1, endLine: 1, content: 'New' }
-			]);
+			], undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 			expect(result.isError).toBe(true);
 			expect(result.content[0].text).toContain('not a file');
@@ -1365,7 +1365,7 @@ Some text
 				mockVault.read = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3');
 				mockVault.modify = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 
-				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits);
+				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits, undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 				expect(result.isError).toBeFalsy();
 				const parsed = JSON.parse(result.content[0].text);
@@ -1381,7 +1381,7 @@ Some text
 				mockVault.read = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3');
 				mockVault.modify = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 
-				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits);
+				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits, undefined, true, true); // validateLinks=true, force=true
 
 				expect(result.isError).toBeFalsy();
 				const parsed = JSON.parse(result.content[0].text);
@@ -1398,7 +1398,7 @@ Some text
 				mockVault.read = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3');
 				mockVault.modify = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 
-				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits, undefined, false);
+				const result = await noteTools.updateSections('sections-test.md', edits, undefined, false, true); // validateLinks=false, force=true
 
 				expect(result.isError).toBeFalsy();
 				const parsed = JSON.parse(result.content[0].text);