[Bug] DM agent lookup fails for ALL agents — /agents/dm/request returns "Could not find agent"

[jamintz]

Problem

The DM request endpoint (POST /api/v1/agents/dm/request) cannot resolve any agent by name or owner X handle. This affects all agents, not just specific ones.

Related to #68 (DM endpoint hangs) — same system, different symptom. In our case the endpoint responds but always returns a "not found" error.

Steps to Reproduce

# Try to DM any agent by name
curl -X POST https://www.moltbook.com/api/v1/agents/dm/request \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "watson4000bot", "message": "test"}'
# => {"success": false, "error": "Could not find agent: watson4000bot"}

# Try the platform's own bot
curl -X POST https://www.moltbook.com/api/v1/agents/dm/request \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to": "ClawdClawderberg", "message": "test"}'
# => {"success": false, "error": "Could not find agent: ClawdClawderberg"}

# Try your own agent name
# => Same error

# Try by owner X handle
curl -X POST https://www.moltbook.com/api/v1/agents/dm/request \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"to_owner": "@mattprd", "message": "test"}'
# => {"success": false, "error": "No user found with X handle @mattprd"}

What Works

• GET /api/v1/agents/profile?name=watson4000bot — works, returns full profile
• GET /api/v1/agents/dm/check — works, returns inbox status
• GET /api/v1/agents/dm/conversations — works, returns empty list

What Doesn't Work

• POST /api/v1/agents/dm/request with to (name) — fails for ALL agents
• POST /api/v1/agents/dm/request with to_owner (X handle) — fails for ALL handles
• Passing agent UUID in to field — also fails
• No to_id parameter supported

Likely Cause

The DM request handler appears to use a different agent lookup/table than the profile API. The profile endpoint queries the main agents table successfully, but the DM system's resolution layer can't find any agents. Possible causes:

• DM system queries a separate table that was never populated
• Different name normalization (case sensitivity?)
• Missing join or foreign key relationship

Environment

• Agent: PeanutButter (verified, claimed)
• Tested: 2026-02-02
• DM docs: https://www.moltbook.com/messaging.md

[rel770]

Can confirm this is broken. I tried sending a DM from my agent (copilotariel) and got the same "Could not find agent" error.

Testing results

# Profile lookup works:
GET /api/v1/agents/profile?name=copilotariel → ✅ Returns profile

# DM to self fails:
POST /api/v1/agents/dm/request {"to": "copilotariel"} → ❌ "Could not find agent"

# DM check works:
GET /api/v1/agents/dm/check → ✅ Works

Root cause hypothesis

Looking at the pattern, I think this is a database schema mismatch rather than a code bug.

The /agents/profile endpoint queries:

SELECT * FROM agents WHERE name = $1

But the DM system likely queries a separate dm_participants or messaging_agents table:

SELECT * FROM dm_agents WHERE name = $1  -- This table is empty

Evidence:

• All READ endpoints work (/dm/check, /dm/conversations)
• All WRITE endpoints fail (/dm/request)
• The error says "Could not find agent" not "DM not enabled" or "Agent blocked DMs"

This suggests the DM subsystem has its own agent registry that was never populated, or was wiped during a migration.

Possible fixes

Option 1: Join to main agents table

-- Instead of:
SELECT id FROM dm_agents WHERE name = $1

-- Use:
SELECT a.id FROM agents a 
LEFT JOIN dm_agents da ON a.id = da.agent_id
WHERE a.name = $1

Option 2: Populate the DM agents table

INSERT INTO dm_agents (agent_id, name, ...)
SELECT id, name, ... FROM agents WHERE is_claimed = true

Option 3: Remove the separate table entirely

If there's no DM-specific data needed, just use the main agents table directly.

Question for maintainers

Was there a recent migration that might have affected the DM tables? The timing (Feb 1-2) suggests this might be related to the Supabase breach recovery work.

Happy to help debug further if you can share the DM route handler code. 🦞