---
# nuzlocke-tracker-9xac
title: Fix stale PostgreSQL enum causing test failures
status: completed
type: bug
priority: normal
created_at: 2026-03-21T10:27:53Z
updated_at: 2026-03-21T10:29:33Z
---

## Problem

The backend smoke tests fail with:
```
sqlalchemy.exc.DBAPIError: invalid input value for enum run_visibility: "public"
```

This happens during `Base.metadata.create_all` in the `engine` fixture (`backend/tests/conftest.py:27`).

## Root Cause

The `engine` fixture only calls `create_all` during setup and `drop_all` during teardown. If a previous test run was interrupted before teardown, the `run_visibility` PostgreSQL enum type persists in the test database with stale/incorrect values. On the next run, `create_all` (with `checkfirst=True` default) sees the enum exists and skips recreating it, but the existing enum lacks valid values, causing the `DEFAULT 'public'` to fail.

PostgreSQL native enum types are not automatically dropped with `DROP TABLE` — they require explicit `DROP TYPE`.

## Fix

In the `engine` fixture at `backend/tests/conftest.py:23-31`, add `Base.metadata.drop_all` before `create_all` to ensure a clean slate:

```python
@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
async def engine():
    eng = create_async_engine(TEST_DATABASE_URL, echo=False)
    async with eng.begin() as conn:
        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.drop_all)   # <-- add this
        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.create_all)
    yield eng
    async with eng.begin() as conn:
        await conn.run_sync(Base.metadata.drop_all)
    await eng.dispose()
```

## Checklist

- [x] Add `drop_all` before `create_all` in the `engine` fixture (`backend/tests/conftest.py`)
- [x] Verify tests pass with `pytest backend/tests/test_smoke.py`

## Summary of Changes

Added `drop_all` before `create_all` in the test engine fixture to ensure stale PostgreSQL enum types are cleared before recreating the schema. This prevents test failures when a previous test run was interrupted before cleanup.