fix(db): schema_version drift detection + rebuild for pre-M3 volumes

- Add schema_version table; init_db detects a pre-M3/unknown DB (no version
  row, or settings table missing the value column) and rebuilds to the clean
  M3 schema, then stamps version 1
- _has_schema_version checks for a real row (empty table != versioned)
- _reset_for_tests checkpoints WAL before close (Windows handle release)
- TDD: test_schema_drift seeds the M2 settings shape, asserts rebuild + version

Fixes live 500 'no such column: value' on the UAT host (stale M2 slab_db volume).
Gates: check_requirements + check_coverage exit 0; pytest 14 passed.

backend/db/__init__.py

@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ def get_connection(db_path: str | None = None) -> sqlite3.Connection:
 
 def _has_schema_version(conn: sqlite3.Connection) -> bool:
     try:
-        conn.execute("SELECT 1 FROM schema_version").fetchone()
+        return conn.execute("SELECT 1 FROM schema_version LIMIT 1").fetchone() is not None
-        return True
     except sqlite3.OperationalError:
         return False
 
@@ -75,8 +74,11 @@ def init_db(db_path: str | None = None) -> sqlite3.Connection:
             logger.info("Detected pre-M3 DB, rebuilding schema")
             conn.executescript("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS settings")
             conn.executescript(schema)
-conn.commit()
             conn.execute("INSERT OR REPLACE INTO schema_version (version) VALUES (1)")
+        else:
+            # M3-era tables present but no version stamped; stamp it.
+            conn.execute("INSERT OR REPLACE INTO schema_version (version) VALUES (1)")
+        conn.commit()
 
     return conn
 
@@ -115,6 +117,10 @@ def _reset_for_tests() -> None:
     global _conn, _current_path
     with _lock:
         if _conn is not None:
+            try:
+                _conn.execute("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)")
+            except Exception:
+                pass
             try:
                 _conn.close()
             except Exception:

backend/tests/test_schema_drift.py

@@ -1,37 +1,55 @@
 import os
-import tempfile
+import shutil
 import sqlite3
+import tempfile
+
+import pytest
 
 import backend.db as db_mod
 
 
+@pytest.fixture
+def drift_db_dir():
+    # Persistent temp dir; on Windows the global WAL connection can outlive the
+    # test frame, so we avoid TemporaryDirectory's immediate rmtree race and clean
+    # up best-effort after the handle is released.
+    tmp = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="slab_drift_")
+    yield tmp
+    db_mod._reset_for_tests()
+    shutil.rmtree(tmp, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
 
 def _setup_temp_db_with_m2_schema(tmp_dir: str) -> str:
     db_path = os.path.join(tmp_dir, "test.db")
+    # M2-era settings shape: NO `value` column (this is the drift signature).
+    # Use a raw connection (DELETE journal) exactly as an old M2 db would be on disk.
     conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
-    # create old settings table
+    conn.execute("CREATE TABLE settings (key TEXT PRIMARY KEY, value_enc BLOB, updated_at TEXT)")
-    conn.execute("CREATE TABLE settings (key TEXT PRIMARY KEY, value TEXT, value_enc TEXT)")
+    conn.execute("INSERT INTO settings (key, value_enc, updated_at) VALUES ('woo_wp_username', X'00', '2026-01-01')")
     conn.commit()
     conn.close()
+    # Force any journal sidecars to merge before the WAL-mode factory opens the file.
+    for suffix in ("-journal", "-wal", "-shm"):
+        try:
+            os.remove(db_path + suffix)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
     return db_path
 
 
-def test_drift_detection_and_rebuild(monkeypatch):
+def test_drift_detection_and_rebuild(monkeypatch, drift_db_dir):
-    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+    db_path = _setup_temp_db_with_m2_schema(drift_db_dir)
-        db_path = _setup_temp_db_with_m2_schema(tmp)
     monkeypatch.setenv("SLAB_DB_PATH", db_path)
-        # init_db should rebuild
+    # init_db must detect pre-M3 drift and rebuild to the M3 settings shape
     conn = db_mod.init_db()
-        # check schema_version exists
     cur = conn.execute("SELECT version FROM schema_version").fetchone()
     assert cur is not None
     assert cur[0] == 1
-        # check settings has columns value and value_enc
     info = conn.execute("PRAGMA table_info(settings)").fetchall()
     cols = {row[1] for row in info}
     assert "value" in cols
     assert "value_enc" in cols
-        # also ensure old settings table dropped and recreated
+    # M2 rows are disposable (M3 supersedes M2 on this dev volume)
-        # no other data
     rows = conn.execute("SELECT key FROM settings").fetchall()
     assert rows == []