chore(assets): drop vestigial tags.tag_type column (#14248)

tag_type was always "user" in practice — no code path ever set it to anything
else (no system/seeded classification was wired up) and nothing queried it. The
column, its ix_tags_tag_type index, and the TagUsage.type API field were dead
weight, so they're removed. Adds alembic migration 0004 to drop the column and
index.

Verified: asset-seeder tests pass; migration applies cleanly on a fresh SQLite
(tags retains only name; tag_type column + index dropped).

Co-authored-by: guill <jacob.e.segal@gmail.com>

alembic_db/versions/0004_drop_tag_type.py

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+"""
+Drop the vestigial tags.tag_type column.
+
+tag_type was always "user" in practice — no code path ever set it to anything
+else (no system/seeded classification was ever wired up) and nothing queried it.
+The column, its index (ix_tags_tag_type), and the corresponding API field were
+dead weight, so they are removed.
+
+Revision ID: 0004_drop_tag_type
+Revises: 0003_add_metadata_job_id
+Create Date: 2026-06-03
+"""
+
+from alembic import op
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+
+revision = "0004_drop_tag_type"
+down_revision = "0003_add_metadata_job_id"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    with op.batch_alter_table("tags") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.drop_index("ix_tags_tag_type")
+        batch_op.drop_column("tag_type")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    with op.batch_alter_table("tags") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.add_column(
+            sa.Column(
+                "tag_type",
+                sa.String(length=32),
+                nullable=False,
+                server_default="user",
+            )
+        )
+        batch_op.create_index("ix_tags_tag_type", ["tag_type"])

app/assets/api/routes.py

@@ -575,8 +575,8 @@ async def get_tags(request: web.Request) -> web.Response:
     )
 
     tags = [
-        schemas_out.TagUsage(name=name, count=count, type=tag_type)
+        schemas_out.TagUsage(name=name, count=count)
-        for (name, tag_type, count) in rows
+        for (name, count) in rows
     ]
     payload = schemas_out.TagsList(
         tags=tags, total=total, has_more=(query.offset + len(tags)) < total

app/assets/api/schemas_out.py

@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ class AssetsList(BaseModel):
 class TagUsage(BaseModel):
     name: str
     count: int
-    type: str
 
 
 class TagsList(BaseModel):

app/assets/database/models.py

@@ -227,7 +227,6 @@ class Tag(Base):
     __tablename__ = "tags"
 
     name: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(512), primary_key=True)
-    tag_type: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(32), nullable=False, default="user")
 
     asset_reference_links: Mapped[list[AssetReferenceTag]] = relationship(
         back_populates="tag",
@@ -240,7 +239,5 @@ class Tag(Base):
         overlaps="asset_reference_links,tag_links,tags,asset_reference",
     )
 
-    __table_args__ = (Index("ix_tags_tag_type", "tag_type"),)
-
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return f"<Tag {self.name}>"

app/assets/database/queries/tags.py

@@ -55,13 +55,11 @@ def validate_tags_exist(session: Session, tags: list[str]) -> None:
         raise ValueError(f"Unknown tags: {missing}")
 
 
-def ensure_tags_exist(
+def ensure_tags_exist(session: Session, names: Iterable[str]) -> None:
-    session: Session, names: Iterable[str], tag_type: str = "user"
-) -> None:
     wanted = normalize_tags(list(names))
     if not wanted:
         return
-    rows = [{"name": n, "tag_type": tag_type} for n in list(dict.fromkeys(wanted))]
+    rows = [{"name": n} for n in list(dict.fromkeys(wanted))]
     ins = (
         sqlite.insert(Tag)
         .values(rows)
@@ -97,7 +95,7 @@ def set_reference_tags(
     to_remove = [t for t in current if t not in desired]
 
     if to_add:
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, to_add, tag_type="user")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, to_add)
         session.add_all(
             [
                 AssetReferenceTag(
@@ -142,7 +140,7 @@ def add_tags_to_reference(
         return AddTagsResult(added=[], already_present=[], total_tags=total)
 
     if create_if_missing:
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, norm, tag_type="user")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, norm)
 
     current = set(get_reference_tags(session, reference_id))
 
@@ -289,7 +287,6 @@ def list_tags_with_usage(
     q = (
         select(
             Tag.name,
-            Tag.tag_type,
             func.coalesce(counts_sq.c.cnt, 0).label("count"),
         )
         .select_from(Tag)
@@ -331,7 +328,7 @@ def list_tags_with_usage(
     rows = (session.execute(q.limit(limit).offset(offset))).all()
     total = (session.execute(total_q)).scalar_one()
 
-    rows_norm = [(name, ttype, int(count or 0)) for (name, ttype, count) in rows]
+    rows_norm = [(name, int(count or 0)) for (name, count) in rows]
     return rows_norm, int(total or 0)
 
 

app/assets/scanner.py

@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ def insert_asset_specs(specs: list[SeedAssetSpec], tag_pool: set[str]) -> int:
         return 0
     with create_session() as sess:
         if tag_pool:
-            ensure_tags_exist(sess, tag_pool, tag_type="user")
+            ensure_tags_exist(sess, tag_pool)
         result = batch_insert_seed_assets(sess, specs=specs, owner_id="")
         sess.commit()
         return result.inserted_refs

app/assets/services/schemas.py

@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ class IngestResult:
 
 class TagUsage(NamedTuple):
     name: str
-    tag_type: str
     count: int
 
 

app/assets/services/tagging.py

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def list_tags(
             owner_id=owner_id,
         )
 
-    return [TagUsage(name, tag_type, count) for name, tag_type, count in rows], total
+    return [TagUsage(name, count) for name, count in rows], total
 
 
 def list_tag_histogram(

tests-unit/assets_test/queries/test_tags.py

@@ -40,15 +40,15 @@ def _make_reference(session: Session, asset: Asset, name: str = "test", owner_id
 
 class TestEnsureTagsExist:
     def test_creates_new_tags(self, session: Session):
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha", "beta"], tag_type="user")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha", "beta"])
         session.commit()
 
         tags = session.query(Tag).all()
         assert {t.name for t in tags} == {"alpha", "beta"}
 
     def test_is_idempotent(self, session: Session):
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha"], tag_type="user")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha"])
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha"], tag_type="user")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["alpha"])
         session.commit()
 
         assert session.query(Tag).count() == 1
@@ -65,13 +65,6 @@ class TestEnsureTagsExist:
         session.commit()
         assert session.query(Tag).count() == 0
 
-    def test_tag_type_is_set(self, session: Session):
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["system-tag"], tag_type="system")
-        session.commit()
-
-        tag = session.query(Tag).filter_by(name="system-tag").one()
-        assert tag.tag_type == "system"
-
 
 class TestGetReferenceTags:
     def test_returns_empty_for_no_tags(self, session: Session):
@@ -193,7 +186,7 @@ class TestMissingTagFunctions:
     def test_add_missing_tag_for_asset_id(self, session: Session):
         asset = _make_asset(session, "hash1")
         ref = _make_reference(session, asset)
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"], tag_type="system")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"])
 
         add_missing_tag_for_asset_id(session, asset_id=asset.id)
         session.commit()
@@ -204,7 +197,7 @@ class TestMissingTagFunctions:
     def test_add_missing_tag_is_idempotent(self, session: Session):
         asset = _make_asset(session, "hash1")
         ref = _make_reference(session, asset)
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"], tag_type="system")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"])
 
         add_missing_tag_for_asset_id(session, asset_id=asset.id)
         add_missing_tag_for_asset_id(session, asset_id=asset.id)
@@ -216,7 +209,7 @@ class TestMissingTagFunctions:
     def test_remove_missing_tag_for_asset_id(self, session: Session):
         asset = _make_asset(session, "hash1")
         ref = _make_reference(session, asset)
-        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"], tag_type="system")
+        ensure_tags_exist(session, ["missing"])
         add_missing_tag_for_asset_id(session, asset_id=asset.id)
 
         remove_missing_tag_for_asset_id(session, asset_id=asset.id)
@@ -237,7 +230,7 @@ class TestListTagsWithUsage:
 
         rows, total = list_tags_with_usage(session)
 
-        tag_dict = {name: count for name, _, count in rows}
+        tag_dict = {name: count for name, count in rows}
         assert tag_dict["used"] == 1
         assert tag_dict["unused"] == 0
         assert total == 2
@@ -252,7 +245,7 @@ class TestListTagsWithUsage:
 
         rows, total = list_tags_with_usage(session, include_zero=False)
 
-        tag_names = {name for name, _, _ in rows}
+        tag_names = {name for name, _ in rows}
         assert "used" in tag_names
         assert "unused" not in tag_names
 
@@ -262,7 +255,7 @@ class TestListTagsWithUsage:
 
         rows, total = list_tags_with_usage(session, prefix="alph")
 
-        tag_names = {name for name, _, _ in rows}
+        tag_names = {name for name, _ in rows}
         assert tag_names == {"alpha", "alphabet"}
 
     def test_order_by_name(self, session: Session):
@@ -271,7 +264,7 @@ class TestListTagsWithUsage:
 
         rows, _ = list_tags_with_usage(session, order="name_asc")
 
-        names = [name for name, _, _ in rows]
+        names = [name for name, _ in rows]
         assert names == ["alpha", "middle", "zebra"]
 
     def test_owner_visibility(self, session: Session):
@@ -287,13 +280,13 @@ class TestListTagsWithUsage:
 
         # Empty owner sees only shared
         rows, _ = list_tags_with_usage(session, owner_id="", include_zero=False)
-        tag_dict = {name: count for name, _, count in rows}
+        tag_dict = {name: count for name, count in rows}
         assert tag_dict.get("shared-tag", 0) == 1
         assert tag_dict.get("owner-tag", 0) == 0
 
         # User1 sees both
         rows, _ = list_tags_with_usage(session, owner_id="user1", include_zero=False)
-        tag_dict = {name: count for name, _, count in rows}
+        tag_dict = {name: count for name, count in rows}
         assert tag_dict.get("shared-tag", 0) == 1
         assert tag_dict.get("owner-tag", 0) == 1
 

tests-unit/assets_test/services/test_tagging.py

@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ class TestListTags:
 
         rows, total = list_tags()
 
-        tag_dict = {name: count for name, _, count in rows}
+        tag_dict = {name: count for name, count in rows}
         assert tag_dict["used"] == 1
         assert tag_dict["unused"] == 0
         assert total == 2
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class TestListTags:
 
         rows, total = list_tags(include_zero=False)
 
-        tag_names = {name for name, _, _ in rows}
+        tag_names = {name for name, _ in rows}
         assert "used" in tag_names
         assert "unused" not in tag_names
 
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ class TestListTags:
 
         rows, _ = list_tags(prefix="alph")
 
-        tag_names = {name for name, _, _ in rows}
+        tag_names = {name for name, _ in rows}
         assert tag_names == {"alpha", "alphabet"}
 
     def test_order_by_name(self, mock_create_session, session: Session):
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ class TestListTags:
 
         rows, _ = list_tags(order="name_asc")
 
-        names = [name for name, _, _ in rows]
+        names = [name for name, _ in rows]
         assert names == ["alpha", "middle", "zebra"]
 
     def test_pagination(self, mock_create_session, session: Session):
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ class TestListTags:
 
         assert total == 5
         assert len(rows) == 2
-        names = [name for name, _, _ in rows]
+        names = [name for name, _ in rows]
         assert names == ["b", "c"]
 
     def test_clamps_limit(self, mock_create_session, session: Session):

tests-unit/assets_test/test_sync_references.py

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ def _make_asset(
 def _ensure_missing_tag(session: Session):
     """Ensure the 'missing' tag exists."""
     if not session.get(Tag, "missing"):
-        session.add(Tag(name="missing", tag_type="system"))
+        session.add(Tag(name="missing"))
         session.flush()