From ef2198f52039204f4b8a8c4a4a8fd763dcbf1e20 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kegan Dougal <7190048+kegsay@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:30:00 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] More review comments

---
 .../databases/main/event_federation.py        |  4 ++++
 tests/storage/test_event_federation.py        | 20 +++++++++++++++----
 2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_federation.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_federation.py
index 185ac5266a..8e80bad339 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_federation.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_federation.py
@@ -1340,6 +1340,10 @@ class EventFederationWorkerStore(
                 FROM msc4242_state_dag_edges e
                 WHERE e.room_id = ?
                 AND {seed_clause}
+                -- The create event has no edges, so it is stored as a single row with a NULL
+                -- `prev_state_event_id`. Skipping NULLs therefore only skips that sentinel
+                -- row: the create event is still returned by the walk, because it appears as
+                -- the `prev_state_event_id` of the events that reference it.
                 AND e.prev_state_event_id IS NOT NULL
                 AND {earliest_clause}
 
diff --git a/tests/storage/test_event_federation.py b/tests/storage/test_event_federation.py
index 033e24edcf..0d6ae0aabb 100644
--- a/tests/storage/test_event_federation.py
+++ b/tests/storage/test_event_federation.py
@@ -1610,7 +1610,8 @@ def build_state_dag(
     Args:
         creator: The user ID creating the graph. Should be unique per-test to ensure room IDs change between tests.
         graph: A map of fake event ID e.g. "B" to a list of prev_state_events e.g. ["A"]. Graphs must
-        be created in causal order (earliest events first).
+        be created in causal order (earliest events first). The first entry is assumed to be the
+        create event, so it must have no prev_state_events; every later entry must have at least one.
     Returns:
         A tuple of the room ID and a map from fake event ID e.g. "B" to real event which you can use .event_id
         to extract the real event ID. Guarantees that the real event IDs start with the fake event ID e.g.
@@ -1634,10 +1635,19 @@ def build_state_dag(
     )
     room_id = create_event.room_id
     entropy = 1
-    for graph_event_id in graph:
-        if len(graph[graph_event_id]) == 0:  # create event
+    for index, graph_event_id in enumerate(graph):
+        if index == 0:
+            # The first entry is the create event, which roots the state DAG.
+            assert len(graph[graph_event_id]) == 0, (
+                f"the first graph event {graph_event_id} is the create event, so it cannot "
+                "have any prev_state_events"
+            )
             graph_events[graph_event_id] = create_event
             continue
+        assert len(graph[graph_event_id]) > 0, (
+            f"graph event {graph_event_id} has no prev_state_events, but only the create event "
+            "(the first entry) may be missing them"
+        )
         # Map previous event IDs to real event IDs. Requires us to build events in causal order.
         prev_state_event_ids = [
             graph_events[prev_graph_event_id].event_id
@@ -1660,7 +1670,9 @@ def build_state_dag(
                     "sender": creator,
                     "origin_server_ts": 1 + entropy,
                     "prev_state_events": prev_state_event_ids,
-                    "prev_events": [],  # nothing should be looking at this field so keep it empty
+                    # Nothing in these tests looks at the message DAG, so just mirror the
+                    # state DAG here.
+                    "prev_events": prev_state_event_ids,
                     "room_id": room_id,
                     "depth": 1,
                 },