/api/search returns empty results even with valid data

[SpaceroxDAO]

Environment

• MoltBrain version: latest (cloned fresh)
• Platform: macOS
• SQLite database: 44 observations stored

Problem

The /api/search endpoint always returns { results: [] } regardless of query.

What works

• /api/observations returns all 44 stored observations correctly
• Data is being written to SQLite properly
• Server starts without errors

Steps to reproduce

1. Clone repo, install dependencies, start server
2. Add some observations via /api/observe
3. Try any search query via /api/search?q=test
4. Always get empty results

Expected behavior

Search should return relevant observations based on semantic similarity.

Additional context

Wondering if this is related to ChromaDB initialization or embedding generation. Happy to provide logs or help debug.

Anyone else experiencing this?

[github-actions]

A user reports that the /api/search endpoint in the latest version of the MoltBrain project (installed on macOS) consistently returns empty { results: [] }, even though valid data exists in the SQLite database with 44 observations. While the /api/observations endpoint works correctly and the server shows no errors, the search functionality fails to return any results for queries. The user suspects the issue might be related to ChromaDB initialization or embedding generation. They provide steps to reproduce the problem and are open to sharing logs or assisting in debugging.