Fix out-of-memory in list_documents by adding column projection

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- **Document listing memory usage**: `list_documents` no longer loads full document content and docling blobs by default, preventing out-of-memory errors on large databases. Use `include_content=True` when content is needed.
+
 ## [0.29.0] - 2026-02-06
 
 ### Added

docs/python.md

@@ -134,6 +134,9 @@ doc = await client.get_document_by_uri("file:///path/to/document.pdf")
 List all documents:
 ```python
 docs = await client.list_documents(limit=10, offset=0)
+
+# Include full content and docling document (not loaded by default)
+docs = await client.list_documents(include_content=True)
 ```
 
 Filter documents by properties:

haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/client.py

@@ -867,6 +867,7 @@ class HaikuRAG:
         limit: int | None = None,
         offset: int | None = None,
         filter: str | None = None,
+        include_content: bool = False,
     ) -> list[Document]:
         """List all documents with optional pagination and filtering.
 
@@ -874,12 +875,14 @@ class HaikuRAG:
             limit: Maximum number of documents to return.
             offset: Number of documents to skip.
             filter: Optional SQL WHERE clause to filter documents.
+            include_content: Whether to load content and docling_document.
+                Defaults to False to avoid loading large blobs.
 
         Returns:
             List of Document instances matching the criteria.
         """
         return await self.document_repository.list_all(
-            limit=limit, offset=offset, filter=filter
+            limit=limit, offset=offset, filter=filter, include_content=include_content
         )
 
     async def count_documents(self, filter: str | None = None) -> int:
@@ -1480,7 +1483,7 @@ class HaikuRAG:
         settings_repo = SettingsRepository(self.store)
         settings_repo.save_current_settings()
 
-        documents = await self.list_documents()
+        documents = await self.list_documents(include_content=True)
 
         if mode == RebuildMode.EMBED_ONLY:
             async for doc_id in self._rebuild_embed_only(documents):

haiku_rag_slim/haiku/rag/store/repositories/document.py

@@ -142,11 +142,14 @@ class DocumentRepository:
         self.store.documents_table.delete(f"id = '{safe_id}'")
         return True
 
+    _LISTING_COLUMNS = ["id", "title", "uri", "metadata", "created_at", "updated_at"]
+
     async def list_all(
         self,
         limit: int | None = None,
         offset: int | None = None,
         filter: str | None = None,
+        include_content: bool = False,
     ) -> list[Document]:
         """List all documents with optional pagination and filtering.
 
@@ -154,12 +157,16 @@ class DocumentRepository:
             limit: Maximum number of documents to return.
             offset: Number of documents to skip.
             filter: Optional SQL WHERE clause to filter documents.
+            include_content: Whether to load content and docling_document.
+                Defaults to False to avoid loading large blobs for listing.
 
         Returns:
             List of Document instances matching the criteria.
         """
         query = self.store.documents_table.search()
 
+        if not include_content:
+            query = query.select(self._LISTING_COLUMNS)
         if filter is not None:
             query = query.where(filter)
         if offset is not None:
@@ -167,8 +174,26 @@ class DocumentRepository:
         if limit is not None:
             query = query.limit(limit)
 
-        results = list(query.to_pydantic(DocumentRecord))
+        if include_content:
-        return [self._record_to_document(doc) for doc in results]
+            results = list(query.to_pydantic(DocumentRecord))
+            return [self._record_to_document(doc) for doc in results]
+
+        return [
+            Document(
+                id=row["id"],
+                content="",
+                title=row.get("title"),
+                uri=row.get("uri"),
+                metadata=json.loads(row.get("metadata", "{}")),
+                created_at=datetime.fromisoformat(row["created_at"])
+                if row.get("created_at")
+                else datetime.now(),
+                updated_at=datetime.fromisoformat(row["updated_at"])
+                if row.get("updated_at")
+                else datetime.now(),
+            )
+            for row in query.to_list()
+        ]
 
     async def count(self, filter: str | None = None) -> int:
         """Count documents with optional filtering.

tests/store/test_time_travel.py

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class TestStoreTimeTravel:
         repo = DocumentRepository(store)
 
         # Should only see first document
-        docs = await repo.list_all()
+        docs = await repo.list_all(include_content=True)
         assert len(docs) == 1
         assert docs[0].content == "First document"
         store.close()

tests/test_database_autocreate.py

@@ -46,4 +46,6 @@ async def test_operations_work_after_database_created():
         async with HaikuRAG(db_path=db_path, config=config) as client:
             docs = await client.list_documents()
             assert len(docs) == 1
-            assert docs[0].content == "Test content"
+            doc = await client.get_document_by_id(docs[0].id)
+            assert doc is not None
+            assert doc.content == "Test content"

tests/test_document.py

@@ -6,6 +6,54 @@ from haiku.rag.store.models.document import Document
 from haiku.rag.store.repositories.document import DocumentRepository
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_document_list_excludes_content_by_default(
+    qa_corpus: Dataset, temp_db_path
+):
+    """list_all excludes content and docling_document by default."""
+    store = Store(temp_db_path, create=True)
+    doc_repo = DocumentRepository(store)
+
+    doc = Document(
+        content=qa_corpus[0]["document_extracted"],
+        uri="https://example.com/doc.txt",
+        title="Test Document",
+        metadata={"key": "value"},
+    )
+    created = await doc_repo.create(doc)
+
+    docs = await doc_repo.list_all()
+    assert len(docs) == 1
+    assert docs[0].id == created.id
+    assert docs[0].title == "Test Document"
+    assert docs[0].uri == "https://example.com/doc.txt"
+    assert docs[0].metadata == {"key": "value"}
+    assert docs[0].content == ""
+    assert docs[0].docling_document is None
+
+    store.close()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_document_list_includes_content_when_requested(
+    qa_corpus: Dataset, temp_db_path
+):
+    """list_all returns content when include_content=True."""
+    store = Store(temp_db_path, create=True)
+    doc_repo = DocumentRepository(store)
+
+    content = qa_corpus[0]["document_extracted"]
+    doc = Document(content=content, uri="https://example.com/doc.txt")
+    created = await doc_repo.create(doc)
+
+    docs = await doc_repo.list_all(include_content=True)
+    assert len(docs) == 1
+    assert docs[0].id == created.id
+    assert docs[0].content == content
+
+    store.close()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_document_list_with_filter(qa_corpus: Dataset, temp_db_path):
     """Test listing documents with filter clause."""