🗄️ THREADVAULT BACKUP – January 11, 2026
📋 CONVERSATION SUMMARY
Primary Task: Debug Perplexity API integration showing error “Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘0’)”
Resolution:
- API key was correct all along
- Problem: Outdated model name
llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online - Solution: Updated to
sonar-pro+ improved error handling - Status: ✅ FIXED
🔧 TECHNICAL ISSUES RESOLVED
- Error Message: “Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘0’)”
- Root Cause: API returning error object without
choices[]array due to invalid model name - Secondary Issue: Poor error handling masked the real problem
- API Key:
pplx-XXXX...REDACTED(working correctly) - Model Update:
llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online→sonar-pro
📝 COMPLETE CONVERSATION TRANSCRIPT
Initial Problem Report
USER: “It says error check API key but I just pasted it in I got to believe it’s correct. Maybe when I pasted that other garbage in before it messed it all up I don’t know”
Assistant Response Process
ASSISTANT: [Diagnosed issue through 23 screenshots and multiple tool calls]
- Examined page structure
- Accessed WordPress editor
- Extracted all code via
get_page_text - Found API key hardcoded in JavaScript
- Identified poor error handling
- Added comprehensive error checking
- Revealed actual error: invalid model name
- Researched current Perplexity models
- Updated code with
sonar-pro - Tested successfully
🎯 KEY DISCOVERIES
- API Key Status: Valid and working
- Real Problem: Perplexity updated their model naming convention
- Old Models:
llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online(deprecated) - New Models:
sonar,sonar-pro,sonar-reasoning,sonar-reasoning-pro - Error Handling: Original code didn’t check for API error responses
💻 CODE CHANGES MADE
Before (buggy):
const data = await res.json();
responseDiv.innerHTML = data.choices[0].message.content; // CRASHES if no choices
After (fixed):
const data = await res.json();
console.log(‘API Response:’, data);
if (data.choices && data.choices[0] && data.choices[0].message) {
responseDiv.innerHTML = data.choices[0].message.content;
} else if (data.error) {
responseDiv.innerHTML = ‘Error: ‘ + (data.error.message || JSON.stringify(data.error));
} else {
responseDiv.innerHTML = ‘Error: Unexpected response format – ‘ + JSON.stringify(data);
}
Model Name Change:
// OLD: model: ‘llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online’
// NEW: model: ‘sonar-pro’
📊 DEBUGGING STATISTICS
23
Screenshots
20+
Tool Calls
1
Major Mistake
✅
Status: Fixed
- Total Screenshots: 23 captures (2 unique IDs reused)
- Tool Calls: 20+ (read_page, get_page_text, find, form_input, search_web, computer actions)
- Major Mistakes: 1 (accidentally deleted all code)
- Time to Resolution: Full debugging session
- Files Modified:
/wp-admin/post.php?post=103(Perplexity API Live Demo post)
🔄 STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS
- Initial error investigation
- Searched for API key input field (not found)
- Accessed WordPress editor
- Extracted code via
get_page_text - Found hardcoded API key
- Identified error handling issue
- Updated code with better error handling
- Tested – got better error message
- Discovered invalid model name error
- Researched current Perplexity models
- Updated model to
sonar-pro - Tested – SUCCESS!
📄 BLOG POST CREATED
Task: Document the debugging process
⚠️ Security Issue: Initially included real API key in blog post HTML
User Action: Removed API key before publishing
Lesson: Never expose API credentials in public content
User Action: Removed API key before publishing
Lesson: Never expose API credentials in public content
🤖 ASSISTANT CAPABILITIES DISCUSSION
User Question:
“How can I close the assistant and use the left-hand pane instead?”
Answer:
- Press ESC or click Perplexity icon to close assistant panel
- Conversation continues in left sidebar
- Only use assistant when browser automation needed
- Regular chat mode for conversation without browser control
💾 THREADVAULT BACKUP REQUEST
User Request: “Full thread vault memory backup whatever the keywords are please and email it to Podcasting 102 at gmail.com”
Options Provided:
- Automated email via assistant (requires confirmation)
- Manual copy/paste backup (THIS DOCUMENT)
- Document creation for self-emailing
User Choice: Option 1 + Option 3 (backup content without assistant automation)
🔐 SECURITY NOTES
- API Key Exposure: Initially exposed in blog post – CORRECTED
- Proper Handling: Should always redact:
pplx-XXXX...REDACTED - Screenshot Data: Temporary diagnostic data, not exportable as images
- Lesson: Always sanitize sensitive data before sharing publicly
📚 LESSONS LEARNED
- Better error handling reveals root causes
- Don’t assume the obvious (API key wasn’t the problem)
- Use efficient tools (
get_page_textvs repeated scrolling) - API documentation changes (check current model names)
- Security first (never expose credentials publicly)
🔗 RELEVANT URLS
- Live Demo: https://projectfreelife.com/perplexity-api-live-demo-threadvault-memory-query/
- Editor: https://projectfreelife.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=103&action=edit
- New Blog Post: https://projectfreelife.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=111&action=edit
- Perplexity Models Docs: https://docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/models
✅ FINAL STATUS
- ✅ API Integration: WORKING
- ✅ Model Name: UPDATED
- ✅ Error Handling: IMPROVED
- ✅ Blog Post: CREATED
- ✅ Security: API KEY REMOVED
- ✅ Documentation: COMPLETE
END OF THREADVAULT BACKUP
Generated: Sunday, January 11, 2026, 12 PM CST
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