From c3f68627619aa078080dd953208ec78d59fe5cf0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Chalef <131175+danielchalef@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:29:21 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] feat: Add specific Neo4j connection error message with
 startup instructions

---
 mcp_server/src/graphiti_mcp_server.py | 12 ++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+)

diff --git a/mcp_server/src/graphiti_mcp_server.py b/mcp_server/src/graphiti_mcp_server.py
index f0b379d9..14e18cde 100644
--- a/mcp_server/src/graphiti_mcp_server.py
+++ b/mcp_server/src/graphiti_mcp_server.py
@@ -253,6 +253,18 @@ class GraphitiService:
                             f"  - Or run FalkorDB manually: docker run -p 6379:6379 falkordb/falkordb\n\n"
                             f"{'='*70}\n"
                         ) from db_error
+                    elif db_provider.lower() == 'neo4j':
+                        raise RuntimeError(
+                            f"\n{'='*70}\n"
+                            f"Database Connection Error: Neo4j is not running\n"
+                            f"{'='*70}\n\n"
+                            f"Neo4j at {db_config.get('uri', 'unknown')} is not accessible.\n\n"
+                            f"To start Neo4j:\n"
+                            f"  - Using Docker Compose: cd mcp_server && docker compose -f docker/docker-compose-neo4j.yml up\n"
+                            f"  - Or install Neo4j Desktop from: https://neo4j.com/download/\n"
+                            f"  - Or run Neo4j manually: docker run -p 7474:7474 -p 7687:7687 neo4j:latest\n\n"
+                            f"{'='*70}\n"
+                        ) from db_error
                     else:
                         raise RuntimeError(
                             f"\n{'='*70}\n"