fix

backend/Dockerfile

@@ -19,5 +19,9 @@ COPY . .
 
 EXPOSE 8000
 
-# Default: run uvicorn with hot reload for dev
+# Default: run uvicorn with hot reload for dev.
-CMD ["uvicorn", "app.main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000", "--reload"]
+# We pass --log-level explicitly from $LOG_LEVEL so uvicorn's own loggers
+# (uvicorn, uvicorn.access) start at the right level from the very first
+# request — without this, they stay at INFO until our lifespan runs.
+# Shell form (not exec form) so ${LOG_LEVEL} is interpolated by the shell.
+CMD sh -c 'exec uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload --log-level "${LOG_LEVEL:-info}"'

backend/app/logging_setup.py

@@ -1,4 +1,18 @@
-"""Structured logging setup."""
+"""Structured logging setup.
+
+`LOG_LEVEL` (env) controls the verbosity of:
+  - The root Python logger
+  - structlog-bound loggers (app.*)
+  - Uvicorn's own loggers (`uvicorn`, `uvicorn.access`, `uvicorn.error`,
+    `uvicorn.asgi`) — these otherwise stay at INFO regardless of LOG_LEVEL
+    because uvicorn configures them itself at startup, before our lifespan
+    calls setup_logging(). We forcibly re-level them here.
+  - The `sqlalchemy.engine` logger (kept at WARNING unless LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG).
+
+Note: `logging.basicConfig()` is a no-op once the root logger has been
+configured (which uvicorn does at import time), so it alone is NOT enough
+to honor LOG_LEVEL — we must also call `setLevel()` on each named logger.
+"""
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import logging
@@ -9,15 +23,46 @@ import structlog
 from app.config import settings
 
 
+# Loggers whose level must be forced to LOG_LEVEL (uvicorn pre-configures them
+# at INFO before our lifespan runs, so basicConfig cannot change them).
+_FORCED_LOGGERS = (
+    "uvicorn",
+    "uvicorn.access",
+    "uvicorn.error",
+    "uvicorn.asgi",
+    "fastapi",
+)
+
+
 def setup_logging() -> None:
     level = getattr(logging, settings.log_level.upper(), logging.INFO)
 
+    # Force the root logger level (affects any logger that doesn't override).
+    logging.getLogger().setLevel(level)
+
+    # Also call basicConfig for the formatter (idempotent if already set up).
     logging.basicConfig(
         format="%(message)s",
         stream=sys.stdout,
         level=level,
+        force=True,  # python 3.8+: re-init even if already configured
     )
 
+    # Force level on loggers that uvicorn pre-configured.
+    for name in _FORCED_LOGGERS:
+        lg = logging.getLogger(name)
+        lg.setLevel(level)
+        # Ensure uvicorn access logs propagate to the root handler.
+        lg.propagate = True
+        for h in lg.handlers:
+            h.setLevel(level)
+
+    # SQLAlchemy is chatty at INFO; keep it at WARNING unless explicitly DEBUG.
+    sa_level = logging.DEBUG if level <= logging.DEBUG else logging.WARNING
+    logging.getLogger("sqlalchemy.engine").setLevel(sa_level)
+    logging.getLogger("sqlalchemy.pool").setLevel(sa_level)
+    logging.getLogger("asyncpg").setLevel(sa_level)
+
     structlog.configure(
         processors=[
             structlog.contextvars.merge_contextvars,

backend/app/main.py

@@ -11,12 +11,18 @@ from app.api import admin, auth, misc, presets, sessions, worlds
 from app.config import settings
 from app.logging_setup import get_logger, setup_logging
 
+# Configure logging as early as possible — at import time, before uvicorn
+# finishes its own logger setup. This ensures LOG_LEVEL is honored for the
+# very first request and for startup messages from submodules.
+setup_logging()
+log = get_logger("app")
+
 
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
+    # Re-apply logging config in case any submodule reset it during import.
     setup_logging()
-    log = get_logger("app")
+    log.info("app_starting", worker_mode=settings.is_worker, log_level=settings.log_level)
-    log.info("app_starting", worker_mode=settings.is_worker)
 
     # Initialize DB tables and seed defaults
     from app.migrations.init_db import init_db

backend/app/prompts/templates.py

@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ When calling `submit_world_definition`:
 - `setting_description`: 1-2 paragraph expanded setting.
 - `rules`: object with keys like `stats`, `combat`, `magic`, `time`, `inventory`, `death` (whichever apply).
 - `world_schema`: a JSON Schema describing the shape of the world's state (player, npcs, locations, world_time, flags, etc.).
-- `plot_rails`: `{main_goal, subgoals, hooks}`.
+- `plot_rails`: an object with keys `main_goal` (string), `subgoals` (array of strings), and `hooks` (array of strings).
 - `initial_state`: the initial world state matching `world_schema`.
 - `initial_time`: world-time string in the form `day_N_hour_H` (e.g. `day_1_hour_8`).
-- `calendar`: optional. `{hours_per_day: 24, minutes_per_hour: 60, days_per_week: 7}`. Include only if the world uses a non-standard calendar (e.g. 28-hour days).
+- `calendar`: optional. An object with `hours_per_day` (default 24), `minutes_per_hour` (default 60), `days_per_week` (default 7). Include only if the world uses a non-standard calendar (e.g. 28-hour days).
 - `is_final`: set to `true` ONLY when the player has explicitly accepted the world.
 
 CRITICAL:
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ SUMMARIZER_SYSTEM = """You compress the history of a role-playing session. Given
 
 Call the `submit_summary` tool with:
 - `summary`: 3-6 sentences of key events and state changes (max 150 words).
-- `facts`: array of important persistent facts `[{kind, name, description}]` where kind is one of npc, location, item, lore, event.
+- `facts`: array of important persistent facts. Each fact is an object with keys `kind`, `name`, `description`, where `kind` is one of `npc`, `location`, `item`, `lore`, `event`.
 
 CRITICAL: Preserve names, numbers, and important state changes. Your text response is ignored — only the `submit_summary` tool call is used.
 """