`CREATE` operations are silently discarded in a multi-part write-and-read query

[zihaozeng0021]

Describe the bug

A dense set of relationships created earlier in the same Cypher query is not matched by a subsequent two-hop relationship pattern.

The query creates eight nodes and directed relationships between every pair of distinct nodes. Every node should therefore match as the middle node in:

(:N)-[:R]->(middle:N)<-[:R]-(:N)

However, the query returns "FAIL", indicating that no middle nodes were found.

How are you accessing AGE (Command line, driver, etc.)?

• Command line using interactive psql
• Executed through docker exec

docker exec -it test psql -U postgres -d postgres

What data setup do we need to do?

Start Apache AGE:

docker run --rm --name test -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=agepass -p 5432:5432 apache/age:latest

Connect using interactive psql:

docker exec -it test psql -U postgres -d postgres

Load AGE, configure the search path, and create the graph:

LOAD 'age';
SET search_path = ag_catalog, public;
SELECT create_graph('test');

No separate graph data setup is required because the affected query creates the nodes and relationships itself.

What is the necessary configuration info needed?

• Docker image: apache/age:latest
• PostgreSQL: 18.1
• Apache AGE: 1.7.0
• AGE extension installed by the Docker image
• search_path set to ag_catalog, public
• Operating system: WSL2, Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
• Installation method: Docker

What is the command that caused the error?

SELECT *
FROM cypher('test', $cypher$
  UNWIND range(1,8) AS i
  CREATE (:N {id:i})
  WITH count(*) AS ignored
  MATCH (a:N), (b:N)
  WHERE a.id <> b.id
  CREATE (a)-[:R]->(b)
  WITH count(*) AS ignored
  MATCH (:N)-[:R]->(middle:N)<-[:R]-(:N)
  WITH collect(middle) AS values
  RETURN CASE
    WHEN size(values) > 0 THEN 'PASS'
    ELSE 'FAIL'
  END AS value
$cypher$) AS (value agtype);

Actual result:

 value
--------
 "FAIL"
(1 row)

Expected behavior

The query creates eight nodes and 56 directed relationships.

Every node has multiple incoming relationships, so the middle-node pattern should produce rows and the query should return:

 value
--------
 "PASS"
(1 row)

Environment (please complete the following information):

• Apache AGE version: 1.7.0
• PostgreSQL version: 18.1
• Docker image: apache/age:latest
• Operating system: WSL2, Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
• Access method: interactive psql through docker exec

Additional context

The behavior was reproduced twice in clean Docker containers. The query completed without a PostgreSQL error, and the database remained available.