fix(core): skip empty/invalid chunks before embedding; guard OpenAI embeddings

Avoid 400 errors from OpenAI when chunker yields empty strings by filtering
invalid texts in LeannBuilder.build_index. Add validation fail-fast in
OpenAI embedding path to surface upstream issues earlier. Keeps passages and
embeddings aligned during build.

Refs #54

README.md

@@ -426,21 +426,21 @@ Once the index is built, you can ask questions like:
 **The future of code assistance is here.** Transform your development workflow with LEANN's native MCP integration for Claude Code. Index your entire codebase and get intelligent code assistance directly in your IDE.
 
 **Key features:**
-- 🔍 **Semantic code search** across your entire project
+- 🔍 **Semantic code search** across your entire project, fully local index and lightweight
 - 📚 **Context-aware assistance** for debugging and development
 - 🚀 **Zero-config setup** with automatic language detection
 
 ```bash
 # Install LEANN globally for MCP integration
-uv tool install leann-core
-
+uv tool install leann-core --with leann
+claude mcp add --scope user leann-server -- leann_mcp
 # Setup is automatic - just start using Claude Code!
 ```
 Try our fully agentic pipeline with auto query rewriting, semantic search planning, and more:
 
 ![LEANN MCP Integration](assets/mcp_leann.png)
 
-**Ready to supercharge your coding?** [Complete Setup Guide →](packages/leann-mcp/README.md)
+**🔥 Ready to supercharge your coding?** [Complete Setup Guide →](packages/leann-mcp/README.md)
 
 ## 🖥️ Command Line Interface
 
@@ -457,7 +457,8 @@ leann --help
 **To make it globally available:**
 ```bash
 # Install the LEANN CLI globally using uv tool
-uv tool install leann-core
+uv tool install leann-core --with leann
+
 
 # Now you can use leann from anywhere without activating venv
 leann --help

packages/leann-core/src/leann/api.py

@@ -306,6 +306,23 @@ class LeannBuilder:
     def build_index(self, index_path: str):
         if not self.chunks:
             raise ValueError("No chunks added.")
+
+        # Filter out invalid/empty text chunks early to keep passage and embedding counts aligned
+        valid_chunks: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+        skipped = 0
+        for chunk in self.chunks:
+            text = chunk.get("text", "")
+            if isinstance(text, str) and text.strip():
+                valid_chunks.append(chunk)
+            else:
+                skipped += 1
+        if skipped > 0:
+            print(
+                f"Warning: Skipping {skipped} empty/invalid text chunk(s). Processing {len(valid_chunks)} valid chunks"
+            )
+            self.chunks = valid_chunks
+            if not self.chunks:
+                raise ValueError("All provided chunks are empty or invalid. Nothing to index.")
         if self.dimensions is None:
             self.dimensions = len(
                 compute_embeddings(

packages/leann-core/src/leann/embedding_compute.py

@@ -244,6 +244,16 @@ def compute_embeddings_openai(texts: list[str], model_name: str) -> np.ndarray:
     except ImportError as e:
         raise ImportError(f"OpenAI package not installed: {e}")
 
+    # Validate input list
+    if not texts:
+        raise ValueError("Cannot compute embeddings for empty text list")
+    # Extra validation: abort early if any item is empty/whitespace
+    invalid_count = sum(1 for t in texts if not isinstance(t, str) or not t.strip())
+    if invalid_count > 0:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Found {invalid_count} empty/invalid text(s) in input. Upstream should filter before calling OpenAI."
+        )
+
     api_key = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
     if not api_key:
         raise RuntimeError("OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable not set")

packages/leann-mcp/README.md

@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ leann build docs-and-configs --docs $(git ls-files "*.md" "*.yml" "*.yaml" "*.js
 ```
 
 
-**Try this in Claude Code:**
+## **Try this in Claude Code:**
 ```
 Help me understand this codebase. List available indexes and search for authentication patterns.
 ```