From 34f48e58a1c89ca4a900e9ac790a26dd900e2180 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: nendo <tmgast@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2026 11:10:40 +0900
Subject: [PATCH] feat(devices): default to returning existing device on
 duplicate registration

Change allow_existing default to True so duplicate fingerprint matches
return the existing device (200) instead of 409 Conflict. Add model
validator to force allow_existing=False when allow_duplicate is set.
---
 backend/endpoints/device.py            | 10 +++++--
 backend/tests/endpoints/test_device.py | 39 ++++++++++++++++++++++----
 2 files changed, 41 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/backend/endpoints/device.py b/backend/endpoints/device.py
index 6780c9293..8911dfbf4 100644
--- a/backend/endpoints/device.py
+++ b/backend/endpoints/device.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import uuid
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from fastapi import HTTPException, Request, Response, status
-from pydantic import BaseModel
+from pydantic import BaseModel, model_validator
 
 from decorators.auth import protected_route
 from endpoints.responses.device import DeviceCreateResponse, DeviceSchema
@@ -26,10 +26,16 @@ class DeviceCreatePayload(BaseModel):
     ip_address: str | None = None
     mac_address: str | None = None
     hostname: str | None = None
-    allow_existing: bool = False
+    allow_existing: bool = True
     allow_duplicate: bool = False
     reset_syncs: bool = False
 
+    @model_validator(mode="after")
+    def _duplicate_disables_existing(self) -> "DeviceCreatePayload":
+        if self.allow_duplicate:
+            self.allow_existing = False
+        return self
+
 
 class DeviceUpdatePayload(BaseModel):
     name: str | None = None
diff --git a/backend/tests/endpoints/test_device.py b/backend/tests/endpoints/test_device.py
index e8cffa3d1..9cc8de583 100644
--- a/backend/tests/endpoints/test_device.py
+++ b/backend/tests/endpoints/test_device.py
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ class TestDeviceUserIsolation:
 
 
 class TestDeviceDuplicateHandling:
-    def test_duplicate_mac_address_returns_409(
+    def test_duplicate_mac_address_returns_existing(
         self, client, access_token: str, admin_user: User
     ):
         db_device_handler.add_device(
@@ -303,12 +303,12 @@ class TestDeviceDuplicateHandling:
             headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"},
         )
 
-        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_409_CONFLICT
-        data = response.json()["detail"]
-        assert data["error"] == "device_exists"
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
         assert data["device_id"] == "existing-mac-device"
+        assert data["name"] == "Existing Device"
 
-    def test_duplicate_hostname_platform_returns_409(
+    def test_duplicate_hostname_platform_returns_existing(
         self, client, access_token: str, admin_user: User
     ):
         db_device_handler.add_device(
@@ -331,10 +331,37 @@ class TestDeviceDuplicateHandling:
             headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"},
         )
 
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert data["device_id"] == "existing-hostname-device"
+        assert data["name"] == "Existing Device"
+
+    def test_duplicate_with_allow_existing_false_returns_409(
+        self, client, access_token: str, admin_user: User
+    ):
+        db_device_handler.add_device(
+            Device(
+                id="reject-duplicate-device",
+                user_id=admin_user.id,
+                name="Existing Device",
+                mac_address="FF:EE:DD:CC:BB:AA",
+            )
+        )
+
+        response = client.post(
+            "/api/devices",
+            json={
+                "name": "New Device",
+                "mac_address": "FF:EE:DD:CC:BB:AA",
+                "allow_existing": False,
+            },
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"},
+        )
+
         assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_409_CONFLICT
         data = response.json()["detail"]
         assert data["error"] == "device_exists"
-        assert data["device_id"] == "existing-hostname-device"
+        assert data["device_id"] == "reject-duplicate-device"
 
     def test_allow_existing_returns_existing_device(
         self, client, access_token: str, admin_user: User