fix: default to FREE tier if profile row missing, upsert on first upload

persistence/tier.py

@@ -26,8 +26,18 @@ MSG_LIMIT: dict[Tier, int | None] = {Tier.FREE: 5,  Tier.PRO: 100, Tier.SCHOLAR:
 
 
 def get_user_tier(user_id: str) -> Tier:
-    r = _client().table("profiles").select("tier").eq("id", user_id).single().execute()
-    return Tier(r.data.get("tier", "free"))
+    """Return user tier, defaulting to FREE if profile row doesn't exist yet."""
+    try:
+        r = _client().table("profiles").select("tier").eq("id", user_id).single().execute()
+        return Tier(r.data.get("tier", "free"))
+    except Exception:
+        # Profile row not yet created (new user or migration not run) — default to free
+        # and upsert a row so subsequent calls succeed
+        try:
+            _client().table("profiles").upsert({"id": user_id, "tier": "free"}).execute()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        return Tier.FREE
 
 
 def get_expiry(tier: Tier) -> datetime: