diff --git a/app/modules/base.py b/app/modules/base.py
index 1108315a..711c375a 100644
--- a/app/modules/base.py
+++ b/app/modules/base.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from fastapi import APIRouter
     from pydantic import BaseModel
 
-from models.database.admin_menu_config import FrontendType
+from app.modules.enums import FrontendType
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/app/modules/enums.py b/app/modules/enums.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..13a950ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/modules/enums.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# app/modules/enums.py
+"""
+Module system enums.
+
+This file contains enums used by the module system that need to be
+importable without triggering database model imports.
+
+The FrontendType enum is defined here to break a circular import:
+- app.modules.base imports FrontendType
+- Previously FrontendType was in models.database.admin_menu_config
+- Importing from models.database triggers model discovery
+- Model discovery imports module definitions
+- Module definitions import from app.modules.base → CIRCULAR
+
+By defining FrontendType here, we break this cycle.
+"""
+
+import enum
+
+
+class FrontendType(str, enum.Enum):
+    """Frontend types that can have menu configuration."""
+
+    ADMIN = "admin"    # Admin panel (super admins, platform admins)
+    VENDOR = "vendor"  # Vendor dashboard
+
+
+# Menu items that cannot be hidden - always visible regardless of config
+# Organized by frontend type
+MANDATORY_MENU_ITEMS = {
+    FrontendType.ADMIN: frozenset({
+        "dashboard",  # Default landing page after login
+        "companies",
+        "vendors",
+        "admin-users",
+        "settings",
+        "my-menu",  # Super admin menu config - must always be accessible
+    }),
+    FrontendType.VENDOR: frozenset({
+        "dashboard",  # Default landing page after login
+        "settings",
+    }),
+}
+
+
+__all__ = ["FrontendType", "MANDATORY_MENU_ITEMS"]
diff --git a/models/database/admin_menu_config.py b/models/database/admin_menu_config.py
index 61a44e0e..1c65ea8d 100644
--- a/models/database/admin_menu_config.py
+++ b/models/database/admin_menu_config.py
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@ Design:
 - Only stores non-default state (is_visible=False) to keep table small
 """
 
-import enum
-
 from sqlalchemy import (
     Boolean,
     CheckConstraint,
@@ -37,30 +35,11 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship
 from app.core.database import Base
 from models.database.base import TimestampMixin
 
-
-class FrontendType(str, enum.Enum):
-    """Frontend types that can have menu configuration."""
-
-    ADMIN = "admin"    # Admin panel (super admins, platform admins)
-    VENDOR = "vendor"  # Vendor dashboard
-
-
-# Menu items that cannot be hidden - always visible regardless of config
-# Organized by frontend type
-MANDATORY_MENU_ITEMS = {
-    FrontendType.ADMIN: frozenset({
-        "dashboard",  # Default landing page after login
-        "companies",
-        "vendors",
-        "admin-users",
-        "settings",
-        "my-menu",  # Super admin menu config - must always be accessible
-    }),
-    FrontendType.VENDOR: frozenset({
-        "dashboard",  # Default landing page after login
-        "settings",
-    }),
-}
+# Import FrontendType and MANDATORY_MENU_ITEMS from the central location
+# and re-export for backward compatibility with existing imports.
+# These were moved to app.modules.enums to break a circular import:
+# app.modules.base -> models.database -> model discovery -> module definitions -> app.modules.base
+from app.modules.enums import FrontendType, MANDATORY_MENU_ITEMS
 
 
 class AdminMenuConfig(Base, TimestampMixin):