diff --git a/src/hnsw/hnswIndex.ts b/src/hnsw/hnswIndex.ts
index ff074daf..10cb69f8 100644
--- a/src/hnsw/hnswIndex.ts
+++ b/src/hnsw/hnswIndex.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import { getGlobalCache, UnifiedCache } from '../utils/unifiedCache.js'
 import { prodLog } from '../utils/logger.js'
 import { quantizeSQ8, distanceSQ8 } from '../utils/vectorQuantization.js'
 import type { SQ8QuantizedVector } from '../utils/vectorQuantization.js'
-import type { HnswProvider } from '../plugin.js'
+import type { VectorIndexProvider } from '../plugin.js'
 import { MmapVectorBackend } from './mmapVectorBackend.js'
 import { ConnectionsCodec, compressedConnectionsKey } from './connectionsCodec.js'
 
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ const DEFAULT_CONFIG: HNSWConfig = {
 }
 
 /**
- * Implements {@link HnswProvider}: the vector-index surface Brainy calls on
- * whatever the `'hnsw'` factory returns (its own `HNSWIndex`, or Cortex's
- * native engine).
+ * Implements {@link VectorIndexProvider}: the vector-index surface Brainy calls
+ * on whatever the `'vector'` factory returns (its own `HNSWIndex`, or a native
+ * acceleration provider).
  */
-export class HNSWIndex implements HnswProvider {
+export class HNSWIndex implements VectorIndexProvider {
   private nouns: Map<string, HNSWNoun> = new Map()
   private entryPointId: string | null = null
   private maxLevel = 0
diff --git a/src/plugin.ts b/src/plugin.ts
index 4145daf3..4efaed8e 100644
--- a/src/plugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugin.ts
@@ -192,15 +192,20 @@ export interface GraphIndexProvider {
 }
 
 /**
- * The object returned by the `'hnsw'` provider factory — a drop-in for
- * `HNSWIndex`. Brainy calls this surface via `this.index.*` plus the
- * transactional add/remove operations. `enableCOW`, `getItem`, and
- * `setPersistMode` are intentionally absent: Brainy guards each with
- * feature-detection (`typeof x === 'function'`), so they are optional and not
- * part of the required contract (Brainy's own `HNSWIndex` omits
- * `setPersistMode`, for instance).
+ * The object returned by the `'vector'` provider factory — Brainy's vector
+ * index contract. Implementations include Brainy's own JS HNSW index and any
+ * native acceleration provider (e.g. cortex's Adaptive DiskANN).
+ *
+ * Brainy calls this surface via `this.index.*` plus the transactional add/remove
+ * operations. `enableCOW`, `getItem`, and `setPersistMode` are intentionally
+ * absent: Brainy guards each with feature-detection (`typeof x === 'function'`),
+ * so they are optional and not part of the required contract (Brainy's own JS
+ * HNSW index omits `setPersistMode`, for instance).
+ *
+ * **Provider key:** registered under `'vector'`. The legacy `'hnsw'` key is
+ * accepted as a compat shim in 8.0 and retired in a future release.
  */
-export interface HnswProvider {
+export interface VectorIndexProvider {
   addItem(item: VectorDocument): Promise<string>
   removeItem(id: string): Promise<boolean>
   search(
@@ -217,29 +222,22 @@ export interface HnswProvider {
 }
 
 /**
- * The `'diskann'` provider — a billion-scale alternative to HNSW backed
- * by cortex's pure-Rust Vamana + Product Quantization implementation
- * (see ADR-002 in the cortex repo).
- *
- * Structurally a drop-in for [`HnswProvider`]: brainy calls the same
- * `addItem` / `search` / `rebuild` surface and never needs to know
- * which index is underneath. The differences are operational:
- *
- * - **Memory footprint**: ~16 GB RAM at 1 B vectors (PQ codes only).
- *   HNSW would need ~1.5 TB to keep the full vectors resident.
- * - **Build model**: build-once, query-many. Dynamic insertions buffer
- *   to an in-memory delta brute-forced alongside the main index;
- *   `rebuild()` folds them in.
- * - **Storage**: requires a local filesystem path (NVMe SSD for the
- *   published latency numbers). Cloud-storage adapters continue using
- *   HNSW.
- *
- * Engagement is automatic when the cortex provider is registered, the
- * storage adapter exposes `getBinaryBlobPath`, and the metadata index
- * has a stable `idMapper`. Users force the legacy index via
- * `config.index.type = 'hnsw'`.
+ * @deprecated Renamed to {@link VectorIndexProvider} in Brainy 8.0. The
+ * interface shape is byte-for-byte identical; only the name changed because
+ * "vector index" describes the role, while "HNSW" was the name of one
+ * specific implementation. This alias is provided as a compatibility shim
+ * for code mid-migration; new code should import `VectorIndexProvider`.
  */
-export type DiskAnnProvider = HnswProvider
+export type HnswProvider = VectorIndexProvider
+
+/**
+ * @deprecated The `'diskann'` provider key has been folded into `'vector'` in
+ * Brainy 8.0. The vector index contract is implementation-neutral: any provider
+ * registered under `'vector'` may be HNSW, DiskANN, or a future algorithm. The
+ * type alias is preserved so existing imports compile while consumers migrate
+ * to `VectorIndexProvider`.
+ */
+export type DiskAnnProvider = VectorIndexProvider
 
 /**
  * The `'entityIdMapper'` provider — a drop-in for `EntityIdMapper`. Injected