feat: wire plugin system with provider resolution, storage factories, and browser deprecation

- Wire PluginRegistry into Brainy init() with provider resolution for distance,
  metadataIndex, graphIndex, embeddings, roaring, msgpack, and storage adapters
- Add setupStorage() factory that resolves storage:* providers from plugins before
  falling back to built-in createStorage()
- Export internals API (setGlobalCache, UnifiedCache, EntityIdMapper, etc.) for
  cortex plugin consumption
- Add plugin.test.ts verifying registration, activation, and provider resolution
- Deprecate browser support (OPFS, Web Workers, WASM embeddings) with warnings
  in preparation for v8.0 server-only release
- FileSystemStorage: fix setupStorage resolution for mmap-filesystem provider

README.md

@@ -574,6 +574,14 @@ const stats = brain.getCacheStats()  // Performance insights
 
 **[📖 Capacity Planning Guide →](docs/operations/capacity-planning.md)**
 
+### Native Acceleration (Optional)
+
+Install `@soulcraft/brainy-cortex` for Rust-powered native acceleration: SIMD distance calculations, native metadata/graph indexes, CRoaring bitmaps, and Candle ML embeddings. Auto-detected — zero configuration required.
+
+```bash
+npm install @soulcraft/brainy-cortex
+```
+
 ---
 
 ## Benchmarks
@@ -710,6 +718,8 @@ This comprehensive guide includes:
 
 ## Requirements
 
+> **Deprecation Notice:** Browser support (OPFS storage, Web Workers, WASM embeddings) is deprecated in v7.10.0 and will be removed in v8.0.0. Brainy v8+ will be server-only (Node.js >= 22, Bun >= 1.3.0). Migrate browser deployments to a server-side API.
+
 **Bun 1.0+** (recommended) or **Node.js 22 LTS**
 
 ```bash

package.json

@@ -51,6 +51,14 @@
     "./neural/SmartRelationshipExtractor": {
       "import": "./dist/neural/SmartRelationshipExtractor.js",
       "types": "./dist/neural/SmartRelationshipExtractor.d.ts"
+    },
+    "./plugin": {
+      "import": "./dist/plugin.js",
+      "types": "./dist/plugin.d.ts"
+    },
+    "./internals": {
+      "import": "./dist/internals.js",
+      "types": "./dist/internals.d.ts"
     }
   },
   "browser": {

src/brainy.ts

@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ import { BlobStorage } from './storage/cow/BlobStorage.js'
 import { NULL_HASH } from './storage/cow/constants.js'
 import { createPipeline } from './streaming/pipeline.js'
 import { configureLogger, LogLevel } from './utils/logger.js'
+import { setGlobalCache } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
+import type { UnifiedCache } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
 import { PluginRegistry } from './plugin.js'
 import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from './plugin.js'
 import { TransactionManager } from './transaction/TransactionManager.js'
@@ -262,7 +264,11 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
     }
 
     try {
-      // Setup and initialize storage
+      // Auto-detect and activate plugins BEFORE storage setup
+      // so plugin-provided storage factories (e.g., mmap-filesystem) are available
+      await this.loadPlugins()
+
+      // Setup and initialize storage (checks plugin storage factories first)
       this.storage = await this.setupStorage()
       await this.storage.init()
 
@@ -273,20 +279,55 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
         (this.storage as any).enableCOWLightweight((this.config.storage as any)?.branch || 'main')
       }
 
-      // Auto-detect and activate plugins (e.g., @soulcraft/brainy-cortex)
-      await this.loadPlugins()
+      // Provider: embeddings (reassign embedder if plugin provides one)
+      const embeddingProvider = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<EmbeddingFunction>('embeddings')
+      if (embeddingProvider) {
+        this.embedder = embeddingProvider
+      }
 
-      // Setup index now that we have storage
+      // Provider: cache (replace global singleton before any consumer uses it)
+      const cacheProvider = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<UnifiedCache>('cache')
+      if (cacheProvider) {
+        setGlobalCache(cacheProvider)
+      }
+
+      // Provider: distance function (resolve BEFORE setupIndex — index uses this.distance)
+      const nativeDistance = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<DistanceFunction>('distance')
+      if (nativeDistance) {
+        this.distance = nativeDistance
+      }
+
+      // Provider: HNSW index factory
+      const hnswFactory = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<(config: any, distance: DistanceFunction, options: any) => any>('hnsw')
+      if (hnswFactory) {
+        const persistMode = this.resolveHNSWPersistMode()
+        this.index = hnswFactory(
+          { ...this.config.index, distanceFunction: this.distance },
+          this.distance,
+          { storage: this.storage, persistMode }
+        )
+      } else {
         this.index = this.setupIndex()
+      }
 
-      // Initialize metadata index and graph index in parallel
-      // Both only need storage — they are independent of each other
-      this.metadataIndex = new MetadataIndexManager(this.storage)
+      // Provider: metadata index factory
+      const metadataFactory = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<(storage: StorageAdapter) => any>('metadataIndex')
+      this.metadataIndex = metadataFactory
+        ? metadataFactory(this.storage)
+        : new MetadataIndexManager(this.storage)
+
+      // Provider: graph index factory
+      const graphFactory = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<(storage: StorageAdapter) => any>('graphIndex')
+      if (graphFactory) {
+        this.graphIndex = graphFactory(this.storage)
+        await this.metadataIndex.init()
+      } else {
         const [, graphIndex] = await Promise.all([
           this.metadataIndex.init(),
           (this.storage as any).getGraphIndex()
         ])
         this.graphIndex = graphIndex
+      }
 
       // Rebuild indexes if needed for existing data
       await this.rebuildIndexesIfNeeded()
@@ -6140,9 +6181,18 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
    * Setup storage
    */
   private async setupStorage(): Promise<BaseStorage> {
-    // Pass the entire storage config object to createStorage
-    // This ensures all storage-specific configs (gcsNativeStorage, s3Storage, etc.) are passed through
-    const storage = await createStorage(this.config.storage as any)
+    const storageConfig = (this.config.storage || {}) as Record<string, unknown>
+    const storageType = (storageConfig.type as string) || 'auto'
+
+    // Check plugin-provided storage factories (e.g., 'mmap-filesystem' from cortex)
+    const pluginFactory = this.pluginRegistry.getStorageFactory(storageType)
+    if (pluginFactory) {
+      const adapter = await pluginFactory.create(storageConfig)
+      return adapter as BaseStorage
+    }
+
+    // Fall through to built-in storage types
+    const storage = await createStorage(storageConfig as any)
     return storage as BaseStorage
   }
 
@@ -6189,23 +6239,9 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       distanceFunction: this.distance
     }
 
-    // Determine persist mode (user config > smart default)
-    // Fixed to use getStorageType() for reliable detection
-    let persistMode: 'immediate' | 'deferred' = this.config.hnswPersistMode || 'immediate'
+    const persistMode = this.resolveHNSWPersistMode()
 
-    // Smart default: Use deferred mode for cloud storage adapters
-    if (!this.config.hnswPersistMode) {
-      // FIX: Use instance-based detection as fallback
-      // Previously this.config.storage.type was often undefined after storage creation,
-      // causing cloud storage to incorrectly use 'immediate' mode (50-100x slower)
-      const storageType = this.config.storage?.type || this.getStorageType()
-      const cloudStorageTypes = ['gcs', 's3', 'r2', 'azure']
-      if (cloudStorageTypes.includes(storageType)) {
-        persistMode = 'deferred'
-      }
-    }
-
-    // Phase 2: Use TypeAwareHNSWIndex for billion-scale optimization
+    // Use TypeAwareHNSWIndex for non-memory storage (billion-scale optimization)
     const detectedStorageType = this.config.storage?.type || this.getStorageType()
     if (detectedStorageType !== 'memory') {
       return new TypeAwareHNSWIndex(indexConfig, this.distance, {
@@ -6218,6 +6254,27 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
     return new HNSWIndex(indexConfig as any, this.distance, { persistMode })
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resolve HNSW persistence mode.
+   * Extracted so both setupIndex() and the HNSW plugin factory path can use it.
+   *
+   * User config > smart default:
+   * - Cloud storage (GCS/S3/R2/Azure): 'deferred' for 30-50x faster adds
+   * - Local storage (FileSystem/Memory/OPFS): 'immediate' (already fast)
+   */
+  private resolveHNSWPersistMode(): 'immediate' | 'deferred' {
+    let persistMode: 'immediate' | 'deferred' = this.config.hnswPersistMode || 'immediate'
+
+    if (!this.config.hnswPersistMode) {
+      const storageType = this.config.storage?.type || this.getStorageType()
+      if (['gcs', 's3', 'r2', 'azure'].includes(storageType)) {
+        persistMode = 'deferred'
+      }
+    }
+
+    return persistMode
+  }
+
   /**
    * Setup augmentations
    */

src/embeddings/EmbeddingManager.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 import { Vector, EmbeddingFunction } from '../coreTypes.js'
 import { WASMEmbeddingEngine } from './wasm/index.js'
+import { isBrowser } from '../utils/environment.js'
 
 // Types
 export type ModelPrecision = 'q8' | 'fp32'
@@ -115,6 +116,9 @@ export class EmbeddingManager {
     const startTime = Date.now()
 
     try {
+      if (isBrowser()) {
+        console.warn('[brainy] Browser WASM embedding engine is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Use Node.js/Bun with native embeddings (@soulcraft/brainy-cortex) instead.')
+      }
       // Initialize WASM engine (handles all model loading)
       await this.engine.initialize()
 

src/internals.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+/**
+ * Internal utilities for first-party plugins.
+ * NOT part of the public API — may change between minor versions.
+ */
+export { getGlobalCache, setGlobalCache, clearGlobalCache, UnifiedCache } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
+export type { UnifiedCacheConfig, CacheItem } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
+export { prodLog, createModuleLogger } from './utils/logger.js'
+export { FieldTypeInference, FieldType } from './utils/fieldTypeInference.js'
+export type { FieldTypeInfo } from './utils/fieldTypeInference.js'
+export { EntityIdMapper } from './utils/entityIdMapper.js'
+export type { EntityIdMapperOptions, EntityIdMapperData } from './utils/entityIdMapper.js'

src/storage/adapters/fileSystemStorage.ts

@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ export class FileSystemStorage extends BaseStorage {
   private readonly SHARDING_DEPTH = 1 as const
   private readonly MAX_SHARDS = 256 // Hex range: 00-ff
   private cachedShardingDepth: number = this.SHARDING_DEPTH // Always use fixed depth
-  private rootDir: string
+  protected rootDir: string
   private nounsDir!: string
   private verbsDir!: string
   private metadataDir!: string

src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts

@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ export class OPFSStorage extends BaseStorage {
 
   constructor() {
     super()
+    console.warn('[brainy] OPFS storage is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Use Node.js/Bun with filesystem or mmap-filesystem storage instead.')
     // Check if OPFS is available
     this.isAvailable =
       typeof navigator !== 'undefined' &&

src/storage/storageFactory.ts

@@ -480,6 +480,7 @@ export async function createStorage(
         return memStorage
 
       case 'opfs': {
+        console.warn('[brainy] OPFS storage is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Migrate to Node.js/Bun with filesystem or mmap-filesystem storage.')
         // Check if OPFS is available
         const opfsStorage = new OPFSStorage()
         if (opfsStorage.isOPFSAvailable()) {
@@ -839,6 +840,7 @@ export async function createStorage(
 
   // Next, try OPFS (browser only)
   if (isBrowser()) {
+    console.warn('[brainy] Browser environment detected. Browser support is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Migrate to Node.js/Bun.')
     const opfsStorage = new OPFSStorage()
     if (opfsStorage.isOPFSAvailable()) {
       console.log('Using OPFS storage (auto-detected) + TypeAware wrapper')

src/utils/environment.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 /**
  * Check if code is running in a browser environment
+ * @deprecated Browser support is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Use Node.js or Bun instead.
  */
 export function isBrowser(): boolean {
   return typeof window !== 'undefined' && typeof document !== 'undefined'
@@ -39,6 +40,7 @@ export function isWebWorker(): boolean {
 
 /**
  * Check if Web Workers are available in the current environment
+ * @deprecated Browser support is deprecated and will be removed in v8.0. Use Node.js Worker Threads instead.
  */
 export function areWebWorkersAvailable(): boolean {
   return isBrowser() && typeof Worker !== 'undefined'

src/utils/unifiedCache.ts

@@ -602,6 +602,10 @@ export function getGlobalCache(config?: UnifiedCacheConfig): UnifiedCache {
   return globalCache
 }
 
+export function setGlobalCache(cache: UnifiedCache): void {
+  globalCache = cache
+}
+
 export function clearGlobalCache(): void {
   if (globalCache) {
     globalCache.clear()

tests/unit/plugin.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+/**
+ * Plugin System Integration Tests
+ *
+ * Tests the PluginRegistry lifecycle, provider resolution in init(),
+ * fallback behavior, and error handling.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { PluginRegistry } from '../../src/plugin.js'
+import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from '../../src/plugin.js'
+import { Brainy } from '../../src/brainy.js'
+import { NounType } from '../../src/types/graphTypes.js'
+import { MetadataIndexManager } from '../../src/utils/metadataIndex.js'
+import { setGlobalCache, getGlobalCache, clearGlobalCache, UnifiedCache } from '../../src/utils/unifiedCache.js'
+
+describe('PluginRegistry', () => {
+  let registry: PluginRegistry
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    registry = new PluginRegistry()
+  })
+
+  it('should register and retrieve a plugin', () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'test-plugin',
+      activate: async () => true
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('should activate a plugin and expose providers', async () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'test-plugin',
+      activate: async (ctx) => {
+        ctx.registerProvider('distance', () => 0.42)
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    const activated = await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(activated).toEqual(['test-plugin'])
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual(['test-plugin'])
+    expect(registry.hasProvider('distance')).toBe(true)
+
+    const distFn = registry.getProvider<() => number>('distance')
+    expect(distFn!()).toBe(0.42)
+  })
+
+  it('should skip plugin that returns false', async () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'unavailable-plugin',
+      activate: async () => false
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    const activated = await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(activated).toEqual([])
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('should handle plugin that throws during activate', async () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'broken-plugin',
+      activate: async () => {
+        throw new Error('activation failed')
+      }
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    // Should not throw — graceful fallback
+    const activated = await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(activated).toEqual([])
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('should deactivate plugins', async () => {
+    const deactivateFn = vi.fn()
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'test-plugin',
+      activate: async () => true,
+      deactivate: deactivateFn
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual(['test-plugin'])
+
+    await registry.deactivateAll()
+    expect(registry.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+    expect(deactivateFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  })
+
+  it('should not activate same plugin twice', async () => {
+    let activateCount = 0
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'once-plugin',
+      activate: async () => {
+        activateCount++
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    await registry.activateAll(context)
+    await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(activateCount).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('should register multiple providers from one plugin', async () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'multi-provider',
+      activate: async (ctx) => {
+        ctx.registerProvider('distance', () => 0.5)
+        ctx.registerProvider('msgpack', { encode: () => null, decode: () => null })
+        ctx.registerProvider('roaring', class FakeRoaring {})
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+
+    registry.register(plugin)
+    const context: BrainyPluginContext = {
+      registerProvider: (key, impl) => registry.registerProvider(key, impl),
+      version: '7.9.3'
+    }
+
+    await registry.activateAll(context)
+    expect(registry.hasProvider('distance')).toBe(true)
+    expect(registry.hasProvider('msgpack')).toBe(true)
+    expect(registry.hasProvider('roaring')).toBe(true)
+    expect(registry.hasProvider('hnsw')).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('should handle storage adapter factory registration', () => {
+    registry.registerProvider('storage:redis', {
+      name: 'redis',
+      create: () => ({} as any)
+    })
+
+    const factory = registry.getStorageFactory('redis')
+    expect(factory).toBeDefined()
+    expect(factory!.name).toBe('redis')
+  })
+})
+
+describe('setGlobalCache', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    clearGlobalCache()
+  })
+
+  it('should replace the global cache singleton', () => {
+    // Get default cache
+    const defaultCache = getGlobalCache()
+    expect(defaultCache).toBeInstanceOf(UnifiedCache)
+
+    // Replace with a new one
+    const customCache = new UnifiedCache({ maxSize: 1024 * 1024 })
+    setGlobalCache(customCache)
+
+    // Verify replacement
+    const retrieved = getGlobalCache()
+    expect(retrieved).toBe(customCache)
+    expect(retrieved).not.toBe(defaultCache)
+
+    // Clean up
+    clearGlobalCache()
+  })
+})
+
+describe('Brainy plugin integration', () => {
+  it('should use distance provider from plugin', async () => {
+    const mockPlugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'test-distance',
+      activate: async (ctx) => {
+        ctx.registerProvider('distance', (a: number[], b: number[]) => {
+          // Simple euclidean for testing
+          let sum = 0
+          for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
+            sum += (a[i] - b[i]) ** 2
+          }
+          return Math.sqrt(sum)
+        })
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+
+    const brain = new Brainy({
+      storage: { type: 'memory' },
+      silent: true,
+      augmentations: { cache: false, metrics: false, display: false, monitoring: false }
+    })
+    brain.use(mockPlugin)
+    await brain.init()
+
+    expect(brain.getActivePlugins()).toContain('test-distance')
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('should verify metadataIndex factory provider is called', async () => {
+    let factoryCalled = false
+
+    const mockPlugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'test-metadata-check',
+      activate: async (ctx) => {
+        // Register a factory — we only verify it gets called,
+        // not that the mock works as a full MetadataIndexManager replacement.
+        // The real NativeMetadataIndex in cortex implements the full interface.
+        ctx.registerProvider('metadataIndex', (storage: any) => {
+          factoryCalled = true
+          // Return a real MetadataIndexManager so init() works end-to-end
+          return new MetadataIndexManager(storage)
+        })
+        return true
+      }
+    }
+
+    const brain = new Brainy({
+      storage: { type: 'memory' },
+      silent: true,
+      augmentations: { cache: false, metrics: false, display: false, monitoring: false }
+    })
+    brain.use(mockPlugin)
+    await brain.init()
+
+    expect(factoryCalled).toBe(true)
+    expect(brain.getActivePlugins()).toContain('test-metadata-check')
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('should fall back to TS implementations when plugin returns false', async () => {
+    const mockPlugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'unavailable-native',
+      activate: async () => false
+    }
+
+    const brain = new Brainy({
+      storage: { type: 'memory' },
+      silent: true,
+      augmentations: { cache: false, metrics: false, display: false, monitoring: false }
+    })
+    brain.use(mockPlugin)
+    await brain.init()
+
+    // Should initialize normally with TS fallbacks
+    expect(brain.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+
+    // Should still work with TS implementations
+    const id = await brain.add({
+      data: { name: 'test' },
+      type: NounType.Concept,
+      metadata: { tag: 'unit-test' }
+    })
+    expect(id).toBeTypeOf('string')
+
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('should fall back gracefully when plugin throws', async () => {
+    const mockPlugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'crashing-plugin',
+      activate: async () => {
+        throw new Error('native module not found')
+      }
+    }
+
+    const brain = new Brainy({
+      storage: { type: 'memory' },
+      silent: true,
+      augmentations: { cache: false, metrics: false, display: false, monitoring: false }
+    })
+    brain.use(mockPlugin)
+
+    // Should not throw — graceful fallback to TS
+    await brain.init()
+    expect(brain.getActivePlugins()).toEqual([])
+
+    const id = await brain.add({
+      data: { name: 'test' },
+      type: NounType.Concept,
+      metadata: { tag: 'unit-test' }
+    })
+    expect(id).toBeTypeOf('string')
+
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('should use() return this for chaining', () => {
+    const plugin: BrainyPlugin = {
+      name: 'chain-test',
+      activate: async () => true
+    }
+
+    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const result = brain.use(plugin)
+    expect(result).toBe(brain)
+  })
+})