feat(8.0)!: flip requireSubtype default to true (BRAINY-8.0-SUBTYPE-CONTRACT § C-1)

Brainy 8.0 makes subtype required by default on every public write path
(`add`, `addMany`, `update`, `relate`, `relateMany`, `updateRelation`,
import). Per the locked C-1 contract, every entity and relation gets a
non-empty subtype string by the time the storage layer sees it.

OPT-OUT REMAINS FULLY SUPPORTED

The runtime flag is still consumer-controlled. Three opt-out paths
cover migration / legacy fixtures / typed escape:

- `new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })` — last-resort: turn off the
  contract entirely. Recommended only for migration windows or test
  fixtures that legitimately can't supply a subtype.
- `new Brainy({ requireSubtype: { except: [NounType.Thing, ...] } })` —
  per-type allowlist: strict everywhere except the listed types.
- `brain.requireSubtype(type, options)` — per-type registration with
  optional vocabulary. Composes with the brain-wide flag.

Default is now `true`. Opt-out is explicit and documented; nothing
silently degrades.

TEST SWEEP

Bulk-applied `requireSubtype: false` to every `new Brainy({...})` call
site across 120 test files. Three sed patterns covered the shapes:
  - `new Brainy({` → `new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,`
  - `new Brainy<T>({` → `new Brainy<T>({ requireSubtype: false,`
  - `new Brainy()` → `new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })`

tests/helpers/test-factory.ts → createTestConfig() defaults
`requireSubtype: false` so test files using the helper inherit the
opt-out without per-site edits.

The test sites that DO exercise subtype semantics (the
subtype-and-facets suite, the strict-mode-self-test suite, the verb-
subtype-and-enforcement suite, etc.) already pass real subtypes — they
were the 7.30.x acceptance tests for this contract. Those tests
continue to pass unchanged.

CHANGES

src/brainy.ts
- normalizeConfig() — `requireSubtype` default `false` → `true`.
  Comment refreshed to document the three opt-out paths.

tests/* (120 files)
- Bulk-edited brain construction sites. No functional test changes; the
  opt-out preserves the test author's original intent.

tests/helpers/test-factory.ts
- createTestConfig() base config gains `requireSubtype: false`.

NO-OP for consumers who were already passing subtype on every write.

For consumers who weren't, the upgrade path is one of the three opt-out
forms above. Migration recipe documented in 8.0 release notes (next
commit).

VERIFICATION

- npx tsc --noEmit: clean
- npm test: 1408 / 1409 (same pre-existing race-condition outstanding;
  no other regressions from the flip)

src/brainy.ts

@@ -9309,14 +9309,12 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
       // true: every public write path requires subtype on every type.
       // { except: [...] }: strict, but listed types may omit subtype.
       // Becomes the default in 8.0.0.
-      // Subtype enforcement default. Brainy 8.0's subtype contract
+      // Subtype required-by-default (8.0 — per BRAINY-8.0-SUBTYPE-CONTRACT § C-1).
-      // (BRAINY-8.0-SUBTYPE-CONTRACT § C-1) flips this to `true`; that's
+      // Every write path now requires `subtype` on every type unless the consumer
-      // staged as a focused commit alongside a sweep of the ~235 test
+      // opts out explicitly. Opt-out: `requireSubtype: false` (last-resort migration
-      // sites that need to start passing subtype explicitly. For now, the
+      // hatch for old data or legacy fixtures) or `requireSubtype: { except: [...] }`
-      // 7.x default (`false`) ships; per-type and per-brain enforcement
+      // (per-type allowlist).
-      // via `brain.requireSubtype()` / `new Brainy({ requireSubtype })`
+      requireSubtype: config?.requireSubtype ?? true,
-      // remain available.
-      requireSubtype: config?.requireSubtype ?? false,
       // Multi-process safety
       mode: config?.mode ?? 'writer',
       force: config?.force ?? false

tests/api/batch-operations.test.ts

@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ describe('Batch Operations - Public API Testing', () => {
   let metricsCollector: BatchMetricsCollector
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/api/crud-operations-enhanced.test.ts

@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ describe('Enhanced CRUD Operations - Public API Validation', () => {
   let metricsCollector: TestMetricsCollector
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/api/error-handling.test.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ describe('Error Handling and Recovery', () => {
   let brainy: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/api/performance-benchmarks.test.ts

@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ describe('Performance Benchmarks - SLA Validation', () => {
   const benchmarkResults: PerformanceResult[] = []
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/brainy-3.test.ts

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 API', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
   
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brain.init()
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 API', () => {
     })
 
     it('should require initialization before operations', async () => {
-      const uninitializedBrain = new Brainy()
+      const uninitializedBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })
       
       await expect(uninitializedBrain.add({
         data: 'Test',
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 API', () => {
 
   describe('Configuration', () => {
     it('should support custom configuration', async () => {
-      const customBrain = new Brainy({
+      const customBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         model: { type: 'fast' },
         cache: true,
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 Neural API', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/comprehensive/core-api.test.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ describe('Brainy v3.0 Core API Tests', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/comprehensive/find-triple-intelligence.test.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ describe('Find and Triple Intelligence', () => {
   let testData: any[]
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/comprehensive/public-api-complete.test.ts

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Core CRUD Operations', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
     })
 
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Relationship Operations', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
     })
 
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Search Operations', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
 
       await brain.addMany({
@@ -533,7 +533,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
     let entityIds: string[]
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
 
       const result = await brain.addMany({
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Statistics', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
     })
 
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
       const fsTestDir = path.join(tmpdir(), `brainy-fs-crud-${Date.now()}`)
       await fs.mkdir(fsTestDir, { recursive: true })
 
-      const fsBrain = new Brainy({
+      const fsBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: fsTestDir }
@@ -695,7 +695,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
       const fsTestDir = path.join(tmpdir(), `brainy-fs-concurrent-${Date.now()}`)
       await fs.mkdir(fsTestDir, { recursive: true })
 
-      const fsBrain = new Brainy({
+      const fsBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: fsTestDir }
@@ -723,7 +723,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Error Recovery and Resilience', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
     })
 
@@ -780,7 +780,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Performance', () => {
     it('should handle moderate-scale operations', async () => {
-      const perfBrain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const perfBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await perfBrain.init()
 
       // Add 50 items in batches
@@ -806,7 +806,7 @@ describe('Brainy Public API - Complete Coverage', () => {
 
   describe('Clear Operations', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brain.init()
 
       await brain.addMany({

tests/critical-error-handling.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ describe('CRITICAL: Error Handling and Edge Cases', () => {
   let brainy: Brainy
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/critical-neural-validation.test.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ describe('CRITICAL: Real-World Neural Matching Validation', () => {
   let brainy: Brainy
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/critical-performance-benchmark.test.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ describe('CRITICAL: Performance Benchmarks at Scale', () => {
   let brainy: Brainy
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brainy.init()

tests/distributed-demo.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('Distributed Brainy Demo', () => {
   
   beforeAll(async () => {
     // Node 1: First node starts cluster
-    node1 = new Brainy({
+    node1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         s3Storage: {
           bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET || 'brainy-test',
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ describe('Distributed Brainy Demo', () => {
     console.log('Node 1 started - became cluster leader')
     
     // Node 2: Automatically discovers and joins
-    node2 = new Brainy({
+    node2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         s3Storage: {
           bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET || 'brainy-test',
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ describe('Distributed Brainy Demo', () => {
     console.log('Node 2 started - automatically joined cluster')
     
     // Node 3: Also joins automatically
-    node3 = new Brainy({
+    node3 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         s3Storage: {
           bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET || 'brainy-test',
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ describe('Distributed Brainy Demo', () => {
   
   it('should automatically rebalance when nodes join', async () => {
     // Start a new node
-    const node4 = new Brainy({
+    const node4 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         s3Storage: {
           bucket: process.env.S3_BUCKET || 'brainy-test',
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ describe('Distributed Brainy Demo', () => {
 export function distributedExample() {
   return `
 // Zero-Config Distributed Setup
-const brain = new Brainy({
+const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
   storage: {
     s3Storage: {
       bucket: 'my-data',

tests/helpers/distributed-cluster.ts

@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ export class DistributedTestCluster {
 
       console.log(`Starting ${nodeId} on port ${port}...`);
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'memory'
         }
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ export class DistributedTestCluster {
 
     console.log(`Adding new node ${nodeId} on port ${port}...`);
 
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'memory'
       }

tests/helpers/test-factory.ts

@@ -176,9 +176,11 @@ export function createFindParams(overrides: Partial<FindParams> = {}): FindParam
   }
 }
 
-// Generate test configuration
+// Generate test configuration. Brainy 8.0 defaults `requireSubtype: true`;
+// tests opt out unless they specifically exercise subtype enforcement.
 export function createTestConfig(overrides: Partial<BrainyConfig> = {}): BrainyConfig {
   return {
+    requireSubtype: false,
     storage: { type: 'memory' },
     model: { type: 'fast' },
     index: {

tests/integration/advanced-apis-regression.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
     // Warm the embedding model so the first real extraction isn't paying cold-start latency.
     await brain.embed('warmup')
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
     it('defineAggregate AFTER entities exist still returns correct rows', async () => {
       // The durable-storage case: a brain reopens pre-populated, then an aggregate is
       // defined. Write-time hooks never saw these entities, so without backfill this is [].
-      const b: any = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const b: any = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await b.init()
       await b.add({ data: 'a', type: NounType.Event, metadata: { category: 'food', amount: 5 } })
       await b.add({ data: 'b', type: NounType.Event, metadata: { category: 'food', amount: 7 } })
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
     })
 
     it('groupBy "noun" resolves to the entity type, not null', async () => {
-      const b: any = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const b: any = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await b.init()
       await b.add({ data: 'p', type: NounType.Person })
       b.defineAggregate({
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
 
   describe('Traversal — via filter applies at every hop', () => {
     it('depth-2 via traversal follows the typed chain to the second hop', async () => {
-      const b: any = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const b: any = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await b.init()
       const a = await b.add({ data: 'a', type: NounType.Concept, metadata: { name: 'A' } })
       const m = await b.add({ data: 'm', type: NounType.Concept, metadata: { name: 'M' } })
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
 
   describe('queryAggregate() + HAVING', () => {
     it('returns AggregateResult[] and filters groups by metric value', async () => {
-      const b: any = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const b: any = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await b.init()
       b.defineAggregate({
         name: 'rev',
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ describe('BR-ADV-FEATURES-BUN regression', () => {
 
   describe('R2 — array-unnest groupBy (tag frequency)', () => {
     it('groups by each distinct array element; dedups per entity; skips empty', async () => {
-      const b: any = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      const b: any = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await b.init()
       b.defineAggregate({
         name: 'tags',

tests/integration/aggregation.test.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ describe('Aggregation Engine Integration', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/integration/all-apis-comprehensive.test.ts

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ describe('Comprehensive All-APIs Test', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/api-parameter-validation.test.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ describe('API Parameter Validation', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/integration/batchImportWithRelations.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('Batch Import with Immediate Relations (v5.7.3 Fix)', () => {
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
     // Initialize brain
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         config: {

tests/integration/brainy-complete.integration.test.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe('Brainy 2.0 Complete Feature Test (Real AI)', () => {
     console.log(`📊 Available heap: ${process.env.NODE_OPTIONS}`)
     
     // Create instance with full feature set
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       verbose: true  // Enable verbose logging to track operations
     })

tests/integration/brainy-core.integration.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 Core (Integration Tests - Real AI)', () => {
     console.log('🤖 Initializing Brainy 3.0 with REAL AI models...')
     
     // Create instance with real AI embedding function
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       // No mock embedding function = uses real AI
     })

tests/integration/brainy-phase1c-integration.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('Brainy - Phase 1c: Type-Aware Integration', () => {
       mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
     }
 
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         rootDirectory: testDir
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ describe('Brainy - Phase 1c: Type-Aware Integration', () => {
       await brainy.flush()
 
       // Create new instance (should warm cache on init)
-      const brainy2 = new Brainy({
+      const brainy2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           rootDirectory: testDir

tests/integration/bun-compile-test.ts

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ async function testBunCompile() {
   // Test 5: Full Brainy initialization with fresh memory storage
   try {
     console.log('5. Testing Brainy initialization (in-memory)...')
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: 'memory',
       storageOptions: { path: ':memory:' }
     })

tests/integration/clear-persistence.test.ts

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
 
   it('should fully clear persistent storage (the reported scenario)', async () => {
     // Step 1: Create and populate instance
-    const brain1 = new Brainy({
+    const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testStoragePath,
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
     expect(entityCount2).toBe(0)
 
     // Step 3: Create NEW instance (simulate server restart)
-    const brain2 = new Brainy({
+    const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testStoragePath,
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should create cow-disabled marker file', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testStoragePath
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should delete _cow/ directory', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testStoragePath
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
 
   it('should prevent COW reinitialization after clear()', async () => {
     // Create and clear
-    const brain1 = new Brainy({
+    const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }
     })
     await brain1.init()
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
     await brain1.clear()
 
     // Create new instance
-    const brain2 = new Brainy({
+    const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }
     })
     await brain2.init()
@@ -150,14 +150,14 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
 
     try {
       // Iteration 1
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
       await brain1.init()
       await brain1.add({ data:'Entity 1', type: 'concept' })
       expect((await brain1.find({ type: 'concept' })).length).toBe(1)
       await brain1.clear()
 
       // Iteration 2
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
       await brain2.init()
       expect((await brain2.find({ type: 'concept' })).length).toBe(0)
       await brain2.add({ data:'Entity 2', type: 'concept' })
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
       await brain2.clear()
 
       // Iteration 3
-      const brain3 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
+      const brain3 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: storagePath }})
       await brain3.init()
       expect((await brain3.find({ type: 'concept' })).length).toBe(0)
     } finally {
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should clear both entities and relations', async () => {
-    const brain1 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
+    const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
     await brain1.init()
 
     // Add graph data
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
     await brain1.clear()
 
     // Create new instance
-    const brain2 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
+    const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
     await brain2.init()
 
     // Verify everything is cleared
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should handle clear() on empty storage', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testStoragePath }})
     await brain.init()
 
     // Clear without adding any data
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ describe('Clear Persistence Bug Fix (v5.10.4)', () => {
 
 describe('Clear() works for MemoryStorage', () => {
   it('should clear memory storage completely', async () => {
-    const brain1 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }})
+    const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }})
     await brain1.init()
 
     await brain1.add({ data:'Test', type: 'concept' })

tests/integration/clear-vfs.test.ts

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   }
 
   it('should allow VFS operations after brain.clear() without recreation (memory)', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
 
   it('should allow VFS operations after brain.clear() without recreation (filesystem)', async () => {
     const testPath = getTestPath()
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testPath }
     })
     try {
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should handle clear() when VFS was never used', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should reinitialize VFS root entity after clear', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should work across multiple clear() cycles', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should preserve VFS functionality with nested directories after clear', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ describe('VFS operations after clear() (v7.3.1 fix)', () => {
   })
 
   it('should work with concurrent VFS and regular entity operations after clear', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     try {
       await brain.init()
 

tests/integration/commit-ref-bug.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe('Commit Ref Update Bug (v5.2.0)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_PATH, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: TEST_DATA_PATH,

tests/integration/commit-state-capture.test.ts

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ describe('Commit State Capture (v5.4.0)', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(TEST_DATA_PATH, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         adapter: 'filesystem',
         path: TEST_DATA_PATH
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ describe('Commit State Capture (v5.4.0)', () => {
   it('should work with Memory storage adapter', async () => {
     console.log('\n📋 Test 9: Memory storage adapter')
 
-    const memBrain = new Brainy({
+    const memBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
       silent: true
     })
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ describe('Commit State Capture (v5.4.0)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(testPath, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    const typeAwareBrain = new Brainy({
+    const typeAwareBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         adapter: 'typeaware',
         path: testPath

tests/integration/cortex-compat.test.ts

@@ -58,12 +58,12 @@ describe('Cortex compatibility (BR-DEFENSIVE-INTERFACE)', () => {
   })
 
   it('boots without throwing against an adapter missing the 7.21+ methods', async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
     await expect(brain.init()).resolves.toBeUndefined()
   })
 
   it('logs a one-line warning naming the older adapter', async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
     await brain.init()
 
     const warnMessages = warnSpy.mock.calls
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ describe('Cortex compatibility (BR-DEFENSIVE-INTERFACE)', () => {
   })
 
   it('basic CRUD works normally (the missing methods are not on the hot path)', async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
     await brain.init()
 
     const id = await brain.add({ data: 'hello', type: NounType.Concept })
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ describe('Cortex compatibility (BR-DEFENSIVE-INTERFACE)', () => {
   })
 
   it('requestFlush() returns false when storage does not implement the RPC', async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
     await brain.init()
 
     // Same-process call would normally flush directly. Force the
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ describe('Cortex compatibility (BR-DEFENSIVE-INTERFACE)', () => {
   })
 
   it('stats() reports no writerLock for older adapters', async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: new LegacyCortexLikeStorage() as any })
     await brain.init()
 
     const stats = await brain.stats()

tests/integration/count-synchronization.test.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe('Count Synchronization (Bug Fix v4.1.2)', () => {
     }
 
     // Create fresh Brainy instance
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testPath }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/integration/cow-commit-storage.test.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ describe('COW Commit Storage Type-Aware Prefixes', () => {
   beforeEach(async () => {
     testDir = path.join('/tmp', `brainy-cow-test-${Date.now()}`)
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir,

tests/integration/cow-full-integration.test.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import type { StorageAdapter } from '../../src/storage/adapters/baseStorageAdapt
 describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
   describe('Storage Adapter Compatibility', () => {
     it('should work with Memory adapter', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should work with FileSystem adapter', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           adapter: 'filesystem',
           path: '/tmp/brainy-cow-test-fs'
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should work with TypeAware adapter (most advanced)', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           adapter: 'typeaware',
           path: '/tmp/brainy-cow-test-typeaware'
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     // Note: S3/R2/GCS/Azure tests require cloud credentials
     // Run these in CI/CD with proper credentials
     it.skip('should work with S3 adapter', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           adapter: 's3',
           bucket: 'test-brainy-cow',
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('Billion-Scale Performance', () => {
     it('should fork 1M entities in < 2 seconds', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     }, 120000)  // 2-minute timeout for 1M entity test
 
     it('should deduplicate billions of identical vectors', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('find() Integration', () => {
     it('should work with graph-aware find() queries', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should preserve metadata index across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('Triple Intelligence Integration', () => {
     it('should preserve Triple Intelligence across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         intelligence: {
           enabled: true,
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('VFS Integration', () => {
     it('should preserve VFS structure across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         vfs: { enabled: true }
       })
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should support VFS paths in billions of entities', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         vfs: { enabled: true }
       })
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('All 4 Indexes Integration', () => {
     it('should preserve HNSW index across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should preserve GraphAdjacency index across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
     })
 
     it('should preserve DeletedItems index across fork', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
   describe('Distributed Mode', () => {
     it('should work with read-only instances', async () => {
       // Main brain (read-write)
-      const main = new Brainy({
+      const main = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 
@@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
       await main.commit({ message: 'Add entity' })
 
       // Read-only instance (shares storage)
-      const readonly = new Brainy({
+      const readonly = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: main.config.storage,
         readOnly: true
       })
@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
     it('should work with write-only instances', async () => {
       // Write-only instance
-      const writeOnly = new Brainy({
+      const writeOnly = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         writeOnly: true
       })
@@ -525,7 +525,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('256 UUID Sharding', () => {
     it('should work with sharded storage', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           adapter: 'memory',
           sharding: {
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ describe('COW Full Integration', () => {
 
   describe('Time-Travel Queries (Enterprise Preview)', () => {
     it('should support asOf queries', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' }
       })
 

tests/integration/empty-tree-bug.test.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ describe('Empty Tree Bug (v5.3.1)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_PATH, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: TEST_DATA_PATH,

tests/integration/entity-confidence-weight.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ describe('Entity Confidence & Weight Exposure', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/integration/find-limits.test.ts

@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ describe('find({ limit }) two-tier enforcement (7.30.2)', () => {
 
   describe('Consumer override via Brainy constructor', () => {
     it('maxQueryLimit raises the cap; warning/throw tiers shift accordingly', async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true,
         maxQueryLimit: 50_000

tests/integration/find-unified-integration.test.ts

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ describe('Unified Find() Integration Tests', () => {
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
     // Initialize Brainy with memory storage for fast tests
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       model: { type: 'fast' },
       index: {

tests/integration/find-where-zero.test.ts

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
 
   describe('Reader sees correct entity counts after writer cold-start', () => {
     it('preserves entity count across writer→close→reader-open', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       const writerIds = new Set<string>()
       for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
     })
 
     it('preserves type classification (no "all entities are thing" poisoning)', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       // Three types. Each id is tracked individually so we don't conflate
       // user-added entities with whatever VFS / auto-extraction inserts.
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
 
   describe('find() consistency', () => {
     it('returns entities that exist on disk (not silent empty)', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       const conceptIds: string[] = []
       for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
     })
 
     it('returns [] with a logged warning for unindexed field', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'test', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
     })
 
     it('raw getIds() throws BrainyError(FIELD_NOT_INDEXED) for unindexed field', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'test', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
 
   describe('explain() and health() match the new contract', () => {
     it('explain() returns column-store path for indexed fields', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({
         data: 'test',
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ describe('BR-FIND-WHERE-ZERO regression', () => {
     })
 
     it('health() reports pass for a clean writer + reader handoff', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir }, silent: true })
       await writer.init()
       for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
         await writer.add({ data: `entry ${i}`, type: NounType.Concept })

tests/integration/fork-persistence.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe('Fork Persistence (v5.3.6 Bug Fix)', () => {
   beforeEach(async () => {
     // Use filesystem storage to mirror cloud storage behavior
     testDir = `/tmp/brainy-fork-test-${Date.now()}`
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         adapter: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/integration/get-relations-fix.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('getRelations() Fix (v4.1.3)', () => {
     }
 
     // Create fresh Brainy instance
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testPath }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/integration/history-ref-resolution-bug.test.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe('History Ref Resolution Bug (v5.3.0)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_PATH, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: TEST_DATA_PATH,

tests/integration/hnsw-rebuild.test.ts

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 1: Basic HNSW rebuild with 20 entities...')
 
       // Phase 1: Create Brainy instance and add data
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       // Phase 2: Simulate container restart - create new Brainy instance
       console.log('🔄 Simulating container restart...')
 
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 2: HNSW rebuild with 100 entities...')
 
       // Phase 1: Build initial index
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       // Phase 2: Rebuild
       console.log('🔄 Rebuilding HNSW index...')
 
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 3: Large dataset HNSW rebuild (1000 entities)...')
 
       // Phase 1: Build large index
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       // Phase 2: Rebuild large index
       console.log('🔄 Rebuilding large HNSW index...')
 
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 4: HNSW rebuild with memory storage...')
 
       // Phase 1: Build index in memory
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         embeddingFunction: async (text: string) => {
           const hash = text.split('').reduce((acc, char) => acc + char.charCodeAt(0), 0)
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 5: Parallel rebuild of all indexes...')
 
       // Phase 1: Create data with relationships
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       // Phase 2: Restart and rebuild all indexes
       console.log('🔄 Restarting and rebuilding all 3 indexes...')
 
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
     it('should handle empty storage gracefully (no rebuild needed)', async () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 6: Empty storage rebuild...')
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 7: Rebuild with single entity...')
 
       // Phase 1: Add one entity
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       await brain1.close()
 
       // Phase 2: Rebuild
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 8: Rebuild with potential data inconsistencies...')
 
       // Phase 1: Create data
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
       await brain1.close()
 
       // Phase 2: Rebuild (should handle any missing HNSW data gracefully)
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ describe('HNSW Index Rebuild (Integration Tests)', () => {
     it('should persist HNSW graph structure to disk', async () => {
       console.log('🧪 Test 9: Validate HNSW persistence files...')
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           fileSystemStorage: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/hybrid-search-cow.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('Hybrid Search with COW (v7.7.0)', () => {
     testDir = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `brainy-cow-test-${Date.now()}`)
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { basePath: testDir }

tests/integration/initial-commit-null-parent.test.ts

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ describe('Initial Commit NULL Parent Bug (v5.3.3 regression)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(TEST_DATA_PATH, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: TEST_DATA_PATH,

tests/integration/memory-enhancements-v5.11.0.test.ts

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
 
   describe('Production Workflow: Consumer Snapshot Timeline', () => {
     it('should stream 1000 snapshots efficiently', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     })
 
     it('should handle large snapshot with filtering', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should detect 4GB Cloud Run container and set optimal limits', async () => {
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '4Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should allow manual override for power users in containers', async () => {
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '4Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         maxQueryLimit: 50000, // Override auto-detection
         silent: true
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     })
 
     it('should use reservedQueryMemory for fine-grained control', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         reservedQueryMemory: 2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024, // Reserve 2GB
         silent: true
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should stream large histories within memory limits', async () => {
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '2Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should provide actionable recommendations', async () => {
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '4Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
       // Simulate production issue: container detected but low free memory
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '4Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should work optimally with no configuration', async () => {
       process.env.CLOUD_RUN_MEMORY = '4Gi'
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     it('should work on bare metal without containers', async () => {
       // No container env vars
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
 
   describe('Backward Compatibility', () => {
     it('should not break existing code', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ describe('Memory Enhancements Integration (v5.11.0)', () => {
     })
 
     it('should keep getHistory() working as before', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/metadata-only-comprehensive.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import { join } from 'path'
 describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
   describe('Storage Adapters', () => {
     it('should work with MemoryStorage', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
     it('should work with FileSystemStorage', async () => {
       const testDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'brainy-metadata-test-'))
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
     let brain: Brainy
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
     let entityId: string
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
       testDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'brainy-vfs-metadata-test-'))
 
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 'filesystem',
           options: { path: testDir }
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
 
   describe('COW and Fork', () => {
     it('should work with metadata-only in forks', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ describe('Metadata-Only Comprehensive Integration (v5.11.1)', () => {
 
   describe('Performance Verification', () => {
     it('metadata-only should be significantly faster', async () => {
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { adapter: 'memory' },
         silent: true
       })

tests/integration/metadata-vector-exclusion.test.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ describe('Metadata Vector Exclusion Fix', () => {
       rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
 
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testDir },
       ai: { provider: 'mock' }
     })

tests/integration/migration.test.ts

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('Migration System', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
     await brain.init()
   })
 
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ describe('Migration System', () => {
       }
 
       await withMigrations([migration], async () => {
-        const warnBrain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+        const warnBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
         await warnBrain.init()
 
         const migrationLogs = consoleSpy.mock.calls
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ describe('Migration System', () => {
   describe('autoMigrate: true', () => {
     it('should auto-migrate small datasets during init', async () => {
       // Create a brain with data, close it
-      const setupBrain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      const setupBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await setupBrain.init()
       await setupBrain.add({ type: NounType.Concept, data: { name: 'AutoTest' }, metadata: { legacy: true } })
 
@@ -432,8 +432,8 @@ describe('Migration System', () => {
 
   describe('Multi-tenant independence', () => {
     it('should have independent migration state per instance', async () => {
-      const brain1 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      const brain1 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
-      const brain2 = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await brain1.init()
       await brain2.init()
 

tests/integration/multi-process-safety.test.ts

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
 
   describe('ReaderMode enforcement', () => {
     it('rejects every mutation when opened via openReadOnly()', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'seed entity', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
     })
 
     it('flush() and close() are safe to call in read-only mode', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'thing', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
         rootDir: dir
       }))
 
-      const blocked = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      const blocked = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await expect(blocked.init()).rejects.toThrow(/another writer holds/i)
       // Don't track `blocked` for afterEach cleanup since init failed.
     })
@@ -113,16 +113,16 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
     it('allows a second in-process writer with a warning (same PID)', async () => {
       // Two Brainy instances in the same Node process: not the dangerous
       // cross-process case. Should succeed (with a console warning).
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
 
-      const second = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      const second = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await expect(second.init()).resolves.toBeUndefined()
       await second.close()
     })
 
     it('lets a reader open while a writer is live', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'concurrent', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -137,10 +137,10 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
     })
 
     it('honors { force: true } to override an existing lock', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
 
-      const second = new Brainy({
+      const second = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir },
         force: true
       })
@@ -151,14 +151,14 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
 
   describe('Flush-request RPC', () => {
     it('in-process call just flushes', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       const ok = await writer.requestFlush({ timeoutMs: 1000 })
       expect(ok).toBe(true)
     })
 
     it('cross-instance request reaches the writer (same-process simulation)', async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'pre-request', type: NounType.Concept })
 
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
     it('returns false when no writer is running', async () => {
       // Seed some data, then close the writer. The data dir exists but no
       // writer is listening for flush requests.
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'orphan', type: NounType.Concept })
       await writer.flush()
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ describe('Multi-process safety + read-only mode', () => {
 
   describe('Diagnostics on a reader', () => {
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      writer = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
+      writer = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: dir } })
       await writer.init()
       await writer.add({ data: 'one', type: NounType.Concept, metadata: { tag: 'a' } })
       await writer.add({ data: 'two', type: NounType.Concept, metadata: { tag: 'b' } })

tests/integration/orderby-sort-bug.test.ts

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ describe('find({ orderBy }) sort bug regression', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/integration/phase3TypeFirstQuery.integration.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ describe('Phase 3: Type-First Query Optimization - Integration', () => {
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
     // Initialize with memory storage and TypeAwareHNSWIndex
-    brainy = new Brainy({
+    brainy = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       name: 'phase3-test',
       dimension: 384,
       storage: {

tests/integration/readAfterWrite.test.ts

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ describe('Read-After-Write Consistency (v5.7.2 Bug Fix)', () => {
     // Create unique test directory for each test
     testDir = join(tmpdir(), `brainy-consistency-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).substring(7)}`)
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         config: {

tests/integration/relationship-intelligence.test.ts

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('Relationship Intelligence', () => {
     XLSX.writeFile(wb, testExcelPath)
 
     // Initialize Brainy
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/integration/remaining-apis.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('Remaining APIs Comprehensive Test', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/rev-and-ifabsent.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe('7.31.0 — _rev CAS + ifAbsent', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' as const } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' as const } })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/integration/s3-storage.test.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe('S3 Storage Integration', () => {
     let brain: Brainy;
 
     beforeAll(async () => {
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 's3',
           options: {
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ describe('S3 Storage Integration', () => {
     let prefixedBrain: Brainy;
 
     beforeAll(async () => {
-      prefixedBrain = new Brainy({
+      prefixedBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 's3',
           options: {
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ describe('S3 Storage Integration', () => {
 
   describe('S3 Error Handling', () => {
     it('should handle invalid S3 credentials gracefully', async () => {
-      const invalidBrain = new Brainy({
+      const invalidBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 's3',
           options: {
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ describe('S3 Storage Integration', () => {
       // Simulate network error by stopping MinIO temporarily
       await minioServer.stop();
 
-      const brain = new Brainy({
+      const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 's3',
           options: s3Config
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ describe('S3 Storage Integration', () => {
     let perfBrain: Brainy;
 
     beforeAll(async () => {
-      perfBrain = new Brainy({
+      perfBrain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: {
           type: 's3',
           options: {

tests/integration/smart-import.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe('Unified Import System', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' as const }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/integration/storage-batch-operations.test.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe('Storage-Level Batch Operations v5.12.0', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       enableCOW: true
     })
@@ -552,7 +552,7 @@ describe('Cloud Adapter Batch Operations (Integration)', () => {
 
   it.skip('should use native GCS batch API', async () => {
     // Requires GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'gcs',
         bucketName: process.env.GCS_TEST_BUCKET || 'test-bucket',
@@ -581,7 +581,7 @@ describe('Cloud Adapter Batch Operations (Integration)', () => {
 
   it.skip('should use native S3 batch API', async () => {
     // Requires AWS credentials
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 's3',
         bucketName: process.env.S3_TEST_BUCKET || 'test-bucket',
@@ -610,7 +610,7 @@ describe('Cloud Adapter Batch Operations (Integration)', () => {
 
   it.skip('should use native Azure batch API', async () => {
     // Requires Azure credentials
-    const brain = new Brainy({
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'azure',
         containerName: process.env.AZURE_CONTAINER || 'test-container',

tests/integration/strict-mode-self-test.test.ts

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
     // Brain-wide strict mode ON + the exact SDK_CORE_VOCABULARY shape that
     // the consumer hit. If any internal Brainy path skips subtype, the writes here
     // will throw and fail the test.
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       silent: true,
       requireSubtype: true
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
     it('flags entities written without subtype (using includeVFS: true to surface even VFS gaps)', async () => {
       // Switch to a non-strict brain so we can deliberately create a gap to test detection
       await brain.close()
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await brain.init()
 
       // Deliberately add an entity without a subtype — only allowed because
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
 
     it('excludes VFS entities by default (they bypass enforcement anyway)', async () => {
       await brain.close()
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await brain.init()
 
       // VFS root + VFS directories all have subtype set, but even if they
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
   describe('Error message UX', () => {
     it('error message includes caller location and migration link', async () => {
       await brain.close()
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await brain.init()
       brain.requireSubtype(NounType.Person, {
         values: ['employee', 'customer'],
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
 
     it('off-vocabulary message shows the offending value + allowed vocab', async () => {
       await brain.close()
-      brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
       await brain.init()
       brain.requireSubtype(NounType.Person, {
         values: ['employee', 'customer'],
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ describe('Brainy strict-mode self-test (7.30.1)', () => {
 
     it('brain-wide strict mode (no per-type vocab) shows the correct guidance', async () => {
       await brain.close()
-      brain = new Brainy({
+      brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
         storage: { type: 'memory' },
         silent: true,
         requireSubtype: true

tests/integration/subtype-and-facets.test.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ describe('Subtype + Facets (7.29.0)', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/integration/update-asymmetry.test.ts

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ describe('Update Field Asymmetry Fix (v7.5.0)', () => {
     }
 
     // Create fresh Brainy instance
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: testPath },
       silent: true
     })

tests/integration/verb-subtype-and-enforcement.test.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * - Layer V4: `migrateField({ entityKind: 'verb' \| 'both' })` rewrites verb
  *   fields.
  * - Layer V5: `brain.requireSubtype(type, opts)` per-type rules + brain-wide
- *   strict mode (`new Brainy({ requireSubtype: true })`) reject every write
+ *   strict mode (`new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, requireSubtype: true })`) reject every write
  *   path missing or off-vocabulary.
  */
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ describe('Verb subtype + enforcement (7.30.0)', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' }, silent: true })
     await brain.init()
   })
 
@@ -447,9 +447,9 @@ describe('Verb subtype + enforcement (7.30.0)', () => {
     })
 
     describe('brain-wide strict mode', () => {
-      it('new Brainy({ requireSubtype: true }) rejects every add() without subtype', async () => {
+      it('new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, requireSubtype: true }) rejects every add() without subtype', async () => {
         await brain.close()
-        brain = new Brainy({
+        brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
           storage: { type: 'memory' },
           silent: true,
           requireSubtype: true
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ describe('Verb subtype + enforcement (7.30.0)', () => {
 
       it('strict mode accepts writes with subtype', async () => {
         await brain.close()
-        brain = new Brainy({
+        brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
           storage: { type: 'memory' },
           silent: true,
           requireSubtype: true
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ describe('Verb subtype + enforcement (7.30.0)', () => {
 
       it('strict mode rejects relate() without subtype', async () => {
         await brain.close()
-        brain = new Brainy({
+        brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
           storage: { type: 'memory' },
           silent: true,
           requireSubtype: true
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ describe('Verb subtype + enforcement (7.30.0)', () => {
 
       it('except clause allows listed types through without subtype', async () => {
         await brain.close()
-        brain = new Brainy({
+        brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
           storage: { type: 'memory' },
           silent: true,
           requireSubtype: { except: [NounType.Thing] }

tests/integration/versioning.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('Entity Versioning (v5.3.0)', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       silent: true
     })

tests/integration/vfs-and-graph-entities.test.ts

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ describe('VFS + Graph Entities Integration Test', () => {
     XLSX.writeFile(wb, testExcelPath)
 
     // Initialize Brainy
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/integration/vfs-api-wiring.test.ts

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe('VFS API Wiring Verification', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/vfs-debug.test.ts

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import * as XLSX from 'xlsx'
 
 describe('VFS Debug', () => {
   it('minimal VFS writeFile test', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
 
     console.log('✅ Brain initialized')

tests/integration/vfs-historical-reads.test.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe('VFS Historical Reads (v5.3.7)', () => {
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
     // Initialize Brainy with filesystem storage (required for COW)
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         adapter: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/integration/vfs-import-verification.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('VFS Import Verification (VFS import bug investigation)', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' as const }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/integration/vfs-knowledge-separation.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('VFS-Knowledge Separation (Option 3C)', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/vfs-performance-v5.11.1.test.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe('VFS Performance (v5.11.1 Optimization)', () => {
     testDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'brainy-vfs-perf-test-'))
 
     // Initialize Brain with FileSystemStorage
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/integration/vfs-versioning.test.ts

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe('VFS File Versioning (v6.3.2 Fix)', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/manual/metadata-index-debug.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe('Metadata Index Debug', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/manual/simple-vfs-filter-test.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe('Simple VFS Filter Test', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/manual/type-filtering-diagnostic.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ async function testTypeFiltering() {
   console.log('=' .repeat(60))
 
   // Create in-memory instance for testing
-  const brain = new Brainy({
+  const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
     storage: { type: 'memory' }
   })
   await brain.init()

tests/manual/vfs-isvfs-diagnostic.test.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ describe('isVFS Flag Diagnostic', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/manual/vfs-multiple-init-diagnostic.test.ts

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ describe('VFS Multiple Init Diagnostic', () => {
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
     // Create brain with filesystem storage
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ describe('VFS Multiple Init Diagnostic', () => {
   it('should handle NEW brain instances gracefully (per-user scenario)', async () => {
     // Simulate creating separate brain instances per user
     // This is closer to a consumer's getUserBrainy() pattern
-    const brain2 = new Brainy({
+    const brain2 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir  // Same storage!
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ describe('VFS Multiple Init Diagnostic', () => {
     await vfs.writeFile('/test-dir/test.txt', 'Hello')
 
     // Call init again (simulating new request)
-    const brain3 = new Brainy({
+    const brain3 = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/manual/vfs-search-debug.test.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ describe('VFS Search Debug', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         options: { path: testDir }

tests/manual/vfs-where-clause-test.test.ts

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe('VFS Where Clause Diagnostic', () => {
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/performance/graph-scale-performance.test.ts

@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ describe('🧠 Graph Scale Performance Benchmarks', () => {
     })
 
     // Initialize Brainy for unified testing
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       enableGraphIndex: true,
       enableMetadataIndex: true

tests/performance/triple-intelligence-scale.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('Triple Intelligence Performance at Scale', () => {
     const startTime = Date.now()
     
     // Initialize Brainy with all required indexes
-    brain = new Brainy()
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })
     await brain.init({
       enableMetadataIndex: true,
       enableGraphIndex: true,
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ describe('Triple Intelligence Correctness', () => {
   let triple: TripleIntelligenceSystem
   
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy()
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })
     await brain.init({
       enableMetadataIndex: true,
       enableGraphIndex: true

tests/performance/typeAware.bench.test.ts

@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ describe('TypeAware Performance Benchmarks', () => {
     let entities: string[] = []
 
     beforeEach(async () => {
-      brainMemory = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+      brainMemory = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
       await brainMemory.init()
 
       // Create 1000 entities across 5 types

tests/regression/metadata-index-cleanup.test.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ describe('Metadata index cleanup after delete / deleteMany', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/regression/v5.7.0-deadlock.test.ts

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('v5.7.0 Deadlock Regression', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/streaming-pipeline.test.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ describe('Streaming Pipeline', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
   
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       warmup: false
     })

tests/transaction/integration/cow-transactions.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('Transactions + COW Integration', () => {
     mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
     // Initialize Brainy with COW enabled
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/transaction/integration/distributed-transactions.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ describe('Transactions + Distributed Storage Integration', () => {
 
     // Use filesystem as proxy for distributed storage
     // (In production, this would be S3, Azure, GCS, etc.)
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/transaction/integration/sharding-transactions.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('Transactions + Sharding Integration', () => {
     testDir = join(tmpdir(), `brainy-shard-test-${Date.now()}`)
     mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/transaction/integration/typeaware-transactions.test.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('Transactions + TypeAware Storage Integration', () => {
     testDir = join(tmpdir(), `brainy-typeaware-test-${Date.now()}`)
     mkdirSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/unit/brainy-core.unit.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('Brainy 3.0 Core (Unit Tests)', () => {
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
     // Create instance with real embeddings for production-ready tests
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     

tests/unit/brainy-get-optimization.test.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ describe('brain.get() Metadata-Only Optimization (v5.11.1)', () => {
   let entityId: string
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: new MemoryStorage(),
       silent: true
     })

tests/unit/brainy/batch-operations.test.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ describe('Brainy Batch Operations', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
   
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
   })
   

tests/unit/brainy/find.test.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ describe('Brainy.find()', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }  // Use memory storage for isolation
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/unit/brainy/hybrid-search.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('Hybrid Search (v7.7.0)', () => {
   let brain: Brainy<any>
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' }
     })
     await brain.init()

tests/unit/brainy/relate-duplicate-optimization.test.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ describe('Duplicate Check Optimization', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy()
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })
     await brain.init()
   })
 

tests/unit/create-entities-default.test.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe('createEntities Default Value (v4.3.2 Bug Fix)', () => {
       fs.rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true })
     }
 
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: {
         type: 'filesystem',
         path: testDir

tests/unit/graph/graphIndex-pagination.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('GraphAdjacencyIndex Pagination', () => {
   let neighborIds: string[]
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy()
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false })
     await brain.init()
 
     // Create central entity

tests/unit/import/InstancePool.test.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ describe('InstancePool', () => {
   let pool: InstancePool
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
     pool = new InstancePool(brain)
   })

tests/unit/import/preserve-source-fix.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('Import preserveSource Fix (v5.1.2)', () => {
   let testFilePath: string
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       silent: true
     })

tests/unit/neural/NaturalLanguageProcessor.test.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ describe('NaturalLanguageProcessor', () => {
   let nlp: NaturalLanguageProcessor
   
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false, storage: { type: 'memory' } })
     await brain.init()
     nlp = new NaturalLanguageProcessor(brain)
     

tests/unit/neural/domain-time-clustering.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('Domain and Time Clustering', () => {
   let brain: Brainy
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       enableCache: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' } // Use memory storage for tests
     })

tests/unit/neural/neural-simplified.test.ts

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ describe('Neural API - Production Testing', () => {
 
   // v5.1.0: Use memory storage and disable augmentations for faster, reliable tests
   beforeEach(async () => {
-    brain = new Brainy({
+    brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: false,
       storage: { type: 'memory' },
       silent: true
     })