diff --git a/src/brainy.ts b/src/brainy.ts
index b133ee8e..590d21f1 100644
--- a/src/brainy.ts
+++ b/src/brainy.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ import { configureLogger, LogLevel, prodLog } from './utils/logger.js'
 import { setGlobalCache } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
 import type { UnifiedCache } from './utils/unifiedCache.js'
 import { rankIndicesByScore, reorderByIndices } from './utils/resultRanking.js'
-import { PluginRegistry, isVersionedIndexProvider } from './plugin.js'
+import { PluginRegistry, isVersionedIndexProvider, isGraphAccelerationProvider } from './plugin.js'
+import type { GraphAccelerationProvider, TraverseOptions } from './plugin.js'
 import type {
   BrainyPlugin,
   BrainyPluginContext,
@@ -88,6 +89,10 @@ import {
   FindParams,
   SimilarParams,
   RelatedParams,
+  GraphApi,
+  GraphView,
+  GraphNode,
+  SubgraphOptions,
   GetOptions,
   AddManyParams,
   RemoveManyParams,
@@ -3156,6 +3161,213 @@ export class Brainy<T = any> implements BrainyInterface<T> {
     return this.verbsToRelations(result.items)
   }
 
+  // ============= GRAPH VIEWS (brain.graph.*) =============
+
+  /**
+   * @description The `brain.graph` namespace — graph-shaped reads. `subgraph`
+   * extracts the multi-hop neighborhood around seed entities; the surface grows
+   * with the engine (streaming `export`, `rank`, `path`, `communities`). Routes
+   * to a registered native {@link GraphAccelerationProvider} when present, else
+   * serves the same results from Brainy's pure-TS adjacency. Reads are live
+   * ("now"); historical graph views come from `db.asOf(g).graph.*` (a later slice).
+   * @returns The {@link GraphApi} bound to this brain.
+   * @example
+   * const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(personId, { depth: 2 })
+   * // view.nodes = the 2-hop neighborhood; view.edges = the relations among them
+   */
+  get graph(): GraphApi<T> {
+    return {
+      subgraph: (seeds: string | string[], options?: SubgraphOptions) =>
+        this.graphSubgraph(seeds, options)
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Resolve the optional native graph-acceleration provider (feature-detected). */
+  private graphAccelerationProvider(): GraphAccelerationProvider | undefined {
+    const provider = this.pluginRegistry.getProvider<unknown>('graphAcceleration')
+    return isGraphAccelerationProvider(provider) ? provider : undefined
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description {@link GraphApi.subgraph} dispatch: native engine when present,
+   * else the TS BFS fallback. Seeds are id-normalized so a caller may seed by
+   * natural key.
+   */
+  private async graphSubgraph(
+    seeds: string | string[],
+    options?: SubgraphOptions
+  ): Promise<GraphView<T>> {
+    await this.ensureInitialized()
+    const seedIds = (Array.isArray(seeds) ? seeds : [seeds]).map((s) => resolveEntityId(s))
+    const depth = Math.max(0, options?.depth ?? 1)
+    const direction = options?.direction ?? 'both'
+
+    const accel = this.graphAccelerationProvider()
+    return accel
+      ? this.graphSubgraphNative(accel, seedIds, depth, direction, options)
+      : this.graphSubgraphFallback(seedIds, depth, direction, options)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description Pure-TS subgraph BFS — expands each frontier through the
+   * O(degree) `related()` adjacency (visibility / type / subtype filters applied
+   * there), dedupes edges, tracks hop depth, and honors `maxNodes` / `maxEdges`
+   * caps. Correct at small/medium scale; the native provider is the at-scale path.
+   */
+  private async graphSubgraphFallback(
+    seedIds: string[],
+    depth: number,
+    direction: 'in' | 'out' | 'both',
+    options?: SubgraphOptions
+  ): Promise<GraphView<T>> {
+    const maxNodes = options?.maxNodes
+    const maxEdges = options?.maxEdges
+    const nodeDepth = new Map<string, number>()
+    for (const id of seedIds) nodeDepth.set(id, 0)
+    const edgesById = new Map<string, Relation<T>>()
+    let truncated = false
+
+    let frontier = [...seedIds]
+    for (let d = 1; d <= depth && frontier.length > 0 && !truncated; d++) {
+      const next: string[] = []
+      for (const nodeId of frontier) {
+        const incident = await this.incidentEdges(nodeId, direction, options)
+        for (const edge of incident) {
+          if (!edgesById.has(edge.id)) {
+            if (maxEdges !== undefined && edgesById.size >= maxEdges) {
+              truncated = true
+              break
+            }
+            edgesById.set(edge.id, edge)
+          }
+          const neighbor = edge.from === nodeId ? edge.to : edge.from
+          if (!nodeDepth.has(neighbor)) {
+            if (maxNodes !== undefined && nodeDepth.size >= maxNodes) {
+              truncated = true
+              continue
+            }
+            nodeDepth.set(neighbor, d)
+            next.push(neighbor)
+          }
+        }
+        if (truncated) break
+      }
+      frontier = next
+    }
+
+    return this.buildGraphView(nodeDepth, [...edgesById.values()], options, truncated)
+  }
+
+  /** One frontier hop's incident edges in the requested direction (filters applied by `related()`). */
+  private incidentEdges(
+    nodeId: string,
+    direction: 'in' | 'out' | 'both',
+    options?: SubgraphOptions
+  ): Promise<Relation<T>[]> {
+    const shared: RelatedParams = {
+      type: options?.type,
+      subtype: options?.subtype,
+      includeInternal: options?.includeInternal,
+      includeSystem: options?.includeSystem,
+      limit: options?.maxEdges ?? 100000
+    }
+    if (direction === 'out') return this.related({ ...shared, from: nodeId })
+    if (direction === 'in') return this.related({ ...shared, to: nodeId })
+    return this.related({ ...shared, node: nodeId })
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description Native subgraph: resolve seeds to ints, call the provider's
+   * `traverse`, then hydrate the columnar `Subgraph` (node ints → ids paired with
+   * their depth, edge verb ints → `Relation`s) into a {@link GraphView}. The TS
+   * fallback produces the same view, so Brainy CI exercises this shape via the
+   * fallback; the native path itself is cross-layer-tested against the provider.
+   */
+  private async graphSubgraphNative(
+    accel: GraphAccelerationProvider,
+    seedIds: string[],
+    depth: number,
+    direction: 'in' | 'out' | 'both',
+    options?: SubgraphOptions
+  ): Promise<GraphView<T>> {
+    const seedInts: bigint[] = []
+    for (const id of seedIds) {
+      const int = this.graphEntityInt(id)
+      if (int !== undefined) seedInts.push(int)
+    }
+    if (seedInts.length === 0) return { nodes: [], edges: [], truncated: false }
+
+    const verbTypes = options?.type
+      ? (Array.isArray(options.type) ? options.type : [options.type]).map((t) =>
+          TypeUtils.getVerbIndex(t)
+        )
+      : undefined
+    const excluded = this.excludedVisibilityTiers(options ?? {})
+    const traverseOptions: TraverseOptions = {
+      depth,
+      direction,
+      ...(verbTypes && { verbTypes }),
+      ...(options?.subtype !== undefined && {
+        subtypes: Array.isArray(options.subtype) ? options.subtype : [options.subtype]
+      }),
+      ...(excluded && { excludeVisibility: excluded as unknown as string[] }),
+      ...(options?.maxNodes !== undefined && { maxNodes: options.maxNodes }),
+      ...(options?.maxEdges !== undefined && { maxEdges: options.maxEdges }),
+      includeEdges: true,
+      includeDepth: true
+    }
+
+    const sub = await accel.traverse(seedInts, traverseOptions)
+
+    // Edge hydration: verb ints → ids → Relation objects.
+    const verbIds = (await this.graphIndex.verbIntsToIds(Array.from(sub.edgeVerbInts))).filter(
+      (id): id is string => id !== null
+    )
+    const verbsMap = await this.graphIndex.getVerbsBatchCached(verbIds)
+    const edges = this.verbsToRelations([...verbsMap.values()])
+
+    // Node hydration: pair each node int with its depth (position-preserving —
+    // entityIntsToUuids drops deleted ints, which would desync the depth column).
+    const idMapper = this.metadataIndex.getIdMapper()
+    const nodeDepth = new Map<string, number>()
+    for (let i = 0; i < sub.nodes.length; i++) {
+      const uuid = idMapper.getUuid(Number(sub.nodes[i]))
+      if (uuid !== undefined) nodeDepth.set(uuid, sub.nodeDepth ? sub.nodeDepth[i] : 0)
+    }
+
+    return this.buildGraphView(nodeDepth, edges, options, sub.truncated ?? false)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description Assemble a {@link GraphView} from discovered node depths + edges,
+   * optionally hydrating each node's `type` / `subtype` in one batch read
+   * (`hydrateNodes`, default `true`).
+   */
+  private async buildGraphView(
+    nodeDepth: Map<string, number>,
+    edges: Relation<T>[],
+    options: SubgraphOptions | undefined,
+    truncated: boolean
+  ): Promise<GraphView<T>> {
+    const ids = [...nodeDepth.keys()]
+    let entities: Map<string, Entity<T>> | undefined
+    if (options?.hydrateNodes !== false && ids.length > 0) {
+      entities = await this.batchGet(ids)
+    }
+    const nodes: GraphNode[] = ids.map((id) => {
+      const entity = entities?.get(id)
+      return {
+        id,
+        ...(entity && {
+          type: entity.type,
+          ...(entity.subtype !== undefined && { subtype: entity.subtype })
+        }),
+        depth: nodeDepth.get(id)
+      }
+    })
+    return { nodes, edges, truncated }
+  }
+
   // ============= SEARCH & DISCOVERY =============
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/plugin.ts b/src/plugin.ts
index 66ad7184..0eeedbd0 100644
--- a/src/plugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugin.ts
@@ -681,6 +681,27 @@ export function isVersionedIndexProvider(
   )
 }
 
+/**
+ * @description Feature-detect an optional {@link GraphAccelerationProvider} (the
+ * native graph engine). Brainy probes the registered `'graphAcceleration'`
+ * provider with this: present ⇒ `brain.graph.*` routes to native `traverse` /
+ * cursor / analytics; absent ⇒ Brainy serves the same operations from its
+ * pure-TS adjacency fallback. Checks the two anchor methods (`traverse` +
+ * `graphCursorOpen`) — a partial implementation that lacks them is treated as
+ * absent (fall back rather than crash).
+ * @param candidate - The value registered under `'graphAcceleration'`, or undefined.
+ * @returns Whether `candidate` is a usable {@link GraphAccelerationProvider}.
+ */
+export function isGraphAccelerationProvider(
+  candidate: unknown
+): candidate is GraphAccelerationProvider {
+  if (candidate === null || typeof candidate !== 'object') {
+    return false
+  }
+  const c = candidate as Record<string, unknown>
+  return typeof c.traverse === 'function' && typeof c.graphCursorOpen === 'function'
+}
+
 /**
  * The object returned by the `'vector'` provider factory — Brainy's vector
  * index contract. Implementations include Brainy's own JS HNSW index and any
diff --git a/src/types/brainy.types.ts b/src/types/brainy.types.ts
index 32b99715..7d8debdc 100644
--- a/src/types/brainy.types.ts
+++ b/src/types/brainy.types.ts
@@ -763,6 +763,88 @@ export interface RelatedParams {
   service?: string
 }
 
+// ============= Graph views (brain.graph.*) =============
+
+/**
+ * A node in a {@link GraphView} — a lightweight reference (id + classification +
+ * hop depth), NOT a full {@link Entity}. Graph reads are structure-first; resolve
+ * a node to its full entity with `get(id)` when you need its `data` / metadata.
+ */
+export interface GraphNode {
+  /** Entity id. */
+  id: string
+  /** Entity type (present when the view hydrates node classification). */
+  type?: NounType
+  /** Per-product subtype (present when hydrated). */
+  subtype?: string
+  /** Hop distance from the nearest seed (0 = a seed); present on subgraph results. */
+  depth?: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * A hydrated view of a region of the graph — the discovered nodes plus the edges
+ * among them, in id form (the public face of the provider's columnar int form).
+ */
+export interface GraphView<T = any> {
+  /** The nodes in this region (seeds + everything reached). */
+  nodes: GraphNode[]
+  /** The edges among `nodes`, as full {@link Relation} objects. */
+  edges: Relation<T>[]
+  /** `true` when a `maxNodes` / `maxEdges` cap truncated the result. */
+  truncated?: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * Options for {@link GraphApi.subgraph}.
+ */
+export interface SubgraphOptions {
+  /** Max hop distance from any seed (default `1`). */
+  depth?: number
+  /** Edge direction to follow (default `'both'`). */
+  direction?: 'in' | 'out' | 'both'
+  /** Restrict traversed edges to these relationship type(s). */
+  type?: VerbType | VerbType[]
+  /** Restrict traversed edges to these subtype(s). */
+  subtype?: string | string[]
+  /** Also traverse through `internal`-visibility edges/nodes (hidden by default). */
+  includeInternal?: boolean
+  /** Also traverse through `system`-visibility edges/nodes (hidden by default). */
+  includeSystem?: boolean
+  /** Cap on returned nodes (sets `GraphView.truncated`). */
+  maxNodes?: number
+  /** Cap on returned edges. */
+  maxEdges?: number
+  /**
+   * Hydrate each node's `type` / `subtype` (one batch read). Default `true`;
+   * set `false` to skip it when you only need graph structure (ids + edges).
+   */
+  hydrateNodes?: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * The `brain.graph` namespace — graph-shaped reads over the knowledge graph.
+ * Routes to a native {@link import('../plugin.js').GraphAccelerationProvider}
+ * when one is registered, otherwise serves the same results from Brainy's
+ * pure-TS adjacency (correct at small/medium scale).
+ *
+ * (Grows with the engine: `subgraph` ships first; `export` / `rank` / `path` /
+ * `communities` follow.)
+ */
+export interface GraphApi<T = any> {
+  /**
+   * @description Extract the subgraph reachable from one or more seed entities —
+   *   the bounded multi-hop neighborhood, as nodes + edges. The one-call answer to
+   *   "show me everything around this node, N hops out".
+   * @param seeds - A seed entity id, or an array of them.
+   * @param options - Depth, direction, edge/visibility filters, and caps.
+   * @returns The hydrated {@link GraphView}.
+   * @example
+   * const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(personId, { depth: 2 })
+   * // view.nodes = the 2-hop neighborhood; view.edges = the relations among them
+   */
+  subgraph(seeds: string | string[], options?: SubgraphOptions): Promise<GraphView<T>>
+}
+
 // ============= Batch Operations =============
 
 /**
diff --git a/tests/unit/brainy/graph-subgraph.test.ts b/tests/unit/brainy/graph-subgraph.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4eb8049a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/brainy/graph-subgraph.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/**
+ * @module tests/unit/brainy/graph-subgraph
+ * @description Graph engine #25: `brain.graph.subgraph()` — bounded multi-hop
+ * neighborhood extraction. These exercise the pure-TS fallback (no native
+ * GraphAccelerationProvider is registered in CI); the native path returns the
+ * same `GraphView` shape, cross-layer-tested against the provider.
+ *
+ * Graph under test (RelatedTo unless noted):
+ *   e → a → b → c ,  a →(ReportsTo) d ,  a →(internal) f
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest'
+import { Brainy } from '../../../src/index.js'
+import { NounType, VerbType } from '../../../src/types/graphTypes.js'
+import { createTestConfig } from '../../helpers/test-factory.js'
+
+describe('brain.graph.subgraph() (graph engine #25)', () => {
+  let brain: Brainy
+  let a: string, b: string, c: string, d: string, e: string, f: string
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    brain = new Brainy(createTestConfig())
+    await brain.init()
+    a = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'A' })
+    b = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'B' })
+    c = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'C' })
+    d = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Project, subtype: 'milestone', data: 'D' })
+    e = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'E' })
+    f = await brain.add({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee', data: 'F' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: b, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: b, to: c, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: d, type: VerbType.ReportsTo, subtype: 'direct' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: e, to: a, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague' })
+    await brain.relate({ from: a, to: f, type: VerbType.RelatedTo, subtype: 'colleague', visibility: 'internal' })
+  })
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await brain.close()
+  })
+
+  it('depth-1 returns the seed + immediate neighbors (both directions) with depths', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1 })
+    const byId = new Map(view.nodes.map((n) => [n.id, n]))
+    // a is the seed (depth 0); b, d (out) and e (in) are 1 hop. f is internal → hidden.
+    expect(new Set(byId.keys())).toEqual(new Set([a, b, d, e]))
+    expect(byId.get(a)?.depth).toBe(0)
+    expect(byId.get(b)?.depth).toBe(1)
+    expect(byId.get(e)?.depth).toBe(1)
+    // Edges among them.
+    const pairs = view.edges.map((r) => `${r.from}->${r.to}`).sort()
+    expect(pairs).toEqual([`${a}->${b}`, `${a}->${d}`, `${e}->${a}`].sort())
+  })
+
+  it('depth-2 expands one more hop (c via b), tracking depth', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 2 })
+    const byId = new Map(view.nodes.map((n) => [n.id, n]))
+    expect(byId.has(c)).toBe(true)
+    expect(byId.get(c)?.depth).toBe(2)
+    expect(view.edges.some((r) => r.from === b && r.to === c)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it("direction:'out' follows only outgoing edges", async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1, direction: 'out' })
+    const ids = new Set(view.nodes.map((n) => n.id))
+    expect(ids).toEqual(new Set([a, b, d])) // e (e→a, incoming) excluded
+  })
+
+  it('composes with a verb-type filter', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1, type: VerbType.ReportsTo })
+    expect(view.edges.map((r) => `${r.from}->${r.to}`)).toEqual([`${a}->${d}`])
+    expect(new Set(view.nodes.map((n) => n.id))).toEqual(new Set([a, d]))
+  })
+
+  it('includeInternal surfaces the hidden edge/node', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1, includeInternal: true })
+    expect(view.nodes.some((n) => n.id === f)).toBe(true)
+    expect(view.edges.some((r) => r.to === f)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('hydrates node type/subtype by default; skips it with hydrateNodes:false', async () => {
+    const hydrated = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1 })
+    const dNode = hydrated.nodes.find((n) => n.id === d)
+    expect(dNode?.type).toBe(NounType.Project)
+    expect(dNode?.subtype).toBe('milestone')
+
+    const bare = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 1, hydrateNodes: false })
+    expect(bare.nodes.every((n) => n.type === undefined)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('caps the result and flags truncated when maxNodes is hit', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph(a, { depth: 2, maxNodes: 2 })
+    expect(view.truncated).toBe(true)
+    expect(view.nodes.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2)
+  })
+
+  it('accepts multiple seeds', async () => {
+    const view = await brain.graph.subgraph([a, c], { depth: 0 })
+    // depth 0 = just the seeds, no expansion.
+    expect(new Set(view.nodes.map((n) => n.id))).toEqual(new Set([a, c]))
+  })
+})