docs(8.0): measured find() performance at 5k/100k in SCALING.md

Open-core (pure-TS) latencies from tests/benchmarks/find-composition-scale.js: vector and
graph scale ~log(n) (~1.4ms / 0.65ms p50 at 100k); metadata-filtered paths scale with the
match-set size (low-selectivity worst case), which is the path the native provider
accelerates. Composition correctness cited to the triple-composition test. States the
open-core build ceiling (~10^5-10^6) and the native-provider path beyond.
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David Snelling 2026-06-15 12:18:22 -07:00
parent af96064655
commit f986832d47

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@ -39,6 +39,48 @@ The three knobs that matter most:
The native vector provider (via the optional `@soulcraft/cortex` package) extends this with a higher-performing index — and its own at-scale acceleration such as on-disk compressed indexing — when installed.
## Measured Performance
Numbers below are **measured** by `tests/benchmarks/find-composition-scale.js` (a single
Node 22 process, in-memory storage, 384-dim vectors, `balanced` recall). They are the
open-core (pure-TypeScript) path — what you get from `@soulcraft/brainy` with no native
provider installed. Run it yourself: `node --max-old-space-size=8192 tests/benchmarks/find-composition-scale.js 100000`.
`find()` query latency, p50 / p95 (200 queries each):
| Query | 5,000 entities | 100,000 entities |
|---|---|---|
| Vector similarity (`{ vector }`) | 0.8 / 1.3 ms | 1.4 / 4.7 ms |
| Graph 1-hop (`{ connected }`) | 0.5 / 0.7 ms | 0.7 / 0.8 ms |
| Metadata filter (`{ where }`, low-selectivity) | 0.7 / 1.2 ms | 23.5 / 30.1 ms |
| Vector + metadata | 7.7 / 8.3 ms | 78.8 / 93.8 ms |
What the shape tells you:
- **Vector and graph lookups scale ~logarithmically** — they barely move from 5k to 100k,
because HNSW search is ~O(ef·log n) and graph adjacency is O(degree).
- **Metadata-filtered paths scale with the size of the match set, not the database.** The
benchmark's `category` filter matches ~10% of rows (10,000 at 100k); the cost is
materializing that candidate set and running the vector search *inside* it (`find()` does
metadata-first hard filtering, then ranks within the candidates — see
[How find works](./FIND_SYSTEM.md)). A **high-selectivity** filter (few matches) is far
cheaper; a 10%-of-everything filter is the worst case. This candidate-restricted search is
precisely the path the native provider accelerates (Rust roaring-bitmap candidate
intersection).
- **Composition is correct, not lossy.** Combining vector + metadata + graph returns exactly
the entities satisfying all constraints — verified by
`tests/integration/find-triple-composition.test.ts`.
Memory: ~62 KB resident per entity at 100k (6.2 GB RSS for 100k × 384-dim including the HNSW
graph, metadata index, and 100k edges).
**Scale ceiling (open-core).** The pure-JS HNSW *build* cost (~100 inserts/s at 384-dim on
one core) makes the in-process open-core path most appropriate up to ~10⁵10⁶ entities.
*Query* latency stays low well beyond that, but for the 10⁸10¹⁰ regime install the native
provider (`@soulcraft/cortex`, on-disk DiskANN) — same API, no code change. _Projected from
the two measured points, vector p50 at 1M is ~2 ms; metadata-heavy composition grows with
match-set size and is the path to move onto the native provider first._
## Storage Configurations
### Filesystem (Recommended for Production)