# Brainy
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**Three database paradigms. One API. Zero configuration.**
Built because we were tired of stitching together Pinecone + Neo4j + MongoDB and spending weeks on configuration before writing a single line of business logic. Brainy unifies vector search, graph traversal, and metadata filtering so you don't have to choose.
**New here?** → **[What is Brainy? — plain-language overview, no jargon](docs/eli5.md)**
---
## Install
```bash
npm install @soulcraft/brainy
```
## Quick Start
```javascript
import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
const brain = new Brainy()
await brain.init()
// Add knowledge — text auto-embeds, metadata auto-indexes
const reactId = await brain.add({
data: 'React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces',
type: NounType.Concept,
metadata: { category: 'frontend', year: 2013 }
})
const nextId = await brain.add({
data: 'Next.js framework for React with server-side rendering',
type: NounType.Concept,
metadata: { category: 'framework', year: 2016 }
})
// Create a relationship
await brain.relate({ from: nextId, to: reactId, type: VerbType.BuiltOn })
// Query all three paradigms at once
const results = await brain.find({
query: 'modern frontend frameworks', // Vector similarity
where: { year: { greaterThan: 2015 } }, // Metadata filtering
connected: { to: reactId, depth: 2 } // Graph traversal
})
```
**[Full API Reference](docs/api/README.md)** | **[soulcraft.com/docs](https://soulcraft.com/docs)**
---
## Three Indexes, One Query
Every piece of knowledge lives in three indexes simultaneously:
- **`data`** → **Vector index** — Content for semantic search. Strings auto-embed into 384-dim vectors. Queried with `find({ query: '...' })`.
- **`metadata`** → **Metadata index** — Structured fields for filtering. O(1) lookups. Queried with `find({ where: { ... } })`.
- **`relate()`** → **Graph index** — Typed, directed relationships between entities. Traversed with `find({ connected: { ... } })`.
```javascript
// Data → vector index (semantic search)
const articleId = await brain.add({
data: 'A deep dive into transformer architectures',
type: NounType.Document,
metadata: { author: 'Dr. Chen', year: 2024, tags: ['AI'] } // → metadata index
})
// Relationships → graph index
await brain.relate({ from: authorId, to: articleId, type: VerbType.Authored })
// Query all three at once
brain.find({
query: 'attention mechanisms', // Vector similarity
where: { year: { greaterThan: 2023 } }, // Metadata filter
connected: { from: authorId, depth: 1 } // Graph traversal
})
```
**[Data Model Reference](docs/DATA_MODEL.md)** | **[Query Operators](docs/QUERY_OPERATORS.md)**
---
## Features
### Triple Intelligence
Vector search + graph traversal + metadata filtering in every query. No stitching services together — one `find()` call combines all three.
```javascript
const results = await brain.find({
query: 'machine learning',
where: { department: 'engineering', level: 'senior' },
connected: { from: teamLeadId, via: VerbType.WorksWith, depth: 2 }
})
```
### Hybrid Search
Automatically combines keyword (text) and semantic (vector) search. No configuration needed.
```javascript
await brain.find({ query: 'David Smith' }) // Auto: text + semantic
await brain.find({ query: 'AI concepts', searchMode: 'semantic' }) // Semantic only
await brain.find({ query: 'exact id', searchMode: 'text' }) // Text only
```
### Query Operators
Filter metadata with equality, comparison, array, existence, pattern, and logical operators:
```javascript
await brain.find({
where: {
status: 'active', // Exact match
score: { greaterThan: 90 }, // Comparison
tags: { contains: 'ai' }, // Array
anyOf: [{ role: 'admin' }, { role: 'owner' }] // Logical OR
}
})
```
**[Query Operators Reference](docs/QUERY_OPERATORS.md)** — all operators with indexed/in-memory matrix
### Graph Relationships
Typed, directed edges between entities. Traverse connections at any depth.
```javascript
await brain.relate({ from: personId, to: projectId, type: VerbType.WorksOn })
const results = await brain.find({
connected: { from: personId, via: VerbType.WorksOn, depth: 3 }
})
```
### Git-Style Branching
Fork your entire database in <100ms. Snowflake-style copy-on-write.
```javascript
const experiment = await brain.fork('test-migration')
await experiment.add({ data: 'test data', type: NounType.Concept })
await experiment.commit({ message: 'Add test data', author: 'dev@co.com' })
await brain.checkout('test-migration')
// Time-travel: query at any past commit
const snapshot = await brain.asOf(commitId)
const pastResults = await snapshot.find({ query: 'historical data' })
await snapshot.close()
```
**[Branching Documentation](docs/features/instant-fork.md)**
### Entity Versioning
Save, restore, and compare entity snapshots.
```javascript
const userId = await brain.add({ data: 'Alice', type: NounType.Person })
await brain.versions.save(userId, { tag: 'v1.0' })
await brain.update(userId, { data: 'Alice Smith' })
await brain.versions.save(userId, { tag: 'v2.0' })
const diff = await brain.versions.compare(userId, 1, 2)
await brain.versions.restore(userId, 1)
```
### Virtual Filesystem
File operations with semantic search built in.
```javascript
const vfs = brain.vfs
await vfs.writeFile('/docs/readme.md', 'Project documentation')
const content = await vfs.readFile('/docs/readme.md')
const tree = await vfs.getTreeStructure('/docs', { maxDepth: 3 })
// Semantic file search
const matches = await vfs.search('React components with hooks')
```
**[VFS Quick Start](docs/vfs/QUICK_START.md)** | **[Common Patterns](docs/vfs/COMMON_PATTERNS.md)**
### Import Anything
CSV, Excel, PDF, URLs — auto-detected format, auto-classified entities.
```javascript
await brain.import('customers.csv')
await brain.import('sales-data.xlsx', { excelSheets: ['Q1', 'Q2'] })
await brain.import('research-paper.pdf', { pdfExtractTables: true })
await brain.import('https://api.example.com/data.json')
```
**[Import Guide](docs/guides/import-anything.md)**
### Entity Extraction
AI-powered named entity recognition with 4-signal ensemble scoring.
```javascript
const entities = await brain.extractEntities('John Smith founded Acme Corp in New York')
// [
// { text: 'John Smith', type: NounType.Person, confidence: 0.95 },
// { text: 'Acme Corp', type: NounType.Organization, confidence: 0.92 },
// { text: 'New York', type: NounType.Location, confidence: 0.88 }
// ]
```
**[Neural Extraction Guide](docs/neural-extraction.md)**
### Plugin System
Optional native acceleration via `@soulcraft/cortex` — SIMD distance calculations, CRoaring bitmaps, Candle ML embeddings.
```javascript
const brain = new Brainy({ plugins: ['@soulcraft/cortex'] })
await brain.init()
```
Plugins are opt-in. Brainy never auto-imports packages unless listed in `plugins`.
**[Plugin Documentation](docs/PLUGINS.md)**
---
## Type System
42 noun types and 127 verb types form a universal knowledge protocol:
```
42 Nouns × 127 Verbs = 5,334 base relationship combinations
```
Model any domain — healthcare (`Patient → diagnoses → Condition`), finance (`Account → transfers → Transaction`), education (`Student → completes → Course`), or your own.
### Subtypes — sub-classification within a NounType *or* VerbType
Both noun types and verb types are intentionally coarse. Use the top-level `subtype` field to sub-classify entities AND relationships within a type — flat string, no hierarchy, your choice of vocabulary:
```javascript
// Nouns: sub-classify entities
await brain.add({
data: 'Avery Brooks — runs the AI lab',
type: NounType.Person,
subtype: 'employee' // 'customer', 'vendor', 'contractor', …
})
// Verbs: sub-classify relationships
await brain.relate({
from: ceoId,
to: vpId,
type: VerbType.ReportsTo,
subtype: 'direct' // 'dotted-line', 'matrix', …
})
// Filter on the fast path — column-store hit, not metadata fallback:
const employees = await brain.find({ type: NounType.Person, subtype: 'employee' })
const directReports = await brain.getRelations({ from: ceoId, subtype: 'direct' })
// O(1) counts via the persisted rollups:
brain.counts.bySubtype(NounType.Person)
// → { employee: 12, customer: 847, vendor: 34 }
brain.counts.byRelationshipSubtype(VerbType.ReportsTo)
// → { direct: 12, 'dotted-line': 3 }
```
**Enforce the pairing.** Register a vocabulary per type or turn on brain-wide strict mode to ensure every entity AND relationship has both `type` AND `subtype`:
```javascript
// Per-type rule with vocabulary
brain.requireSubtype(NounType.Person, { values: ['employee', 'customer'], required: true })
// Or brain-wide strict mode
const brain = new Brainy({ requireSubtype: true })
```
For other facets you want counted (`status`, `source`, `role`), register them with `brain.trackField(name)`. Renaming an existing convention to `subtype`? Use `brain.migrateField({from, to, entityKind: 'both'})` to walk nouns AND verbs in one pass. Full guide: **[Subtypes & Facets](docs/guides/subtypes-and-facets.md)**.
**[Noun-Verb Taxonomy](docs/architecture/noun-verb-taxonomy.md)** | **[Stage 3 Canonical Reference](docs/STAGE3-CANONICAL-TAXONOMY.md)**
---
## Storage: Memory to Cloud
The same API at every scale. Change one config line to go from prototype to production.
### Development — Zero Config
```javascript
const brain = new Brainy()
```
### Production — Filesystem with Compression
```javascript
const brain = new Brainy({
storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: './data', compression: true }
})
```
### Cloud — S3, GCS, Azure, Cloudflare R2
```javascript
const brain = new Brainy({
storage: {
type: 's3',
s3Storage: { bucketName: 'my-knowledge-base', region: 'us-east-1' }
}
})
```
Performance benchmarks and capacity planning in **[docs/PERFORMANCE.md](docs/PERFORMANCE.md)**.
**[Cloud Deployment Guide](docs/deployment/CLOUD_DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md)** | **[Capacity Planning](docs/operations/capacity-planning.md)**
---
## Use Cases
- **AI agents** — Persistent memory with semantic recall and relationship tracking
- **Knowledge bases** — Auto-linking, semantic search, relationship-aware navigation
- **Semantic search** — Find by meaning across codebases, documents, or media
- **Enterprise knowledge** — CRM, product catalogs, institutional memory
- **Interactive experiences** — Game worlds, NPCs, and characters that remember
- **Content platforms** — Similarity-based discovery, intelligent tagging
---
## Documentation
### Start Here
- **[Brainy explained simply](docs/eli5.md)** — Plain-language overview, no jargon, no code
### Core
- **[API Reference](docs/api/README.md)** — Every method with parameters, returns, and examples
- **[Data Model](docs/DATA_MODEL.md)** — Entity structure, data vs metadata
- **[Query Operators](docs/QUERY_OPERATORS.md)** — All BFO operators with examples
- **[Find System](docs/FIND_SYSTEM.md)** — Natural language find() and hybrid search
### Architecture
- **[Architecture Overview](docs/architecture/overview.md)** — System design and components
- **[Triple Intelligence](docs/architecture/triple-intelligence.md)** — Vector + graph + metadata unified query
- **[Noun-Verb Taxonomy](docs/architecture/noun-verb-taxonomy.md)** — Universal type system
- **[Data Storage Architecture](docs/architecture/data-storage-architecture.md)** — Type-aware indexing and HNSW
### Virtual Filesystem
- **[VFS Quick Start](docs/vfs/QUICK_START.md)** — Build file explorers that never crash
- **[VFS Core](docs/vfs/VFS_CORE.md)** — Full VFS API reference
- **[Semantic VFS](docs/vfs/SEMANTIC_VFS.md)** — AI-powered file navigation
### Guides
- **[Import Anything](docs/guides/import-anything.md)** — CSV, Excel, PDF, URLs
- **[Framework Integration](docs/guides/framework-integration.md)** — React, Vue, Angular, Svelte
- **[Natural Language Queries](docs/guides/natural-language.md)** — Master the find() method
### Operations
- **[Cloud Deployment](docs/deployment/CLOUD_DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md)** — AWS, GCS, Azure
- **[Capacity Planning](docs/operations/capacity-planning.md)** — Memory, storage, and scaling
- **[Performance](docs/PERFORMANCE.md)** — Benchmarks and architecture details
- Cost Optimization: **[AWS S3](docs/operations/cost-optimization-aws-s3.md)** | **[GCS](docs/operations/cost-optimization-gcs.md)** | **[Azure](docs/operations/cost-optimization-azure.md)** | **[R2](docs/operations/cost-optimization-cloudflare-r2.md)**
---
## Requirements
**Bun 1.0+** (recommended) or **Node.js 22 LTS**
```bash
bun install @soulcraft/brainy # Bun — best performance
npm install @soulcraft/brainy # Node.js — fully supported
```
> **Deprecation Notice:** Browser support (OPFS, Web Workers, WASM embeddings) is deprecated in v7.10.0 and will be removed in v8.0.0. Brainy v8+ will be server-only.
## Single-Writer Model
Brainy is **single-writer, many-reader** on filesystem storage. One writer
holds an exclusive lock on the data directory; any number of readers can
inspect it concurrently. Opening a second writer throws with the PID of the
existing one.
```typescript
// Live application — writer mode is the default
const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: '/data/brain' } })
await brain.init()
// Out-of-band diagnostics from a separate process — safe to run while the
// writer is live
const reader = await Brainy.openReadOnly({
storage: { type: 'filesystem', rootDirectory: '/data/brain' }
})
await reader.requestFlush({ timeoutMs: 5000 })
const stats = await reader.stats()
```
For incident debugging, use the `brainy inspect` CLI:
```bash
brainy inspect stats /data/brain
brainy inspect find /data/brain --where '{"entityType":"booking"}'
brainy inspect explain /data/brain --where '{"entityType":"booking"}'
brainy inspect health /data/brain
```
See [the multi-process model](docs/concepts/multi-process.md) and the
[inspection guide](docs/guides/inspection.md) for the full story, including
stale-lock detection, the cross-process flush RPC, and what's not yet
enforced on cloud storage backends.
## Contributing
We welcome contributions! See **[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)** for guidelines.
## License
MIT © Brainy Contributors