fix: recalibrate find({ limit }) cap + two-tier enforcement + caller location
Brainy 7.30.0 introduced a memory-derived synchronous cap on `find({ limit })`
to prevent OOM. The cap was sound in intent but ~4x too conservative in
calibration: assumed 100 KB per result while typical entity footprint is 7-10 KB
(384-dim float32 vector ≈ 1.5 KB + standard fields + metadata). On a 900 MB
free-memory box the cap derived to 9000 — breaking common safety-cap patterns
like `find({ type, where, limit: 10_000 })` that typically return 10-500
entities. Surfaced as a runtime regression with cascading 500s degrading
production dashboards.
Three concurrent fixes:
A. RECALIBRATE THE FORMULA
- src/utils/paramValidation.ts:175,196,212 — the three memory-derived priorities
(reservedQueryMemory / containerMemory / freeMemory) all divided by
100 * 1024 * 1024 (100 KB per result, ~10-15x over conservative). Replaced
with a new MAX_LIMIT_KB_PER_RESULT = 25 constant that matches observed
entity size.
- Result: 4 GB container cap goes 10_000 → 40_000; 2 GB cap goes 5_000 →
20_000; 900 MB free-memory cap goes 9_000 → ~36_000. 100k hard ceiling
unchanged. `maxQueryLimit` / `reservedQueryMemory` constructor overrides
unchanged in behavior.
B. TWO-TIER ENFORCEMENT (warn-then-throw)
- Below cap (limit <= maxLimit): silent pass, unchanged.
- Soft tier (maxLimit < limit <= 2 * maxLimit): NEW — one-time warning per
call site (dedup keyed on caller stack frame + limit value), query
proceeds. Pre-7.30.2 code that relied on the cap silently allowing typical
safety-cap limits keeps working; the warning teaches the recipe so consumers
can fix it intentionally.
- Hard tier (limit > 2 * maxLimit): throw with the same teaching message
format. Real OOM territory; the cap stops being a recommendation and becomes
a guardrail.
- The 2x soft margin absorbs typical safety-cap patterns (limit: 10_000
against a 9 K-cap box) without disabling OOM protection. Real OOM territory
on a JS in-memory brain is hundreds of thousands of results, not 10x the
safety cap.
C. IMPROVED ERROR / WARNING MESSAGE
- Same shape as the 7.30.1 enforcement-error messages: state the problem,
name the three escape valves (maxQueryLimit / reservedQueryMemory /
pagination), include caller location, link to docs.
- Extracted findCallerLocation() helper from brainy.ts to a new
src/utils/callerLocation.ts so both the subtype enforcement (7.30.1) and
the limit enforcement (7.30.2) share one implementation without circular
imports.
DOCS
- New docs/guides/find-limits.md (public: true) — full reference: why the cap
exists, the four memory sources the auto-config considers, the three escape
valves with when-to-use-which guidance, and an explicit "pagination is the
future-proof pattern" callout (8.0 may tighten the cap further; pagination
keeps working unchanged).
- docs/api/README.md find() entry gets a one-paragraph `limit` tip + pointer
to the new guide.
- RELEASES.md v7.30.2 entry.
TESTS
- New tests/integration/find-limits.test.ts (9 tests): below-cap silent pass;
soft-tier warns once per call site (dedup verified by exercising same vs.
different source lines via wrapper closures); soft-tier message format
(names all three escape valves + docs link); soft-tier message includes
caller location; hard-tier throws; hard-tier message format same as
soft-tier; consumer maxQueryLimit override raises the cap and shifts both
tiers accordingly; pre-7.30.2 regression scenario explicitly covered.
- tests/unit/utils/memoryLimits.test.ts — 4 tests updated for the recalibrated
cap values (hardcoded expected numbers bumped 4x to match new 25 KB/result
assumption).
- tests/unit/utils/paramValidation.test.ts — auto-limit test extended to cover
the three-tier semantics (below-cap pass / soft-tier silent / hard-tier
throw).
- Existing suites unchanged: subtype-and-facets 26/26, verb-subtype-and-
enforcement 30/30, strict-mode-self-test 13/13. Unit 1468/1468.
CORTEX COMPATIBILITY
- Zero Cortex changes required. Every change is JS-side: formula recalibration
runs in ValidationConfig.constructor(), two-tier enforcement runs in
validateFindParams(), both fire before any storage / index / Cortex call.
- The new guide notes that Brainy 8.0's Datomic-style Db.find() may tighten
per-call limits to keep snapshot semantics cheap; pagination remains the
pattern that's guaranteed to keep working.
REPO-WIDE CLEANUP
Brainy is the only Soulcraft project that is open source. This commit also
scrubs closed-source product names and product-specific class/field references
from every tracked file in the repo (src/, docs/, tests/, RELEASES.md,
CHANGELOG.md). Consumer-reported bugs, regression scenarios, and release
notes now refer to "a consumer", "a downstream application", "a production
deployment", or "an internal report" — never to the named product. Two
product-named test files renamed to neutral diagnostic names. CLAUDE.md gains
a project-level guard rule documenting the policy and an example list of the
identifiers that may not appear in tracked code.
Verification
- npx tsc --noEmit: clean
- npm test: 1468 / 1468 unit
- All four integration subtype + verb + strict + find-limits suites: 78/78
- npm run build: clean
- Closed-source product reference audit: clean
2026-06-08 12:34:05 -07:00
/ * *
* @module tests / integration / find - limits
* @description Integration coverage for the 7.30 . 2 ` find({ limit }) ` cap
* recalibration + two - tier enforcement ( warn - then - throw ) . See
* ` BR-MAXLIMIT-9000 ` in PLATFORM - HANDOFF . md for the original incident report
* and ` docs/guides/find-limits.md ` for the consumer - facing guide .
*
* Coverage :
*
* - Below cap : silent pass .
* - Soft tier ( ` maxLimit < limit <= 2 × maxLimit ` ) : one - time warning logged
* per call site , query returns without throwing .
* - Hard tier ( ` limit > 2 × maxLimit ` ) : throw with the new message format
* including the three escape valves and a docs link .
* - Consumer ` maxQueryLimit ` override raises the cap ; warning / throw tiers
* shift accordingly .
* - Warning message includes the caller ' s source location so consumers can
* trace the offending call site without grepping .
*
* @since 7.30 . 2
* /
import { describe , it , expect , beforeEach , afterEach , vi } from 'vitest'
import { Brainy } from '../../src/brainy'
import { NounType } from '../../src/types/graphTypes'
import {
ValidationConfig ,
resetLimitWarningCache ,
validateFindParams
} from '../../src/utils/paramValidation'
import * as logger from '../../src/utils/logger'
describe ( 'find({ limit }) two-tier enforcement (7.30.2)' , ( ) = > {
let brain : Brainy < any >
let warnSpy : ReturnType < typeof vi.spyOn >
beforeEach ( async ( ) = > {
// Reset the validation singleton + warning dedup so each test sees a
// freshly-derived cap rather than one fixed by an earlier test.
ValidationConfig . reset ( )
resetLimitWarningCache ( )
// Spy directly on `prodLog.warn` — the call site the limit enforcement
// actually uses. Spying on `console.warn` is unreliable here because
// `silent: true` brain config routes through a logger that may suppress
// before reaching console, and vitest module isolation can capture a
// different `console` reference than the one our logger references at
// runtime. The prodLog.warn entry point is what we control, so that's
// what we observe.
warnSpy = vi . spyOn ( logger . prodLog , 'warn' ) . mockImplementation ( ( ) = > undefined )
} )
afterEach ( async ( ) = > {
if ( brain ) await brain . close ( )
warnSpy . mockRestore ( )
} )
describe ( 'Validator-level behavior (no brain instance needed)' , ( ) = > {
it ( 'silent pass below cap' , ( ) = > {
const cfg = ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : cfg.maxLimit } ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . not . toHaveBeenCalled ( )
} )
it ( 'soft tier warns once per call site without throwing' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
// The dedup key is `(caller, limit)`. To exercise the dedup honestly we
// need both invocations to hit the SAME source line — extracting them
// into a wrapper that lives at one location is the deterministic way.
const callFromOneSite = ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : 1500 } )
expect ( ( ) = > callFromOneSite ( ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalledTimes ( 1 )
// Same source line + same limit → dedup, no second warning
expect ( ( ) = > callFromOneSite ( ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalledTimes ( 1 )
} )
it ( 'warning message names the recipe + docs link' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
validateFindParams ( { limit : 1500 } )
const message = String ( warnSpy . mock . calls [ 0 ] [ 0 ] )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /find\(\{ limit: 1500 \}\)/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /exceeds the auto-configured query limit of 1000/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /new Brainy\(\{ maxQueryLimit:/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /new Brainy\(\{ reservedQueryMemory:/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /Paginate:/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /Docs: https:\/\/soulcraft\.com\/docs\/guides\/find-limits/ )
} )
it ( 'warning message includes the caller location from the stack' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
validateFindParams ( { limit : 1500 } )
const message = String ( warnSpy . mock . calls [ 0 ] [ 0 ] )
// The caller is THIS test file; the formatter strips the leading `at `
// and emits an ` at <location>` line in the rendered message.
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /at .*find-limits\.test\.ts/ )
} )
it ( 'hard tier throws with the same message format' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
// Above 2× cap = real OOM territory = throw
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : 2001 } ) ) . toThrow (
/exceeds the auto-configured query limit of 1000/
)
// No warning was logged — throw fires immediately at the hard tier
expect ( warnSpy ) . not . toHaveBeenCalled ( )
} )
it ( 'hard tier message names all three escape valves' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
try {
validateFindParams ( { limit : 5000 } )
throw new Error ( 'expected throw' )
} catch ( err ) {
const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String ( err )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /maxQueryLimit/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /reservedQueryMemory/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /Paginate:/ )
expect ( message ) . toMatch ( /Docs: https:\/\/soulcraft\.com\/docs\/guides\/find-limits/ )
}
} )
it ( 'soft-tier warning dedup is keyed on (caller, limit) — different limits from same site fire separately' , ( ) = > {
ValidationConfig . getInstance ( { maxQueryLimit : 1000 } )
const call = ( limit : number ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit } )
call ( 1500 )
call ( 1500 )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalledTimes ( 1 )
// Different limit value → new dedup key → second warning
call ( 1800 )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalledTimes ( 2 )
} )
} )
describe ( 'Consumer override via Brainy constructor' , ( ) = > {
it ( 'maxQueryLimit raises the cap; warning/throw tiers shift accordingly' , async ( ) = > {
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)
2026-06-09 14:58:25 -07:00
brain = new Brainy ( { requireSubtype : false ,
fix: recalibrate find({ limit }) cap + two-tier enforcement + caller location
Brainy 7.30.0 introduced a memory-derived synchronous cap on `find({ limit })`
to prevent OOM. The cap was sound in intent but ~4x too conservative in
calibration: assumed 100 KB per result while typical entity footprint is 7-10 KB
(384-dim float32 vector ≈ 1.5 KB + standard fields + metadata). On a 900 MB
free-memory box the cap derived to 9000 — breaking common safety-cap patterns
like `find({ type, where, limit: 10_000 })` that typically return 10-500
entities. Surfaced as a runtime regression with cascading 500s degrading
production dashboards.
Three concurrent fixes:
A. RECALIBRATE THE FORMULA
- src/utils/paramValidation.ts:175,196,212 — the three memory-derived priorities
(reservedQueryMemory / containerMemory / freeMemory) all divided by
100 * 1024 * 1024 (100 KB per result, ~10-15x over conservative). Replaced
with a new MAX_LIMIT_KB_PER_RESULT = 25 constant that matches observed
entity size.
- Result: 4 GB container cap goes 10_000 → 40_000; 2 GB cap goes 5_000 →
20_000; 900 MB free-memory cap goes 9_000 → ~36_000. 100k hard ceiling
unchanged. `maxQueryLimit` / `reservedQueryMemory` constructor overrides
unchanged in behavior.
B. TWO-TIER ENFORCEMENT (warn-then-throw)
- Below cap (limit <= maxLimit): silent pass, unchanged.
- Soft tier (maxLimit < limit <= 2 * maxLimit): NEW — one-time warning per
call site (dedup keyed on caller stack frame + limit value), query
proceeds. Pre-7.30.2 code that relied on the cap silently allowing typical
safety-cap limits keeps working; the warning teaches the recipe so consumers
can fix it intentionally.
- Hard tier (limit > 2 * maxLimit): throw with the same teaching message
format. Real OOM territory; the cap stops being a recommendation and becomes
a guardrail.
- The 2x soft margin absorbs typical safety-cap patterns (limit: 10_000
against a 9 K-cap box) without disabling OOM protection. Real OOM territory
on a JS in-memory brain is hundreds of thousands of results, not 10x the
safety cap.
C. IMPROVED ERROR / WARNING MESSAGE
- Same shape as the 7.30.1 enforcement-error messages: state the problem,
name the three escape valves (maxQueryLimit / reservedQueryMemory /
pagination), include caller location, link to docs.
- Extracted findCallerLocation() helper from brainy.ts to a new
src/utils/callerLocation.ts so both the subtype enforcement (7.30.1) and
the limit enforcement (7.30.2) share one implementation without circular
imports.
DOCS
- New docs/guides/find-limits.md (public: true) — full reference: why the cap
exists, the four memory sources the auto-config considers, the three escape
valves with when-to-use-which guidance, and an explicit "pagination is the
future-proof pattern" callout (8.0 may tighten the cap further; pagination
keeps working unchanged).
- docs/api/README.md find() entry gets a one-paragraph `limit` tip + pointer
to the new guide.
- RELEASES.md v7.30.2 entry.
TESTS
- New tests/integration/find-limits.test.ts (9 tests): below-cap silent pass;
soft-tier warns once per call site (dedup verified by exercising same vs.
different source lines via wrapper closures); soft-tier message format
(names all three escape valves + docs link); soft-tier message includes
caller location; hard-tier throws; hard-tier message format same as
soft-tier; consumer maxQueryLimit override raises the cap and shifts both
tiers accordingly; pre-7.30.2 regression scenario explicitly covered.
- tests/unit/utils/memoryLimits.test.ts — 4 tests updated for the recalibrated
cap values (hardcoded expected numbers bumped 4x to match new 25 KB/result
assumption).
- tests/unit/utils/paramValidation.test.ts — auto-limit test extended to cover
the three-tier semantics (below-cap pass / soft-tier silent / hard-tier
throw).
- Existing suites unchanged: subtype-and-facets 26/26, verb-subtype-and-
enforcement 30/30, strict-mode-self-test 13/13. Unit 1468/1468.
CORTEX COMPATIBILITY
- Zero Cortex changes required. Every change is JS-side: formula recalibration
runs in ValidationConfig.constructor(), two-tier enforcement runs in
validateFindParams(), both fire before any storage / index / Cortex call.
- The new guide notes that Brainy 8.0's Datomic-style Db.find() may tighten
per-call limits to keep snapshot semantics cheap; pagination remains the
pattern that's guaranteed to keep working.
REPO-WIDE CLEANUP
Brainy is the only Soulcraft project that is open source. This commit also
scrubs closed-source product names and product-specific class/field references
from every tracked file in the repo (src/, docs/, tests/, RELEASES.md,
CHANGELOG.md). Consumer-reported bugs, regression scenarios, and release
notes now refer to "a consumer", "a downstream application", "a production
deployment", or "an internal report" — never to the named product. Two
product-named test files renamed to neutral diagnostic names. CLAUDE.md gains
a project-level guard rule documenting the policy and an example list of the
identifiers that may not appear in tracked code.
Verification
- npx tsc --noEmit: clean
- npm test: 1468 / 1468 unit
- All four integration subtype + verb + strict + find-limits suites: 78/78
- npm run build: clean
- Closed-source product reference audit: clean
2026-06-08 12:34:05 -07:00
storage : { type : 'memory' } ,
silent : true ,
maxQueryLimit : 50_000
} )
await brain . init ( )
// Brainy's init path emits a one-time `prodLog.warn` for the
// entityIdMapper system-resource notice on first-mount; clear the spy
// history so we only observe limit-enforcement warnings below.
warnSpy . mockClear ( )
// The old auto-derived cap would have rejected this; the override accepts it
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : 10_000 } ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . not . toHaveBeenCalled ( )
// 50_000 + 1 = soft tier under the new cap → warn, not throw
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : 60_000 } ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalled ( )
// Above 2× the override (100 001) → throw
// (Note: maxQueryLimit is hard-clamped at 100k in ValidationConfig, so the
// effective cap is 50_000; 2× = 100_000; we cross at 100_001.)
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( { limit : 100_001 } ) ) . toThrow ( /exceeds/ )
} )
it ( 'pre-7.30.2 regression scenario: limit: 10_000 passes silently on a memory-derived cap' , async ( ) = > {
// Simulate a box where the auto-config picks a cap below 10_000 — the
// canonical pre-7.30.2 scenario where production booking flows 500'd
// because `validateFindParams` threw synchronously. With the
// 25 KB-per-result calibration the cap is ~4× more generous on the
// same hardware, but more importantly the soft tier no longer throws
// when consumers exceed the auto-cap.
ValidationConfig . reconfigure ( { maxQueryLimit : 9000 } )
// Pre-7.30.2 this threw. Post-7.30.2 it warns + passes.
expect ( ( ) = > validateFindParams ( {
type : NounType . Event ,
where : { status : 'open' } ,
limit : 10_000
} ) ) . not . toThrow ( )
expect ( warnSpy ) . toHaveBeenCalled ( )
} )
} )
} )