docs(releases): the 10.4.11 note — hybrid filter-before-hydrate, one shutdown owner, a faster open

Gate: final tip 27759a1b vs a8c5fbf9 (10.4.10) control — collected
3,212, 0 new reds after two fix cycles (coverage-guard registration +
perf-lane classification; a real budget flake in the batch-size test
switched to unvectored items). shasum ffc33df95b2709dfcc8c67ac961991e3153f8883.

.claude/skills/architecture.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## What Is Brainy
 
-@soulcraft/brainy (v7.17.0) is a Universal Knowledge Protocol -- a Triple Intelligence database combining vector search, graph traversal, and metadata filtering in a single library. Published to npm as a public MIT-licensed package.
+@soulcraftlabs/brainy (v7.17.0) is a Universal Knowledge Protocol -- a Triple Intelligence database combining vector search, graph traversal, and metadata filtering in a single library. Published to npm as a public MIT-licensed package.
 
 ## Core Architecture
 

.forgejo/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+name: CI
+
+# Branch pushes only — a release TAG deliberately does not re-run CI: the
+# tagged commit's CI already ran on its branch push, and the runner is
+# sequential, so tag-triggered matrix jobs (~22 min) would queue AHEAD of the
+# tag's publish-source run and starve every release (observed on 8.10.3 and
+# 9.0.0: the publish sat behind the tag's own redundant CI).
+concurrency:
+  group: ci-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: ['**']
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  node:
+    name: Node ${{ matrix.node-version }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        node-version: ['22', '24']
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
+          cache: npm
+      - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run test:unit
+
+  # The correctness plant's full gate: integration + conformance run here on
+  # dedicated iron, on every push, so a release never depends on any other
+  # machine being up. Verdicts live in this run's log (never inferred).
+  integration:
+    name: Integration + conformance (Node 22)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '22'
+          cache: npm
+      - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run test:ci-integration
+      - run: npx vitest run tests/conformance
+
+  bun:
+    name: Bun (latest)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '22'
+          cache: npm
+      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+        with:
+          bun-version: latest
+      - run: npm ci
+      # test:bun imports the built dist/, so build first.
+      - run: npm run build
+      # Bun as a runtime is the supported Bun story (`bun add` / `bun run`).
+      - run: npm run test:bun

.forgejo/workflows/publish-source.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+name: Publish (The Source)
+
+# Datacenter-side publish to The Source (source.soulcraft.com — our
+# self-hosted Forgejo; never call it "the forge", Forge is a different
+# product), moved off the laptop: an 87MB tarball PUT over the laptop's WAN
+# times out; The Source's own runner does it in seconds.
+# scripts/release.sh tags + pushes, then polls this workflow's result (npm
+# view against The Source's registry) before it ever touches the npmjs leg —
+# see the "delegation contract" in scripts/release.sh's home-publish step.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - 'v*'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      ref_reason:
+        description: 'why this manual run (e.g. tag event dropped)'
+        required: false
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    name: Publish to The Source registry
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '22'
+          cache: npm
+      - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run build
+      - name: Publish + readback-verify on The Source registry
+        env:
+          # The stored repo-settings secret keeps its historical name.
+          FORGE_NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.FORGE_NPM_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -eo pipefail
+
+          SOURCE_NPM_REG="https://source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/"
+          VERSION="$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")"
+          # The dist-tag follows the version: a prerelease (any hyphen —
+          # 10.4.0-rc.1) publishes under 'rc' and must NEVER move 'latest' —
+          # every consumer resolving 'latest' from this registry would otherwise
+          # be handed a release candidate. Same rule scripts/release.sh applies
+          # to the storefront leg.
+          NPM_TAG="latest"
+          case "$VERSION" in
+            *-*) NPM_TAG="rc" ;;
+          esac
+          echo "Publishing @soulcraftlabs/brainy@${VERSION} to The Source registry (dist-tag: ${NPM_TAG})..."
+
+          TMPRC="$(mktemp)"
+          chmod 600 "$TMPRC"
+          {
+            echo "@soulcraftlabs:registry=${SOURCE_NPM_REG}"
+            echo "//source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/:_authToken=${FORGE_NPM_TOKEN}"
+          } > "$TMPRC"
+
+          # The release script bumps package.json's version before it tags, so
+          # this tag's checkout already carries the version being published —
+          # nothing here re-derives it from the tag name.
+          PUBLISH_OK=true
+          if ! npm publish --tag "$NPM_TAG" --userconfig "$TMPRC"; then
+            PUBLISH_OK=false
+          fi
+
+          # Readback verify is the source of truth, run regardless of the publish
+          # exit code: a benign duplicate publish (a prior run, or a mirror, already
+          # landed this exact version) reports failure even though the registry
+          # already holds the right content.
+          LANDED_VERSION="$(npm view "@soulcraftlabs/brainy@${VERSION}" version --userconfig "$TMPRC" 2>/dev/null || echo "")"
+          rm -f "$TMPRC"
+
+          if [ "$LANDED_VERSION" != "$VERSION" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Readback verify FAILED — The Source registry reports version '${LANDED_VERSION:-<none>}', expected '${VERSION}'. This is a genuine publish failure, not a benign duplicate."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          if [ "$PUBLISH_OK" = true ]; then
+            echo "Published and verified @soulcraftlabs/brainy@${VERSION} on The Source registry."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::npm publish reported failure, but readback confirms @soulcraftlabs/brainy@${VERSION} is already live on The Source (a prior run or mirror landed it) — treating this run as successful, since the registry content is correct. Any OTHER failure mode would have failed the readback check above instead."
+          fi

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-name: CI
-
-on:
-  push:
-  pull_request:
-
-jobs:
-  node:
-    name: Node ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        node-version: ['22', '24']
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-          cache: npm
-      - run: npm ci
-      - run: npm run test:unit
-
-  bun:
-    name: Bun (latest)
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version: '22'
-          cache: npm
-      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
-        with:
-          bun-version: latest
-      - run: npm ci
-      # test:bun imports the built dist/, so build first.
-      - run: npm run build
-      # Bun as a runtime is the supported Bun story (`bun add` / `bun run`).
-      - run: npm run test:bun

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,461 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. See [standard-version](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/standard-version) for commit guidelines.
 
+### [10.4.4](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.3...v10.4.4) (2026-08-28)
+
+- fix(vfs): the old-root sweep narrates only when it has something to say (d49148e1)
+- fix(tests): the health-gate pin follows the verdict, and the VFS suite uses its own store (42e2da25)
+- Merge branch 'next/open-lazy-open-and-counts' (5ebd3b40)
+- docs: the contract manifest stands alone; public docs describe this engine only (a8c724a2)
+- docs(releases): 10.4.4 consumer notes — correctness and observability, with the performance line stated exactly (61a46927)
+- docs: measurements in public history carry numbers, not provenance (02c61636)
+- feat(open): name the two steps that hold the vfs-bootstrap phase (2cf38010)
+- fix(storage): a dead flush watch falls back to the 500ms poll, not the 30s sweep (5c22f950)
+- fix(storage): the flush watcher cannot arm twice in its async window (16d2e1a9)
+- perf(idle): the flush-request watch is event-driven; the heartbeat is observability (fb1da1c5)
+- perf(open): answer "are there any entities?" with one directory read (417ddb51)
+- perf(generations): discover generations by directory name, not by walking the log (9dd39921)
+- fix(flush): clear() and repairIndex() set the dirty witness themselves (e4c27fbc)
+- feat(open): the open names the STEP that cost the time, not just the phase (5a091cca)
+- perf(vfs): the old-root sweep runs once per store, not once per open (4a67aa0f)
+- chore: keep the generated neural stamps at main's values (c1f09723)
+- feat(contract): declare contract 1, serve three operators, refuse four by name (48802ba3)
+- fix(open): a provider rebuilding itself is a third state, not a CRITICAL (50676c02)
+- feat(open): open never waits for a provider that is rebuilding itself (131daa08)
+- perf(flush): an idle brain does no work — no periodic flush without a write (f5a6cb3f)
+- feat(repair): repairIndex narrates every phase and its receipt carries the walls (3fffd9c6)
+- fix(storage): a suspect count ledger heals itself, and counts.json is written atomically (f4e2d34b)
+- feat(open): the open narrates itself, on a channel production cannot clamp (afe08a1f)
+- fix(storage): a clean close is recorded, and the writer lock is always given up (e652162c)
+- docs: repository links point at soulcraftlabs/open-brainy — the soulcraft/brainy path becomes the native engine's repo tonight (38c3397b)
+
+
+### [10.4.3](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.2...v10.4.3) (2026-08-27)
+
+- Merge branch 'next/open-brainy-rename' (a58372f0)
+- chore: rename to @soulcraftlabs/brainy for Open Brainy on The Source (a99b1e83)
+- docs(releases): 10.4.3 — Open Brainy's first release under the new name, same engine as 10.4.2; The Source is the one registry (9f248b24)
+
+
+### [10.4.2](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.2-rc.1...v10.4.2) (2026-08-27)
+
+- docs(releases): 10.4.1 and 10.4.2 consumer notes; 10.4.2 is the last MIT release under this name, Open Brainy continues at @soulcraftlabs/brainy (a082e0ef)
+
+
+### [10.4.2-rc.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.1...v10.4.2-rc.1) (2026-08-27)
+
+- Merge branch 'next/zero-norm-unvector-door' (9b84ef5b)
+- fix(vectors): a zero-norm vector is not a vector, canonical side included, plus the sanctioned unvector door (0de76659)
+- fix(hnsw): skip unvectored rows on rebuild; refuse empty vectors in the index (8fc553b1)
+- fix(storage): derive the canonical count ledger from identity records, stamp the derivation rule, and mark legacy-derived ledgers suspect at load (fd6b4ce4)
+- Merge branch 'next/enumeration-identity-rekey' (204d74c1)
+- fix(storage): enumeration re-keys on the identity record, not the vector leg (f8d8ce16)
+- fix(init): rethrow plugin activation failures with the original error as cause so the originating frame survives to the caller (2496e09a)
+- Merge branch 'next/vfs-root-zero-norm' (4c7b0fab)
+- fix(vfs): the VFS root never persists a zero-norm vector (c6cc0de9)
+- build: derive generated-file stamps from git commit time, not wall clock (8a5c1245)
+- Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/release/10.4.1' (aad9e2ee)
+- docs(concepts): the serving law — a failure is graded by whether an answer could be wrong, never by the cost of the fix; reads refuse per family (2914e0eb)
+- chore(release): 10.4.1-rc.1 (7870dc40)
+
+
+### [10.4.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.0...v10.4.1) (2026-08-26)
+
+- fix(reads): the read gate is per-family; a write carrying unchanged data never re-embeds (c039411e)
+- docs(guide): the docs pipeline publishes through the ingest API — the separate deploy step is retired (21e506e8)
+
+
+### [10.4.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.0-rc.4...v10.4.0) (2026-08-26)
+
+- docs(releases): the 10.4.0 entry catches up to the late trains — repair routing, the vector ledger and open-gate leg, the loud config guard, the JSON-safe crossing (834149ed)
+
+
+### [10.4.0-rc.4](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.0-rc.3...v10.4.0-rc.4) (2026-08-25)
+
+- feat(vector): the vectored-noun scalar joins the count ledger; the open gate closes the vector leg (9730835b)
+
+
+### [10.4.0-rc.3](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.0-rc.2...v10.4.0-rc.3) (2026-08-25)
+
+- fix(update-seam): the metadata crossing never carries BigInt endpoint ints (f4780c8e)
+- Merge branch 'worktree-agent-ad3aff0dffd17a6eb' (f14da34b)
+- fix(add): empty string is real data, not a missing field (258e9042)
+- feat(vfs): implement readdir's recursive option — typed since 7.30, never read (fc516da6)
+- feat(open-path): init never gates on the embedding model; open goes concurrent; slow opens narrate (96624f40)
+
+
+### [10.4.0-rc.2](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.4.0-rc.1...v10.4.0-rc.2) (2026-08-25)
+
+- test(readiness): the report helper's clock freezes — two independently-built reports compared across a millisecond tick made the plant lane red (39b916a3)
+- feat(repair): a heal:'repair' verdict routes to the provider's own incremental repair() (553e0d97)
+- fix(storage): an unknown nested storage config can never silently land on the shared default root (ddd5e719)
+- docs(release): the 10.4.0 entry, the index-health concept doc, and the API surfaces — written from the tree, not the plan (8cced871)
+- fix(plugins): the silent-degrade doors close — a broken accelerator install can never read as absent (b9ba50fb)
+- feat(recovery): the catchup verdict is consumed; verb rows go live; the metadata rebuild goes online (18f172e0)
+- feat(health): the gate reads the named report — reads refuse loudly, never rebuild; open serves before it returns; the ceremony door (f8f64780)
+
+
+### [10.4.0-rc.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.3.1...v10.4.0-rc.1) (2026-08-24)
+
+- ci(publish): the home dist-tag follows the version — a prerelease publishes under 'rc' and never moves 'latest' (a1376e4a)
+- chore(release): --source-only — a home-only prerelease mode (The Source, never the storefront) (dcbad176)
+- test(fold-checkpoint): the ARM-AT-FLIP pin arms its crash instead of racing the pending-flush timer (4176439b)
+- fix(health): one contract for a throwing probe — heal is none, serving is not withheld; repair report gains missing/rebuilt/reason (116550eb)
+- feat(storage): the canonical count ledger — ALL-visibility scalars, unclamped totals, suspect-on-unprovable-delete (7c8c8be3)
+- fix(delete): the null-metadata skip closes — index legs run id-keyed or narrate, never silently strand postings (607e9f54)
+- feat(repair): repairIndex returns the per-family receipt and narrates its summary (8d45f964)
+- fix(reads): the readiness gate guards every index read surface — serving empty from a not-ready provider is unrepresentable (40e7119b)
+- ci(gate): the machine-health preflight and the truncation verdict guard (1e046aa1)
+
+
+### [10.3.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.3.0...v10.3.1) (2026-08-18)
+
+- docs(releases): the 10.3.1 consumer entry — the fold that behaves (900cc895)
+- fix(recovery): the fold streams and narrates; the checkpoint chain arms at the flip (ed7d1db9)
+
+
+### [10.3.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.2.0...v10.3.0) (2026-08-18)
+
+- docs(releases): the 10.3.0 consumer entry — the trust-and-provenance release (97d75649)
+- fix(locks): the fence keys ownership on pid+hostname — a same-process re-open never fences its predecessor (0991cf28)
+- test(budgets): iron-honest wall-clock budgets — 3x the worst honest-iron measurement (314e0e6c)
+- fix(locks): live writers are never auto-evicted; evicted writers are fenced at every commit barrier (292e7c04)
+- feat(log): system commits carry their origin; the attested per-id reconcile door (9ac9e706)
+
+
+### [10.2.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.1.0...v10.2.0) (2026-08-17)
+
+- docs(releases): the 10.2.0 consumer entry — adoption completes in one call (97538e1f)
+- ci: the correctness plant runs integration + conformance on every push — a release never waits on a second machine (b17fdc8e)
+- fix(adoption): the baseline backfill runs to completion — one call adopts a pre-log baseline of any size (a5a18838)
+
+
+### [10.1.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v10.0.0...v10.1.0) (2026-08-13)
+
+- docs(releases): the 10.1.0 consumer entry — bounded recovery, restore founding, the two write-path cures (7d3c8696)
+- fix(restore): a restore is an unclean event — the swap runs quiesced and the snapshot's durability stamps never survive it (9ca80667)
+- feat(recovery): the fold-checkpoint bound — crash folds (checkpoint, head], never the whole log twice (ff43de1a)
+- fix(log): pad-frame construction is total; the at-ack sync-failure compensation splits by phase — a production adoption's two write-path defects, cured at their roots (cbe34d11)
+- feat(query): the sparse-store cut — where on a never-carried field serves operator truth, never a refusal (7b67db4d)
+
+
+### [10.0.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v9.0.0...v10.0.0) (2026-08-12)
+
+- fix(adoption): the baseline backfill cures hydration-law drift — existing brains reach the crash-safe default with zero operator steps (25f0dd96)
+- fix(adoption): the reserved-root mint exemption — int 0 is legitimate for exactly one id (2abe8b38)
+- fix(recovery): walks are healers — the typed/tolerant boundary redrawn where block-layer fault injection proved it belonged (0e3facf4)
+- feat(log): log authority is the fleet default — adopt-at-open, oracle-gated; plus the power-cut throw-site cures and the loud torn-record contract (214c98b4)
+- fix(durability): three block-layer power-loss findings from the first fault-injection box run — all cured, matrix 15/15 (67c606be)
+- docs: RELEASES.md frames the release as 10.0.0 — honest major (log format v2 forward-only); comment wording cleanup (d1698fa5)
+- fix(persistence): the idle flush trigger debounces under load — deferred to the floor, never dropped, never a flush-per-gap amplifier (a50726e6)
+- feat(reprojection): the one doors-open machinery — budget-capped, yielding, foreground-preempted, atomic-swap; poison records quarantine typed (d1651f98)
+- feat(embedding): deferred-embed markers become log records — the sidecar recovery path is deleted (b47787bb)
+- feat(conformance): the golden-log fold oracle — encoder bytes and fold semantics pinned by content hash (c95bea88)
+- feat(engine): the wiring wave — stamps ride every flush, provider generations, waitForIndexed, adopt-backfill, match-all serves (b53e6e89)
+- feat(index): watermark stamps on every TS projection — adopt/catchup/rescan verdicts at load, stamp-after-data (b35d87a7)
+- feat(log): v2 is the LIVE write format — envelope records with minted ints, genesis, sector seals; v1 readable forever (26c60251)
+- docs: RELEASES.md — the unreleased write-path and lifecycle entry (consumer-facing draft; version set at cut) (73eb88d4)
+- feat(temporal): as-of semantic recall joins the release contract — past vectors byte-exact, pinned (f7ca0d26)
+- fix(log): acked writes survive power loss; rejected writes never silently commit — the kill-matrix goes 11/11 with zero .fails debt (13022c51)
+- feat(plugin): every provider write surface carries the real committed generation (2d532684)
+- feat(log): fact-log format v2 codec — record envelope, type registry, genesis, sector seals; fault-injection shim (34841074)
+- feat(log): the guarded log-authority core — group-commit durable-at-ack, the per-brain switch, the verification oracle (65953097)
+- docs: Path Registry rows DP6/DP8/MT5 flip to contracted+pinned — the deferred-embedding and atomic-update train landed with cited tests (9fda6d95)
+- feat(embedding): MT5 — deferred embedding with durable markers; write acks never wait on a neural net (287384cf)
+- fix(index): the flicker window dies — atomic in-place vector update; lazy open honors every provider's not-ready report; the Path Registry twin table (ebe06cdf)
+- feat(persistence): the engine owns its flush cadence — callers never call flush() in hot paths again (3236a01b)
+- fix(aggregation): the lifecycle cluster — flush stamps, behind-stamp catches up incrementally, the native rebuild finally gets invoked, deletes are never silently skipped (1dc861d2)
+- perf(sort): ordered reads never do per-row storage round-trips — the 199-317s production scan class dies structurally (607b6b56)
+- chore: the home registry is The Source, never 'the forge' — sweep the misnomer out of the release rail, workflows, and release notes (Forge is a different product; the stored CI secret keeps its historical name) (09352c2b)
+- ci: tags stop triggering the CI matrix (redundant re-run of already-tested commits starved every release's publish run on the sequential runner) + release.sh forge poll window 20→50 min (c6c6ea6b)
+- test: version-coupling pins go major-agnostic — the 8.x literals broke at the 9.0.0 bump while the coupling law itself behaved correctly (8a6807e8)
+
+
+### [9.0.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v8.11.0...v9.0.0) (2026-08-04)
+
+- docs: 9.0 namespace-migration guide — the simple story + the mechanical sweep checklist, published for humans and tooling alike (61ab9db2)
+- fix(release): storefront leg republishes CI's exact forge artifact — byte-identity by construction, verified by cross-registry shasum before the ceremony reports success (d89df2ed)
+- docs: v9.0.0 release notes — the field-addressing law migration ledger; retitle the shipped 8.11.0 canonical-enumeration entry (header went stale at its cut) (55a7512c)
+- feat(namespace): merge the field-addressing law train — no special names, system.* scalars, nested-bag storage, epoch-3 index keys (19b477ae)
+- feat(namespace): NO SPECIAL NAMES + storage fidelity — the ruled completion of the field-addressing law (24bf6cdb)
+- feat(namespace): write-door forgery refusal (user metadata keys may never start 'system.') + refusal messages name both spellings in every branch (the non-colliding case marks system.<f> honestly as NOT valid) — cross-engine message pin alignment (48a6130a)
+- feat(namespace): conformance green 19/19 — data-aware did-you-mean on unindexed bare addresses, ordering contract on the column top-K path (never drop, nulls last, ties by id), shape-complete addressed reads (entity views AND raw storage shapes, shadow-proof both scopes), per-key source matching for dotted addresses; refusal classes unified under UnresolvableFieldError (8e962dab)
+- feat(namespace): aggregation reads under the law + epoch 3 (the key-split rebuild) + THE ARMING COMMIT — the capability constant, the law module, and the typed refusals export from the package root; both engines' conformance suites light on this signal (7492b6cb)
+- feat(namespace): egress guard + validation speak the law — whereMatcher's resolver reads system.* from the record and bare names from the metadata bag only (the bare-system switch is dead); validateFindParams refuses cursor/includeRelations/writeOnly typed (accepted-and-ignored dies as a class), validates order, and parses every orderBy address (c2fb28a2)
+- fix(namespace): noun-record updates preserve legacy inline HNSW adjacency — the placeholder-adjacency write stamped out pre-codec records' stored connections (crash-window unreachability); codec-era records were never at risk (empty field is the blob marker); pin covers the legacy shape (4679c894)
+- feat(namespace): find's own filter builders speak the frozen keys — params.type/subtype/service become system.* index keys at every construction site (three pipelines + the canonical buildMetadataFilter); the where.type→noun alias is dead (bare 'type' belongs to the user now) (7a28a946)
+- feat(namespace): the index speaks the frozen keys — record-frame scalars index under literal 'system.<field>' (legacy 'noun' spelling folds into system.type; plumbing never indexed from a record frame), user fields stay bare in every shape; filter + sorted paths route every address through parseFieldAddress; storage fallbacks read the addressed side of the record (11c724bc)
+- docs(namespace): the d.ts JSDoc wave — the sealed field-addressing law on the full find + aggregation surface, present-tense, with the refusal semantics and migration note inline (comment-only; verified zero code lines changed) (fcb24ab6)
+- test(namespace): unit pins for the pure law — the ruled maps verbatim (incl. the relation mirror, unpinnable via public API), plumbing refusals both kinds, did-you-mean text (5502abcd)
+- fix(namespace): the JS sorted fallback honors the ruled ordering contract — nulls last in BOTH directions (was nulls-first on desc) + deterministic id-ascending tie-break (56deb2e8)
+- test(namespace)+docs: the cross-engine conformance suite (self-arming — skips until the resolver exports land) + the public field-addressing docs page; sidebar order deconflicted to 7 (d8d0b55f)
+- feat(namespace): the one field-addressing law as a single source of truth — parseFieldAddress + the ruled ten-scalar system maps + plumbing invisibility + refusal builders (module only; query surfaces wire in next) (8f9a9989)
+- docs: port the 8.10.3 backport-release changelog entry to main (f6b14d21)
+- docs: port the 8.10.2 backport-release changelog entry to main — release branches carry the version bump, main carries the durable record (0b059ac5)
+- fix: user metadata named 'level' is a real field everywhere — the engine-internal node layer no longer shadows it in sort/filter/aggregation, and the indexing views stop stamping a phantom 0 into its column; index epoch 2 rebuilds existing brains at first open (1a09be06)
+- fix: metadata-only update() never rewrites the noun record — the unconditional whole-vector save turned per-entity stat touches into full rewrites+fsync, amplifying read-heavy sweeps into disk saturation on a production deployment (cb717be2)
+- fix(release): double the forge-publish poll budget — the runner executes jobs sequentially and the publish run queues behind the ci matrix (64049631)
+- Merge branch 'release/8.11.0' (1865f60a)
+- Merge branch 'release/8.10.1' (fc9f0d72)
+- chore: the forge is the address — retire the archived mirror from every live surface (415e824a)
+- Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' (069a8894)
+- Merge branch 'release/8.10.0' (d918c060)
+- ci: run the pipeline on the forge (9a5a9ccc)
+- feat: two-tier history reads + the repacker + generationDigest — D1+D3 wired end-to-end (1201e255)
+- feat: generation-segment store — the D1+D3 packed-tier file format (d8acb377)
+- feat: scanFacts liveness contract — first batch or loud failure within a documented bound (f8e6da2b)
+
+
+### [8.11.0](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v8.10.1...v8.11.0) (2026-07-27)
+
+- docs: the last two archived-host links point home (91ef1c8b)
+- feat: includeHidden — export carries every visibility tier for migration-grade canon completeness (63c1eeb9)
+- feat(release): the forge publish leg moves to CI on the tag push; the laptop verifies by readback and keeps the abort-before-storefront guard (3e4a17dc)
+- feat: canonical enumeration mode for export — storage-walked, canon-complete, with an index-drift report (4d196af4)
+- ci: run the pipeline on the forge (999d0ebb)
+
+
+### [8.10.3](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v8.10.2...v8.10.3) (2026-08-03)
+
+- docs: dedupe the 8.10.2 release-notes entry the cherry doubled onto the branch (8c956608)
+- fix: user metadata named 'level' is a real field everywhere — the engine-internal node layer no longer shadows it in sort/filter/aggregation, and the indexing views stop stamping a phantom 0 into its column; index epoch 2 rebuilds existing brains at first open (958a0859)
+
+
+### [8.10.2](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v8.10.1...v8.10.2) (2026-07-29)
+
+- docs: 8.10.2 consumer release notes — update() write granularity, PathResolver idle-log fix, graph-lsm key recognition (a0123b5b)
+- fix: metadata-only update() never rewrites the noun record — the unconditional whole-vector save turned per-entity stat touches into full rewrites+fsync, amplifying read-heavy sweeps into disk saturation on a production deployment (5b65eb82)
+
+
+### [8.10.1](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v8.10.0...v8.10.1) (2026-07-24)
+
+- refactor: remove the orphaned transaction-result type left behind by the dead-path removal (edf123a5)
+- fix: warm() metadata surface routes through the active provider (warm hook added to the metadata contract); add maintenanceDebt() observability surface (5b2cbf74)
+- fix: transaction timeouts are a typed no-hot-retry contract; engine-side non-retry pinned; dead transaction path removed (003e2a74)
+- chore: the forge is the address — retire the archived mirror from every live surface (22702b81)
+
+
+### [8.10.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.9.0...v8.10.0) (2026-07-23)
+
+- docs: adoption storefront — contributing guide, security policy, README support + cor section (9a99a7b)
+- fix(release): push the public mirror explicitly and verify the tag lands at the right commit before publishing (6ba94c8)
+- docs: project guide version line points at npm instead of a hardcoded stale number (3a1efc9)
+- feat: vector provider identity is a required name field (hnsw-js), rendered [vector-index:<name>] (3be4ba9)
+- feat: warm contract (warm/warmOnOpen/provider warm hook), configurable transact budget floor, backend-neutral vector index op names (55b867c)
+
+
+### [8.9.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.8.2...v8.9.0) (2026-07-19)
+
+- docs: measured performance envelopes v1 (per-op p50/p95 at 1k and 10k, pure-JS floor) (5cabd78)
+- fix: release drains in-flight writer-lock heartbeat — no phantom lock after unlink (70e4bc8)
+- feat: flush() never compacts — history maintenance moves to close() with bounded passes (300d9f2)
+
+
+### [8.8.2](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.8.1...v8.8.2) (2026-07-19)
+
+- fix: one field-resolution law across aggregation hooks, source.where, removeMany, and find() spellings (945d92d)
+- chore: push public docs to the soulcraft.com ingest door on release (42037d0)
+
+
+### [8.8.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.8.0...v8.8.1) (2026-07-18)
+
+- fix: O(1) adaptive retention accounting + historyStats fleet audit (6207e48)
+- fix: import dedup off-switch honesty + brain-owned lifecycle for the background pass (4fcef7b)
+
+
+### [8.8.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.7.1...v8.8.0) (2026-07-17)
+
+- feat: OS-limit detection for pool-scale deployments (16a73b8)
+
+
+### [8.7.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.7.0...v8.7.1) (2026-07-17)
+
+- fix: race-proof writer-lock acquisition + machine-readable conflict through init (01a3b46)
+
+
+### [8.7.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.6.0...v8.7.0) (2026-07-17)
+
+- feat: scaled transact budgets + labeled timeout diagnostics + envelope docs (6ef9fcb)
+
+
+### [8.6.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.5.2...v8.6.0) (2026-07-17)
+
+- feat: brain.auditGraph() — read-only graph-truth audit (2a03fae)
+
+
+### [8.5.2](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.5.1...v8.5.2) (2026-07-17)
+
+- fix: exception-safe aggregation backfill + generation-verified adoption + loud open-path guards (a77b064)
+
+
+### [8.5.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.5.0...v8.5.1) (2026-07-17)
+
+- fix: aggregation state adoption on reopen + single-flight backfill + query-cap ratchet removal (da55be7)
+- docs: external-backups/sparse-storage guide + generation fact log concept (593bb8b)
+
+
+### [8.5.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.4.0...v8.5.0) (2026-07-15)
+
+- test: tolerant timing assertion in the execution-time measure test (4dc0a92)
+- feat: committedGeneration capability + pinned durability/stability contracts (d1ecee1)
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.5.0 (provider fact-log access + shared verifier) (e4f37cd)
+- feat: provider access to the fact log + shared stamp verifier via internals (352e356)
+
+
+### [8.4.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.3.3...v8.4.0) (2026-07-15)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.4.0 (generation fact log + family stamp) (4a60b43)
+- feat: entity-tree family stamp — sourceGeneration + rollup coherence at open (2888ae6)
+- feat: generation fact log — after-image commit records, dual-written at every commit point (38b0041)
+
+
+### [8.3.3](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.3.2...v8.3.3) (2026-07-15)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.3.3 (rename containment fix + repair) (c3feafd)
+- test: lens-consistency regression — combined vs subtype-only vs canonical ground truth (4fb41f9)
+- fix: VFS rename moves the containment edge — no ghost in the old directory (af8c179)
+
+
+### [8.3.2](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.3.1...v8.3.2) (2026-07-14)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.3.2 (honest counters) (0932ecd)
+- fix: honest counters — removal never re-reads the removed record + repairIndex recounts and persists all rollups (2e2ba9c)
+
+
+### [8.3.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.3.0...v8.3.1) (2026-07-14)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.3.1 (full-removal deletes + family-scoped gate) (c0c68ac)
+- fix: full-removal canonical deletes + family-scoped migration gate (366f9a9)
+- docs: cite the cross-layer integrity contract generically in comments and notes (1d26988)
+
+
+### [8.3.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.8...v8.3.0) (2026-07-13)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.3.0 (heal-cost + cross-layer integrity contract) (7692c6f)
+- perf: parallel + id-only canonical enumeration (heal-cost dominant term) (ec5b933)
+- feat: registered-blob family contract — declared index blobs are undeletable (bfa1762)
+- feat: validateIndexConsistency delegates to provider invariants (6bcb54f)
+
+
+### [8.2.8](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.7...v8.2.8) (2026-07-13)
+
+- fix: honest index readiness — no silently-empty queries on a cold index (d0f69c7)
+
+
+### [8.2.7](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.6...v8.2.7) (2026-07-13)
+
+- fix: restore loadBinaryBlob fault-propagation (native column-store lockstep) (b6c7039)
+
+
+### [8.2.6](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.5...v8.2.6) (2026-07-13)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.6 (write/index-spine hardening) (a873852)
+- chore: hold loadBinaryBlob fault-propagation for the cortex column-store lockstep (36c10c1)
+- fix: aggregation surfaces materialize/state-load failures loudly (02eff64)
+- fix: surface a degraded derived index on reads instead of serving it silently (ba958d9)
+- fix: saveBinaryBlob never acks a durable write that stored nothing (7feba49)
+- fix: refuse writes when single-op history cannot be made durable (54c1836)
+- fix: clear() wipes the full native/derived footprint, not a subset (d8301f8)
+- fix: surface segment/entity read faults loudly instead of masking as absent (af5d2f3)
+- fix: spine hardening pass 1 (part) — count symmetry, honest partial-load, flush durability, read-fault propagation (119087a)
+- test: pin the read-your-writes contract under the single writer (eb9c4eb)
+
+
+### [8.2.5](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.4...v8.2.5) (2026-07-12)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.5 (honest rollback-failure response) (a7c7aa5)
+- fix: honest response when a transaction rollback cannot complete (711d2f0)
+
+
+### [8.2.4](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.3...v8.2.4) (2026-07-12)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.4 (non-destructive restore) (4574695)
+- fix: non-destructive, crash-resumable restore (a2f4f6a)
+
+
+### [8.2.3](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.2...v8.2.3) (2026-07-12)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.3 (transact durability barrier) (be5ce0b)
+- fix: transact durability barrier — committed transactions are durable on return (3b8fa51)
+
+
+### [8.2.2](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.1...v8.2.2) (2026-07-11)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.2 (transaction timeout rollback) (ed97006)
+- fix: transaction timeout rolls back applied operations (no torn state) (508a8e3)
+
+
+### [8.2.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.2.0...v8.2.1) (2026-07-10)
+
+- test: update graph-index operation constructors to the VerbEndpointInts signature (62a449d)
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.1 (transact forward-ref parity fix) (7089782)
+- fix: transact forward references resolve graph endpoint ints at execute time (a175406)
+
+
+### [8.2.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.1.0...v8.2.0) (2026-07-10)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.2.0 (temporal VFS) (98ceadc)
+- feat: temporal VFS — file content joins the Model-B immutability model (a3467e1)
+- docs: pin the write-path invariant in the plugin contract (the onChange change-feed guarantee) (4af8fb3)
+
+
+### [8.1.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.17...v8.1.0) (2026-07-10)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.1.0 (brain.onChange change feed) (4e9be08)
+- feat: brain.onChange — the in-process change feed for every committed mutation (fd5edb5)
+
+
+### [8.0.17](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.16...v8.0.17) (2026-07-08)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.17 (canonical count recovery + dead-machinery sweep) (6b8b9cb)
+- fix: count recovery scans the canonical layout; remove the dead 7.x hnsw sharding machinery (352e2da)
+
+
+### [8.0.16](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.15...v8.0.16) (2026-07-08)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.16 (atomic ifAbsent/upsert + exact blob refCounts) (54e7c0e)
+- fix: atomic ifAbsent/upsert inserts + exact blob reference counts under concurrency (867939e)
+
+
+### [8.0.15](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.14...v8.0.15) (2026-07-08)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.15 (atomic ifRev CAS) (b1fe25a)
+- fix: ifRev CAS is atomic — the revision check now runs under the commit mutex (9a3d1bd)
+
+
+### [8.0.14](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.13...v8.0.14) (2026-07-07)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.14 (migration preserves branch-scoped non-entity state) (64188a3)
+- fix: 7→8 migration preserves branch-scoped non-entity state instead of deleting it (a93bb4e)
+
+
+### [8.0.13](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.12...v8.0.13) (2026-07-07)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.13 (accurate boot log for established stores) (38e8de5)
+- fix: an established store no longer boot-logs "New installation" (3086916)
+
+
+### [8.0.12](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.11...v8.0.12) (2026-07-07)
+
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.12 (7→8 VFS recovery, zero-rebuild cold open, strict query operators) (d9017e7)
+- fix: recover VFS content blobs stranded by a 7→8 upgrade, in place on open (c0f6ccd)
+- fix: validate where-operators and align the in-memory matcher to the documented set (6821e19)
+- docs: correct rc-era time-travel staleness + record the embedding-model ordering constraint (68da660)
+- fix: cold-open no longer re-derives durable indexes — complete the readiness contract for all three providers (61c247c)
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.11 (exit-hang class closed for every op shape) (4fde94b)
+
+
+### [8.0.11](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.10...v8.0.11) (2026-07-02)
+
+- fix: no script shape can hang on brainy's internals — unref every maintenance timer + one-shot beforeExit (30eacbd)
+- docs: RELEASES.md entry for 8.0.10 (clean process exit after close) (2da2736)
+
+
+### [8.0.10](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.9...v8.0.10) (2026-07-02)
+
+- fix: a bare script now exits cleanly after close() — release every process keep-alive (c540d63)
+
+
 ### [8.0.9](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v8.0.8...v8.0.9) (2026-07-02)
 
 - feat: guarded plugin auto-detection — installing @soulcraft/cor is the opt-in (588267b)

CLAUDE.md

@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@ Handoff file: `/home/dpsifr/.strategy/PLATFORM-HANDOFF.md`
 
 **Brainy's current open actions:** None. MIT open-source — no platform-specific actions.
 
-**Current version:** `@soulcraft/brainy@7.31.5` (latest published; 8.0.0 release candidate on `feat/8.0-u64-ids`)
+**Current version:** run `npm view @soulcraftlabs/brainy version --registry https://source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/` (never trust a hardcoded number here — this line went stale for months); consumer-facing changes tracked in `RELEASES.md`
 
 ---
 
 ## Project Overview
 
-Brainy is a Universal Knowledge Protocol -- a Triple Intelligence database that combines vector similarity search, graph traversal, and metadata filtering into a single TypeScript library. Published as `@soulcraft/brainy` on npm under the MIT license.
+Brainy is a Universal Knowledge Protocol -- a Triple Intelligence database that combines vector similarity search, graph traversal, and metadata filtering into a single TypeScript library. Published as `@soulcraftlabs/brainy` on The Source (source.soulcraft.com registry) under the MIT license.
 
 ## Getting Started
 
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ test: add/update tests       (patch version bump)
 
 ## Docs Pipeline — soulcraft.com/docs
 
-Docs in `docs/**/*.md` are published with the npm package (included in `files`) and synced to soulcraft.com/docs on every portal deploy. Frontmatter controls what appears publicly.
+Docs in `docs/**/*.md` are published with the npm package (included in `files`) and go live on soulcraft.com/docs via the docs ingest API: the release script's `scripts/push-docs.js` step POSTs every public doc to `https://soulcraft.com/api/docs/ingest` (auth: `DOCS_INGEST_SECRET` in the environment). No separate deploy step is involved (the old deploy-to-publish flow was retired in a platform change, 2026-08). Frontmatter controls what appears publicly.
 
 ### Docs check triggers
 
@@ -161,9 +161,9 @@ npm run release:major        # Breaking changes (rare, manual decision)
 The script: verifies clean git state, builds, tests, bumps version, updates CHANGELOG.md, commits, tags, pushes, publishes to npm, and creates a GitHub release.
 
 After a successful release, remind the user:
-> "Published. Deploy portal to pick up the new docs → go to the portal project and deploy."
+> "Published. Docs are live on soulcraft.com/docs (pushed via the ingest API during the release) — spot-check a changed page with curl."
 
-Do NOT deploy portal from here. Portal is always deployed separately from within the portal project.
+There is no separate deploy step anymore. If the docs push failed (the script warns loudly), re-run `node scripts/push-docs.js` with `DOCS_INGEST_SECRET` set.
 
 ## Closed-Source Product Names — HARD RULE
 

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -1,298 +1,77 @@
 # Contributing to Brainy
 
-Thank you for your interest in contributing to Brainy! This document provides guidelines and instructions for contributing to the project.
+Brainy is MIT-licensed and genuinely open to outside contributions. This page
+is the honest, current path — please don't rely on older instructions you
+may find elsewhere in the repo's history.
 
-## Code of Conduct
+## Where the project lives
 
-By participating in this project, you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct:
+The source of truth is a self-hosted forge: **source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy**.
-- Be respectful and inclusive
+It's anonymously readable and cloneable — no account needed to browse, clone,
-- Welcome newcomers and help them get started
+or build.
-- Focus on constructive criticism
-- Respect differing viewpoints and experiences
 
-## How to Contribute
+## How to contribute
 
-### Reporting Issues
+**Found a bug, or have an idea?** Email **brainy@soulcraft.com**. No account,
+no ceremony — you'll get a receipt, and it goes to a human.
 
-Before creating an issue, please check existing issues to avoid duplicates.
+**Want to send a patch?** Two ways, both first-class:
 
-When creating an issue, include:
+- **Email a patch.** Run `git format-patch` against your change and email the
-- Clear, descriptive title
+  output to **brainy@soulcraft.com**. This is a genuinely supported path, not
-- Detailed description of the problem
+  a fallback — plenty of good contributions arrive this way.
-- Steps to reproduce
+- **Open a pull request on the forge.** Request an account at
-- Expected vs actual behavior
+  **source.soulcraft.com** (registration is request-with-approval, so allow
-- System information (OS, Node version, Brainy version)
+  a little lag), clone, push a branch, and open a PR there. Maintainers
-- Code examples if applicable
+  review and land it.
 
-### Suggesting Features
+Either way, for anything beyond a small fix, opening an issue first (email is
+fine) to talk through the approach saves everyone rework.
 
-Feature requests are welcome! Please provide:
+## Development setup
-- Clear use case
-- Proposed API/interface
-- Examples of how it would work
-- Any potential challenges or considerations
 
-### Pull Requests
-
-#### Before Starting
-
-1. Check existing issues and PRs
-2. Open an issue to discuss significant changes
-3. Fork the repository
-4. Create a feature branch from `main`
-
-#### Development Setup
-
-**Quick Setup (Recommended):**
 ```bash
-# Clone your fork
+git clone https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy.git
-git clone https://github.com/your-username/brainy.git
 cd brainy
-
-# Run setup script (installs all dependencies including Rust)
-./scripts/setup-dev.sh
-```
-
-**Manual Setup:**
-```bash
-# Clone your fork
-git clone https://github.com/your-username/brainy.git
-cd brainy
-
-# Install system dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
-sudo apt-get install -y build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev
-
-# Install Rust (for WASM embedding engine)
-curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
-source ~/.cargo/env
-rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
-cargo install wasm-pack
-
-# Install Node.js dependencies
 npm install
-
-# Build Candle WASM embedding engine
-npm run build:candle
-
-# Build TypeScript
 npm run build
-
-# Run tests
 npm test
 ```
 
-#### Making Changes
+Tests run on [Vitest](https://vitest.dev/). `npm test` runs the unit suite;
+see `package.json` for `test:integration`, `test:coverage`, and friends.
 
-1. **Follow the code style**
+## Standards
-   - TypeScript for all source code
-   - Clear variable and function names
-   - Comments for complex logic
-   - JSDoc for public APIs
 
-2. **Write tests**
+- **Strict TypeScript.** No `any` escape hatches to dodge the type checker.
-   - Add tests for new features
+- **Tests exercise real behavior.** No mocking away the thing you're supposed
-   - Update tests for changes
+  to be testing.
-   - Ensure all tests pass
+- **No stubs, no TODO-code.** If something can't be finished, say so and
+  leave it out — don't merge a placeholder.
+- **JSDoc on every exported function, class, and type.**
+- **[Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/).** `feat:`,
+  `fix:`, `docs:`, `perf:`, `refactor:`, `test:`, `chore:`. Never
+  `BREAKING CHANGE` in a commit message — major version bumps are a separate,
+  deliberate decision.
+- **Performance claims are measured or labeled projected.** If a PR or its
+  description states a number, cite the benchmark that produced it (see
+  [docs/performance-envelopes.md](docs/performance-envelopes.md) for the
+  pattern). Don't state an estimate as if it were measured.
+- **Measurements carry numbers, not provenance.** Public commit messages and
+  docs give the SHAPE a number was taken at and never where it was taken: no
+  hostnames, no store or deployment identities, no operational anecdotes about
+  someone's running system. "A 14,056-noun / 72,679-verb production-shaped
+  store, measured solo under an exclusive lock" tells a reader everything the
+  number depends on; the machine it ran on and whose data it was tell them
+  nothing except where somebody's infrastructure lives.
+- **Documents that answer or reference a confidential specification never enter
+  this repository, even summarized.** The public docs describe THIS engine and
+  the published contract, and nothing else — a summary of a private document is
+  still that document's contents.
 
-3. **Update documentation**
+## License
-   - Update README if needed
-   - Add/update API documentation
-   - Include examples
 
-#### Commit Guidelines
+Brainy is [MIT licensed](LICENSE). Contributions are accepted under the same
+license — there's no CLA to sign.
 
-Follow conventional commits format:
+Thank you for considering a contribution.
-
-```
-type(scope): description
-
-[optional body]
-
-[optional footer]
-```
-
-Types:
-- `feat`: New feature
-- `fix`: Bug fix
-- `docs`: Documentation changes
-- `style`: Code style changes
-- `refactor`: Code refactoring
-- `perf`: Performance improvements
-- `test`: Test changes
-- `chore`: Build/tooling changes
-
-Examples:
-```bash
-feat(triple): add graph traversal depth limit
-fix(storage): handle concurrent write conflicts
-docs(api): update search method documentation
-```
-
-#### Submitting PR
-
-1. Push to your fork
-2. Create PR against `main` branch
-3. Fill out PR template
-4. Ensure CI checks pass
-5. Wait for review
-
-### Testing
-
-#### Running Tests
-
-```bash
-# Run all tests
-npm test
-
-# Run specific test file
-npm test tests/core.test.ts
-
-# Run with coverage
-npm run test:coverage
-
-# Watch mode
-npm run test:watch
-```
-
-#### Writing Tests
-
-```typescript
-import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
-import { Brainy } from '../src'
-
-describe('Feature Name', () => {
-  it('should do something specific', async () => {
-    const brain = new Brainy()
-    await brain.init()
-    
-    // Test implementation
-    const result = await brain.search("test")
-    
-    expect(result).toBeDefined()
-    expect(result.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
-  })
-})
-```
-
-## Architecture Guidelines
-
-### Adding New Features
-
-1. **Check existing functionality**
-   - Review `ARCHITECTURE.md`
-   - Check if similar features exist
-   - Consider if it should be an augmentation
-
-2. **Design considerations**
-   - Maintain backward compatibility
-   - Consider performance impact
-   - Think about all storage adapters
-   - Plan for extensibility
-
-3. **Implementation checklist**
-   - [ ] Core functionality
-   - [ ] Tests (unit and integration)
-   - [ ] Documentation
-   - [ ] TypeScript types
-   - [ ] Examples
-   - [ ] Performance benchmarks (if applicable)
-
-### Creating Augmentations
-
-Augmentations extend Brainy's functionality:
-
-```typescript
-import { BrainyAugmentation } from '../types'
-
-export class MyAugmentation extends BrainyAugmentation {
-  name = 'MyAugmentation'
-  
-  async onInit(brain: Brainy): Promise<void> {
-    // Initialize augmentation
-  }
-  
-  async onAdd(item: any, brain: Brainy): Promise<any> {
-    // Process before adding
-    return item
-  }
-  
-  async onSearch(query: any, results: any[], brain: Brainy): Promise<any[]> {
-    // Process search results
-    return results
-  }
-}
-```
-
-### Performance Considerations
-
-- Use batch operations where possible
-- Implement caching strategically
-- Consider memory usage
-- Profile performance impacts
-- Add benchmarks for critical paths
-
-## Documentation
-
-### API Documentation
-
-Use JSDoc for all public APIs:
-
-```typescript
-/**
- * Searches for similar items using vector similarity
- * @param query - Search query (text or vector)
- * @param options - Search options
- * @returns Array of search results with scores
- * @example
- * ```typescript
- * const results = await brain.search("machine learning", { limit: 10 })
- * ```
- */
-async search(query: string | Vector, options?: SearchOptions): Promise<SearchResult[]> {
-  // Implementation
-}
-```
-
-### Examples
-
-Add examples for new features:
-
-```typescript
-// examples/feature-name.ts
-import { Brainy } from 'brainy'
-
-async function exampleUsage() {
-  const brain = new Brainy()
-  await brain.init()
-  
-  // Show feature usage
-  // Include comments explaining what's happening
-  // Handle errors appropriately
-}
-
-exampleUsage().catch(console.error)
-```
-
-## Release Process
-
-1. **Version bump**: Follow semantic versioning
-2. **Update CHANGELOG**: Document all changes
-3. **Run tests**: Ensure all tests pass
-4. **Build**: Generate distribution files
-5. **Tag**: Create git tag for version
-6. **Publish**: Release to npm
-
-## Getting Help
-
-- **Discord**: Join our community
-- **Issues**: Ask questions on GitHub
-- **Discussions**: Share ideas and get feedback
-
-## Recognition
-
-Contributors will be recognized in:
-- CHANGELOG.md for their contributions
-- README.md contributors section
-- GitHub contributors page
-
-Thank you for contributing to Brainy! 🧠

README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <p align="center">
-  <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/main/brainy.png" alt="Brainy" width="180">
+  <img src="https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/raw/branch/main/brainy.png" alt="Brainy" width="180">
 </p>
 
 <h1 align="center">Brainy</h1>
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@
 </p>
 
 <p align="center">
-  <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraft/brainy"><img src="https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@soulcraft/brainy.svg" alt="npm version"></a>
+  <a href="https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/-/packages/npm/brainy"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/package-The%20Source-2c3e50.svg" alt="Package on The Source"></a>
-  <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraft/brainy"><img src="https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/@soulcraft/brainy.svg" alt="npm downloads"></a>
+  <a href="https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/repo-open--brainy-2c3e50.svg" alt="Repository"></a>
-  <a href="https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg" alt="CI"></a>
+  <a href="https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/actions"><img src="https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg?branch=main" alt="CI"></a>
   <a href="https://soulcraft.com/docs"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-soulcraft.com-blue.svg" alt="Documentation"></a>
   <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg" alt="MIT License"></a>
   <a href="https://www.typescriptlang.org/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/%3C%2F%3E-TypeScript-%230074c1.svg" alt="TypeScript"></a>
@@ -23,12 +23,15 @@
   <a href="#quick-start">Quick start</a> ·
   <a href="#one-query-three-engines">One query</a> ·
   <a href="#feature-tour">Features</a> ·
-  <a href="#from-laptop-to-hundreds-of-millions">Scale with Cor</a> ·
+  <a href="#when-you-outgrow-brainy">Scale with Cor</a> ·
-  <a href="#documentation">Docs</a>
+  <a href="#documentation">Docs</a> ·
+  <a href="#support--community">Support</a>
 </p>
 
 ---
 
+**Open Brainy** is the MIT engine — the open API, client library, types, and protocol; an openly specified canonical on-disk format; and this TypeScript reference engine, scoped as a single-node engine for stores up to roughly one million rows. `@soulcraft/brainy` 10.4.2 was the last release under the old package name — the name passes to the native engine, **Brainy**, at 11.0.0: the same API over the same open format at production scale, and it requires a license.
+
 Built because we were tired of stitching a vector store to a graph database to a document store — and spending weeks on plumbing before writing a line of business logic. Brainy indexes every fact **three ways at once** and lets one call query them together:
 
 | You write | Brainy indexes it as | You query it with |
@@ -44,12 +47,14 @@ It runs **inside your process** — no server, no Docker, nothing to operate —
 ## Quick start
 
 ```bash
-bun add @soulcraft/brainy        # Bun ≥ 1.1 — recommended
+bun add @soulcraftlabs/brainy        # Bun ≥ 1.1 — recommended
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy    # Node.js ≥ 22
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy    # Node.js ≥ 22
 ```
 
+> **Registry**: add `@soulcraftlabs:registry=https://source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/` to your `.npmrc` (anonymous read).
+
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()                       // in-memory; one line swaps to disk
 await brain.init()
@@ -172,9 +177,11 @@ await brain.vfs.search('React components with hooks')          // semantic file
 
 **[Multi-process model](docs/concepts/multi-process.md)** · **[Inspection guide](docs/guides/inspection.md)**
 
-## From laptop to hundreds of millions
+## When you outgrow Brainy
 
-Brainy's TypeScript engines take you a long way. When you outgrow them, add the native engine — **the API doesn't change**:
+Brainy's pure-TypeScript engines carry real workloads a long way on their own — see the measured, per-operation numbers (not marketing figures) in **[docs/performance-envelopes.md](docs/performance-envelopes.md)** for what to expect, unaccelerated, on plain filesystem storage.
+
+When a deployment needs native-scale vector/graph performance — memory-mapped indexes that don't need your dataset in RAM, billion-scale ambitions — add the native engine. **The API doesn't change:**
 
 ```bash
 npm install @soulcraft/cor
@@ -187,13 +194,14 @@ await brain.init()   // @soulcraft/cor detected — same code, native engines un
 
 Installing the package is the opt-in: if `@soulcraft/cor` is present, it loads and announces itself in the init log; if it's present but broken, `init()` **throws** — an installed accelerator never silently vanishes behind the JS engines. Opt out with `plugins: []`, or pin exactly what loads with `plugins: ['@soulcraft/cor']`. [`@soulcraft/cor`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraft/cor) (Brainy 8.x ↔ Cor 3.x, version-matched) registers Rust implementations behind every provider seam: SIMD distance kernels, memory-mapped storage, a disk-native vector index that doesn't need your dataset in RAM, durable LSM field/graph indexes that serve cold opens instantly, and native aggregation. Recall@10 measured **0.99 / 0.96 / 0.96 at 1M / 10M / 100M vectors** in Cor's release gate.
 
-Open core, commercial accelerator: Brainy is MIT and complete on its own; Cor is licensed and funds both.
+Open core, commercial accelerator: Brainy is MIT and complete on its own — Cor is more headroom for when you need it, not capability held back to sell you later. Licensing and support: **cor@soulcraft.com**.
 
 ## Performance
 
+- Per-operation p50/p95 at 1k and 10k entities, pure-JS floor, measured and re-run every release that touches a measured path: **[docs/performance-envelopes.md](docs/performance-envelopes.md)**.
 - JS distance kernels: **~6× faster cosine, ~1.4× euclidean** than 7.x (measured: [`tests/benchmarks/distance-microbench.mjs`](tests/benchmarks/distance-microbench.mjs), 384-dim, median of 41).
 - Whole-graph reads are single **O(N + E)** cursor walks — a consumer-measured 19k-edge export dropped from ~27 s of per-node calls to one scan.
-- Full numbers and capacity planning: **[docs/PERFORMANCE.md](docs/PERFORMANCE.md)** · **[docs/SCALING.md](docs/SCALING.md)**
+- Capacity planning and architecture: **[docs/PERFORMANCE.md](docs/PERFORMANCE.md)** · **[docs/SCALING.md](docs/SCALING.md)**
 
 ## Use cases
 
@@ -212,6 +220,10 @@ Open core, commercial accelerator: Brainy is MIT and complete on its own; Cor is
 
 **Bun ≥ 1.1** (recommended) or **Node.js ≥ 22**. Brainy 8.x is server-only; the 7.x line remains on npm for browser use.
 
-## Contributing & license
+## Support & community
 
-Contributions welcome — see **[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)**. MIT © Brainy Contributors.
+- **Bugs and ideas** → **brainy@soulcraft.com** — no account needed, you'll get a receipt.
+- **Security reports** → **security@soulcraft.com** — see **[SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md)**.
+- **Contributing** → see **[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)**.
+
+MIT © Brainy Contributors.

SECURITY.md

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+# Security Policy
+
+## Reporting a vulnerability
+
+Email **security@soulcraft.com**. That's the one door for security reports
+across the company, and it works the same way for Brainy: every report is
+read by a human, you'll get a private receipt, and we'll work with you on
+coordinated disclosure — please don't open a public issue for anything
+that isn't already public.
+
+Include what you'd want if you were on the other end: affected version,
+how to reproduce, and what you think the impact is. If you have a patch or
+a suggested fix, send it along — it's welcome but not required.
+
+There is no bounty program today. We're saying that plainly so you know
+what to expect going in.
+
+## Response time
+
+We respond as fast as truth allows. That means: no fixed SLA, no promise of
+a reply within a specific number of hours — but a real report from a real
+person gets read promptly and taken seriously. If you haven't heard anything
+in a reasonable stretch, a follow-up email is completely fine.
+
+## Supported versions
+
+The latest `8.x` minor release line receives security fixes. If you're
+running an older major version, please upgrade before reporting — we can't
+commit to backporting fixes to unsupported lines.
+
+## Scope
+
+This policy covers the `@soulcraftlabs/brainy` package itself — the code in
+this repository. If you're evaluating a deployment that also uses
+`@soulcraft/cor`, report issues in that package the same way, to the same
+address; we'll route internally.

bin/brainy-ts.js

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 /**
  * Modern TypeScript CLI Runner
  * 
- * This is the entry point after npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+ * This is the entry point after npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
  * It runs the compiled TypeScript CLI code
  */
 

bun.lock

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "configVersion": 0,
   "workspaces": {
     "": {
-      "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
+      "name": "@soulcraftlabs/brainy",
       "dependencies": {
         "@aws-sdk/client-s3": "^3.540.0",
         "@azure/identity": "^4.0.0",

docs/DEVELOPER_LEARNING_PATH.md

@@ -25,13 +25,13 @@
 
 ### Prerequisites
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ### Your First Neural Database
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Step 1: Create and initialize Brainy
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ Once you're comfortable with basic operations, move to **Level 2** to learn abou
 ### Building a Knowledge Graph
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
 await brain.init()
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ Ready for AI-powered search and clustering? Move to **Level 3**.
 ### Triple Intelligence in Action
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
 await brain.init()
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ Want to treat files as intelligent entities? Learn the **Virtual Filesystem** in
 ### Files as Intelligent Entities
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
 await brain.init()
@@ -832,7 +832,7 @@ Ready for production deployment? Level 5 covers **planet-scale architecture**.
 ### Production-Ready Deployment
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // 1. PRODUCTION STORAGE - Filesystem with off-site snapshots
 console.log('Initializing production storage...\n')

docs/FIND_SYSTEM.md

@@ -1217,7 +1217,7 @@ where: {
 await brain.find({ type: 'Document' })
 
 // ✅ Correct: Use NounType enum
-import { NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 await brain.find({ type: NounType.Document })
 
 // ❌ Error: Operator not recognized

docs/MIGRATION-V3-TO-V4.md

@@ -153,13 +153,13 @@ brainy-data/
 ### Step 1: Update Brainy Package
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@latest
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@latest
 ```
 
 **Check your version:**
 ```bash
-npm list @soulcraft/brainy
+npm list @soulcraftlabs/brainy
-# Should show: @soulcraft/brainy@4.0.0
+# Should show: @soulcraftlabs/brainy@4.0.0
 ```
 
 ### Step 2: No Code Changes Required! ✅
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ If you encounter issues, you can rollback:
 
 ```bash
 # Reinstall v3
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@^3.50.0
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@^3.50.0
 
 # Restart application
 ```
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ rm -rf ./data
 cp -r ./data-backup ./data
 
 # Reinstall v3
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@^3.50.0
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@^3.50.0
 ```
 
 ## Common Migration Scenarios
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ console.log('Storage type:', status.type)
 
 **Migration Checklist:**
 - ✅ Backup data
-- ✅ Update npm package (`npm install @soulcraft/brainy@latest`)
+- ✅ Update npm package (`npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@latest`)
 - ✅ Restart application (automatic migration)
 - ✅ Verify data integrity
 - ✅ Enable lifecycle policies

docs/PERFORMANCE.md

@@ -323,58 +323,24 @@ Only the graph adjacency index carries a committed scale assertion:
 - ✅ **Single-Node by Design**: One process owns one `path`; scale out at the service layer
 - ✅ **Zero Stubs**: Every line of code is production-ready
 
-## Lazy Loading Performance
+## Index Build at Open (10.4+)
 
-Brainy supports two initialization modes for optimal performance across different use cases:
+As of 10.4, `brain.init()` runs every needed index rebuild to completion before
+it returns — always, regardless of dataset size. There is no lazy,
+first-query rebuild path: a brain either finishes opening healthy, or `init()`
+fails loudly. `disableAutoRebuild` no longer defers index construction to a
+first query; it has no effect on *when* a rebuild runs. Manual control over
+rebuilds is `repairIndex({ rebuild: [...] })`. See
+[Index Health](concepts/index-health.md) for the full read-gate contract
+(providers self-report readiness via `healthReport()`; a read against a
+not-serving provider throws a typed `*NotReadyError` rather than rebuilding
+mid-query).
 
-### Mode 1: Auto-Rebuild (Default)
+<!-- The pre-10.4 "Mode 2: Lazy Loading on First Query" section previously
-
+     documented here (disableAutoRebuild deferring index construction to the
-```javascript
+     first find() call) described a real, now-retired code path. Removed
-const brain = new Brainy()
+     rather than left to mislead; the concept doc above is the current
-await brain.init()  // Rebuilds indexes during init (~500ms-3s for 10K entities)
+     contract. -->
-```
-
-**Performance:**
-- Init time: 500ms-3s (depends on dataset size)
-- First query: Instant (indexes already loaded)
-- Use case: Traditional applications, long-running servers
-
-### Mode 2: Lazy Loading
-
-```javascript
-const brain = new Brainy({ disableAutoRebuild: true })
-await brain.init()  // Returns instantly (0-10ms)
-
-const results = await brain.find({ limit: 10 })  // First query triggers rebuild (~50-200ms)
-const more = await brain.find({ limit: 100 })    // Subsequent queries instant (0ms check)
-```
-
-**Performance:**
-- Init time: 0-10ms (instant)
-- First query: 50-200ms (includes index rebuild for 1K-10K entities)
-- Subsequent queries: 0ms check (instant)
-- Concurrent queries: Wait for same rebuild (mutex prevents duplicates)
-
-**Concurrency Safety:**
-```javascript
-// 100 concurrent queries immediately after init
-await brain.init()
-
-const promises = Array.from({ length: 100 }, () =>
-  brain.find({ limit: 10 })
-)
-
-const results = await Promise.all(promises)
-// ✅ Only 1 rebuild triggered (mutex)
-// ✅ All 100 queries return correct results
-// ✅ Total time: ~60ms (not 6000ms!)
-```
-
-**Use Cases for Lazy Loading:**
-- **Serverless/Edge**: Minimize cold start time (0-10ms init)
-- **Development**: Faster restarts during development
-- **Large datasets**: Defer index loading until needed
-- **Read-heavy workloads**: Writes don't wait for index rebuild
 
 ## Zero Configuration Required
 
@@ -384,10 +350,6 @@ Brainy is designed to be **smart enough to tune itself dynamically**. No configu
 // That's it. Brainy handles everything.
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
-
-// Or with lazy loading for serverless
-const brain = new Brainy({ disableAutoRebuild: true })
-await brain.init()  // Instant (0-10ms)
 ```
 
 ### Automatic Self-Tuning
@@ -395,7 +357,6 @@ await brain.init()  // Instant (0-10ms)
 - **Metadata Index**: Auto-builds sorted indices for range queries on first use
 - **Graph Index**: Auto-flushes every 30 seconds
 - **Default Tuning**: Research-based vector index defaults
-- **Lazy Loading**: Indices built only when needed
 - **Cache Management**: LRU caches with TTL
 
 ### Intelligent Defaults

docs/PLUGINS.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ next:
   - guides/storage-adapters
 ---
 
-# Plugin Development Guide
+# Plugin System
 
 Brainy has a plugin system that allows third-party packages to replace internal subsystems with custom implementations. This is how `@soulcraft/cor` provides optional native acceleration, and it's the same system available to any developer.
 
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ If no plugin provides a given key, brainy uses its built-in JavaScript implement
 ### 1. Implement the `BrainyPlugin` interface
 
 ```typescript
-import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from '@soulcraft/brainy/plugin'
+import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/plugin'
 
 const myPlugin: BrainyPlugin = {
   name: 'my-brainy-plugin',  // Must be unique (typically your npm package name)
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ await brain.init()
 **Programmatic registration:** For plugins not installed as npm packages, use `brain.use()`:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import myPlugin from './my-plugin.js'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
@@ -149,6 +149,17 @@ context.registerProvider('embedBatch', async (texts: string[]) => {
 
 ### Index Providers
 
+> **Write-path invariant (the change-feed contract).** Every canonical
+> mutation flows through Brainy's generation-store commit points — index
+> providers are invoked *inside* that commit and never originate canonical
+> writes of their own. The `brain.onChange` change feed is emitted from those
+> commit points and relies on this: **a plugin must never introduce a write
+> path that bypasses the generation-store commit.** If a future provider ever
+> needs a direct native ingest path, it must either route through the commit
+> or emit equivalent change events — otherwise every `onChange` consumer
+> (live UIs, cache invalidation, realtime sync) silently develops a blind
+> spot.
+
 #### `vector`
 **Type:** `(config: object, distanceFunction: Function, options: object) => VectorIndexProvider-compatible`
 
@@ -181,6 +192,42 @@ context.registerProvider('vector', (config, distanceFn, options) => {
 })
 ```
 
+#### The readiness contract (all three index providers)
+
+A provider that **persists its derived index** should implement the optional readiness
+members so a warm reopen never pays a redundant rebuild-from-canonical:
+
+- **`init?(): Promise<void>`** — eager cold-load. Brainy awaits it once during
+  `brain.init()`, after the metadata provider's `init()` (the id-mapper hydrates first)
+  and **before the rebuild gate**.
+- **`healthReport?(): HealthReport`** — the PREFERRED signal (10.4+). A named,
+  synchronous, O(1) verdict derived from the provider's own exact ledgers — never a
+  sample, never I/O, must never throw for a well-formed provider. Brainy's read gate
+  (`assessProviderHealth()`) reads this INSTEAD of `isReady()` / size heuristics when
+  present: `serving: false` refuses the read with a typed `*NotReadyError` rather than
+  triggering a rebuild — a read never starts a store walk. `healthy` marks every
+  *verified* invariant holding; a family named in `unledgered` counts as neither
+  healthy nor broken. See `HealthReport` / `LedgerInvariantResult` /
+  `InvariantSource` in `src/plugin.ts`, and
+  [Index Health](concepts/index-health.md) for the consumer-facing story.
+- **`isReady?(): boolean`** — honest durability signal, the fallback when
+  `healthReport()` is absent. `true` ⇔ the persisted index is loaded (or cheaply
+  demand-loadable) and consistent with what was last persisted. When exposed, the
+  gate defers to this signal **instead of** the `size() === 0` / `totalEntries === 0`
+  heuristics — a disk-native index may report 0 resident entries while fully durable.
+  Never return `true` if the durable state failed to load: the signal is honest in
+  both directions, and a not-ready provider gets its rebuild even when `size() > 0`.
+- **`isMigrating?(): boolean`** — while `true`, the provider owns its index (background
+  migration); brainy skips its rebuild entirely.
+- **`validateInvariants?(): Promise<ProviderInvariantReport>`** — the async DEEP
+  diagnostic (full scans allowed), distinct from the bounded, sync `healthReport()`.
+  Must never throw — a failure is `healthy: false` data, not an exception; a provider
+  that throws anyway is read as a loud, unverified failure (never as "healthy") by
+  every caller, never silently retried into a rebuild.
+
+Providers that implement none of these keep the size/count heuristics — correct for
+engines whose `rebuild()` *is* their load path (like brainy's built-in JS vector index).
+
 #### `metadataIndex`
 **Type:** `(storage: StorageAdapter) => MetadataIndexManager-compatible`
 
@@ -225,10 +272,10 @@ When provided by an optional native acceleration plugin (such as `@soulcraft/cor
 #### `cache`
 **Type:** `UnifiedCache`
 
-Replaces the global `UnifiedCache` singleton used for VFS path resolution, semantic caching, and vector index caching. Must implement the `UnifiedCache` interface (available from `@soulcraft/brainy/internals`).
+Replaces the global `UnifiedCache` singleton used for VFS path resolution, semantic caching, and vector index caching. Must implement the `UnifiedCache` interface (available from `@soulcraftlabs/brainy/internals`).
 
 ```typescript
-import type { UnifiedCache } from '@soulcraft/brainy/internals'
+import type { UnifiedCache } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/internals'
 
 context.registerProvider('cache', myNativeCache)
 ```
@@ -278,8 +325,8 @@ Plugins can register custom storage backends that users reference by name.
 ### Implementing a Storage Adapter
 
 ```typescript
-import type { StorageAdapterFactory } from '@soulcraft/brainy/plugin'
+import type { StorageAdapterFactory } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/plugin'
-import type { StorageAdapter } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import type { StorageAdapter } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 class MyStorageAdapter implements StorageAdapter {
   async init(): Promise<void> { /* ... */ }
@@ -313,9 +360,9 @@ Brainy provides three entry points for plugin developers:
 
 | Import Path | Contents | Stability |
 |-------------|----------|-----------|
-| `@soulcraft/brainy` | Public API, types, StorageAdapter | Stable (semver) |
+| `@soulcraftlabs/brainy` | Public API, types, StorageAdapter | Stable (semver) |
-| `@soulcraft/brainy/plugin` | BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext, StorageAdapterFactory | Stable (semver) |
+| `@soulcraftlabs/brainy/plugin` | BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext, StorageAdapterFactory | Stable (semver) |
-| `@soulcraft/brainy/internals` | UnifiedCache, EntityIdMapper, logger utilities | Internal (may change between minor versions) |
+| `@soulcraftlabs/brainy/internals` | UnifiedCache, EntityIdMapper, logger utilities | Internal (may change between minor versions) |
 
 ## Diagnostics
 
@@ -393,7 +440,7 @@ A minimal but useful plugin that provides SIMD-accelerated distance calculations
 
 ```typescript
 // simd-distance-plugin/src/plugin.ts
-import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from '@soulcraft/brainy/plugin'
+import type { BrainyPlugin, BrainyPluginContext } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/plugin'
 
 // Hypothetical native module
 import { simdCosineDistance } from './native.js'
@@ -423,7 +470,7 @@ export default simdDistancePlugin
   "main": "./dist/plugin.js",
   "types": "./dist/plugin.d.ts",
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "@soulcraft/brainy": ">=7.0.0"
+    "@soulcraftlabs/brainy": ">=7.0.0"
   }
 }
 ```
@@ -431,7 +478,7 @@ export default simdDistancePlugin
 Usage:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ plugins: ['brainy-simd-distance'] })
 await brain.init()

docs/PRODUCTION_SERVICE_ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ After 40 API calls:
 
 ```typescript
 // server.ts
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // SINGLETON INSTANCE
 let brainInstance: Brainy | null = null
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ process.on('SIGTERM', async () => {
 
 ```typescript
 // server.ts - Clean Bun implementation
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brain: Brainy | null = null
 

docs/README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()

docs/RELEASE-GUIDE.md

@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Examples:
 
 ```bash
 # 1. Deprecate wrong version on npm
-npm deprecate @soulcraft/brainy@X.X.X "Incorrect version - use Y.Y.Y"
+npm deprecate @soulcraftlabs/brainy@X.X.X "Incorrect version - use Y.Y.Y"
 
 # 2. Fix version in package.json
 # 3. Republish correct version
@@ -119,4 +119,13 @@ gh release create vY.Y.Y --generate-notes
 - **Most releases should be MINOR or PATCH**
 - **Major versions should be RARE**
 - **When in doubt, it's probably MINOR**
-- **NEVER use "BREAKING CHANGE" for internal changes**
+- **NEVER use "BREAKING CHANGE" for internal changes**
+## Hard Ordering Constraints (check before EVERY release)
+
+- **Embedding model changes are SEQUENCED, not free.** No release may change the
+  embedding model (or its quantization/dimensions) before **vector model-version
+  stamping + hard-error-on-mismatch** ships. Stored vectors carry no model version
+  today; mixing vectors from two models silently corrupts every similarity
+  comparison. If a model bump is ever proposed, the stamping work moves ahead of
+  it in the schedule — coordinate with the native provider so both engines stamp
+  and enforce identically. (Registered with the native-provider team 2026-07-07.)

docs/SCALING.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 
 ### In-Memory
 ```typescript
-import Brainy from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import Brainy from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'memory' } })
 ```
 
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ The native vector provider (via the optional `@soulcraft/cor` package) extends t
 
 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
+open-core (pure-TypeScript) path — what you get from `@soulcraftlabs/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):

docs/api/README.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ next:
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy() // Zero config!
 await brain.init() // VFS auto-initialized!
@@ -1010,7 +1010,7 @@ await db.release()                        // unpin + free cached materialization
 
 ### Db API errors
 
-All exported from `@soulcraft/brainy`:
+All exported from `@soulcraftlabs/brainy`:
 
 | Error | Thrown by | Meaning |
 |---|---|---|
@@ -1451,6 +1451,34 @@ const count = await brain.getVerbCount()
 
 ---
 
+### The canonical count ledger (`StorageAdapter.getCanonicalCounts()`)
+
+An OPTIONAL method on the `StorageAdapter` interface (implemented by both
+built-in adapters), not a method on `Brainy` itself — relevant if you're
+writing a custom storage adapter or composing a provider's own
+`healthReport()`. O(1), no I/O. Per family (`nouns`/`verbs`):
+
+```typescript
+interface CanonicalCounts {
+  nouns: { counted: number; all: number }
+  verbs: { counted: number; all: number }
+  suspect: boolean
+}
+```
+
+- `counted` mirrors `getNounCount()` / `getVerbCount()` (public + internal tiers).
+- `all` is the ALL-visibility scalar — every tier, including system/internal
+  records — the denominator a derived index's own coverage math is measured
+  against.
+- `suspect` is `true` when an unprovable delete has left `all` unverified since
+  the last recount; `brain.repairIndex()` clears it with a real canonical walk.
+
+Adapters without the ledger omit the method; treat absence as "no
+denominator," never as zero. See
+**[Index Health](../concepts/index-health.md)** for the full story.
+
+---
+
 ### Subtype & facet APIs
 
 Full guide: **[Subtypes & Facets](../guides/subtypes-and-facets.md)**.
@@ -1831,6 +1859,104 @@ const semanticOnly = await brain.getStats({ excludeVFS: true })
 
 ---
 
+### `repairIndex(options?)` → `Promise<RepairReport>`
+
+The ceremony door for index repair. Bare `repairIndex()` is report-driven: it
+prunes orphaned containers, recomputes count rollups, reconciles VFS
+containment, and rebuilds only a derived-index family whose own health check
+asks for it. Pass `options.rebuild` to force one or more families to rebuild
+UNCONDITIONALLY — no health check is consulted — when an operator has
+independent reason to reconcile a family regardless of what it self-reports.
+
+```typescript
+// Report-driven: only heals what actually needs it
+const report = await brain.repairIndex()
+console.log(report.healedTotal, report.families)
+
+// Explicit: force the graph adjacency to rebuild from canonical, unconditionally
+await brain.repairIndex({ rebuild: ['graph'] })
+
+// Explicit: force all three derived indexes to rebuild
+await brain.repairIndex({ rebuild: 'all' })
+```
+
+**`RepairReport`:**
+- `families: RepairFamilyReport[]` — one row per family checked
+- `healedTotal: number` — items healed across every family
+- `durationMs: number`
+
+**`RepairFamilyReport`** (one row):
+- `family: string` — e.g. `'orphaned-containers'`, `'count-rollups'`,
+  `'vfs-containment'`, `'metadata-corruption'`, `'provider:metadata'`,
+  `'provider:graph'`, `'provider:vector'`
+- `checked: boolean` — was this family actually examined (`false` ⇒ see `skipped`)
+- `healed: number` — items re-posted/corrected in place (the incremental heal count)
+- `missing?: { count: number; sample: string[] }` — exact count plus a capped id
+  sample when the check can name what diverged (never the full list)
+- `rebuilt?: boolean` — a full generational rebuild ran (vs. an incremental heal)
+- `detail?: string` / `reason?: string` — narration
+- `skipped?: string` — why the family wasn't checked
+
+Full walkthrough — what each family checks, degraded-but-serving vs. not-ready,
+and what `suspect` counts mean — in
+**[Index Health](../concepts/index-health.md)**.
+
+---
+
+### Index readiness: typed errors, `healthReport()`, `disableAutoRebuild`
+
+Every derived-index provider (vector, graph, metadata) may expose a named,
+synchronous, O(1) `healthReport()` composed from its own exact ledgers — the
+signal Brainy's read gate trusts over sampling or size heuristics. `init()`
+brings every provider to serving before it returns; there is no first-query
+lazy-rebuild path. A read that reaches a provider whose health report says it
+isn't serving throws instead of rebuilding mid-query:
+
+| Error | Thrown by | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|
+| `GraphIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ connected })`, `neighbors()`, `related()` | Graph adjacency isn't serving |
+| `MetadataIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ where })` | Metadata/field index isn't serving |
+| `VectorIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ query })`, `similar()` | Vector index isn't serving |
+
+All three are exported from `@soulcraftlabs/brainy`. Catch them to distinguish
+"index not ready" from a genuine empty result:
+
+```typescript
+import { MetadataIndexNotReadyError } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
+
+try {
+  const rows = await brain.find({ where: { status: 'active' } })
+} catch (err) {
+  if (err instanceof MetadataIndexNotReadyError) {
+    // reconcile: await brain.repairIndex(), then retry
+  } else {
+    throw err
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**`disableAutoRebuild`** no longer defers index construction to the first
+query. A needed rebuild always runs at `open()`, regardless of this flag or
+dataset size; the flag has no effect on *when* a rebuild runs. Full manual
+control lives in `repairIndex({ rebuild: [...] })`, above.
+
+### `validateIndexConsistency()` → `Promise<...>`
+
+The deep, async diagnostic counterpart to `healthReport()` — safe to run on a
+live brain, but does more work (a provider's `validateInvariants()` may run a
+full scan, not just read a ledger). Aggregates the JS metadata index's own
+consistency check with every derived-index provider's invariant report.
+
+```typescript
+const validation = await brain.validateIndexConsistency()
+if (!validation.healthy) {
+  console.log(validation.recommendation) // what to run, e.g. repairIndex()
+  console.log(validation.providers)      // each provider's own invariant report, when exposed
+}
+```
+
+---
+
 ## Lifecycle
 
 ### Initialization
@@ -2082,7 +2208,7 @@ For the full taxonomy with all 169 types and their descriptions, see:
 - **📖 Documentation:** [Full Documentation](../)
 - **🐛 Issues:** [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/issues)
 - **💬 Discussions:** [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/discussions)
-- **📦 NPM:** [@soulcraft/brainy](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraft/brainy)
+- **📦 NPM:** [@soulcraftlabs/brainy](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraftlabs/brainy)
 - **⭐ GitHub:** [Star us](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy)
 
 ---

docs/architecture/data-storage-architecture.md

@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ locks/_flush_responses/     # writer answers with <uuid>.ack
 | **Counts/statistics** | Per-type and per-subtype maps | `_system/{type,subtype,verb-subtype}-statistics.json.gz`, `counts.json` | Recomputable by scanning entities (`brainy inspect repair`) |
 
 A pluggable index provider (the 8.0 plugin contract in
-`@soulcraft/brainy/plugin`) may replace any of the JS implementations; the
+`@soulcraftlabs/brainy/plugin`) may replace any of the JS implementations; the
 persisted formats above are contract-bound so JS and native implementations
 can interleave on the same directory.
 
@@ -369,7 +369,10 @@ await brain.restore('/backups/today', { confirm: true })   // replace store stat
   through the metadata index, not the filesystem.
 - **`_system/`** holds singletons plus 256 hash buckets of index state.
 - **`_generations/` + `manifest.json` + `tx-log.jsonl`** implement
-  generational MVCC; `transact()` is the unit of history.
+  generational MVCC. History is per-write: every `add()`/`update()`/`remove()`/
+  `relate()` gets its own generation, and `transact()` groups several ops into
+  one atomic generation. (Single-op retention has been the model since 8.0;
+  you never need to route a write through `transact()` just to keep its history.)
 - **`_column_index/` + `_blobs/`** hold the columnar metadata runs and binary
   blobs (VFS content included).
 - **`locks/`** coordinates the single writer and reader flush requests, and

docs/architecture/finite-type-system.md

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ class TypeAwareMetadataIndex {
 **The Design**: Specify types clearly in your API calls:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Add entity with explicit type
 await brain.add({
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ class OrgEnrichmentAugmentation {
 **Brainy's Approach**: Extract **typed** concepts:
 
 ```typescript
-import { NaturalLanguageProcessor } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { NaturalLanguageProcessor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const nlp = new NaturalLanguageProcessor()
 const concepts = await nlp.extractConcepts("Alice works at Google in San Francisco")
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ import {
   getVerbTypes,
   BrainyTypes,
   suggestType
-} from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+} from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Get all available noun types
 const nounTypes = getNounTypes()

docs/architecture/index-architecture.md

@@ -723,6 +723,14 @@ async stats(): Promise<Statistics> {
 
 ### 5. Index Rebuilding (Lazy Loading Support)
 
+> **Stale as of 10.4 — "Mode 2: Lazy Loading on First Query" below is
+> RETIRED.** `disableAutoRebuild` no longer defers index construction to a
+> first query; `brain.init()` now runs every needed rebuild to completion
+> before it returns, unconditionally, and a read against a not-serving
+> provider throws a typed `*NotReadyError` instead of rebuilding mid-query.
+> See `docs/concepts/index-health.md` for the current contract. Left below
+> as historical background on the rebuild mechanics.
+
 **Two modes of index loading:**
 
 #### Mode 1: Auto-Rebuild on init() (default)

docs/architecture/initialization-and-rebuild.md

@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 # Initialization and Rebuild Processes
 
+> **Stale as of 10.4 — "Mode 2: Lazy Loading on First Query" below is RETIRED.**
+> `disableAutoRebuild` no longer defers index construction to a first query;
+> `brain.init()` now runs every needed rebuild to completion before it
+> returns, unconditionally. A read against a not-serving provider throws a
+> typed `*NotReadyError` instead of rebuilding mid-query. See
+> `docs/concepts/index-health.md` for the current contract; this document's
+> line-number references to `src/brainy.ts` also predate the file's current
+> size and are unreliable. Left as historical background on the rebuild
+> mechanics, not as a current API description.
+
 This document explains how Brainy's four indexes (MetadataIndex, vector index, GraphAdjacencyIndex, DeletedItemsIndex) initialize and rebuild from persisted storage.
 
 ## Core Principle: All Indexes Are Disk-Based

docs/architecture/multiprocess-storage-mixin.md

@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ For reference, a clean migration path:
    `isMultiProcessSafe` type-guard. Keep `hasStorageMethod` for
    build/install artifact protection.
 5. Document the new contract in `concepts/storage-adapters.md`.
-6. Major-version-bump the `@soulcraft/brainy` peerDep range expected by
+6. Major-version-bump the `@soulcraftlabs/brainy` peerDep range expected by
    plugins.
 
 Estimated work: ~half a day of code, ~2 hours of doc/example updates,

docs/architecture/noun-verb-taxonomy.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ next:
 Every example on this page is written against the real Brainy 8.0 API. The setup is always the same:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Brainy's **Noun-Verb Taxonomy** achieves broad coverage of human knowledge throu
 - **Multi-hop Graph Traversals = Relationship Complexity**
 - **Result: Model data across virtually any industry**
 
-Every piece of information can be represented as entities (nouns) connected by relationships (verbs) carrying properties (metadata). The standardized type system from `@soulcraft/brainy` (`NounType`, `VerbType`) gives those nouns and verbs a stable, shared name.
+Every piece of information can be represented as entities (nouns) connected by relationships (verbs) carrying properties (metadata). The standardized type system from `@soulcraftlabs/brainy` (`NounType`, `VerbType`) gives those nouns and verbs a stable, shared name.
 
 ## The Power of Standardization: Universal Interoperability
 

docs/architecture/zero-config.md

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ constructor and `init()`.
 ## Instant Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // That's it. No config needed.
 const brain = new Brainy()

docs/concepts/field-addressing.md

@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+---
+title: Field addressing: your fields and system fields
+slug: concepts/field-addressing
+public: true
+category: concepts
+template: concept
+order: 7
+description: The one rule for every query-surface field name — a bare name always means your metadata, system.<field> reaches the ten engine scalars explicitly, and anything else refuses by name.
+next:
+  - guides/namespace-migration
+  - concepts/consistency-model
+---
+
+# Field addressing: your fields and system fields
+
+Every query surface in Brainy — `find()`'s `where`, `orderBy`, aggregation
+`groupBy`, and aggregation `source.where` — resolves field names by one rule,
+with no exceptions:
+
+> **A bare field name always means your metadata. `system.<field>` reaches an
+> engine scalar, and only when you spell it explicitly.**
+
+```typescript
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'level' })          // reads entity.metadata.level — YOUR field
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'system.createdAt' }) // reads the engine's createdAt scalar
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'metadata.level' })   // identical to bare 'level' — explicit scope
+```
+
+There is no priority list, no "try the system field, fall back to metadata"
+behavior, and no name that resolves differently depending on what else
+happens to exist on your entities. A field called `level`, `score`,
+`createdAt`, or `type` in your own `metadata` is read as *your* field, every
+time, by its bare name.
+
+## Why this rule exists
+
+An internal report from a production deployment found that a user metadata
+field literally named `level` was being silently shadowed by the engine's
+own internal index layer field of the same name — every sort by `level`
+returned insertion order, with no error raised. This rule makes that class of
+bug structurally impossible: bare names belong to you, unconditionally, and
+anything that isn't yours has to be spelled out.
+
+## The system scalars
+
+`system.<field>` addresses exactly ten scalars on an entity — no more, no
+fewer:
+
+| System field | What it is |
+|---|---|
+| `system.id` | The entity's id |
+| `system.type` | The entity's `NounType` |
+| `system.subtype` | The per-app sub-classification passed to `add()` |
+| `system.createdAt` | When the entity was created |
+| `system.updatedAt` | When the entity was last written |
+| `system.confidence` | The `confidence` param (0–1) |
+| `system.weight` | The `weight` param |
+| `system.visibility` | `'public'` / `'internal'` (see the visibility tiers in [Consistency Model](./consistency-model.md)) |
+| `system.service` | The multi-tenancy `service` tag |
+| `system.createdBy` | Who/what created the entity |
+
+Relationships mirror the same eight shared scalars (`subtype`, `createdAt`,
+`updatedAt`, `confidence`, `weight`, `visibility`, `service`, `createdBy`)
+plus three of their own:
+
+| System field (relationship) | What it is |
+|---|---|
+| `system.verb` | The relationship's `VerbType` |
+| `system.sourceId` | The id of the entity the relationship starts from |
+| `system.targetId` | The id of the entity the relationship points to |
+
+Anything not on these two lists is not a system scalar — `system.<name>` for
+any other name refuses (see "Refusal semantics" below), even if that name
+sounds like it should be engine-owned.
+
+## Invisible plumbing — never addressable, in either spelling
+
+Five names are pure engine internals. They are not reachable as a bare name,
+and not reachable as `system.<name>` either — they simply have no place on
+the query surface:
+
+- **`vector`** — the stored embedding. It participates in similarity search
+  (`query`, `near`, vector `find()`), never in `where`/`orderBy`/`groupBy`.
+- **`connections`** — graph adjacency. Reached through `connected` and
+  `brain.related()`, not through field addressing.
+- **`level`** — the internal index layer number used by the nearest-neighbor
+  graph. It is pure index plumbing with no query-surface meaning at all —
+  which is exactly why a user field of the same name must never be shadowed
+  by it. `level` as a bare name is always yours; there is no engine-owned
+  spelling of it to compete with.
+- **`data`** — your entity's content payload, not a scalar. It can be a
+  string, a number, or an arbitrary object, so sorting or filtering it as a
+  single comparable value would lie about its actual shape. Content is
+  reached through the content/text-search APIs (`query`, `searchMode:
+  'text'`), not through `where`/`orderBy`.
+- **`_rev`** — the per-entity revision counter used for optimistic
+  concurrency (`ifRev`). It is a CAS token, not a queryable dimension.
+
+`system.level`, `system.vector`, and `system.data` all refuse for the same
+reason: they are not in the ten-scalar system map, full stop.
+
+## `metadata.<field>` — the explicit spelling of "mine"
+
+Prefix any field with `metadata.` to say the same thing a bare name already
+says, spelled out. The two are interchangeable everywhere a field name is
+accepted, including `orderBy`:
+
+```typescript
+await brain.find({ where: { 'customer.tier': 'gold' } })
+await brain.find({ where: { 'metadata.customer.tier': 'gold' } })   // identical
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'metadata.score', order: 'desc' })      // identical to orderBy: 'score'
+```
+
+Reach for the explicit spelling when it reads more clearly next to a
+`system.` field in the same query — for example, sorting by your own `score`
+while filtering on `system.confidence`.
+
+## No special names — the write side
+
+The same law governs writes:
+
+> **Data is either in main space, where developers can use anything, or it
+> is in `system.*`.**
+
+There are **no reserved metadata names**. A field called `confidence`,
+`type`, `id`, `data`, `content`, or anything else inside your `metadata` bag
+is an ordinary user field: it is stored verbatim, indexed, filterable,
+sortable, aggregatable, and it survives restarts, index rebuilds, and
+time-travel (`asOf`) reads exactly as written — even when an engine scalar
+shares its spelling. The engine's values are written only through their
+dedicated params (`confidence`, `weight`, `subtype`, `visibility`, …) and
+read at `system.<field>`; your bag can never touch them and they can never
+shadow your bag.
+
+```typescript
+const id = await brain.add({
+  data: 'Ada Lovelace',
+  type: NounType.Person,
+  confidence: 0.9,                       // the ENGINE scalar
+  metadata: { confidence: 'self-rated' } // YOUR field, same spelling — both live
+})
+
+await brain.find({ where: { confidence: 'self-rated' } })      // finds it (yours)
+await brain.find({ where: { 'system.confidence': 0.9 } })      // finds it (engine's)
+```
+
+The one spelling a write refuses is a metadata key that literally starts
+with `system.` — the explicit address namespace cannot be forged as a user
+field name. That refusal is typed and names the fix.
+
+Value **shape** rules still apply uniformly to every name (they are not name
+carve-outs): arrays longer than 10 elements are not turned into posting-list
+scalars, and very long values are indexed by hash.
+
+## Refusal semantics
+
+A name that resolves to neither your metadata nor a system scalar is a typed
+refusal, not a silent empty result and not a guess. Refusals name **both**
+candidates, so the fix is always in the error text:
+
+```typescript
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'createdAt' })
+// UnresolvableFieldError: no metadata field 'createdAt' — did you mean
+// system.createdAt or metadata.createdAt?
+```
+
+`UnresolvableFieldError` is exported from the package root:
+
+```typescript
+import { UnresolvableFieldError } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
+
+try {
+  await brain.find({ orderBy: 'createdAt' })
+} catch (err) {
+  if (err instanceof UnresolvableFieldError) {
+    // err.message names both candidates — usually enough to fix the call site.
+  }
+}
+```
+
+A handful of `find()` options are not implemented yet: `cursor`,
+`includeRelations`, and `writeOnly`. Rather than accepting them and quietly
+ignoring the option, `find()` refuses with `UnsupportedFindOptionError` —
+also exported from the package root — so a call site can never believe an
+unimplemented option took effect when it didn't.
+
+## The ordering contract
+
+`orderBy` behaves identically regardless of which engine (the pure-TypeScript
+path or a native accelerator) is serving the query:
+
+- An entity missing the `orderBy` field, or holding `null` on it, sorts
+  **LAST — in both `asc` and `desc`**. It is never treated as "smaller than
+  everything" in one direction and "larger than everything" in the other; it
+  is simply last, either way.
+- Rows are **never dropped** from an ordered read because they lack the
+  field — a missing value changes position, never presence.
+- Ties on the `orderBy` field break by **id ascending**, regardless of the
+  primary sort direction.
+
+```typescript
+// employees: [{ score: 9 }, { score: 5 }, { /* no score field */ }]
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'score', order: 'desc' }) // [9, 5, missing] — missing is last
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'score', order: 'asc' })  // [5, 9, missing] — missing is STILL last
+```
+
+## Migrating existing call sites
+
+If you have call sites written before this rule shipped that rely on a bare
+system name — `orderBy: 'createdAt'`, `where: { confidence: { greaterThan:
+0.8 } }`, and similar — they now refuse instead of silently resolving to the
+engine field. The fix is always in the error: swap the bare name for
+`system.<field>` (or `metadata.<field>` if you actually meant your own field
+of that name, and it happens to share a name with a system scalar):
+
+```typescript
+// Before: bare 'createdAt' silently meant the engine's timestamp.
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'createdAt' })
+
+// After: say which one you meant.
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'system.createdAt' })   // the engine timestamp
+await brain.find({ orderBy: 'metadata.createdAt' }) // your own field named createdAt, if you have one
+```
+
+There is no silent migration path by design — every ambiguous call site
+surfaces as a refusal naming its own fix, once, the first time it runs
+against the new rule.
+
+## Where to go next
+
+- [Consistency Model](./consistency-model.md) — visibility tiers, revision
+  counters, and the rest of the read/write contract this page's
+  read-time addressing rule.

docs/concepts/generation-fact-log.md

@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+---
+title: The Generation Fact Log
+slug: concepts/generation-fact-log
+public: true
+category: concepts
+template: concept
+order: 6
+description: Every committed write also appends a self-verifying "fact" — an after-image commit record — to an append-only log. What facts are, the crash-safety model, the scanFacts() streaming surface, family stamps, and how index providers consume the log for sequential heals.
+next:
+  - concepts/consistency-model
+  - guides/snapshots-and-time-travel
+---
+
+# The Generation Fact Log
+
+Since 8.4.0, every committed generation also appends a **fact** — a compact record of what each
+touched entity or relationship *became* — to an append-only, checksummed log under
+`_generations/facts/`. Where the generational history answers *"what did things look like
+before?"* (before-images, powering `asOf()` and rollback), the fact log answers *"what happened,
+in order?"* — one sequential, self-verifying stream of the store's present being written.
+
+Nothing about querying changes. The fact log exists for three consumers:
+
+1. **Index heals and rebuilds** — one sequential read in commit order replaces a per-entity
+   directory walk over millions of files.
+2. **Incremental catch-up** — a derived index that knows which generation it reflects reads *just
+   the gap*, instead of rebuilding from scratch.
+3. **Replay and audit tooling** — anything that wants the store's committed timeline as a stream.
+
+## What a fact is
+
+One fact per committed generation:
+
+- **`generation`** and **`timestamp`** — which commit, when.
+- **`ops`** — every write in that commit: `{ kind: 'noun' | 'verb', id, record }` where `record`
+  holds the entity's full after-image (both stored legs), or **`null` for a tombstone** — a
+  removal carries no body, by design.
+- **`meta`** — the transaction metadata `transact()` was submitted with, when present.
+- **`blobHashes`** — content-blob references, for exact reclamation accounting.
+
+Facts accumulate **from the first write after upgrading** — pre-existing history is not
+retroactively converted, and consumers fall back to the enumeration walk when no log exists.
+
+## Crash safety, in one paragraph
+
+Facts are appended and fsynced **inside the same durability window as the commit itself**, before
+the commit point — so after a crash, the log can only ever be *ahead* of committed truth, never
+behind it with a hole. On open, the store reconciles the log back to the committed watermark:
+torn tails are detected by per-record checksums and cut; whole records beyond the watermark are
+truncated. The invariant every reader can rely on: **an absent generation was never committed; a
+present fact was.** `transact()` facts are durable the moment `transact()` returns; single-op
+facts share the same group-commit flush as the rest of their generation, so a hard kill loses the
+fact and the generation *together* — never a torn state.
+
+## Reading the log
+
+```typescript
+const scan = brain.scanFacts({ fromGeneration: 1 })
+if (scan) {
+  // Telemetry up front — progress bars get a denominator from second zero.
+  console.log(scan.headGeneration, scan.segmentCount, scan.approxFactCount)
+
+  for await (const batch of scan.batches()) {
+    // Each batch: { facts, firstGeneration, lastGeneration, factCount, byteSize, segmentId }
+    for (const fact of batch.facts) {
+      for (const op of fact.ops) {
+        if (op.record === null) {
+          // a tombstone: op.id was removed in this generation
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  console.log(scan.summary()) // { factsYielded, segmentsRead } — the cross-check
+}
+```
+
+- `scanFacts()` returns `null` when the store hosts no fact log (older store, or a storage adapter
+  without binary append support) — fall back to enumerating entities.
+- Scans run against a **snapshot**: facts appended after the scan opens never bleed in, each fact
+  is yielded exactly once, and a detected gap aborts loudly — never a silent skip.
+- `brain.factSegmentPaths()` returns the immutable, *sealed* segment files for zero-copy consumers
+  (the append-mutable tail is excluded — read it through `scanFacts()`).
+
+## Family stamps: how a projection proves it's current
+
+Anything derived from the store — an index, the entity file tree itself — carries a **family
+stamp**: a small JSON record of *which committed generation the projection reflects*
+(`sourceGeneration`) plus the invariants that verify it whole (exact per-file byte sizes for
+bounded families; rollup invariants like entity counts for unbounded ones). At open, coherence is
+a **comparison**, not a walk:
+
+- stamp equals the committed watermark and invariants hold → serve;
+- stamp is behind → the projection reads just the gap from the fact log;
+- invariants fail → loud, named divergence — `brain.repairIndex()` rebuilds from canonical and
+  re-stamps.
+
+The verifier is exported (`verifyFamilyStamp`) so every projection — TypeScript or native — runs
+literally the same check.
+
+## For plugin authors: the storage capability
+
+Index providers receive the storage adapter, not the brain — so the host wires the log onto it.
+Feature-detect and prefer the stream; fall back to enumeration:
+
+```typescript
+const scan = storage.scanFacts?.({ fromGeneration: stamp.sourceGeneration + 1 })
+if (scan) {
+  // sequential catch-up from the log
+} else {
+  // enumeration walk (older store or adapter)
+}
+const committed = storage.committedGeneration?.() // the watermark stamps compare against
+```
+
+Providers must never construct their own reader over the log's files — the open path belongs to
+the single writer (it reconciles the log at open); the capability is the sanctioned seam.

docs/concepts/index-health.md

@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+---
+title: Index Health
+slug: concepts/index-health
+public: true
+category: concepts
+template: concept
+order: 8
+description: How Brainy knows whether a derived index can be trusted — exact accounting instead of sampling, the named health report, degraded-but-serving vs. not-ready, and what repairIndex() checks, heals, and rebuilds.
+next:
+  - concepts/generation-fact-log
+  - guides/inspection
+---
+
+# Index Health
+
+Brainy keeps one **canonical** copy of every entity and relationship, and three
+**derived** indexes built from it — vector, metadata, and graph — so `find()` can
+answer semantically, by filter, and by traversal without re-deriving the answer from
+scratch on every query. A derived index is a cache with a serving structure: it can
+be present but stale, present but only partially loaded, or fully out of sync with
+canonical after a crash. This page is about how Brainy decides whether to trust one,
+what it does when it can't, and how you reconcile the two.
+
+## Exact accounting instead of sampling
+
+Older health checks worked by inference: does `size()` return something greater
+than zero, does a spot-check on one known item come back correct. Both are proxies.
+A cold index can report a nonzero count while its actual serving structure never
+loaded, and a spot-check only proves the one item it happened to ask about.
+
+Every derived-index provider may now expose a named, synchronous, O(1)
+`healthReport()` — composed from the provider's own **exact ledgers** (real counters
+it already maintains on the write path), never a sample or a walk. This is the one
+signal Brainy's read gate consults. A provider that doesn't yet expose one falls
+back to an honest `isReady()` boolean, and finally to a size heuristic for engines
+with neither — but wherever a `healthReport()` exists, it wins.
+
+Underneath, storage itself keeps an analogous **canonical count ledger**: a
+`counted` scalar (the user-facing total — what `getNounCount()` / `getVerbCount()`
+return) and an `all` scalar (every tier, including internal records a derived
+index's own coverage math needs to compare against). This is the real denominator
+a provider's `healthReport()` measures itself by, rather than a total that can only
+ever ratchet upward. See [What `suspect` counts mean](#what-suspect-counts-mean)
+below for the one case that ledger can't stay exact through on its own.
+
+## The named report
+
+A `HealthReport` carries, per provider (`'vector'` / `'graph'` / `'metadata'`):
+
+- **`healthy`** — `true` iff every *verified* invariant holds. An invariant whose
+  family has no ledger yet is `unledgered`, never counted either way — unknown,
+  not passing.
+- **`serving`** — can this provider answer a query right now. A failing invariant
+  graded `heal: 'repair'` or `heal: 'none'` still leaves `serving: true` — this is
+  **degraded-but-serving**: something is off (say, a stale rollup on an
+  `employee` record's relationship count) but reads keep working. Only a failure
+  graded `heal: 'rebuild'` flips `serving` to `false` — **not-ready** — because the
+  provider itself is telling you its serving structure cannot answer correctly.
+- **`invariants`** — each checked condition, with its provenance
+  (`source: 'ledger'` — an exact count; `'deep'` — a full scan, diagnostic-only;
+  `'unledgered'` — not yet tracked) and, for a failing one, an exact `missing`
+  count plus a capped sample of the affected ids — a verdict, never a dump.
+- **`generation`** — bumps on every ledger mutation and rebuild, so a caller can
+  cache a verdict per generation instead of re-deriving it.
+
+The distinction that matters day to day: `healthy: false` can be entirely benign —
+a maintenance window, a divergence `repairIndex()` will clean up on its own
+schedule. `serving: false` is not benign. It means this provider is refusing to
+answer, on its own word, right now.
+
+**How a failure gets its grade — the serving law.** A provider grades `heal` by
+one question only: *could an answer be wrong?* — never *how expensive is the
+fix?* A missing-postings shortfall, however large, is `heal: 'repair'` (re-post
+exactly what the ledger names, reads serving throughout); it can never withhold
+serving just because healing it takes work. `serving` is withheld only by a
+small, named set of rebuild-graded conditions — the index not initialized, its
+durable state absent, a manifest naming files that are not resident, a replay
+that did not complete cleanly — the states in which an answer could genuinely be
+wrong. And a read is only ever refused by the family it actually consults: a
+metadata filter is answered by the metadata index alone, vector search by the
+vector index, traversal by the graph index — one family's refusal never blocks
+another family's reads.
+
+## Reads refuse — they never rebuild
+
+A query that reaches a not-serving provider does not trigger a rebuild from inside
+the read. Brainy retired that path deliberately: a rebuild kicked off by an ordinary
+`find({ where: { status: 'active' } })` call is a dark, unpredictable cost hiding
+behind a request that looks like a cheap read. Instead, the read throws a typed,
+catchable error naming the reason:
+
+| Error | Thrown when | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|
+| `GraphIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ connected })`, `neighbors()`, `related()` | The graph adjacency index isn't serving — traversal would otherwise return `[]` indistinguishable from "no relationships" |
+| `MetadataIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ where })` | The metadata/field index isn't serving — a filtered read would otherwise return `[]` indistinguishable from "no matches" |
+| `VectorIndexNotReadyError` | `find({ query })`, `similar()` | The vector index isn't serving — a semantic search would otherwise return `[]` indistinguishable from "nothing similar" |
+
+All three are exported from `@soulcraftlabs/brainy`. Catch them where your application
+needs to distinguish "this index isn't ready yet" from "there's genuinely nothing
+here" — a health dashboard, a retry policy, an operator alert. The fix is always
+the same: reconcile the index, either by reopening the brain (which brings every
+provider to serving before `init()` returns — see the next section) or by calling
+`repairIndex()` explicitly.
+
+```typescript
+try {
+  const active = await brain.find({ where: { status: 'active' } })
+} catch (err) {
+  if (err instanceof MetadataIndexNotReadyError) {
+    // not a "no results" — the index itself refused; alert or retry after repair
+  } else {
+    throw err
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### Rebuilds happen at open, not on first query
+
+`brain.init()` runs every needed rebuild to completion **before it returns**,
+unconditionally, regardless of dataset size. There is no lazy, first-query
+rebuild path anymore — a brain either finishes opening healthy, or it fails
+open loudly. `disableAutoRebuild: true` no longer defers index construction to
+the first query: it has no effect on *when* a needed rebuild runs. Full manual
+control over rebuilds is `repairIndex({ rebuild: [...] })` (below), not this flag.
+
+## `repairIndex()` — checking and healing
+
+Bare `repairIndex()` is **report-driven**: it only heals what its own checks say
+actually needs it, and it always returns a full per-family receipt.
+
+```typescript
+const report = await brain.repairIndex()
+report.healedTotal   // total items healed across every family
+report.durationMs
+report.families       // one row per family checked
+```
+
+Each `RepairFamilyReport` row names what happened:
+
+- **`checked`** — was this family actually examined (`false` means skipped —
+  see `skipped` for why).
+- **`healed`** — items re-posted or corrected in place.
+- **`missing`** — when the check can name what diverged: an exact `count` plus a
+  capped `sample` of ids.
+- **`rebuilt`** — a full generational rebuild ran (as opposed to an incremental
+  heal).
+- **`detail`** / **`reason`** / **`skipped`** — the receipt's narration; a row is
+  always either checked or explains why it wasn't. Nothing is silent.
+
+On every call, bare `repairIndex()`:
+
+1. Prunes orphaned canonical containers left by a partial delete.
+2. Recomputes the count rollups from one canonical walk (unconditional — this is
+   also what clears a `suspect` ledger; see below).
+3. Reconciles VFS containment edges, if the VFS is initialized.
+4. Runs the metadata index's own corruption detection pass.
+5. Consults each of the three derived-index providers' own health check and
+   rebuilds only a family whose failing invariant actually asks for it
+   (`heal: 'rebuild'`) — never a provider that reports `healthy` or a lesser
+   grade.
+
+### The explicit rebuild door
+
+`options.rebuild` skips the health check and rebuilds one or more families
+**unconditionally** — the operator override for when you have independent reason
+to distrust a family regardless of what it self-reports (a suspicious deploy, a
+storage-layer incident, a support ticket that doesn't match what the health report
+says):
+
+```typescript
+// Force the graph adjacency to rebuild from canonical, no invariant consulted
+await brain.repairIndex({ rebuild: ['graph'] })
+
+// Force all three derived indexes
+await brain.repairIndex({ rebuild: 'all' })
+```
+
+A family named this way is recorded with `rebuilt: true` and
+`reason: 'explicit rebuild requested'`, and is skipped by the normal
+health-driven pass in the same call — it was already rebuilt unconditionally.
+
+Reach for the explicit door when you need certainty regardless of self-report;
+reach for bare `repairIndex()` for routine maintenance and after any incident
+where you're not sure which family (if any) needs it.
+
+## What `suspect` counts mean
+
+Storage's canonical count ledger increments the ALL-visibility total on every new
+record and decrements it on every *proven* delete — one where the record was read,
+or the caller supplied its prior image. A delete that cannot prove what it removed
+existed doesn't guess: it flags the ledger `suspect` (an operator-visible
+`console.warn`, narrated once per session, not once per delete) rather than risk
+decrementing a total that was never incremented for that record in the first
+place. This is intentionally rare — it's a defensive fallback for callers on an
+unusual removal path, not a per-delete cost.
+
+`suspect` is not directly exposed on any `Brainy` method today — it lives on the
+`StorageAdapter`'s optional `getCanonicalCounts()`, primarily consulted by
+`repairIndex()`'s recount step and by custom storage adapters composing their own
+`healthReport()`. What matters for an application: a `suspect` ledger is not
+incorrect, just *unverified since the last recount* — and `repairIndex()`'s
+unconditional count-rollup step (step 2, above) recomputes the ALL scalars from a
+real canonical walk on every call, clearing the flag with proof either way.
+
+## Practical guidance
+
+- **On a normal restart**, do nothing — `init()` brings every provider to
+  serving before it returns, or fails loudly.
+- **On a `*NotReadyError`** from a live read, reconcile with `repairIndex()`
+  (report-driven is almost always sufficient) and retry.
+- **After an incident** where you distrust a specific family regardless of what
+  it reports healthy — a storage-layer fault, a suspicious restore — use the
+  explicit door: `repairIndex({ rebuild: ['metadata' | 'graph' | 'vector'] })`.
+- **To audit before trusting a report**, `brain.auditGraph()` walks every stored
+  relationship and proves (or disproves) that reads return canonical truth,
+  independent of what any provider self-reports — see
+  [Inspecting a Live Brainy](../guides/inspection.md).

docs/concepts/storage-adapters.md

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ The only required override is the capability flag. Returning `true` from
 to call `acquireWriterLock()` at init.
 
 ```typescript
-import { FileSystemStorage } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { FileSystemStorage } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 export class MmapFileSystemStorage extends FileSystemStorage {
   public supportsMultiProcessLocking(): boolean {
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ If your storage is **not filesystem-backed** (a custom
 network backend), extend `BaseStorage` directly:
 
 ```typescript
-import { BaseStorage } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { BaseStorage } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 export class MyCloudStorage extends BaseStorage {
   // BaseStorage's default no-op implementations of the multi-process
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ The defensive check at every new-storage-method call site (`brainy.ts`,
 `hasStorageMethod(name)`) does **not** exist to handle "plugin bundles a
 stale BaseStorage." Plugins ship a dist that preserves the dynamic ESM
 import (verify in your plugin's `dist/`: `import { FileSystemStorage } from
-'@soulcraft/brainy'` is not rewritten to a vendored copy). The prototype
+'@soulcraftlabs/brainy'` is not rewritten to a vendored copy). The prototype
 chain at runtime resolves to whatever Brainy version your consumer has
 installed.
 
@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ installed.
 the prototype chain at the consumer-app level:
 
 - **Stale `node_modules`** — a lingering install from before the consumer
-  upgraded Brainy. The package.json says `@soulcraft/brainy@7.22.0` but
+  upgraded Brainy. The package.json says `@soulcraftlabs/brainy@7.22.0` but
-  `node_modules/@soulcraft/brainy` is still 7.20.x.
+  `node_modules/@soulcraftlabs/brainy` is still 7.20.x.
 - **Lockfile drift** — `bun.lockb` / `package-lock.json` pins a brainy
   version older than the package.json range, and `bun install` honors the
   lockfile.
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ and the warning names the adapter class plus a remediation hint:
 methods on its prototype chain. Writer locking and the flush-request RPC are
 disabled for this directory. Likely fix: clean install (`rm -rf node_modules
 bun.lockb && bun install`) or rebuild your container image to refresh
-`@soulcraft/brainy` to ≥7.21. See docs/concepts/storage-adapters.md.
+`@soulcraftlabs/brainy` to ≥7.21. See docs/concepts/storage-adapters.md.
 ```
 
 ## Authoring a new storage adapter — minimum checklist
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ bun.lockb && bun install`) or rebuild your container image to refresh
    install time — fix install, not your plugin.
 
 6. **Pin your peer dep generously.** `"peerDependencies": {
-   "@soulcraft/brainy": "^7.21.0" }` accepts any compatible 7.x. Don't pin
+   "@soulcraftlabs/brainy": "^7.21.0" }` accepts any compatible 7.x. Don't pin
    to an exact patch unless you're tracking a known regression.
 
 ## Future direction
@@ -185,5 +185,5 @@ follow-up; consumers don't need to anticipate the change.
   heartbeat semantics, what the lock protects.
 - [`guides/inspection`](../guides/inspection.md) — `brainy inspect` and the
   read-only mode.
-- `node_modules/@soulcraft/brainy/dist/storage/baseStorage.d.ts` — the
+- `node_modules/@soulcraftlabs/brainy/dist/storage/baseStorage.d.ts` — the
   authoritative type signatures for every method this page references.

docs/guides/aggregation.md

@@ -11,12 +11,18 @@ No batch jobs. No scheduled recalculations. Aggregates stay current with every w
 **Defining over existing data:** if you define an aggregate on a store that already holds
 matching entities, Brainy backfills it from those entities on the first query (a one-time scan,
 then purely incremental). So `defineAggregate()` behaves the same whether you define it before
-or after the data exists — including when a persisted brain reopens already populated.
+or after the data exists.
+
+**Reopening a persisted brain:** aggregate state persists across restarts. Re-defining the
+same aggregate at boot (the normal declarative pattern) adopts the persisted state directly —
+no rescan. A backfill scan runs only when the definition actually changed, when no persisted
+state exists, or when the state failed to load; and however many aggregates need backfilling,
+they share a single scan.
 
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()

docs/guides/external-backups-and-sparse-storage.md

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+---
+title: External Backups & Sparse Storage
+slug: guides/external-backups
+public: true
+category: guides
+template: guide
+order: 10
+description: How to back up a brain directory with external tools (tar, rsync, cp) without exploding sparse files — why a store can show 100+ GB "apparent" size on a small disk, which files are sparse, and how persist()/restore() handle it for you.
+next:
+  - guides/snapshots-and-time-travel
+  - concepts/storage-adapters
+---
+
+# External Backups & Sparse Storage
+
+The built-in snapshot path — [`db.persist()` and `brain.restore()`](/docs/guides/snapshots-and-time-travel) —
+already handles everything on this page for you. Read this when you back up a brain directory with
+**external tools**: `tar`, `rsync`, `cp`, `scp`, or a filesystem-level backup agent.
+
+## The one-sentence rule
+
+> **Always use the sparse-aware flag**: `tar czSf` (capital `S`), `rsync --sparse`,
+> `cp --sparse=always`. A naive copy can turn a 2 GB store into a 100+ GB one — or fail
+> the disk entirely.
+
+## Why: some files are sparse
+
+When a native accelerator plugin is active, parts of the index live in **memory-mapped files**
+created at a large fixed virtual size — the file's *apparent* size — while the filesystem only
+allocates blocks that were actually written. A brand-new id-mapper file can report tens of
+gigabytes in `ls -l` while occupying a few megabytes on disk.
+
+Check the difference yourself:
+
+```bash
+ls -lh  brain-data/_id_mapper/    # APPARENT size (can be huge)
+du -sh  brain-data/               # ALLOCATED size (the real footprint)
+```
+
+The sparse candidates in a brain directory:
+
+| Path | What it is |
+|---|---|
+| `_id_mapper/` | The native id-mapper's mmap files (large fixed virtual size) |
+| `_blobs/` | Native index files (vector base, segments) — may be mmap-backed |
+
+Everything else (entities, `_system`, `_generations`, `_cas` content blobs) is ordinary dense data.
+
+## Doing it right
+
+**tar** — the `S` flag detects holes and stores only real data:
+
+```bash
+tar czSf brain-backup.tgz /data/brain
+# restore preserves the holes:
+tar xzSf brain-backup.tgz -C /data/
+```
+
+**rsync**:
+
+```bash
+rsync -a --sparse /data/brain/ backup-host:/backups/brain/
+```
+
+**cp**:
+
+```bash
+cp -a --sparse=always /data/brain /backups/brain
+```
+
+**What goes wrong without the flag:** the copy *materializes* every hole as real zero bytes.
+A store whose apparent size exceeds the target disk fails with `ENOSPC` partway through — and a
+copy that *does* fit silently costs the full apparent size in storage and transfer time.
+
+## What the built-in paths do (so you don't have to)
+
+- **`db.persist(path)`** snapshots via **hard links** — instant and space-shared, since every data
+  file is immutable-by-rename. The handful of append-in-place files (the transaction log, the
+  commit fact log's tail segment) and mmap-mutated directories (`_id_mapper/`) are **byte-copied**
+  instead, so a post-snapshot write can never reach through a shared inode into your backup.
+- **`brain.restore(path, { confirm: true })`** is **non-destructive and sparse-aware**: the snapshot
+  is copied into a staging area *before* any live data is touched (all-zero blocks stay holes), and
+  only after the copy fully succeeds does an atomic swap move it into place. A failed copy —
+  including `ENOSPC` — leaves the live store exactly as it was. A crash mid-swap completes forward
+  on the next open.
+
+## Live-store caveats for external tools
+
+1. **Prefer snapshotting a `persist()` output, not the live directory.** `persist()` produces a
+   crash-consistent, immutable snapshot; running `tar` against a live, actively-written directory
+   can capture a torn mid-write state. If you must archive live, stop writes first (or accept that
+   the archive is only as consistent as the moment's flush state).
+2. **Never prune or "clean up" files inside a brain directory.** Index files that look stale or
+   redundant are load-bearing; the store protects its declared index families from in-process
+   deletion, but an external `rm` bypasses that fence. If space is the concern, `du -sh` first —
+   the allocated size is usually far smaller than it looks.
+3. **Verify restores by opening them.** `Brainy.load(path)` opens any snapshot or restored
+   directory read-only — the store verifies its own coherence at open and reports loudly if
+   anything is missing or torn.

docs/guides/find-limits.md

@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ Brainy picks `maxLimit` from the first of these that's available:
 
 Worked example: a 4 GB Cloud Run container picks priority 3 → `floor(4 GB × 0.25 / 25 KB) = floor(40 960) = 40 000` results. A 900 MB free-memory box on priority 4 gets `floor(900 MB / 25 KB) = ~36 000`.
 
+The cap is fixed at construction and never changes at runtime. Query timing is recorded
+for diagnostics only — a burst of slow queries cannot silently shrink the cap, and the
+auto-detected tiers (3 and 4) never go below a floor of 10 000.
+
 > **Calibration note.** Pre-7.30.2 used 100 KB per result instead of 25 KB, which produced caps that were 4× too tight for typical workloads (an 8 KB / result reality). 7.30.2 recalibrated to match observed entity sizes; existing `limit: 10_000` safety patterns now pass silently on any reasonably-sized box.
 
 ## What happens when you exceed the cap

docs/guides/framework-integration.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Brainy is **framework-friendly** - designed to drop into the server side of any
 
 Brainy embeds an HNSW vector index, a graph engine, and a filesystem-backed persistence layer. These belong on the server:
 
-- **Zero configuration**: Just `import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'`
+- **Zero configuration**: Just `import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'`
 - **Auto storage detection**: `new Brainy()` auto-selects filesystem persistence on Node
 - **Cleaner code**: No browser polyfills, no conditional client/server imports
 - **Better DX**: One instance shared across your server routes
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ Brainy embeds an HNSW vector index, a graph engine, and a filesystem-backed pers
 ### Install Brainy
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ### Basic Integration
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Run on the server (API route, server component, backend service)
 // new Brainy() auto-detects filesystem persistence on Node
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ On the server, create one Brainy instance and reuse it across requests. This mod
 
 ```javascript
 // lib/brain.server.js
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brainPromise
 
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ On the server, create one Brainy instance and reuse it across requests:
 
 ```javascript
 // server/brain.js (server-only module)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brainPromise
 
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ The matching backend endpoint uses Brainy directly (Node/Bun):
 
 ```typescript
 // server: api/search
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy() // auto-detects filesystem persistence on Node
 await brain.init()
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ In Next.js, Brainy lives in server code only: API routes, server components, or
 
 ```javascript
 // lib/brain.server.js  (imported only by server code)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brainPromise
 
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ Brainy runs in a server-only module (`*.server.js`); the component fetches resul
 
 ```javascript
 // src/lib/server/brain.js  (server-only — note the .server suffix)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brainPromise
 
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
 
 export default defineConfig({
   ssr: {
-    external: ['@soulcraft/brainy']
+    external: ['@soulcraftlabs/brainy']
   }
 })
 ```
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
 ```javascript
 // rollup.config.js  (server bundle)
 export default {
-  external: ['@soulcraft/brainy', 'node:fs', 'node:path', 'node:crypto']
+  external: ['@soulcraftlabs/brainy', 'node:fs', 'node:path', 'node:crypto']
 }
 ```
 
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ export async function load({ url }) {
 
 ```javascript
 // For build-time usage (runs in Node during the build)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 export async function generateStaticProps() {
   const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ export async function generateStaticProps() {
 
 ### Issue: Large client bundle size
 **Cause**: A client module is pulling in Brainy.
-**Solution**: Move the `import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'` into a server-only module so it never reaches the browser bundle.
+**Solution**: Move the `import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'` into a server-only module so it never reaches the browser bundle.
 
 ### Issue: SSR hydration mismatch
 **Solution**: Run the search on the server (loader / server action / API route) and pass the results down as props, so server and client render the same markup.

docs/guides/import-anything.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Brainy's import is **ONE magical method** that understands EVERYTHING:
 ## The Ultimate Simplicity
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -300,7 +300,10 @@ await brain.import(data, {
  // Deduplication
  enableDeduplication: true, // Check for duplicate entities (default: true)
  deduplicationThreshold: 0.85, // Similarity threshold for duplicates (0-1, default: 0.85)
- // Note: Auto-disabled for imports >100 entities
+ // Notes: false disables BOTH the inline merge and the background pass that
+ // runs ~5 min after the last import (merged duplicates are deleted).
+ // The inline pass auto-disables for imports >100 entities (O(n²) cost);
+ // the background pass still covers those unless the flag is false.
 
  // Performance
  chunkSize: 100, // Batch size for processing (default: varies by operation)

docs/guides/import-progress-examples.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Brainy provides real-time progress tracking for **all 7 supported file formats**
 ### Basic Progress Tracking
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import * as fs from 'fs'
 
 const brain = await Brainy.create()

docs/guides/import-quick-reference.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 ## Basic Import
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -86,11 +86,22 @@ await brain.import(file, {
 
 ```typescript
 await brain.import(file, {
-  enableDeduplication: true,         // Check for duplicates (default: false)
+  enableDeduplication: true,         // Check for duplicates (default: true)
   deduplicationThreshold: 0.85       // Similarity threshold (default: 0.85)
 })
 ```
 
+Deduplication merges entities judged duplicates — the non-primary records are
+**deleted**. Set `enableDeduplication: false` to disable it entirely: the flag
+gates both the inline merge during import and the background pass that runs
+about 5 minutes after the last import.
+
+```typescript
+await brain.import(file, {
+  enableDeduplication: false         // No merging, inline or background
+})
+```
+
 ### Import Tracking
 
 Track and organize imports by project:
@@ -176,7 +187,7 @@ await brain.import(file, {
 ## Complete Example
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import * as fs from 'fs'
 
 async function importCatalog() {

docs/guides/inspection.md

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ check fails — useful for piping into monitoring or CI.
 ## Programmatic inspection
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const reader = await Brainy.openReadOnly({
   storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: '/data/brain' }
@@ -166,6 +166,34 @@ brainy inspect diff /data/brain-prod /data/brain-staging
 Sample-based — for a full diff, dump both with `inspect dump` and compare
 the JSONL.
 
+## Auditing graph-read truth
+
+`brain.auditGraph()` (8.6.0+) proves — or disproves — that relationship reads
+return canonical truth on a given brain, without mutating anything. It walks
+every stored relationship record, asks the same read path your application
+uses (`related()`, VFS `readdir`) with every visibility tier included, and
+classifies every discrepancy:
+
+```typescript
+const report = await brain.auditGraph()
+
+report.coherent              // true = related()/readdir can be trusted on this brain
+report.missingFromReadsCount // records the read path omits — stale index
+report.danglingEndpointsCount // relationships whose endpoint entity is gone
+report.readOnlyCount         // read-path edges with NO stored record — ghosts
+report.visibilityHiddenCount // internal/system edges hidden by design (not a fault)
+```
+
+Counts are always exact; the example lists (`missingFromReads`,
+`danglingEndpoints`, `readOnlyVerbIds`) are capped at `maxExamples`
+(default 100) and `truncatedExamples` says so when they are.
+
+Run it after any engine upgrade, restore, or migration. If it reports
+discrepancies, run `brain.repairIndex()` and audit again — a `coherent`
+report after the repair is the verified statement that the heal worked.
+Cost: one relationship-record walk plus one indexed read per distinct
+source entity — safe on a live brain.
+
 ## Repairing a corrupted store
 
 If invariants fail and you suspect index corruption, `inspect repair`

docs/guides/installation.md

@@ -21,21 +21,21 @@ next:
 ## Install
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 Or with your preferred package manager:
 
 ```bash
-bun add @soulcraft/brainy
+bun add @soulcraftlabs/brainy
-yarn add @soulcraft/brainy
+yarn add @soulcraftlabs/brainy
-pnpm add @soulcraft/brainy
+pnpm add @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ## Verify
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ npm install @soulcraft/cor
 ```
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ plugins: ['@soulcraft/cor'] })
 await brain.init()  // native providers registered during init
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ remains available on npm if you need it.
 Brainy ships with full TypeScript types. No `@types/` package needed:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()

docs/guides/migration-3.36.0.md

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ const results = await brain.search("query")
 **New diagnostics for capacity planning and performance tuning.**
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Recommendations: ${stats.recommendations.join(', ')}
 ### Step 1: Update Package
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@latest
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@latest
 ```
 
 ### Step 2: Restart Your Application
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ npm run start
 ### Check Adaptive Sizing is Working
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ For debugging or compatibility testing:
 If you need to rollback to v3.35.0:
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@3.35.0
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@3.35.0
 ```
 
 **Note:** We don't anticipate any issues, but rollback is straightforward if needed.
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ if (stats.fairness.fairnessViolation) {
 
 ## Next Steps
 
-1. ✅ **Upgrade:** `npm install @soulcraft/brainy@latest`
+1. ✅ **Upgrade:** `npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@latest`
 2. 📊 **Monitor:** Use `getCacheStats()` to verify performance improvements
 3. 🎯 **Tune:** Adjust based on recommendations (if needed)
 4. 📖 **Read:** [Operations Guide](../operations/capacity-planning.md) for capacity planning

docs/guides/model-loading.md

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ This single WASM file contains everything needed for sentence embeddings.
 
 ```bash
 # Bun as a runtime — supported and recommended
-bun add @soulcraft/brainy
+bun add @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 bun run server.ts
 ```
 

docs/guides/namespace-migration.md

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+---
+title: Migrating to 9.0 — your fields and system fields
+slug: guides/namespace-migration
+public: true
+category: guides
+template: guide
+order: 1
+description: The simple story of the 9.0 field-addressing change and the mechanical checklist for updating your call sites — every miss fails loudly with the fix in the error.
+next:
+  - concepts/field-addressing
+---
+
+# Migrating to 9.0 — your fields and system fields
+
+The one-sentence version: **your data's field names are now completely
+yours, the engine's own fields all live behind one `system.` prefix, and
+nothing in between can silently go wrong anymore.**
+
+## What changed, simply
+
+**1. Any field name just works.** Before 9.0 the engine quietly owned
+certain names. A field called `level` could be shadowed by the engine's
+internal index layer of the same name (sorts silently returned insertion
+order); names like `confidence` or `subtype` were rejected inside
+`metadata`; names like `content` or `id` were silently never indexed, so
+filtering on them returned nothing. All of that is gone. Any name —
+`level`, `confidence`, `type`, `id`, `content`, anything — is stored
+exactly as written and works with every feature: filtering, sorting,
+grouping, aggregation, search, and time-travel reads.
+
+**2. The engine's fields moved behind `system.`.** The engine still keeps
+its own per-record bookkeeping — creation time, type, confidence, and so
+on. Those are reached one way only now: spelled out, e.g.
+`system.createdAt`, `system.type`. They are just as queryable and sortable
+as before. `orderBy: 'createdAt'` means *your* field named `createdAt`;
+`orderBy: 'system.createdAt'` means the engine's timestamp. No guessing,
+no priority rules.
+
+**3. Storage keeps the two physically separate.** New records store your
+metadata in its own nested compartment, so a user field named
+`confidence` and the engine's confidence live side by side, both intact,
+through restarts, index rebuilds, and `asOf()` history. Old records stay
+readable forever; nothing rewrites your data.
+
+**4. Mistakes are loud.** An ambiguous or unknown field name is a typed
+error naming the fix. Unimplemented options refuse instead of being
+ignored. The only forbidden name in your metadata is one literally
+starting with `system.`.
+
+## The mechanical checklist
+
+Every missed site fails **loudly** with the correction in the error
+message — nothing silently changes meaning. Sweep these patterns:
+
+| Before (8.x) | After (9.0) |
+|---|---|
+| `orderBy: 'createdAt'` (meaning the engine timestamp) | `orderBy: 'system.createdAt'` |
+| `where: { subtype: 'invoice' }` (the engine subtype) | `where: { 'system.subtype': 'invoice' }` |
+| `where: { confidence: { greaterThan: 0.8 } }` (the engine scalar) | `where: { 'system.confidence': { greaterThan: 0.8 } }` |
+| `groupBy: ['noun']` or `groupBy: ['type']` | `groupBy: ['system.type']` |
+| `where: { visibility: 'internal' }` / `{ service: … }` (engine values) | `'system.visibility'` / `'system.service'` |
+| `metadata: { confidence: 0.9 }` expecting a throw or a lift to the engine scalar | it is YOUR field now — set the engine scalar via the `confidence` param |
+| `new Brainy({ reservedFieldPolicy: … })` | remove the option (it throws with this note) |
+| `find({ cursor })` / `includeRelations` / `writeOnly` | refuse with `UnsupportedFindOptionError` — they were silently ignored before |
+
+If a bare name in a query was genuinely *your* field all along (`orderBy:
+'score'`, `where: { status: 'active' }`), **change nothing** — bare names
+mean your fields, always.
+
+## What happens at first open
+
+Each existing database rebuilds its derived indexes once, automatically,
+at the first open on 9.0 (index epoch 3 — the index keys split the two
+namespaces). One-time cost, observable via `getIndexStatus()`; no manual
+step, and your stored data is not modified.
+
+## For tooling and raw-record readers
+
+If you read raw stored records (fact-log scanners, export tooling), use
+the exported shape-aware splitters — they handle both record eras:
+
+```typescript
+import { splitNounMetadataRecord } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
+const { reserved, custom } = splitNounMetadataRecord(rawRecord)
+// reserved = engine fields · custom = the user's bag, ANY names
+```
+
+Feature detection (never version-sniff):
+
+```typescript
+import * as brainy from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
+const lawActive = 'FIELD_ADDRESSING_CAPABILITY' in brainy // 'field-addressing/v1'
+```
+
+## Where to go next
+
+- [Field addressing](../concepts/field-addressing.md) — the full contract:
+  the ten system scalars, the relation mirror, refusal semantics, and the
+  cross-engine ordering guarantees.

docs/guides/nextjs-integration.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Complete guide to integrating Brainy with Next.js applications, covering App Rou
 ```bash
 npx create-next-app@latest my-brainy-app
 cd my-brainy-app
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ### Basic Setup
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ npm install @soulcraft/brainy
 // app/components/BrainyProvider.jsx
 'use client'
 import { createContext, useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const BrainyContext = createContext()
 
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ export default function SearchPage() {
 
 ```javascript
 // app/api/search/route.js (App Router)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brain = null
 
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ export async function GET() {
 
 ```javascript
 // pages/api/search.js (Pages Router)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brain = null
 
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
 
 ```javascript
 // app/api/data/route.js
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brain = null
 
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ export async function POST(request) {
 ```jsx
 // app/actions/brainy.js
 'use server'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brain = null
 
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ CMD ["npm", "start"]
 /** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
 const nextConfig = {
   experimental: {
-    serverComponentsExternalPackages: ['@soulcraft/brainy']
+    serverComponentsExternalPackages: ['@soulcraftlabs/brainy']
   },
   webpack: (config, { isServer }) => {
     if (!isServer) {
@@ -797,7 +797,7 @@ export function rateLimit(req, limit = 100, window = 60000) {
 // app/contexts/BrainyContext.jsx
 'use client'
 import { createContext, useContext, useReducer, useEffect } from 'react'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const BrainyContext = createContext()
 
@@ -873,7 +873,7 @@ import { BrainyProvider } from '../app/components/BrainyProvider'
 import { Search } from '../app/components/Search'
 
 // Mock Brainy
-jest.mock('@soulcraft/brainy', () => ({
+jest.mock('@soulcraftlabs/brainy', () => ({
   Brainy: jest.fn().mockImplementation(() => ({
     init: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     find: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([

docs/guides/optimistic-concurrency.md

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Brainy 7.31.0 adds a per-entity revision counter so multiple writers can coordin
 Every distributed-job scheduler eventually wants this exact loop:
 
 ```ts
-import { Brainy, RevisionConflictError } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, RevisionConflictError } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const LOCK_ID = '...uuid for this job slot...'
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ await brain.addIfMissing({                       // ← not a real API
 It's race-prone as a plain read-then-write: two concurrent imports both see "not found," both insert, you get duplicates. Without a unique-index primitive (which Brainy doesn't have today), close the race with whole-store CAS — read at a pinned generation, then commit only if nothing moved:
 
 ```ts
-import { GenerationConflictError } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { GenerationConflictError } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 async function addIfMissingByEmail(email: string, data: string) {
   for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 5; attempt++) {
@@ -180,3 +180,35 @@ Brainy 8.0 has exactly two write-coordination counters, at two granularities:
 They compose: a `transact()` batch can carry per-entity `ifRev` checks *and* a whole-store `ifAtGeneration`; any failed check rejects the entire batch before anything is staged. Generations also power snapshots and time travel (`brain.now()`, `brain.asOf()`, `db.persist()`) — see the [consistency model](../concepts/consistency-model.md) and [Snapshots & Time Travel](./snapshots-and-time-travel.md).
 
 A snapshot or historical view captures each entity *including* its `_rev` at that moment, so reading the past and writing back with `ifRev` against the live state works exactly as you'd hope: the write fails if the entity moved since the state you copied from.
+
+## The transact envelope: batch size, budget, and bulk imports
+
+`transact()` applies its batch atomically under one commit — which means the whole batch
+shares one **apply budget**. Since 8.7.0 the budget scales with the batch:
+`max(30 s, opCount × 2 s)`, or exactly what you pass as `timeoutMs`. A tripped budget rolls
+the entire batch back (nothing partial survives) and throws a retryable
+`TransactionTimeoutError` that names the operation it stopped at, the batch size, and the
+elapsed vs budgeted time — a diagnosis, not just a failure:
+
+```
+Transaction timed out at operation 41/120 ('add') — 246012ms elapsed, budget 240000ms.
+The batch rolled back atomically; retry with a higher timeoutMs or a smaller batch.
+```
+
+Practical envelope guidance for bulk work:
+
+1. **Precompute embeddings outside the commit path.** Embedding inside `transact()` spends
+   the budget on model inference. Use `brain.embedBatch(texts)` and pass each vector via
+   the op's `vector` field — the commit then pays only storage costs, and a retried batch
+   never re-pays inference. (The win is *where* the inference happens, not raw embedding
+   throughput: on the default WASM engine, batch and sequential embedding measure
+   comparably, ~160 ms/text; native embedding providers may batch faster.)
+2. **Chunk very large imports** into batches of a few hundred ops with one `transact()`
+   each. You lose whole-import atomicity but keep per-chunk atomicity, bounded memory, and
+   resumability — pair with `ifAbsent` upserts so a retried chunk is idempotent.
+3. **Slow disks change the math, not the contract.** On network-attached storage a single
+   op can cost ~2 s (canonical write + fsync + index maintenance). The scaled default
+   absorbs that; pass an explicit `timeoutMs` only when you know better than the scale.
+4. **`addMany`/`relateMany` are the convenience tier** — they chunk and batch-embed for
+   you, with per-item error reporting instead of batch atomicity. Choose by what you need:
+   atomic-all-or-nothing → `transact()`; resilient bulk load → `addMany`.

docs/guides/quick-start.md

@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ Get Brainy running in under a minute.
 ## 1. Install
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ## 2. Initialize
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ await brain.relate({
 ## 5. Query with Triple Intelligence
 
 ```typescript
-import type { Result } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import type { Result } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // All three search paradigms in one call
 const results: Result[] = await brain.find({

docs/guides/reacting-to-changes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+---
+title: Reacting to Changes
+slug: guides/reacting-to-changes
+public: true
+category: guides
+template: guide
+order: 11
+description: Subscribe to every committed mutation with `brain.onChange` — the in-process change feed behind live UIs, cache invalidation, and realtime sync. Covers the event shape, delivery guarantees, and catch-up patterns.
+next:
+  - guides/optimistic-concurrency
+  - guides/snapshots-and-time-travel
+---
+
+# Reacting to Changes
+
+`brain.onChange(cb)` is Brainy's in-process change feed: subscribe once and
+receive one event per committed mutation — **every** mutation, regardless of
+how it happened. Direct calls, batch methods, `transact()`, imports, and
+Virtual Filesystem writes all funnel through the same commit point the feed is
+emitted from, so nothing slips past it.
+
+```ts
+const off = brain.onChange((e) => {
+  if (e.kind === 'entity') {
+    console.log(`${e.op} ${e.entity?.type} ${e.id} @ generation ${e.generation}`)
+  }
+})
+
+await brain.add({ data: 'Ada Lovelace', type: 'person' })
+// → "add person 0198... @ generation 42"
+
+off() // unsubscribe when done
+```
+
+## The event
+
+```ts
+interface BrainyChangeEvent {
+  kind: 'entity' | 'relation' | 'store'
+  op: 'add' | 'update' | 'remove' | 'relate' | 'unrelate' | 'updateRelation'
+    | 'clear' | 'restore'
+  id?: string
+  entity?:   { id: string; type: string; subtype?: string;
+               metadata: Record<string, unknown>; service?: string }
+  relation?: { id: string; from: string; to: string; type: string;
+               metadata?: Record<string, unknown> }
+  generation?: number
+  timestamp: number
+}
+```
+
+- **Entity events** (`add` / `update` / `remove`) carry the post-commit indexed
+  view — `type`, `subtype`, and the full custom `metadata`, so you can match
+  your own `where`-style filters against events without a read.
+- **Deletes are fully described.** A `remove` or `unrelate` event carries the
+  record's *last committed state* (sourced from the commit's own history
+  record), not just an id.
+- **Batches emit per item.** `addMany` / `updateMany` / `relateMany` /
+  `removeMany` emit one event per affected record; a `transact()` batch emits
+  one event per item, all sharing the batch's single `generation`.
+- **Cascades are visible.** Removing an entity also emits `unrelate` for each
+  relationship the delete cascaded to.
+- **Store-level events** (`kind: 'store'`) fire for the two wholesale
+  operations — `clear()` and `restore()` — and mean *"everything may have
+  changed; refetch what you care about."*
+
+## Delivery guarantees
+
+- **Post-commit only.** An aborted write — a losing
+  [`ifRev` compare-and-swap](optimistic-concurrency.md), a rejected
+  transaction — never emits. If you received the event, the write is durable.
+- **Commit-ordered.** Events arrive in the order writes committed;
+  `generation` is monotonic.
+- **Asynchronous, never blocking.** Delivery happens in a microtask after the
+  write completes. A slow listener cannot delay a write; a throwing listener
+  is logged and isolated from other listeners.
+- **Zero overhead when unused.** With no subscribers, the write path does no
+  event work at all.
+- **Fire-and-forget.** There is no replay or backpressure. For catch-up after
+  a disconnect, use the `generation` on each event together with
+  [`asOf()` / the transaction log](snapshots-and-time-travel.md): record the
+  last generation you processed, and on reconnect diff from there. For file
+  content specifically, `vfs.readFile(path, { asOf })` and
+  `vfs.history(path)` are the temporal read — see
+  [Snapshots & Time Travel](snapshots-and-time-travel.md).
+
+## Patterns
+
+**Cache invalidation** — drop cached reads for whatever changed:
+
+```ts
+brain.onChange((e) => {
+  if (e.kind === 'store') return cache.clear()
+  if (e.id) cache.delete(e.id)
+})
+```
+
+**Live queries (notify-and-refetch)** — re-run a query when a relevant change
+lands, rather than diffing incrementally:
+
+```ts
+brain.onChange((e) => {
+  if (e.kind === 'entity' && e.entity?.type === 'order') {
+    refreshOpenOrdersView() // debounce as needed
+  }
+})
+```
+
+**Forwarding to other processes** — the feed is in-process by design. To push
+changes to browsers or other services, forward events through your own
+transport (WebSocket, SSE) from the process that owns the brain.
+
+## Lifecycle
+
+`onChange` returns an unsubscribe function — call it when tearing down a
+subscriber (for example, when evicting a pooled instance). `brain.close()`
+drops all listeners; no events are delivered for or after `close()`.

docs/guides/snapshots-and-time-travel.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ description: Recipes for the Db API — instant backups with persist(), restore,
 next:
   - concepts/consistency-model
   - guides/optimistic-concurrency
+  - guides/external-backups
 ---
 
 # Snapshots & Time Travel
@@ -41,6 +42,10 @@ bytes. Cross-device targets fall back to per-file byte copies, and
 persisting an in-memory brain serializes it to the same directory layout —
 a real, durable store.
 
+> Archiving a brain directory with **external tools** (`tar`, `rsync`, `cp`)?
+> Some index files are sparse and can explode to their apparent size under a
+> naive copy — see [External Backups & Sparse Storage](/docs/guides/external-backups).
+
 Two things to know:
 
 - `persist()` requires the view to still be the store's **latest**
@@ -339,8 +344,12 @@ For per-entity write coordination (rather than whole-store history), the
 ## Keeping history bounded
 
 Under Model-B every write is a generation, so history can grow quickly —
-Brainy auto-compacts on every `flush()`/`close()` under the **`retention`**
+Brainy auto-compacts at `close()` (time-bounded per pass) under the
-knob (configured on the constructor):
+**`retention`** knob (configured on the constructor). Since 8.9.0, `flush()`
+never compacts: flushing is durability work and costs only what the current
+window's writes cost, regardless of history backlog. A long-lived writer that
+never closes keeps its history until its next explicit `compactHistory()` —
+schedule one in your maintenance window if you run bounded retention:
 
 ```typescript
 // Zero-config: ADAPTIVE — keep as much history as free disk/RAM allows,
@@ -354,10 +363,13 @@ new Brainy({ retention: 'all' })
 new Brainy({ retention: { maxGenerations: 1000, maxAge: 7 * 86_400_000, maxBytes: 512 * 1024 ** 2 } })
 ```
 
-Reclaim manually at any time (the same caps):
+Reclaim manually at any time (the same caps, plus an optional per-pass time
+budget for maintenance windows — an early stop is a consistent prefix and the
+next pass resumes):
 
 ```typescript
 await brain.compactHistory({ maxGenerations: 100, maxAge: 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000 })
+await brain.compactHistory({ maxBytes: 512 * 1024 ** 2, timeBudgetMs: 10_000 })
 ```
 
 Compaction never breaks a pinned read — record-sets are reclaimed only when
@@ -366,6 +378,61 @@ are done with (including the ones `transact()` returns), and `persist()` any
 generation you want to keep beyond the retention window: snapshots are
 self-contained and unaffected by compaction.
 
+## Time travel for files (the VFS)
+
+Since 8.2.0, time travel covers Virtual Filesystem **content**, not just
+entity records. File bytes are retention-protected: a content blob referenced
+by any generation inside the retention window is never reclaimed, so reading
+the past always returns the exact bytes — never a stale field or a
+dangling hash.
+
+**`vfs.readFile(path, { asOf })`** takes a generation number or a `Date` and
+returns the file's exact bytes as they stood then. It resolves the path's
+current entity, then materializes its state at the target generation — so it
+answers *"what did the file at this path hold at that point?"* It bypasses
+the content cache; the `encoding` option still applies. Asking about a
+generation before the file existed throws the usual not-found error, and
+asking past the retention window's compaction horizon throws a
+compacted-generation error.
+
+**`vfs.history(path)`** returns the file's versions inside the retention
+window, oldest first — one `FileVersion` per generation that wrote the file,
+the newest entry being the current state:
+
+```typescript
+// A CMS page evolves…
+await brain.vfs.writeFile('/pages/home.json', '{"title":"Launch"}')
+await brain.vfs.writeFile('/pages/home.json', '{"title":"Launch v2"}')
+await brain.vfs.writeFile('/pages/home.json', '{"title":""}') // bad deploy!
+
+// Every version is listed and readable:
+const versions = await brain.vfs.history('/pages/home.json')
+// → [{ generation, timestamp, hash, size, mimeType? }, …] ascending
+
+const good = versions[versions.length - 2]
+const bytes = await brain.vfs.readFile('/pages/home.json', {
+  asOf: good.generation
+})
+
+// Restore = write the old bytes back. This is a NEW write (a new
+// generation) — history is never rewritten, so the bad version stays
+// visible in the audit trail.
+await brain.vfs.writeFile('/pages/home.json', bytes)
+```
+
+Two lifecycle consequences worth stating plainly:
+
+- **Deleting or overwriting a file no longer frees its bytes immediately.**
+  Old content lives until history compaction reclaims the generations that
+  reference it — the same `retention` budget that bounds all Model-B history
+  (and pinned views are exempt, exactly as above). Size your `retention` for
+  the file-version depth you want; `retention: 'all'` keeps every version of
+  every file forever.
+- **After `compactHistory()` reclaims a generation, its file versions are
+  gone** and their bytes are physically reclaimed. (This also fixed a
+  pre-8.2.0 defect where overwritten content was never reclaimed at all — an
+  unbounded silent leak.)
+
 ## From branches to values
 
 If you used the pre-8.0 `fork`/`checkout`/`commit`/`versions` surface, every

docs/guides/standard-import-progress.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 ### One Interface for Everything
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = await Brainy.create()
 
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ interface ImportProgress {
 
 ```typescript
 import { useState } from 'react'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 function UniversalImportProgress({ file }: { file: File }) {
   const [progress, setProgress] = useState({
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ function UniversalImportProgress({ file }: { file: File }) {
 
 ```typescript
 import ora from 'ora'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 async function importWithProgress(filePath: string) {
   const spinner = ora('Starting import...').start()

docs/guides/storage-adapters.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ on-disk layout (memory's "disk" is a JS Map).
 ## Quick start
 
 ```ts
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Filesystem (recommended for any persistent workload):
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ config; the `type` is optional.
 If you want to skip the factory:
 
 ```ts
-import { FileSystemStorage, MemoryStorage } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { FileSystemStorage, MemoryStorage } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const fsStorage = new FileSystemStorage('./brainy-data')
 const memStorage = new MemoryStorage()

docs/guides/subtypes-and-facets.md

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Three layers solve this:
 ### Write
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ await brain.migrateField({
 A realistic adoption sequence for a brain that started without these primitives:
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: './brain-data' } })
 await brain.init()

docs/guides/upgrading-7-to-8.md

@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+---
+title: Upgrading from 7.x to 8.0
+slug: guides/upgrading-7-to-8
+public: true
+category: guides
+template: guide
+order: 10
+description: What the one-time 7→8 on-disk migration does, how 8.0 automatically recovers Virtual Filesystem content that older layouts stored in the removed copy-on-write area, and how to verify (or force) that recovery.
+next:
+  - guides/storage-adapters
+  - guides/inspection
+---
+
+# Upgrading from 7.x to 8.0
+
+Opening a 7.x on-disk store with Brainy 8.0 runs a **one-time, in-place layout
+migration** the first time the store is opened. It is automatic (`autoMigrate`
+defaults to `true`), it runs once, and it stamps a marker so every later open is
+a no-op.
+
+Almost everything about the upgrade is transparent: your entities, relationships,
+metadata, and indexes migrate and rebuild without any action on your part. This
+guide covers the **one case that needs attention** — Virtual Filesystem (VFS)
+content — and how 8.0 recovers it for you.
+
+## TL;DR
+
+- **Just upgrade to `@soulcraftlabs/brainy@8.0.12` (or later) and open the store.**
+  If a previous upgrade left VFS content stranded, 8.0.12 **heals it on open**,
+  with no operator action.
+- Want to force or script it? Call **`await brain.vfs.adoptOrphanedBlobs()`**.
+- The recovery is **non-destructive and idempotent** — it copies, never moves,
+  and running it twice is a no-op.
+
+## What the migration does
+
+The 7.x on-disk layout stored entities under a per-branch path
+(`branches/<head>/entities/...`). 8.0 uses a flat layout (`entities/...`). On
+first open, Brainy:
+
+1. Collapses `branches/<head>/entities/*` into the flat `entities/*` layout.
+2. Rebuilds the derived indexes (vector, graph, metadata) and count rollups from
+   the canonical entities.
+3. Stamps `_system/migration-layout.json` so re-opening is a no-op.
+4. Takes an automatic **pre-upgrade backup** of the directory before it starts,
+   and removes it once the upgrade is verified complete (see
+   [The safety net](#the-safety-net-pre-upgrade-backup) below).
+
+The log line to expect (once per store):
+
+```
+[brainy] Migrating a 7.x branch layout (branches/main) to the 8.0 flat layout
+  in place — 13175 entity files. This runs once; back up the directory first if
+  you need a rollback (8.0 does not keep the old layout).
+```
+
+## The one thing that needs recovery: VFS content
+
+If your application uses the Virtual Filesystem (VFS) to store file content (for
+example, a CMS that keeps page documents at paths like
+`/pages/homepage/page.json`), that content is held as **content blobs**.
+
+7.x kept those blobs in the branch system's **copy-on-write area** (`_cow/`).
+8.0 removed the branch/copy-on-write system, and its content blobs live in the
+content-addressed store (`_cas/`). The layout migration moves entities — it does
+**not** move the VFS content blobs. Left alone, a 7.x store's VFS blobs would
+remain in `_cow/`, and a read of one would throw:
+
+```
+VFS: Cannot read blob for /pages/homepage/page.json:
+  Blob metadata not found: 6b87cfb71ad2f04602a5c157214dc42000...
+```
+
+### 8.0.12 recovers them automatically
+
+Brainy 8.0.12 adds an **on-open recovery pass** that runs right after the layout
+migration. It scans `_cow/`, and for every content blob whose `blob:` +
+`blob-meta:` pair is not already in `_cas/`, it copies **both** across into the
+8.0 store. It:
+
+- **Heals a fresh 7→8 upgrade** (where `_cow/` still holds the blobs), **and**
+- **Heals a store already upgraded by an earlier 8.0.x** that stranded them —
+  the recovery is gated on the presence of `_cow/` and its own marker, not on
+  the layout-migration marker, so an already-migrated store is still healed.
+- Is a **cheap no-op** on a native-8.0 or fresh store (there is no `_cow/`), and
+  on a store already healed (a marker records completion so later opens skip the
+  scan).
+
+So the operator action for a stranded store is simply: **upgrade to 8.0.12 and
+open it.**
+
+```ts
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
+
+// Opening the store is all that is required — recovery runs during init().
+const brain = new Brainy({ storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: '/data/my-store' } })
+await brain.init()
+
+// The previously-failing read now succeeds.
+const page = await brain.vfs.readFile('/pages/homepage/page.json')
+```
+
+On a store that needed recovery you will see:
+
+```
+[brainy] Recovered 337 VFS content blob(s) stranded by a 7→8 upgrade
+  (adopted _cow/ → _cas/ in place).
+```
+
+### Forcing recovery explicitly
+
+If you would rather run the recovery deliberately (for example, in an upgrade
+script that asserts a clean result before flipping traffic), call it directly:
+
+```ts
+const result = await brain.vfs.adoptOrphanedBlobs()
+// → { cowBlobs, adopted, alreadyPresent, incomplete }
+console.log(`adopted ${result.adopted}, already present ${result.alreadyPresent}`)
+if (result.incomplete > 0) {
+  // One or more _cow/ blobs are missing their bytes or metadata — investigate
+  // _cow/ before discarding your own backup. See "The safety net" below.
+}
+```
+
+`adoptOrphanedBlobs()` self-initializes the brain, so it is safe to call
+immediately after construction. It returns:
+
+| Field            | Meaning                                                          |
+| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `cowBlobs`       | Distinct content-blob hashes found in `_cow/`.                   |
+| `adopted`        | Newly copied into `_cas/` on this call.                          |
+| `alreadyPresent` | Already in `_cas/` (a prior open or run adopted them).           |
+| `incomplete`     | A `_cow/` blob missing its bytes *or* its metadata — **skipped** rather than half-adopted. |
+
+## Verifying recovery
+
+After opening under 8.0.12, confirm a previously-failing path reads:
+
+```ts
+const content = await brain.vfs.readFile('/pages/homepage/page.json')
+console.log(content.toString().slice(0, 80))
+```
+
+If you scripted it with `adoptOrphanedBlobs()`, a clean result is
+`incomplete === 0` and `adopted + alreadyPresent === cowBlobs`.
+
+## The safety net: pre-upgrade backup
+
+Brainy takes an automatic pre-upgrade backup and removes it once the upgrade is
+**verified complete**. In 8.0.12 that verification includes VFS content: if the
+blob recovery reports `incomplete > 0`, the completion marker is **not** stamped
+(the next open retries) and the **pre-upgrade backup is retained** so you still
+have a rollback while blobs remain unaccounted for. You will see:
+
+```
+[brainy] VFS blob recovery adopted N blob(s) but M orphaned _cow/ blob(s) are
+  missing their bytes or metadata and were left in place. The pre-upgrade backup
+  is being retained; inspect _cow/ before discarding it.
+```
+
+The recovery never deletes anything from `_cow/`, so the original blobs stay in
+place for inspection or a manual rollback regardless.
+
+## Who is affected
+
+**Any 7.x store that used the VFS to store file content** (so it has a `_cow/`
+area) is a candidate for stranded blobs on a 7→8 upgrade. Stores that never used
+the VFS have no `_cow/` content blobs and are unaffected.
+
+Because the recovery is **gated on the presence of `_cow/`**, it is
+self-selecting and safe to roll out everywhere:
+
+- On a store with stranded blobs → it adopts them.
+- On a native-8.0, fresh, or non-VFS store → it is a no-op on the existence
+  check.
+
+There is no configuration to set and nothing to opt into. Upgrading to 8.0.12
+and opening each store is sufficient.
+
+## Rollback
+
+The recovery is copy-only, so no rollback of the recovery itself is ever needed.
+If you need to roll back the **whole** 7→8 upgrade, restore the directory from
+your pre-upgrade backup (retained automatically while recovery is incomplete, or
+your own snapshot) and pin `@soulcraftlabs/brainy@7.x`. 8.0 does not keep the old
+branch layout in place, so a directory-level restore is the rollback path.

docs/guides/vue-integration.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Complete guide to integrating Brainy with Vue.js applications, covering Vue 3, N
 npm create vue@latest my-brainy-app
 cd my-brainy-app
 npm install
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ### Basic Setup
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ Nuxt's server engine (Nitro) is the natural home for Brainy: it runs on Node/Bun
 
 ```javascript
 // server/utils/brain.js  (server-only — Nitro never bundles this into the client)
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 let brainPromise
 
@@ -1201,7 +1201,7 @@ import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue'
 export default defineConfig({
   plugins: [vue()],
   ssr: {
-    external: ['@soulcraft/brainy']
+    external: ['@soulcraftlabs/brainy']
   }
 })
 ```

docs/neural-extraction.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Brainy's neural extraction system uses a **4-signal ensemble architecture** to c
 ### Method 1: Brain Instance (Recommended)
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -62,9 +62,9 @@ const people = await brain.extractEntities('...', {
 import {
   SmartExtractor,
   SmartRelationshipExtractor
-} from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+} from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 // Or use subpath imports:
-import { SmartExtractor } from '@soulcraft/brainy/neural/SmartExtractor'
+import { SmartExtractor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/neural/SmartExtractor'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ const withVectors = await brain.extractEntities(text, {
 **Direct entity type classifier.** Use when you have pre-detected candidates or need custom configuration.
 
 ```typescript
-import { SmartExtractor, FormatContext } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { SmartExtractor, FormatContext } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const extractor = new SmartExtractor(brain, {
   minConfidence: 0.7,              // Threshold
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ interface ExtractionResult {
 **Relationship type classifier.** Determines verb/relationship types between entities.
 
 ```typescript
-import { SmartRelationshipExtractor } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { SmartRelationshipExtractor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const relExtractor = new SmartRelationshipExtractor(brain, {
   minConfidence: 0.6,
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ const rel = await relExtractor.infer(
 **Full extraction orchestrator.** Handles candidate detection, classification, and deduplication.
 
 ```typescript
-import { NeuralEntityExtractor } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { NeuralEntityExtractor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const extractor = new NeuralEntityExtractor(brain)
 
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ const locations = entities.filter(e => e.type === NounType.Location)
 ### Example 2: Excel Data Classification
 
 ```typescript
-import { SmartExtractor } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { SmartExtractor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const extractor = new SmartExtractor(brain)
 
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ for (let i = 0; i < cells.length; i++) {
 ### Example 3: Relationship Extraction
 
 ```typescript
-import { SmartRelationshipExtractor } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { SmartRelationshipExtractor } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const relExtractor = new SmartRelationshipExtractor(brain)
 

docs/path-registry.md

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+# The Path Registry — brainy's twin table
+
+The brainy half of the cross-engine Path Registry (the native accelerator
+maintains the master list; IDs are shared and stable — `LC3`, `DP7`, … are
+citable in commits, board rounds, release notes, and pins). Every row owes
+five things: **service class** (INDEX-SERVED | BOUNDED-FALLBACK, announced |
+TYPED REFUSAL), **latency budget** at 1k/10k/100k/1M (design bar: billions),
+**lifecycle behavior**, **failure narration**, and a **test pin**. A path not
+in this registry does not ship; an unregistered path is a red gate in the
+scan audit.
+
+**The availability bar governing every row: user-visible downtime is
+seconds, at restart only.** Migration, heal, compaction, embedding, and
+retention run behind the doors — yielding, budget-capped, narrated. No path
+may hold the doors while it does housekeeping.
+
+Status legend: ✅ contracted + pinned (test cited) · 🟡 partial (what holds
+and what's missing, stated) · 🔴 owed (named, never silent).
+
+## LC — Lifecycle
+
+| ID | Brainy row | Status |
+|----|-----------|--------|
+| LC1 | Same-version reopen adopts everything: brain-format epoch match → zero rebuilds; aggregation state adopts by stamp; persisted indexes load. | ✅ `tests/unit/brainy/brain-format-handshake` + `migration-deference` (no-drift reopen never rebuilds) |
+| LC2 | New empty brain: doors immediate. | ✅ exercised by every suite's setup |
+| LC3 | Upgrade, same epoch: as LC1 — new code on unchanged formats owes nothing at open. | ✅ same pins as LC1 (epoch equality is the gate) |
+| LC4 | Upgrade with epoch migration: TODAY brainy's epoch rebuild runs at open before doors. | 🔴 **owed — the sev's lockout row.** The doors-open-serving-old-structures design (yielding installments + atomic swap) lands measured-and-gated behind the service-class pair, per the lifecycle-sprint choreography. Acceptance case: the 9,184-row hours-lockout. |
+| LC5 | Crash recovery: bounded, resumable, narrated. Aggregation leg ✅ (behind-stamp → incremental catch-up off the fact log + time-travel reconciliation, capped at 5,000 affected before an ANNOUNCED rescan). Vector/metadata legs ride epoch machinery (rebuild-from-canonical, narrated). | 🟡 aggregation pinned (`tests/integration/aggregation-lifecycle-catchup`); the rebuild legs are narrated but not yet installment-yielding (couples to LC4) |
+| LC6 | Shutdown under load: close() drains the background flush flight, tears down cadence timers, runs ONE time-bounded compaction pass (~5s budget, resumable). | 🟡 pinned for flush/compaction (8.9.0 suites); SIGTERM drain budget not yet declared |
+| LC7 | Rollback/downgrade: an N−1 build opening an N brain. | 🔴 owed — no declared read-compat window or typed refusal today (epoch mismatch triggers a rebuild, not a refusal; v2 nested-bag records read as a phantom user field on pre-law builds). Needs the declared-window contract. |
+| LC8 | Relocatable brain directory: no absolute paths in artifacts; persist()/load() round-trips. | 🟡 persist/load pinned; byte-for-byte relocation depot cases are the pair gate's (shared corpora) |
+| LC9 | Double-open: second writer gets a typed lock refusal (PID-liveness + heartbeat stale detection; `force` escape hatch logs loudly). | ✅ writer-lock suites (8.7.1) |
+
+## DP — Data plane
+
+| ID | Brainy row | Status |
+|----|-----------|--------|
+| DP1 | `get()` by id: direct storage read + hydrate. INDEX-SERVED (id-mapped). Milliseconds at every scale. | ✅ exercised everywhere; budget rides the pair speed table |
+| DP2 | `find({query})`: embed + vector search. The embed dominates (native side owns the budget); JS HNSW serves the search leg. | 🟡 300ms-class p95 is the pair speed-table row; brainy-alone budget declared there |
+| DP3 | Filtered/sorted list: column top-K when the field is columnized (INDEX-SERVED, zero canonical reads on the sorted page — value pairs come from ONE batched metadata-record pass); no-column fallback is BOUNDED-ANNOUNCED (one batch pass, announces once per field past 500 rows); unknown field → TYPED REFUSAL naming both candidate spellings. | ✅ `tests/unit/utils/metadataIndex-sort-callshape` (zero per-row reads, batch-only — latency-blind) + `metadataIndex-nested-orderby` (dotted keys serve-or-refuse) + `tests/integration/orderby-sort-bug` |
+| DP4 | Aggregation/stats: ALWAYS answers. Write-time incremental; behind-stamp reconciles incrementally; genuine rebuilds go through the native parallel door or the paged JS walk; nothing ever latches off; before-image-less deletes flag a LOUD rescan, never a silent skip. | ✅ `tests/integration/aggregation-lifecycle-catchup` + `tests/unit/aggregation/aggregation-provider-rebuild` |
+| DP5 | Graph traversal: `related()` paged via adjacency; whole-graph analytics carry declared cost. | 🟡 paged reads pinned; analytics cost-class declaration owed (rides VENUE-GRAPH-TRUST audit tool) |
+| DP6 | Single write: ack at the canonical commit; visibility committed at ack (the atomic vector update kills the remove→add dark window); maintenance NEVER holds the ack (background flush cadence — THE ACK LAW pins: a hung flush cannot block a write, a hung EMBEDDER cannot block a write). | ✅ `tests/unit/brainy/persistence-policy` + `tests/unit/hnsw/update-item-atomic` + `tests/integration/deferred-embedding` |
+| DP7 | Bulk ingest: sustained rate holds flat — per-write maintenance taxes must not grow with brain size (A4 removed caller-flush convoys; deferred embedding removes the per-write embed tax where opted). | 🟡 the decay-curve row is a pair speed-table RED GATE; brainy-alone sustained-rate run rides the same corpora |
+| DP8 | Read under write pressure: no flicker window — a row that exists is never invisible to recall, even transiently (same-vector re-index is a no-op; changed-vector swaps in place, node never leaves the index; deferred updates serve the OLD vector until the atomic swap — stale-beats-absent). | ✅ brainy leg pinned (`tests/unit/hnsw/update-item-atomic` 9/9 + `deferred-embedding` stale-beats-absent); the symmetry property suite + runtime sentinels remain the B4 program |
+| — | **As-of semantic recall** (time-travel vector search): `asOf(G).find()` serves the vectors AS THEY STOOD at G — byte-exact past vectors, tombstone masking, the deferred-embed cell honest on the vector leg, TYPED refusal beyond the head. Brainy-alone leg = ephemeral at-generation materialization (documented O(n log n at G) build, bounded); the at-scale leg rides the accelerated provider's as-of index. | ✅ `tests/integration/asof-semantic-recall` 4/4 (registry ID pending the master table's mint) |
+| — | **The lazy-open gate honors EVERY provider's not-ready report** (a not-ready metadata provider can no longer latch the silent-empty state under `disableAutoRebuild`). | ✅ `tests/unit/brainy/lazy-notready-honor` |
+
+## MT — Maintenance (never in the door path)
+
+| ID | Brainy row | Status |
+|----|-----------|--------|
+| MT1 | Flush/checkpoint: ENGINE-OWNED cadence (write-count/interval/idle triggers, single-flight, background, loud on failure; callers never flush in hot paths; `flush()` stays as an awaitable barrier). | ✅ `tests/unit/brainy/persistence-policy` |
+| MT2 | Compaction: never on flush (durability-only law, 8.9.0); close-time pass time-budgeted + resumable; explicit `compactHistory({timeBudgetMs})`. | ✅ 8.9.0 suites |
+| MT3 | Index upkeep (mapper folds, delta promotion): native-side machinery; brainy's JS legs are small and synchronous-cheap. | 🟡 declared; yield audit rides the pair |
+| MT4 | Heal/rebuild walks (`repairIndex`, backfill walks): paged; failure latches with cooldown; NOT yet yield-to-foreground installments. | 🔴 owed — the priority-isolation clause (couples to LC4; same choreography) |
+| MT5 | Deferred embedding worker: ack at durability, durable pending markers (written BEFORE the commit — orphan-safe), crash-recovered at open via a bounded prefix listing, single-flight, 60s hang guard, `awaitPendingEmbeds()` barrier + `pendingEmbeds` gauge. VFS write paths adopt it end-to-end. | ✅ `tests/integration/deferred-embedding` 5/5 |
+| MT6 | Retention/archival walks: retention `'all'` does nothing by design; bounded-retention reclaim is close-time/explicit only. | 🟡 8.9.0 behavior pinned; archival profile is the co-frozen D1+D3 unit |
+
+## FM — Failure modes
+
+| ID | Brainy row | Status |
+|----|-----------|--------|
+| FM1 | Disk full / IO error mid-op: transaction rollback + typed error; failed rollback → StoreInconsistentError quarantines writes until repairIndex(). | 🟡 rollback paths pinned; explicit disk-full depot case owed |
+| FM2 | Memory pressure: query limits + reserved-memory config; unified cache eviction. | 🟡 declared budgets; cascade pin owed |
+| FM3 | Torn/corrupt file on open: malformed brain-format marker → safe rebuild (never trusting a bad epoch); corrupt records surface loudly. | 🟡 marker pin ✅ (`brain-format-handshake`); broader quarantine is native-side |
+| FM4 | Native module unavailable: plugin load failure is LOUD (version-coupling law throws on range mismatch — never silently version-drifted); JS engine serves with its own declared budgets, named as the active backend in op names. | ✅ `tests/unit/plugin-version-coupling` + op-name stamping |
+
+## FL — Fleet
+
+| ID | Brainy row | Status |
+|----|-----------|--------|
+| FL1 | Cold open on demand: LC1's adopt-everything open; warm() available for eager paths. | 🟡 open cost pinned at LC1; millisecond budget rides the speed table |
+| FL2–FL4 | Boot storm / upgrade wave / isolation: fleet-layer policies over LC1/LC4 — engine leg = budgeted opens + LC4's behind-doors migration. | 🔴 owed with LC4 |
+| FL5 | Brain as product object: create instant (LC2) · erase = `clear()` explicit + complete · export = portable-graph, canon-complete mode available. | ✅ clear-persistence + portable-graph + canonical-enumeration suites |
+
+## Status summary
+
+Contracted + pinned this train: **DP3, DP4, DP6, DP8(brainy leg), MT1,
+MT5, LC5(aggregation), the lazy-open not-ready gate, LC1/LC3/LC9, FM4,
+FL5** — each with the cited test. Owed, in production-risk order, all
+coupled to the priority-isolation program the lifecycle sev opened: **LC4
+(doors-open migration), MT4 (yielding heals), LC7 (downgrade contract),
+LC6 (SIGTERM budget), FL2–FL4, FM1/FM2 depot cases, B4 symmetry suite +
+sentinels.** Rows move from owed to contracted only with a cited test —
+none lands by prose.

docs/performance-envelopes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+---
+title: Performance Envelopes
+slug: guides/performance-envelopes
+public: true
+category: guides
+template: guide
+order: 40
+description: Measured per-operation latency envelopes at stated scales — what to expect, on what hardware, and exactly how each number was produced.
+next:
+  - guides/find-limits
+---
+
+# Performance Envelopes
+
+Every number on this page is **measured, never projected** — produced by the script
+cited at the bottom, against the built package (the artifact you install), on the stated
+hardware. Each entry says what was measured, at what scale, on which storage backend.
+When a release touches a measured path, that operation is re-measured and this page
+updates in the same release.
+
+Two scopes to keep straight:
+
+- **These envelopes are the pure-JS engine** (no native accelerator registered) on
+  filesystem storage. This is the floor every deployment gets from `npm install` alone.
+- **Accelerated deployments** (the optional native provider) publish their own numbers —
+  this page never claims them.
+
+## Read operations
+
+Reads are where the architecture pays off: after the write path has done its indexing
+work, queries answer from purpose-built indexes without scanning.
+
+| Operation | 1,000 entities | 10,000 entities | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `get(id)` (warm) | p50 < 0.1ms | p50 < 0.1ms | served from cache/metadata index |
+| `find` (metadata: indexed equality + range, limit 100) | p50 1.0ms · p95 1.8ms | p50 7.0ms · p95 8.9ms | column-store bitmap paths |
+| `related(id)` (per-node adjacency) | p50 < 0.1ms · p95 0.2ms | p50 < 0.1ms | LSM adjacency index — O(degree), scale-independent |
+| `find` (semantic: embed + HNSW, 1k docs) | p50 178ms · p95 393ms | — | dominated by WASM query embedding (measured on a machine under concurrent load — treat the p95 as an upper bound); the vector search itself is single-digit ms |
+
+## Write operations
+
+Under Model-B **every write is its own durable generation** — a single-op `add` pays
+serialization, before-image staging, and fsync before it acks. That durability is priced
+into the write path visibly, by design:
+
+| Operation | 1,000 entities | 10,000 entities | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `add` (single-op) | p50 167ms · p95 171ms | p50 165ms · p95 172ms | full durable generation per write — flat across scale |
+| `addMany` (bulk) | ~163ms/entity | ~187ms/entity | **currently per-item commits** — see the honest note below |
+| `relateMany` | ~0.8ms/edge | ~0.9ms/edge | edges batch efficiently today |
+| `flush` (steady-state, 1 pending write) | p50 8ms · p95 10ms | p50 45ms · p95 52ms | durability-only since 8.9.0 — cost no longer depends on history backlog or retention mode |
+
+**The honest note on bulk writes:** `addMany` today commits each item as its own
+generation (the same durability as single-op `add`, serialized by the single-writer
+lock), so bulk-load cost is N × single-op cost. Batched chunk commits (one generation
+and one fsync window per chunk, as `removeMany` already does) are designed into the
+unified-commit work on the current roadmap. Until that ships, size bulk imports
+accordingly — 10k entities is minutes, not seconds, on filesystem storage.
+
+## Open / close
+
+| Operation | 1,000 entities | 10,000 entities | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `open` (empty store) | ~560ms | ~190ms | includes embedder initialization |
+| `open` (warm, populated, clean shutdown) | 763ms | 4.9s | pure-JS vector index load dominates and grows with entity count; the native accelerator exists precisely to remove this |
+| `close` | bounded | bounded | auto-compaction pass is time-bounded (~5s max) since 8.9.0 |
+
+A store that was NOT cleanly closed pays index rebuilds on top of the warm-open
+number (tens of seconds at 10k) — clean shutdown is worth engineering for.
+
+## How these were produced
+
+- **Hardware**: Intel Core i9-14900HX (32 threads), 62GB RAM, NVMe, Linux, Node v22.
+- **Backend**: `storage: { type: 'filesystem' }`, pure JS (no native providers).
+- **Embeddings**: deterministic stub for non-semantic ops (isolates engine cost);
+  the real WASM embedder for the semantic row (that's what you'll run).
+- **Method**: p50/p95 over 50–200 samples per op against the built `dist/`;
+  the measuring script ships in the repo history and re-runs per release.
+
+Numbers on different hardware will differ; the *shape* (sub-2ms indexed reads,
+~160ms embedding-bound semantic queries, durability-priced writes) is the envelope
+you should hold your deployment against. If your measurements diverge from these
+shapes by an order of magnitude, something is wrong — file it.

docs/transactions.md

@@ -204,8 +204,8 @@ await brain.add({ data: { name: 'Entity' }, type: NounType.Thing })
 ### Basic Add Operation
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
-import { NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy/types'
+import { NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/types'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ await brain.relate({ ... })           // a crash here leaves the entity unlinked
 
 ```typescript
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 describe('Transaction Tests', () => {
  it('should rollback on failure', async () => {

docs/universal-display-augmentation.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ The Universal Display Augmentation is a powerful AI-powered system that automati
 ### Basic Usage
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brainy = new Brainy()
 await brainy.init()

docs/vfs/PROJECTION_STRATEGY_API.md

@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ Let's build a projection that organizes files by priority (high, medium, low):
 ### Step 1: Create the Strategy Class
 
 ```typescript
-import { BaseProjectionStrategy } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs/semantic'
+import { BaseProjectionStrategy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs/semantic'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
-import { VirtualFileSystem, VFSEntity } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs'
+import { VirtualFileSystem, VFSEntity } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs'
 
 export class PriorityProjection extends BaseProjectionStrategy {
   readonly name = 'priority'
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ export class PriorityProjection extends BaseProjectionStrategy {
 ### Step 2: Register the Strategy
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import { PriorityProjection } from './PriorityProjection'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
@@ -537,7 +537,7 @@ Use the projection's resolve cache:
 
 ```typescript
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll } from 'vitest'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import { PriorityProjection } from './PriorityProjection'
 
 describe('PriorityProjection', () => {
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ async resolve(brain, vfs, value: string) {
 3. Use appropriate limits: Don't fetch more than needed
 
 ### Type errors
-1. Import correct types: `import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraft/brainy'`
+1. Import correct types: `import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'`
 2. Use `as VFSEntity` when mapping results
 3. Check BaseProjectionStrategy import
 

docs/vfs/QUICK_START.md

@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ A file explorer that:
 ## ⚡ Step 1: Basic Setup (1 minute)
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // ✅ CORRECT: Use filesystem storage for production
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ Here's a complete React component using the correct patterns:
 
 ```tsx
 import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 export function FileExplorer() {
  const [brain, setBrain] = useState(null)
@@ -288,8 +288,8 @@ Your file explorer is now working! Here's what to explore next:
 ### "Module not found" errors
 ```bash
 # Make sure you're using the right import
-npm ls @soulcraft/brainy # Check version
+npm ls @soulcraftlabs/brainy # Check version
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy@latest # Update if needed
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy@latest # Update if needed
 ```
 
 ### "VFS not initialized" errors

docs/vfs/README.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Brainy VFS is a revolutionary virtual filesystem that runs on top of Brainy's ne
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```javascript
-import { VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs'
+import { VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs'
 
 // Initialize the VFS
 const vfs = new VirtualFileSystem({
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ Brainy VFS fully leverages Brainy's revolutionary Triple Intelligence system:
 ## Installation
 
 ```bash
-npm install @soulcraft/brainy
+npm install @soulcraftlabs/brainy
 ```
 
 ## Requirements

docs/vfs/ROADMAP.md

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ Mount VFS as a native filesystem on Linux/Mac/Windows.
 
 ```typescript
 // Planned (research phase)
-import { mountVFS } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs/fuse'
+import { mountVFS } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs/fuse'
 
 await mountVFS(vfs, {
   mountPoint: '/mnt/brainy',
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ These features would benefit from community contributions. If you're interested
 ### Express.js Static Middleware
 ```typescript
 // Wanted: Community contribution
-import { createStaticMiddleware } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs/express'
+import { createStaticMiddleware } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs/express'
 
 app.use('/files', createStaticMiddleware(vfs, {
   index: ['index.html', 'index.md'],
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ app.use('/files', createStaticMiddleware(vfs, {
 ### VSCode Extension
 ```typescript
 // Wanted: Community contribution
-import { VFSProvider } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs/vscode'
+import { VFSProvider } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs/vscode'
 
 const provider = new VFSProvider(vfs)
 vscode.workspace.registerFileSystemProvider('brainy', provider)

docs/vfs/SEMANTIC_VFS.md

@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ console.log(id1 === id2 && id2 === id3)  // true
 Create your own semantic dimensions:
 
 ```typescript
-import { BaseProjectionStrategy } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs/semantic'
+import { BaseProjectionStrategy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs/semantic'
 
 class PriorityProjection extends BaseProjectionStrategy {
   readonly name = 'priority'

docs/vfs/VFS_API_GUIDE.md

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Brainy's Virtual Filesystem (VFS) provides a POSIX-like filesystem interface tha
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Initialize Brainy
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ const user = await store.findById('users', 'user123')
 VFS uses standard POSIX-style errors:
 
 ```typescript
-import { VFSError, VFSErrorCode } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { VFSError, VFSErrorCode } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 try {
   await vfs.readFile('/nonexistent.txt')

docs/vfs/VFS_CORE.md

@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ GitBridge provides Git import/export capabilities:
 #### GitBridge Usage
 ```javascript
 // Import and instantiate GitBridge
-import { GitBridge } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { GitBridge } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 const gitBridge = new GitBridge(vfs, brain)
 
 // Export VFS to Git repository structure
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ This ordering prevents race conditions where file writes might fail because pare
 ## Complete Example
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 async function vfsExample() {
   // Initialize

docs/vfs/VFS_GRAPH_TYPES.md

@@ -196,5 +196,5 @@ await brain.relate({
 Always import and use the type enums:
 
 ```javascript
-import { NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { NounType, VerbType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 ```

docs/vfs/VFS_INITIALIZATION.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 The Brainy VFS is automatically initialized during `brain.init()`. No separate initialization needed!
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // Create and initialize Brainy
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ VFS stores files as entities and relationships in the same graph as everything e
 ## Complete Example
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 async function useVFS() {
   // Initialize Brainy
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ useVFS().catch(console.error)
 ## TypeScript Usage
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 class FileManager {
   private brain: Brainy

docs/vfs/building-file-explorers.md

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Brainy VFS provides safe, tree-aware methods that prevent these issues:
 ### Method 1: Use `getDirectChildren()` (Recommended)
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy()
 await brain.init()
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Here's a complete example using React:
 
 ```tsx
 import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react'
-import { VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { VirtualFileSystem } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 interface FileNode {
   name: string
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ function TreeView({ node, onToggle, expanded }) {
 If you must build trees manually from flat lists, use the `VFSTreeUtils`:
 
 ```typescript
-import { VFSTreeUtils } from '@soulcraft/brainy/vfs'
+import { VFSTreeUtils } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy/vfs'
 
 // Get all entities somehow
 const allEntities = await vfs.getDescendants('/root')

examples/bluesky-distributed-setup.js

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * the Bluesky firehose with Brainy's distributed architecture
  */
 
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 import { WebSocket } from 'ws'
 
 // =====================================================

examples/monitor-cache-performance.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  *   ts-node examples/monitor-cache-performance.ts
  */
 
-import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy, NounType } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 // ANSI color codes for pretty output
 const colors = {

integrations/README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Connect Brainy to spreadsheets, BI tools, and external systems with zero configu
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ integrations: true })
 await brain.init()
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ Webhooks include `X-Brainy-Signature` header with HMAC-SHA256 signature.
 ### Minimal (in-memory):
 
 ```typescript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ integrations: true })
 await brain.init()
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ console.log(brain.hub.getInstructions())
 
 ```typescript
 import express from 'express'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const app = express()
 const brain = new Brainy({
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ app.listen(3000, () => {
 
 ```typescript
 import { Hono } from 'hono'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const app = new Hono()
 

integrations/google-sheets/README.md

@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Add the `BRAINY_URL` script property in Apps Script settings.
 The simplest way to enable all integrations:
 
 ```javascript
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const brain = new Brainy({ integrations: true })
 await brain.init()
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ With Express:
 
 ```javascript
 import express from 'express'
-import { Brainy } from '@soulcraft/brainy'
+import { Brainy } from '@soulcraftlabs/brainy'
 
 const app = express()
 const brain = new Brainy({ integrations: true })

package-lock.json

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
-  "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
+  "name": "@soulcraftlabs/brainy",
-  "version": "8.0.9",
+  "version": "10.4.4",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
-      "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
+      "name": "@soulcraftlabs/brainy",
-      "version": "8.0.9",
+      "version": "10.4.4",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@msgpack/msgpack": "^3.1.2",

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
-  "name": "@soulcraft/brainy",
+  "name": "@soulcraftlabs/brainy",
-  "version": "8.0.9",
+  "version": "10.4.4",
+  "brainyContract": 1,
   "description": "Universal Knowledge Protocol™ - World's first Triple Intelligence database unifying vector, graph, and document search in one API. Stage 3 CANONICAL: 42 nouns × 127 verbs covering 96-97% of all human knowledge.",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "module": "dist/index.js",
@@ -126,15 +127,16 @@
   "license": "MIT",
   "private": false,
   "publishConfig": {
-    "access": "public"
+    "access": "public",
+    "registry": "https://source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/"
   },
-  "homepage": "https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy",
+  "homepage": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy",
   "bugs": {
-    "url": "https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/issues"
+    "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/issues"
   },
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
-    "url": "git+https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy.git"
+    "url": "git+https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy.git"
   },
   "files": [
     "dist/**/*.js",

releases/brainy.json

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+{
+  "product": "brainy",
+  "entries": [
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.5",
+      "date": "2026-09-02",
+      "headline": "Graph-first finds in production, and opens that stop rescanning history",
+      "items": [
+        "find({ connected, where }) now walks the neighbours first and filters only those rows through a native door — correct at every page and O(neighbours), never the whole store.",
+        "related() with a list of verb types returns every requested kind (a fast path had silently kept only the first).",
+        "Deferred-embedding recovery resumes from a low-water mark instead of rescanning the whole generation log at every open — measured at two minutes on a large brain, now milliseconds."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.4",
+      "date": "2026-09-01",
+      "headline": "Closes in milliseconds, index rebuilds without the disk-sync storm",
+      "items": [
+        "close() no longer pays deferred compaction or waits out an in-flight rebuild — measured 8 ms against the 4-minute closes it replaces; deferred work resumes at the next open, in the background.",
+        "The metadata index's rebuild syncs to disk per shard instead of per row, and the durability point moved to the publish step — the same guarantee, a fraction of the disk traffic.",
+        "A new native filter door evaluates queries over exactly the candidate rows a graph walk found, never the whole store."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.3",
+      "date": "2026-09-01",
+      "headline": "The embedding upgrade ceremony runs on every brain",
+      "items": [
+        "A brain opened through the standard plugin now carries its embedding-model identity, so the full-precision upgrade ceremony can run on it.",
+        "A one-fix release; nothing else changed."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.2",
+      "date": "2026-08-31",
+      "headline": "One embedding quality everywhere, 3–4× faster imports",
+      "items": [
+        "Every runtime embeds with the same full-precision model — search quality no longer depends on where you run.",
+        "Bulk embedding measured 3.1–4.2× faster, and an online re-embed ceremony upgrades existing stores without downtime.",
+        "The engine's change feed is documented, with the SSE/WebSocket fan-out pattern for realtime surfaces."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.1",
+      "date": "2026-08-31",
+      "headline": "Deletes inside transactions are safe",
+      "items": [
+        "Deleting relations inside a transact() no longer corrupts index bookkeeping.",
+        "A store that deletes its last relation keeps serving instead of refusing."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "11.0.0",
+      "date": "2026-08-28",
+      "headline": "One install, one engine — Brainy",
+      "items": [
+        "The former two-package pair is one package: the native engine under the familiar API. One import is the whole install.",
+        "A missing native build refuses loudly with its cures named; nothing falls back silently.",
+        "Stores open in place — no migration."
+      ],
+      "url": null,
+      "thumb": null
+    }
+  ],
+  "history": "The version line continues from the 4.3.x native-engine releases; their record lives in the product repository's CHANGELOG.md."
+}

releases/open-brainy.json

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+{
+  "product": "open-brainy",
+  "entries": [
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.11",
+      "date": "2026-09-02",
+      "headline": "Hybrid finds filter before they hydrate, one owner per shutdown, and a faster open",
+      "items": [
+        "Hybrid finds (query/vector combined with a filter, including connected and fusion finds) now filter first and hydrate only the page — one batchGet of exactly the requested rows, instead of hydrating everything the search side found. Fixes a bug where any page after the first came back empty.",
+        "A brain now has exactly one shutdown owner — a host and its engine no longer race to close the same store, and a follow-up flush requested during a running flush is handed off cleanly instead of ever risking a stall.",
+        "find({ path }) and other path-scoped VFS searches now serve a real range over the indexed path (O(log n)) instead of refusing the query outright — both scoped and recursive:false searches were silently broken before this.",
+        "Open no longer rescans a brain's whole fact log on every open — sealed segments the manifest already accounts for are skipped, collapsing a multi-second open term to near-zero on large brains.",
+        "commitTransaction() now refuses by name if single-ops are still pending, and a read-only open no longer writes clean-shutdown evidence it didn't earn — two correctness invariants that were previously assumed, not enforced."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.11",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.10",
+      "date": "2026-09-02",
+      "headline": "A planner door for indexes, batched containment repair, and a fixed near()",
+      "items": [
+        "An optional planFindPage door lets an index plan a find() and answer it in one call, instead of the engine assembling the plan itself.",
+        "repairContainment's reconcile pass now walks paged edges once instead of issuing one graph call per file.",
+        "find({ near }) now searches around the anchor's own vector and refuses by name when none is available, instead of silently querying with no vector at all."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.10",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.9",
+      "date": "2026-09-02",
+      "headline": "Graph-first finds, honest verb arrays, and opens that stop rescanning history",
+      "items": [
+        "find({ connected, where }) now walks the neighbours first and filters only those rows — correct at every page, and O(neighbours) instead of O(store).",
+        "related() with a list of verb types (or sources, or targets) returns every requested kind — four fast paths silently kept only the first.",
+        "Deferred-embedding recovery resumes from a low-water mark instead of rescanning the whole generation log at every open — measured at two minutes on a large brain, now milliseconds."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.9",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.7",
+      "date": "2026-09-01",
+      "headline": "Count ledgers can no longer race themselves",
+      "items": [
+        "Concurrent count flushes coalesce into one writer with a trailing pass — parallel flushes can no longer corrupt a store's count ledger.",
+        "Atomic writes carry a per-process sequence, so two processes' temp files can never collide."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.7",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.6",
+      "date": "2026-08-31",
+      "headline": "Transactions cross the index seam safely",
+      "items": [
+        "Deleting relations inside a transact() no longer fails against the metadata index — operations take a JSON-safe view at the moment they execute.",
+        "Fixes a class of transaction failures on stores with integer-mapped relation endpoints."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.6",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.5",
+      "date": "2026-08-31",
+      "headline": "Recovery tells the truth, docs live at home",
+      "items": [
+        "A torn generation-log tail is a terminal verdict with a named cure — never an endless wait at open.",
+        "A sealed segment declares only the generations it actually holds.",
+        "The engine's documentation now publishes from its own repository."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.5",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.4",
+      "date": "2026-08-28",
+      "headline": "Faster opens, quieter idle",
+      "items": [
+        "Opening a store discovers generations from directory names instead of walking the log, and answers \"any entities?\" with one directory read.",
+        "The flush-request watch is event-driven; idle stores stop paying a polling heartbeat.",
+        "A slow open now names the exact step it is in, so operators see what is being paid and why."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.4",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.3",
+      "date": "2026-08-27",
+      "headline": "Open Brainy, under its own name",
+      "items": [
+        "The same engine as 10.4.2, now published as @soulcraftlabs/brainy — the MIT reference engine, on The Source.",
+        "No code changes; your imports change once and everything else stays put."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.3",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.2",
+      "date": "2026-08-27",
+      "headline": "Vectors that lie are refused, counts that drift are caught",
+      "items": [
+        "A zero-norm vector is not a vector: the index refuses them, rebuilds skip them, and a sanctioned unvector door removes them cleanly.",
+        "The canonical count ledger derives from identity records and marks legacy-derived ledgers suspect at load.",
+        "Plugin activation failures keep their original error as cause, so the real frame reaches your logs."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.2",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.1",
+      "date": "2026-08-26",
+      "headline": "Writes that change nothing cost nothing",
+      "items": [
+        "The read gate is per index family, and a write carrying unchanged data never re-embeds.",
+        "The vectored-row count joins the ledger, so vector coverage is a number you can read, not a guess."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.1",
+      "thumb": null
+    },
+    {
+      "version": "10.4.0",
+      "date": "2026-08-26",
+      "headline": "Repair routing, the vector ledger, and honest empties",
+      "items": [
+        "Repairs route to the index that owns the damage, and the open gate closes the vector leg until coverage is proven.",
+        "An empty string is real data, not a missing field.",
+        "The metadata crossing never carries raw integer relation endpoints — a whole class of serialization faults closed."
+      ],
+      "url": "https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v10.4.0",
+      "thumb": null
+    }
+  ],
+  "history": "Earlier releases are recorded in CHANGELOG.md in this repository."
+}

scripts/buildEmbeddedPatterns.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { TransformerEmbedding } from '../src/utils/embedding.js'
 import * as fs from 'fs/promises'
 import * as path from 'path'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url'
+import { resolveDeterministicStamp } from './lib/deterministicStamp.js'
 
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
 
@@ -97,13 +98,22 @@ async function buildEmbeddedPatterns() {
   // Convert to base64 for embedding in TypeScript
   const uint8 = new Uint8Array(buffer)
   const base64 = Buffer.from(uint8).toString('base64')
-  
+
+  // Deterministic stamp: derived from the git commit time of this
+  // generator's inputs, never from wall-clock time — two builds of the
+  // same source tree must produce byte-identical output.
+  const outputPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'neural', 'embeddedPatterns.ts')
+  const generatedStamp = resolveDeterministicStamp(
+    [path.join(__dirname, 'buildEmbeddedPatterns.ts'), libraryPath],
+    outputPath
+  )
+
   // Generate TypeScript file with everything embedded
   const tsContent = `/**
  * 🧠 BRAINY EMBEDDED PATTERNS
  * 
  * AUTO-GENERATED - DO NOT EDIT
- * Generated: ${new Date().toISOString()}
+ * Generated: ${generatedStamp}
  * Patterns: ${libraryData.patterns.length}
  * Coverage: 94-98% of all queries
  * 
@@ -197,7 +207,6 @@ prodLog.info(\`🧠 Brainy Pattern Library loaded: \${EMBEDDED_PATTERNS.length}
 `
 
   // Write the TypeScript file
-  const outputPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'neural', 'embeddedPatterns.ts')
   await fs.writeFile(outputPath, tsContent)
   
   // Report statistics

scripts/buildTypeEmbeddings.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import * as fs from 'fs/promises'
 import * as path from 'path'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url'
 import { NounType, VerbType } from '../src/types/graphTypes.js'
+import { resolveDeterministicStamp } from './lib/deterministicStamp.js'
 
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
 
@@ -373,12 +374,24 @@ async function buildTypeEmbeddings() {
   const uint8 = new Uint8Array(buffer)
   const base64 = Buffer.from(uint8).toString('base64')
 
+  // Deterministic stamp: derived from the git commit time of this
+  // generator's inputs, never from wall-clock time — two builds of the
+  // same source tree must produce byte-identical output.
+  const outputPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'neural', 'embeddedTypeEmbeddings.ts')
+  const generatedStamp = resolveDeterministicStamp(
+    [
+      path.join(__dirname, 'buildTypeEmbeddings.ts'),
+      path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'types', 'graphTypes.ts')
+    ],
+    outputPath
+  )
+
   // Generate TypeScript file
   const tsContent = `/**
  * 🧠 BRAINY EMBEDDED TYPE EMBEDDINGS
  *
  * AUTO-GENERATED - DO NOT EDIT
- * Generated: ${new Date().toISOString()}
+ * Generated: ${generatedStamp}
  * Noun Types: ${nounTypes.length}
  * Verb Types: ${verbTypes.length}
  *
@@ -395,7 +408,7 @@ export const TYPE_METADATA = {
   verbTypes: ${verbTypes.length},
   totalTypes: ${totalTypes},
   embeddingDimensions: ${embeddingDim},
-  generatedAt: "${new Date().toISOString()}",
+  generatedAt: "${generatedStamp}",
   sizeBytes: {
     embeddings: ${buffer.byteLength},
     base64: ${base64.length}
@@ -494,7 +507,6 @@ prodLog.info(\`🧠 Brainy Type Embeddings loaded: \${TYPE_METADATA.nounTypes} n
 `
 
   // Write the TypeScript file
-  const outputPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'src', 'neural', 'embeddedTypeEmbeddings.ts')
   await fs.writeFile(outputPath, tsContent)
 
   // Report statistics

scripts/emit-contract-manifest.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Emit this build's API-contract manifest to docs/api-contract.json.
+ *
+ * WHY IT IS GENERATED, NOT WRITTEN: a hand-kept list of doors drifts from the
+ * code the first time somebody adds one. This reads the surface the build
+ * actually exposes — the prototype's own methods and accessors, the exported
+ * error classes, the `where` operator sets, the field-addressing vocabulary,
+ * the health verdicts — so a diff between two engines' manifests is a diff
+ * between two engines, never between two authors.
+ *
+ * Requirement marking (required / optional per door) is NOT derivable from the
+ * surface — it is a commitment, recorded with the contract's owner rather than
+ * here. This manifest carries the surface; the promise lives with the contract.
+ *
+ * Usage: node scripts/emit-contract-manifest.mjs [--check]
+ *   --check exits non-zero when the committed manifest is stale.
+ */
+
+import { writeFileSync, readFileSync, existsSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { join, dirname } from 'node:path'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+
+const ROOT = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..')
+const OUT = join(ROOT, 'docs', 'api-contract.json')
+
+const { Brainy } = await import(join(ROOT, 'dist', 'brainy.js'))
+const errorsModule = await import(join(ROOT, 'dist', 'errors', 'brainyError.js'))
+const versionModule = await import(join(ROOT, 'dist', 'utils', 'version.js'))
+const fieldAddressing = await import(join(ROOT, 'dist', 'db', 'fieldAddressing.js'))
+
+/** Every own method and accessor on the class's prototype, minus the private ones. */
+function surfaceOf(ctor) {
+  const doors = []
+  for (const name of Object.getOwnPropertyNames(ctor.prototype)) {
+    if (name === 'constructor' || name.startsWith('_')) continue
+    const descriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(ctor.prototype, name)
+    if (!descriptor) continue
+    if (typeof descriptor.value === 'function') {
+      doors.push({ name, kind: 'method', arity: descriptor.value.length })
+    } else if (descriptor.get) {
+      doors.push({ name, kind: 'accessor' })
+    }
+  }
+  return doors.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name))
+}
+
+const errors = Object.entries(errorsModule)
+  .filter(([name, value]) => typeof value === 'function' && /Error$/.test(name))
+  .map(([name]) => name)
+  .sort()
+
+// The operator sets, read from the engine's own refusal message so the
+// manifest can never disagree with the validator.
+const filterSource = readFileSync(join(ROOT, 'src', 'utils', 'metadataFilter.ts'), 'utf-8')
+const acceptedMatch = filterSource.match(/const VALUE_OPERATORS = new Set<string>\(\[([\s\S]*?)\]\)/)
+if (!acceptedMatch) throw new Error('VALUE_OPERATORS not found — the manifest refuses to guess')
+const accepted = [...acceptedMatch[1].matchAll(/'([^']+)'/g)].map((m) => m[1]).sort()
+
+const indexSource = readFileSync(join(ROOT, 'src', 'utils', 'metadataIndex.ts'), 'utf-8')
+const refusedByIndex = ['endsWith', 'length', 'matches', 'startsWith'].filter((op) =>
+  // Proven by the refusal path: these are the tokens with no case in the
+  // index's operator switch, so they fall to its default and are refused.
+  !new RegExp(`case '${op}':`).test(indexSource)
+)
+const servedOnIndex = accepted.filter((op) => !refusedByIndex.includes(op))
+
+const manifest = {
+  contractVersion: versionModule.contractVersion(),
+  engine: '@soulcraftlabs/brainy',
+  compatibility: {
+    minor:
+      'additive — a new optional door, a new served operator, a new error class; every existing implementation still conforms',
+    major:
+      'breaking — a door removed, an answer narrowed, an ordering law changed, an optional door promoted to required, or an operator moved from served to refused'
+  },
+  doors: surfaceOf(Brainy),
+  errors,
+  operators: {
+    accepted,
+    servedOnIndexPath: servedOnIndex,
+    refusedByIndexPath: refusedByIndex,
+    combinators: ['allOf', 'anyOf', 'not']
+  },
+  fieldAddressing: {
+    systemKeyPrefix: 'system.',
+    systemEntityScalars: [...(fieldAddressing.SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS ?? [])].sort(),
+    systemRelationScalars: [...(fieldAddressing.SYSTEM_RELATION_SCALARS ?? [])].sort(),
+    plumbingFields: [...(fieldAddressing.PLUMBING_FIELDS ?? [])].sort()
+  },
+  health: {
+    verdicts: ['pass', 'warn', 'fail'],
+    healKinds: ['none', 'repair', 'rebuild'],
+    servingWithholdingInvariants: [
+      'index-initialized',
+      'durable-state-present',
+      'manifest-residency',
+      'replay-clean',
+      'strand-latch'
+    ]
+  }
+}
+
+const rendered = `${JSON.stringify(manifest, null, 2)}\n`
+
+if (process.argv.includes('--check')) {
+  if (!existsSync(OUT)) {
+    console.error(`docs/api-contract.json is missing — run: node scripts/emit-contract-manifest.mjs`)
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+  if (readFileSync(OUT, 'utf-8') !== rendered) {
+    console.error(
+      `docs/api-contract.json is STALE — the public surface changed. Re-emit it and announce ` +
+        `the addition (minor = additive; a removal is a contract major).`
+    )
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+  console.log(`docs/api-contract.json is current (${manifest.doors.length} doors, contract ${manifest.contractVersion}).`)
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+writeFileSync(OUT, rendered)
+console.log(
+  `Wrote docs/api-contract.json — contract ${manifest.contractVersion}, ` +
+    `${manifest.doors.length} doors, ${manifest.errors.length} error classes, ` +
+    `${manifest.operators.accepted.length} operators ` +
+    `(${manifest.operators.refusedByIndexPath.length} refused by the index path).`
+)

scripts/gate/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# Gate Guards
+
+Two standalone scripts that stand between a test/build gate and a false
+verdict: one refuses to let the gate start on a noisy machine, the other
+refuses to let a truncated or crashed vitest run be read as green.
+
+## Why these exist
+
+Both guards exist because of the 2026-08-13 lost-day ledger: a gate ran on
+a machine under load, and separately a vitest worker pool died mid-suite
+while still printing a plausible-looking summary line, and in both cases
+the bad result was trusted and acted on for the better part of a day before
+anyone noticed. Neither failure mode announces itself — a loaded machine
+still finishes and reports numbers, and a truncated test run still prints a
+`Test Files` / `Tests` line — so both guards check the evidence explicitly
+rather than trusting that a gate finishing means the gate was valid.
+
+## gate-preflight.sh
+
+Run before any gate lane starts. Exits 1 the moment the machine isn't
+gate-clean, with one `FATAL:` line per violation naming the exact offender
+(the pid and command, the path, the measured value). Prints one `OK:` line
+per check that passes. `WARNING:` lines mark checks that were skipped, not
+failures.
+
+Checks:
+
+| # | Check | Default threshold | Override |
+|---|-------|--------------------|----------|
+| a | 1-minute load average | `nproc / 2` | `GATE_MAX_LOAD` |
+| b | any non-allowlisted process over 50% of one core | 50% | `GATE_ALLOW_REGEX` (extra pattern matched against the process's args) |
+| c | cpu0 scaling governor must be `performance` | — | none (warns and skips if the sysfs path is absent) |
+| d | free space on `/` and `/tmp` | 10G each | `GATE_SKIP_DISK_CHECK=1` to skip entirely |
+
+The allowlist for check (b) is always: this script's own process tree
+(its ancestors and its direct child processes), `sshd`, `systemd`, and
+kernel threads (recognizable by args wrapped in brackets, e.g.
+`[kworker/0:1]`). `GATE_ALLOW_REGEX` extends it — it does not replace it.
+
+## vitest-verdict-check.sh
+
+Run after every vitest lane, against that lane's captured log. Fails
+loudly, quoting the exact line or string that tripped it, when the log's
+own summary can't be trusted:
+
+- no `Test Files` (or, in `--count-tests` mode, `Tests`) summary line is
+  present at all
+- the parenthesized total in that line doesn't match what was expected
+- fewer files/tests are accounted for (passed + failed + skipped) than the
+  total claims — a truncated run
+- the log contains `Unhandled Error` or `Timeout calling` anywhere — a dead
+  worker pool, regardless of what the summary line claims
+
+```
+vitest-verdict-check.sh <log-file> <expected-file-count>
+vitest-verdict-check.sh --count-tests <log-file> <minimum-test-count>
+```
+
+The first form checks `Test Files` for an exact match. The second checks
+`Tests` for a minimum (a floor, not an exact count, since the total number
+of individual tests moves more often than the number of test files).
+
+## Wiring into a CI lane
+
+```sh
+# Before any lane that will report a verdict:
+scripts/gate/gate-preflight.sh || exit 1
+
+# Run the suite, capturing its output:
+npx vitest run tests/unit 2>&1 | tee /tmp/unit.log
+
+# After every vitest lane, check the log against the actual file count:
+EXPECTED_FILES=$(ls tests/unit/**/*.test.ts | wc -l)
+scripts/gate/vitest-verdict-check.sh /tmp/unit.log "$EXPECTED_FILES" || exit 1
+```
+
+## Exit-code contract
+
+| Script | Exit 0 | Exit 1 |
+|--------|--------|--------|
+| `gate-preflight.sh` | machine is gate-clean | one or more `FATAL:` violations printed |
+| `vitest-verdict-check.sh` | log's summary is trustworthy and matches | usage error, missing/unreadable log, or one or more `FATAL:` violations printed |
+
+Non-zero from either script means: do not trust the gate that was about to
+run, or the result of the one that just ran.

scripts/gate/gate-preflight.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Brainy Gate Preflight
+# Refuses to let a test/build gate run on a machine that isn't clean enough
+# to trust the numbers it produces. See scripts/gate/README.md for why (the
+# 2026-08-13 lost-day ledger).
+#
+# Checks: 1-minute load average, any non-allowlisted process pinning a core,
+# the cpu0 scaling governor, and free space on / and /tmp.
+#
+# Exit 0 and print one OK line per passing check when the machine is clean.
+# Exit 1 and print one FATAL line per violation, naming the offender, when
+# it is not.
+#
+# Known trap: a helper function whose last executed statement is a `while`
+# (or any command whose own exit status happens to be nonzero) hands that
+# status back as the function's return value. Called as a plain statement,
+# that silently kills this script under `set -e`. Every helper below ends
+# on an explicit `return 0` as its own statement, never on a loop or test.
+#
+# The same failure mode hides in plainer-looking lines too: `var=$(cmd)` is
+# a bare assignment, so `set -e` DOES treat a nonzero `cmd` (or, under
+# `pipefail`, a nonzero stage anywhere in `cmd`'s pipeline) as a failure of
+# that statement and kills the script right there — even mid-loop, even
+# when the "failure" is routine (a process that exited before a second
+# lookup, a path that doesn't exist). Every such assignment below is paired
+# with an explicit `|| var=""` fallback so a routine miss degrades to an
+# empty value instead of an exit.
+
+VIOLATIONS=0
+ANCESTOR_PIDS=""
+
+fatal() {
+  echo "FATAL: $1"
+  VIOLATIONS=$((VIOLATIONS + 1))
+}
+
+ok() {
+  echo "OK: $1"
+}
+
+# Walks this process's parent chain up to pid 1, then takes one snapshot of
+# its direct children (the ps/read pipeline in check_processes), and
+# records both in ANCESTOR_PIDS — so the process-scan below can recognize
+# its own tree (the shell/terminal/session that launched it, plus its own
+# helper commands) instead of flagging it. Children are captured once, up
+# front, rather than re-queried per row later, so a helper command that has
+# already exited by the time it's looked up can't be mistaken for a miss.
+build_ancestor_pids() {
+  local pid="$$"
+  local ppid child
+  ANCESTOR_PIDS=" $pid "
+  while [ "$pid" != "1" ]; do
+    ppid=$(ps -o ppid= -p "$pid" 2>/dev/null | tr -d ' ') || ppid=""
+    if [ -z "$ppid" ]; then
+      break
+    fi
+    ANCESTOR_PIDS="${ANCESTOR_PIDS}${ppid} "
+    pid="$ppid"
+  done
+
+  while IFS= read -r child; do
+    [ -z "$child" ] && continue
+    ANCESTOR_PIDS="${ANCESTOR_PIDS}${child} "
+  done < <(ps --ppid "$$" -o pid= 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+  return 0
+}
+
+# (a) 1-minute load average vs. threshold (default: nproc / 2).
+check_load() {
+  local max_load="${GATE_MAX_LOAD:-}"
+  if [ -z "$max_load" ]; then
+    max_load=$(( $(nproc) / 2 ))
+    if [ "$max_load" -lt 1 ]; then
+      max_load=1
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  local load_1m
+  load_1m=$(cut -d' ' -f1 /proc/loadavg)
+
+  if awk -v l="$load_1m" -v m="$max_load" 'BEGIN { exit !(l > m) }'; then
+    fatal "1-minute load average ${load_1m} exceeds threshold ${max_load} (GATE_MAX_LOAD=${max_load})"
+  else
+    ok "1-minute load average ${load_1m} is within threshold ${max_load}"
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# (b) any process outside the allowlist pinning more than half a core.
+# Parsed with `read` into named fields, not an awk/cut chain — a fixed-column
+# awk/cut split on `ps` output duplicated fields the first time this was
+# tried, because process args vary in word count. `read` with a fixed list
+# of variables dumps everything left over into the last one (args), which
+# handles that correctly.
+check_processes() {
+  local max_pcpu=50
+  local extra_regex="${GATE_ALLOW_REGEX:-}"
+  local violation_found=0
+  local line pcpu pid args pcpu_int
+
+  while IFS= read -r line; do
+    [ -z "$line" ] && continue
+    read -r pcpu pid args <<< "$line"
+
+    # Kernel threads report their comm in brackets, e.g. "[kworker/0:1]".
+    case "$args" in
+      \[*\]) continue ;;
+    esac
+
+    # This script's own tree: its ancestors (shell, terminal, session) and
+    # its direct children, both captured once by build_ancestor_pids.
+    case " $ANCESTOR_PIDS " in
+      *" $pid "*) continue ;;
+    esac
+
+    case "$args" in
+      *sshd*|*systemd*) continue ;;
+    esac
+
+    if [ -n "$extra_regex" ] && [[ "$args" =~ $extra_regex ]]; then
+      continue
+    fi
+
+    pcpu_int="${pcpu%.*}"
+    if [ -z "$pcpu_int" ]; then
+      pcpu_int=0
+    fi
+    if [ "$pcpu_int" -gt "$max_pcpu" ]; then
+      fatal "pid ${pid} ('${args}') is using ${pcpu}% of one core"
+      violation_found=1
+    fi
+  done < <(ps -eo pcpu,pid,args --sort=-pcpu | tail -n +2)
+
+  if [ "$violation_found" -eq 0 ]; then
+    ok "no process outside the allowlist exceeds ${max_pcpu}% of one core"
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# (c) cpu0 scaling governor must be "performance". Skipped with a warning
+# (not a violation) when the sysfs path doesn't exist on this machine.
+check_governor() {
+  local gov_path="/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor"
+  if [ ! -r "$gov_path" ]; then
+    echo "WARNING: ${gov_path} not present; skipping governor check"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local governor
+  governor=$(cat "$gov_path" 2>/dev/null) || governor=""
+  if [ "$governor" != "performance" ]; then
+    fatal "cpu0 governor is '${governor}', not 'performance'"
+  else
+    ok "cpu0 governor is 'performance'"
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# (d) free-space floors on / and /tmp (default 10G each). Skip entirely via
+# GATE_SKIP_DISK_CHECK=1.
+check_disk() {
+  if [ "${GATE_SKIP_DISK_CHECK:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+    echo "WARNING: disk free-space check skipped (GATE_SKIP_DISK_CHECK=1)"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local floor_gb=10
+  local floor_bytes=$((floor_gb * 1024 * 1024 * 1024))
+  local path avail_bytes avail_gb
+
+  for path in / /tmp; do
+    avail_bytes=$(df --output=avail -B1 "$path" 2>/dev/null | tail -n 1 | tr -d ' ') || avail_bytes=""
+    if [ -z "$avail_bytes" ]; then
+      echo "WARNING: could not determine free space on ${path}; skipping"
+      continue
+    fi
+    if [ "$avail_bytes" -lt "$floor_bytes" ]; then
+      avail_gb=$((avail_bytes / 1024 / 1024 / 1024))
+      fatal "${path} has only ${avail_gb}G free, below the ${floor_gb}G floor"
+    else
+      ok "${path} has enough free space (floor ${floor_gb}G)"
+    fi
+  done
+  return 0
+}
+
+echo "Brainy gate preflight"
+echo "----------------------"
+
+build_ancestor_pids
+check_load
+check_processes
+check_governor
+check_disk
+
+echo "----------------------"
+if [ "$VIOLATIONS" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "FATAL: gate preflight failed with ${VIOLATIONS} violation(s) — machine is not gate-clean"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "gate preflight passed — machine is gate-clean"
+exit 0

scripts/gate/vitest-verdict-check.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Brainy Vitest Verdict Check
+# Confirms a vitest run's own summary line is trustworthy before anything
+# downstream treats a green run as green. See scripts/gate/README.md for why
+# (the 2026-08-13 lost-day ledger).
+#
+# Usage:
+#   vitest-verdict-check.sh <log-file> <expected-file-count>
+#   vitest-verdict-check.sh --count-tests <log-file> <minimum-test-count>
+#
+# The first form checks the "Test Files" summary line's total against an
+# exact expected count. The second checks the "Tests" summary line's total
+# against a minimum. Both also fail on any sign the worker pool died
+# mid-run, whether or not a summary line still made it into the log.
+#
+# Exit 0 and print one OK line per passing check when the log is clean.
+# Exit 1 and print one FATAL line per violation, quoting the exact line or
+# string that tripped it, when it is not.
+#
+# Known trap (shared with gate-preflight.sh): every helper below ends on an
+# explicit `return 0` as its own statement, never on a loop or test, so a
+# helper's last command can never hand its own exit status back as the
+# function's under `set -e`. The same applies to `var=$(cmd)` assignments
+# mid-helper: a bare assignment IS checked by `set -e`, so a `grep` that
+# legitimately finds nothing (exit 1) would otherwise kill the script
+# instead of just leaving the variable empty — every such assignment below
+# is paired with an explicit `|| true` inside the substitution.
+
+usage() {
+  echo "Usage: $0 <log-file> <expected-file-count>"
+  echo "       $0 --count-tests <log-file> <minimum-test-count>"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+MODE="files"
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--count-tests" ]; then
+  MODE="tests"
+  shift
+fi
+
+LOG_FILE="${1:-}"
+THRESHOLD="${2:-}"
+
+if [ -z "$LOG_FILE" ] || [ -z "$THRESHOLD" ]; then
+  usage
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "$LOG_FILE" ]; then
+  echo "FATAL: log file '${LOG_FILE}' does not exist"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! [[ "$THRESHOLD" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+  echo "FATAL: threshold '${THRESHOLD}' is not a non-negative integer"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VIOLATIONS=0
+
+fatal() {
+  echo "FATAL: $1"
+  VIOLATIONS=$((VIOLATIONS + 1))
+}
+
+ok() {
+  echo "OK: $1"
+}
+
+# Vitest colorizes its summary with ANSI escapes; strip them before parsing
+# anything, or the color codes end up embedded in the fields we grep for.
+CLEAN_LOG="$(sed 's/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m//g' "$LOG_FILE")"
+
+# Worker-pool death: if either string appears, the run's own summary line —
+# even if present and even if its numbers look fine — cannot be trusted,
+# because the process died mid-suite and vitest's own accounting is what
+# died with it.
+check_worker_death() {
+  if echo "$CLEAN_LOG" | grep -q "Unhandled Error"; then
+    fatal "log contains 'Unhandled Error' — worker pool died mid-run"
+  fi
+  if echo "$CLEAN_LOG" | grep -q "Timeout calling"; then
+    fatal "log contains 'Timeout calling' — worker pool died mid-run"
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# Shared shape between the "Test Files" and "Tests" summary lines:
+#   <label>  <n> passed | <n> failed | <n> skipped (<total>)
+# `compare` is "eq" (total must equal threshold) or "min" (total must be at
+# least threshold).
+check_summary_line() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local threshold="$2"
+  local compare="$3"
+  local summary_line total accounted n
+
+  summary_line=$(echo "$CLEAN_LOG" | grep -E "^[[:space:]]*${label}[[:space:]]+" | tail -n 1 || true)
+
+  if [ -z "$summary_line" ]; then
+    fatal "no '${label}' summary line found in ${LOG_FILE}"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  total=$(echo "$summary_line" | grep -oE '\([0-9]+\)' | tr -d '()' | tail -n 1 || true)
+  if [ -z "$total" ]; then
+    fatal "'${label}' summary line has no parenthesized total: \"${summary_line}\""
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [ "$compare" = "eq" ]; then
+    if [ "$total" -ne "$threshold" ]; then
+      fatal "'${label}' total is ${total}, expected ${threshold}: \"${summary_line}\""
+    else
+      ok "'${label}' total matches expected ${threshold}"
+    fi
+  else
+    if [ "$total" -lt "$threshold" ]; then
+      fatal "'${label}' total is ${total}, below minimum ${threshold}: \"${summary_line}\""
+    else
+      ok "'${label}' total ${total} meets minimum ${threshold}"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  accounted=0
+  for n in $(echo "$summary_line" | grep -oE '[0-9]+ (passed|failed|skipped)' | grep -oE '^[0-9]+'); do
+    accounted=$((accounted + n))
+  done
+
+  if [ "$accounted" -lt "$total" ]; then
+    fatal "'${label}' line accounts for only ${accounted} of ${total} — truncated run: \"${summary_line}\""
+  else
+    ok "'${label}' line accounts for all ${total}"
+  fi
+
+  return 0
+}
+
+echo "Brainy vitest verdict check: ${LOG_FILE}"
+echo "----------------------"
+
+check_worker_death
+
+if [ "$MODE" = "files" ]; then
+  check_summary_line "Test Files" "$THRESHOLD" "eq"
+else
+  check_summary_line "Tests" "$THRESHOLD" "min"
+fi
+
+echo "----------------------"
+if [ "$VIOLATIONS" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "FATAL: vitest verdict check failed with ${VIOLATIONS} violation(s) for ${LOG_FILE}"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "vitest verdict check passed for ${LOG_FILE}"
+exit 0

scripts/lib/deterministicStamp.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+/**
+ * Deterministic generation-stamp resolution for Brainy's build-time code
+ * generators.
+ *
+ * Two builds of the same source tree must produce byte-identical output.
+ * A wall-clock stamp (`new Date()`) breaks that guarantee, so every
+ * generator that writes a "Generated:" header or a `generatedAt` field
+ * into its output must resolve the stamp through this module instead.
+ *
+ * Resolution order:
+ *   1. The newest git commit timestamp among the generator's input files
+ *      (the generator script itself always counts as an input).
+ *   2. If git metadata is unavailable (for example, building from a
+ *      published npm tarball with no `.git` directory), the stamp already
+ *      recorded in the previously generated output file.
+ *   3. If neither is available, the fixed epoch string
+ *      `1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z`.
+ *
+ * Every fallback logs a line to stderr — deterministic degradation is
+ * loud, never a silent divergence.
+ */
+
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process'
+import * as fs from 'fs'
+
+const EPOCH_STAMP = '1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z'
+const STAMP_PATTERN = /\*\s*Generated:\s*(\S+)/
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the deterministic stamp for a generator run.
+ *
+ * @param inputPaths Absolute paths to every file whose content determines
+ *   the generator's output, including the generator script itself.
+ * @param previousOutputPath Absolute path to the previously generated
+ *   file, used for the existing-stamp fallback when git is unavailable.
+ * @returns An ISO-8601 timestamp string that is deterministic for a given
+ *   source tree.
+ */
+export function resolveDeterministicStamp(
+  inputPaths: string[],
+  previousOutputPath: string
+): string {
+  const gitStamp = newestGitCommitTimestamp(inputPaths)
+  if (gitStamp) {
+    return gitStamp
+  }
+
+  const existingStamp = readExistingStamp(previousOutputPath)
+  if (existingStamp) {
+    process.stderr.write(
+      `[deterministic-stamp] no git commit history found for generator inputs; ` +
+        `reusing existing stamp from ${previousOutputPath}: ${existingStamp}\n`
+    )
+    return existingStamp
+  }
+
+  process.stderr.write(
+    `[deterministic-stamp] no git commit history and no previous output at ` +
+      `${previousOutputPath}; falling back to fixed epoch stamp ${EPOCH_STAMP}\n`
+  )
+  return EPOCH_STAMP
+}
+
+/**
+ * Find the newest git commit timestamp among the given input paths.
+ * Returns null if git is unavailable, the tree is not a git repository,
+ * or none of the inputs have any commit history yet.
+ */
+function newestGitCommitTimestamp(inputPaths: string[]): string | null {
+  let newest: string | null = null
+
+  for (const inputPath of inputPaths) {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(inputPath)) {
+      continue
+    }
+
+    let out: string
+    try {
+      out = execFileSync(
+        'git',
+        ['log', '-1', '--format=%cI', '--', inputPath],
+        { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'ignore'] }
+      )
+        .toString()
+        .trim()
+    } catch {
+      // git missing, not a repository, or no permissions — handled by the
+      // caller's fallback chain.
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (!out) {
+      // Path exists but has no commit history yet (e.g. newly created,
+      // uncommitted file).
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (!newest || new Date(out).getTime() > new Date(newest).getTime()) {
+      newest = out
+    }
+  }
+
+  return newest
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse the `* Generated: <ISO timestamp>` header out of a previously
+ * generated file, if one exists.
+ */
+function readExistingStamp(outputPath: string): string | null {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(outputPath)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const content = fs.readFileSync(outputPath, 'utf-8')
+  const match = content.match(STAMP_PATTERN)
+  return match ? match[1] : null
+}

scripts/push-docs.js

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * @module scripts/push-docs
+ * @description Push this repo's PUBLIC docs to the soulcraft.com docs ingest
+ * door after an npm publish (VENUE-DOCS-RELEASE-PUSH — retires the old
+ * build-time docs sync).
+ *
+ * Contract (mirrors the reference implementation on the serving side):
+ *   POST {base}/api/docs/ingest
+ *   headers: x-service-secret: $DOCS_INGEST_SECRET, Content-Type: application/json
+ *   body: { docs: [{ slug, title, markdown, nav: { order, section } }] }
+ *   batches of 10, idempotent per slug.
+ *
+ * A doc is public iff its frontmatter has `public: true` AND a `slug`. The
+ * frontmatter is stripped; `category` → nav.section, `order` → nav.order.
+ *
+ * Deliberately NOT pushed: the combined /docs landing index. It spans BOTH
+ * engine corpora (this repo's and the native accelerator's), so a per-repo
+ * push would clobber the union — the index is authored on the serving side.
+ *
+ * Env: DOCS_INGEST_SECRET (required), DOCS_INGEST_BASE (default
+ * https://soulcraft.com). Exits 0 with a LOUD warning when the secret is
+ * absent (the npm publish has already happened; the serving side runs its
+ * interim sync on request) and exits 1 when a push actually fails — the docs
+ * site would silently trail npm otherwise, and that must be visible.
+ */
+import * as fs from 'node:fs'
+import * as path from 'node:path'
+
+const BASE = (process.env.DOCS_INGEST_BASE || 'https://soulcraft.com').replace(/\/+$/, '')
+const SECRET = process.env.DOCS_INGEST_SECRET
+const DOCS_DIR = path.join(path.dirname(new URL(import.meta.url).pathname), '..', 'docs')
+const BATCH = 10
+
+if (!SECRET) {
+  console.warn(
+    '⚠️  DOCS PUSH SKIPPED: DOCS_INGEST_SECRET is not set.\n' +
+      '    soulcraft.com/docs now TRAILS this npm release until docs are pushed.\n' +
+      '    Either export DOCS_INGEST_SECRET and re-run `node scripts/push-docs.js`,\n' +
+      '    or ping venue on VENUE-DOCS-RELEASE-PUSH for the interim sync.'
+  )
+  process.exit(0)
+}
+
+/** Minimal frontmatter split — returns [meta, body] or [null, raw]. */
+function parseFrontmatter(raw) {
+  const m = raw.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---\n([\s\S]*)$/)
+  if (!m) return [null, raw]
+  const meta = {}
+  for (const line of m[1].split('\n')) {
+    const kv = line.match(/^(\w[\w-]*):\s*(.*)$/)
+    if (kv) meta[kv[1]] = kv[2].trim().replace(/^["']|["']$/g, '')
+  }
+  return [meta, m[2]]
+}
+
+const docs = []
+;(function walk(dir) {
+  for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    const full = path.join(dir, entry.name)
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) walk(full)
+    else if (entry.name.endsWith('.md')) {
+      const [meta, body] = parseFrontmatter(fs.readFileSync(full, 'utf-8'))
+      if (!meta || meta.public !== 'true' || !meta.slug) continue
+      docs.push({
+        slug: meta.slug,
+        title: meta.title || meta.slug,
+        markdown: body.trim(),
+        nav: {
+          order: Number.parseInt(meta.order || '99', 10) || 99,
+          section: meta.category || 'guides'
+        }
+      })
+    }
+  }
+})(DOCS_DIR)
+
+if (docs.length === 0) {
+  console.error('❌ DOCS PUSH FAILED: zero public docs collected — refusing to push an empty corpus.')
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+docs.sort((a, b) => a.slug.localeCompare(b.slug))
+console.log(`Pushing ${docs.length} public docs to ${BASE}/api/docs/ingest …`)
+
+let failed = false
+for (let i = 0; i < docs.length; i += BATCH) {
+  const batch = docs.slice(i, i + BATCH)
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/api/docs/ingest`, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {
+        'x-service-secret': SECRET,
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+        'User-Agent': 'brainy-docs-push/1.0'
+      },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ docs: batch }),
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000)
+    })
+    if (!res.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}: ${(await res.text()).slice(0, 300)}`)
+    }
+    console.log(`  batch ${i / BATCH + 1}: ${batch.map((d) => d.slug).join(', ')} → ok`)
+  } catch (err) {
+    failed = true
+    console.error(`  batch ${i / BATCH + 1} FAILED: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`)
+  }
+}
+
+if (failed) {
+  console.error(
+    '❌ DOCS PUSH INCOMPLETE — soulcraft.com/docs may trail npm. ' +
+      'Re-run `node scripts/push-docs.js` or ping venue on VENUE-DOCS-RELEASE-PUSH.'
+  )
+  process.exit(1)
+}
+console.log('✅ Docs pushed.')

scripts/release.sh

@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@ NC='\033[0m' # No Color
 RELEASE_TYPE="${1:-patch}"  # patch, minor, or major
 SKIP_TESTS=false
 DRY_RUN=false
+# --source-only is now a no-op: The Source is the one registry, so every
+# release already ships Source-only — tag, CI's publish to The Source, the
+# release page, and the docs push, with no separate storefront leg to skip.
+# The flag is still accepted (for backward-compatible invocations) and just
+# prints a notice; it no longer changes behavior.
+SOURCE_ONLY=false
 
 for arg in "$@"; do
   case $arg in
@@ -24,6 +30,9 @@ for arg in "$@"; do
     --dry-run)
       DRY_RUN=true
       ;;
+    --source-only)
+      SOURCE_ONLY=true
+      ;;
   esac
 done
 
@@ -100,7 +109,7 @@ else
       ;;
     *)
       echo -e "${RED}❌ Invalid release type: ${RELEASE_TYPE}${NC}"
-      echo "Usage: ./scripts/release.sh [patch|minor|major|<explicit-version>] [--dry-run]"
+      echo "Usage: ./scripts/release.sh [patch|minor|major|<explicit-version>] [--dry-run] [--source-only (no-op; The Source is the one registry)]"
       exit 1
       ;;
   esac
@@ -119,6 +128,9 @@ echo -e "${BLUE}New version: ${NEW_VERSION}${NC}"
 if [ "$PRERELEASE" = true ]; then
   echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠️  Prerelease → npm dist-tag '${NPM_TAG}', GitHub prerelease${NC}"
 fi
+if [ "$SOURCE_ONLY" = true ]; then
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}⚠️  The Source is the one registry; --source-only is implied${NC}"
+fi
 echo ""
 
 if [ "$DRY_RUN" = true ]; then
@@ -142,7 +154,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Create new changelog entry
-CHANGELOG_ENTRY="### [${NEW_VERSION}](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v${CURRENT_VERSION}...v${NEW_VERSION}) ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))
+CHANGELOG_ENTRY="### [${NEW_VERSION}](https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/compare/v${CURRENT_VERSION}...v${NEW_VERSION}) ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))
 
 ${COMMITS}
 "
@@ -175,30 +187,76 @@ echo -e "${BLUE}7️⃣  Creating git tag v${NEW_VERSION}...${NC}"
 git tag -a "v${NEW_VERSION}" -m "Release v${NEW_VERSION}"
 echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Tag created${NC}\n"
 
-# Step 9: Push to GitHub
+# Step 9: Push to origin — The Source is the one home (ruled 2026-07-23; the
-echo -e "${BLUE}8️⃣  Pushing to GitHub...${NC}"
+# old public GitHub repo is archived history, no longer part of any release).
-git push --follow-tags origin "$CURRENT_BRANCH"
+# TAG FIRST, branch second — deliberately two pushes: the runner is
-echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Pushed to GitHub${NC}\n"
+# sequential, and a combined push can queue the release commit's ci.yml run
+# AHEAD of the tag's publish-source run (observed on 10.0.0: the publish sat
+# ~37 minutes behind a redundant CI run of the very commit the local gates
+# had just proven). Pushing the tag alone queues the publish immediately;
+# the branch push (and its ci.yml run) follows behind it, harmlessly.
+echo -e "${BLUE}8️⃣  Pushing to origin (tag first — the publish must never queue behind CI)...${NC}"
+git push origin "v${NEW_VERSION}"
+git push origin "$CURRENT_BRANCH"
+echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Pushed to origin${NC}\n"
 
-# Step 10: Publish to npm
+# Step 10: The home publish (The Source, source.soulcraft.com) is CI's job
-echo -e "${BLUE}9️⃣  Publishing to npm (dist-tag: ${NPM_TAG})...${NC}"
+# now, not the laptop's — a tag push (just above) triggers
-npm publish --tag "$NPM_TAG"
+# .forgejo/workflows/publish-source.yml, which builds and publishes on The
-# Brainy is the only PUBLIC @soulcraft package — verify visibility after every publish.
+# Source's own runner (datacenter-side: seconds, not the laptop's WAN timing
-npm access get status @soulcraft/brainy || true
+# out on an 87MB tarball PUT). The laptop holds no home-registry publish
-echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Published to npm${NC}\n"
+# credential anymore; it only waits for CI's result before continuing on to
+# the release page and the docs push.
+SOURCE_NPM_REG="https://source.soulcraft.com/api/packages/soulcraftlabs/npm/"
+SOURCE_POLL_INTERVAL_S=15
+SOURCE_POLL_MAX_ATTEMPTS=200  # 200 × 15s = 50 minutes — the runner is sequential and a busy day's ci.yml
+                             # backlog has twice exceeded the old 20-minute window (8.10.3, 9.0.0);
+                             # ci.yml no longer runs on tag pushes, but same-day branch pushes still queue ahead
+echo -e "${BLUE}9️⃣  Waiting for CI to publish v${NEW_VERSION} to The Source registry (home)...${NC}"
+SOURCE_LANDED=false
+for ((attempt = 1; attempt <= SOURCE_POLL_MAX_ATTEMPTS; attempt++)); do
+  LANDED_VERSION=$(npm view "@soulcraftlabs/brainy@${NEW_VERSION}" version "--@soulcraftlabs:registry=${SOURCE_NPM_REG}" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+  if [ "$LANDED_VERSION" = "$NEW_VERSION" ]; then
+    SOURCE_LANDED=true
+    break
+  fi
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}   … not yet on The Source (attempt ${attempt}/${SOURCE_POLL_MAX_ATTEMPTS}); retrying in ${SOURCE_POLL_INTERVAL_S}s${NC}"
+  sleep "$SOURCE_POLL_INTERVAL_S"
+done
 
-# Step 11: Create GitHub release
+if [ "$SOURCE_LANDED" = true ]; then
-echo -e "${BLUE}🔟 Creating GitHub release...${NC}"
+  echo -e "${GREEN}✅ CI published v${NEW_VERSION} to The Source${NC}\n"
-if [ "$PRERELEASE" = true ]; then
-  gh release create "v${NEW_VERSION}" --generate-notes --prerelease
 else
-  gh release create "v${NEW_VERSION}" --generate-notes
+  echo -e "${RED}❌ CI's home publish did not land — check the workflow run on The Source; the pair must not diverge.${NC}"
+  echo -e "${RED}   v${NEW_VERSION} was tagged and pushed, but @soulcraftlabs/brainy@${NEW_VERSION} never became visible on the${NC}"
+  echo -e "${RED}   Source registry after ${SOURCE_POLL_MAX_ATTEMPTS} attempts, ${SOURCE_POLL_INTERVAL_S}s apart. Aborting.${NC}"
+  exit 1
 fi
-echo -e "${GREEN}✅ GitHub release created${NC}\n"
+
+# Step 11: Release object on The Source (presentational — the tag, CHANGELOG,
+# and RELEASES.md are the record; this just gives The Source's UI a release page).
+echo -e "${BLUE}🔟 Creating release page on The Source...${NC}"
+if [ -n "${FORGEJO_RELEASE_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
+  if curl -sf -X POST "https://source.soulcraft.com/api/v1/repos/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases" \
+    -H "Authorization: token ${FORGEJO_RELEASE_TOKEN}" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    -d "{\"tag_name\":\"v${NEW_VERSION}\",\"name\":\"v${NEW_VERSION}\",\"prerelease\":${PRERELEASE}}" >/dev/null; then
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✅ Release page created on The Source${NC}\n"
+  else
+    echo -e "${RED}⚠️  Release-page API call failed — tag + CHANGELOG remain the record; create the page via The Source's UI if wanted${NC}\n"
+  fi
+else
+  echo -e "${RED}⚠️  FORGEJO_RELEASE_TOKEN unset — no release page created; tag + CHANGELOG remain the record${NC}\n"
+fi
+
+# Step 12 RETIRED (2026-08-31, CORTEX-SITE-BRAINY-RENAME round 12, David-ruled):
+# soulcraft.com/docs carries the paid product's documentation only. This
+# engine's documentation home is THIS repository — README and docs/ — and the
+# site serves 301s for the slugs this rail used to push. The push script stays
+# in the tree for history; the rail no longer calls it.
+echo -e "${BLUE}Docs step: this engine documents itself in its own repo (site push retired 2026-08-31)${NC}"
 
 echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
 echo -e "${GREEN}🎉 Release ${NEW_VERSION} complete!${NC}"
 echo -e "${GREEN}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
 echo ""
-echo -e "📦 npm: ${BLUE}https://www.npmjs.com/package/@soulcraft/brainy/v/${NEW_VERSION}${NC}"
+echo -e "🏠 The Source: ${BLUE}https://source.soulcraft.com/soulcraftlabs/open-brainy/releases/tag/v${NEW_VERSION}${NC}"
-echo -e "🐙 GitHub: ${BLUE}https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/releases/tag/v${NEW_VERSION}${NC}"

src/aggregation/AggregationIndex.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,22 @@
  */
 
 import type { StorageAdapter, HNSWNounWithMetadata } from '../coreTypes.js'
-import { resolveEntityField } from '../coreTypes.js'
+import { parseFieldAddress, readEntityFieldAddress } from '../db/fieldAddressing.js'
+import type { HNSWNounWithMetadata as AddressedEntity } from '../coreTypes.js'
+
+/**
+ * Read a user-supplied field name under the one addressing law (sealed
+ * 2026-08-03): bare / `metadata.` = the user's metadata field, `system.<x>` =
+ * the ruled engine scalar, malformed = typed refusal. The aggregation engine
+ * NEVER resolves names any other way — the pre-law resolver made bare
+ * `subtype`/`confidence` read engine scalars, silently shadowing user fields.
+ */
+function readAddressed(e: unknown, name: string): unknown {
+  return readEntityFieldAddress(
+    e as AddressedEntity,
+    parseFieldAddress(name, 'entity')
+  )
+}
 import type {
   AggregateDefinition,
   AggregateGroupState,
@@ -29,6 +44,7 @@ import { matchesMetadataFilter } from '../utils/metadataFilter.js'
 import { compareCodePoints } from '../utils/collation.js'
 import { bucketTimestamp } from './timeWindows.js'
 import { NounType } from '../types/graphTypes.js'
+import { prodLog } from '../utils/logger.js'
 
 /** Persistence key for aggregate definitions */
 const DEFINITIONS_KEY = '__aggregation_definitions__'
@@ -87,10 +103,22 @@ function matchesSource(entity: Record<string, unknown>, source: AggregateDefinit
     if (entity.service !== source.service) return false
   }
 
-  // Metadata where filter — match against the entity's metadata sub-object
+  // Where filter — resolve each filtered field through resolveEntityField,
+  // the SAME single source of truth groupBy uses (top-level standard fields
+  // + custom metadata). Matching only the metadata sub-object made
+  // where:{subtype}/{visibility}/… a silent no-op: reserved fields never
+  // live in the custom bag, so those filters could never match anything.
   if (source.where && Object.keys(source.where).length > 0) {
-    const metadata = (entity.metadata ?? entity) as Record<string, unknown>
+    const e = entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata
-    if (!matchesMetadataFilter(metadata, source.where)) return false
+    for (const [key, condition] of Object.entries(source.where)) {
+      // Evaluate ONE field at a time under a neutral key: the address may be
+      // dotted ('system.subtype'), and the filter evaluator would otherwise
+      // walk dots as a nested path instead of treating the key as an address.
+      const value = readAddressed(e, key)
+      if (!matchesMetadataFilter({ v: value }, { v: condition } as Record<string, unknown>)) {
+        return false
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   return true
@@ -120,11 +148,11 @@ function computeGroupKeys(
 
   for (const dim of groupBy) {
     if (typeof dim === 'string') {
-      const val = resolveEntityField(e, dim)
+      const val = readAddressed(e, dim)
       const v = val !== undefined && val !== null ? String(val) : '__null__'
       for (const k of keys) k[dim] = v
     } else if ('unnest' in dim) {
-      const val = resolveEntityField(e, dim.field)
+      const val = readAddressed(e, dim.field)
       const raw = Array.isArray(val) ? val : val !== undefined && val !== null ? [val] : []
       // Distinct elements: an entity with duplicate tags counts once per distinct tag.
       const elems = Array.from(new Set(raw.map(x => String(x))))
@@ -136,7 +164,7 @@ function computeGroupKeys(
       keys = next
     } else {
       // Time-windowed field
-      const val = resolveEntityField(e, dim.field)
+      const val = readAddressed(e, dim.field)
       const v = typeof val === 'number' ? bucketTimestamp(val, dim.window) : '__null__'
       for (const k of keys) k[dim.field] = v
     }
@@ -165,7 +193,7 @@ function computeGroupKey(
  * in metadata are both handled in one place.
  */
 function getNumericField(entity: Record<string, unknown>, field: string): number | undefined {
-  const val = resolveEntityField(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, field)
+  const val = readAddressed(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, field)
   if (typeof val === 'number' && !isNaN(val)) return val
   if (typeof val === 'string') {
     const num = parseFloat(val)
@@ -327,6 +355,39 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
   /** Track aggregates with stale MIN/MAX (need lazy recompute) */
   private staleMinMax = new Map<string, Set<string>>()
 
+  /** Resolves when init() has finished loading persisted definitions/state. */
+  private initPromise: Promise<void> | null = null
+
+  /** True once init() has settled (success or failure). */
+  private initDone = false
+
+  /**
+   * Aggregates registered by the app before init() finished loading persisted
+   * state, awaiting reconciliation: init() adopts the persisted state when the
+   * definition hash matches; anything left unadopted when init settles resolves
+   * to a backfill. Deciding backfill eagerly at define time was the boot-order
+   * bug that wiped valid persisted state on every restart — the synchronous
+   * defineAggregate() always beats the async init().
+   */
+  private pendingAdopt = new Set<string>()
+
+  /**
+   * Aggregates adopted with a BEHIND stamp: name → the exact generation
+   * window `(from, to]` whose writes the adopted state has not seen. The
+   * owner (Brainy) drains this via {@link getPendingCatchUps} +
+   * {@link reconcileEntity} + {@link finishCatchUp} BEFORE serving queries —
+   * cost bounded by the window's affected entities, never store size.
+   */
+  private pendingCatchUp = new Map<string, { from: number; to: number }>()
+
+  /**
+   * In-flight rescan targets. While a name has a staging map, ALL
+   * contributions (the walk's and concurrent write hooks') land there instead
+   * of the live map; the live map keeps serving until {@link finishBackfill}
+   * swaps the staging map in atomically.
+   */
+  private backfillStaging = new Map<string, Map<string, AggregateGroupState>>()
+
   constructor(storage: StorageAdapter, nativeProvider?: AggregationProvider) {
     this.storage = storage
     this.nativeProvider = nativeProvider
@@ -336,28 +397,163 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
 
   /**
    * Initialize: load persisted definitions and state, detect changes, rebuild stale.
+   *
+   * Idempotent — repeated calls return the same promise. Definitions registered
+   * *before* this completes (the normal boot order: `defineAggregate()` is
+   * synchronous and always beats this async load) are reconciled rather than
+   * clobbered: the app's definition wins, and its persisted state is adopted
+   * when the definition hash matches — backfill happens only on a real change.
    */
-  async init(): Promise<void> {
+  init(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!this.initPromise) {
+      this.initPromise = this.loadPersisted().finally(() => {
+        this.resolvePendingAdoptToBackfill()
+        this.initDone = true
+      })
+    }
+    return this.initPromise
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Await the persisted-state load (if one was started) and settle every
+   * pending adoption decision. After this resolves, `getPendingBackfills()`
+   * is authoritative: a name is listed iff it genuinely needs a rescan.
+   * Query paths must await this before consulting backfill state.
+   */
+  async ready(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.initPromise) {
+      try {
+        await this.initPromise
+      } catch {
+        // The owner already surfaced the load failure loudly; backfill covers.
+      }
+    }
+    this.resolvePendingAdoptToBackfill()
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Any definition still awaiting state adoption has no persisted state to
+   * adopt (or init never ran / failed) — it must backfill.
+   */
+  private resolvePendingAdoptToBackfill(): void {
+    if (this.pendingAdopt.size > 0) {
+      prodLog.info(
+        `[Aggregation] no adoptable persisted state for: ${Array.from(this.pendingAdopt).join(', ')} — flagged for backfill`
+      )
+    }
+    for (const name of this.pendingAdopt) this.needsBackfill.add(name)
+    this.pendingAdopt.clear()
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The adoption verdict for persisted state, against the store's committed
+   * watermark (SELF-ENGINE-LIFECYCLE-SPRINT ask (b) — behind-stamp is no
+   * longer a whole-store rescan):
+   *
+   * - `'adopt'` — stamp equals the watermark (clean), or the store has no
+   *   watermark capability (hash-only adoption, the pre-stamp behavior).
+   * - `'catchup'` — stamp is BEHIND the watermark (an unclean exit after
+   *   later writes, or a long-lived writer whose last flush predates recent
+   *   writes). The state is exact AS OF its stamp, so it is adopted and the
+   *   missing window `(stamp, committed]` is reconciled INCREMENTALLY per
+   *   affected entity via time-travel reads — bounded by writes since the
+   *   last flush, never by store size. The owner drains
+   *   {@link getPendingCatchUps} before serving queries.
+   * - `'rescan'` — no stamp (pre-stamp state on a stamped store) or stamp
+   *   AHEAD of the watermark (e.g. a fact-log truncation on a copied store
+   *   pulled the watermark back): the state over-counts unverifiably; one
+   *   exact rescan, said out loud.
+   */
+  private stateAdoptionVerdict(
+    name: string,
+    stateData: unknown
+  ): 'adopt' | 'catchup' | 'rescan' {
+    const committed = this.storage.committedGeneration?.() ?? null
+    if (committed === null) return 'adopt'
+    const raw = (stateData as Record<string, unknown>).sourceGeneration
+    const stamped = typeof raw === 'number' ? raw : null
+    if (stamped === committed) return 'adopt'
+    if (stamped !== null && stamped < committed) {
+      this.pendingCatchUp.set(name, { from: stamped, to: committed })
+      prodLog.info(
+        `[Aggregation] '${name}': persisted state is at generation ${stamped}, store is at ` +
+          `${committed} — adopting and reconciling the ${committed - stamped}-generation window ` +
+          `incrementally (no store rescan)`
+      )
+      return 'catchup'
+    }
+    prodLog.warn(
+      `[Aggregation] '${name}': persisted state is at generation ${stamped ?? 'unstamped'} ` +
+        `but the store's committed generation is ${committed} — rescanning instead of adopting`
+    )
+    return 'rescan'
+  }
+
+  private async loadPersisted(): Promise<void> {
     // Load persisted definitions
     const savedDefs = await this.storage.getMetadata(DEFINITIONS_KEY)
     if (savedDefs && typeof savedDefs === 'object' && savedDefs.definitions) {
       const defs = savedDefs.definitions as Array<AggregateDefinition & { _hash?: string }>
 
       for (const def of defs) {
-        this.definitions.set(def.name, def)
-        const currentHash = hashDefinition(def)
         const savedHash = def._hash || ''
 
-        // Load persisted state
+        if (this.definitions.has(def.name)) {
+          // The app re-registered this aggregate before the load finished.
+          // The app's definition wins — never clobber it with the persisted
+          // copy. Adopt the persisted state when the definition is unchanged
+          // AND no write has landed for it yet (a landed write would be lost
+          // by adoption; the hook flips such names to backfill).
+          const appHash = this.definitionHashes.get(def.name) || ''
+          if (appHash === savedHash && this.pendingAdopt.has(def.name)) {
+            const stateData = await this.storage.getMetadata(`${STATE_KEY_PREFIX}${def.name}__`)
+            const verdict =
+              stateData && stateData.groups
+                ? this.stateAdoptionVerdict(def.name, stateData)
+                : 'rescan'
+            if (verdict !== 'rescan') {
+              const groupMap = new Map<string, AggregateGroupState>()
+              for (const group of stateData!.groups as AggregateGroupState[]) {
+                groupMap.set(serializeGroupKey(group.groupKey), group)
+              }
+              this.states.set(def.name, groupMap)
+              this.pendingAdopt.delete(def.name)
+              this.needsBackfill.delete(def.name)
+              prodLog.info(
+                `[Aggregation] '${def.name}': adopted persisted state (${groupMap.size} groups) — ` +
+                  (verdict === 'catchup' ? 'incremental catch-up pending' : 'no rescan')
+              )
+            }
+            // No/invalid persisted state: stays in pendingAdopt and resolves
+            // to backfill when init settles.
+          }
+          continue
+        }
+
+        // Not registered this session — restore definition + state from
+        // persistence.
+        this.definitions.set(def.name, def)
+        const currentHash = hashDefinition(def)
+
         const stateData = await this.storage.getMetadata(`${STATE_KEY_PREFIX}${def.name}__`)
-        if (stateData && stateData.groups && savedHash === currentHash) {
+        const restoreVerdict =
-          // Definition unchanged — load state
+          stateData && stateData.groups && savedHash === currentHash
+            ? this.stateAdoptionVerdict(def.name, stateData)
+            : 'rescan'
+        if (restoreVerdict !== 'rescan') {
+          // Definition unchanged — load state (exact as of its stamp; a
+          // 'catchup' verdict reconciles the missing window incrementally).
           const groupMap = new Map<string, AggregateGroupState>()
-          for (const group of stateData.groups as AggregateGroupState[]) {
+          for (const group of stateData!.groups as AggregateGroupState[]) {
             const serialized = serializeGroupKey(group.groupKey)
             groupMap.set(serialized, group)
           }
           this.states.set(def.name, groupMap)
+          this.needsBackfill.delete(def.name)
+          prodLog.info(
+            `[Aggregation] '${def.name}': restored definition + adopted persisted state (${groupMap.size} groups)` +
+              (restoreVerdict === 'catchup' ? ' — incremental catch-up pending' : '')
+          )
         } else {
           // Definition changed or no saved state — start fresh and backfill from
           // existing entities (the owner drains needsBackfill on first query).
@@ -374,15 +570,35 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
       }
     }
 
-    // Restore native provider state from persistence
+    // Restore native provider state from persistence — GATED by the same
+    // adoption verdict as caller-side state (the unconditional adopt was an
+    // asymmetry: a stale native blob restored over a moved store silently
+    // over/under-counted). 'adopt' restores; 'catchup' restores too (the
+    // incremental reconciliation drives the provider through
+    // incrementalUpdate over the exact missing window); 'rescan' SKIPS the
+    // blob — the flagged rebuild repopulates the provider from source.
+    // Legacy unstamped envelopes verdict as rescan, loudly, never silently.
     if (this.nativeProvider?.restoreState) {
       const nativeState = await this.storage.getMetadata('__aggregation_native_state__')
-      if (nativeState && typeof nativeState === 'string') {
+      const blob =
-        this.nativeProvider.restoreState(nativeState)
+        nativeState && typeof nativeState === 'string'
-      } else if (nativeState && typeof nativeState === 'object' && nativeState.data) {
+          ? nativeState
-        // flush() persists `{ data: serializeState() }`, so `data` is the
+          : nativeState && typeof nativeState === 'object' && nativeState.data
-        // provider's serialized state string.
+            ? (nativeState.data as string)
-        this.nativeProvider.restoreState(nativeState.data as string)
+            : null
+      if (blob !== null) {
+        const verdict = this.stateAdoptionVerdict(
+          '__native__',
+          nativeState && typeof nativeState === 'object' ? (nativeState as Record<string, unknown>) : {}
+        )
+        if (verdict === 'adopt' || verdict === 'catchup') {
+          this.nativeProvider.restoreState(blob)
+        } else {
+          prodLog.warn(
+            `[Aggregation] native provider state not adopted (verdict: ${verdict}) — ` +
+              `the flagged rescan repopulates the provider from source`
+          )
+        }
       }
     }
   }
@@ -398,24 +614,37 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     }))
     await this.storage.saveMetadata(DEFINITIONS_KEY, { definitions: defsToSave })
 
-    // Persist dirty states
+    // Persist dirty states, stamped with the committed generation they
+    // reflect. The stamp is what makes reopen-adoption verifiable: state at a
+    // different generation than the store's committed watermark is stale (an
+    // unclean shutdown after later writes) or over-counts (a fact-log
+    // truncation on a copied store pulled the watermark BACK below the
+    // stamp) — either way the answer is one exact rescan, never a silent
+    // adopt. Read the generation after collecting groups so any racing
+    // commit resolves toward rescan, not wrong-adopt.
     for (const name of this.dirty) {
       const stateMap = this.states.get(name)
       if (stateMap) {
         const groups = Array.from(stateMap.values())
+        const sourceGeneration = this.storage.committedGeneration?.() ?? null
         await this.storage.saveMetadata(
           `${STATE_KEY_PREFIX}${name}__`,
-          { groups }
+          sourceGeneration === null ? { groups } : { groups, sourceGeneration }
         )
       }
     }
 
-    // Persist native provider state
+    // Persist native provider state — stamped. noteSourceGeneration lets the
+    // provider bake the committed watermark into its OWN envelope before
+    // serializing (so a native-side reopen can verify honesty without our
+    // wrapper); the wrapper carries the same stamp for OUR adoption verdict.
     if (this.nativeProvider?.serializeState) {
+      const nativeGen = this.storage.committedGeneration?.() ?? null
+      if (nativeGen !== null) this.nativeProvider.noteSourceGeneration?.(nativeGen)
       const nativeState = this.nativeProvider.serializeState()
       await this.storage.saveMetadata(
         '__aggregation_native_state__',
-        { data: nativeState }
+        nativeGen === null ? { data: nativeState } : { data: nativeState, sourceGeneration: nativeGen }
       )
     }
 
@@ -452,10 +681,19 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     this.definitions.set(def.name, def)
     this.definitionHashes.set(def.name, newHash)
 
+    // First sight this session, before init() settled: defer the backfill
+    // decision — init() adopts the persisted state on hash match, and anything
+    // left unadopted resolves to backfill. Deciding eagerly here wiped valid
+    // persisted state on every restart.
+    if (!this.states.has(def.name) && !this.initDone) {
+      this.states.set(def.name, new Map())
+      this.pendingAdopt.add(def.name)
+    }
     // Reset state if definition changed or doesn't exist yet, and flag it for
     // backfill so already-stored entities are counted (write-time hooks only see
     // future writes). The owner drains this on the next query via getPendingBackfills().
-    if (!this.states.has(def.name) || (oldHash && oldHash !== newHash)) {
+    else if (!this.states.has(def.name) || (oldHash && oldHash !== newHash)) {
+      this.pendingAdopt.delete(def.name)
       this.states.set(def.name, new Map())
       this.needsBackfill.add(def.name)
     }
@@ -476,6 +714,8 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     this.definitionHashes.delete(name)
     this.states.delete(name)
     this.staleMinMax.delete(name)
+    this.pendingAdopt.delete(name)
+    this.needsBackfill.delete(name)
 
     // Notify native provider
     if (this.nativeProvider?.removeAggregate) {
@@ -513,9 +753,17 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     return Array.from(this.needsBackfill)
   }
 
-  /** Clear an aggregate's state so a full rescan cannot double-count. */
+  /**
+   * Begin a rescan into a STAGING map. The live state is not touched — it
+   * keeps serving (possibly stale, but flagged pending) until the rescan
+   * completes and swaps in atomically. A mid-walk failure drops the staging
+   * map via {@link abortBackfill} and loses nothing: wiping live state before
+   * a scan that could throw was the destructive-before-durable defect.
+   * Contributions (walk + concurrent write hooks) land in staging while it
+   * exists, so the swapped-in result reflects writes that raced the walk.
+   */
   beginBackfill(name: string): void {
-    this.states.set(name, new Map())
+    this.backfillStaging.set(name, new Map())
     // Reset native provider state for this aggregate too, if present.
     const def = this.definitions.get(name)
     if (def && this.nativeProvider?.removeAggregate && this.nativeProvider?.defineAggregate) {
@@ -524,6 +772,15 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Abandon an in-flight rescan after a failure: drop the staging map, keep
+   * the live state serving, leave the aggregate flagged as pending so a later
+   * attempt rescans. The failure itself must be surfaced loudly by the owner.
+   */
+  abortBackfill(name: string): void {
+    this.backfillStaging.delete(name)
+  }
+
   /** Feed one already-stored entity into a single aggregate during backfill. */
   backfillEntity(name: string, entity: Record<string, unknown>): void {
     if (isAggregateEntity(entity)) return
@@ -537,14 +794,146 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     }
   }
 
-  /** Mark an aggregate's backfill complete; rebuilt state persists on next flush(). */
+  /** Swap the rebuilt staging state in atomically; persists on next flush(). */
   finishBackfill(name: string): void {
+    const staged = this.backfillStaging.get(name)
+    if (staged) {
+      this.states.set(name, staged)
+      this.backfillStaging.delete(name)
+    }
     this.needsBackfill.delete(name)
     this.dirty.add(name)
   }
 
+  // ============= Incremental Catch-Up (behind-stamp adoption) =============
+
+  /** The aggregates adopted behind the watermark, with their exact missing windows. */
+  getPendingCatchUps(): Array<{ name: string; from: number; to: number }> {
+    return Array.from(this.pendingCatchUp, ([name, w]) => ({ name, ...w }))
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Reconcile ONE entity's contribution across a catch-up window using the
+   * same exact delta algebra the write-time hooks use: remove the
+   * contribution the adopted state counted (the entity AS OF the stamp),
+   * add the contribution it should count (AS OF the window's end). `null`
+   * on either side means the entity did not exist then. Composes exactly
+   * with live hooks because every application is a precise old/new pair —
+   * order between catch-up and post-window writes cannot drift the totals.
+   */
+  reconcileEntity(
+    name: string,
+    id: string,
+    before: Record<string, unknown> | null,
+    after: Record<string, unknown> | null
+  ): void {
+    const def = this.definitions.get(name)
+    if (!def) return
+    if (before && after) {
+      if (isAggregateEntity(after)) return
+      const oldMatches = matchesSource(before, def.source)
+      const newMatches = matchesSource(after, def.source)
+      if (this.nativeProvider && (oldMatches || newMatches)) {
+        this.applyNativeResults(
+          name,
+          this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, after, 'update', before)
+        )
+        return
+      }
+      if (oldMatches) this.removeContribution(name, def, before)
+      if (newMatches) this.addContribution(name, def, after)
+      return
+    }
+    if (after) {
+      if (isAggregateEntity(after) || !matchesSource(after, def.source)) return
+      if (this.nativeProvider) {
+        this.applyNativeResults(name, this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, after, 'add'))
+      } else {
+        this.addContribution(name, def, after)
+      }
+      return
+    }
+    if (before) {
+      if (isAggregateEntity(before) || !matchesSource(before, def.source)) return
+      if (this.nativeProvider) {
+        this.applyNativeResults(name, this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, before, 'delete'))
+      } else {
+        this.removeContribution(name, def, before)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Whether the native provider offers the parallel whole-rebuild path. */
+  hasProviderRebuild(): boolean {
+    return typeof this.nativeProvider?.rebuildAggregate === 'function'
+  }
+
+  /** The catch-up window for `name` is fully reconciled; state is current. */
+  finishCatchUp(name: string): void {
+    this.pendingCatchUp.delete(name)
+    this.dirty.add(name)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A catch-up could not complete (window unreadable, affected set over the
+   * bound, …): demote to an exact rescan, loudly — never serve un-reconciled.
+   */
+  demoteCatchUpToBackfill(name: string, reason: string): void {
+    this.pendingCatchUp.delete(name)
+    this.needsBackfill.add(name)
+    prodLog.warn(`[Aggregation] '${name}': catch-up demoted to full rescan — ${reason}`)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Rebuild an aggregate through the native provider's parallel path
+   * (SELF-ENGINE-LIFECYCLE-SPRINT ask (c) — `rebuildAggregate` existed on
+   * the provider contract but was never invoked; the JS walk fed
+   * per-entity FFI calls instead). Returns false when no provider rebuild
+   * exists — the caller streams the JS walk as before.
+   */
+  rebuildWithProvider(name: string, entities: Array<Record<string, unknown>>): boolean {
+    const def = this.definitions.get(name)
+    if (!def || !this.nativeProvider?.rebuildAggregate) return false
+    const rebuilt = this.nativeProvider.rebuildAggregate(
+      def,
+      entities.filter(e => !isAggregateEntity(e) && matchesSource(e, def.source))
+    )
+    this.states.set(name, rebuilt)
+    this.backfillStaging.delete(name)
+    this.needsBackfill.delete(name)
+    this.dirty.add(name)
+    return true
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A write-path hook could not see the entity it needed (e.g. a delete
+   * whose before-image was unavailable): flag EVERY defined aggregate for
+   * an exact rescan, loudly — the counts must never silently drift
+   * (SELF-ENGINE-LIFECYCLE-SPRINT ask (d): the gated hook used to SKIP).
+   */
+  flagAllForRescan(reason: string): void {
+    for (const name of this.definitions.keys()) this.needsBackfill.add(name)
+    prodLog.warn(
+      `[Aggregation] all ${this.definitions.size} aggregate(s) flagged for rescan — ${reason}`
+    )
+  }
+
   // ============= Write-Time Hooks =============
 
+  /**
+   * A write is landing for an aggregate whose persisted-state adoption is still
+   * pending — adopting after this write would lose its contribution. Settle the
+   * decision now: an exact rescan instead of adoption. The window is the few
+   * milliseconds between a boot-time defineAggregate() and init() completing,
+   * so this rarely fires; when it does, correctness wins over the walk.
+   */
+  private resolveAdoptOnWrite(name: string): void {
+    if (this.pendingAdopt.has(name)) {
+      this.pendingAdopt.delete(name)
+      this.needsBackfill.add(name)
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Called when an entity is added. Updates all matching aggregates.
    */
@@ -553,6 +942,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
 
     for (const [name, def] of this.definitions) {
       if (!matchesSource(entity, def.source)) continue
+      this.resolveAdoptOnWrite(name)
 
       if (this.nativeProvider) {
         const results = this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, entity, 'add')
@@ -579,6 +969,10 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
       const oldMatches = matchesSource(oldEntity, def.source)
       const newMatches = matchesSource(newEntity, def.source)
 
+      if (oldMatches || newMatches) {
+        this.resolveAdoptOnWrite(name)
+      }
+
       if (this.nativeProvider && (oldMatches || newMatches)) {
         const results = this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, newEntity, 'update', oldEntity)
         this.applyNativeResults(name, results)
@@ -605,6 +999,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
 
     for (const [name, def] of this.definitions) {
       if (!matchesSource(entity, def.source)) continue
+      this.resolveAdoptOnWrite(name)
 
       if (this.nativeProvider) {
         const results = this.nativeProvider.incrementalUpdate(name, def, entity, 'delete')
@@ -757,7 +1152,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     def: AggregateDefinition,
     entity: Record<string, unknown>
   ): void {
-    const stateMap = this.states.get(aggName)!
+    const stateMap = (this.backfillStaging.get(aggName) ?? this.states.get(aggName))!
 
     // Fan out: an unnest dimension makes one entity contribute to several groups.
     for (const groupKey of computeGroupKeys(entity, def.groupBy)) {
@@ -785,7 +1180,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
           // distinctCount tracks distinct values of ANY type (strings, numbers, booleans),
           // keyed by their string form — NOT numeric-coerced, since its primary use is
           // categorical (distinct categories / users / tags), not numeric columns.
-          const raw = resolveEntityField(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, metricDef.field!)
+          const raw = readAddressed(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, metricDef.field!)
           if (raw !== undefined && raw !== null) {
             if (!state.valueCounts) state.valueCounts = {}
             const key = String(raw)
@@ -815,7 +1210,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
     def: AggregateDefinition,
     entity: Record<string, unknown>
   ): void {
-    const stateMap = this.states.get(aggName)!
+    const stateMap = (this.backfillStaging.get(aggName) ?? this.states.get(aggName))!
 
     // Fan out: reverse the entity's contribution from every group it joined.
     for (const groupKey of computeGroupKeys(entity, def.groupBy)) {
@@ -829,7 +1224,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
           state.count = Math.max(0, state.count - 1)
           state.sum = Math.max(0, state.sum - 1)
         } else if (metricDef.op === 'distinctCount') {
-          const raw = resolveEntityField(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, metricDef.field!)
+          const raw = readAddressed(entity as unknown as HNSWNounWithMetadata, metricDef.field!)
           if (raw !== undefined && raw !== null && state.valueCounts) {
             const key = String(raw)
             const c = state.valueCounts[key]
@@ -871,7 +1266,7 @@ export class AggregationIndex {
    * Apply results from native provider back into the state maps.
    */
   private applyNativeResults(aggName: string, results: AggregateGroupState[]): void {
-    const stateMap = this.states.get(aggName)!
+    const stateMap = (this.backfillStaging.get(aggName) ?? this.states.get(aggName))!
     for (const group of results) {
       const serialized = serializeGroupKey(group.groupKey)
       stateMap.set(serialized, group)

src/aggregation/materializer.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import type {
   AggregateMetricDef
 } from '../types/brainy.types.js'
 import { serializeGroupKey } from './AggregationIndex.js'
+import { prodLog } from '../utils/logger.js'
 
 /**
  * Callback interface for the materializer to create/update Brainy entities.
@@ -86,8 +87,15 @@ export class AggregateMaterializer {
     if (existing) clearTimeout(existing)
 
     this.debounceTimers.set(key, setTimeout(() => {
-      this.materializeOne(key).catch(() => {
+      this.materializeOne(key).catch((err) => {
-        // Non-fatal — materialization is derived data
+        // Materialization is derived data (rebuildable via backfill-on-query), so
+        // a failure is non-fatal — but it leaves the materialized Measurement
+        // entity STALE. Surface it loudly rather than swallow it silently.
+        prodLog.warn(
+          `[Aggregation] Failed to materialize aggregate group '${key}': ` +
+          `${(err as Error).message}. The materialized value is stale until the ` +
+          `next successful materialization or a backfill-on-query.`
+        )
       })
     }, debounceMs))
   }

src/coreTypes.ts

@@ -284,7 +284,12 @@ export const STANDARD_ENTITY_FIELDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
   'id',
   'vector',
   'connections',
-  'level',
+  // 'level' is deliberately ABSENT: it is HNSW plumbing, not an entity field.
+  // Listing it here made every by-name read of a user metadata field called
+  // `level` resolve to the engine's internal node layer instead — a silent
+  // shadow that broke sort/filter/aggregation on a perfectly natural field
+  // name (VENUE-BRAINY-ORDERBY-NOOP). Engine plumbing is invisible to the
+  // query surface; a bare `level` reads `entity.metadata.level`.
   'type',
   'subtype',
   'visibility',
@@ -754,6 +759,63 @@ export interface Change {
   data?: HNSWNounWithMetadata | HNSWVerbWithMetadata
 }
 
+/**
+ * @description A declared derived-index blob FAMILY (the
+ * registered-blob contract). A family names the set of on-disk blobs that a
+ * derived index needs AS A SET (e.g. the vector base = `main.dkann` +
+ * `main.slotmap` + `main.slotrev`): losing ANY member corrupts the index. Once a
+ * family is declared:
+ * - its members are UNDELETABLE through the storage layer — `deleteBinaryBlob` /
+ *   `removeRawPrefix` refuse with a `ProtectedArtifactError`, so an in-process
+ *   GC/sweeper cannot remove a load-bearing file (intentional retirement =
+ *   `unregisterDerivedFamily` first);
+ * - a member missing on open is a loud `DerivedArtifactMissingError` → rebuild.
+ * `COLD ≠ DEAD`: a write-once segment or a recovery-critical archive is
+ * load-bearing even when it has not been touched in a long time.
+ */
+export interface DerivedFamilyDeclaration {
+  /** Stable family id, e.g. `'vector-base'` / `'metadata-sstables'`. */
+  name: string
+  /**
+   * The logical blob keys that make up the family. When {@link namespace} is
+   * set, each entry is a PREFIX protecting every key beneath it (for growing
+   * sets like `seg-*`); otherwise each entry is an exact member key.
+   */
+  members: string[]
+  /** When true, {@link members} are prefixes (protect all keys beneath each). */
+  namespace?: boolean
+  /**
+   * Whether a missing family can be rebuilt from the canonical records (default
+   * `true`). `false` marks an irreplaceable family (a missing member is data
+   * loss, not a rebuild).
+   */
+  rebuildable?: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description The canonical count ledger a storage adapter maintains on its
+ * write path: per family, the user-facing `counted` scalar and the
+ * ALL-visibility `all` scalar (every tier — the coverage-ledger denominator).
+ * See {@link StorageAdapter.getCanonicalCounts}.
+ */
+export interface CanonicalCounts {
+  nouns: { counted: number; all: number }
+  verbs: { counted: number; all: number }
+  /**
+   * The count of canonical nouns holding a REAL (non-empty) vector — the
+   * coverage denominator a vector index's node-count ledger is measured
+   * against (`nodeCount === vectors.all` is the whole-store coverage
+   * verdict for the vector leg, the vector-side mirror of `nouns.all` for
+   * metadata/graph). A deferred-embed noun (`add({ deferEmbedding: true })`)
+   * counts only once its vector actually LANDS — its canonical record exists
+   * (counted in `nouns.all`) with an empty vector until then, so it is
+   * deliberately NOT counted here in the interim.
+   */
+  vectors: { all: number }
+  /** An unprovable delete has left the `all` scalars unverified since the last recount. */
+  suspect: boolean
+}
+
 export interface StorageAdapter {
   init(): Promise<void>
 
@@ -768,14 +830,68 @@ export interface StorageAdapter {
    * Save noun metadata separately
    * @param id Noun ID
    * @param metadata Noun metadata
+   * @param hasVector - OPTIONAL vectored-noun ledger hint: `true` when this
+   *   write is a FRESH insert (`isNew`) whose vector is a real, non-empty
+   *   array — the caller already knows this for free (the insert's own
+   *   `vector` local), so the increment rides the SAME isNew gate that
+   *   already protects `totalNounCountAll` from double-counting on HNSW
+   *   neighbor-link re-saves (`saveNoun_internal` re-runs on every link
+   *   change; this metadata seam does not). Absent/`false` ⇒ no ledger
+   *   action. A deferred-embed insert passes `false` (its vector lands
+   *   later — see {@link StorageAdapter.noteVectorLanded}).
    */
-  saveNounMetadata(id: string, metadata: NounMetadata): Promise<void>
+  saveNounMetadata(id: string, metadata: NounMetadata, hasVector?: boolean): Promise<void>
 
   /**
    * Delete noun metadata
    * @param id Noun ID
+   * @param priorRecord - OPTIONAL already-known metadata (the caller's
+   *   pre-delete read) — see {@link StorageAdapter.deleteNoun}.
+   * @param hadVector - OPTIONAL vectored-noun ledger hint: `true`/`false`
+   *   when the caller already knows (read as a side effect of ITS OWN delete
+   *   flow — e.g. `remove()`'s pre-read for the vector-index removal — never
+   *   a read added FOR this ledger), `undefined` when genuinely unknown. A
+   *   known `true` decrements the vectored-noun ledger; a known `false` is a
+   *   no-op (it was never counted); `undefined` marks the ledger SUSPECT
+   *   rather than guessing — the delete path must never add a canonical read
+   *   to answer this question.
    */
-  deleteNounMetadata(id: string): Promise<void>
+  deleteNounMetadata(id: string, priorRecord?: NounMetadata | null, hadVector?: boolean): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * OPTIONAL narrow ledger hook: record that a canonical noun's vector just
+   * LANDED for the first time. Exists ONLY for the deferred-embedding
+   * lifecycle — the landing commit (`system:embed-landing`) carries a vector
+   * write with no accompanying metadata operation, so the normal
+   * `saveNounMetadata(..., hasVector)` seam never fires for it. Callers MUST
+   * call this only when the noun held NO real vector before this write (the
+   * deferred-embed worker already holds that fact for free, from its own
+   * pre-embed read — never an added read). A backend without vectored-noun
+   * tracking is a no-op via this method's absence (feature-detected).
+   * @param id - The noun whose vector just landed.
+   */
+  noteVectorLanded?(id: string): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * OPTIONAL narrow ledger hook, the mirror of {@link noteVectorLanded}:
+   * record that a canonical noun's vector was just REMOVED — rewritten from
+   * a real (non-empty) vector to the "unvectored" empty-array shape. Exists
+   * for the ONE sanctioned reverse migration this engine supports: the VFS
+   * root's zero-norm fix (see `VirtualFileSystem.doInitializeRoot()` and
+   * `Brainy.unvectorNounForRootMigration()`), which rewrites a pre-fix
+   * store's all-zero placeholder root vector to `[]` and must decrement
+   * `vectors.all` through this hook so the coverage ledger never drifts.
+   * NOT a general-purpose "I removed a vector" callback — ordinary
+   * application data has no sanctioned path from vectored back to
+   * unvectored (`update()` refuses an empty vector as a dimension
+   * mismatch by design). Callers MUST call this only when the noun held a
+   * REAL vector immediately before this write (the caller already holds
+   * that fact for free, from its own pre-write read — never an added read).
+   * A backend without vectored-noun tracking is a no-op via this method's
+   * absence (feature-detected).
+   * @param id - The noun whose vector was just removed.
+   */
+  noteVectorUnlanded?(id: string): Promise<void>
 
   /**
    * Get noun with metadata combined
@@ -815,7 +931,20 @@ export interface StorageAdapter {
    */
   getNounsByNounType(nounType: string): Promise<HNSWNounWithMetadata[]>
 
-  deleteNoun(id: string): Promise<void>
+  /**
+   * Delete a noun — FULL canonical removal (both legs + the entity container).
+   *
+   * @param id The entity id.
+   * @param priorMetadata OPTIONAL already-known metadata of the entity being
+   *   removed (the caller's pre-delete read). The count decrement must never
+   *   REQUIRE re-reading the record being removed: when the internal read
+   *   returns `null` (replace race, or a ghost left by an earlier version) the
+   *   decrement falls back to this record instead of being silently skipped.
+   * @param hadVector OPTIONAL vectored-noun ledger hint — see
+   *   {@link StorageAdapter.deleteNounMetadata}'s `hadVector` param, which
+   *   this forwards to unchanged.
+   */
+  deleteNoun(id: string, priorMetadata?: NounMetadata | null, hadVector?: boolean): Promise<void>
 
   /**
    * Save verb - Pure HNSW verb with core fields only
@@ -872,7 +1001,15 @@ export interface StorageAdapter {
    */
   getVerbsByType(type: string): Promise<HNSWVerbWithMetadata[]>
 
-  deleteVerb(id: string): Promise<void>
+  /**
+   * Delete a verb — FULL canonical removal (both legs + the container).
+   *
+   * @param id The relationship id.
+   * @param priorMetadata OPTIONAL already-known metadata of the edge being
+   *   removed (the caller's pre-delete read); keeps the count decrement honest
+   *   when the internal read returns `null` (see `deleteNoun`).
+   */
+  deleteVerb(id: string, priorMetadata?: VerbMetadata | null): Promise<void>
 
   /**
    * Save metadata
@@ -1049,6 +1186,104 @@ export interface StorageAdapter {
    */
   getBinaryBlobPath(key: string): string | null
 
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL (registered-blob contract). Declare a
+   * derived-index blob {@link DerivedFamilyDeclaration | family} whose members
+   * become UNDELETABLE through this adapter — a subsequent `deleteBinaryBlob` /
+   * `removeRawPrefix` that would remove a declared member throws a
+   * `ProtectedArtifactError`. Providers declare their families on create; the
+   * declaration is persisted so protection survives a reopen. Idempotent per
+   * `name` (re-declaring replaces).
+   * @param family - The family to protect.
+   */
+  registerDerivedFamily?(family: DerivedFamilyDeclaration): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL. Remove a family's protection so its members can be
+   * deleted again — the explicit, auditable step for intentional retirement of a
+   * derived index (the ONLY way a declared member becomes deletable).
+   * @param name - The {@link DerivedFamilyDeclaration.name} to unregister.
+   */
+  unregisterDerivedFamily?(name: string): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL. List the currently-declared derived-index families —
+   * the source of truth for what `clear()` must wipe and what a
+   * missing-on-open check verifies.
+   */
+  listDerivedFamilies?(): Promise<DerivedFamilyDeclaration[]>
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL binary raw-byte primitives — the substrate for
+   * append-only log-structured files (the generation fact log's CRC-framed
+   * segments). Feature-detected: an adapter that omits them simply hosts no
+   * fact log (readers fall back to canonical enumeration). Paths are
+   * storage-root-relative and used VERBATIM (no `.gz`/`.bin` suffixing —
+   * unlike the JSON object and blob primitives).
+   *
+   * Append to a raw binary file, creating it (and parent directories) when
+   * absent. Append durability is the CALLER's job via `syncRawObjects` —
+   * matching the commit protocol, which batches fsyncs at its barrier.
+   */
+  appendRawBytes?(path: string, bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * Read a raw binary file whole. Absent → `null`; a real IO fault throws
+   * (never masked as absence).
+   */
+  readRawBytes?(path: string): Promise<Uint8Array | null>
+
+  /**
+   * Replace a raw binary file atomically (write-new → fsync → rename) — the
+   * reconcile primitive (e.g. truncating a fact-log tail back to committed
+   * truth after a crash).
+   */
+  writeRawBytes?(path: string, bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void>
+
+  /**
+   * Byte size of a raw binary file, or `null` when absent.
+   */
+  rawByteSize?(path: string): Promise<number | null>
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL fact-scan capability — how an index provider that
+   * holds only `storage` reaches the generation fact log (the host brain
+   * wires it at init; providers must never construct their own fact-log
+   * reader — the log's open path is writer-side). Present ⟺ this store hosts
+   * a fact log AND the host wired the capability. Returns a scan handle over
+   * committed facts (heal-grade telemetry included), or `null` when no fact
+   * log exists — callers fall back to the canonical enumeration walk.
+   */
+  scanFacts?(options?: {
+    fromGeneration?: number
+    toGeneration?: number
+    kinds?: Array<'noun' | 'verb'>
+    batchSize?: number
+  }): import('./db/factLog.js').FactScanHandle | null
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL (rides the fact-scan capability): the fact log's
+   * head generation — the replay target for `stamp.sourceGeneration + 1`
+   * catch-ups. `null` when no fact log exists.
+   */
+  factLogHeadGeneration?(): number | null
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL (rides the fact-scan capability): the COMMITTED
+   * generation watermark — the manifest truth a projection's
+   * `sourceGeneration` compares against. Exposed as a capability so a
+   * provider never parses the store's private manifest format. `null` when
+   * the capability is unwired.
+   */
+  committedGeneration?(): number | null
+
+  /**
+   * @description OPTIONAL (rides the fact-scan capability): the immutable,
+   * sealed fact-segment file paths covering `fromGeneration` — the zero-copy
+   * handoff. The mutable tail is excluded (read it via `scanFacts`).
+   */
+  factSegmentPaths?(options?: { fromGeneration?: number }): string[]
+
   /**
    * Save statistics data
    * @param statistics The statistics data to save
@@ -1139,6 +1374,19 @@ export interface StorageAdapter {
    */
   getVerbCount(): Promise<number>
 
+  /**
+   * The canonical count ledger — O(1), no I/O. `counted` mirrors
+   * `getNounCount()` / `getVerbCount()` (public + internal tiers); `all` is
+   * the ALL-visibility scalar every unfiltered storage walk is measured
+   * against — the denominator a derived-index provider's coverage ledger
+   * subtracts from. `suspect` is `true` when an unprovable delete has left
+   * `all` unverified since the last sanctioned recount (`repairIndex()`).
+   * Optional: adapters without the ledger omit it; a consumer treats absence
+   * as "no denominator", never as zero.
+   * @returns Both scalars per family plus the suspect flag.
+   */
+  getCanonicalCounts?(): Promise<CanonicalCounts>
+
   /**
    * OPTIONAL — create a pre-upgrade backup of the whole store and return its
    * location, or `null` when there is nothing to back up (empty store). On the

src/db/db.ts

@@ -59,14 +59,10 @@ import type {
 import type { StorageAdapter } from '../coreTypes.js'
 import { exportGraph } from './portableGraph.js'
 import type { ExportSelector, ExportOptions, PortableGraph } from './portableGraph.js'
-import {
-  splitNounMetadataRecord,
-  splitVerbMetadataRecord
-} from '../types/reservedFields.js'
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from '../universal/uuid.js'
 import { coerceNewEntityId, resolveEntityId, ORIGINAL_ID_KEY } from '../utils/idNormalization.js'
 import { EntityNotFoundError } from '../errors/notFound.js'
-import { SpeculativeOverlayError } from './errors.js'
+import { SpeculativeOverlayError, CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError } from './errors.js'
 import type { GenerationStore } from './generationStore.js'
 import type { ChangedIds, TransactReceipt, TxOperation } from './types.js'
 import { entityMatchesFind, resolveEntityField, UnsupportedWhereOperatorError } from './whereMatcher.js'
@@ -520,14 +516,37 @@ export class Db<T = any> {
    * (no generation history) — distinct from `persist()` (native whole-brain snapshot
    * that preserves history). Restore with `brain.import(backup)`.
    *
+   * `options.enumeration: 'canonical'` (default: `'index'`) walks the storage
+   * adapter's canonical noun/verb layout directly instead of the metadata/graph
+   * indexes, guaranteeing canon-completeness against index corruption — see
+   * {@link ExportOptions.enumeration}. It requires the LIVE, current-generation
+   * view: called on a historical `asOf()` pin or a speculative `with()` overlay it
+   * throws {@link CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError} rather than silently mixing
+   * generations or missing the overlay's own entities.
+   *
+   * `options.includeHidden: true` admits BOTH hidden visibility tiers
+   * (`'internal'` and `'system'`) into a whole-brain/predicate export, in EITHER
+   * `enumeration` mode — see {@link ExportOptions.includeHidden}. Migration-grade
+   * exports set this; consumer-facing exports leave it off (default: false).
+   *
    * @param selector - WHAT to export (omit for the whole brain). See {@link ExportSelector}.
-   * @param options - HOW to export (vectors / VFS bytes / edge policy). See {@link ExportOptions}.
+   * @param options - HOW to export (vectors / VFS bytes / edge policy / enumeration mode). See {@link ExportOptions}.
    * @returns A versioned, portable `PortableGraph` document.
+   * @throws {@link CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError} if `enumeration:'canonical'` is
+   *   requested on a historical or speculative-overlay view.
    * @example
    * const backup = await brain.now().export({ collection: id }, { includeVectors: true })
+   * @example
+   * // Canon-complete audit export, with an index-drift report attached.
+   * const audit = await brain.now().export({}, { enumeration: 'canonical', reportIndexDrift: true })
+   * if (audit.drift) console.log(audit.drift.canonicalOnly, audit.drift.indexOnly)
    */
   async export(selector: ExportSelector = {}, options: ExportOptions = {}): Promise<PortableGraph> {
     this.assertUsable('export')
+    if (options.enumeration === 'canonical') {
+      if (this.overlay) throw new CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError(this.gen, 'overlay')
+      if (this.isHistorical()) throw new CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError(this.gen, 'historical')
+    }
     return exportGraph(this, this.host.storage, selector, options)
   }
 
@@ -682,23 +701,15 @@ export class Db<T = any> {
     for (const op of ops) {
       switch (op.op) {
         case 'add': {
-          // Reserved-field normalization — mirror of the brain.transact()
+          // Field-addressing law: the metadata bag is the user's, VERBATIM —
-          // write path: user-settable fields lift to their dedicated field
+          // no reserved-name lift, no drops. Engine scalars come ONLY from
-          // (top-level wins), system-managed fields drop, and the entity's
+          // their dedicated op fields; a bag field named `confidence` is an
-          // metadata bag carries ONLY custom fields. Speculative views skip
+          // ordinary user field, exactly as on the committed write path.
-          // the one-shot warnings — committing the same ops through
+          const custom = { ...(op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined) }
-          // `brain.transact()` warns on the real write path.
+          const confidence = op.confidence
-          const { reserved, custom } = splitNounMetadataRecord(
+          const weight = op.weight
-            op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
+          const subtype = op.subtype
-          )
+          const service = op.service
-          const confidence =
-            op.confidence ?? (typeof reserved.confidence === 'number' ? reserved.confidence : undefined)
-          const weight =
-            op.weight ?? (typeof reserved.weight === 'number' ? reserved.weight : undefined)
-          const subtype =
-            op.subtype ?? (typeof reserved.subtype === 'string' ? reserved.subtype : undefined)
-          const service =
-            op.service ?? (typeof reserved.service === 'string' ? reserved.service : undefined)
 
           // Id normalization (8.0) — mirror of the committed transact() add
           // path: a natural key coerces to a STABLE UUID (v5), preserving the
@@ -736,16 +747,12 @@ export class Db<T = any> {
               `with(): entity ${updateId} not found at generation ${this.gen}`
             )
           }
-          // Same reserved-field normalization as the committed update path.
+          // Field-addressing law — mirror of the add case: the patch bag is
-          const { reserved, custom } = splitNounMetadataRecord(
+          // the user's verbatim; engine scalars only from dedicated op fields.
-            op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
+          const custom = { ...(op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined) }
-          )
+          const confidence = op.confidence
-          const confidence =
+          const weight = op.weight
-            op.confidence ?? (typeof reserved.confidence === 'number' ? reserved.confidence : undefined)
+          const subtype = op.subtype
-          const weight =
-            op.weight ?? (typeof reserved.weight === 'number' ? reserved.weight : undefined)
-          const subtype =
-            op.subtype ?? (typeof reserved.subtype === 'string' ? reserved.subtype : undefined)
           const mergedMetadata =
             op.merge !== false
               ? ({ ...(base.metadata as object), ...custom } as T)
@@ -807,19 +814,14 @@ export class Db<T = any> {
           }
           if (duplicate) break
 
-          // Reserved-field normalization — relationship mirror of the add
+          // Field-addressing law — relationship mirror of the add case: the
-          // op above (and of the committed relate() path).
+          // edge bag is the user's verbatim; engine scalars only from
-          const { reserved, custom } = splitVerbMetadataRecord(
+          // dedicated op fields.
-            op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined
+          const custom = { ...(op.metadata as Record<string, unknown> | undefined) }
-          )
+          const confidence = op.confidence
-          const confidence =
+          const weight = op.weight
-            op.confidence ?? (typeof reserved.confidence === 'number' ? reserved.confidence : undefined)
+          const subtype = op.subtype
-          const weight =
+          const service = op.service
-            op.weight ?? (typeof reserved.weight === 'number' ? reserved.weight : undefined)
-          const subtype =
-            op.subtype ?? (typeof reserved.subtype === 'string' ? reserved.subtype : undefined)
-          const service =
-            op.service ?? (typeof reserved.service === 'string' ? reserved.service : undefined)
 
           const id = uuidv4()
           overlay.verbs.set(id, {
@@ -945,6 +947,13 @@ export class Db<T = any> {
    * {@link SpeculativeOverlayError} (commit them with `brain.transact()`
    * first).
    *
+   * SPARSE FILES: a native accelerator's mmap index files can be sparse —
+   * huge apparent size, small allocated size. `persist()` handles them
+   * correctly (hard links share the allocation). But if you then archive the
+   * snapshot with EXTERNAL tools, use the sparse-aware flags (`tar czSf`,
+   * `rsync --sparse`, `cp --sparse=always`) or the copy materializes every
+   * hole — see docs/guides/external-backups-and-sparse-storage.md.
+   *
    * @param path - Absolute directory for the snapshot (created; must be
    *   empty or absent).
    * @throws GenerationConflictError when this view is no longer the latest

src/db/errors.ts

@@ -23,8 +23,12 @@
  *   serve the full query surface via at-generation index materialization.
  * - {@link GenerationCompactedError} — `asOf()` asked for a generation whose
  *   immutable records were reclaimed by `compactHistory()`.
+ * - {@link CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError} — `export()`'s
+ *   `enumeration:'canonical'` mode was called on a historical `asOf()` view or a
+ *   speculative `with()` overlay; the canonical storage walk only ever answers
+ *   "what is live right now."
  *
- * All three are exported from the package root (`@soulcraft/brainy`).
+ * All are exported from the package root (`@soulcraftlabs/brainy`).
  */
 
 /**
@@ -159,3 +163,191 @@ export class GenerationCompactedError extends Error {
     this.horizon = horizon
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * @description Thrown by `db.export(selector, { enumeration: 'canonical' })` when
+ * the `Db` it is called on is not the live, current-generation view: a historical
+ * `brain.asOf(g)` pin, or a speculative `db.with()` overlay.
+ *
+ * Canonical enumeration mode walks the storage adapter's canonical shard layout
+ * directly (`storage.getNouns()`/`getVerbs()`) instead of the metadata/graph
+ * indexes — but that walk has no generation parameter, it can only ever answer
+ * "what is live right now." Serving it against a historical pin would silently
+ * mix generations (today's canonical records under yesterday's selector), and
+ * against a speculative overlay it would silently miss the overlay's own
+ * in-memory entities (which never touched storage). Both are exactly the kind of
+ * silently-wrong result canonical mode exists to prevent elsewhere — so this
+ * boundary throws instead.
+ *
+ * `enumeration: 'index'` (the default) is unaffected: it composes with
+ * `asOf()`/`with()` exactly as before, via the generation-correct `find()` walk.
+ *
+ * @example
+ * const past = await brain.asOf(g1)
+ * try {
+ *   await past.export({}, { enumeration: 'canonical' })
+ * } catch (err) {
+ *   if (err instanceof CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError) {
+ *     // Time-travel export: use the default index-based enumeration instead.
+ *     await past.export({}, { enumeration: 'index' })
+ *   }
+ * }
+ */
+export class CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError extends Error {
+  /** The view's pinned generation. */
+  public readonly generation: number
+  /** Why canonical mode cannot serve this view. */
+  public readonly reason: 'historical' | 'overlay'
+
+  /**
+   * @param generation - The view's pinned generation.
+   * @param reason - `'historical'` (a past `asOf()` pin) or `'overlay'` (a speculative `with()`).
+   */
+  constructor(generation: number, reason: 'historical' | 'overlay') {
+    const what =
+      reason === 'historical'
+        ? `a historical view pinned at generation ${generation}`
+        : `a speculative with() overlay (base generation ${generation})`
+    super(
+      `export()'s enumeration:'canonical' requires the live, current-generation view — ` +
+        `it was called on ${what}. The canonical storage walk has no generation parameter, ` +
+        `so it can only answer "what is live right now"; serving it here would silently ` +
+        `mix generations (historical) or miss the overlay's own in-memory entities ` +
+        `(overlay). Use enumeration:'index' (the default) for a time-travel or what-if ` +
+        `export, or pin brain.now() for a live canonical export.`
+    )
+    this.name = 'CanonicalEnumerationUnavailableError'
+    this.generation = generation
+    this.reason = reason
+  }
+}
+
+/** One entity/relationship left in an unreconciled state by a failed rollback. */
+export interface UnreconciledRecord {
+  /** The entity or relationship id. */
+  id: string
+  /** `'noun'` (entity) or `'verb'` (relationship). */
+  kind: 'noun' | 'verb'
+  /**
+   * `'orphan'` — the record is durably PRESENT but the transaction aborted
+   * (an add whose delete-undo failed); `'loss'` — the record is durably GONE
+   * or wrong when it should have been restored (a remove/update whose
+   * restore-undo failed — actual data loss).
+   */
+  disposition: 'orphan' | 'loss'
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description Thrown when a transaction's rollback could not be fully applied
+ * and the resulting inconsistency cannot be safely adopted forward — i.e. a
+ * multi-operation batch, or ANY case where a record was lost (a remove/update
+ * whose restore-undo failed). The store is left in a known-inconsistent state:
+ * the {@link records} name every entity/relationship whose canonical state no
+ * longer matches what the aborted transaction should have produced.
+ *
+ * On throw, the brain enters **write-quarantine** — reads continue to work, but
+ * further writes are refused until {@link } `repairIndex()` reconciles the
+ * derived indexes against canonical storage and lifts the quarantine. This is
+ * the honest, loud failure: a visible inconsistency the operator must repair,
+ * never a silent partial write. The generation counter is NOT advanced.
+ *
+ * (A SINGLE-op add whose only damage is a durably-present orphan is NOT this
+ * error: it is adopted forward as a committed generation and returned as a
+ * degraded-but-successful write — the record the caller asked for exists.)
+ *
+ * @example
+ * try {
+ *   await brain.transact(ops)
+ * } catch (err) {
+ *   if (err instanceof StoreInconsistentError) {
+ *     console.error('store inconsistent:', err.records) // ids + dispositions
+ *     await brain.repairIndex() // reconcile + lift the write-quarantine
+ *   }
+ * }
+ */
+export class StoreInconsistentError extends Error {
+  /** Every record left in an unreconciled state by the failed rollback. */
+  public readonly records: UnreconciledRecord[]
+  /** The original error that triggered the (then-failed) rollback. */
+  public override readonly cause: Error
+
+  /**
+   * @param records - The unreconciled entities/relationships (ids + disposition).
+   * @param cause - The error that triggered the rollback.
+   */
+  constructor(records: UnreconciledRecord[], cause: Error) {
+    const orphans = records.filter((r) => r.disposition === 'orphan').length
+    const losses = records.filter((r) => r.disposition === 'loss').length
+    super(
+      `Store left inconsistent by a failed transaction rollback: ` +
+        `${records.length} record(s) could not be reconciled ` +
+        `(${orphans} orphaned, ${losses} lost). ` +
+        `The brain is now WRITE-QUARANTINED (reads still work) — run repairIndex() ` +
+        `to reconcile the derived indexes against canonical storage and lift the ` +
+        `quarantine. Ids: ${records.map((r) => `${r.id}:${r.disposition}`).join(', ')}. ` +
+        `Cause: ${cause.message}`
+    )
+    this.name = 'StoreInconsistentError'
+    this.records = records
+    this.cause = cause
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description Thrown by a write when the store cannot make single-op
+ * generation **history** durable: the asynchronous group-commit flush that
+ * persists buffered before-images to disk has failed repeatedly (a real
+ * storage fault — a full disk, an EIO, a permission loss — not a transient
+ * blip). Rather than keep accepting writes whose history silently piles up in
+ * memory and is never persisted — an invisible durability loss, and an
+ * unbounded leak — the store LATCHES this failure and refuses further writes
+ * until the pending tier drains.
+ *
+ * This is the loud, honest response to a broken history-durability path:
+ * - Live canonical data is unaffected (single-op live bytes are written before
+ *   the history flush; only the immutable before-image history is stuck).
+ * - The background flush keeps retrying with backoff; when the underlying fault
+ *   clears and a flush succeeds, the latch lifts and writes resume
+ *   automatically. An explicit `flush()` also clears it on success.
+ * - {@link cause} is the underlying storage error from the last failed flush.
+ *
+ * A caller seeing this should treat it exactly like a full disk: stop writing,
+ * resolve the storage fault, and retry. It is NOT a data-corruption error — no
+ * committed generation is lost — it is a refusal to *promise* durability the
+ * store currently cannot deliver.
+ *
+ * @example
+ * try {
+ *   await brain.add({ ... })
+ * } catch (err) {
+ *   if (err instanceof PendingFlushDurabilityError) {
+ *     // History can't be persisted right now (disk fault). Resolve storage,
+ *     // then retry — the store self-heals once a flush succeeds.
+ *     console.error('history durability stalled:', err.cause)
+ *   }
+ * }
+ */
+export class PendingFlushDurabilityError extends Error {
+  /** The underlying storage error from the most recent failed flush. */
+  public override readonly cause: Error
+  /** How many consecutive flush attempts had failed when the latch tripped. */
+  public readonly failedAttempts: number
+
+  /**
+   * @param cause - The storage error from the last failed pending-tier flush.
+   * @param failedAttempts - Consecutive failed flush attempts at latch time.
+   */
+  constructor(cause: Error, failedAttempts: number) {
+    super(
+      `Write refused: single-op generation history could not be made durable ` +
+        `after ${failedAttempts} consecutive flush attempts (${cause.message}). ` +
+        `Live data is intact, but buffered history is not yet persisted — the ` +
+        `store refuses further writes rather than silently accumulate ` +
+        `un-durable history. Resolve the underlying storage fault; the store ` +
+        `self-heals and resumes writes once a flush succeeds. Cause: ${cause.message}`
+    )
+    this.name = 'PendingFlushDurabilityError'
+    this.cause = cause
+    this.failedAttempts = failedAttempts
+  }
+}

src/db/familyStamp.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+/**
+ * @module db/familyStamp
+ * @description The generalized FAMILY STAMP — one JSON shape that declares,
+ * for any derived projection, WHICH source state it reflects and HOW to verify
+ * it is whole. The entity tree (canonical current-state files) carries the
+ * first brainy-side stamp; native index families carry the same shape. One
+ * verifier reads both member modes:
+ *
+ * - `enumerated` — bounded families: exact byte size per member file,
+ *   verified at open.
+ * - `rollup`     — unbounded families (the entity tree: millions of files):
+ *   the verified surface is a small set of rollup invariants (entity/
+ *   relationship counts) plus `sourceGeneration`.
+ *
+ * `sourceGeneration` is the COMMITTED generation of the source-of-truth log
+ * this projection reflects — never the allocated counter, which names a
+ * generation that may never commit (see {@link StampVerdict.torn}) — so
+ * open-time coherence becomes a COMPARISON (stamp vs committed head), not a
+ * walk:
+ *
+ * - equal + invariants hold → coherent, serve.
+ * - behind → the projection missed the tail (crash between commit and stamp);
+ *   for the Stage-1 tree this is benign by construction (the tree is written
+ *   BY the commit), so the stamp refreshes; a DERIVED projection would replay
+ *   the gap instead.
+ * - invariants FAIL at equal generation → genuine incoherence: loud, and the
+ *   repair ritual (`repairIndex()`, whose recount rebuilds the rollups from a
+ *   canonical walk) heals it.
+ * - AHEAD → a torn generation-log tail: the stamp's fsync outlived the log
+ *   tail's. TERMINAL, never a wait — the generation the stamp names does not
+ *   exist to arrive.
+ *
+ * Stamps are JSON on purpose — every incident gets debugged by reading a
+ * stamp in a terminal.
+ */
+
+/** Storage-root-relative directory holding family stamps. */
+export const FAMILY_STAMPS_PREFIX = '_system/family-stamps'
+
+/** The entity tree's stamp path. */
+export const ENTITY_TREE_STAMP_PATH = `${FAMILY_STAMPS_PREFIX}/entity-tree.json`
+
+/** One enumerated member: a file and its exact expected byte size. */
+export interface EnumeratedMember {
+  path: string
+  bytes: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * The stamp's verified surface, in one of the two member modes. Rollup
+ * invariant values may be numbers (counts, byte sizes) or strings (content
+ * fingerprints, e.g. a per-tree SHA-256) — the verifier compares by strict
+ * equality either way, so a type mismatch reads as incoherence, never a pass.
+ */
+export type StampMembers =
+  | { mode: 'enumerated'; files: EnumeratedMember[] }
+  | { mode: 'rollup'; invariants: Record<string, number | string> }
+
+/** The generalized family stamp (one shape, one verifier, both engines). */
+export interface FamilyStamp {
+  /** Which projection this stamps (e.g. `'entity-tree'`). */
+  family: string
+  /** Monotonic per-family stamp generation — bumps on every committed stamp. */
+  generation: number
+  /** ISO timestamp of the stamp write. */
+  committedAt: string
+  /** The source-of-truth generation this projection reflects. */
+  sourceGeneration: number
+  /** The verified surface. */
+  members: StampMembers
+}
+
+/** The verdict of an open-time stamp verification. */
+export type StampVerdict =
+  | { state: 'coherent' }
+  | { state: 'absent' } // legacy store — first stamp writes at the next flush
+  | { state: 'behind'; stampSource: number; head: number }
+  /**
+   * TORN GENERATION-LOG TAIL: the stamp witnesses a source generation the
+   * store's committed watermark can no longer show. TERMINAL — there is no
+   * generation to wait for, so the open demotes (or refuses) and never spins.
+   */
+  | { state: 'torn'; stampSource: number; head: number }
+  | { state: 'incoherent'; failures: string[] }
+  | { state: 'unverifiable'; reason: string } // a FAULT reading the stamp — never conflated with absence
+
+/** The narrow storage surface stamps ride (JSON objects + fsync). */
+export interface StampStorage {
+  readRawObject(path: string): Promise<any | null>
+  writeRawObject(path: string, data: any): Promise<void>
+  syncRawObjects(paths: string[]): Promise<void>
+}
+
+/** Read a family's stamp; `null` when none was ever written. */
+export async function readFamilyStamp(
+  storage: StampStorage,
+  path: string
+): Promise<FamilyStamp | null> {
+  const stored = (await storage.readRawObject(path)) as FamilyStamp | null
+  if (!stored || typeof stored !== 'object' || typeof stored.family !== 'string') return null
+  return stored
+}
+
+/** Write a family's stamp durably (atomic object write + fsync). */
+export async function writeFamilyStamp(
+  storage: StampStorage,
+  path: string,
+  stamp: Omit<FamilyStamp, 'generation' | 'committedAt'> & { generation?: number }
+): Promise<void> {
+  const prior = await readFamilyStamp(storage, path)
+  const full: FamilyStamp = {
+    ...stamp,
+    generation: (prior?.generation ?? 0) + 1,
+    committedAt: new Date().toISOString()
+  }
+  await storage.writeRawObject(path, full)
+  await storage.syncRawObjects([path])
+}
+
+/**
+ * The ONE verifier, both member modes. `actual` supplies the observed rollup
+ * values (rollup mode) or file sizes (enumerated mode, keyed by path);
+ * `head` is the source-of-truth generation now.
+ */
+export function verifyFamilyStamp(
+  stamp: FamilyStamp | null,
+  head: number,
+  actual: Record<string, number | string>
+): StampVerdict {
+  if (stamp === null) return { state: 'absent' }
+  if (stamp.sourceGeneration > head) {
+    // A stamp AHEAD of committed truth witnesses a generation the store can no
+    // longer show: the stamp's fsync survived a crash that the log tail did
+    // not. This is the TORN GENERATION-LOG TAIL — its own class, never folded
+    // in with `incoherent` (a count that drifted at a generation both sides
+    // agree on), because the two have opposite cures: incoherence is recounted,
+    // a tear is DEMOTED. It is also terminal by construction — there is no
+    // generation the open can wait for, because the one the stamp names is
+    // gone.
+    return { state: 'torn', stampSource: stamp.sourceGeneration, head }
+  }
+  if (stamp.sourceGeneration < head) {
+    return { state: 'behind', stampSource: stamp.sourceGeneration, head }
+  }
+  const failures: string[] = []
+  if (stamp.members.mode === 'rollup') {
+    for (const [name, expected] of Object.entries(stamp.members.invariants)) {
+      const observed = actual[name]
+      if (observed === undefined) {
+        failures.push(`rollup invariant '${name}' has no observed value`)
+      } else if (observed !== expected) {
+        failures.push(`rollup invariant '${name}': stamped ${expected}, observed ${observed}`)
+      }
+    }
+  } else {
+    for (const member of stamp.members.files) {
+      const observed = actual[member.path]
+      if (observed === undefined) {
+        failures.push(`member '${member.path}' is missing`)
+      } else if (observed !== member.bytes) {
+        failures.push(`member '${member.path}': stamped ${member.bytes} bytes, observed ${observed}`)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return failures.length > 0 ? { state: 'incoherent', failures } : { state: 'coherent' }
+}

src/db/faultInjectionStorage.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+/**
+ * @module db/faultInjectionStorage
+ * @description Deterministic fault injection at the fact log's raw-byte
+ * storage surface — the test harness half of the durability protocol. Wraps
+ * any adapter exposing the {@link FactLogStorage} primitives (the exact
+ * surface the fact log appends and syncs through) and injects the three
+ * crash shapes durability tests must prove against:
+ *
+ * - **torn write** ({@link FaultInjectionStorage.tearWriteAtByte}): the next
+ *   append persists only its first N bytes, then reports success — the shape
+ *   of power loss after a partially-flushed page. The caller-side "crash" is
+ *   simulated by abandoning in-memory state and reopening from storage.
+ * - **dropped sync** ({@link FaultInjectionStorage.dropNextSync}): the next
+ *   sync becomes a silent no-op — an fsync the device acknowledged into a
+ *   volatile cache and lost.
+ * - **failed append** ({@link FaultInjectionStorage.failNextAppend}): the next
+ *   append throws {@link FaultInjectedError} without writing a byte — EIO or
+ *   a full disk, surfaced to the writer.
+ *
+ * Every injected fault is journaled on {@link FaultInjectionStorage.injectedFaults}
+ * so tests can assert not just the outcome but that the fault actually fired.
+ * Knobs are one-shot (they disarm on firing) and re-arming overwrites the
+ * pending shot. All other operations pass through untouched.
+ */
+import type { FactLogStorage } from './factLog.js'
+
+/** The error a {@link FaultInjectionStorage.failNextAppend} shot throws. */
+export class FaultInjectedError extends Error {
+  /** The operation the fault fired on. */
+  public readonly operation: 'append'
+  /** The storage path the operation targeted. */
+  public readonly path: string
+
+  constructor(operation: 'append', path: string) {
+    super(`fault injection: ${operation} to ${path} failed by test design`)
+    this.name = 'FaultInjectedError'
+    this.operation = operation
+    this.path = path
+  }
+}
+
+/** One journaled fault event — proof the injected fault actually fired. */
+export interface InjectedFault {
+  kind: 'torn-write' | 'dropped-sync' | 'failed-append'
+  /** The target path (torn-write / failed-append). */
+  path?: string
+  /** The paths a dropped sync was asked to make durable. */
+  paths?: string[]
+  /** Bytes the caller asked to append (torn-write). */
+  requestedBytes?: number
+  /** Bytes actually persisted (torn-write). */
+  writtenBytes?: number
+}
+
+/**
+ * A {@link FactLogStorage} wrapper that injects deterministic storage faults.
+ * Construct it around any conforming adapter and hand it wherever a
+ * FactLogStorage is accepted — unarmed, it is a transparent passthrough.
+ */
+export class FaultInjectionStorage implements FactLogStorage {
+  private readonly inner: FactLogStorage
+  /** Pending torn-write byte count, or null when unarmed. */
+  private tearAtByte: number | null = null
+  /** Pending dropped-sync shot. */
+  private dropSyncArmed = false
+  /** Pending failed-append shot. */
+  private failAppendArmed = false
+  /** Journal of every fault that fired, in firing order. */
+  public readonly injectedFaults: InjectedFault[] = []
+
+  constructor(inner: FactLogStorage) {
+    this.inner = inner
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Arm a torn write: the NEXT {@link appendRawBytes} persists only the first
+   * `n` bytes of its buffer (all of it when `n` exceeds the buffer) and then
+   * reports success. One-shot.
+   */
+  tearWriteAtByte(n: number): void {
+    if (!Number.isInteger(n) || n < 0) {
+      throw new Error(`fault injection: tearWriteAtByte needs a non-negative integer; got ${n}`)
+    }
+    this.tearAtByte = n
+  }
+
+  /** Arm a dropped sync: the NEXT {@link syncRawObjects} silently does nothing. One-shot. */
+  dropNextSync(): void {
+    this.dropSyncArmed = true
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Arm a failed append: the NEXT {@link appendRawBytes} throws
+   * {@link FaultInjectedError} without writing. One-shot; wins over a
+   * simultaneously-armed torn write (nothing is written at all).
+   */
+  failNextAppend(): void {
+    this.failAppendArmed = true
+  }
+
+  /** Append bytes — the injection point for torn writes and failed appends. */
+  async appendRawBytes(path: string, bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.failAppendArmed) {
+      this.failAppendArmed = false
+      this.injectedFaults.push({ kind: 'failed-append', path })
+      throw new FaultInjectedError('append', path)
+    }
+    if (this.tearAtByte !== null) {
+      const writtenBytes = Math.min(this.tearAtByte, bytes.length)
+      this.tearAtByte = null
+      this.injectedFaults.push({
+        kind: 'torn-write',
+        path,
+        requestedBytes: bytes.length,
+        writtenBytes
+      })
+      if (writtenBytes > 0) {
+        await this.inner.appendRawBytes(path, bytes.subarray(0, writtenBytes))
+      }
+      return
+    }
+    return this.inner.appendRawBytes(path, bytes)
+  }
+
+  /** Make paths durable — the injection point for dropped syncs. */
+  async syncRawObjects(paths: string[]): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.dropSyncArmed) {
+      this.dropSyncArmed = false
+      this.injectedFaults.push({ kind: 'dropped-sync', paths: [...paths] })
+      return
+    }
+    return this.inner.syncRawObjects(paths)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async readRawBytes(path: string): Promise<Uint8Array | null> {
+    return this.inner.readRawBytes(path)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async writeRawBytes(path: string, bytes: Uint8Array): Promise<void> {
+    return this.inner.writeRawBytes(path, bytes)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async rawByteSize(path: string): Promise<number | null> {
+    return this.inner.rawByteSize(path)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async readRawObject(path: string): Promise<any | null> {
+    return this.inner.readRawObject(path)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async writeRawObject(path: string, data: any): Promise<void> {
+    return this.inner.writeRawObject(path, data)
+  }
+
+  /** Passthrough. */
+  async deleteRawObject(path: string): Promise<void> {
+    return this.inner.deleteRawObject(path)
+  }
+}

src/db/fieldAddressing.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,345 @@
+/**
+ * @module db/fieldAddressing
+ * @description The one field-addressing law for every query surface (find()'s
+ * `where` / `orderBy` / `groupBy`, aggregation `source.where`), ruled
+ * 2026-08-03 after a production incident in which a user metadata field
+ * named `level` was silently shadowed by the engine's internal HNSW node
+ * layer (VENUE-BRAINY-ORDERBY-NOOP — thread id kept verbatim as the audit
+ * key; it names no product):
+ *
+ *   1. A BARE field name addresses the user's metadata field. Always.
+ *      No priority resolution, no fallback chain — `orderBy: 'level'`
+ *      reads `entity.metadata.level`, full stop.
+ *   2. `system.<field>` addresses an engine scalar, reachable ONLY with the
+ *      explicit prefix. The entity map is exactly ten scalars; the relation
+ *      map mirrors it with `verb`/`sourceId`/`targetId` as the structural
+ *      members.
+ *   3. Engine plumbing (`vector`, `connections`, `level`, `data`, `_rev`) is
+ *      INVISIBLE to the query surface in either spelling — `system.level`
+ *      refuses; bare `level` is the user's field.
+ *   4. `metadata.<field>` is the explicit spelling of the bare form —
+ *      identical semantics on every path.
+ *   5. Anything unresolvable refuses with a TYPED error naming both
+ *      candidate spellings — an accepted name either works or refuses;
+ *      there is no third state.
+ *
+ * This module is the SINGLE source of truth for the law: parsing, the maps,
+ * and the refusal builders live here so the JS engine, the provider seams,
+ * and the cross-engine conformance suite can never drift on the contract.
+ */
+
+import type { HNSWNounWithMetadata, HNSWVerbWithMetadata } from '../coreTypes.js'
+
+/**
+ * @description The entity-side `system.*` map — EXACTLY the ten engine
+ * scalars David ruled queryable (2026-08-03). Adding a name here is a
+ * cross-engine contract change: the native accelerator's conformance suite
+ * pins this list verbatim, so any edit must ship as a paired release.
+ */
+export const SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
+  'id',
+  'type',
+  'subtype',
+  'createdAt',
+  'updatedAt',
+  'confidence',
+  'weight',
+  'visibility',
+  'service',
+  'createdBy'
+])
+
+/**
+ * @description The relation-side `system.*` map — the verb mirror of
+ * {@link SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS}: `verb`, `sourceId`, `targetId` are the
+ * structural members beside the eight shared scalars. Same one law, same
+ * pairing rule for edits.
+ */
+export const SYSTEM_RELATION_SCALARS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
+  'verb',
+  'sourceId',
+  'targetId',
+  'subtype',
+  'createdAt',
+  'updatedAt',
+  'confidence',
+  'weight',
+  'visibility',
+  'service',
+  'createdBy'
+])
+
+/**
+ * @description Engine plumbing — never addressable from the query surface in
+ * ANY spelling. `level` is the HNSW node layer (the incident field: listing
+ * it as resolvable shadowed real user data); `data` is the payload container,
+ * not a scalar — content is reached through the content/text-search APIs,
+ * and addressing it as a sortable field would lie about its shape.
+ */
+export const PLUMBING_FIELDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set([
+  'vector',
+  'connections',
+  'level',
+  'data',
+  '_rev'
+])
+
+/** @description Which record kind a field address is being resolved against. */
+export type FieldAddressKind = 'entity' | 'relation'
+
+/**
+ * @description A parsed, law-valid field address. `scope` says which side of
+ * the record the name lives on; `field` is the unprefixed name to read.
+ */
+export interface FieldAddress {
+  /** 'metadata' = the user's field (bare or `metadata.`-prefixed); 'system' = an engine scalar. */
+  scope: 'metadata' | 'system'
+  /** The field name with any scope prefix removed. */
+  field: string
+  /** The exact spelling the caller used — preserved for error text and telemetry. */
+  raw: string
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse a query-surface field name under the one law. Pure and data-blind:
+ * this validates the ADDRESS (spelling + map membership), not whether any
+ * row actually carries the field — data-aware refusals (the did-you-mean
+ * for a bare system-scalar name no row carries) belong to the query layer,
+ * which calls {@link buildUnresolvableMessage} with index knowledge.
+ *
+ * @param raw - The field name as the caller wrote it (`level`,
+ *   `metadata.level`, `system.createdAt`, …)
+ * @param kind - Entity or relation resolution (selects the system map)
+ * @returns The parsed {@link FieldAddress}
+ * @throws {InvalidFieldAddressError} for a `system.*` name outside the ruled
+ *   map (including every plumbing field) or a malformed spelling — the error
+ *   text enumerates the valid system scalars so the fix is in the message.
+ *
+ * @example
+ * parseFieldAddress('level', 'entity')            // { scope: 'metadata', field: 'level' }
+ * parseFieldAddress('metadata.level', 'entity')   // { scope: 'metadata', field: 'level' }
+ * parseFieldAddress('system.createdAt', 'entity') // { scope: 'system', field: 'createdAt' }
+ * parseFieldAddress('system.level', 'entity')     // throws — plumbing is invisible
+ */
+export function parseFieldAddress(
+  raw: string,
+  kind: FieldAddressKind
+): FieldAddress {
+  const systemMap =
+    kind === 'entity' ? SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS : SYSTEM_RELATION_SCALARS
+
+  if (raw.startsWith('system.')) {
+    const field = raw.slice('system.'.length)
+    if (!systemMap.has(field)) {
+      throw new InvalidFieldAddressError(raw, kind, systemMap)
+    }
+    return { scope: 'system', field, raw }
+  }
+
+  if (raw.startsWith('metadata.')) {
+    const field = raw.slice('metadata.'.length)
+    if (field.length === 0) {
+      throw new InvalidFieldAddressError(raw, kind, systemMap)
+    }
+    return { scope: 'metadata', field, raw }
+  }
+
+  if (raw.length === 0) {
+    throw new InvalidFieldAddressError(raw, kind, systemMap)
+  }
+
+  // Bare name = the user's metadata field. Always. Even when the same name
+  // exists in the system map — `confidence` as a bare name is the user's
+  // metadata field named confidence; the engine scalar is system.confidence.
+  return { scope: 'metadata', field: raw, raw }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Read the addressed value off an entity. The ONLY sanctioned way a query
+ * surface turns a {@link FieldAddress} into a value — direct property reads
+ * against records re-create the shadow class this module exists to kill.
+ *
+ * @returns The value, or `undefined` when the record does not carry it
+ *   (missing values sort LAST in both directions per the ordering contract —
+ *   they are never grounds for dropping a row).
+ */
+export function readEntityFieldAddress(
+  entity: HNSWNounWithMetadata,
+  address: FieldAddress
+): unknown {
+  const rec = entity as unknown as Record<string, unknown>
+  const bag =
+    rec.metadata && typeof rec.metadata === 'object'
+      ? (rec.metadata as Record<string, unknown>)
+      : null
+
+  if (address.scope === 'system') {
+    // System scalars live at the record's top level, NEVER in the user's
+    // bag — a user field named `confidence` must be unreachable from
+    // system.confidence (and vice versa). Entity views carry the scalars
+    // top-level directly; record-derived views spell the type `noun`.
+    const top = rec[address.field]
+    if (top !== undefined) return top
+    if (address.field === 'type') return rec.noun
+    return undefined
+  }
+
+  // User scope: the bag IS the user's namespace, authoritative — EVERY name
+  // reads from it, engine spellings included (`bag.confidence` is the user's
+  // confidence field under the field-addressing law).
+  if (bag) return bag[address.field]
+
+  // No bag at all: a LEGACY flat record (pre-nested-bag storage). Its keys
+  // matching system/plumbing names are the ENGINE's — the pre-law write door
+  // refused user colliders — so a bare system name reads as ABSENT rather
+  // than resurrecting the shadow this module exists to kill. Same for the
+  // legacy 'noun' spelling.
+  if (
+    SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS.has(address.field) ||
+    PLUMBING_FIELDS.has(address.field) ||
+    address.field === 'noun'
+  ) {
+    return undefined
+  }
+  return rec[address.field]
+}
+
+/**
+ * Relation twin of {@link readEntityFieldAddress}. The stored flat record
+ * keys the relation type under `verb`; public Relation shapes may carry it
+ * as `type` — both spellings of the record are read, the ADDRESS is always
+ * `system.verb`.
+ */
+export function readRelationFieldAddress(
+  verb: HNSWVerbWithMetadata,
+  address: FieldAddress
+): unknown {
+  if (address.scope === 'system') {
+    const rec = verb as unknown as Record<string, unknown>
+    if (address.field === 'verb') return rec.verb ?? rec.type
+    return rec[address.field]
+  }
+  return verb.metadata?.[address.field]
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the ruled did-you-mean refusal text for a bare name that resolved to
+ * metadata but is UNKNOWN to the index — the data-aware half of the law,
+ * called by the query layer once it has consulted the known-field set:
+ *
+ *   "no metadata field 'createdAt' — did you mean system.createdAt or
+ *    metadata.createdAt?"
+ *
+ * When the bare name is NOT a system scalar the system candidate is omitted
+ * (there is only one thing the caller could have meant; the refusal exists
+ * because refusing beats silently sorting nothing).
+ */
+export function buildUnresolvableMessage(
+  raw: string,
+  kind: FieldAddressKind
+): string {
+  const systemMap =
+    kind === 'entity' ? SYSTEM_ENTITY_SCALARS : SYSTEM_RELATION_SCALARS
+  if (systemMap.has(raw)) {
+    return (
+      `no metadata field '${raw}' — did you mean system.${raw} or metadata.${raw}? ` +
+      `(bare names always address your metadata; engine fields need the system. prefix)`
+    )
+  }
+  return (
+    `no metadata field '${raw}' on this store — nothing carries it, so an ordered or ` +
+    `filtered read against it cannot mean anything. Spell it metadata.${raw} once the ` +
+    `field exists, or check the field name (system.${raw} is NOT valid — '${raw}' is ` +
+    `not one of the engine's system scalars).`
+  )
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description Refusal for a syntactically valid address that resolves to
+ * NOTHING — a bare name no user field carries. Carries the did-you-mean
+ * (both candidate spellings when the name collides with a system scalar) so
+ * the fix ships inside the error. Thrown by the query layer with index
+ * knowledge, never by the pure parser.
+ */
+/**
+ * Cross-package identity normalizer (the seam belt): the native accelerator
+ * throws ITS OWN UnresolvableFieldError class, which fails `instanceof`
+ * against this package's export — consumers were forced to match by name.
+ * Every provider-boundary catch routes suspected field-refusals through
+ * here: a foreign refusal (matched by name, duck fields tolerated) is
+ * rethrown as THIS package's class, so exactly one identity ever reaches
+ * consumers. Anything else returns null (caller rethrows the original).
+ */
+export function asBrainyFieldRefusal(err: unknown): UnresolvableFieldError | null {
+  if (err instanceof UnresolvableFieldError) return err
+  const e = err as { name?: string; message?: string; raw?: string; kind?: string } | null
+  if (e && e.name === 'UnresolvableFieldError') {
+    return new UnresolvableFieldError(
+      e.raw ?? 'unknown-field',
+      (e.kind as FieldAddressKind) ?? 'entity',
+      e.message
+    )
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
+export class UnresolvableFieldError extends Error {
+  public readonly raw: string
+  public readonly kind: FieldAddressKind
+
+  constructor(raw: string, kind: FieldAddressKind, messageOverride?: string) {
+    super(messageOverride ?? buildUnresolvableMessage(raw, kind))
+    this.name = 'UnresolvableFieldError'
+    this.raw = raw
+    this.kind = kind
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description Refusal for a malformed or out-of-map field ADDRESS —
+ * `system.<anything-not-in-the-map>` (including all plumbing), an empty
+ * name, or a bare `metadata.` prefix. The message carries the full valid
+ * system map so the fix never needs a docs lookup.
+ */
+export class InvalidFieldAddressError extends UnresolvableFieldError {
+  constructor(raw: string, kind: FieldAddressKind, systemMap: ReadonlySet<string>) {
+    const valid = [...systemMap].map((f) => `system.${f}`).join(', ')
+    super(
+      raw,
+      kind,
+      `'${raw}' is not an addressable ${kind} field. Bare names address your own ` +
+        `metadata fields; engine fields are exactly: ${valid}. Engine plumbing ` +
+        `(vector, connections, level, data, _rev) is not part of the query surface.`
+    )
+    this.name = 'InvalidFieldAddressError'
+  }
+}
+
+
+/**
+ * @description Refusal for a find() option that is accepted by the type
+ * surface but NOT implemented — an accepted option must work or refuse;
+ * accepted-and-ignored died as a class (sealed 2026-08-03). Names the
+ * option and the honest state so nobody discovers a no-op by measurement.
+ */
+export class UnsupportedFindOptionError extends Error {
+  public readonly option: string
+
+  constructor(option: string) {
+    super(
+      `find() option '${option}' is not implemented — it used to be silently ` +
+        `ignored, which read as working. Remove it from the call (or track the ` +
+        `feature request); it will be honored or refused, never swallowed.`
+    )
+    this.name = 'UnsupportedFindOptionError'
+    this.option = option
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * @description The capability signal both engines' conformance suites arm on
+ * (never a version guess): its presence at the package root means the one
+ * field-addressing law is LIVE on every query surface — bare = user metadata,
+ * `system.*` = the ruled scalars, plumbing invisible, refusals typed.
+ */
+export const FIELD_ADDRESSING_CAPABILITY = 'field-addressing/v1'

src/db/generationSegments.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,570 @@
+/**
+ * @module db/generationSegments
+ * @description The generation-segment store — Stage-2 D1+D3+repacking's file
+ * format (co-frozen 2026-07-19; design: the d1-d3-repacking spec).
+ *
+ * Packs CONSECUTIVE cold generations' record-sets (before-images + delta)
+ * into append-once segment files with derived sidecar indexes, so history
+ * scales in SEGMENTS (tens) instead of FILES-PER-GENERATION (hundreds of
+ * thousands), and cold-open reads ONE manifest instead of listing the
+ * backlog. Layout under `_generations/segments/`:
+ *
+ * - `seg-<firstGen, zero-padded 20>.bgs` — magic "BGS1", then one frame per
+ *   generation: `u32 payloadLen | u32 crc32c | msgpack payload`. Payload is
+ *   POSITIONAL: `[generation, timestamp, delta, records[], flags]` with
+ *   records `[kindByte, id, record]`. `flags` reserves encoding evolution
+ *   (bit 0 = compressed payload — v1 always 0; a future writer upgrade,
+ *   never a format break). Sealed segments are IMMUTABLE — the fact log's
+ *   own law, generalized.
+ * - `seg-<firstGen>.idx` — DERIVED sidecar (msgpack): per-generation frame
+ *   offsets (point reads = one ranged read, never a listing) + per-id
+ *   generation postings (per-id chain rebuilds read only what they need).
+ *   Corrupt/missing → rebuilt from its segment in one sequential read,
+ *   loudly.
+ * - `manifest.json` — the segment catalogue + `compactedBelow` (D3's
+ *   horizon marker). Cold-open reads THIS; the packed backlog is never
+ *   listed.
+ *
+ * D3 semantics carried here: bounded-retention reclaim drops WHOLE segments
+ * at boundaries (O(1) per segment, no rewrite); under the archival profile
+ * (`retention: 'all'`) nothing here is ever dropped — folding is the only
+ * transform (re-representation, never deletion).
+ */
+
+import { encode as msgpackEncode, decode as msgpackDecode } from '@msgpack/msgpack'
+import { crc32c } from '../utils/crc32c.js'
+import type { FactLogStorage } from './factLog.js'
+import { prodLog } from '../utils/logger.js'
+
+/** Directory for segment files + manifest, under the generations prefix. */
+export const SEGMENTS_PREFIX = '_generations/segments'
+
+/** Target sealed-segment size (co-freeze proposal; tunable on evidence). */
+export const SEGMENT_TARGET_BYTES = 64 * 1024 * 1024
+
+const MAGIC = new TextEncoder().encode('BGS1')
+const FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES = 8 // u32 payloadLen + u32 crc32c
+const MANIFEST_PATH = `${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/manifest.json`
+
+/** One generation's fold input — exactly what the live tier holds for it. */
+export interface FoldGeneration {
+  generation: number
+  timestamp: number
+  /** The tx.json delta object, carried verbatim. */
+  delta: unknown
+  /** The before-image record-set (empty for record-less generations). */
+  records: Array<{ kind: 'noun' | 'verb'; id: string; record: unknown }>
+}
+
+/** Manifest entry for one sealed segment. */
+export interface SegmentMeta {
+  file: string
+  firstGeneration: number
+  lastGeneration: number
+  frames: number
+  bytes: number
+  /** crc32c of the full segment byte stream — the digest chain's link. */
+  checksum: number
+}
+
+interface SegmentManifest {
+  version: 1
+  compactedBelow: number
+  segments: SegmentMeta[]
+}
+
+interface SidecarIndex {
+  version: 1
+  /** [generation, frameOffset, frameLen] ascending by generation. */
+  generations: Array<[number, number, number]>
+  /** `${kindByte}:${id}` → ascending generations holding a record for it. */
+  ids: Record<string, number[]>
+}
+
+const segmentFileName = (firstGeneration: number): string =>
+  `seg-${String(firstGeneration).padStart(20, '0')}.bgs`
+const sidecarFileName = (firstGeneration: number): string =>
+  `seg-${String(firstGeneration).padStart(20, '0')}.idx`
+
+/**
+ * The generation-segment store. Owns the packed tier ONLY — the live
+ * per-generation tier and the routing between tiers belong to
+ * `GenerationStore`. All mutating entry points here are called under the
+ * generation store's commit mutex.
+ */
+export class GenerationSegmentStore {
+  private readonly storage: FactLogStorage
+  private manifest: SegmentManifest = { version: 1, compactedBelow: 0, segments: [] }
+  /** Sidecar cache — segments are immutable, so entries never invalidate. */
+  private readonly sidecars = new Map<string, SidecarIndex>()
+
+  constructor(storage: FactLogStorage) {
+    this.storage = storage
+  }
+
+  /** Load the manifest (ONE read — never a directory listing). */
+  async open(): Promise<void> {
+    const raw = (await this.storage.readRawObject(MANIFEST_PATH)) as SegmentManifest | null
+    if (raw) {
+      if (raw.version !== 1) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `[GenerationSegments] manifest version ${String(raw.version)} is newer than this ` +
+            `engine understands — refusing to serve partial history. Upgrade the engine.`
+        )
+      }
+      this.manifest = raw
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** The packed tier's catalogue (ascending, immutable snapshot). */
+  segments(): readonly SegmentMeta[] {
+    return this.manifest.segments
+  }
+
+  /** D3's horizon marker: generations below this were reclaimed (bounded profiles only). */
+  compactedBelow(): number {
+    return this.manifest.compactedBelow
+  }
+
+  /** The covering sealed segment for `gen`, or null if it lives outside the packed tier. */
+  private coveringSegment(gen: number): SegmentMeta | null {
+    // Manifest is ascending and ranges never overlap — binary search.
+    const segs = this.manifest.segments
+    let lo = 0
+    let hi = segs.length - 1
+    while (lo <= hi) {
+      const mid = (lo + hi) >> 1
+      const s = segs[mid]
+      if (gen < s.firstGeneration) hi = mid - 1
+      else if (gen > s.lastGeneration) lo = mid + 1
+      else return s
+    }
+    return null
+  }
+
+  /** True when `gen` is packed (readable from this tier). */
+  hasGeneration(gen: number): boolean {
+    return this.coveringSegment(gen) !== null
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description True when `meta` declares more generations than it holds
+   * frames — a segment sealed by a writer that folded across a hole. The
+   * manifest records `frames` at fold time, so this is an O(1) comparison
+   * against the declared span and needs no I/O.
+   */
+  private isSparse(meta: SegmentMeta): boolean {
+    return meta.lastGeneration - meta.firstGeneration + 1 !== meta.frames
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @description The generations this tier ACTUALLY holds, as coalesced
+   * ascending intervals — not what the segments declare.
+   *
+   * Dense segments (every one a current writer produces) contribute their
+   * declared range with no I/O. A SPARSE segment — one sealed before the
+   * density law was enforced, whose declared range spans generations it has
+   * no frame for — has its real generation list read from its sidecar and
+   * contributed instead, with the discrepancy narrated once.
+   *
+   * This is what keeps a store that already carries the damage from wedging.
+   * `open()` seeds `committedRanges` from these intervals, so a hole is never
+   * re-admitted as a committed generation, and the auto-compaction pass that
+   * used to fail on every run with "packed history is damaged" simply never
+   * asks for the missing frame.
+   *
+   * @returns Ascending, non-overlapping `[first, last]` intervals.
+   */
+  async actualRanges(): Promise<Array<[number, number]>> {
+    const out: Array<[number, number]> = []
+    for (const meta of this.manifest.segments) {
+      if (!this.isSparse(meta)) {
+        out.push([meta.firstGeneration, meta.lastGeneration])
+        continue
+      }
+      const missing = meta.lastGeneration - meta.firstGeneration + 1 - meta.frames
+      prodLog.warn(
+        `[GenerationSegments] sealed segment ${meta.file} declares generations ` +
+          `${meta.firstGeneration}..${meta.lastGeneration} but holds only ${meta.frames} ` +
+          `frame(s) — ${missing} generation(s) in that span were never folded into it. ` +
+          `Serving the frames it actually holds; the declared span is not treated as ` +
+          `committed history. (Written by a pre-density-law writer that folded across a ` +
+          `gap; the segment itself is intact and no record is lost.)`
+      )
+      const idx = await this.sidecarFor(meta)
+      for (const [gen] of idx.generations) {
+        const last = out[out.length - 1]
+        if (last !== undefined && gen === last[1] + 1) last[1] = gen
+        else out.push([gen, gen])
+      }
+    }
+    return out
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Fold consecutive generations into ONE new sealed segment + sidecar and
+   * append it to the manifest atomically. Caller guarantees: `gens` is
+   * ascending, contiguous with the packed tier (first = last packed + 1 when
+   * segments exist), and already durable in the live tier. Crash between the
+   * segment write and the caller's live-tier delete leaves a DUPLICATE
+   * representation — resolved live-tier-wins by the reader; never a gap.
+   */
+  async fold(gens: FoldGeneration[]): Promise<SegmentMeta> {
+    if (gens.length === 0) {
+      throw new Error('[GenerationSegments] fold() requires at least one generation')
+    }
+    for (let i = 1; i < gens.length; i++) {
+      if (gens[i].generation <= gens[i - 1].generation) {
+        throw new Error('[GenerationSegments] fold() input must be strictly ascending')
+      }
+    }
+    // THE DENSITY LAW, MADE MECHANICAL.
+    //
+    // A sealed segment declares a CONTIGUOUS range [firstGeneration,
+    // lastGeneration] and every reader treats that range as containment:
+    // `coveringSegment` is an interval test, `hasGeneration` returns true for
+    // anything inside it, and `open()` seeds committedRanges from it. So a
+    // segment folded from a SPARSE input silently claims generations it does
+    // not hold, and the first read of one of those holes throws
+    // "inside sealed segment ... but has no frame — packed history is damaged".
+    //
+    // That is exactly how the damage was produced. `repackHistory` skipped
+    // generations mid-batch — ones absent from committedRanges, ones still in
+    // the pending buffer, ones whose tx.json would not read — and handed the
+    // survivors here, where the range was computed from the first and last of
+    // them. Worse, the mis-declared range was then merged back into
+    // committedRanges at the next open, which is what turned a quiet hole into
+    // a repeating auto-compaction failure on every subsequent run.
+    //
+    // Callers now split at discontinuities; this refusal is what keeps any
+    // future caller from reintroducing the class. A refusal here loses
+    // nothing — the generations stay in the live tier, readable, and the next
+    // pass folds them correctly.
+    for (let i = 1; i < gens.length; i++) {
+      if (gens[i].generation !== gens[i - 1].generation + 1) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `[GenerationSegments] fold() input is not contiguous: ${gens[i - 1].generation} → ` +
+            `${gens[i].generation} skips ${gens[i].generation - gens[i - 1].generation - 1} ` +
+            `generation(s). A sealed segment declares a dense range, so folding a sparse ` +
+            `batch would claim generations it does not hold. Split the batch at the gap.`
+        )
+      }
+    }
+    const last = this.manifest.segments[this.manifest.segments.length - 1]
+    if (last && gens[0].generation <= last.lastGeneration) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `[GenerationSegments] fold() overlaps the packed tier: ${gens[0].generation} ≤ ` +
+          `sealed ${last.lastGeneration} — segments are immutable, never rewritten`
+      )
+    }
+
+    const first = gens[0].generation
+    const file = segmentFileName(first)
+    const sidecar: SidecarIndex = { version: 1, generations: [], ids: {} }
+
+    // Encode all frames, tracking offsets for the sidecar.
+    const parts: Uint8Array[] = [MAGIC]
+    let offset = MAGIC.length
+    for (const g of gens) {
+      const payload = msgpackEncode([
+        g.generation,
+        g.timestamp,
+        g.delta,
+        g.records.map((r) => [r.kind === 'noun' ? 0 : 1, r.id, r.record]),
+        0 // flags: v1 = uncompressed
+      ])
+      const frame = new Uint8Array(FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES + payload.length)
+      const view = new DataView(frame.buffer)
+      view.setUint32(0, payload.length, true)
+      view.setUint32(4, crc32c(payload), true)
+      frame.set(payload, FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES)
+      sidecar.generations.push([g.generation, offset, frame.length])
+      for (const r of g.records) {
+        const key = `${r.kind === 'noun' ? 0 : 1}:${r.id}`
+        ;(sidecar.ids[key] ??= []).push(g.generation)
+      }
+      parts.push(frame)
+      offset += frame.length
+    }
+    const total = parts.reduce((n, p) => n + p.length, 0)
+    const bytes = new Uint8Array(total)
+    let at = 0
+    for (const p of parts) {
+      bytes.set(p, at)
+      at += p.length
+    }
+
+    const meta: SegmentMeta = {
+      file,
+      firstGeneration: first,
+      lastGeneration: gens[gens.length - 1].generation,
+      frames: gens.length,
+      bytes: total,
+      checksum: crc32c(bytes)
+    }
+
+    // Durability order: segment + sidecar fsync'd BEFORE the manifest names
+    // them (a crash before the manifest = invisible orphan files, harmless);
+    // manifest last, atomically.
+    const segPath = `${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${file}`
+    const idxPath = `${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${sidecarFileName(first)}`
+    await this.storage.writeRawBytes(segPath, bytes)
+    await this.storage.writeRawBytes(idxPath, msgpackEncode(sidecar))
+    await this.storage.syncRawObjects([segPath, idxPath])
+    const next: SegmentManifest = {
+      ...this.manifest,
+      segments: [...this.manifest.segments, meta]
+    }
+    await this.storage.writeRawObject(MANIFEST_PATH, next)
+    await this.storage.syncRawObjects([MANIFEST_PATH])
+    this.manifest = next
+    this.sidecars.set(file, sidecar)
+    return meta
+  }
+
+  /** Load (or rebuild, loudly) a segment's sidecar. */
+  private async sidecarFor(meta: SegmentMeta): Promise<SidecarIndex> {
+    const cached = this.sidecars.get(meta.file)
+    if (cached) return cached
+    const idxPath = `${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${sidecarFileName(meta.firstGeneration)}`
+    const raw = await this.storage.readRawBytes(idxPath)
+    if (raw) {
+      try {
+        const idx = msgpackDecode(raw) as SidecarIndex
+        if (idx.version === 1) {
+          this.sidecars.set(meta.file, idx)
+          return idx
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // fall through to rebuild
+      }
+    }
+    // Sidecars are DERIVED: rebuild from the segment, loudly — never serve
+    // wrong offsets silently.
+    prodLog.warn(
+      `[GenerationSegments] sidecar for ${meta.file} missing or unreadable — rebuilding from the segment`
+    )
+    const rebuilt = await this.rebuildSidecar(meta)
+    await this.storage.writeRawBytes(idxPath, msgpackEncode(rebuilt))
+    this.sidecars.set(meta.file, rebuilt)
+    return rebuilt
+  }
+
+  /** One sequential read of the segment → a fresh sidecar. Verifies every frame CRC. */
+  private async rebuildSidecar(meta: SegmentMeta): Promise<SidecarIndex> {
+    const frames = await this.readAllFrames(meta)
+    const idx: SidecarIndex = { version: 1, generations: [], ids: {} }
+    for (const f of frames) {
+      idx.generations.push([f.generation, f.offset, f.frameLen])
+      for (const r of f.records) {
+        const key = `${r.kind === 'noun' ? 0 : 1}:${r.id}`
+        ;(idx.ids[key] ??= []).push(f.generation)
+      }
+    }
+    return idx
+  }
+
+  private decodeFrame(
+    payload: Uint8Array
+  ): { generation: number; timestamp: number; delta: unknown; records: FoldGeneration['records'] } {
+    const [generation, timestamp, delta, rawRecords] = msgpackDecode(payload) as [
+      number,
+      number,
+      unknown,
+      Array<[number, string, unknown]>,
+      number
+    ]
+    return {
+      generation,
+      timestamp,
+      delta,
+      records: rawRecords.map(([kindByte, id, record]) => ({
+        kind: kindByte === 0 ? ('noun' as const) : ('verb' as const),
+        id,
+        record
+      }))
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async readAllFrames(meta: SegmentMeta): Promise<
+    Array<ReturnType<GenerationSegmentStore['decodeFrame']> & { offset: number; frameLen: number }>
+  > {
+    const bytes = await this.storage.readRawBytes(`${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${meta.file}`)
+    if (!bytes) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `[GenerationSegments] sealed segment ${meta.file} is MISSING — packed history is damaged; ` +
+          `refusing to continue silently`
+      )
+    }
+    const out: Array<ReturnType<GenerationSegmentStore['decodeFrame']> & { offset: number; frameLen: number }> = []
+    let at = MAGIC.length
+    const view = new DataView(bytes.buffer, bytes.byteOffset, bytes.byteLength)
+    while (at + FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES <= bytes.length) {
+      const payloadLen = view.getUint32(at, true)
+      const crc = view.getUint32(at + 4, true)
+      const payload = bytes.subarray(at + FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES, at + FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES + payloadLen)
+      if (payload.length !== payloadLen || crc32c(payload) !== crc) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `[GenerationSegments] frame CRC mismatch in ${meta.file} at offset ${at} — ` +
+            `packed history is damaged; refusing to serve it`
+        )
+      }
+      out.push({ ...this.decodeFrame(payload), offset: at, frameLen: FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES + payloadLen })
+      at += FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES + payloadLen
+    }
+    return out
+  }
+
+  /** Read one packed generation's frame via its sidecar offset (one ranged read). */
+  private async readFrame(
+    gen: number
+  ): Promise<ReturnType<GenerationSegmentStore['decodeFrame']> | null> {
+    const meta = this.coveringSegment(gen)
+    if (!meta) return null
+    const idx = await this.sidecarFor(meta)
+    // generations ascending → binary search.
+    const gens = idx.generations
+    let lo = 0
+    let hi = gens.length - 1
+    while (lo <= hi) {
+      const mid = (lo + hi) >> 1
+      if (gens[mid][0] < gen) lo = mid + 1
+      else if (gens[mid][0] > gen) hi = mid - 1
+      else {
+        const [, offset, frameLen] = gens[mid]
+        const bytes = await this.storage.readRawBytes(`${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${meta.file}`)
+        if (!bytes) {
+          throw new Error(`[GenerationSegments] sealed segment ${meta.file} is MISSING`)
+        }
+        const frame = bytes.subarray(offset, offset + frameLen)
+        const view = new DataView(frame.buffer, frame.byteOffset, frame.byteLength)
+        const payloadLen = view.getUint32(0, true)
+        const crc = view.getUint32(4, true)
+        const payload = frame.subarray(FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES, FRAME_PREFIX_BYTES + payloadLen)
+        if (payload.length !== payloadLen || crc32c(payload) !== crc) {
+          throw new Error(
+            `[GenerationSegments] frame CRC mismatch for generation ${gen} in ${meta.file} — ` +
+              `packed history is damaged; refusing to serve it`
+          )
+        }
+        return this.decodeFrame(payload)
+      }
+    }
+    // Inside the covering range but with no frame. Two very different causes,
+    // and conflating them is what made this class wedge every maintenance pass
+    // on the affected stores.
+    //
+    // (1) A SPARSE SEGMENT — the manifest's own `frames` count is smaller than
+    //     the span it declares. That segment was sealed by a writer that
+    //     folded across a hole (the class this file's density law now bars).
+    //     The segment is INTACT and nothing is lost; it simply never held this
+    //     generation. Answering "not packed" is the honest answer, and it lets
+    //     the caller's two-tier read decide what a genuinely absent generation
+    //     means, instead of every compaction pass dying on a repeating throw.
+    //     `actualRanges()` keeps such holes out of committedRanges at open, so
+    //     in a healed store nobody asks this question in the first place.
+    //
+    // (2) A DENSE SEGMENT missing a frame it says it has — the manifest and
+    //     the sidecar disagree about a segment that claims to be complete.
+    //     That IS damage, and it stays loud.
+    if (this.isSparse(meta)) {
+      prodLog.warn(
+        `[GenerationSegments] generation ${gen} falls inside sealed segment ${meta.file}'s ` +
+          `declared range ${meta.firstGeneration}..${meta.lastGeneration}, but that segment ` +
+          `holds ${meta.frames} frame(s) for a ${meta.lastGeneration - meta.firstGeneration + 1}` +
+          `-generation span — it was sealed across a gap and never held this generation. ` +
+          `Reporting it as unpacked rather than as damage; no record is lost.`
+      )
+      return null
+    }
+    throw new Error(
+      `[GenerationSegments] generation ${gen} is inside sealed segment ${meta.file}'s declared ` +
+        `range but has no frame, and that segment declares a complete ${meta.frames}-frame ` +
+        `span — the manifest and the sidecar disagree; packed history is damaged`
+    )
+  }
+
+  /** The packed tier's delta for `gen` (null = not packed). */
+  async readDelta(gen: number): Promise<{ delta: unknown; timestamp: number } | null> {
+    const frame = await this.readFrame(gen)
+    return frame ? { delta: frame.delta, timestamp: frame.timestamp } : null
+  }
+
+  /** The packed tier's full record-set for `gen` (null = not packed). */
+  async readRecords(gen: number): Promise<FoldGeneration['records'] | null> {
+    const frame = await this.readFrame(gen)
+    return frame ? frame.records : null
+  }
+
+  /** One packed before-image (null = not packed OR no record for the id in that generation). */
+  async readRecord(gen: number, kind: 'noun' | 'verb', id: string): Promise<unknown | null> {
+    const frame = await this.readFrame(gen)
+    if (!frame) return null
+    const hit = frame.records.find((r) => r.kind === kind && r.id === id)
+    return hit ? hit.record : null
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * D3 reclaim: drop WHOLE segments whose lastGeneration < `belowGeneration`
+   * and bump `compactedBelow`. Partial segments are never dropped — the
+   * boundary waits. NEVER called under the archival profile (the caller
+   * enforces retention semantics; this method only executes boundary drops).
+   */
+  async dropSegmentsBelow(belowGeneration: number): Promise<{ dropped: number; compactedBelow: number }> {
+    const keep: SegmentMeta[] = []
+    const drop: SegmentMeta[] = []
+    for (const s of this.manifest.segments) {
+      ;(s.lastGeneration < belowGeneration ? drop : keep).push(s)
+    }
+    if (drop.length === 0) {
+      return { dropped: 0, compactedBelow: this.manifest.compactedBelow }
+    }
+    const compactedBelow = Math.max(
+      this.manifest.compactedBelow,
+      drop[drop.length - 1].lastGeneration + 1
+    )
+    // Manifest first (the drop is authoritative once named), then bytes —
+    // a crash between leaves orphan segment files invisible to the manifest,
+    // harmless and re-collectable.
+    const next: SegmentManifest = { ...this.manifest, compactedBelow, segments: keep }
+    await this.storage.writeRawObject(MANIFEST_PATH, next)
+    await this.storage.syncRawObjects([MANIFEST_PATH])
+    this.manifest = next
+    for (const s of drop) {
+      await this.storage.deleteRawObject(`${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${s.file}`)
+      await this.storage.deleteRawObject(`${SEGMENTS_PREFIX}/${sidecarFileName(s.firstGeneration)}`)
+      this.sidecars.delete(s.file)
+    }
+    return { dropped: drop.length, compactedBelow }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * D8 rider — the packed portion of `generationDigest(g)`: a deterministic
+   * crc32c chain over sealed-segment checksums fully below `g`, plus the
+   * frame CRC of `g`'s own frame when `g` is mid-segment. O(segments), not
+   * O(generations); identical history ⇒ identical digest on any machine.
+   * The live-tier portion is composed by the caller.
+   */
+  async digestThroughPacked(g: number): Promise<number | null> {
+    let digest = 0
+    let covered = false
+    for (const s of this.manifest.segments) {
+      if (s.lastGeneration <= g) {
+        digest = crc32c(new TextEncoder().encode(`${digest}:${s.checksum}`))
+        if (s.lastGeneration === g) covered = true
+      } else if (s.firstGeneration <= g) {
+        // g is mid-segment: chain the partial prefix via g's frame CRC.
+        const frame = await this.readFrame(g)
+        if (frame === null) return null
+        const idx = await this.sidecarFor(s)
+        const upTo = idx.generations.filter(([gen]) => gen <= g)
+        for (const [gen, offset, frameLen] of upTo) {
+          digest = crc32c(new TextEncoder().encode(`${digest}:${gen}:${offset}:${frameLen}`))
+        }
+        covered = true
+        break
+      }
+    }
+    return covered || this.manifest.segments.length > 0 ? digest : null
+  }
+}