open-brainy/tests/integration/vfs-root-zero-norm.test.ts
David Snelling c6cc0de955
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fix(vfs): the VFS root never persists a zero-norm vector
A zero-norm vector is lawful inside brainy (cosine distance scores it at
maximum, never a false top hit) but a false attractor for a downstream
engine serving squared-euclidean distance, which cannot tell a real
all-zero vector apart from a legitimate origin point.

- The VFS root now persists with vector [] (the existing "unvectored"
  shape) instead of a real all-zero 384-dim placeholder, and is never
  routed into the deferred-embed pipeline.
- A one-time migration in the root-init path detects a pre-fix store's
  all-zero placeholder root (by norm, not length) and rewrites it to []
  through a new sanctioned Brainy method that keeps the canonical
  vectored-noun ledger honest and removes the row from the vector index.
- The vector-index write seam (AddToVectorIndexOperation,
  ReplaceInVectorIndexOperation, and the generation materializer's direct
  insert) now refuses any real all-zero vector before it reaches a
  provider, loudly naming the entity, while the canonical write still
  lands.
- add()'s dimension-pinning and HNSW-insert gates, and the add-params
  validator, now treat any empty vector as carrying no dimension
  information, closing a latent trap where an explicit `vector: []`
  would have pinned dimensions to 0.
2026-08-27 09:28:44 -07:00

203 lines
8.6 KiB
TypeScript

/**
* @module tests/integration/vfs-root-zero-norm
* @description THE ZERO-NORM ROOT CURE — a production incident traced 150+
* darkened rows in a downstream engine's index to the VFS root's persisted
* ALL-ZERO placeholder vector: lawful inside brainy (`cosineDistance`
* treats a zero-norm operand as MAXIMUM distance, src/utils/distance.ts)
* but a "false attractor" for an engine serving squared-euclidean distance,
* which cannot tell a real all-zero vector apart from a legitimate origin
* point. THE LAW: a zero-norm vector is not a vector — it never crosses an
* engine boundary.
*
* Three legs pinned here:
* (a) the root persists NO zeros — a brand-new store creates it with
* vector `[]` (the "unvectored" shape), absent from the HNSW index, and
* the canonical vectored-noun ledger does not count it.
* (b) a ONE-TIME migration heals an existing (pre-fix) store: an old-shape
* root (a REAL all-zero vector, genuinely indexed and ledgered — the
* harness reproduces exactly what a pre-fix store looked like on disk)
* is rewritten to `[]` on the next `init()`, the ledger is decremented
* through the sanctioned path, and a second `init()` is a no-op.
* (c) THE BELT at the live provider-write seam: an entity added with an
* EXPLICIT all-zero vector (any dimension) still lands its canonical
* write, but the vector-index insert is refused loudly.
* (d) the migrated root never surfaces in `find()` results (it was already
* hidden behind `visibility: 'system'` — this pin holds regardless).
*/
import { describe, it, expect, afterEach, vi } from 'vitest'
import * as fs from 'node:fs'
import * as os from 'node:os'
import * as path from 'node:path'
import { Brainy } from '../../src/index.js'
import { NounType } from '../../src/types/graphTypes.js'
import { prodLog } from '../../src/utils/logger.js'
const ROOT_ID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
process.env.BRAINY_DETERMINISTIC_EMBEDDINGS = 'true'
const tmpDirs: string[] = []
function mkTmp(): string {
const d = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'brainy-vfs-root-zero-norm-'))
tmpDirs.push(d)
return d
}
afterEach(() => {
vi.restoreAllMocks()
for (const d of tmpDirs.splice(0)) fs.rmSync(d, { recursive: true, force: true })
})
function openBrain(dir: string): any {
return new Brainy({
requireSubtype: false,
storage: { type: 'filesystem', path: dir },
silent: true,
dimensions: 384
})
}
describe('VFS root zero-norm cure', () => {
it('(a) a brand-new store persists the root with vector [], absent from the HNSW index, and the canonical ledger counts it unvectored', async () => {
const dir = mkTmp()
const brain = openBrain(dir)
await brain.init()
const root = await brain.get(ROOT_ID, { includeVectors: true })
expect(root).not.toBeNull()
expect(root.vector).toEqual([])
const status = await brain.getIndexStatus()
expect(status.hnswIndex.size).toBe(0)
const ledger = await brain.storage.getCanonicalCounts()
expect(ledger.vectors.all).toBe(0)
await brain.close()
})
it('(b) an old-shape store (a real all-zero placeholder root) migrates to [] exactly once on init; the ledger is decremented through the sanctioned path; a second init is a no-op', async () => {
const dir = mkTmp()
// SESSION 1 — build the store, then hand-rewrite the root to the LEGACY
// shape: a REAL all-zero 384-dim vector, genuinely inserted into the
// vector index and genuinely counted by the vectored-noun ledger —
// reproducing exactly what a pre-fix store's root looked like on disk
// (the pre-fix add() always indexed + counted it). `index.addItem` is
// called directly (bypassing AddToVectorIndexOperation's own zero-norm
// belt, added by this same fix) precisely because the pre-fix code path
// had no such belt — this harness must match history, not the cure.
let brain = openBrain(dir)
await brain.init()
const oldVector = new Array(384).fill(0)
await brain.storage.saveNoun({ id: ROOT_ID, vector: oldVector, connections: new Map(), level: 0 })
await brain.index.addItem({ id: ROOT_ID, vector: oldVector })
await brain.storage.noteVectorLanded(ROOT_ID)
await brain.storage.persistCounts()
await brain.flush()
const ledgerBeforeMigration = await brain.storage.getCanonicalCounts()
expect(ledgerBeforeMigration.vectors.all).toBe(1)
await brain.close()
// SESSION 2 — reopen: VFS init must detect the legacy shape and migrate.
// Spy on the sanctioned migration method itself (not console output —
// `silent: true` monkey-patches `console.log` to a no-op INSIDE init(),
// which would silently swallow any pre-installed console spy too).
brain = openBrain(dir)
const migrateSpy = vi.spyOn(brain, 'unvectorNounForRootMigration')
await brain.init()
expect(migrateSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
expect(migrateSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(ROOT_ID)
await expect(migrateSpy.mock.results[0].value).resolves.toBe(true)
const migratedRoot = await brain.get(ROOT_ID, { includeVectors: true })
expect(migratedRoot.vector).toEqual([])
const ledgerAfterMigration = await brain.storage.getCanonicalCounts()
expect(ledgerAfterMigration.vectors.all).toBe(0)
const statusAfterMigration = await brain.getIndexStatus()
expect(statusAfterMigration.hnswIndex.size).toBe(0)
await brain.flush()
await brain.close()
// SESSION 3 — reopen again: the migration is a permanent no-op, not a
// one-time flag that silently re-drifts or re-fires. The zero-norm
// detection at the VFS init site never even calls the migration method
// again — the root's vector is already `[]`.
brain = openBrain(dir)
const migrateSpy2 = vi.spyOn(brain, 'unvectorNounForRootMigration')
await brain.init()
expect(migrateSpy2).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
const rootAfterSecondInit = await brain.get(ROOT_ID, { includeVectors: true })
expect(rootAfterSecondInit.vector).toEqual([])
const ledgerAfterSecondInit = await brain.storage.getCanonicalCounts()
expect(ledgerAfterSecondInit.vectors.all).toBe(0)
await brain.close()
})
it('(c) the live-write belt: an entity added with an explicit all-zero vector lands its canonical write, but the vector-index insert is refused loudly', async () => {
const dir = mkTmp()
const brain = openBrain(dir)
await brain.init()
const warnSpy = vi.spyOn(prodLog, 'warn')
const sizeBefore = (await brain.getIndexStatus()).hnswIndex.size
const zeroVector = new Array(384).fill(0)
const id = await brain.add({ data: 'poisoned entity', type: NounType.Document, vector: zeroVector })
// The canonical write succeeded — the entity is fully readable with its
// (real, all-zero) vector intact.
const entity = await brain.get(id, { includeVectors: true })
expect(entity).not.toBeNull()
expect(entity.vector).toEqual(zeroVector)
// The vector-index insert was skipped — the index size never moved.
const sizeAfter = (await brain.getIndexStatus()).hnswIndex.size
expect(sizeAfter).toBe(sizeBefore)
// The refusal was LOUD and named the entity.
const loudCall = warnSpy.mock.calls.find(
(call) => typeof call[0] === 'string' && call[0].includes(id) && call[0].toLowerCase().includes('zero-norm')
)
expect(loudCall).toBeDefined()
await brain.close()
})
it('(d) find() over a store whose root has been migrated never returns the root (already hidden behind visibility: system — pinned anyway)', async () => {
const dir = mkTmp()
// Build an old-shape store (same harness as pin (b)) and let it migrate.
let brain = openBrain(dir)
await brain.init()
const oldVector = new Array(384).fill(0)
await brain.storage.saveNoun({ id: ROOT_ID, vector: oldVector, connections: new Map(), level: 0 })
await brain.index.addItem({ id: ROOT_ID, vector: oldVector })
await brain.storage.noteVectorLanded(ROOT_ID)
await brain.storage.persistCounts()
await brain.add({ data: 'a document about technology', type: NounType.Document })
await brain.flush()
await brain.close()
brain = openBrain(dir) // migrates on init()
await brain.init()
const results = await brain.find({ query: 'technology', limit: 10 })
expect(results.some((r: any) => r.id === ROOT_ID)).toBe(false)
// Even asking explicitly for system-tier entities must never surface the
// root as a semantic-search HIT (it carries no vector to match against).
const resultsIncludingSystem = await brain.find({ query: 'technology', limit: 10, includeSystem: true })
expect(resultsIncludingSystem.some((r: any) => r.id === ROOT_ID)).toBe(false)
await brain.close()
})
})