runtime: make Windows soul reproducible from a clean el checkout

Two el_runtime portability defects only ever lived in staged local copies used to hand-build neuron-ui PR #136's curl-enabled Windows neuron.exe. gcc 15 promotes both to hard errors, so a clean el checkout cannot rebuild that soul. Upstream the minimal fixes so the build is reproducible: - http_serve_async: cast setsockopt optval to (const char*). Win32/mingw setsockopt wants const char*, not int*; the cast is a no-op on POSIX and matches the four already-cast sites elsewhere in this file. - engram_save persist path: map fsync -> _commit in the _WIN32-only el_platform_win.h (io.h already included). Windows has no fsync(); the POSIX path is untouched.
Merge pull request 'runtime: fix the memory-leak + write-corruption pair in el_runtime.c' (#64 ) from hotfix/el-runtime-leak-and-persist into main
2026-07-15 04:24:08 -05:00 · 2026-07-13 21:23:31 +00:00
7 changed files with 283 additions and 1302 deletions
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ el_val_t query_param(el_val_t path, el_val_t key);
 el_val_t query_int(el_val_t path, el_val_t key, el_val_t default_val);
 el_val_t extract_id(el_val_t path, el_val_t prefix);
 el_val_t route_stats(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t persist_canonical(void);
 el_val_t route_create_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_get_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_scan_nodes(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
@@ -21,23 +20,18 @@ el_val_t route_create_edge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_neighbors(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_strengthen(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_forget(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_create_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
+el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_load_merge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
-el_val_t route_capture_knowledge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t check_auth_ok(el_val_t method, el_val_t body);
 el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body);

-el_val_t bind_raw;
 el_val_t bind_str;
 el_val_t port;
-el_val_t data_dir_raw;
 el_val_t data_dir;
 el_val_t snapshot_path;
-el_val_t boot_snap;

 el_val_t parse_port(el_val_t bind) {
  el_val_t colon = str_index_of(bind, EL_STR(":"));
@@ -116,22 +110,17 @@ el_val_t route_stats(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  return 0;
 }

-el_val_t persist_canonical(void) {
-  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_1 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_1 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_1 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_1; });
-  engram_save(el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json")));
-  return 1;
-  return 0;
-}
-
 el_val_t route_create_node(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
-  el_val_t nt_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("node_type"));
-  el_val_t node_type = ({ el_val_t _if_result_2 = 0; if (str_eq(nt_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_2 = (EL_STR("Memory")); } else { _if_result_2 = (nt_raw); } _if_result_2; });
-  el_val_t sal_raw = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("salience"));
-  el_val_t salience = ({ el_val_t _if_result_3 = 0; if ((sal_raw == el_from_float(0.0))) { _if_result_3 = (el_from_float(0.5)); } else { _if_result_3 = (sal_raw); } _if_result_3; });
+  el_val_t node_type = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("node_type"));
+  if (str_eq(node_type, EL_STR(""))) {
+    node_type = EL_STR("Memory");
+  }
+  el_val_t salience = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("salience"));
+  if (salience == el_from_float(0.0)) {
+    salience = el_from_float(0.5);
+  }
  el_val_t id = engram_node(content, node_type, salience);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\",\"content\":\"")), content), EL_STR("\",\"node_type\":\"")), node_type), EL_STR("\"}"));
  return 0;
 }
@@ -157,9 +146,11 @@ el_val_t route_scan_nodes(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 }

 el_val_t route_scan_edges(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_4 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_4 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_4 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_4; });
-  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/.scan-export.json"));
+  el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
+    dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
+  }
+  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
  engram_save(snap_path);
  el_val_t snap = fs_read(snap_path);
  if (str_eq(snap, EL_STR(""))) {
@@ -174,22 +165,36 @@ el_val_t route_scan_edges(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 }

 el_val_t route_search(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t q = ({ el_val_t _if_result_5 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_5 = (query_param(path, EL_STR("q"))); } else { _if_result_5 = (json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"))); } _if_result_5; });
-  el_val_t lim_url = query_int(path, EL_STR("limit"), 0);
-  el_val_t lim_body = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("limit"));
-  el_val_t lim_either = ({ el_val_t _if_result_6 = 0; if ((lim_url > 0)) { _if_result_6 = (lim_url); } else { _if_result_6 = (lim_body); } _if_result_6; });
-  el_val_t limit = ({ el_val_t _if_result_7 = 0; if ((lim_either > 0)) { _if_result_7 = (lim_either); } else { _if_result_7 = (20); } _if_result_7; });
+  el_val_t q = EL_STR("");
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) {
+    q = query_param(path, EL_STR("q"));
+  } else {
+    q = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"));
+  }
+  el_val_t limit = query_int(path, EL_STR("limit"), 20);
+  if (limit == 0) {
+    limit = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("limit"));
+  }
+  if (limit == 0) {
+    limit = 20;
+  }
  return engram_search_json(q, limit);
  return 0;
 }

 el_val_t route_activate(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t q = ({ el_val_t _if_result_8 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_8 = (query_param(path, EL_STR("q"))); } else { _if_result_8 = (json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"))); } _if_result_8; });
-  if (str_eq(q, EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("missing query"));
+  el_val_t q = EL_STR("");
+  el_val_t depth = 3;
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) {
+    q = query_param(path, EL_STR("q"));
+    depth = query_int(path, EL_STR("depth"), 3);
+  } else {
+    q = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("query"));
+    el_val_t bd = json_get_int(body, EL_STR("depth"));
+    if (bd > 0) {
+      depth = bd;
+    }
  }
-  el_val_t d_raw = ({ el_val_t _if_result_9 = 0; if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET"))) { _if_result_9 = (query_int(path, EL_STR("depth"), 3)); } else { _if_result_9 = (json_get_int(body, EL_STR("depth"))); } _if_result_9; });
-  el_val_t depth = ({ el_val_t _if_result_10 = 0; if ((d_raw > 0)) { _if_result_10 = (d_raw); } else { _if_result_10 = (3); } _if_result_10; });
  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"results\":"), engram_activate_json(q, depth)), EL_STR("}"));
  return 0;
 }
@@ -197,12 +202,15 @@ el_val_t route_activate(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
 el_val_t route_create_edge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  el_val_t from_id = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("from_id"));
  el_val_t to_id = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("to_id"));
-  el_val_t rel_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("relation"));
-  el_val_t relation = ({ el_val_t _if_result_11 = 0; if (str_eq(rel_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_11 = (EL_STR("associates")); } else { _if_result_11 = (rel_raw); } _if_result_11; });
-  el_val_t w_raw = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("weight"));
-  el_val_t weight = ({ el_val_t _if_result_12 = 0; if ((w_raw == el_from_float(0.0))) { _if_result_12 = (el_from_float(0.5)); } else { _if_result_12 = (w_raw); } _if_result_12; });
+  el_val_t relation = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("relation"));
+  if (str_eq(relation, EL_STR(""))) {
+    relation = EL_STR("associates");
+  }
+  el_val_t weight = json_get_float(body, EL_STR("weight"));
+  if (weight == el_from_float(0.0)) {
+    weight = el_from_float(0.5);
+  }
  engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\""), from_id), EL_STR("\",\"to_id\":\"")), to_id), EL_STR("\",\"relation\":\"")), relation), EL_STR("\"}"));
  return 0;
 }
@@ -223,7 +231,6 @@ el_val_t route_strengthen(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
    return err_json(EL_STR("missing node_id"));
  }
  engram_strengthen(id);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
  return ok_json();
  return 0;
 }
@@ -234,40 +241,29 @@ el_val_t route_forget(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
    return err_json(EL_STR("missing id"));
  }
  engram_forget(id);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
  return ok_json();
  return 0;
 }

-el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t p_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
-  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_13 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_13 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_13 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_13; });
-  el_val_t p = ({ el_val_t _if_result_14 = 0; if (str_eq(p_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_14 = (el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"))); } else { _if_result_14 = (p_raw); } _if_result_14; });
-  engram_save(p);
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\""), p), EL_STR("\"}"));
-  return 0;
-}
-
-el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t p_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
-  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_15 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_15 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_15 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_15; });
-  el_val_t p = ({ el_val_t _if_result_16 = 0; if (str_eq(p_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_16 = (el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"))); } else { _if_result_16 = (p_raw); } _if_result_16; });
-  engram_load(p);
-  return ok_json();
-  return 0;
-}
-
-el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  return EL_STR("{\"status\":\"ok\",\"engine\":\"engram-runtime-native\"}");
+el_val_t route_create_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
+  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
+    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
+  }
+  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.3);
+  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.8);
+  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("InternalStateEvent"), EL_STR("state-event"), sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Episodic"), EL_STR("[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"));
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\"}"));
  return 0;
 }

 el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  el_val_t dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_17 = 0; if (str_eq(dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_17 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_17 = (dir_raw); } _if_result_17; });
-  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/.sync-export.json"));
+  el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
+    dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
+  }
+  el_val_t snap_path = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/sync-export.json"));
  engram_save(snap_path);
  el_val_t snap = fs_read(snap_path);
  if (str_eq(snap, EL_STR(""))) {
@@ -277,68 +273,36 @@ el_val_t route_sync(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  return 0;
 }

-el_val_t route_load_merge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+el_val_t route_save(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  el_val_t p = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
  if (str_eq(p, EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("path is required"));
+    el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+    if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
+      dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
+    }
+    p = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
  }
-  if (str_eq(fs_read(p), EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("file missing or empty"));
-  }
-  el_val_t before_n = engram_node_count();
-  el_val_t before_e = engram_edge_count();
-  engram_load_merge(p);
-  el_val_t added_n = (engram_node_count() - before_n);
-  el_val_t added_e = (engram_edge_count() - before_e);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"nodes_added\":"), int_to_str(added_n)), EL_STR(",\"edges_added\":")), int_to_str(added_e)), EL_STR(",\"node_count\":")), int_to_str(engram_node_count())), EL_STR("}"));
+  engram_save(p);
+  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\""), p), EL_STR("\"}"));
  return 0;
 }

-el_val_t route_emit_ise(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
-  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
+el_val_t route_load(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  el_val_t p = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("path"));
+  if (str_eq(p, EL_STR(""))) {
+    el_val_t dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+    if (str_eq(dir, EL_STR(""))) {
+      dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
+    }
+    p = el_str_concat(dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
  }
-  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.3);
-  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.3);
-  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.8);
-  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("InternalStateEvent"), EL_STR("state-event"), sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Episodic"), EL_STR("[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"));
-  el_val_t ret_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS"));
-  el_val_t ret_ms = ({ el_val_t _if_result_18 = 0; if (str_eq(ret_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_18 = (172800000); } else { _if_result_18 = (str_to_int(ret_raw)); } _if_result_18; });
-  el_val_t pruned = engram_prune_telemetry(ret_ms);
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\",\"pruned\":")), int_to_str(pruned)), EL_STR("}"));
+  engram_load(p);
+  return ok_json();
  return 0;
 }

-el_val_t route_capture_knowledge(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
-  el_val_t content = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("content"));
-  if (str_eq(content, EL_STR(""))) {
-    return err_json(EL_STR("missing content"));
-  }
-  el_val_t title = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("title"));
-  el_val_t label = ({ el_val_t _if_result_19 = 0; if (str_eq(title, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_19 = (str_slice(content, 0, 60)); } else { _if_result_19 = (title); } _if_result_19; });
-  el_val_t category_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("category"));
-  el_val_t category = ({ el_val_t _if_result_20 = 0; if (str_eq(category_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_20 = (EL_STR("other")); } else { _if_result_20 = (category_raw); } _if_result_20; });
-  el_val_t ktier_raw = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("tier"));
-  el_val_t ktier = ({ el_val_t _if_result_21 = 0; if (str_eq(ktier_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_21 = (EL_STR("note")); } else { _if_result_21 = (ktier_raw); } _if_result_21; });
-  el_val_t project = json_get_string(body, EL_STR("project"));
-  el_val_t tags_raw = json_get_raw(body, EL_STR("tags"));
-  el_val_t tags_base = ({ el_val_t _if_result_22 = 0; if (str_eq(tags_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_22 = (EL_STR("[]")); } else { _if_result_22 = (tags_raw); } _if_result_22; });
-  el_val_t base_len = str_len(tags_base);
-  el_val_t head = str_slice(tags_base, 0, (base_len - 1));
-  el_val_t sep = ({ el_val_t _if_result_23 = 0; if (str_eq(head, EL_STR("["))) { _if_result_23 = (EL_STR("")); } else { _if_result_23 = (EL_STR(",")); } _if_result_23; });
-  el_val_t safe_cat = str_replace(category, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
-  el_val_t safe_tier = str_replace(ktier, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
-  el_val_t safe_proj = str_replace(project, EL_STR("\""), EL_STR("'"));
-  el_val_t proj_tag = ({ el_val_t _if_result_24 = 0; if (str_eq(safe_proj, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_24 = (EL_STR("")); } else { _if_result_24 = (el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR(",\"project:"), safe_proj), EL_STR("\""))); } _if_result_24; });
-  el_val_t tags = el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(el_str_concat(head, sep), EL_STR("\"category:")), safe_cat), EL_STR("\",\"tier:")), safe_tier), EL_STR("\"")), proj_tag), EL_STR("]"));
-  el_val_t sal = el_from_float(0.5);
-  el_val_t imp = el_from_float(0.5);
-  el_val_t conf = el_from_float(0.9);
-  el_val_t id = engram_node_full(content, EL_STR("Knowledge"), label, sal, imp, conf, EL_STR("Semantic"), tags);
-  el_val_t saved = persist_canonical();
-  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\""), id), EL_STR("\"}"));
+el_val_t route_health(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
+  return EL_STR("{\"status\":\"ok\",\"engine\":\"engram-runtime-native\"}");
  return 0;
 }

@@ -365,15 +329,12 @@ el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
      return route_health(method, path, body);
    }
  }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/state-events"))) {
-    return route_emit_ise(method, path, body);
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_starts_with(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/state-events"))) {
+    return route_create_ise(method, path, body);
  }
  if (!check_auth_ok(method, body)) {
    return err_json(EL_STR("unauthorized"));
  }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/neuron/knowledge/capture"))) {
-    return route_capture_knowledge(method, path, body);
-  }
  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/stats")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/stats")))) {
    return route_stats(method, path, body);
  }
@@ -413,40 +374,32 @@ el_val_t handle_request(el_val_t method, el_val_t path, el_val_t body) {
  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/strengthen")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/strengthen")))) {
    return route_strengthen(method, path, body);
  }
+  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/sync")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/sync")))) {
+    return route_sync(method, path, body);
+  }
  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/save")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/save")))) {
    return route_save(method, path, body);
  }
  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/load")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/load")))) {
    return route_load(method, path, body);
  }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("POST")) && (str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/load-merge")) || str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/load-merge")))) {
-    return route_load_merge(method, path, body);
-  }
-  if (str_eq(method, EL_STR("GET")) && str_eq(clean, EL_STR("/api/sync"))) {
-    return route_sync(method, path, body);
-  }
  return el_str_concat(el_str_concat(EL_STR("{\"error\":\"not found\",\"path\":\""), clean), EL_STR("\"}"));
  return 0;
 }

 int main(int _argc, char** _argv) {
  el_runtime_init_args(_argc, _argv);
-  bind_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_BIND"));
-  bind_str = ({ el_val_t _if_result_25 = 0; if (str_eq(bind_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_25 = (EL_STR(":8742")); } else { _if_result_25 = (bind_raw); } _if_result_25; });
+  bind_str = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_BIND"));
+  if (str_eq(bind_str, EL_STR(""))) {
+    bind_str = EL_STR(":8742");
+  }
  port = parse_port(bind_str);
-  data_dir_raw = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
-  data_dir = ({ el_val_t _if_result_26 = 0; if (str_eq(data_dir_raw, EL_STR(""))) { _if_result_26 = (EL_STR("/tmp/engram")); } else { _if_result_26 = (data_dir_raw); } _if_result_26; });
+  data_dir = env(EL_STR("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR"));
+  if (str_eq(data_dir, EL_STR(""))) {
+    data_dir = EL_STR("/tmp/engram");
+  }
  snapshot_path = el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.json"));
  engram_load(snapshot_path);
-  boot_snap = fs_read(snapshot_path);
-  if (!str_eq(boot_snap, EL_STR(""))) {
-    if (engram_node_count() == 0) {
-      println(EL_STR("[engram] WARNING: snapshot.json is non-empty but load produced 0 nodes \xe2\x80\x94 preserving copy at snapshot.failed-load.json"));
-      fs_write(el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.failed-load.json")), boot_snap);
-    } else {
-      fs_write(el_str_concat(data_dir, EL_STR("/snapshot.boot-backup.json")), boot_snap);
-    }
-  }
  println(EL_STR("[engram] runtime-native graph engine"));
  println(el_str_concat(EL_STR("[engram] data_dir="), data_dir));
  println(el_str_concat(EL_STR("[engram] node_count="), int_to_str(engram_node_count())));
@@ -76,43 +76,13 @@ fn route_stats(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    engram_stats_json()
 }

-// (2026-07-18 self-review) Scoping sweep: `let` inside an if-block creates an
-// inner scope only — it does NOT mutate the outer binding (documented with
-// evidence in awareness.el, 2026-05-25). Every default/reassignment below used
-// that broken pattern, so defaults never applied: nodes were created with
-// node_type="" and salience=0.0, /api/search and /api/activate ALWAYS ran with
-// q="" regardless of input, edges defaulted to relation=""/weight=0.0, and
-// save/load with no "path" hit engram_save(""). Rewritten to the
-// `let x = if cond { a } else { b }` expression form (the pattern the newer
-// routes route_emit_ise/route_capture_knowledge already use correctly).
-// persist_canonical — save the canonical snapshot after a durable write.
-//
-// WHY (2026-07-22 self-review): the 2026-07-21 fix correctly stopped READ
-// routes from writing the canonical snapshot.json — but nothing was left
-// that saved it on WRITE. Every mutation (node create, edge create,
-// knowledge capture, forget, merge) lived only in RAM until someone POSTed
-// /api/save manually; a process restart silently discarded everything since
-// the last manual save. Observed live: two engram restarts during the
-// 2026-07-22 review reverted the store to a ~17h-old snapshot, destroying
-// same-day writes. Reads must never write the canonical; writes must always
-// persist it. ISE telemetry is deliberately excluded (48h-pruned, loss-
-// tolerant, ~2/min — snapshotting the whole store per heartbeat is waste;
-// any durable write that follows persists the pruning too).
-fn persist_canonical() -> Int {
-    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
-    engram_save(dir + "/snapshot.json")
-    return 1
-}
-
 fn route_create_node(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
-    let nt_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "node_type")
-    let node_type: String = if str_eq(nt_raw, "") { "Memory" } else { nt_raw }
-    let sal_raw: Float = json_get_float(body, "salience")
-    let salience: Float = if sal_raw == 0.0 { 0.5 } else { sal_raw }
+    let node_type: String = json_get_string(body, "node_type")
+    if str_eq(node_type, "") { let node_type = "Memory" }
+    let salience: Float = json_get_float(body, "salience")
+    if salience == 0.0 { let salience = 0.5 }
    let id: String = engram_node(content, node_type, salience)
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
    "{\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"content\":\"" + content + "\",\"node_type\":\"" + node_type + "\"}"
 }

@@ -133,14 +103,13 @@ fn route_scan_nodes(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 }

 // route_scan_edges — bulk export of all edges as a JSON array. Implemented
-// via engram_save → fs_read of a SCRATCH export path. (2026-07-21 self-review:
-// previously this saved over the canonical snapshot.json on every GET — if the
-// process ever booted with a partial/empty store, the first read request
-// clobbered the good snapshot. Read routes must never write the canonical path.)
+// via engram_save → fs_read of the canonical on-disk snapshot, which the
+// runtime keeps in lockstep with the in-memory graph. Live against the
+// running graph, not a stale export.
 fn route_scan_edges(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
-    let snap_path: String = dir + "/.scan-export.json"
+    let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
+    let snap_path: String = dir + "/snapshot.json"
    engram_save(snap_path)
    let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)
    if str_eq(snap, "") { return "[]" }
@@ -153,34 +122,40 @@ fn route_scan_edges(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 }

 fn route_search(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let q: String = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_param(path, "q") } else { json_get_string(body, "query") }
-    let lim_url: Int = query_int(path, "limit", 0)
-    let lim_body: Int = json_get_int(body, "limit")
-    let lim_either: Int = if lim_url > 0 { lim_url } else { lim_body }
-    let limit: Int = if lim_either > 0 { lim_either } else { 20 }
+    let q: String = ""
+    if str_eq(method, "GET") {
+        let q = query_param(path, "q")
+    } else {
+        let q = json_get_string(body, "query")
+    }
+    let limit: Int = query_int(path, "limit", 20)
+    if limit == 0 { let limit = json_get_int(body, "limit") }
+    if limit == 0 { let limit = 20 }
    return engram_search_json(q, limit)
 }

 fn route_activate(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let q: String = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_param(path, "q") } else { json_get_string(body, "query") }
-    // Guard: engram_activate with an empty query matches zero seeds, which
-    // zeroes ALL carried working-memory weights (documented in awareness.el
-    // perceive()). Never let an empty activation through to wipe WM.
-    if str_eq(q, "") { return err_json("missing query") }
-    let d_raw: Int = if str_eq(method, "GET") { query_int(path, "depth", 3) } else { json_get_int(body, "depth") }
-    let depth: Int = if d_raw > 0 { d_raw } else { 3 }
+    let q: String = ""
+    let depth: Int = 3
+    if str_eq(method, "GET") {
+        let q = query_param(path, "q")
+        let depth = query_int(path, "depth", 3)
+    } else {
+        let q = json_get_string(body, "query")
+        let bd: Int = json_get_int(body, "depth")
+        if bd > 0 { let depth = bd }
+    }
    return "{\"results\":" + engram_activate_json(q, depth) + "}"
 }

 fn route_create_edge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    let from_id: String = json_get_string(body, "from_id")
    let to_id: String = json_get_string(body, "to_id")
-    let rel_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "relation")
-    let relation: String = if str_eq(rel_raw, "") { "associates" } else { rel_raw }
-    let w_raw: Float = json_get_float(body, "weight")
-    let weight: Float = if w_raw == 0.0 { 0.5 } else { w_raw }
+    let relation: String = json_get_string(body, "relation")
+    if str_eq(relation, "") { let relation = "associates" }
+    let weight: Float = json_get_float(body, "weight")
+    if weight == 0.0 { let weight = 0.5 }
    engram_connect(from_id, to_id, weight, relation)
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
    "{\"ok\":true,\"from_id\":\"" + from_id + "\",\"to_id\":\"" + to_id + "\",\"relation\":\"" + relation + "\"}"
 }

@@ -195,7 +170,6 @@ fn route_strengthen(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    let id: String = json_get_string(body, "node_id")
    if str_eq(id, "") { return err_json("missing node_id") }
    engram_strengthen(id)
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
    ok_json()
 }

@@ -203,24 +177,27 @@ fn route_forget(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    let id: String = extract_id(path, "/api/nodes/")
    if str_eq(id, "") { return err_json("missing id") }
    engram_forget(id)
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
    ok_json()
 }

 fn route_save(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let p_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
-    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
-    let p: String = if str_eq(p_raw, "") { dir + "/snapshot.json" } else { p_raw }
+    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
+    if str_eq(p, "") {
+        let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+        if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
+        let p = dir + "/snapshot.json"
+    }
    engram_save(p)
    "{\"ok\":true,\"path\":\"" + p + "\"}"
 }

 fn route_load(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let p_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
-    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
-    let p: String = if str_eq(p_raw, "") { dir + "/snapshot.json" } else { p_raw }
+    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
+    if str_eq(p, "") {
+        let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+        if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
+        let p = dir + "/snapshot.json"
+    }
    engram_load(p)
    ok_json()
 }
@@ -242,36 +219,15 @@ fn route_health(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 // (it skips nodes already present by ID). Auth-exempt: same-host internal call.
 // (2026-06-27 self-review: added this route to fix silent 10-min sync failures)
 fn route_sync(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-    let dir: String = if str_eq(dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { dir_raw }
-    // 2026-07-21 self-review: export to a scratch path, never the canonical
-    // snapshot.json — read routes must not be able to clobber the good snapshot.
-    let snap_path: String = dir + "/.sync-export.json"
+    let dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+    if str_eq(dir, "") { let dir = "/tmp/engram" }
+    let snap_path: String = dir + "/snapshot.json"
    engram_save(snap_path)
    let snap: String = fs_read(snap_path)
    if str_eq(snap, "") { return "{\"nodes\":[],\"edges\":[]}" }
    return snap
 }

-// route_load_merge — POST /api/load-merge {"path": "..."} — merge a snapshot
-// file into the live store WITHOUT resetting it (engram_load_merge skips nodes
-// already present by id). Added 2026-07-21 self-review to restore the 244 kn-
-// identity Knowledge nodes lost from the snapshot lineage between 05-13 and
-// 07-13. Requires an explicit path: refuses to run without one so it can never
-// be triggered accidentally against a default.
-fn route_load_merge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let p: String = json_get_string(body, "path")
-    if str_eq(p, "") { return err_json("path is required") }
-    if str_eq(fs_read(p), "") { return err_json("file missing or empty") }
-    let before_n: Int = engram_node_count()
-    let before_e: Int = engram_edge_count()
-    engram_load_merge(p)
-    let added_n: Int = engram_node_count() - before_n
-    let added_e: Int = engram_edge_count() - before_e
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
-    "{\"ok\":true,\"nodes_added\":" + int_to_str(added_n) + ",\"edges_added\":" + int_to_str(added_e) + ",\"node_count\":" + int_to_str(engram_node_count()) + "}"
-}
-
 // route_emit_ise — write an InternalStateEvent node from the soul daemon.
 //
 // Endpoint: POST /api/neuron/state-events
@@ -285,20 +241,10 @@ fn route_load_merge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
 //
 // Salience/importance set to match engram_node_full ISE defaults used by the
 // in-process fallback path in awareness.el (salience=0.3, importance=0.3,
-// confidence=0.8, tier=Episodic).
+// confidence=0.8, tier=Episodic). High temporal_decay_rate (1.617) — ISEs
+// are inherently transient; they should decay faster than structural knowledge.
 // (2026-06-26 self-review: added this route after discovering ise_post was
 // silently failing — the soul posts here but the endpoint didn't exist.)
-//
-// Retention (2026-07-16 self-review): an earlier comment here claimed ISEs
-// got temporal_decay_rate=1.617 — that was never implemented (engram_node_full
-// hardcodes 0.0), and per-node decay only dampens activation anyway; it never
-// removes nodes. By 2026-07-16 ISEs were 75% of the store (10,175 of 13,522
-// nodes, ~4,300/day, unbounded). ISEs are already WM-excluded in
-// engram_activate, so the fix is retention, not decay: every insert calls
-// engram_prune_telemetry(), a single O(nodes+edges) compaction pass that
-// removes ISEs older than ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS (default 48h), protecting
-// "session-start" labels and self_review events as durable history. At
-// ~3 ISEs/min this bounds telemetry at ~8.6k nodes instead of growing forever.
 fn route_emit_ise(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
    if str_eq(content, "") { return err_json("missing content") }
@@ -310,64 +256,6 @@ fn route_emit_ise(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
        sal, imp, conf,
        "Episodic", "[\"internal-state\",\"InternalStateEvent\"]"
    )
-    let ret_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_ISE_RETENTION_MS")
-    let ret_ms: Int = if str_eq(ret_raw, "") { 172800000 } else { str_to_int(ret_raw) }
-    let pruned: Int = engram_prune_telemetry(ret_ms)
-    "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\",\"pruned\":" + int_to_str(pruned) + "}"
-}
-
-// ── Knowledge capture ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-//
-// route_capture_knowledge — direct Knowledge-node capture over HTTP.
-//
-// Endpoint: POST /api/neuron/knowledge/capture   (auth required: "_auth" in body)
-// Body:     {"content": "...", "title": "...", "category": "...",
-//            "tier": "note|lesson|canonical", "tags": [...], "project": "...",
-//            "_auth": "<key>"}
-//
-// WHY (2026-07-15 self-review): the world-ingestor integrator was designed
-// against this endpoint (its MCP-unavailable fallback), but the route never
-// existed — every direct push 404'd, and because the auth gate ran before
-// routing, the failure surfaced as {"error":"unauthorized"} and was
-// misdiagnosed for two weeks while world knowledge silently dropped.
-// POST /api/nodes was no substitute: it discards label/tags/tier, which
-// makes captured knowledge invisible to tag-scoped search and curiosity.
-//
-// The incoming knowledge tier (note/lesson/canonical) is preserved as a
-// "tier:<x>" tag rather than mapped onto Engram's cognitive tiers — Knowledge
-// nodes land in Semantic (stable reference), and the epistemic tier stays
-// queryable without inventing a lossy mapping.
-fn route_capture_knowledge(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
-    let content: String = json_get_string(body, "content")
-    if str_eq(content, "") { return err_json("missing content") }
-    let title: String = json_get_string(body, "title")
-    let label: String = if str_eq(title, "") { str_slice(content, 0, 60) } else { title }
-    let category_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "category")
-    let category: String = if str_eq(category_raw, "") { "other" } else { category_raw }
-    let ktier_raw: String = json_get_string(body, "tier")
-    let ktier: String = if str_eq(ktier_raw, "") { "note" } else { ktier_raw }
-    let project: String = json_get_string(body, "project")
-    let tags_raw: String = json_get_raw(body, "tags")
-    let tags_base: String = if str_eq(tags_raw, "") { "[]" } else { tags_raw }
-    // Merge category/tier/project markers into the tag array. Search matches
-    // against the tags string, so these make captures findable by facet.
-    let base_len: Int = str_len(tags_base)
-    let head: String = str_slice(tags_base, 0, base_len - 1)
-    let sep: String = if str_eq(head, "[") { "" } else { "," }
-    let safe_cat: String = str_replace(category, "\"", "'")
-    let safe_tier: String = str_replace(ktier, "\"", "'")
-    let safe_proj: String = str_replace(project, "\"", "'")
-    let proj_tag: String = if str_eq(safe_proj, "") { "" } else { ",\"project:" + safe_proj + "\"" }
-    let tags: String = head + sep + "\"category:" + safe_cat + "\",\"tier:" + safe_tier + "\"" + proj_tag + "]"
-    let sal: Float = 0.5
-    let imp: Float = 0.5
-    let conf: Float = 0.9
-    let id: String = engram_node_full(
-        content, "Knowledge", label,
-        sal, imp, conf,
-        "Semantic", tags
-    )
-    let saved: Int = persist_canonical()
    "{\"ok\":true,\"id\":\"" + id + "\"}"
 }

@@ -407,12 +295,6 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
        return err_json("unauthorized")
    }

-    // Knowledge capture (auth enforced above; the world-ingestor integrator
-    // and any headless session without MCP push knowledge through this)
-    if str_eq(method, "POST") && str_eq(clean, "/api/neuron/knowledge/capture") {
-        return route_capture_knowledge(method, path, body)
-    }
-
    // Stats
    if str_eq(method, "GET") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/stats") || str_eq(clean, "/stats")) {
        return route_stats(method, path, body)
@@ -469,9 +351,6 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
    if str_eq(method, "POST") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/load") || str_eq(clean, "/load")) {
        return route_load(method, path, body)
    }
-    if str_eq(method, "POST") && (str_eq(clean, "/api/load-merge") || str_eq(clean, "/load-merge")) {
-        return route_load_merge(method, path, body)
-    }

    // Sync — soul daemon periodic pull of non-ISE knowledge into in-process graph
    if str_eq(method, "GET") && str_eq(clean, "/api/sync") {
@@ -483,31 +362,16 @@ fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {

 // ── Entry ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

-let bind_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_BIND")
-let bind_str: String = if str_eq(bind_raw, "") { ":8742" } else { bind_raw }
+let bind_str: String = env("ENGRAM_BIND")
+if str_eq(bind_str, "") { let bind_str = ":8742" }
 let port: Int = parse_port(bind_str)

 // On startup, try to load any existing snapshot (best effort).
-let data_dir_raw: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
-let data_dir: String = if str_eq(data_dir_raw, "") { "/tmp/engram" } else { data_dir_raw }
+let data_dir: String = env("ENGRAM_DATA_DIR")
+if str_eq(data_dir, "") { let data_dir = "/tmp/engram" }
 let snapshot_path: String = data_dir + "/snapshot.json"
 engram_load(snapshot_path)

-// 2026-07-21 self-review boot guard: if the snapshot file has content but the
-// load produced 0 nodes, something is wrong (corrupt file / parse failure).
-// Preserve the evidence and warn loudly — and since read routes no longer write
-// the canonical path, a bad boot can no longer clobber the good snapshot.
-let boot_snap: String = fs_read(snapshot_path)
-if !str_eq(boot_snap, "") {
-    if engram_node_count() == 0 {
-        println("[engram] WARNING: snapshot.json is non-empty but load produced 0 nodes — preserving copy at snapshot.failed-load.json")
-        fs_write(data_dir + "/snapshot.failed-load.json", boot_snap)
-    } else {
-        // Good load: keep a boot-time backup of the snapshot as loaded.
-        fs_write(data_dir + "/snapshot.boot-backup.json", boot_snap)
-    }
-}
-
 println("[engram] runtime-native graph engine")
 println("[engram] data_dir=" + data_dir)
 println("[engram] node_count=" + int_to_str(engram_node_count()))
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ static inline void* el_win_dlsym(void* handle, const char* name) {
 #include <direct.h>            /* _mkdir */
 #define mkdir(path, mode) _mkdir(path)     /* POSIX mkdir(path,mode) → _mkdir(path) */
 #define timegm _mkgmtime                   /* UTC tm → time_t */
+#define fsync(fd) _commit(fd)              /* no fsync() on Windows; _commit() (<io.h>) is the equiv */

 /* setenv/unsetenv: not in the Windows CRT; map to _putenv_s / SetEnvironmentVariable. */
 static inline int setenv(const char* name, const char* value, int overwrite) {
@@ -1963,8 +1963,9 @@ void http_serve_async(el_val_t port, el_val_t handler) {
    int sock = socket(AF_INET6, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
    if (sock < 0) { perror("socket"); return; }
    int yes = 1; int no = 0;
-    setsockopt(sock, SOL_SOCKET, SO_REUSEADDR, &yes, sizeof(yes));
-    setsockopt(sock, IPPROTO_IPV6, IPV6_V6ONLY, &no, sizeof(no));
+    /* Win32/mingw setsockopt takes optval as (const char*); the cast is portable on POSIX too. */
+    setsockopt(sock, SOL_SOCKET, SO_REUSEADDR, (const char*)&yes, sizeof(yes));
+    setsockopt(sock, IPPROTO_IPV6, IPV6_V6ONLY, (const char*)&no, sizeof(no));
    struct sockaddr_in6 addr;
    memset(&addr, 0, sizeof(addr));
    addr.sin6_family = AF_INET6;
@@ -6826,75 +6827,6 @@ static int istr_contains(const char* hay, const char* needle) {
    return 0;
 }

-/* ── Tokenized query matching ───────────────────────────────────────────
- * The engram query surface (search / activate / goal-bias) historically
- * matched the ENTIRE raw query string as a single case-insensitive
- * substring via istr_contains(field, q). That is Ctrl-F, not search:
- * a multi-word query like "windows msi signing" only matched a node whose
- * text contained that exact contiguous run, so real multi-word queries
- * returned zero. istr_contains stays as the per-TOKEN primitive; these
- * helpers split the query on whitespace and match ANY token, then rank by
- * how many DISTINCT tokens a node covers. Single-token queries are a strict
- * special case (score is 0 or 1) so single-word callers never regress. */
-#define ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS 32
-#define ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN    256
-
-/* Split q on whitespace into up to ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS distinct
- * (case-insensitive) tokens. Returns the token count. Over-long tokens are
- * truncated to ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN-1; over-count tokens are ignored. */
-static int engram_tokenize_query(const char* q,
-                                 char toks[][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN], int maxtok) {
-    int n = 0;
-    if (!q) return 0;
-    const char* p = q;
-    while (*p && n < maxtok) {
-        while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p)) p++;
-        if (!*p) break;
-        char buf[ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
-        size_t tl = 0;
-        while (*p && !isspace((unsigned char)*p)) {
-            if (tl < sizeof(buf) - 1) buf[tl++] = *p;
-            p++;
-        }
-        buf[tl] = '\0';
-        if (tl == 0) continue;
-        int dup = 0;
-        for (int s = 0; s < n; s++) {
-            if (strcasecmp(toks[s], buf) == 0) { dup = 1; break; }
-        }
-        if (dup) continue;
-        memcpy(toks[n], buf, tl + 1);
-        n++;
-    }
-    return n;
-}
-
-/* Count how many of the ntok distinct query tokens appear (case-insensitive)
- * in the node's content, label, or tags. 0 == no match. */
-static int engram_node_match_score(const EngramNode* n,
-                                   char toks[][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN], int ntok) {
-    int score = 0;
-    for (int t = 0; t < ntok; t++) {
-        if (istr_contains(n->content, toks[t]) ||
-            istr_contains(n->label,   toks[t]) ||
-            istr_contains(n->tags,    toks[t]))
-            score++;
-    }
-    return score;
-}
-
-/* Rank entry: distinct-token match count (primary, desc) then salience
- * (tiebreak, desc). */
-typedef struct { int64_t idx; int score; double salience; } EngramRankEntry;
-static int engram_rank_cmp(const void* a, const void* b) {
-    const EngramRankEntry* ea = (const EngramRankEntry*)a;
-    const EngramRankEntry* eb = (const EngramRankEntry*)b;
-    if (ea->score != eb->score) return eb->score - ea->score;      /* desc */
-    if (ea->salience < eb->salience) return 1;
-    if (ea->salience > eb->salience) return -1;
-    return 0;
-}
-
 el_val_t engram_search(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
    EngramStore* g = engram_get();
    const char* q = EL_CSTR(query);
@@ -6902,34 +6834,21 @@ el_val_t engram_search(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
    if (lim <= 0) lim = 100;
    el_val_t lst = el_list_empty();
    if (!q || !*q) return lst;
-    char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
-    int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
-    if (ntok == 0) return lst;
-    EngramRankEntry* hits = malloc((size_t)g->node_count * sizeof(EngramRankEntry));
-    if (!hits) return lst;
-    int64_t nhits = 0;
-    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
+    int64_t found = 0;
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count && found < lim; i++) {
        EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
        /* Filter transparent layers: nodes whose layer is `transparent=1`
         * shape output but are invisible to introspection ("what do you
         * know about yourself"). They still surface via engram_activate
         * + engram_compile_layered_json — that's the legitimate path. */
        if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
-        int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
-        if (sc > 0) {
-            hits[nhits].idx      = i;
-            hits[nhits].score    = sc;
-            hits[nhits].salience = n->salience;
-            nhits++;
+        if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
+            istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
+            istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
+            lst = el_list_append(lst, engram_node_to_map(n));
+            found++;
        }
    }
-    /* Rank by distinct tokens matched (desc) then salience (desc), then cap. */
-    qsort(hits, (size_t)nhits, sizeof(EngramRankEntry), engram_rank_cmp);
-    int64_t end = nhits < lim ? nhits : lim;
-    for (int64_t k = 0; k < end; k++) {
-        lst = el_list_append(lst, engram_node_to_map(&g->nodes[hits[k].idx]));
-    }
-    free(hits);
    return lst;
 }

@@ -7206,14 +7125,10 @@ static double engram_temporal_proximity_bonus(int64_t node_created,
 static double engram_goal_bias(const EngramNode* n, const char* query) {
    if (!query || !*query) return 1.0;
    double bias = 1.0;
-    /* Direct lexical overlap, graded by token coverage: a node covering all
-     * query tokens gets the full +0.5; partial coverage gets a proportional
-     * share. Single-token queries → full +0.5 on match, identical to before. */
-    {
-        char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
-        int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(query, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
-        int sc   = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
-        if (sc > 0 && ntok > 0) bias += 0.5 * ((double)sc / (double)ntok);
+    /* Direct lexical overlap: node content/label/tags share text with query. */
+    if (istr_contains(n->content, query) || istr_contains(n->label, query) ||
+        istr_contains(n->tags, query)) {
+        bias += 0.5;
    }
    /* Node-type resonance with query intent. */
    int technical_query = istr_contains(query, "code")         ||
@@ -7279,21 +7194,14 @@ el_val_t engram_activate(el_val_t query, el_val_t depth) {
    if (!seeds) {
        free(best_bg); free(best_hops); free(reached); return out;
    }
-    /* Tokenize once: a node seeds if it matches ANY query token, and its seed
-     * activation is scaled by token coverage (fraction of distinct query
-     * tokens it contains) so a node matching all words seeds more strongly
-     * than one matching a single word. Single-word queries → coverage 1.0,
-     * identical to the prior whole-query behavior. */
-    char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
-    int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
    for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
        EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
-        int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
-        if (sc > 0) {
+        if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
+            istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
+            istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
            double tdecay = engram_temporal_decay(n, now_ms);
            double dampen = engram_activation_dampen(n);
-            double cover  = ntok > 0 ? (double)sc / (double)ntok : 1.0;
-            double act    = n->salience * tdecay * dampen * cover;
+            double act    = n->salience * tdecay * dampen;
            seeds[seed_count].idx        = i;
            seeds[seed_count].act        = act;
            seeds[seed_count].created_at = n->created_at;
@@ -7862,36 +7770,19 @@ el_val_t engram_search_json(el_val_t query, el_val_t limit) {
    JsonBuf b; jb_init(&b);
    jb_putc(&b, '[');
    int first = 1;
+    int64_t found = 0;
    if (q && *q) {
-        char toks[ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS][ENGRAM_QTOK_LEN];
-        int ntok = engram_tokenize_query(q, toks, ENGRAM_MAX_QTOKENS);
-        if (ntok > 0) {
-            EngramRankEntry* hits =
-                malloc((size_t)g->node_count * sizeof(EngramRankEntry));
-            if (hits) {
-                int64_t nhits = 0;
-                for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count; i++) {
-                    EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
-                    /* Filter transparent layers — same as engram_search. */
-                    if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
-                    int sc = engram_node_match_score(n, toks, ntok);
-                    if (sc > 0) {
-                        hits[nhits].idx      = i;
-                        hits[nhits].score    = sc;
-                        hits[nhits].salience = n->salience;
-                        nhits++;
-                    }
-                }
-                /* Rank by distinct tokens matched (desc) then salience (desc). */
-                qsort(hits, (size_t)nhits, sizeof(EngramRankEntry),
-                      engram_rank_cmp);
-                int64_t end = nhits < lim ? nhits : lim;
-                for (int64_t k = 0; k < end; k++) {
-                    if (!first) jb_putc(&b, ',');
-                    engram_emit_node_json(&b, &g->nodes[hits[k].idx]);
-                    first = 0;
-                }
-                free(hits);
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < g->node_count && found < lim; i++) {
+            EngramNode* n = &g->nodes[i];
+            /* Filter transparent layers — same as engram_search. */
+            if (engram_layer_is_transparent(n->layer_id)) continue;
+            if (istr_contains(n->content, q) ||
+                istr_contains(n->label,   q) ||
+                istr_contains(n->tags,    q)) {
+                if (!first) jb_putc(&b, ',');
+                engram_emit_node_json(&b, n);
+                first = 0;
+                found++;
            }
        }
    }
@@ -23,29 +23,10 @@ fn tok_at(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> Map<String, Any> {
 }

 fn tok_kind(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> String {
-    // Out-of-range reads must report the Eof sentinel so every `== "Eof"`
-    // termination guard in the parser fires. Without this, reading past the
-    // single trailing Eof token returns runtime null (el_list_get OOB -> 0),
-    // which matches no delimiter, letting inner parse loops append AST nodes
-    // forever on malformed input -> unbounded allocation -> OOM.
-    let n: Int = native_list_len(tokens) / 2
-    if pos < 0 {
-        return "Eof"
-    }
-    if pos >= n {
-        return "Eof"
-    }
    native_list_get(tokens, pos * 2)
 }

 fn tok_value(tokens: [Any], pos: Int) -> String {
-    let n: Int = native_list_len(tokens) / 2
-    if pos < 0 {
-        return ""
-    }
-    if pos >= n {
-        return ""
-    }
    native_list_get(tokens, pos * 2 + 1)
 }

@@ -54,12 +35,7 @@ fn expect(tokens: [Any], pos: Int, kind: String) -> Int {
    if k == kind {
        return pos + 1
    }
-    // On mismatch, error recovery is best-effort. But never step PAST the Eof
-    // sentinel: once at Eof a mismatch means the input ended early, and
-    // advancing would run the cursor off the token list.
-    if k == "Eof" {
-        return pos
-    }
+    // On mismatch just advance; error recovery is best-effort
    pos + 1
 }