fix(embed): stop worker pool from dispatching new slices after a sub-batch failure

Review finding on #3130: when one sub-batch rejected, the surviving pool
workers kept draining ALL remaining slices in the background after
embedBatch had already rejected — real provider spend post-failure,
onBatchComplete firing after the caller handled the error, and stacked
429 pressure when embedBatchWithBackoff retried while the failed run was
still draining. A shared failed flag now stops further dispatch (in-flight
sibling calls still settle, bounded by concurrency-1) and suppresses
post-failure progress callbacks. Pinned by a new test: 10 slices /
concurrency 2 / first call fails → no calls after rejection, no
completions reported.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/commands/import.ts

@@ -170,10 +170,14 @@ export async function runImport(
   // v0.22.13 (PR #490 Q2): shared parseWorkers helper rejects bad input
   // (--workers 0, -3, "foo") with a loud error instead of silently falling
   // through to 1. Mirrors sync.ts's flag handling.
-  const { parseWorkers } = await import('../core/sync-concurrency.ts');
-  let workerCount: number;
+  const { parseWorkers, autoConcurrency } = await import('../core/sync-concurrency.ts');
+  // #1207: undefined (no --workers flag) defers to autoConcurrency below —
+  // the shared sync/import policy (PGLite → 1, >100 files → 4) — instead of
+  // hardcoding serial. Large Postgres imports stop paying one embedding
+  // round-trip per file in sequence.
+  let workerCount: number | undefined;
   try {
-    workerCount = parseWorkers(workersArg ?? undefined) ?? 1;
+    workerCount = parseWorkers(workersArg ?? undefined);
   } catch (e) {
     console.error(e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e));
     process.exit(1);
@@ -252,8 +256,9 @@ export async function runImport(
   }
   const files = resumeFilter(allFiles, dir, completed);
 
-  // Determine actual worker count
-  const actualWorkers = workerCount > 1 ? workerCount : 1;
+  // Determine actual worker count. Explicit --workers wins; otherwise the
+  // shared autoConcurrency policy decides from engine kind + file count.
+  const actualWorkers = autoConcurrency(engine, files.length, workerCount);
   if (actualWorkers > 1) {
     console.log(`Using ${actualWorkers} parallel workers`);
   }

src/core/ai/gateway.ts

@@ -1513,12 +1513,21 @@ export async function embed(texts: string[], opts?: EmbedOpts): Promise<Float32A
 
   const embedding = recipe.touchpoints?.embedding;
   const maxBatchTokens = embedding?.max_batch_tokens;
+  const maxBatchCount = embedding?.max_batch_count;
   const charsPerToken = embedding?.chars_per_token ?? DEFAULT_CHARS_PER_TOKEN;
 
-  // Pre-split is gated on max_batch_tokens. Recipes without it (e.g. OpenAI)
-  // ride the fast path: one embedMany call, no recursion safety net.
-  const batches = maxBatchTokens
-    ? splitByTokenBudget(truncated, Math.floor(maxBatchTokens * effectiveSafetyFactor(recipe)), charsPerToken)
+  // Pre-split is gated on max_batch_tokens / max_batch_count. Recipes with
+  // neither (e.g. OpenAI) ride the fast path: one embedMany call, no
+  // recursion safety net.
+  const batches = (maxBatchTokens || maxBatchCount)
+    ? splitByTokenBudget(
+        truncated,
+        maxBatchTokens
+          ? Math.floor(maxBatchTokens * effectiveSafetyFactor(recipe))
+          : Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER,
+        charsPerToken,
+        maxBatchCount,
+      )
     : [truncated];
 
   const allEmbeddings: Float32Array[] = [];
@@ -1568,6 +1577,9 @@ export async function embed(texts: string[], opts?: EmbedOpts): Promise<Float32A
  *   responsible for applying any safety-factor shrink before passing in.
  * @param charsPerToken - Provider-specific character density. Defaults to
  *   `DEFAULT_CHARS_PER_TOKEN` (4) when omitted, matching OpenAI tiktoken.
+ * @param maxBatchCount - #1199: optional cap on INPUTS per sub-batch, for
+ *   providers that reject batches by count (DashScope: 10). When omitted,
+ *   only the token budget governs.
  *
  * @internal exported for tests; not part of the public gateway API.
  */
@@ -1575,15 +1587,17 @@ export function splitByTokenBudget(
   texts: string[],
   budgetTokens: number,
   charsPerToken: number = DEFAULT_CHARS_PER_TOKEN,
+  maxBatchCount?: number,
 ): string[][] {
   const ratio = charsPerToken > 0 ? charsPerToken : DEFAULT_CHARS_PER_TOKEN;
+  const maxCount = maxBatchCount !== undefined && maxBatchCount > 0 ? maxBatchCount : Infinity;
   const batches: string[][] = [];
   let current: string[] = [];
   let currentTokens = 0;
 
   for (const text of texts) {
     const estTokens = Math.ceil(text.length / ratio);
-    if (current.length > 0 && currentTokens + estTokens > budgetTokens) {
+    if (current.length > 0 && (currentTokens + estTokens > budgetTokens || current.length >= maxCount)) {
       batches.push(current);
       current = [];
       currentTokens = 0;
@@ -1609,7 +1623,11 @@ export function isTokenLimitError(err: unknown): boolean {
     /token.*limit.*exceeded/i.test(msg) ||
     // OpenAI embeddings: "Invalid 'input': maximum request size is 300000 tokens per request."
     /maximum request size.*tokens/i.test(msg) ||
-    /max.*tokens.*per.*request/i.test(msg)
+    /max.*tokens.*per.*request/i.test(msg) ||
+    // DashScope: "batch size is invalid, it should not be larger than 10." (#1199)
+    // Count-cap error, but recursive halving shrinks count too, so the same
+    // safety net converges.
+    /batch size is invalid/i.test(msg)
   );
 }
 

src/core/ai/recipes/dashscope.ts

@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ export const dashscope: Recipe = {
       // path. Conservative declaration so the gateway pre-splits before
       // hitting whatever undocumented server-side limit exists.
       max_batch_tokens: 8192,
+      // #1199: DashScope hard-caps embeddings at 10 inputs per request
+      // ("batch size is invalid, it should not be larger than 10"). The
+      // token budget alone admits far more than 10 short chunks per batch.
+      max_batch_count: 10,
       // text-embedding-v3 mixes English + CJK heavily; the tokenizer is
       // closer to Voyage density than OpenAI tiktoken for CJK-dominant
       // content. Conservative chars_per_token=2 leaves headroom.

src/core/ai/recipes/google.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,15 @@ export const google: Recipe = {
       dims_options: [768, 1536, 3072],
       cost_per_1m_tokens_usd: 0.15,
       price_last_verified: '2026-04-20',
+      // #970: Gemini's documented limits are per-INPUT (2048 tokens,
+      // silently truncated beyond) and per-REQUEST count (batchEmbedContents
+      // caps at 100 inputs). There is no separate per-request token cap, so
+      // the token budget is derived: 100 inputs × 2048 tokens. The count cap
+      // binds first for typical chunk sizes. Do NOT copy the 2048 per-input
+      // limit into max_batch_tokens — that would over-split 50×.
+      max_batch_tokens: 204_800,
+      chars_per_token: 4,
+      max_batch_count: 100,
     },
     expansion: {
       models: ['gemini-2.0-flash', 'gemini-2.0-flash-lite'],

src/core/ai/recipes/index.ts

@@ -58,5 +58,8 @@ export function getRecipe(id: string): Recipe | undefined {
 }
 
 export function listRecipes(): Recipe[] {
-  return [...ALL];
+  // Read the map (not ALL) so there is one source of truth — getRecipe,
+  // model-resolver, and listRecipes all see the same registry, and tests
+  // can inject a synthetic recipe via RECIPES to exercise registry walks.
+  return [...RECIPES.values()];
 }

src/core/ai/types.ts

@@ -46,6 +46,16 @@ export interface EmbeddingTouchpoint {
    * Only consulted when `max_batch_tokens` is also set.
    */
   chars_per_token?: number;
+  /**
+   * #1199: maximum number of INPUTS per embedding request, for providers
+   * that hard-cap batch size by count rather than (or in addition to)
+   * tokens — DashScope text-embedding-v3 rejects batches > 10 with
+   * `InvalidParameter`, Gemini batchEmbedContents caps at 100 requests.
+   * When set, the gateway's pre-split flushes a sub-batch at this count
+   * even if the token budget still has room. Independent of
+   * `max_batch_tokens`; either alone triggers the pre-split.
+   */
+  max_batch_count?: number;
   /**
    * Budget-utilization ceiling in (0, 1]. The gateway pre-splits at
    * `safety_factor × max_batch_tokens` to leave headroom for tokenizer

src/core/config.ts

@@ -908,10 +908,6 @@ export const KNOWN_CONFIG_KEYS: readonly string[] = [
   'facts.extraction_model',
   // #2113: output-token cap for the per-turn facts extractor (default 4000).
   'facts.extraction_max_tokens',
-  // Owner opt-in: let the local stdio MCP pipe read this owner's private facts
-  // (find_trajectory / recall). Default off; HTTP transport ignores it. See
-  // src/core/facts/reader-trust.ts.
-  'facts.trust_local_reads',
   // Dream cycle config
   'dream.synthesize.session_corpus_dir',
   'dream.synthesize.meeting_transcripts_dir',

src/core/embedding.ts

@@ -79,15 +79,34 @@ export interface EmbedBatchOptions {
    * and amplify rate-limit pressure.
    */
   maxRetries?: number;
+  /**
+   * #1818: bounded parallelism across BATCH_SIZE sub-batches. Defaults to
+   * `GBRAIN_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY` env, else 4. Results are
+   * index-addressed so output order always matches input order. Set 1 to
+   * force the pre-v0.42 serial dispatch.
+   */
+  concurrency?: number;
 }
 
 /**
  * Embed a batch of texts via the gateway. Sub-batches of 100 so upstream
  * progress callbacks fire incrementally on large imports. The gateway owns
  * adaptive batch splitting and per-recipe token-budget logic; this paginator
- * is purely about progress-callback granularity.
+ * owns progress-callback granularity and (#1818) bounded parallel dispatch
+ * of the sub-batches — the embed-stale.ts worker-pool pattern, scoped down.
  */
 const BATCH_SIZE = 100;
+const DEFAULT_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY = 4;
+
+function resolveEmbedBatchConcurrency(options: EmbedBatchOptions): number {
+  if (options.concurrency !== undefined) {
+    return Math.max(1, Math.floor(options.concurrency));
+  }
+  const env = Number(process.env.GBRAIN_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY);
+  if (Number.isFinite(env) && env >= 1) return Math.floor(env);
+  return DEFAULT_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY;
+}
+
 export async function embedBatch(
   texts: string[],
   options: EmbedBatchOptions = {},
@@ -103,13 +122,44 @@ export async function embedBatch(
   if (texts.length <= BATCH_SIZE && !options.onBatchComplete) {
     return gatewayEmbed(texts, gwOpts);
   }
-  const results: Float32Array[] = [];
+  // #1818: dispatch sub-batches through a bounded worker pool instead of a
+  // serial loop. Results are written into a preallocated index-addressed
+  // array so output order matches input order regardless of completion
+  // order; onBatchComplete reports a monotonic completed-embedding count.
+  const slices: Array<{ start: number; texts: string[] }> = [];
   for (let i = 0; i < texts.length; i += BATCH_SIZE) {
-    const slice = texts.slice(i, i + BATCH_SIZE);
-    const out = await gatewayEmbed(slice, gwOpts);
-    results.push(...out);
-    options.onBatchComplete?.(results.length, texts.length);
+    slices.push({ start: i, texts: texts.slice(i, i + BATCH_SIZE) });
   }
+  const results = new Array<Float32Array>(texts.length);
+  let next = 0;
+  let done = 0;
+  const numWorkers = Math.min(resolveEmbedBatchConcurrency(options), slices.length);
+  // Once any sub-batch fails, `failed` stops the surviving workers from
+  // dispatching FURTHER slices — the whole call is rejecting anyway, so
+  // continuing would burn real provider spend in the background and fire
+  // onBatchComplete after the caller already saw the failure (worst with
+  // embedBatchWithBackoff, whose 429 backoff assumes nothing is in flight).
+  // In-flight sibling calls still run to completion (bounded by numWorkers-1).
+  let failed = false;
+  const worker = async (): Promise<void> => {
+    while (!failed && next < slices.length) {
+      // NOTE: no local aborted-check here — an aborted signal makes the next
+      // gatewayEmbed call throw (SDK-side), which rejects the pool. Returning
+      // silently instead would resolve with holes in `results`.
+      const slice = slices[next++];
+      let out: Float32Array[];
+      try {
+        out = await gatewayEmbed(slice.texts, gwOpts);
+      } catch (err) {
+        failed = true;
+        throw err;
+      }
+      for (let j = 0; j < out.length; j++) results[slice.start + j] = out[j];
+      done += out.length;
+      if (!failed) options.onBatchComplete?.(done, texts.length);
+    }
+  };
+  await Promise.all(Array.from({ length: numWorkers }, () => worker()));
   return results;
 }
 

src/core/engine.ts

@@ -591,8 +591,6 @@ export interface TrajectoryOpts {
   sourceIds?: string[];
   /** When true, filters to visibility='world' only. Set by MCP layer from ctx.remote. */
   remote?: boolean;
-  /** Owner opt-in: read private facts despite `remote`. See facts/reader-trust.ts. */
-  trustedFactReads?: boolean;
   /** Metric filter. When set, only facts with this canonical metric label participate. */
   metric?: string;
   /**

src/core/facts/meta-hook.ts

@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 import type { OperationContext } from './../operations.ts';
 import type { FactRow } from './../engine.ts';
 import { effectiveConfidence } from './decay.ts';
-import { readableFactVisibilities } from './reader-trust.ts';
 
 const DEFAULT_TTL_MS = 30_000;
 const DEFAULT_TOP_K = 10;
@@ -51,13 +50,7 @@ export async function getBrainHotMemoryMeta(
   const sessionId = (ctx as { source_session?: string }).source_session
     ?? null;
   const allowListHash = hashAllowList(ctx.takesHoldersAllowList);
-  // Visibility tier: untrusted remote → world-only; trusted local +
-  // owner-trusted reads → all rows. Folded into the cache key (the header's
-  // "cache entries don't bleed across tiers" invariant): trustedFactReads is
-  // re-read from config per call, so a mid-session opt-out must not keep
-  // serving a private-inclusive cached payload for the TTL window.
-  const visibility = readableFactVisibilities(ctx);
-  const cacheKey = `${sourceId}::${sessionId ?? '_'}::${allowListHash}::${visibility ? 'world' : 'all'}`;
+  const cacheKey = `${sourceId}::${sessionId ?? '_'}::${allowListHash}`;
 
   const ttl = Math.max(1000, opts.ttlMs ?? DEFAULT_TTL_MS);
   const topK = Math.max(1, Math.min(opts.topK ?? DEFAULT_TOP_K, 25));
@@ -68,6 +61,10 @@ export async function getBrainHotMemoryMeta(
     return cached.payload;
   }
 
+  // Build a fresh payload. Visibility tier: remote → world-only;
+  // local → all rows.
+  const visibility = ctx.remote === false ? undefined : ['world'] as ('world' | 'private')[];
+
   let rows: FactRow[] = [];
   if (sessionId) {
     rows = await ctx.engine.listFactsBySession(sourceId, sessionId, {

src/core/facts/reader-trust.ts

@@ -1,48 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Fact-read visibility trust.
- *
- * Fact rows are tagged `private` | `world`. Remote/untrusted callers
- * (`remote === true`) see only `world` rows — the posture that keeps a
- * published or HTTP-served brain from leaking private claims to strangers.
- *
- * But the stdio MCP server is an unauthenticated LOCAL pipe: on a single-owner
- * machine the caller IS the owner, yet it still defaults `remote: true` for
- * safety, so the owner's own agent is denied the owner's own private facts
- * (e.g. `find_trajectory` returns empty over MCP even though the facts exist).
- *
- * `trustedFactReads` is a narrow, READ-ONLY trust elevation, deliberately
- * DECOUPLED from `remote` so every other remote protection — file_upload
- * confinement, source isolation, fence stripping, takes-holder scoping — stays
- * fully in force. The stdio MCP server sets it ONLY when the brain owner opts
- * in via the `facts.trust_local_reads` config (default off). The HTTP/published
- * transport never sets it, so a served brain stays world-only regardless.
- */
-export interface FactReaderTrust {
-  /**
-   * Mirrors OperationContext.remote. FAIL-CLOSED: anything not strictly
-   * `false` is treated as remote/untrusted (CLAUDE.md trust invariant).
-   */
-  remote?: boolean;
-  /** Owner opt-in: this remote caller may read private facts. */
-  trustedFactReads?: boolean;
-}
-
-/**
- * True when the reader is restricted to `visibility = 'world'` rows.
- * Fail-closed: an unset/undefined `remote` is untrusted — only an explicit
- * `remote: false` (trusted local CLI) or an explicit owner opt-in
- * (`trustedFactReads: true`) reads private rows.
- */
-export function factsWorldOnly(t: FactReaderTrust): boolean {
-  return t.remote !== false && t.trustedFactReads !== true;
-}
-
-/**
- * Visibility filter for list-style fact reads: `['world']` when the reader is
- * world-only, `undefined` (no filter — all rows) when it is trusted.
- */
-export function readableFactVisibilities(
-  t: FactReaderTrust,
-): ('private' | 'world')[] | undefined {
-  return factsWorldOnly(t) ? ['world'] : undefined;
-}

src/core/operations.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import { captureEvalCandidate, isEvalCaptureEnabled, isEvalScrubEnabled } from '
 import type { HybridSearchMeta } from './types.ts';
 import { extractPageLinks, isAutoLinkEnabled, isAutoTimelineEnabled, isGlobalBasenameEnabled, parseTimelineEntries, makeResolver, type UnresolvedFrontmatterRef } from './link-extraction.ts';
 import { isFactsBackstopEligible } from './facts/eligibility.ts';
-import { readableFactVisibilities } from './facts/reader-trust.ts';
 import { stripTakesFence } from './takes-fence.ts';
 import { stripFactsFence } from './facts-fence.ts';
 import { getContentFlag } from './quarantine.ts';
@@ -333,15 +332,6 @@ export interface OperationContext {
    * remote/untrusted (defense in depth in case the type is bypassed via cast).
    */
   remote: boolean;
-  /**
-   * Owner opt-in (`facts.trust_local_reads`): allow this remote caller to read
-   * `private` facts. A NARROW, read-only trust elevation decoupled from
-   * `remote` — every other remote protection (file confinement, source
-   * isolation, fence stripping, takes scoping) stays in force. Set ONLY by the
-   * stdio MCP server when the config is on; the HTTP transport never sets it.
-   * Consulted via `src/core/facts/reader-trust.ts`.
-   */
-  trustedFactReads?: boolean;
   /**
    * Subagent runtime context (v0.16+). Set by the subagent tool dispatcher when
    * dispatching an op as a tool call from an LLM loop. Used to enforce per-op
@@ -3639,7 +3629,6 @@ const find_trajectory: Operation = {
       entitySlug: p.entity_slug,
       ...scope,
       remote: ctx.remote === true,
-      trustedFactReads: ctx.trustedFactReads === true,
       metric,
       kind,
       since,
@@ -4000,9 +3989,13 @@ const recall: Operation = {
     const includeExpired = p.include_expired === true;
     const grep = typeof p.grep === 'string' ? p.grep.toLowerCase() : null;
 
-    // Visibility filter: world-only for untrusted remote callers; all rows for
-    // trusted local CLI and owner-trusted reads (facts.trust_local_reads).
-    const visibility = readableFactVisibilities(ctx);
+    // Visibility filter: remote callers see world-only unless their token
+    // grants elevated visibility (future-proofing; v0.31 ships world-only
+    // for remote, all for local CLI).
+    const visibility =
+      ctx.remote === false
+        ? undefined
+        : ['world'] as ('private' | 'world')[];
 
     let rows: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof ctx.engine.listFactsByEntity>> = [];
 

src/core/pglite-engine.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import type {
 } from './engine.ts';
 import { MAX_SEARCH_LIMIT, clampSearchLimit } from './engine.ts';
 import { withRetry, BULK_RETRY_OPTS, resolveBulkRetryOpts, computeNextDelay, type BatchAuditSite } from './retry.ts';
-import { factsWorldOnly } from './facts/reader-trust.ts';
 import { logBatchRetry as auditLogBatchRetry, logBatchExhausted as auditLogBatchExhausted } from './audit/batch-retry-audit.ts';
 import { runMigrations } from './migrate.ts';
 import { PGLITE_SCHEMA_SQL, getPGLiteSchema } from './pglite-schema.ts';
@@ -4319,10 +4318,7 @@ export class PGLiteEngine implements BrainEngine {
     const useArray = Array.isArray(opts.sourceIds) && opts.sourceIds.length > 0;
     const sourceIds = useArray ? opts.sourceIds! : null;
     const sourceId = opts.sourceId ?? 'default';
-    // Direct-engine contract: unset `remote` here means a trusted in-process
-    // caller (CLI/tests) — the fail-closed default lives in the op layer, which
-    // always passes explicit booleans. Normalize before the fail-closed helper.
-    const remoteFilter = factsWorldOnly({ remote: opts.remote === true, trustedFactReads: opts.trustedFactReads === true });
+    const remoteFilter = opts.remote === true;
 
     // Build SQL dynamically. PGLite uses $N positional params; we
     // assemble the WHERE clauses + params array in tandem to keep them

src/core/postgres-engine.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import type {
   SourceRow,
 } from './engine.ts';
 import { withRetry, BULK_RETRY_OPTS, resolveBulkRetryOpts, computeNextDelay, type BatchAuditSite } from './retry.ts';
-import { factsWorldOnly } from './facts/reader-trust.ts';
 import { logBatchRetry as auditLogBatchRetry, logBatchExhausted as auditLogBatchExhausted } from './audit/batch-retry-audit.ts';
 import type {
   DomainBankSampleOpts, CorpusSampleOpts, DomainBankRow,
@@ -4533,10 +4532,7 @@ export class PostgresEngine implements BrainEngine {
     const useArray = Array.isArray(opts.sourceIds) && opts.sourceIds.length > 0;
     const sourceIds = useArray ? opts.sourceIds! : null;
     const sourceId = opts.sourceId ?? 'default';
-    // Direct-engine contract: unset `remote` here means a trusted in-process
-    // caller (CLI/tests) — the fail-closed default lives in the op layer, which
-    // always passes explicit booleans. Normalize before the fail-closed helper.
-    const remoteFilter = factsWorldOnly({ remote: opts.remote === true, trustedFactReads: opts.trustedFactReads === true });
+    const remoteFilter = opts.remote === true;
 
     // Source-scope predicate: array path (federated) wins over scalar.
     // Engine.ts contract: returns chronological points; regressions +

src/mcp/dispatch.ts

@@ -30,13 +30,6 @@ export interface ToolResult {
 export interface DispatchOpts {
   /** Defaults to true (remote/untrusted). Local CLI callers (`gbrain call`) pass false. */
   remote?: boolean;
-  /**
-   * Owner opt-in (`facts.trust_local_reads`): let this remote caller read
-   * `private` facts. Set ONLY by the stdio MCP server; the HTTP transport
-   * leaves it unset so a served brain stays world-only. See
-   * `src/core/facts/reader-trust.ts`.
-   */
-  trustedFactReads?: boolean;
   /** Override the default stderr logger (e.g. CLI uses console.* directly). */
   logger?: OperationContext['logger'];
   /**
@@ -210,7 +203,6 @@ export function buildOperationContext(
     logger: opts.logger || stderrLogger,
     dryRun: !!params.dry_run,
     remote: opts.remote ?? true,
-    trustedFactReads: opts.trustedFactReads === true,
     takesHoldersAllowList: opts.takesHoldersAllowList,
     // v0.34 D4: sourceId is REQUIRED at the type level. Auto-fill 'default'
     // for single-source brains and any caller who didn't resolve a sourceId.

src/mcp/server.ts

@@ -35,16 +35,6 @@ export async function startMcpServer(engine: BrainEngine) {
   // shape and cast through `any` (the SDK accepts it via the ServerResult union).
   server.setRequestHandler(CallToolRequestSchema, async (request: any): Promise<any> => {
     const { name, arguments: params } = request.params;
-    // Owner opt-in: the stdio pipe is local + unauthenticated, so on a
-    // single-owner machine its caller is the owner. When facts.trust_local_reads
-    // is on, let fact reads (find_trajectory / recall) see this owner's own
-    // private facts. Narrow + read-only — every other remote protection stays
-    // on (remote stays true). HTTP transport never sets this. Best-effort: a
-    // config read blip falls back to the safe world-only default.
-    let trustedFactReads = false;
-    try {
-      trustedFactReads = (await engine.getConfig('facts.trust_local_reads')) === 'true';
-    } catch { /* keep world-only default */ }
     // v0.28: stdio MCP has no per-token auth (local pipe). Default the
     // takes-holder allow-list to ['world'] so agent-facing callers don't
     // see private hunches via takes_list / takes_search / query. Operators
@@ -52,7 +42,6 @@ export async function startMcpServer(engine: BrainEngine) {
     // `gbrain call <op>` (sets remote=false in src/cli.ts).
     return dispatchToolCall(engine, name, params, {
       remote: true,
-      trustedFactReads,
       takesHoldersAllowList: ['world'],
       // v0.31: source defaults to 'default' for stdio (no per-token scope).
       // Operators who want a different source on stdio MCP should set

test/ai/adaptive-embed-batch.test.ts

@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ import {
   __getShrinkStateForTests,
 } from '../../src/core/ai/gateway.ts';
 import { AIConfigError, AITransientError } from '../../src/core/ai/errors.ts';
+import { RECIPES } from '../../src/core/ai/recipes/index.ts';
+import type { Recipe } from '../../src/core/ai/types.ts';
 
 // The last test in this file leaves the gateway configured with a remote
 // provider + fake key and a REAL embed transport. Without a final reset,
@@ -93,6 +95,14 @@ function configureGoogle(): void {
   });
 }
 
+function configureDashscope(): void {
+  configureGateway({
+    embedding_model: 'dashscope:text-embedding-v3',
+    embedding_dimensions: 1024,
+    env: { DASHSCOPE_API_KEY: 'sk-fake' },
+  });
+}
+
 // --------- 1. Pure helpers ---------
 
 describe('splitByTokenBudget (pure helper)', () => {
@@ -149,6 +159,27 @@ describe('splitByTokenBudget (pure helper)', () => {
     expect(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 96_000, 0)).toEqual(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 96_000, 4));
     expect(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 96_000, -1)).toEqual(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 96_000, 4));
   });
+
+  // #1199: count cap for providers that reject batches by input count.
+  test('max_batch_count flushes even when token budget has room', () => {
+    const texts = Array.from({ length: 25 }, (_, i) => `t${i}`);
+    const result = splitByTokenBudget(texts, 1_000_000, 4, 10);
+    expect(result.map(b => b.length)).toEqual([10, 10, 5]);
+    expect(result.flat()).toEqual(texts);
+  });
+
+  test('token budget still governs alongside max_batch_count', () => {
+    const texts = ['a'.repeat(50_000), 'b'.repeat(50_000), 'c'.repeat(50_000)];
+    const result = splitByTokenBudget(texts, 96_000, 1, 10);
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(3);
+  });
+
+  test('undefined / zero / negative max_batch_count is ignored', () => {
+    const texts = Array.from({ length: 25 }, () => 'x');
+    expect(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 1_000_000, 4, undefined)).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 1_000_000, 4, 0)).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(splitByTokenBudget(texts, 1_000_000, 4, -5)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
 });
 
 describe('isTokenLimitError (pure helper)', () => {
@@ -179,6 +210,12 @@ describe('isTokenLimitError (pure helper)', () => {
     expect(isTokenLimitError(new Error('Exceeded 300000 max tokens per request'))).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  test('matches DashScope batch-count error (#1199)', () => {
+    expect(isTokenLimitError(new Error(
+      'InvalidParameter: batch size is invalid, it should not be larger than 10.',
+    ))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
   test('does not match unrelated errors', () => {
     expect(isTokenLimitError(new Error('Connection refused'))).toBe(false);
     expect(isTokenLimitError(new Error('Invalid API key'))).toBe(false);
@@ -387,26 +424,92 @@ describe('shrink-on-miss adaptive cache', () => {
   });
 });
 
+// --------- 8. Pre-split count cap through public embed() (#1199 / #970) ---------
+
+describe('embed() pre-split honors max_batch_count', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => resetGateway());
+  afterEach(() => __setEmbedTransportForTests(null));
+
+  test('dashscope never dispatches more than 10 inputs per call (#1199)', async () => {
+    configureDashscope();
+    const stub = mock(async ({ values }: { values: string[] }) => fakeEmbeddings(values, 1024));
+    __setEmbedTransportForTests(stub as any);
+
+    // 25 short texts fit trivially in the 8192-token budget; without the
+    // count cap they'd ship as ONE batch and DashScope would reject it.
+    const texts = Array.from({ length: 25 }, (_, i) => `short-${i}`);
+    const result = await embed(texts);
+
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(25);
+    const callLengths = stub.mock.calls.map(([arg]) => (arg as { values: string[] }).values.length);
+    expect(Math.max(...callLengths)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(10);
+    expect(callLengths.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0)).toBe(25);
+    // Order preserved across sub-batches.
+    expect((stub.mock.calls[0][0] as { values: string[] }).values[0]).toBe('short-0');
+  });
+
+  test('google pre-splits at 100 inputs per batchEmbedContents call (#970)', async () => {
+    configureGoogle();
+    const stub = mock(async ({ values }: { values: string[] }) => fakeEmbeddings(values, 768));
+    __setEmbedTransportForTests(stub as any);
+
+    const texts = Array.from({ length: 250 }, (_, i) => `g${i}`);
+    const result = await embed(texts);
+
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(250);
+    const callLengths = stub.mock.calls.map(([arg]) => (arg as { values: string[] }).values.length);
+    expect(callLengths).toEqual([100, 100, 50]);
+  });
+});
+
 // --------- 7. Startup warning (D9-B) ---------
 
 describe('startup warning for recipes missing max_batch_tokens', () => {
   beforeEach(() => resetGateway());
 
+  // #970 closed google's missing cap, so no registered recipe is capless
+  // anymore. Inject a synthetic capless recipe to keep the warning path
+  // covered for the NEXT recipe that forgets the field.
+  const caplessRecipe: Recipe = {
+    id: 'capless-test',
+    name: 'Capless Test Provider',
+    tier: 'openai-compat',
+    implementation: 'openai-compatible',
+    base_url_default: 'https://example.invalid/v1',
+    auth_env: { required: [] },
+    touchpoints: {
+      embedding: { models: ['capless-embed-1'], default_dims: 768 },
+    },
+  };
+
+  function configureCapless(): void {
+    configureGateway({
+      embedding_model: 'capless-test:capless-embed-1',
+      embedding_dimensions: 768,
+      env: {},
+    });
+  }
+
   test('configured missing-cap recipe warns once; unrelated recipes stay quiet', () => {
     const warnings: string[] = [];
     const original = console.warn;
     console.warn = (msg: string) => warnings.push(String(msg));
+    RECIPES.set(caplessRecipe.id, caplessRecipe);
     try {
       configureOpenAI();
       expect(warnings.length).toBe(0);
+      // #970 regression: google now declares max_batch_tokens → quiet.
       configureGoogle();
+      expect(warnings.length).toBe(0);
+      configureCapless();
       const firstCallCount = warnings.length;
       // Reconfigure: the warning should NOT re-fire for the same recipes
       // within one process (we already told the operator).
-      configureGoogle();
+      configureCapless();
       expect(warnings.length).toBe(firstCallCount);
     } finally {
       console.warn = original;
+      RECIPES.delete(caplessRecipe.id);
     }
 
     // The warning text should match the documented contract.
@@ -415,11 +518,12 @@ describe('startup warning for recipes missing max_batch_tokens', () => {
     );
     expect(contractMatch.length).toBe(1);
 
-    // Voyage declares max_batch_tokens → suppressed. OpenAI is the
-    // canonical fast-path recipe → also suppressed by id. Both must be
-    // absent from the warnings.
+    // Voyage + google declare max_batch_tokens → suppressed. OpenAI is the
+    // canonical fast-path recipe → also suppressed by id. All must be
+    // absent from the warnings; only the synthetic capless recipe fires.
     expect(warnings.find(w => w.includes('"voyage"'))).toBeUndefined();
     expect(warnings.find(w => w.includes('"openai"'))).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(warnings.find(w => w.includes('"google"'))).toBeDefined();
+    expect(warnings.find(w => w.includes('"google"'))).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(warnings.find(w => w.includes('"capless-test"'))).toBeDefined();
   });
 });

test/ai/no-batch-cap-suppression.serial.test.ts

@@ -52,16 +52,7 @@ describe('v0.32 #779: no_batch_cap suppresses the missing-max_batch_tokens warni
     }
   });
 
-  test('configureGateway warns for google only when google embedding is configured', () => {
-    warnSpy.mockClear();
-    resetGateway();
-    configureGateway({ env: {} });
-    let messages = warnSpy.mock.calls.map(c => String(c[0] ?? ''));
-    expect(
-      messages.some(m => m.includes('"google"') && m.includes('without max_batch_tokens')),
-      'google should not warn while OpenAI default is configured',
-    ).toBe(false);
-
+  test('configureGateway does NOT warn for google now that it declares batch caps (#970)', () => {
     warnSpy.mockClear();
     resetGateway();
     configureGateway({
@@ -69,11 +60,20 @@ describe('v0.32 #779: no_batch_cap suppresses the missing-max_batch_tokens warni
       embedding_dimensions: 768,
       env: { GOOGLE_GENERATIVE_AI_API_KEY: 'fake' },
     });
-    messages = warnSpy.mock.calls.map(c => String(c[0] ?? ''));
+    const messages = warnSpy.mock.calls.map(c => String(c[0] ?? ''));
     expect(
       messages.some(m => m.includes('"google"') && m.includes('without max_batch_tokens')),
-      'google should warn when configured because it has fixed-cap models',
-    ).toBe(true);
+      'google declares max_batch_tokens/max_batch_count since #970 — no warning',
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test('google recipe declares its derived batch caps (#970)', () => {
+    const e = getRecipe('google')!.touchpoints.embedding!;
+    // Count cap is the REAL Gemini limit (batchEmbedContents: 100 inputs);
+    // the token budget is derived (100 × 2048 per-input tokens), NOT the
+    // 2048 per-input limit — copying that verbatim would over-split 50×.
+    expect(e.max_batch_count).toBe(100);
+    expect(e.max_batch_tokens).toBe(204_800);
   });
 
   test('every recipe with empty models[] declares user_provided_models OR has openai-fast-path', () => {

test/ai/recipe-dashscope.test.ts

@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ describe('recipe: dashscope', () => {
     expect(r.touchpoints.embedding!.chars_per_token).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
 
+  test('declares max_batch_count: 10 — DashScope rejects larger batches (#1199)', () => {
+    const r = getRecipe('dashscope')!;
+    expect(r.touchpoints.embedding!.max_batch_count).toBe(10);
+  });
+
   test('dimsProviderOptions threads dimensions for text-embedding-v3 (Matryoshka)', async () => {
     // Codex finding #1: DashScope text-embedding-v3 is Matryoshka 64-1024.
     // Without `dimensions` on the wire, user-selected non-default dims are

test/embed-batch-concurrency.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+/**
+ * #1818: embedBatch dispatches its 100-input sub-batches through a bounded
+ * worker pool (the embed-stale.ts concurrency pattern) instead of a serial
+ * `for` loop. This file pins:
+ *
+ *   - output order matches input order regardless of completion order
+ *     (index-addressed results)
+ *   - parallelism actually happens (max in-flight > 1) and stays bounded
+ *     (max in-flight <= configured concurrency)
+ *   - concurrency: 1 restores the serial pre-#1818 dispatch
+ *   - GBRAIN_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY env is honored when the option is unset
+ *   - onBatchComplete reports a monotonic completed count ending at total
+ *
+ * Transport is stubbed via the gateway's __setEmbedTransportForTests seam
+ * (same pattern as test/ai/adaptive-embed-batch.test.ts). OpenAI recipe =
+ * fast path (no pre-split), so each embedBatch sub-batch is exactly one
+ * transport call.
+ */
+
+import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import {
+  configureGateway,
+  resetGateway,
+  __setEmbedTransportForTests,
+} from '../src/core/ai/gateway.ts';
+import { embedBatch } from '../src/core/embedding.ts';
+import { withEnv } from './helpers/with-env.ts';
+
+const DIMS = 1536;
+
+function configureOpenAI(): void {
+  configureGateway({
+    embedding_model: 'openai:text-embedding-3-large',
+    embedding_dimensions: DIMS,
+    env: { OPENAI_API_KEY: 'sk-fake' },
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Install a transport whose returned embedding encodes the GLOBAL input
+ * index in dim 0 (texts are `t<N>`), so order can be asserted end-to-end.
+ * Tracks the max number of concurrently in-flight transport calls.
+ */
+function installTrackingTransport(delayMs = 5): { maxInFlight: () => number } {
+  let inFlight = 0;
+  let maxInFlight = 0;
+  __setEmbedTransportForTests((async ({ values }: { values: string[] }) => {
+    inFlight++;
+    maxInFlight = Math.max(maxInFlight, inFlight);
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, delayMs));
+    inFlight--;
+    return {
+      embeddings: values.map(v => {
+        const idx = Number(v.slice(1));
+        return Array.from({ length: DIMS }, (_, j) => (j === 0 ? idx : 0.1));
+      }),
+    };
+  }) as any);
+  return { maxInFlight: () => maxInFlight };
+}
+
+const texts = Array.from({ length: 250 }, (_, i) => `t${i}`);
+
+afterAll(() => resetGateway());
+
+describe('embedBatch bounded parallelism (#1818)', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    resetGateway();
+    configureOpenAI();
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    __setEmbedTransportForTests(null);
+  });
+
+  test('default pool dispatches sub-batches in parallel, order preserved', async () => {
+    const tracker = installTrackingTransport();
+    const result = await embedBatch(texts, { onBatchComplete: () => {} });
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(250);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 250; i++) {
+      expect(result[i][0]).toBe(i);
+    }
+    // 250 texts → 3 sub-batches; default concurrency 4 → all 3 in flight.
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBeLessThanOrEqual(4);
+  });
+
+  test('concurrency: 1 keeps the serial dispatch', async () => {
+    const tracker = installTrackingTransport();
+    const result = await embedBatch(texts, { concurrency: 1, onBatchComplete: () => {} });
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(250);
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  test('GBRAIN_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY env bounds the pool when option unset', async () => {
+    const tracker = installTrackingTransport();
+    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_EMBED_BATCH_CONCURRENCY: '2' }, async () => {
+      await embedBatch(texts, { onBatchComplete: () => {} });
+    });
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2);
+  });
+
+  test('onBatchComplete reports a monotonic count ending at total', async () => {
+    installTrackingTransport();
+    const seen: number[] = [];
+    await embedBatch(texts, {
+      onBatchComplete: (done, total) => {
+        expect(total).toBe(250);
+        seen.push(done);
+      },
+    });
+    expect(seen).toHaveLength(3); // 100 + 100 + 50 sub-batches
+    for (let i = 1; i < seen.length; i++) {
+      expect(seen[i]).toBeGreaterThan(seen[i - 1]);
+    }
+    expect(seen[seen.length - 1]).toBe(250);
+  });
+
+  test('a failing sub-batch rejects the whole call', async () => {
+    let call = 0;
+    __setEmbedTransportForTests((async ({ values }: { values: string[] }) => {
+      call++;
+      if (call === 2) throw new Error('boom');
+      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 2));
+      return { embeddings: values.map(() => Array.from({ length: DIMS }, () => 0.1)) };
+    }) as any);
+    await expect(embedBatch(texts, { onBatchComplete: () => {} })).rejects.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  test('after a failure, surviving workers stop dispatching new slices', async () => {
+    // 1000 texts → 10 slices, concurrency 2. First call fails immediately;
+    // without the `failed` flag the second worker would keep draining all
+    // 10 slices in the background AFTER embedBatch already rejected —
+    // burning provider spend and firing onBatchComplete post-rejection.
+    let calls = 0;
+    const completions: number[] = [];
+    __setEmbedTransportForTests((async ({ values }: { values: string[] }) => {
+      calls++;
+      if (calls === 1) throw new Error('boom');
+      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 5));
+      return { embeddings: values.map(() => Array.from({ length: DIMS }, () => 0.1)) };
+    }) as any);
+    const many = Array.from({ length: 1000 }, (_, i) => `t${i}`);
+    await expect(
+      embedBatch(many, { concurrency: 2, onBatchComplete: d => completions.push(d) }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow('boom');
+    const callsAtRejection = calls;
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 50)); // would-be background drain window
+    expect(calls).toBe(callsAtRejection); // no new dispatch after rejection
+    expect(calls).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2); // only the in-flight sibling ran
+    expect(completions).toHaveLength(0); // no progress reported after failure
+  });
+
+  test('single small batch without callback stays on the one-call fast path', async () => {
+    const tracker = installTrackingTransport(1);
+    const result = await embedBatch(['t0', 't1', 't2']);
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(3);
+    expect(result[1][0]).toBe(1);
+    expect(tracker.maxInFlight()).toBe(1);
+  });
+});

test/engine-find-trajectory.test.ts

@@ -165,22 +165,6 @@ describe('findTrajectory — visibility filter (D-CDX-1 / R6)', () => {
     const all = await engine.findTrajectory({ entitySlug: 'traj-vis-default' });
     expect(all.length).toBe(2);
   });
-
-  test('remote=true + trustedFactReads bypasses world-only (owner-trusted reads)', async () => {
-    await insertTyped({ entity_slug: 'traj-vis-trusted', metric: 'mrr', value: 50000, visibility: 'private', valid_from: new Date('2026-01-15') });
-    await insertTyped({ entity_slug: 'traj-vis-trusted', metric: 'mrr', value: 99999, visibility: 'world',   valid_from: new Date('2026-04-12') });
-
-    // Untrusted remote: world only.
-    const untrusted = await engine.findTrajectory({ entitySlug: 'traj-vis-trusted', remote: true });
-    expect(untrusted.length).toBe(1);
-    expect(untrusted[0].value).toBe(99999);
-
-    // Owner-trusted remote: sees the private point too. remote stays true — only
-    // fact-read visibility is elevated.
-    const trusted = await engine.findTrajectory({ entitySlug: 'traj-vis-trusted', remote: true, trustedFactReads: true });
-    expect(trusted.length).toBe(2);
-    expect(trusted.map(p => p.value).sort((a, b) => (a! - b!))).toEqual([50000, 99999]);
-  });
 });
 
 describe('findTrajectory — metric + since + until filters', () => {

test/facts-reader-trust.test.ts

@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
-import {
-  factsWorldOnly,
-  readableFactVisibilities,
-} from '../src/core/facts/reader-trust.ts';
-
-describe('factsWorldOnly', () => {
-  test('FAIL-CLOSED: unset remote is untrusted (world-only)', () => {
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({})).toBe(true);
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: undefined })).toBe(true);
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ trustedFactReads: false })).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  test('explicit remote=false (trusted local CLI) sees all', () => {
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: false })).toBe(false);
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: false, trustedFactReads: false })).toBe(false);
-  });
-
-  test('untrusted remote callers are world-only', () => {
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: true })).toBe(true);
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: true, trustedFactReads: false })).toBe(true);
-  });
-
-  test('owner-trusted remote reads bypass the world-only filter', () => {
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: true, trustedFactReads: true })).toBe(false);
-  });
-
-  test('trustedFactReads is a no-op for an already-trusted local caller', () => {
-    expect(factsWorldOnly({ remote: false, trustedFactReads: true })).toBe(false);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('readableFactVisibilities', () => {
-  test("world-only readers get the ['world'] filter (incl. unset remote)", () => {
-    expect(readableFactVisibilities({ remote: true })).toEqual(['world']);
-    expect(readableFactVisibilities({})).toEqual(['world']);
-  });
-
-  test('trusted readers get undefined (no filter — all rows)', () => {
-    expect(readableFactVisibilities({ remote: false })).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(readableFactVisibilities({ remote: true, trustedFactReads: true })).toBeUndefined();
-  });
-});

test/helpers/legacy-embedding-preload.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
  * overwrites this preload.
  */
 import { configureGateway, getEmbeddingDimensions } from '../../src/core/ai/gateway.ts';
-import { beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
 
 const LEGACY_CONFIG = {
   embedding_model: 'openai:text-embedding-3-large',
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ applyLegacy();
 //   2. file-local beforeAll → may overwrite to ZE/1280
 // Since beforeAll runs once per file BEFORE the first beforeEach,
 // file-local beforeAll wins for that file's tests. ✓
-beforeEach(() => {
+function applyLegacyIfEmpty() {
   try {
     // Only re-apply if the gateway was reset (or never configured).
     // Tests that explicitly configured a different model in their
@@ -62,4 +62,28 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   } catch {
     applyLegacy();
   }
-});
+}
+
+beforeEach(applyLegacyIfEmpty);
+
+// PR #3130 shard-order fix: beforeEach alone leaves ONE window open — a file
+// whose LAST afterEach calls resetGateway() poisons the NEXT file's
+// beforeAll, which runs BEFORE any beforeEach fires. A beforeAll there that
+// does engine.initSchema() then sizes the embedding column from the gateway
+// DEFAULTS (zembed-1/1280d) instead of the pinned legacy 1536, and every
+// 1536-d Float32Array fixture in that file dies with
+// "expected 1280 dimensions, not 1536". Which file pair collides is a
+// function of shard composition, so adding/removing ANY test file can
+// surface it (that is exactly how it bit shard 9).
+//
+// Preload hooks are registered before any file-local hooks, and bun runs
+// after-hooks inside-out (file-local afterEach first, then this one), so
+// this repairs the empty slot immediately after the poisoning reset —
+// before the next file's beforeAll can observe it.
+//
+// Known remaining window: a file whose afterAll() resets the gateway (no
+// hook runs between its afterAll and the next file's beforeAll). Files
+// that reset in afterAll and can precede a schema-creating file should
+// re-apply their own config, or the victim file should configureGateway()
+// explicitly in its beforeAll.
+afterEach(applyLegacyIfEmpty);

test/import-default-workers.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/**
+ * #1207: `gbrain import` without `--workers` used to hardcode workerCount=1,
+ * so a large Postgres import paid one serial embedding round-trip per file.
+ * runImport now routes the default through the shared autoConcurrency policy
+ * (PGLite → 1, >100 files on Postgres → DEFAULT_PARALLEL_WORKERS), while an
+ * explicit `--workers N` still wins.
+ *
+ * The engine here is a minimal postgres-kind stub with no database_url in
+ * config — runImport's parallel branch then falls back to serial processing
+ * (its PR #490 guard) but the WORKER-COUNT DECISION (the thing #1207 fixes)
+ * is still observable via the "Using N parallel workers" log line. Per-file
+ * imports fail against the stub engine and are swallowed by runImport's
+ * per-file catch; that's fine — this test pins the policy, not the import.
+ */
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync, rmSync, realpathSync } from 'fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { withEnv } from './helpers/with-env.ts';
+import { runImport } from '../src/commands/import.ts';
+
+const fakePostgresEngine = {
+  kind: 'postgres',
+  executeRaw: async () => [],
+  logIngest: async () => {},
+  setConfig: async () => {},
+  getConfig: async () => null,
+} as any;
+
+let workspace: string;
+let brainDir: string;
+let logs: string[];
+const realLog = console.log;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  workspace = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gbrain-import-workers-home-'));
+  mkdirSync(join(workspace, '.gbrain'), { recursive: true });
+  brainDir = realpathSync(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gbrain-import-workers-brain-')));
+  // 101 files: one past AUTO_CONCURRENCY_FILE_THRESHOLD (100).
+  for (let i = 0; i < 101; i++) {
+    writeFileSync(join(brainDir, `page-${i}.md`), `# Page ${i}\n\nbody ${i}\n`);
+  }
+  logs = [];
+  console.log = (msg?: unknown) => logs.push(String(msg));
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  console.log = realLog;
+  rmSync(workspace, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  rmSync(brainDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('import default worker count (#1207)', () => {
+  test('no --workers flag → autoConcurrency picks 4 for >100 files on Postgres', async () => {
+    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_HOME: join(workspace, '.gbrain'), GBRAIN_SOURCE: undefined }, async () => {
+      await runImport(fakePostgresEngine, [brainDir, '--no-embed'], { sourceId: 'default' });
+    });
+    expect(logs.some(l => l.includes('Using 4 parallel workers'))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('explicit --workers 2 still wins over the auto policy', async () => {
+    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_HOME: join(workspace, '.gbrain'), GBRAIN_SOURCE: undefined }, async () => {
+      await runImport(fakePostgresEngine, [brainDir, '--no-embed', '--workers', '2'], { sourceId: 'default' });
+    });
+    expect(logs.some(l => l.includes('Using 2 parallel workers'))).toBe(true);
+    expect(logs.some(l => l.includes('Using 4 parallel workers'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});