diff --git a/src/commands/builtin/index.ts b/src/commands/builtin/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d717234
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/builtin/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import type { CommandDefinition, CommandResult } from '../types.js';
+import type { CommandRegistry } from '../registry.js';
+
+function notAvailable(label: string): CommandResult {
+  return {
+    handled: true,
+    text: `${label} is not available in this session.`,
+  };
+}
+
+export function createHelpCommand(registry: CommandRegistry): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'help',
+    description: 'Show available commands',
+    execute: async () => {
+      const lines = ['Available commands:'];
+      for (const command of registry.list()) {
+        const aliases = command.aliases && command.aliases.length > 0
+          ? ` (aliases: ${command.aliases.map(alias => `/${alias}`).join(', ')})`
+          : '';
+        lines.push(`- /${command.name}: ${command.description}${aliases}`);
+      }
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: lines.join('\n'),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function createStatusCommand(): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'status',
+    description: 'Show current status',
+    execute: async (_args, ctx) => {
+      if (!ctx.services?.getStatus) {
+        return {
+          handled: true,
+          text: 'Flynn is running.',
+        };
+      }
+
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: await ctx.services.getStatus(),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function createUsageCommand(): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'usage',
+    description: 'Show token usage',
+    execute: async (_args, ctx) => {
+      if (!ctx.services?.getUsage) {
+        return notAvailable('Usage command');
+      }
+
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: await ctx.services.getUsage(),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function createModelCommand(): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'model',
+    description: 'Show or change model tier',
+    execute: async (args, ctx) => {
+      if (args.length === 0) {
+        if (!ctx.services?.getModel) {
+          return notAvailable('Model command');
+        }
+        return {
+          handled: true,
+          text: await ctx.services.getModel(),
+        };
+      }
+
+      if (!ctx.services?.setModel) {
+        return notAvailable('Model command');
+      }
+
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: await ctx.services.setModel(args[0]),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function createCompactCommand(): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'compact',
+    description: 'Compact conversation context',
+    execute: async (_args, ctx) => {
+      if (!ctx.services?.compact) {
+        return notAvailable('Compact command');
+      }
+
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: await ctx.services.compact(),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function createResetCommand(): CommandDefinition {
+  return {
+    name: 'reset',
+    description: 'Reset current session',
+    execute: async (_args, ctx) => {
+      if (!ctx.services?.reset) {
+        return notAvailable('Reset command');
+      }
+
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: await ctx.services.reset(),
+      };
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function registerBuiltinCommands(registry: CommandRegistry): void {
+  registry.register(createHelpCommand(registry));
+  registry.register(createStatusCommand());
+  registry.register(createUsageCommand());
+  registry.register(createModelCommand());
+  registry.register(createCompactCommand());
+  registry.register(createResetCommand());
+}
diff --git a/src/commands/index.ts b/src/commands/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee13182
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+export { CommandRegistry } from './registry.js';
+export type { CommandContext, CommandDefinition, CommandResult, CommandServices } from './types.js';
+export {
+  createHelpCommand,
+  createStatusCommand,
+  createUsageCommand,
+  createModelCommand,
+  createCompactCommand,
+  createResetCommand,
+  registerBuiltinCommands,
+} from './builtin/index.js';
diff --git a/src/commands/registry.test.ts b/src/commands/registry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8452567
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/registry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { CommandRegistry } from './registry.js';
+
+describe('CommandRegistry', () => {
+  it('registers commands and retrieves by name/alias', () => {
+    const registry = new CommandRegistry();
+    registry.register({
+      name: 'help',
+      aliases: ['h'],
+      description: 'show help',
+      execute: async () => ({ handled: true, text: 'ok' }),
+    });
+
+    expect(registry.get('help')?.name).toBe('help');
+    expect(registry.get('/help')?.name).toBe('help');
+    expect(registry.get('h')?.name).toBe('help');
+    expect(registry.get('/h')?.name).toBe('help');
+    expect(registry.list()).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  it('parses slash command input', () => {
+    const registry = new CommandRegistry();
+
+    expect(registry.isCommand('/help')).toBe(true);
+    expect(registry.parse('/model fast')).toEqual({
+      name: 'model',
+      args: ['fast'],
+    });
+    expect(registry.parse('hello')).toBeNull();
+    expect(registry.parse('/')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('executes known command and returns handled result', async () => {
+    const registry = new CommandRegistry();
+    registry.register({
+      name: 'status',
+      description: 'show status',
+      execute: async (_args, ctx) => ({ handled: true, text: `ok:${ctx.channel}` }),
+    });
+
+    const result = await registry.execute('/status', {
+      channel: 'telegram',
+      senderId: 'u1',
+      sessionId: 'telegram:u1',
+      rawInput: '/status',
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({ handled: true, text: 'ok:telegram' });
+  });
+
+  it('returns handled=false for unknown commands', async () => {
+    const registry = new CommandRegistry();
+
+    const result = await registry.execute('/unknown', {
+      channel: 'telegram',
+      senderId: 'u1',
+      sessionId: 'telegram:u1',
+      rawInput: '/unknown',
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({ handled: false, text: '' });
+  });
+
+  it('catches handler errors and returns safe message', async () => {
+    const registry = new CommandRegistry();
+    registry.register({
+      name: 'boom',
+      description: 'throws',
+      execute: async () => {
+        throw new Error('bad things');
+      },
+    });
+
+    const result = await registry.execute('/boom', {
+      channel: 'telegram',
+      senderId: 'u1',
+      sessionId: 'telegram:u1',
+      rawInput: '/boom',
+    });
+
+    expect(result.handled).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.text).toContain('Command failed: bad things');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/commands/registry.ts b/src/commands/registry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5734855
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/registry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import type { CommandContext, CommandDefinition, CommandResult } from './types.js';
+
+const MAX_INPUT_LENGTH = 2000;
+
+export class CommandRegistry {
+  private commands = new Map<string, CommandDefinition>();
+  private aliasToCommand = new Map<string, string>();
+
+  register(def: CommandDefinition): void {
+    const canonicalName = this.normalizeName(def.name);
+    if (!canonicalName) {
+      throw new Error('Command name is required');
+    }
+    if (this.commands.has(canonicalName)) {
+      throw new Error(`Command already registered: ${canonicalName}`);
+    }
+
+    this.commands.set(canonicalName, { ...def, name: canonicalName });
+
+    for (const alias of def.aliases ?? []) {
+      const canonicalAlias = this.normalizeName(alias);
+      if (!canonicalAlias) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (canonicalAlias === canonicalName || this.aliasToCommand.has(canonicalAlias) || this.commands.has(canonicalAlias)) {
+        throw new Error(`Command alias already registered: ${canonicalAlias}`);
+      }
+      this.aliasToCommand.set(canonicalAlias, canonicalName);
+    }
+  }
+
+  get(nameOrAlias: string): CommandDefinition | undefined {
+    const normalized = this.normalizeName(nameOrAlias);
+    if (!normalized) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    const canonicalName = this.aliasToCommand.get(normalized) ?? normalized;
+    return this.commands.get(canonicalName);
+  }
+
+  list(): CommandDefinition[] {
+    return Array.from(this.commands.values());
+  }
+
+  isCommand(input: string): boolean {
+    return this.parse(input) !== null;
+  }
+
+  parse(input: string): { name: string; args: string[] } | null {
+    const trimmed = input.trim();
+    if (!trimmed.startsWith('/') || trimmed.length > MAX_INPUT_LENGTH) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const withoutSlash = trimmed.slice(1).trim();
+    if (!withoutSlash) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const [rawName, ...rest] = withoutSlash.split(/\s+/);
+    const name = this.normalizeName(rawName);
+    if (!name) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    return {
+      name,
+      args: rest,
+    };
+  }
+
+  async execute(input: string, ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+    const parsed = this.parse(input);
+    if (!parsed) {
+      return { handled: false, text: '' };
+    }
+
+    const command = this.get(parsed.name);
+    if (!command) {
+      return { handled: false, text: '' };
+    }
+
+    try {
+      return await command.execute(parsed.args, ctx);
+    } catch (error) {
+      const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown command error';
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        text: `Command failed: ${message}`,
+      };
+    }
+  }
+
+  private normalizeName(value: string): string {
+    return value.trim().replace(/^\//, '').toLowerCase();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/commands/types.ts b/src/commands/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b83ad23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export interface CommandContext {
+  channel: string;
+  senderId: string;
+  sessionId: string;
+  rawInput: string;
+  services?: CommandServices;
+}
+
+export interface CommandResult {
+  handled: boolean;
+  text: string;
+}
+
+export interface CommandDefinition {
+  name: string;
+  aliases?: string[];
+  description: string;
+  execute: (args: string[], ctx: CommandContext) => Promise<CommandResult>;
+}
+
+export interface CommandServices {
+  getStatus?: () => Promise<string> | string;
+  getUsage?: () => Promise<string> | string;
+  getModel?: () => Promise<string> | string;
+  setModel?: (tier: string) => Promise<string> | string;
+  compact?: () => Promise<string> | string;
+  reset?: () => Promise<string> | string;
+}
diff --git a/src/context/weighting.test.ts b/src/context/weighting.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05ba850
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/context/weighting.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { rankMessagesByImportance, scoreMessageImportance, selectImportantMessages } from './weighting.js';
+import type { Message } from '../models/types.js';
+
+describe('weighting', () => {
+  it('scores low-value chatter lower than preference and tool outcomes', () => {
+    const chatter: Message = { role: 'user', content: 'hello there' };
+    const preference: Message = { role: 'user', content: 'I prefer concise bullet points in responses.' };
+    const outcome: Message = { role: 'assistant', content: 'Command succeeded with exit code 0. Output saved.' };
+
+    const chatterScore = scoreMessageImportance(chatter);
+    const preferenceScore = scoreMessageImportance(preference);
+    const outcomeScore = scoreMessageImportance(outcome);
+
+    expect(preferenceScore).toBeGreaterThan(chatterScore);
+    expect(outcomeScore).toBeGreaterThan(chatterScore);
+  });
+
+  it('applies recency as a small tie-break boost', () => {
+    const messages: Message[] = [
+      { role: 'user', content: 'simple note' },
+      { role: 'user', content: 'simple note' },
+    ];
+
+    const ranked = rankMessagesByImportance(messages);
+    expect(ranked[1].score).toBeGreaterThan(ranked[0].score);
+  });
+
+  it('selects important messages above threshold and keeps original order', () => {
+    const messages: Message[] = [
+      { role: 'user', content: 'hello' },
+      { role: 'user', content: 'I prefer markdown tables for reports.' },
+      { role: 'assistant', content: 'Tool result: command failed with exit code 1' },
+      { role: 'assistant', content: 'ok' },
+    ];
+
+    const selected = selectImportantMessages(messages, {
+      threshold: 0.45,
+      maxMessages: 4,
+    });
+
+    expect(selected).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(selected[0].index).toBe(1);
+    expect(selected[1].index).toBe(2);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/context/weighting.ts b/src/context/weighting.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75a2097
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/context/weighting.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import type { Message } from '../models/types.js';
+import { getMessageText } from '../models/media.js';
+
+export interface WeightedMessage {
+  index: number;
+  message: Message;
+  score: number;
+}
+
+const TOOL_OUTCOME_PATTERN = /(tool|command|exit code|stack trace|traceback|error|failed|succeeded|output|result)/i;
+const CORRECTION_PATTERN = /(actually|correction|instead|sorry|to clarify|i meant|wrong)/i;
+const PREFERENCE_PATTERN = /(prefer|preference|always|never|please|timezone|call me|i like|i dislike|do not|don't)/i;
+
+export function scoreMessageImportance(message: Message): number {
+  const text = getMessageText(message).trim();
+  if (text.length === 0) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  let score = 0.1;
+
+  if (TOOL_OUTCOME_PATTERN.test(text)) {
+    score += 0.45;
+  }
+  if (CORRECTION_PATTERN.test(text)) {
+    score += 0.35;
+  }
+  if (PREFERENCE_PATTERN.test(text)) {
+    score += 0.4;
+  }
+  if (text.includes('```')) {
+    score += 0.2;
+  }
+
+  if (message.role === 'user') {
+    score += 0.05;
+  }
+
+  if (text.length > 240) {
+    score += 0.1;
+  }
+
+  return Math.max(0, Math.min(1, score));
+}
+
+export function rankMessagesByImportance(messages: Message[]): WeightedMessage[] {
+  return messages.map((message, index) => {
+    const base = scoreMessageImportance(message);
+    const recencyBoost = messages.length > 1 ? (index / (messages.length - 1)) * 0.08 : 0;
+    return {
+      index,
+      message,
+      score: Math.max(0, Math.min(1, base + recencyBoost)),
+    };
+  });
+}
+
+export function selectImportantMessages(messages: Message[], opts: {
+  threshold: number;
+  maxMessages: number;
+}): WeightedMessage[] {
+  if (messages.length === 0 || opts.maxMessages <= 0) {
+    return [];
+  }
+
+  const ranked = rankMessagesByImportance(messages)
+    .filter(item => item.score >= opts.threshold)
+    .sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score || b.index - a.index)
+    .slice(0, opts.maxMessages)
+    .sort((a, b) => a.index - b.index);
+
+  return ranked;
+}
diff --git a/src/gateway/handlers/agent.test.ts b/src/gateway/handlers/agent.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f22d991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/handlers/agent.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import type { GatewayEvent, GatewayRequest, OutboundMessage } from '../protocol.js';
+import { LaneQueue } from '../lane-queue.js';
+import { createAgentHandlers } from './agent.js';
+import { CommandRegistry, registerBuiltinCommands } from '../../commands/index.js';
+
+describe('createAgentHandlers command fast-path', () => {
+  const mockAgent = {
+    process: vi.fn(async () => 'agent response'),
+    getUsage: vi.fn(() => ({
+      primary: { inputTokens: 10, outputTokens: 5, calls: 1 },
+      delegation: {},
+      total: { inputTokens: 10, outputTokens: 5, calls: 1, estimatedCost: 0 },
+    })),
+    getModelTier: vi.fn(() => 'default'),
+    setModelTier: vi.fn(),
+    compact: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    reset: vi.fn(),
+  };
+
+  const sessionBridge = {
+    getAgent: vi.fn(() => mockAgent),
+    getSessionId: vi.fn(() => 'ws:conn-1'),
+    setBusy: vi.fn(),
+    setOnToolUse: vi.fn(),
+    isBusy: vi.fn(() => false),
+  };
+
+  const sessionManager = {
+    setSessionConfig: vi.fn(),
+    deleteSessionConfig: vi.fn(),
+  };
+
+  const commandRegistry = new CommandRegistry();
+  registerBuiltinCommands(commandRegistry);
+
+  const handlers = createAgentHandlers({
+    sessionBridge: sessionBridge as any,
+    laneQueue: new LaneQueue(),
+    sessionManager: sessionManager as any,
+    commandRegistry,
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    mockAgent.process.mockResolvedValue('agent response');
+    mockAgent.compact.mockResolvedValue(null);
+  });
+
+  it('handles known commands without calling agent.process', async () => {
+    const sent: OutboundMessage[] = [];
+    const send = vi.fn((msg: OutboundMessage) => sent.push(msg));
+    const req: GatewayRequest = {
+      id: 1,
+      method: 'agent.send',
+      params: { message: '/usage', connectionId: 'conn-1' },
+    };
+
+    await handlers['agent.send'](req, send);
+
+    expect(mockAgent.process).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(sent).toHaveLength(1);
+    const event = sent[0] as GatewayEvent;
+    expect(event.event).toBe('done');
+    expect((event.data as { content: string }).content).toContain('Token Usage');
+  });
+
+  it('handles metadata commands via fast-path', async () => {
+    const sent: OutboundMessage[] = [];
+    const send = vi.fn((msg: OutboundMessage) => sent.push(msg));
+    const req: GatewayRequest = {
+      id: 2,
+      method: 'agent.send',
+      params: {
+        message: '/reset',
+        connectionId: 'conn-1',
+        metadata: { isCommand: true, command: 'reset' },
+      },
+    };
+
+    await handlers['agent.send'](req, send);
+
+    expect(mockAgent.reset).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(sessionManager.deleteSessionConfig).toHaveBeenCalledWith('ws', 'ws:conn-1', 'modelTier');
+    expect(mockAgent.process).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(((sent[0] as GatewayEvent).data as { content: string }).content).toContain('Session reset.');
+  });
+
+  it('falls through to agent.process for unknown commands', async () => {
+    const sent: OutboundMessage[] = [];
+    const send = vi.fn((msg: OutboundMessage) => sent.push(msg));
+    const req: GatewayRequest = {
+      id: 3,
+      method: 'agent.send',
+      params: { message: '/not-a-real-command', connectionId: 'conn-1' },
+    };
+
+    await handlers['agent.send'](req, send);
+
+    expect(mockAgent.process).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/not-a-real-command', undefined);
+    expect((sent[0] as GatewayEvent).event).toBe('done');
+    expect(((sent[0] as GatewayEvent).data as { content: string }).content).toBe('agent response');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/gateway/handlers/history.ts b/src/gateway/handlers/history.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16ecede
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/handlers/history.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import type { GatewayRequest, OutboundMessage } from '../protocol.js';
+import { makeError, makeResponse, ErrorCode } from '../protocol.js';
+import type { SessionManager } from '../../session/manager.js';
+
+export interface HistoryHandlerDeps {
+  sessionManager: SessionManager;
+}
+
+export function createHistoryHandlers(deps: HistoryHandlerDeps) {
+  return {
+    'history.search': async (request: GatewayRequest): Promise<OutboundMessage> => {
+      const params = request.params as { query?: string; sessionId?: string; limit?: number } | undefined;
+      if (!params?.query) {
+        return makeError(request.id, ErrorCode.InvalidRequest, 'query is required');
+      }
+
+      const results = deps.sessionManager.searchHistory(params.query, {
+        sessionId: params.sessionId,
+        limit: params.limit,
+      });
+
+      return makeResponse(request.id, { results });
+    },
+
+    'history.reindex': async (request: GatewayRequest): Promise<OutboundMessage> => {
+      const reindexed = deps.sessionManager.reindexHistory();
+      return makeResponse(request.id, { reindexed });
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/gateway/handlers/intents.ts b/src/gateway/handlers/intents.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af01d34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/handlers/intents.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import type { GatewayRequest, OutboundMessage } from '../protocol.js';
+import { makeError, makeResponse, ErrorCode } from '../protocol.js';
+import type { ComponentRegistry } from '../../intents/index.js';
+
+export interface IntentHandlerDeps {
+  intentRegistry?: ComponentRegistry;
+  enabled: boolean;
+}
+
+export function createIntentHandlers(deps: IntentHandlerDeps) {
+  return {
+    'intents.list': async (request: GatewayRequest): Promise<OutboundMessage> => {
+      const rules = deps.intentRegistry?.list() ?? [];
+      return makeResponse(request.id, {
+        enabled: deps.enabled,
+        rules,
+      });
+    },
+
+    'intents.match': async (request: GatewayRequest): Promise<OutboundMessage> => {
+      const params = request.params as { input?: string } | undefined;
+      if (!params?.input) {
+        return makeError(request.id, ErrorCode.InvalidRequest, 'input is required');
+      }
+
+      const match = deps.intentRegistry?.match(params.input) ?? null;
+      return makeResponse(request.id, {
+        enabled: deps.enabled,
+        match,
+      });
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/gateway/handlers/routing.ts b/src/gateway/handlers/routing.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..618a150
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/handlers/routing.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import type { GatewayRequest, OutboundMessage } from '../protocol.js';
+import { makeError, makeResponse, ErrorCode } from '../protocol.js';
+import type { ComponentRegistry } from '../../intents/index.js';
+import type { RoutingPolicy } from '../../routing/index.js';
+
+export interface RoutingHandlerDeps {
+  intentRegistry?: ComponentRegistry;
+  routingPolicy?: RoutingPolicy;
+}
+
+export function createRoutingHandlers(deps: RoutingHandlerDeps) {
+  return {
+    'routing.decide': async (request: GatewayRequest): Promise<OutboundMessage> => {
+      const params = request.params as { input?: string } | undefined;
+      if (!params?.input) {
+        return makeError(request.id, ErrorCode.InvalidRequest, 'input is required');
+      }
+
+      const match = deps.intentRegistry?.match(params.input) ?? null;
+      const decision = deps.routingPolicy?.decide({ confidence: match?.score ?? null }) ?? {
+        path: 'llm',
+        reason: 'disabled',
+      };
+
+      return makeResponse(request.id, {
+        match,
+        decision,
+      });
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/intents/index.ts b/src/intents/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e29bfb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/intents/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export { ComponentRegistry } from './registry.js';
+export type { IntentRule, IntentTarget, IntentTargetType, IntentMatch, ComponentRegistryConfig } from './registry.js';
diff --git a/src/intents/registry.test.ts b/src/intents/registry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de13d23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/intents/registry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { ComponentRegistry } from './registry.js';
+
+describe('ComponentRegistry', () => {
+  it('matches exact rules deterministically', () => {
+    const registry = new ComponentRegistry({ matchThreshold: 0.5 });
+    registry.loadRules([
+      {
+        name: 'status-help',
+        patterns: ['status'],
+        target: { type: 'agent', name: 'assistant' },
+        priority: 1,
+        enabled: true,
+      },
+    ]);
+
+    const match = registry.match('status');
+    expect(match?.rule.name).toBe('status-help');
+    expect(match?.matchedPattern).toBe('status');
+    expect(match?.score).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it('matches wildcard patterns', () => {
+    const registry = new ComponentRegistry({ matchThreshold: 0.5 });
+    registry.register({
+      name: 'deploy-route',
+      patterns: ['deploy *'],
+      target: { type: 'agent', name: 'coder' },
+      priority: 1,
+      enabled: true,
+    });
+
+    const match = registry.match('deploy api service');
+    expect(match?.rule.name).toBe('deploy-route');
+    expect(match?.score).toBeGreaterThan(0.5);
+    expect(match?.score).toBeLessThanOrEqual(1);
+  });
+
+  it('resolves ties by priority then specificity', () => {
+    const registry = new ComponentRegistry({ matchThreshold: 0.5 });
+    registry.loadRules([
+      {
+        name: 'low-priority',
+        patterns: ['deploy *'],
+        target: { type: 'agent', name: 'assistant' },
+        priority: 1,
+        enabled: true,
+      },
+      {
+        name: 'high-priority',
+        patterns: ['deploy *'],
+        target: { type: 'agent', name: 'coder' },
+        priority: 10,
+        enabled: true,
+      },
+    ]);
+
+    const match = registry.match('deploy dashboard');
+    expect(match?.rule.name).toBe('high-priority');
+  });
+
+  it('returns null when no rule meets threshold', () => {
+    const registry = new ComponentRegistry({ matchThreshold: 0.95 });
+    registry.register({
+      name: 'weak',
+      patterns: ['deploy *'],
+      target: { type: 'agent', name: 'coder' },
+      priority: 1,
+      enabled: true,
+    });
+
+    expect(registry.match('deploy dashboard')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/intents/registry.ts b/src/intents/registry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48f595f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/intents/registry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+export type IntentTargetType = 'agent' | 'skill';
+
+export interface IntentTarget {
+  type: IntentTargetType;
+  name: string;
+}
+
+export interface IntentRule {
+  name: string;
+  patterns: string[];
+  target: IntentTarget;
+  priority: number;
+  enabled: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface IntentMatch {
+  rule: IntentRule;
+  score: number;
+  matchedPattern: string;
+}
+
+export interface ComponentRegistryConfig {
+  matchThreshold: number;
+}
+
+export class ComponentRegistry {
+  private readonly matchThreshold: number;
+  private readonly rules: IntentRule[] = [];
+
+  constructor(config: ComponentRegistryConfig) {
+    this.matchThreshold = config.matchThreshold;
+  }
+
+  register(rule: IntentRule): void {
+    this.rules.push(rule);
+  }
+
+  loadRules(rules: IntentRule[]): void {
+    for (const rule of rules) {
+      this.register(rule);
+    }
+  }
+
+  list(): IntentRule[] {
+    return [...this.rules];
+  }
+
+  match(input: string): IntentMatch | null {
+    const normalizedInput = input.trim().toLowerCase();
+    if (!normalizedInput) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    let best: { match: IntentMatch; specificity: number } | null = null;
+
+    for (const rule of this.rules) {
+      if (!rule.enabled) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      let bestPatternScore = 0;
+      let bestPattern = '';
+      let bestSpecificity = 0;
+
+      for (const pattern of rule.patterns) {
+        const patternResult = this.scorePattern(pattern, normalizedInput);
+        if (!patternResult) {
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        if (patternResult.score > bestPatternScore) {
+          bestPatternScore = patternResult.score;
+          bestPattern = pattern;
+          bestSpecificity = patternResult.specificity;
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (bestPatternScore < this.matchThreshold) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const match: IntentMatch = {
+        rule,
+        score: bestPatternScore,
+        matchedPattern: bestPattern,
+      };
+
+      if (!best) {
+        best = { match, specificity: bestSpecificity };
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      if (match.score > best.match.score) {
+        best = { match, specificity: bestSpecificity };
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      if (match.score === best.match.score) {
+        if (rule.priority > best.match.rule.priority) {
+          best = { match, specificity: bestSpecificity };
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        if (rule.priority === best.match.rule.priority && bestSpecificity > best.specificity) {
+          best = { match, specificity: bestSpecificity };
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    return best?.match ?? null;
+  }
+
+  private scorePattern(pattern: string, normalizedInput: string): { score: number; specificity: number } | null {
+    const normalizedPattern = pattern.trim().toLowerCase();
+    if (!normalizedPattern) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const wildcardCount = (normalizedPattern.match(/\*/g) ?? []).length;
+    const literalLength = normalizedPattern.replace(/\*/g, '').length;
+    const specificity = literalLength / Math.max(normalizedInput.length, 1);
+
+    if (wildcardCount === 0) {
+      if (normalizedInput === normalizedPattern) {
+        return { score: 1, specificity };
+      }
+      if (normalizedInput.includes(normalizedPattern)) {
+        return { score: Math.min(0.9 + specificity * 0.1, 1), specificity };
+      }
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const escaped = normalizedPattern.replace(/[.+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+    const regexPattern = escaped.replace(/\*/g, '.*');
+    const regex = new RegExp(`^${regexPattern}$`);
+    if (!regex.test(normalizedInput)) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    return { score: Math.min(0.8 + specificity * 0.15, 0.99), specificity };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/memory/adaptive.test.ts b/src/memory/adaptive.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63670fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory/adaptive.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { MemoryStore } from './store.js';
+import { buildAdaptiveMemoryContext, buildRecentMemoryContext } from './adaptive.js';
+import type { Message } from '../models/types.js';
+
+describe('adaptive memory context', () => {
+  let dir: string;
+  let store: MemoryStore;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'flynn-adaptive-memory-test-'));
+    store = new MemoryStore({ dir, maxContextTokens: 4000 });
+
+    store.write('user', 'Preferred language: TypeScript', 'replace');
+    store.writeCategory('user', 'preferences', [
+      'Prefers concise responses and direct code snippets.',
+      'Use markdown tables for summaries.',
+      'Avoid unnecessary setup details.',
+    ].join('\n\n'), 'replace');
+    store.writeCategory('global', 'facts', [
+      'Project uses pnpm and Vitest.',
+      'Release workflow runs lint, test, and build.',
+      'Kubernetes cluster is k0s on arm64.',
+    ].join('\n\n'), 'replace');
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('selects memory snippets relevant to the current message', () => {
+    const recentMessages: Message[] = [
+      { role: 'user', content: 'Please keep answers concise' },
+      { role: 'assistant', content: 'Understood' },
+    ];
+
+    const context = buildAdaptiveMemoryContext({
+      store,
+      userMessage: 'Can you provide a concise summary in markdown table format?',
+      recentMessages,
+      config: { maxTokens: 200 },
+    });
+
+    expect(context).toContain('User Preferences');
+    expect(context).toContain('markdown tables');
+    expect(context).not.toContain('Kubernetes cluster is k0s on arm64');
+  });
+
+  it('respects token budget clipping', () => {
+    const context = buildAdaptiveMemoryContext({
+      store,
+      userMessage: 'Tell me something about this project',
+      recentMessages: [],
+      config: { maxTokens: 20 },
+    });
+
+    expect(context.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(80);
+  });
+
+  it('recent strategy keeps the tail of memory context', () => {
+    const recentContext = buildRecentMemoryContext(store, 25);
+    const fullContext = store.getContextForPrompt();
+
+    expect(recentContext.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(100);
+    expect(fullContext.endsWith(recentContext)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/memory/adaptive.ts b/src/memory/adaptive.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10d8c0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory/adaptive.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+import type { Message } from '../models/types.js';
+import type { MemoryStore, PromptMemorySection } from './store.js';
+
+export interface AdaptiveMemoryConfig {
+  maxTokens: number;
+  maxSnippetsPerSection?: number;
+}
+
+interface ScoredSnippet {
+  text: string;
+  score: number;
+  overlapScore: number;
+}
+
+const STOPWORDS = new Set([
+  'a', 'an', 'and', 'are', 'as', 'at', 'be', 'by', 'for', 'from', 'has', 'he', 'in', 'is', 'it', 'its',
+  'of', 'on', 'or', 'that', 'the', 'to', 'was', 'were', 'will', 'with', 'you', 'your', 'we', 'this',
+  'they', 'their', 'our', 'but', 'not', 'can', 'just', 'into', 'about', 'after', 'before', 'than', 'then',
+]);
+
+export function buildAdaptiveMemoryContext(opts: {
+  store: MemoryStore;
+  userMessage: string;
+  recentMessages: Message[];
+  config: AdaptiveMemoryConfig;
+}): string {
+  const sections = opts.store.getPromptSections();
+  if (sections.length === 0) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  const maxChars = Math.max(1, opts.config.maxTokens) * 4;
+  const sectionBlocks = buildSectionBlocks({
+    sections,
+    userMessage: opts.userMessage,
+    recentMessages: opts.recentMessages,
+    maxSnippetsPerSection: opts.config.maxSnippetsPerSection ?? 6,
+  });
+
+  if (sectionBlocks.length === 0) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  const blocksByPriority = sectionBlocks.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score || a.index - b.index);
+  const selected: typeof blocksByPriority = [];
+  let usedChars = 0;
+
+  for (const block of blocksByPriority) {
+    const withSeparator = selected.length > 0 ? 2 : 0;
+    const projectedChars = usedChars + withSeparator + block.content.length;
+    if (projectedChars > maxChars) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    selected.push(block);
+    usedChars = projectedChars;
+  }
+
+  if (selected.length === 0) {
+    const best = blocksByPriority[0];
+    return best.content.slice(0, maxChars);
+  }
+
+  selected.sort((a, b) => a.index - b.index);
+  return selected.map((block) => block.content).join('\n\n');
+}
+
+export function buildRecentMemoryContext(store: MemoryStore, maxTokens: number): string {
+  const full = store.getContextForPrompt();
+  if (!full) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  const maxChars = Math.max(1, maxTokens) * 4;
+  if (full.length <= maxChars) {
+    return full;
+  }
+  return full.slice(-maxChars);
+}
+
+function buildSectionBlocks(opts: {
+  sections: PromptMemorySection[];
+  userMessage: string;
+  recentMessages: Message[];
+  maxSnippetsPerSection: number;
+}): Array<{ score: number; content: string; index: number }> {
+  const weightedContextTokens = buildWeightedContextTokens(opts.userMessage, opts.recentMessages);
+  const blocks: Array<{ score: number; content: string; index: number }> = [];
+
+  for (let sectionIndex = 0; sectionIndex < opts.sections.length; sectionIndex++) {
+    const section = opts.sections[sectionIndex];
+    const snippets = splitIntoSnippets(section.content).slice(-opts.maxSnippetsPerSection);
+    if (snippets.length === 0) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const scored = scoreSnippets(snippets, weightedContextTokens);
+    const bestSnippets = scored
+      .filter((snippet) => snippet.overlapScore > 0)
+      .sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score)
+      .slice(0, Math.min(3, scored.length))
+      .map((snippet) => snippet.text.trim())
+      .filter((snippet) => snippet.length > 0);
+
+    if (bestSnippets.length === 0) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const block = `## ${section.title}\n\n${bestSnippets.join('\n\n')}`;
+    const blockScore = scored.reduce((sum, item) => sum + item.score, 0) / scored.length;
+    blocks.push({ score: blockScore, content: block, index: sectionIndex });
+  }
+
+  return blocks;
+}
+
+function splitIntoSnippets(content: string): string[] {
+  return content
+    .split(/\n\s*\n/g)
+    .map(part => part.trim())
+    .filter(part => part.length > 0);
+}
+
+function scoreSnippets(snippets: string[], weightedContextTokens: Map<string, number>): ScoredSnippet[] {
+  const totalContextWeight = Math.max(
+    1,
+    Array.from(weightedContextTokens.values()).reduce((sum, value) => sum + value, 0),
+  );
+
+  return snippets.map((snippet, index) => {
+    const snippetTokens = new Set(tokenize(snippet));
+    let overlapWeight = 0;
+
+    for (const token of snippetTokens) {
+      overlapWeight += weightedContextTokens.get(token) ?? 0;
+    }
+
+    const overlapScore = overlapWeight / totalContextWeight;
+    const recencyScore = (index + 1) / snippets.length;
+    const score = overlapScore * 0.8 + recencyScore * 0.2;
+
+    return { text: snippet, score, overlapScore };
+  });
+}
+
+function buildWeightedContextTokens(userMessage: string, recentMessages: Message[]): Map<string, number> {
+  const weighted = new Map<string, number>();
+  const recent = recentMessages.slice(-6);
+
+  addTokens(weighted, userMessage, 1.0);
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < recent.length; i++) {
+    const msg = recent[i];
+    const recencyWeight = 0.25 + ((i + 1) / recent.length) * 0.55;
+    addTokens(weighted, typeof msg.content === 'string' ? msg.content : '', recencyWeight);
+  }
+
+  return weighted;
+}
+
+function addTokens(target: Map<string, number>, text: string, weight: number): void {
+  for (const token of tokenize(text)) {
+    target.set(token, (target.get(token) ?? 0) + weight);
+  }
+}
+
+function tokenize(text: string): string[] {
+  return text
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .split(/[^a-z0-9]+/)
+    .filter(token => token.length >= 3 && !STOPWORDS.has(token));
+}
diff --git a/src/memory/categories.test.ts b/src/memory/categories.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0605cec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory/categories.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { MEMORY_CATEGORIES, isMemoryCategory, categoryNamespace } from './categories.js';
+
+describe('memory categories', () => {
+  it('exposes expected categories', () => {
+    expect(MEMORY_CATEGORIES).toEqual(['facts', 'preferences', 'decisions', 'projects']);
+  });
+
+  it('validates category names', () => {
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('facts')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('preferences')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('decisions')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('projects')).toBe(true);
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('unknown')).toBe(false);
+    expect(isMemoryCategory('')).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('builds category namespaces', () => {
+    expect(categoryNamespace('user', 'facts')).toBe('user/facts');
+    expect(categoryNamespace('global', 'decisions')).toBe('global/decisions');
+    expect(categoryNamespace('sessions/abc123', 'projects')).toBe('sessions/abc123/projects');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/memory/categories.ts b/src/memory/categories.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9fb4a46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory/categories.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+export const MEMORY_CATEGORIES = ['facts', 'preferences', 'decisions', 'projects'] as const;
+
+export type MemoryCategory = (typeof MEMORY_CATEGORIES)[number];
+
+export function isMemoryCategory(value: string): value is MemoryCategory {
+  return (MEMORY_CATEGORIES as readonly string[]).includes(value);
+}
+
+export function categoryNamespace(baseNamespace: string, category: MemoryCategory): string {
+  return `${baseNamespace}/${category}`;
+}
diff --git a/src/routing/index.ts b/src/routing/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8fcffa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/routing/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export { RoutingPolicy } from './policy.js';
+export type { RoutingPath, RoutingPolicyConfig, RoutingDecisionInput, RoutingDecision } from './policy.js';
diff --git a/src/routing/policy.test.ts b/src/routing/policy.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe0b142
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/routing/policy.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { RoutingPolicy } from './policy.js';
+
+describe('RoutingPolicy', () => {
+  it('uses default path when disabled', () => {
+    const policy = new RoutingPolicy({
+      enabled: false,
+      fastPathThreshold: 0.8,
+      llmThreshold: 0.4,
+      defaultPath: 'llm',
+    });
+
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.99 })).toEqual({ path: 'llm', reason: 'disabled' });
+  });
+
+  it('routes to fast at or above fast threshold', () => {
+    const policy = new RoutingPolicy({
+      enabled: true,
+      fastPathThreshold: 0.8,
+      llmThreshold: 0.4,
+      defaultPath: 'llm',
+    });
+
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.8 })).toEqual({ path: 'fast', reason: 'high_confidence' });
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.95 })).toEqual({ path: 'fast', reason: 'high_confidence' });
+  });
+
+  it('routes to llm at or below llm threshold', () => {
+    const policy = new RoutingPolicy({
+      enabled: true,
+      fastPathThreshold: 0.8,
+      llmThreshold: 0.4,
+      defaultPath: 'fast',
+    });
+
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.4 })).toEqual({ path: 'llm', reason: 'low_confidence' });
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.1 })).toEqual({ path: 'llm', reason: 'low_confidence' });
+  });
+
+  it('uses default path between thresholds', () => {
+    const policy = new RoutingPolicy({
+      enabled: true,
+      fastPathThreshold: 0.8,
+      llmThreshold: 0.4,
+      defaultPath: 'llm',
+    });
+
+    expect(policy.decide({ confidence: 0.6 })).toEqual({ path: 'llm', reason: 'mid_confidence' });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/routing/policy.ts b/src/routing/policy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c36fdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/routing/policy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+export type RoutingPath = 'fast' | 'llm';
+
+export interface RoutingPolicyConfig {
+  enabled: boolean;
+  fastPathThreshold: number;
+  llmThreshold: number;
+  defaultPath: RoutingPath;
+}
+
+export interface RoutingDecisionInput {
+  confidence: number | null;
+}
+
+export interface RoutingDecision {
+  path: RoutingPath;
+  reason: 'disabled' | 'no_match' | 'high_confidence' | 'low_confidence' | 'mid_confidence';
+}
+
+export class RoutingPolicy {
+  private readonly config: RoutingPolicyConfig;
+
+  constructor(config: RoutingPolicyConfig) {
+    this.config = config;
+  }
+
+  isEnabled(): boolean {
+    return this.config.enabled;
+  }
+
+  decide(input: RoutingDecisionInput): RoutingDecision {
+    if (!this.config.enabled) {
+      return {
+        path: this.config.defaultPath,
+        reason: 'disabled',
+      };
+    }
+
+    if (input.confidence === null) {
+      return {
+        path: this.config.defaultPath,
+        reason: 'no_match',
+      };
+    }
+
+    if (input.confidence >= this.config.fastPathThreshold) {
+      return {
+        path: 'fast',
+        reason: 'high_confidence',
+      };
+    }
+
+    if (input.confidence <= this.config.llmThreshold) {
+      return {
+        path: 'llm',
+        reason: 'low_confidence',
+      };
+    }
+
+    return {
+      path: this.config.defaultPath,
+      reason: 'mid_confidence',
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/session/indexer.test.ts b/src/session/indexer.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c053711
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/session/indexer.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { SessionIndexer, tokenize } from './indexer.js';
+
+describe('session indexer', () => {
+  it('tokenizes text with stopword filtering', () => {
+    const tokens = tokenize('Deploy the backend service to production and verify logs');
+    expect(tokens).toContain('deploy');
+    expect(tokens).toContain('backend');
+    expect(tokens).toContain('service');
+    expect(tokens).not.toContain('the');
+  });
+
+  it('extracts top keywords and topics', () => {
+    const indexer = new SessionIndexer({ maxKeywords: 5 });
+    const metadata = indexer.indexText('deploy deploy backend service backend api release');
+
+    expect(metadata.keywords.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(5);
+    expect(metadata.keywords).toContain('deploy');
+    expect(metadata.topics.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(3);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/session/indexer.ts b/src/session/indexer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2ce270
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/session/indexer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+export interface HistoryMetadata {
+  keywords: string[];
+  topics: string[];
+}
+
+export interface HistoryIndexerConfig {
+  maxKeywords: number;
+}
+
+const STOPWORDS = new Set([
+  'a', 'an', 'and', 'are', 'as', 'at', 'be', 'by', 'for', 'from', 'has', 'he', 'in', 'is', 'it', 'its',
+  'of', 'on', 'or', 'that', 'the', 'to', 'was', 'were', 'will', 'with', 'you', 'your', 'we', 'this',
+  'they', 'their', 'our', 'but', 'not', 'can', 'just', 'into', 'about', 'after', 'before', 'than', 'then',
+]);
+
+export function tokenize(text: string): string[] {
+  return text
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .split(/[^a-z0-9]+/)
+    .filter(token => token.length >= 3 && !STOPWORDS.has(token));
+}
+
+export class SessionIndexer {
+  private readonly maxKeywords: number;
+
+  constructor(config: HistoryIndexerConfig) {
+    this.maxKeywords = config.maxKeywords;
+  }
+
+  indexText(text: string): HistoryMetadata {
+    const tokens = tokenize(text);
+    const frequencies = new Map<string, number>();
+
+    for (const token of tokens) {
+      frequencies.set(token, (frequencies.get(token) ?? 0) + 1);
+    }
+
+    const sorted = Array.from(frequencies.entries())
+      .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1] || a[0].localeCompare(b[0]))
+      .slice(0, this.maxKeywords)
+      .map(([token]) => token);
+
+    return {
+      keywords: sorted,
+      topics: sorted.slice(0, Math.min(3, sorted.length)),
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/session/search.test.ts b/src/session/search.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6a8ce70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/session/search.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { SessionStore } from './store.js';
+import { SessionIndexer } from './indexer.js';
+import { SessionSearch } from './search.js';
+import { unlinkSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+
+describe('SessionSearch', () => {
+  const dbPath = join(tmpdir(), 'flynn-test-search.db');
+  let store: SessionStore;
+  let search: SessionSearch;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    store = new SessionStore(dbPath);
+    const indexer = new SessionIndexer({ maxKeywords: 8 });
+    store.addMessage('session:a', { role: 'user', content: 'deploy backend service' }, indexer.indexText('deploy backend service'));
+    store.addMessage('session:a', { role: 'assistant', content: 'backend deployment completed' }, indexer.indexText('backend deployment completed'));
+    store.addMessage('session:b', { role: 'user', content: 'buy groceries tonight' }, indexer.indexText('buy groceries tonight'));
+
+    search = new SessionSearch(store, {
+      limit: 10,
+      minScore: 0.1,
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    store.close();
+    if (existsSync(dbPath)) {
+      unlinkSync(dbPath);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('returns ranked results for overlapping keywords', () => {
+    const results = search.search('deploy backend');
+    expect(results.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(results[0].sessionId).toBe('session:a');
+    expect(results[0].score).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it('supports session-specific filtering', () => {
+    const results = search.search('deploy', { sessionId: 'session:b' });
+    expect(results).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/session/search.ts b/src/session/search.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47f6d6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/session/search.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import type { SessionStore } from './store.js';
+import { tokenize } from './indexer.js';
+
+export interface HistorySearchResult {
+  sessionId: string;
+  messageId: number;
+  role: 'user' | 'assistant';
+  content: string;
+  score: number;
+  createdAt: number;
+}
+
+export interface HistorySearchConfig {
+  limit: number;
+  minScore: number;
+}
+
+export class SessionSearch {
+  private readonly store: SessionStore;
+  private readonly config: HistorySearchConfig;
+
+  constructor(store: SessionStore, config: HistorySearchConfig) {
+    this.store = store;
+    this.config = config;
+  }
+
+  search(query: string, opts?: { limit?: number; sessionId?: string }): HistorySearchResult[] {
+    const queryTokens = new Set(tokenize(query));
+    if (queryTokens.size === 0) {
+      return [];
+    }
+
+    const rows = opts?.sessionId
+      ? this.store.getMessagesWithMetadata(opts.sessionId)
+      : this.store.getAllMessagesWithMetadata();
+
+    const now = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
+    const results: HistorySearchResult[] = [];
+
+    for (const row of rows) {
+      const keywords = row.metadata?.keywords ?? [];
+      if (keywords.length === 0) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const overlapCount = keywords.filter(keyword => queryTokens.has(keyword)).length;
+      if (overlapCount === 0) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const overlapScore = overlapCount / queryTokens.size;
+      const ageSeconds = Math.max(0, now - row.createdAt);
+      const recencyScore = Math.max(0, 1 - ageSeconds / (30 * 24 * 3600)) * 0.2;
+      const totalScore = overlapScore + recencyScore;
+
+      if (totalScore < this.config.minScore) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      results.push({
+        sessionId: row.sessionId,
+        messageId: row.id,
+        role: row.role,
+        content: row.content,
+        score: totalScore,
+        createdAt: row.createdAt,
+      });
+    }
+
+    results.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score || b.createdAt - a.createdAt);
+    return results.slice(0, opts?.limit ?? this.config.limit);
+  }
+}