5.16.4

- Introduced a detailed guide on query filters in the README, covering basic filtering, comparison operators, array operators, logical operators, element operators, and advanced filtering patterns.
- Implemented a type-safe filtering system in `classes.doc.ts` with `MongoFilterCondition` and `MongoFilter` types to support MongoDB operators while maintaining nested type safety.
- Enhanced error handling for invalid operators and conditions in the filtering logic.
- Added extensive tests for various filtering scenarios, including basic, comparison, array, logical, and complex filters, ensuring robust functionality and performance.
- Implemented security measures to prevent the use of dangerous operators like `$where` and validate operator usage.

.serena/memories/code_style_conventions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+# Code Style & Conventions
+
+## TypeScript Standards
+- **Target**: ES2022
+- **Module System**: ESM with NodeNext resolution
+- **Decorators**: Experimental decorators enabled
+- **Strict Mode**: Implied through TypeScript configuration
+
+## Naming Conventions
+- **Interfaces**: Prefix with `I` (e.g., `IUserData`, `IConfig`)
+- **Types**: Prefix with `T` (e.g., `TResponseType`, `TQueryResult`)
+- **Classes**: PascalCase (e.g., `SmartdataDb`, `SmartDataDbDoc`)
+- **Files**: All lowercase (e.g., `classes.doc.ts`, `plugins.ts`)
+- **Methods**: camelCase (e.g., `findOne`, `saveToDb`)
+
+## Import Patterns
+- All external dependencies imported in `ts/plugins.ts`
+- Reference as `plugins.moduleName.method()`
+- Use full import paths for internal modules
+- Maintain ESM syntax throughout
+
+## Class Structure
+- Use decorators for MongoDB document definitions
+- Extend base classes (SmartDataDbDoc, SmartDataDbCollection)
+- Static methods for factory patterns
+- Instance methods for document operations
+
+## Async Patterns
+- Preserve Promise-based patterns
+- Use async/await for clarity
+- Handle errors appropriately
+- Return typed Promises
+
+## MongoDB Specifics
+- Use `@unify()` decorator for unique fields
+- Use `@svDb()` decorator for database fields
+- Implement proper serialization/deserialization
+- Type-safe query construction with DeepQuery<T>
+
+## Testing Patterns
+- Import from `@git.zone/tstest/tapbundle`
+- End test files with `export default tap.start()`
+- Use descriptive test names
+- Cover edge cases and error conditions

.serena/memories/project_overview.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Project Overview: @push.rocks/smartdata
+
+## Purpose
+An advanced TypeScript-first MongoDB wrapper library providing enterprise-grade features for distributed systems, real-time data synchronization, and easy data management.
+
+## Tech Stack
+- **Language**: TypeScript (ES2022 target)
+- **Runtime**: Node.js >= 16.x
+- **Database**: MongoDB >= 4.4
+- **Build System**: tsbuild
+- **Test Framework**: tstest with tapbundle
+- **Package Manager**: pnpm (v10.7.0)
+- **Module System**: ESM (ES Modules)
+
+## Key Features
+- Type-safe MongoDB integration with decorators
+- Document management with automatic timestamps
+- EasyStore for key-value storage
+- Distributed coordination with leader election
+- Real-time data sync with RxJS watchers
+- Deep query type safety
+- Enhanced cursor API
+- Powerful search capabilities
+
+## Project Structure
+- **ts/**: Main TypeScript source code
+  - Core classes for DB, Collections, Documents, Cursors
+  - Distributed coordinator, EasyStore, Watchers
+  - Lucene adapter for search functionality
+- **test/**: Test files using tstest framework
+- **dist_ts/**: Compiled JavaScript output
+
+## Key Dependencies
+- MongoDB driver (v6.18.0)
+- @push.rocks ecosystem packages
+- @tsclass/tsclass for decorators
+- RxJS for reactive programming

.serena/memories/suggested_commands.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Suggested Commands for @push.rocks/smartdata
+
+## Build & Development
+- `pnpm build` - Build the TypeScript project with web support
+- `pnpm buildDocs` - Generate documentation using tsdoc
+- `tsbuild --web --allowimplicitany` - Direct build command
+
+## Testing
+- `pnpm test` - Run all tests in test/ directory
+- `pnpm testSearch` - Run specific search test
+- `tstest test/test.specific.ts --verbose` - Run specific test with verbose output
+- `tsbuild check test/**/* --skiplibcheck` - Type check test files
+
+## Package Management
+- `pnpm install` - Install dependencies
+- `pnpm install --save-dev <package>` - Add dev dependency
+- `pnpm add <package>` - Add production dependency
+
+## Version Control
+- `git status` - Check current changes
+- `git diff` - View uncommitted changes
+- `git log --oneline -10` - View recent commits
+- `git mv <old> <new>` - Move/rename files preserving history
+
+## System Utilities (Linux)
+- `ls -la` - List all files with details
+- `grep -r "pattern" .` - Search for pattern in files
+- `find . -name "*.ts"` - Find TypeScript files
+- `ps aux | grep node` - Find Node.js processes
+- `lsof -i :80` - Check process on port 80
+
+## Debug & Development
+- `tsx <script.ts>` - Run TypeScript file directly
+- Store debug scripts in `.nogit/debug/`
+- Curl endpoints for API testing

.serena/memories/task_completion_checklist.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Task Completion Checklist
+
+When completing any coding task in this project, always:
+
+## Before Committing
+1. **Build the project**: Run `pnpm build` to ensure TypeScript compiles
+2. **Run tests**: Execute `pnpm test` to verify nothing is broken
+3. **Type check**: Verify types compile correctly
+4. **Check for lint issues**: Look for any code style violations
+
+## Code Quality Checks
+- Verify all imports are in `ts/plugins.ts` for external dependencies
+- Check that interfaces are prefixed with `I`
+- Check that types are prefixed with `T`
+- Ensure filenames are lowercase
+- Verify async patterns are preserved where needed
+- Check that decorators are properly used for MongoDB documents
+
+## Documentation
+- Update relevant comments if functionality changed
+- Ensure new exports are properly documented
+- Update readme.md if new features added (only if explicitly requested)
+
+## Git Hygiene
+- Make small, focused commits
+- Write clear commit messages
+- Use `git mv` for file operations
+- Never commit sensitive data or keys
+
+## Final Verification
+- Test the specific functionality that was changed
+- Ensure no unintended side effects
+- Verify the change solves the original problem completely

.serena/project.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# language of the project (csharp, python, rust, java, typescript, go, cpp, or ruby)
+#  * For C, use cpp
+#  * For JavaScript, use typescript
+# Special requirements:
+#  * csharp: Requires the presence of a .sln file in the project folder.
+language: typescript
+
+# whether to use the project's gitignore file to ignore files
+# Added on 2025-04-07
+ignore_all_files_in_gitignore: true
+# list of additional paths to ignore
+# same syntax as gitignore, so you can use * and **
+# Was previously called `ignored_dirs`, please update your config if you are using that.
+# Added (renamed)on 2025-04-07
+ignored_paths: []
+
+# whether the project is in read-only mode
+# If set to true, all editing tools will be disabled and attempts to use them will result in an error
+# Added on 2025-04-18
+read_only: false
+
+
+# list of tool names to exclude. We recommend not excluding any tools, see the readme for more details.
+# Below is the complete list of tools for convenience.
+# To make sure you have the latest list of tools, and to view their descriptions, 
+# execute `uv run scripts/print_tool_overview.py`.
+#
+#  * `activate_project`: Activates a project by name.
+#  * `check_onboarding_performed`: Checks whether project onboarding was already performed.
+#  * `create_text_file`: Creates/overwrites a file in the project directory.
+#  * `delete_lines`: Deletes a range of lines within a file.
+#  * `delete_memory`: Deletes a memory from Serena's project-specific memory store.
+#  * `execute_shell_command`: Executes a shell command.
+#  * `find_referencing_code_snippets`: Finds code snippets in which the symbol at the given location is referenced.
+#  * `find_referencing_symbols`: Finds symbols that reference the symbol at the given location (optionally filtered by type).
+#  * `find_symbol`: Performs a global (or local) search for symbols with/containing a given name/substring (optionally filtered by type).
+#  * `get_current_config`: Prints the current configuration of the agent, including the active and available projects, tools, contexts, and modes.
+#  * `get_symbols_overview`: Gets an overview of the top-level symbols defined in a given file.
+#  * `initial_instructions`: Gets the initial instructions for the current project.
+#     Should only be used in settings where the system prompt cannot be set,
+#     e.g. in clients you have no control over, like Claude Desktop.
+#  * `insert_after_symbol`: Inserts content after the end of the definition of a given symbol.
+#  * `insert_at_line`: Inserts content at a given line in a file.
+#  * `insert_before_symbol`: Inserts content before the beginning of the definition of a given symbol.
+#  * `list_dir`: Lists files and directories in the given directory (optionally with recursion).
+#  * `list_memories`: Lists memories in Serena's project-specific memory store.
+#  * `onboarding`: Performs onboarding (identifying the project structure and essential tasks, e.g. for testing or building).
+#  * `prepare_for_new_conversation`: Provides instructions for preparing for a new conversation (in order to continue with the necessary context).
+#  * `read_file`: Reads a file within the project directory.
+#  * `read_memory`: Reads the memory with the given name from Serena's project-specific memory store.
+#  * `remove_project`: Removes a project from the Serena configuration.
+#  * `replace_lines`: Replaces a range of lines within a file with new content.
+#  * `replace_symbol_body`: Replaces the full definition of a symbol.
+#  * `restart_language_server`: Restarts the language server, may be necessary when edits not through Serena happen.
+#  * `search_for_pattern`: Performs a search for a pattern in the project.
+#  * `summarize_changes`: Provides instructions for summarizing the changes made to the codebase.
+#  * `switch_modes`: Activates modes by providing a list of their names
+#  * `think_about_collected_information`: Thinking tool for pondering the completeness of collected information.
+#  * `think_about_task_adherence`: Thinking tool for determining whether the agent is still on track with the current task.
+#  * `think_about_whether_you_are_done`: Thinking tool for determining whether the task is truly completed.
+#  * `write_memory`: Writes a named memory (for future reference) to Serena's project-specific memory store.
+excluded_tools: []
+
+# initial prompt for the project. It will always be given to the LLM upon activating the project
+# (contrary to the memories, which are loaded on demand).
+initial_prompt: ""
+
+project_name: "smartdata"

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,196 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2025-08-18 - 5.16.4 - fix(classes.doc (convertFilterForMongoDb))
+Improve filter conversion: handle logical operators, merge operator objects, add nested filter tests and docs, and fix test script
+
+- Fix package.json test script: remove stray dot in tstest --verbose argument to ensure tests run correctly
+- Enhance convertFilterForMongoDb in ts/classes.doc.ts to properly handle logical operators ($and, $or, $nor, $not) and return them recursively
+- Merge operator objects for the same field path (e.g. combining $gte and $lte) to avoid overwriting operator clauses when object and dot-notation are mixed
+- Add validation/guards for operator argument types (e.g. $in, $nin, $all must be arrays; $size must be numeric) and preserve existing behavior blocking $where for security
+- Add comprehensive nested filter tests in test/test.filters.ts to cover deep nested object queries, $elemMatch, array size, $all, $in on nested fields and more
+- Expand README filtering section with detailed examples for basic filtering, deep nested filters, comparison operators, array operations, logical and element operators, and advanced patterns
+
+## 2025-08-18 - 5.16.3 - fix(docs)
+Add local Claude settings and remove outdated codex.md
+
+- Added .claude/settings.local.json to store local Claude/assistant permissions and configuration.
+- Removed codex.md (project overview) — documentation file deleted.
+- No runtime/library code changes; documentation/configuration-only update, bump patch version.
+
+## 2025-08-18 - 5.16.2 - fix(readme)
+Update README: clarify examples, expand search/cursor/docs and add local Claude settings
+
+- Refined README wording and structure: clearer Quick Start, improved examples and developer-focused phrasing
+- Expanded documentation for search, cursors, change streams, distributed coordination, transactions and EasyStore with more concrete code examples
+- Adjusted code examples to show safer defaults (ID generation, status/tags, connection pooling) and improved best-practices guidance
+- Added .claude/settings.local.json to provide local assistant/CI permission configuration
+
+## 2025-08-12 - 5.16.1 - fix(core)
+Improve error handling and logging; enhance search query sanitization; update dependency versions and documentation
+
+- Replaced console.log and console.warn with structured logger.log calls throughout the core modules
+- Enhanced database initialization with try/catch and proper URI credential encoding
+- Improved search query conversion by disallowing dangerous operators (e.g. $where) and securely escaping regex patterns
+- Bumped dependency versions (smartlog, @tsclass/tsclass, mongodb, etc.) in package.json
+- Added detailed project memories including code style, project overview, and suggested commands for developers
+- Updated README with improved instructions, feature highlights, and quick start sections
+
+## 2025-04-25 - 5.16.0 - feat(watcher)
+Enhance change stream watchers with buffering and EventEmitter support; update dependency versions
+
+- Bumped smartmongo from ^2.0.11 to ^2.0.12 and smartrx from ^3.0.7 to ^3.0.10
+- Upgraded @tsclass/tsclass to ^9.0.0 and mongodb to ^6.16.0
+- Refactored the watch API to accept additional options (bufferTimeMs, fullDocument) for improved change stream handling
+- Modified SmartdataDbWatcher to extend EventEmitter and support event notifications
+
+## 2025-04-24 - 5.15.1 - fix(cursor)
+Improve cursor usage documentation and refactor getCursor API to support native cursor modifiers
+
+- Updated examples in readme.md to demonstrate manual iteration using cursor.next() and proper cursor closing.
+- Refactored the getCursor method in classes.doc.ts to accept session and modifier options, consolidating cursor handling.
+- Added new tests in test/test.cursor.ts to verify cursor operations, including limits, sorting, and skipping.
+
+## 2025-04-24 - 5.15.0 - feat(svDb)
+Enhance svDb decorator to support custom serialization and deserialization options
+
+- Added an optional options parameter to the svDb decorator to accept serialize/deserialize functions
+- Updated instance creation logic (updateFromDb) to apply custom deserialization if provided
+- Updated createSavableObject to use custom serialization when available
+
+## 2025-04-23 - 5.14.1 - fix(db operations)
+Update transaction API to consistently pass optional session parameters across database operations
+
+- Revised transaction support in readme to use startSession without await and showcased session usage in getInstance and save calls
+- Updated methods in classes.collection.ts to accept an optional session parameter for findOne, getCursor, findAll, insert, update, delete, and getCount
+- Enhanced SmartDataDbDoc save and delete methods to propagate session parameters
+- Improved overall consistency of transactional APIs across the library
+
+## 2025-04-23 - 5.14.0 - feat(doc)
+Implement support for beforeSave, afterSave, beforeDelete, and afterDelete lifecycle hooks in document save and delete operations to allow custom logic execution during these critical moments.
+
+- Calls beforeSave hook if defined before performing insert or update.
+- Calls afterSave hook after a document is saved.
+- Calls beforeDelete hook before deletion and afterDelete hook afterward.
+- Ensures _updatedAt timestamp is refreshed during save operations.
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.13.1 - fix(search)
+Improve search query parsing for implicit AND queries by preserving quoted substrings and better handling free terms, quoted phrases, and field:value tokens.
+
+- Replace previous implicit AND logic with tokenization that preserves quoted substrings
+- Support both free term and field:value tokens with wildcards inside quotes
+- Ensure errors are thrown for non-searchable fields in field-specific queries
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.13.0 - feat(search)
+Improve search query handling and update documentation
+
+- Added 'codex.md' providing a high-level project overview and detailed search API documentation.
+- Enhanced search parsing in SmartDataDbDoc to support combined free-term and quoted field phrase queries.
+- Introduced a new fallback branch in the search method to handle free term with quoted field input.
+- Updated tests in test/test.search.ts to cover new combined query scenarios and ensure robust behavior.
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.12.2 - fix(search)
+Fix handling of quoted wildcard patterns in field-specific search queries and add tests for location-based wildcard phrase searches
+
+- Strip surrounding quotes from wildcard patterns in field queries to correctly transform them to regex
+- Introduce new tests in test/test.search.ts to validate exact quoted and unquoted wildcard searches on a location field
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.12.1 - fix(search)
+Improve implicit AND logic for mixed free term and field queries in search and enhance wildcard field handling.
+
+- Updated regex for field:value parsing to capture full value with wildcards.
+- Added explicit handling for free terms by converting to regex across searchable fields.
+- Improved error messaging for attempts to search non-searchable fields.
+- Extended tests to cover combined free term and wildcard field searches, including error cases.
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.12.0 - feat(doc/search)
+Enhance search functionality with filter and validate options for advanced query control
+
+- Added 'filter' option to merge additional MongoDB query constraints in search
+- Introduced 'validate' hook to post-process and filter fetched documents
+- Refactored underlying execQuery function to support additional search options
+- Updated tests to cover new search scenarios and fallback mechanisms
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.11.4 - fix(search)
+Implement implicit AND logic for mixed simple term and field:value queries in search
+
+- Added a new branch to detect and handle search queries that mix field:value pairs with plain terms without explicit operators
+- Builds an implicit $and filter when query parts contain colon(s) but lack explicit boolean operators or quotes
+- Ensures proper parsing and improved robustness of search filters
+
+## 2025-04-22 - 5.11.3 - fix(lucene adapter and search tests)
+Improve range query parsing in Lucene adapter and expand search test coverage
+
+- Added a new 'testSearch' script in package.json to run search tests.
+- Introduced advanced search tests for range queries and combined field filters in test/search.advanced.ts.
+- Enhanced robustness tests in test/search.ts for wildcard and empty query scenarios.
+- Fixed token validation in the parseRange method of the Lucene adapter to ensure proper error handling.
+
+## 2025-04-21 - 5.11.2 - fix(readme)
+Update readme to clarify usage of searchable fields retrieval
+
+- Replaced getSearchableFields('Product') with Product.getSearchableFields()
+- Updated documentation to reference the static method Class.getSearchableFields()
+
+## 2025-04-21 - 5.11.1 - fix(doc)
+Refactor searchable fields API and improve collection registration.
+
+- Removed the standalone getSearchableFields utility in favor of a static method on document classes.
+- Updated tests to use the new static method (e.g., Product.getSearchableFields()).
+- Ensured the Collection decorator attaches a docCtor property to correctly register searchable fields.
+- Added try/catch in test cleanup to gracefully handle dropDatabase errors.
+
+## 2025-04-21 - 5.11.0 - feat(ts/classes.lucene.adapter)
+Expose luceneWildcardToRegex method to allow external usage and enhance regex transformation capabilities.
+
+- Changed luceneWildcardToRegex from private to public in ts/classes.lucene.adapter.ts.
+
+## 2025-04-21 - 5.10.0 - feat(search)
+Improve search functionality: update documentation, refine Lucene query transformation, and add advanced search tests
+
+- Updated readme.md with detailed Lucene‑style search examples and use cases
+- Enhanced LuceneToMongoTransformer to properly handle wildcard conversion and regex escaping
+- Improved search query parsing in SmartDataDbDoc for field-specific, multi-term, and advanced Lucene syntax
+- Added new advanced search tests covering boolean operators, grouping, quoted phrases, and wildcard queries
+
+## 2025-04-18 - 5.9.2 - fix(documentation)
+Update search API documentation to replace deprecated searchWithLucene examples with the unified search(query) API and clarify its behavior.
+
+- Replaced 'searchWithLucene' examples with 'search(query)' in the README.
+- Updated explanation to detail field-specific exact match, partial word regex search, multi-word literal matching, and handling of empty queries.
+- Clarified guidelines for creating MongoDB text indexes on searchable fields for optimized search performance.
+
+## 2025-04-18 - 5.9.1 - fix(search)
+Refactor search tests to use unified search API and update text index type casting
+
+- Replaced all calls from searchWithLucene with search in test/search tests
+- Updated text index specification in the collection class to use proper type casting
+
+## 2025-04-18 - 5.9.0 - feat(collections/search)
+Improve text index creation and search fallback mechanisms in collections and document search methods
+
+- Auto-create a compound text index on all searchable fields in SmartdataCollection with a one-time flag to prevent duplicate index creation.
+- Refine the search method in SmartDataDbDoc to support exact field matches and safe regex fallback for non-Lucene queries.
+
+## 2025-04-17 - 5.8.4 - fix(core)
+Update commit metadata with no functional code changes
+
+- Commit info and documentation refreshed
+- No code or test changes detected in the diff
+
+## 2025-04-17 - 5.8.3 - fix(readme)
+Improve readme documentation on data models and connection management
+
+- Clarify that data models use @Collection, @unI, @svDb, @index, and @searchable decorators
+- Document that ObjectId and Buffer fields are stored as BSON types natively without extra decorators
+- Update connection management section to use 'db.close()' instead of 'db.disconnect()'
+- Revise license section to reference the MIT License without including additional legal details
+
+## 2025-04-14 - 5.8.2 - fix(classes.doc.ts)
+Ensure collection initialization before creating a cursor in getCursorExtended
+
+- Added 'await collection.init()' to guarantee that the MongoDB collection is initialized before using the cursor
+- Prevents potential runtime errors when accessing collection.mongoDbCollection
+
 ## 2025-04-14 - 5.8.1 - fix(cursor, doc)
 Add explicit return types and casts to SmartdataDbCursor methods and update getCursorExtended signature in SmartDataDbDoc.
 

package.json

@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 {
   "name": "@push.rocks/smartdata",
-  "version": "5.8.1",
+  "version": "5.16.4",
   "private": false,
   "description": "An advanced library for NoSQL data organization and manipulation using TypeScript with support for MongoDB, data validation, collections, and custom data types.",
   "main": "dist_ts/index.js",
   "typings": "dist_ts/index.d.ts",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "tstest test/",
+    "test": "tstest test/ --verbose --logfile --timeout 120",
+    "testSearch": "tsx test/test.search.ts",
     "build": "tsbuild --web --allowimplicitany",
     "buildDocs": "tsdoc"
   },
@@ -22,26 +23,26 @@
   },
   "homepage": "https://code.foss.global/push.rocks/smartdata#readme",
   "dependencies": {
-    "@push.rocks/lik": "^6.0.14",
+    "@push.rocks/lik": "^6.2.2",
     "@push.rocks/smartdelay": "^3.0.1",
-    "@push.rocks/smartlog": "^3.0.2",
+    "@push.rocks/smartlog": "^3.1.8",
-    "@push.rocks/smartmongo": "^2.0.11",
+    "@push.rocks/smartmongo": "^2.0.12",
     "@push.rocks/smartpromise": "^4.0.2",
-    "@push.rocks/smartrx": "^3.0.7",
+    "@push.rocks/smartrx": "^3.0.10",
     "@push.rocks/smartstring": "^4.0.15",
     "@push.rocks/smarttime": "^4.0.6",
     "@push.rocks/smartunique": "^3.0.8",
     "@push.rocks/taskbuffer": "^3.1.7",
-    "@tsclass/tsclass": "^8.2.0",
+    "@tsclass/tsclass": "^9.2.0",
-    "mongodb": "^6.15.0"
+    "mongodb": "^6.18.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@git.zone/tsbuild": "^2.3.2",
+    "@git.zone/tsbuild": "^2.6.7",
     "@git.zone/tsrun": "^1.2.44",
-    "@git.zone/tstest": "^1.0.77",
+    "@git.zone/tstest": "^2.3.5",
-    "@push.rocks/qenv": "^6.0.5",
+    "@push.rocks/qenv": "^6.1.3",
-    "@push.rocks/tapbundle": "^5.6.2",
+    "@push.rocks/tapbundle": "^6.0.3",
-    "@types/node": "^22.14.0"
+    "@types/node": "^22.15.2"
   },
   "files": [
     "ts/**/*",

test/test.cursor.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import { tap, expect } from '@push.rocks/tapbundle';
+import * as smartmongo from '@push.rocks/smartmongo';
+import { smartunique } from '../ts/plugins.js';
+import * as smartdata from '../ts/index.js';
+
+// Set up database connection
+let smartmongoInstance: smartmongo.SmartMongo;
+let testDb: smartdata.SmartdataDb;
+
+// Define a simple document model for cursor tests
+@smartdata.Collection(() => testDb)
+class CursorTest extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<CursorTest, CursorTest> {
+  @smartdata.unI()
+  public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  public name: string;
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  public order: number;
+
+  constructor(name: string, order: number) {
+    super();
+    this.name = name;
+    this.order = order;
+  }
+}
+
+// Initialize the in-memory MongoDB and SmartdataDB
+tap.test('cursor init: start Mongo and SmartdataDb', async () => {
+  smartmongoInstance = await smartmongo.SmartMongo.createAndStart();
+  testDb = new smartdata.SmartdataDb(
+    await smartmongoInstance.getMongoDescriptor(),
+  );
+  await testDb.init();
+});
+
+// Insert sample documents
+tap.test('cursor insert: save 5 test documents', async () => {
+  for (let i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
+    const doc = new CursorTest(`item${i}`, i);
+    await doc.save();
+  }
+  const count = await CursorTest.getCount({});
+  expect(count).toEqual(5);
+});
+
+// Test that toArray returns all documents
+tap.test('cursor toArray: retrieves all documents', async () => {
+  const cursor = await CursorTest.getCursor({});
+  const all = await cursor.toArray();
+  expect(all.length).toEqual(5);
+});
+
+// Test iteration via forEach
+tap.test('cursor forEach: iterates through all documents', async () => {
+  const names: string[] = [];
+  const cursor = await CursorTest.getCursor({});
+  await cursor.forEach(async (item) => {
+    names.push(item.name);
+  });
+  expect(names.length).toEqual(5);
+  expect(names).toContain('item3');
+});
+
+// Test native cursor modifiers: limit
+tap.test('cursor modifier limit: only two documents', async () => {
+  const cursor = await CursorTest.getCursor({}, { modifier: (c) => c.limit(2) });
+  const limited = await cursor.toArray();
+  expect(limited.length).toEqual(2);
+});
+
+// Test native cursor modifiers: sort and skip
+tap.test('cursor modifier sort & skip: returns correct order', async () => {
+  const cursor = await CursorTest.getCursor({}, {
+    modifier: (c) => c.sort({ order: -1 }).skip(1),
+  });
+  const results = await cursor.toArray();
+  // Skipped the first (order 5), next should be 4,3,2,1
+  expect(results.length).toEqual(4);
+  expect(results[0].order).toEqual(4);
+});
+
+// Cleanup: drop database, close connections, stop Mongo
+tap.test('cursor cleanup: drop DB and stop', async () => {
+  await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
+  await testDb.close();
+  if (smartmongoInstance) {
+    await smartmongoInstance.stopAndDumpToDir(
+      `.nogit/dbdump/test.cursor.ts`,
+    );
+  }
+  // Ensure process exits after cleanup
+  setTimeout(() => process.exit(), 2000);
+});
+
+export default tap.start();

test/test.filters.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,819 @@
+import { tap, expect } from '@git.zone/tstest/tapbundle';
+import * as smartmongo from '@push.rocks/smartmongo';
+import * as smartunique from '@push.rocks/smartunique';
+import * as smartdata from '../ts/index.js';
+
+const { SmartdataDb, Collection, svDb, unI, index } = smartdata;
+
+let smartmongoInstance: smartmongo.SmartMongo;
+let testDb: smartdata.SmartdataDb;
+
+// Define test document classes
+@Collection(() => testDb)
+class TestUser extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<TestUser, TestUser> {
+  @unI()
+  public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+
+  @svDb()
+  public name: string;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public age: number;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public email: string;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public roles: string[];
+
+  @svDb()
+  public tags: string[];
+
+  @svDb()
+  public status: 'active' | 'inactive' | 'pending';
+
+  @svDb()
+  public metadata: {
+    lastLogin?: Date;
+    loginCount?: number;
+    preferences?: Record<string, any>;
+  };
+
+  @svDb()
+  public scores: number[];
+
+  constructor(data: Partial<TestUser> = {}) {
+    super();
+    Object.assign(this, data);
+  }
+}
+
+@Collection(() => testDb)
+class TestOrder extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<TestOrder, TestOrder> {
+  @unI()
+  public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+
+  @svDb()
+  public userId: string;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public items: Array<{
+    product: string;
+    quantity: number;
+    price: number;
+  }>;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public totalAmount: number;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public status: string;
+
+  @svDb()
+  public tags: string[];
+
+  constructor(data: Partial<TestOrder> = {}) {
+    super();
+    Object.assign(this, data);
+  }
+}
+
+// Setup and teardown
+tap.test('should create a test database instance', async () => {
+  smartmongoInstance = await smartmongo.SmartMongo.createAndStart();
+  testDb = new smartdata.SmartdataDb(await smartmongoInstance.getMongoDescriptor());
+  await testDb.init();
+  expect(testDb).toBeInstanceOf(SmartdataDb);
+});
+
+tap.test('should create test data', async () => {
+  // Create test users
+  const users = [
+    new TestUser({
+      name: 'John Doe',
+      age: 30,
+      email: 'john@example.com',
+      roles: ['admin', 'user'],
+      tags: ['javascript', 'nodejs', 'mongodb'],
+      status: 'active',
+      metadata: { loginCount: 5, lastLogin: new Date() },
+      scores: [85, 90, 78]
+    }),
+    new TestUser({
+      name: 'Jane Smith',
+      age: 25,
+      email: 'jane@example.com',
+      roles: ['user'],
+      tags: ['python', 'mongodb'],
+      status: 'active',
+      metadata: { loginCount: 3 },
+      scores: [92, 88, 95]
+    }),
+    new TestUser({
+      name: 'Bob Johnson',
+      age: 35,
+      email: 'bob@example.com',
+      roles: ['moderator', 'user'],
+      tags: ['javascript', 'react', 'nodejs'],
+      status: 'inactive',
+      metadata: { loginCount: 0 },
+      scores: [70, 75, 80]
+    }),
+    new TestUser({
+      name: 'Alice Brown',
+      age: 28,
+      email: 'alice@example.com',
+      roles: ['admin'],
+      tags: ['typescript', 'angular', 'mongodb'],
+      status: 'active',
+      metadata: { loginCount: 10 },
+      scores: [95, 98, 100]
+    }),
+    new TestUser({
+      name: 'Charlie Wilson',
+      age: 22,
+      email: 'charlie@example.com',
+      roles: ['user'],
+      tags: ['golang', 'kubernetes'],
+      status: 'pending',
+      metadata: { loginCount: 1 },
+      scores: [60, 65]
+    })
+  ];
+
+  for (const user of users) {
+    await user.save();
+  }
+
+  // Create test orders
+  const orders = [
+    new TestOrder({
+      userId: users[0].id,
+      items: [
+        { product: 'laptop', quantity: 1, price: 1200 },
+        { product: 'mouse', quantity: 2, price: 25 }
+      ],
+      totalAmount: 1250,
+      status: 'completed',
+      tags: ['electronics', 'priority']
+    }),
+    new TestOrder({
+      userId: users[1].id,
+      items: [
+        { product: 'book', quantity: 3, price: 15 },
+        { product: 'pen', quantity: 5, price: 2 }
+      ],
+      totalAmount: 55,
+      status: 'pending',
+      tags: ['stationery']
+    }),
+    new TestOrder({
+      userId: users[0].id,
+      items: [
+        { product: 'laptop', quantity: 2, price: 1200 },
+        { product: 'keyboard', quantity: 2, price: 80 }
+      ],
+      totalAmount: 2560,
+      status: 'processing',
+      tags: ['electronics', 'bulk']
+    })
+  ];
+
+  for (const order of orders) {
+    await order.save();
+  }
+
+  const savedUsers = await TestUser.getInstances({});
+  const savedOrders = await TestOrder.getInstances({});
+  expect(savedUsers.length).toEqual(5);
+  expect(savedOrders.length).toEqual(3);
+});
+
+// ============= BASIC FILTER TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter by simple equality', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({ name: 'John Doe' });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter by multiple fields (implicit AND)', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({ 
+    status: 'active',
+    age: 30
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter by nested object fields', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.loginCount': 5
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+// ============= COMPREHENSIVE NESTED FILTER TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter by nested object with direct object syntax', async () => {
+  // Direct nested object matching (exact match)
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    metadata: { 
+      loginCount: 5,
+      lastLogin: (await TestUser.getInstances({}))[0].metadata.lastLogin // Get the exact date
+    }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter by partial nested object match', async () => {
+  // When using object syntax, only specified fields must match
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    metadata: { loginCount: 5 }  // Only checks loginCount, ignores other fields
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should combine nested object and dot notation', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    metadata: { loginCount: { $gte: 3 } },  // Object syntax with operator
+    'metadata.loginCount': { $lte: 10 }     // Dot notation with operator
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(3);  // Jane (3), John (5), and Alice (10) have loginCount between 3-10
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter nested fields with operators using dot notation', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.loginCount': { $gte: 5 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);  // John (5) and Alice (10)
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter nested fields with multiple operators', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.loginCount': { $gte: 3, $lt: 10 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);  // Jane (3) and John (5)
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Jane Smith', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle deeply nested object structures', async () => {
+  // First, create a user with deep nesting in preferences
+  const deepUser = new TestUser({
+    name: 'Deep Nester',
+    age: 40,
+    email: 'deep@example.com',
+    roles: ['admin'],
+    tags: [],
+    status: 'active',
+    metadata: {
+      loginCount: 1,
+      preferences: {
+        theme: {
+          colors: {
+            primary: '#000000',
+            secondary: '#ffffff'
+          },
+          fonts: {
+            heading: 'Arial',
+            body: 'Helvetica'
+          }
+        },
+        notifications: {
+          email: true,
+          push: false
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    scores: []
+  });
+  await deepUser.save();
+
+  // Test deep nesting with dot notation
+  const deepResults = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.preferences.theme.colors.primary': '#000000'
+  });
+  expect(deepResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(deepResults[0].name).toEqual('Deep Nester');
+
+  // Test deep nesting with operators
+  const boolResults = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.preferences.notifications.email': { $eq: true }
+  });
+  expect(boolResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(boolResults[0].name).toEqual('Deep Nester');
+
+  // Clean up
+  await deepUser.delete();
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter arrays of nested objects using $elemMatch', async () => {
+  const orders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    items: {
+      $elemMatch: {
+        product: 'laptop',
+        price: { $gte: 1000 }
+      }
+    }
+  });
+  expect(orders.length).toEqual(2);  // Both laptop orders have price >= 1000
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter nested arrays with dot notation', async () => {
+  // Query for any order that has an item with specific product
+  const orders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    'items.product': 'laptop'
+  });
+  expect(orders.length).toEqual(2);  // Two orders contain laptops
+});
+
+tap.test('should combine nested object filters with logical operators', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $or: [
+      { 'metadata.loginCount': { $gte: 10 } },  // Alice has 10
+      { 
+        $and: [
+          { 'metadata.loginCount': { $lt: 5 } },  // Jane has 3, Bob has 0, Charlie has 1
+          { status: 'active' }  // Jane is active, Bob is inactive, Charlie is pending
+        ]
+      }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);  // Alice (loginCount >= 10), Jane (loginCount < 5 AND active)
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'Jane Smith']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle null and undefined in nested fields', async () => {
+  // Users without lastLogin
+  const noLastLogin = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.lastLogin': { $exists: false }
+  });
+  expect(noLastLogin.length).toEqual(4);  // Everyone except John
+
+  // Users with preferences (none have it set)
+  const withPreferences = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.preferences': { $exists: true }
+  });
+  expect(withPreferences.length).toEqual(0);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter nested arrays by size', async () => {
+  // Create an order with specific number of items
+  const multiItemOrder = new TestOrder({
+    userId: 'test-user',
+    items: [
+      { product: 'item1', quantity: 1, price: 10 },
+      { product: 'item2', quantity: 2, price: 20 },
+      { product: 'item3', quantity: 3, price: 30 },
+      { product: 'item4', quantity: 4, price: 40 }
+    ],
+    totalAmount: 100,
+    status: 'pending',
+    tags: ['test']
+  });
+  await multiItemOrder.save();
+
+  const fourItemOrders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    items: { $size: 4 }
+  });
+  expect(fourItemOrders.length).toEqual(1);
+
+  // Clean up
+  await multiItemOrder.delete();
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle nested field comparison between documents', async () => {
+  // Find users where loginCount equals their age divided by 6 (John: 30/6=5)
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $and: [
+      { 'metadata.loginCount': 5 },
+      { age: 30 }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $in on nested fields', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.loginCount': { $in: [0, 1, 5] }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(3);  // Bob (0), Charlie (1), John (5)
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Bob Johnson', 'Charlie Wilson', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter nested arrays with $all', async () => {
+  // Create an order with multiple tags
+  const taggedOrder = new TestOrder({
+    userId: 'test-user',
+    items: [{ product: 'test', quantity: 1, price: 10 }],
+    totalAmount: 10,
+    status: 'completed',
+    tags: ['urgent', 'priority', 'electronics']
+  });
+  await taggedOrder.save();
+
+  const priorityElectronics = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    tags: { $all: ['priority', 'electronics'] }
+  });
+  expect(priorityElectronics.length).toEqual(2);  // Original order and new one
+
+  // Clean up
+  await taggedOrder.delete();
+});
+
+// ============= COMPARISON OPERATOR TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter using $gt operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    age: { $gt: 30 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('Bob Johnson');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $gte operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    age: { $gte: 30 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Bob Johnson', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $lt operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    age: { $lt: 25 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('Charlie Wilson');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $lte operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    age: { $lte: 25 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Charlie Wilson', 'Jane Smith']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $ne operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    status: { $ne: 'active' }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const statuses = users.map(u => u.status).sort();
+  expect(statuses).toEqual(['inactive', 'pending']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using multiple comparison operators', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    age: { $gte: 25, $lt: 30 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'Jane Smith']);
+});
+
+// ============= ARRAY OPERATOR TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter using $in operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    status: { $in: ['active', 'pending'] }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(4);
+  expect(users.every(u => ['active', 'pending'].includes(u.status))).toEqual(true);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter arrays using $in operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    roles: { $in: ['admin'] }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $nin operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    status: { $nin: ['inactive', 'pending'] }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(3);
+  expect(users.every(u => u.status === 'active')).toEqual(true);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter arrays using $all operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    tags: { $all: ['javascript', 'nodejs'] }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Bob Johnson', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter arrays using $size operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    scores: { $size: 2 }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('Charlie Wilson');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter arrays using $elemMatch operator', async () => {
+  const orders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    items: {
+      $elemMatch: {
+        product: 'laptop',
+        quantity: { $gte: 2 }
+      }
+    }
+  });
+  expect(orders.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(orders[0].totalAmount).toEqual(2560);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $elemMatch with single condition', async () => {
+  const orders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    items: {
+      $elemMatch: {
+        price: { $gt: 100 }
+      }
+    }
+  });
+  expect(orders.length).toEqual(2);
+  expect(orders.every(o => o.items.some(i => i.price > 100))).toEqual(true);
+});
+
+// ============= LOGICAL OPERATOR TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter using $or operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $or: [
+      { age: { $lt: 25 } },
+      { status: 'inactive' }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Bob Johnson', 'Charlie Wilson']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $and operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $and: [
+      { status: 'active' },
+      { age: { $gte: 28 } }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $nor operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $nor: [
+      { status: 'inactive' },
+      { age: { $lt: 25 } }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(3);
+  expect(users.every(u => u.status !== 'inactive' && u.age >= 25)).toEqual(true);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using nested logical operators', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $or: [
+      {
+        $and: [
+          { status: 'active' },
+          { roles: { $in: ['admin'] } }
+        ]
+      },
+      { age: { $lt: 23 } }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(3);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'Charlie Wilson', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+// ============= ELEMENT OPERATOR TESTS =============
+tap.test('should filter using $exists operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.lastLogin': { $exists: true }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('John Doe');
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter using $exists false', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    'metadata.preferences': { $exists: false }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(5);
+});
+
+// ============= COMPLEX FILTER TESTS =============
+tap.test('should handle complex nested filters', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $and: [
+      { status: 'active' },
+      {
+        $or: [
+          { age: { $gte: 30 } },
+          { roles: { $all: ['admin'] } }
+        ]
+      },
+      { tags: { $in: ['mongodb'] } }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Alice Brown', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should combine multiple operator types', async () => {
+  const orders = await TestOrder.getInstances({
+    $and: [
+      { totalAmount: { $gte: 100 } },
+      { status: { $in: ['completed', 'processing'] } },
+      { tags: { $in: ['electronics'] } }
+    ]
+  });
+  expect(orders.length).toEqual(2);
+  expect(orders.every(o => o.totalAmount >= 100)).toEqual(true);
+});
+
+// ============= ERROR HANDLING TESTS =============
+tap.test('should throw error for $where operator', async () => {
+  let error: Error | null = null;
+  try {
+    await TestUser.getInstances({
+      $where: 'this.age > 25'
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error?.message).toMatch(/\$where.*not allowed/);
+});
+
+tap.test('should throw error for invalid $in value', async () => {
+  let error: Error | null = null;
+  try {
+    await TestUser.getInstances({
+      status: { $in: 'active' as any } // Should be an array
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error?.message).toMatch(/\$in.*requires.*array/);
+});
+
+tap.test('should throw error for invalid $size value', async () => {
+  let error: Error | null = null;
+  try {
+    await TestUser.getInstances({
+      scores: { $size: '3' as any } // Should be a number
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error?.message).toMatch(/\$size.*requires.*numeric/);
+});
+
+tap.test('should throw error for dots in field names', async () => {
+  let error: Error | null = null;
+  try {
+    await TestUser.getInstances({
+      'some.nested.field': { 'invalid.key': 'value' }
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error?.message).toMatch(/keys cannot contain dots/);
+});
+
+// ============= EDGE CASE TESTS =============
+tap.test('should handle empty filter (return all)', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({});
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(5);
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle null values in filter', async () => {
+  // First, create a user with null email
+  const nullUser = new TestUser({
+    name: 'Null User',
+    age: 40,
+    email: null as any,
+    roles: ['user'],
+    tags: [],
+    status: 'active',
+    metadata: {},
+    scores: []
+  });
+  await nullUser.save();
+
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({ email: null });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(users[0].name).toEqual('Null User');
+
+  // Clean up
+  await nullUser.delete();
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle arrays as direct equality match', async () => {
+  // This tests that arrays without operators are treated as equality matches
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    roles: ['user'] // Exact match for array
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);  // Both Jane and Charlie have exactly ['user']
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Charlie Wilson', 'Jane Smith']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle regex operator', async () => {
+  const users = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    name: { $regex: '^J', $options: 'i' }
+  });
+  expect(users.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = users.map(u => u.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Jane Smith', 'John Doe']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should handle unknown operators by letting MongoDB reject them', async () => {
+  // Unknown operators should be passed through to MongoDB, which will reject them
+  let error: Error | null = null;
+  
+  try {
+    await TestUser.getInstances({
+      age: { $unknownOp: 30 } as any
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error?.message).toMatch(/unknown operator.*\$unknownOp/);
+});
+
+// ============= PERFORMANCE TESTS =============
+tap.test('should efficiently filter large result sets', async () => {
+  // Create many test documents
+  const manyUsers = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
+    manyUsers.push(new TestUser({
+      name: `User ${i}`,
+      age: 20 + (i % 40),
+      email: `user${i}@example.com`,
+      roles: i % 3 === 0 ? ['admin'] : ['user'],
+      tags: i % 2 === 0 ? ['even', 'test'] : ['odd', 'test'],
+      status: i % 4 === 0 ? 'inactive' : 'active',
+      metadata: { loginCount: i },
+      scores: [i, i + 10, i + 20]
+    }));
+  }
+
+  // Save in batches for efficiency
+  for (const user of manyUsers) {
+    await user.save();
+  }
+
+  // Complex filter that should still be fast
+  const startTime = Date.now();
+  const filtered = await TestUser.getInstances({
+    $and: [
+      { age: { $gte: 30, $lt: 40 } },
+      { status: 'active' },
+      { tags: { $in: ['even'] } },
+      { 'metadata.loginCount': { $gte: 20 } }
+    ]
+  });
+  const duration = Date.now() - startTime;
+
+  console.log(`Complex filter on 100+ documents took ${duration}ms`);
+  expect(duration).toBeLessThan(1000); // Should complete in under 1 second
+  expect(filtered.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+  // Clean up
+  for (const user of manyUsers) {
+    await user.delete();
+  }
+});
+
+// ============= CLEANUP =============
+tap.test('should clean up test database', async () => {
+  await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
+  await testDb.close();
+  await smartmongoInstance.stop();
+});
+
+export default tap.start();

test/test.search.advanced.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+import { tap, expect } from '@push.rocks/tapbundle';
+import * as smartmongo from '@push.rocks/smartmongo';
+import * as smartdata from '../ts/index.js';
+import { searchable } from '../ts/classes.doc.js';
+import { smartunique } from '../ts/plugins.js';
+
+// Set up database connection
+let smartmongoInstance: smartmongo.SmartMongo;
+let testDb: smartdata.SmartdataDb;
+
+// Define a test class for advanced search scenarios
+@smartdata.Collection(() => testDb)
+class Product extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<Product, Product> {
+  @smartdata.unI()
+  public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  @searchable()
+  public name: string;
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  @searchable()
+  public description: string;
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  @searchable()
+  public category: string;
+
+  @smartdata.svDb()
+  public price: number;
+
+  constructor(
+    nameArg: string,
+    descriptionArg: string,
+    categoryArg: string,
+    priceArg: number,
+  ) {
+    super();
+    this.name = nameArg;
+    this.description = descriptionArg;
+    this.category = categoryArg;
+    this.price = priceArg;
+  }
+}
+
+// Initialize DB and insert sample products
+tap.test('setup advanced search database', async () => {
+  smartmongoInstance = await smartmongo.SmartMongo.createAndStart();
+  testDb = new smartdata.SmartdataDb(
+    await smartmongoInstance.getMongoDescriptor(),
+  );
+  await testDb.init();
+});
+
+tap.test('insert products for advanced search', async () => {
+  const products = [
+    new Product(
+      'Night Owl Lamp',
+      'Bright lamp for night reading',
+      'Lighting',
+      29,
+    ),
+    new Product(
+      'Day Light Lamp',
+      'Daytime lamp with adjustable brightness',
+      'Lighting',
+      39,
+    ),
+    new Product(
+      'Office Chair',
+      'Ergonomic chair for office',
+      'Furniture',
+      199,
+    ),
+    new Product(
+      'Gaming Chair',
+      'Comfortable for long gaming sessions',
+      'Furniture',
+      299,
+    ),
+    new Product(
+      'iPhone 12',
+      'Latest iPhone with A14 Bionic chip',
+      'Electronics',
+      999,
+    ),
+    new Product(
+      'AirPods',
+      'Wireless earbuds with noise cancellation',
+      'Electronics',
+      249,
+    ),
+  ];
+  for (const p of products) {
+    await p.save();
+  }
+  const all = await Product.getInstances({});
+  expect(all.length).toEqual(products.length);
+});
+
+// Simple exact field:value matching
+tap.test('simpleExact: category:Furniture returns chairs', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('category:Furniture');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = res.map((r) => r.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Gaming Chair', 'Office Chair']);
+});
+
+// simpleExact invalid field should throw
+tap.test('simpleExact invalid field errors', async () => {
+  let error: Error;
+  try {
+    await Product.search('price:29');
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error.message).toMatch(/not searchable/);
+});
+
+// Quoted phrase search
+tap.test('quoted phrase "Bright lamp" matches Night Owl Lamp', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('"Bright lamp"');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Night Owl Lamp');
+});
+
+tap.test("quoted phrase 'night reading' matches Night Owl Lamp", async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search("'night reading'");
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Night Owl Lamp');
+});
+
+
+tap.test('wildcard description:*gaming* matches Gaming Chair', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('description:*gaming*');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Gaming Chair');
+});
+
+// Boolean AND and OR
+tap.test('boolean AND: category:Lighting AND lamp', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('category:Lighting AND lamp');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(2);
+});
+
+tap.test('boolean OR: Furniture OR Electronics', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('Furniture OR Electronics');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(4);
+});
+
+// Multi-term unquoted -> AND across terms
+tap.test('multi-term unquoted adjustable brightness', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('adjustable brightness');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Day Light Lamp');
+});
+
+tap.test('multi-term unquoted Night Lamp', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('Night Lamp');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Night Owl Lamp');
+});
+
+// Grouping with parentheses
+tap.test('grouping: (Furniture OR Electronics) AND Chair', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search(
+    '(Furniture OR Electronics) AND Chair',
+  );
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(2);
+  const names = res.map((r) => r.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Gaming Chair', 'Office Chair']);
+});
+
+// Additional range and combined query tests
+tap.test('range query price:[30 TO 300] returns expected products', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('price:[30 TO 300]');
+  // Expect products with price between 30 and 300 inclusive: Day Light Lamp, Gaming Chair, Office Chair, AirPods
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(4);
+  const names = res.map((r) => r.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['AirPods', 'Day Light Lamp', 'Gaming Chair', 'Office Chair']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should filter category and price range', async () => {
+  const res = await Product.search('category:Lighting AND price:[30 TO 40]');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].name).toEqual('Day Light Lamp');
+});
+
+// Teardown
+tap.test('cleanup advanced search database', async () => {
+  await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
+  await testDb.close();
+  if (smartmongoInstance) {
+    await smartmongoInstance.stopAndDumpToDir(
+      `.nogit/dbdump/test.search.advanced.ts`,
+    );
+  }
+  setTimeout(() => process.exit(), 2000);
+});
+
+tap.start({ throwOnError: true });

test/test.search.ts

@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@ import { smartunique } from '../ts/plugins.js';
 
 // Import the smartdata library
 import * as smartdata from '../ts/index.js';
-import { searchable, getSearchableFields } from '../ts/classes.doc.js';
+import { searchable } from '../ts/classes.doc.js';
 
 // Set up database connection
 let smartmongoInstance: smartmongo.SmartMongo;
 let testDb: smartdata.SmartdataDb;
+// Class for location-based wildcard/phrase tests
+let LocationDoc: any;
 
 // Define a test class with searchable fields using the standard SmartDataDbDoc
 @smartdata.Collection(() => testDb)
@@ -72,7 +74,7 @@ tap.test('should create test products with searchable fields', async () => {
 
 tap.test('should retrieve searchable fields for a class', async () => {
   // Use the getSearchableFields function to verify our searchable fields
-  const searchableFields = getSearchableFields('Product');
+  const searchableFields = Product.getSearchableFields();
   console.log('Searchable fields:', searchableFields);
 
   expect(searchableFields.length).toEqual(3);
@@ -104,21 +106,21 @@ tap.test('should search products by basic search method', async () => {
   }
 });
 
-tap.test('should search products with searchWithLucene method', async () => {
+tap.test('should search products with search method', async () => {
   // Using the robust searchWithLucene method
-  const wirelessResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('wireless');
+    const wirelessResults = await Product.search('wireless');
-  console.log(
+    console.log(
-    `Found ${wirelessResults.length} products matching 'wireless' using searchWithLucene`,
+      `Found ${wirelessResults.length} products matching 'wireless' using search`,
-  );
+    );
 
   expect(wirelessResults.length).toEqual(1);
   expect(wirelessResults[0].name).toEqual('AirPods');
 });
 
-tap.test('should search products by category with searchWithLucene', async () => {
+tap.test('should search products by category with search', async () => {
   // Using field-specific search with searchWithLucene
-  const kitchenResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('category:Kitchen');
+  const kitchenResults = await Product.search('category:Kitchen');
-  console.log(`Found ${kitchenResults.length} products in Kitchen category using searchWithLucene`);
+  console.log(`Found ${kitchenResults.length} products in Kitchen category using search`);
 
   expect(kitchenResults.length).toEqual(2);
   expect(kitchenResults[0].category).toEqual('Kitchen');
@@ -127,7 +129,7 @@ tap.test('should search products by category with searchWithLucene', async () =>
 
 tap.test('should search products with partial word matches', async () => {
   // Testing partial word matches
-  const proResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('Pro');
+  const proResults = await Product.search('Pro');
   console.log(`Found ${proResults.length} products matching 'Pro'`);
 
   // Should match both "MacBook Pro" and "professionals" in description
@@ -136,7 +138,7 @@ tap.test('should search products with partial word matches', async () => {
 
 tap.test('should search across multiple searchable fields', async () => {
   // Test searching across all searchable fields
-  const bookResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('book');
+  const bookResults = await Product.search('book');
   console.log(`Found ${bookResults.length} products matching 'book' across all fields`);
 
   // Should match "MacBook" in name and "Books" in category
@@ -145,8 +147,8 @@ tap.test('should search across multiple searchable fields', async () => {
 
 tap.test('should handle case insensitive searches', async () => {
   // Test case insensitivity
-  const electronicsResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('electronics');
+  const electronicsResults = await Product.search('electronics');
-  const ElectronicsResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('Electronics');
+  const ElectronicsResults = await Product.search('Electronics');
 
   console.log(`Found ${electronicsResults.length} products matching lowercase 'electronics'`);
   console.log(`Found ${ElectronicsResults.length} products matching capitalized 'Electronics'`);
@@ -166,14 +168,14 @@ tap.test('should demonstrate search fallback mechanisms', async () => {
 
   // Use a simpler term that should be found in descriptions
   // Avoid using "OR" operator which requires a text index
-  const results = await Product.searchWithLucene('high');
+  const results = await Product.search('high');
   console.log(`Found ${results.length} products matching 'high'`);
 
   // "High-speed blender" contains "high"
   expect(results.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
 
   // Try another fallback example that won't need $text
-  const powerfulResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('powerful');
+  const powerfulResults = await Product.search('powerful');
   console.log(`Found ${powerfulResults.length} products matching 'powerful'`);
 
   // "Powerful laptop for professionals" contains "powerful"
@@ -192,6 +194,208 @@ tap.test('should explain the advantages of the integrated approach', async () =>
   expect(true).toEqual(true);
 });
 
+// Additional robustness tests
+tap.test('should search exact name using field:value', async () => {
+  const nameResults = await Product.search('name:AirPods');
+  expect(nameResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(nameResults[0].name).toEqual('AirPods');
+});
+
+tap.test('should throw when searching non-searchable field', async () => {
+  let error: Error;
+  try {
+    await Product.search('price:129');
+  } catch (err) {
+    error = err as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error.message).toMatch(/not searchable/);
+});
+
+tap.test('empty query should return all products', async () => {
+  const allResults = await Product.search('');
+  expect(allResults.length).toEqual(8);
+});
+
+tap.test('should search multi-word term across fields', async () => {
+  const termResults = await Product.search('iPhone 12');
+  expect(termResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(termResults[0].name).toEqual('iPhone 12');
+});
+
+// Additional search scenarios
+tap.test('should return zero results for non-existent terms', async () => {
+  const noResults = await Product.search('NonexistentTerm');
+  expect(noResults.length).toEqual(0);
+});
+
+tap.test('should search products by description term "noise"', async () => {
+  const noiseResults = await Product.search('noise');
+  expect(noiseResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(noiseResults[0].name).toEqual('AirPods');
+});
+
+tap.test('should search products by description term "flagship"', async () => {
+  const flagshipResults = await Product.search('flagship');
+  expect(flagshipResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(flagshipResults[0].name).toEqual('Galaxy S21');
+});
+
+tap.test('should search numeric strings "12"', async () => {
+  const twelveResults = await Product.search('12');
+  expect(twelveResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(twelveResults[0].name).toEqual('iPhone 12');
+});
+
+tap.test('should search hyphenated terms "high-speed"', async () => {
+  const hyphenResults = await Product.search('high-speed');
+  expect(hyphenResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(hyphenResults[0].name).toEqual('Blender');
+});
+
+tap.test('should search hyphenated terms "E-reader"', async () => {
+  const ereaderResults = await Product.search('E-reader');
+  expect(ereaderResults.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(ereaderResults[0].name).toEqual('Kindle Paperwhite');
+});
+
+// Additional robustness tests
+tap.test('should return all products for empty search', async () => {
+  const searchResults = await Product.search('');
+  const allProducts = await Product.getInstances({});
+  expect(searchResults.length).toEqual(allProducts.length);
+});
+
+tap.test('should support wildcard plain term across all fields', async () => {
+  const results = await Product.search('*book*');
+  const names = results.map((r) => r.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Harry Potter', 'Kindle Paperwhite', 'MacBook Pro']);
+});
+
+tap.test('should support wildcard plain term with question mark pattern', async () => {
+  const results = await Product.search('?one?');
+  const names = results.map((r) => r.name).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Galaxy S21', 'iPhone 12']);
+});
+
+// Filter and Validation tests
+tap.test('should apply filter option to restrict results', async () => {
+  // search term 'book' across all fields but restrict to Books category
+  const bookFiltered = await Product.search('book', { filter: { category: 'Books' } });
+  expect(bookFiltered.length).toEqual(2);
+  bookFiltered.forEach((p) => expect(p.category).toEqual('Books'));
+});
+tap.test('should apply validate hook to post-filter results', async () => {
+  // return only products with price > 500
+  const expensive = await Product.search('', { validate: (p) => p.price > 500 });
+  expect(expensive.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  expensive.forEach((p) => expect(p.price).toBeGreaterThan(500));
+});
+
+// Tests for quoted and wildcard field-specific phrases
+tap.test('setup location test products', async () => {
+  @smartdata.Collection(() => testDb)
+  class LD extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<LD, LD> {
+    @smartdata.unI() public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+    @smartdata.svDb() @searchable() public location: string;
+    constructor(loc: string) { super(); this.location = loc; }
+  }
+  // Assign to outer variable for subsequent tests
+  LocationDoc = LD;
+  const locations = ['Berlin', 'Frankfurt am Main', 'Frankfurt am Oder', 'London'];
+  for (const loc of locations) {
+    await new LocationDoc(loc).save();
+  }
+});
+tap.test('should search exact quoted field phrase', async () => {
+  const results = await (LocationDoc as any).search('location:"Frankfurt am Main"');
+  expect(results.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(results[0].location).toEqual('Frankfurt am Main');
+});
+tap.test('should search wildcard quoted field phrase', async () => {
+  const results = await (LocationDoc as any).search('location:"Frankfurt am *"');
+  const names = results.map((d: any) => d.location).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Frankfurt am Main', 'Frankfurt am Oder']);
+});
+tap.test('should search unquoted wildcard field', async () => {
+  const results = await (LocationDoc as any).search('location:Frankfurt*');
+  const names = results.map((d: any) => d.location).sort();
+  expect(names).toEqual(['Frankfurt am Main', 'Frankfurt am Oder']);
+});
+
+// Combined free-term + field phrase/wildcard tests
+let CombinedDoc: any;
+tap.test('setup combined docs for free-term and location tests', async () => {
+  @smartdata.Collection(() => testDb)
+  class CD extends smartdata.SmartDataDbDoc<CD, CD> {
+    @smartdata.unI() public id: string = smartunique.shortId();
+    @smartdata.svDb() @searchable() public name: string;
+    @smartdata.svDb() @searchable() public location: string;
+    constructor(name: string, location: string) { super(); this.name = name; this.location = location; }
+  }
+  CombinedDoc = CD;
+  const docs = [
+    new CombinedDoc('TypeScript', 'Berlin'),
+    new CombinedDoc('TypeScript', 'Frankfurt am Main'),
+    new CombinedDoc('TypeScript', 'Frankfurt am Oder'),
+    new CombinedDoc('JavaScript', 'Berlin'),
+  ];
+  for (const d of docs) await d.save();
+});
+tap.test('should search free term and exact quoted field phrase', async () => {
+  const res = await CombinedDoc.search('TypeScript location:"Berlin"');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(1);
+  expect(res[0].location).toEqual('Berlin');
+});
+tap.test('should not match free term with non-matching quoted field phrase', async () => {
+  const res = await CombinedDoc.search('TypeScript location:"Frankfurt d"');
+  expect(res.length).toEqual(0);
+});
+tap.test('should search free term with quoted wildcard field phrase', async () => {
+  const res = await CombinedDoc.search('TypeScript location:"Frankfurt am *"');
+  const locs = res.map((r: any) => r.location).sort();
+  expect(locs).toEqual(['Frankfurt am Main', 'Frankfurt am Oder']);
+});
+// Quoted exact field phrase without wildcard should return no matches if no exact match
+tap.test('should not match location:"Frankfurt d"', async () => {
+  const results = await (LocationDoc as any).search('location:"Frankfurt d"');
+  expect(results.length).toEqual(0);
+});
+
+// Combined free-term and field wildcard tests
+tap.test('should combine free term and wildcard field search', async () => {
+  const results = await Product.search('book category:Book*');
+  expect(results.length).toEqual(2);
+  results.forEach((p) => expect(p.category).toEqual('Books'));
+});
+tap.test('should not match when free term matches but wildcard field does not', async () => {
+  const results = await Product.search('book category:Kitchen*');
+  expect(results.length).toEqual(0);
+});
+
+// Non-searchable field should cause an error for combined queries
+tap.test('should throw when combining term with non-searchable field', async () => {
+  let error: Error;
+  try {
+    await Product.search('book location:Berlin');
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error.message).toMatch(/not searchable/);
+});
+tap.test('should throw when combining term with non-searchable wildcard field', async () => {
+  let error: Error;
+  try {
+    await Product.search('book location:Berlin*');
+  } catch (e) {
+    error = e as Error;
+  }
+  expect(error).toBeTruthy();
+  expect(error.message).toMatch(/not searchable/);
+});
+
+// Close database connection
 tap.test('close database connection', async () => {
   await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
   await testDb.close();

test/test.watch.ts

@@ -60,11 +60,52 @@ tap.test('should watch a collection', async (toolsArg) => {
   await done.promise;
 });
 
+// ======= New tests for EventEmitter and buffering support =======
+tap.test('should emit change via EventEmitter', async (tools) => {
+  const done = tools.defer();
+  const watcher = await House.watch({});
+  watcher.on('change', async (houseArg) => {
+    // Expect a House instance
+    expect(houseArg).toBeDefined();
+    // Clean up
+    await watcher.stop();
+    done.resolve();
+  });
+  // Trigger an insert to generate a change event
+  const h = new House();
+  await h.save();
+  await done.promise;
+});
+
+tap.test('should buffer change events when bufferTimeMs is set', async (tools) => {
+  const done = tools.defer();
+  // bufferTimeMs collects events into arrays every 50ms
+  const watcher = await House.watch({}, { bufferTimeMs: 50 });
+  let received: House[];
+  watcher.changeSubject.subscribe(async (batch: House[]) => {
+    if (batch && batch.length > 0) {
+      received = batch;
+      await watcher.stop();
+      done.resolve();
+    }
+  });
+  // Rapidly insert multiple docs
+  const docs = [new House(), new House(), new House()];
+  for (const doc of docs) await doc.save();
+  await done.promise;
+  // All inserts should be in one buffered batch
+  expect(received.length).toEqual(docs.length);
+});
+
 // =======================================
 // close the database connection
 // =======================================
 tap.test('close', async () => {
-  await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
+  try {
+    await testDb.mongoDb.dropDatabase();
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.warn('dropDatabase error ignored in cleanup:', err.message || err);
+  }
   await testDb.close();
   if (smartmongoInstance) {
     await smartmongoInstance.stop();

ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@push.rocks/smartdata',
-  version: '5.8.1',
+  version: '5.16.4',
   description: 'An advanced library for NoSQL data organization and manipulation using TypeScript with support for MongoDB, data validation, collections, and custom data types.'
 }

ts/classes.collection.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { SmartdataDbCursor } from './classes.cursor.js';
 import { SmartDataDbDoc, type IIndexOptions } from './classes.doc.js';
 import { SmartdataDbWatcher } from './classes.watcher.js';
 import { CollectionFactory } from './classes.collectionfactory.js';
+import { logger } from './logging.js';
 
 export interface IFindOptions {
   limit?: number;
@@ -32,13 +33,22 @@ export function Collection(dbArg: SmartdataDb | TDelayed<SmartdataDb>) {
         if (!(dbArg instanceof SmartdataDb)) {
           dbArg = dbArg();
         }
-        return collectionFactory.getCollection(constructor.name, dbArg);
+        const coll = collectionFactory.getCollection(constructor.name, dbArg);
+        // Attach document constructor for searchableFields lookup
+        if (!(coll as any).docCtor) {
+          (coll as any).docCtor = decoratedClass;
+        }
+        return coll;
       }
       public get collection() {
         if (!(dbArg instanceof SmartdataDb)) {
           dbArg = dbArg();
         }
-        return collectionFactory.getCollection(constructor.name, dbArg);
+        const coll = collectionFactory.getCollection(constructor.name, dbArg);
+        if (!(coll as any).docCtor) {
+          (coll as any).docCtor = decoratedClass;
+        }
+        return coll;
       }
     };
     return decoratedClass;
@@ -128,6 +138,8 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
   public smartdataDb: SmartdataDb;
   public uniqueIndexes: string[] = [];
   public regularIndexes: Array<{field: string, options: IIndexOptions}> = [];
+  // flag to ensure text index is created only once
+  private textIndexCreated: boolean = false;
 
   constructor(classNameArg: string, smartDataDbArg: SmartdataDb) {
     // tell the collection where it belongs
@@ -150,19 +162,31 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
       });
       if (!wantedCollection) {
         await this.smartdataDb.mongoDb.createCollection(this.collectionName);
-        console.log(`Successfully initiated Collection ${this.collectionName}`);
+        logger.log('info', `Successfully initiated Collection ${this.collectionName}`);
       }
       this.mongoDbCollection = this.smartdataDb.mongoDb.collection(this.collectionName);
+      // Auto-create a compound text index on all searchable fields
+      // Use document constructor's searchableFields registered via decorator
+      const docCtor = (this as any).docCtor;
+      const searchableFields: string[] = docCtor?.searchableFields || [];
+      if (searchableFields.length > 0 && !this.textIndexCreated) {
+        // Build a compound text index spec
+        const indexSpec: Record<string, 'text'> = {};
+        searchableFields.forEach(f => { indexSpec[f] = 'text'; });
+        // Cast to any to satisfy TypeScript IndexSpecification typing
+        await this.mongoDbCollection.createIndex(indexSpec as any, { name: 'smartdata_text_index' });
+        this.textIndexCreated = true;
+      }
     }
   }
 
   /**
    * mark unique index
    */
-  public markUniqueIndexes(keyArrayArg: string[] = []) {
+  public async markUniqueIndexes(keyArrayArg: string[] = []) {
     for (const key of keyArrayArg) {
       if (!this.uniqueIndexes.includes(key)) {
-        this.mongoDbCollection.createIndex(key, {
+        await this.mongoDbCollection.createIndex({ [key]: 1 }, {
           unique: true,
         });
         // make sure we only call this once and not for every doc we create
@@ -174,12 +198,12 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
   /**
    * creates regular indexes for the collection
    */
-  public createRegularIndexes(indexesArg: Array<{field: string, options: IIndexOptions}> = []) {
+  public async createRegularIndexes(indexesArg: Array<{field: string, options: IIndexOptions}> = []) {
     for (const indexDef of indexesArg) {
       // Check if we've already created this index
       const indexKey = indexDef.field;
       if (!this.regularIndexes.some(i => i.field === indexKey)) {
-        this.mongoDbCollection.createIndex(
+        await this.mongoDbCollection.createIndex(
           { [indexDef.field]: 1 }, // Simple single-field index
           indexDef.options
         );
@@ -199,53 +223,74 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
   /**
    * finds an object in the DbCollection
    */
-  public async findOne(filterObject: any): Promise<any> {
+  public async findOne(
+    filterObject: any,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ): Promise<any> {
     await this.init();
-    const cursor = this.mongoDbCollection.find(filterObject);
+    // Use MongoDB driver's findOne with optional session
-    const result = await cursor.next();
+    return this.mongoDbCollection.findOne(filterObject, { session: opts?.session });
-    cursor.close();
-    return result;
   }
 
   public async getCursor(
     filterObjectArg: any,
     dbDocArg: typeof SmartDataDbDoc,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
   ): Promise<SmartdataDbCursor<any>> {
     await this.init();
-    const cursor = this.mongoDbCollection.find(filterObjectArg);
+    const cursor = this.mongoDbCollection.find(filterObjectArg, { session: opts?.session });
     return new SmartdataDbCursor(cursor, dbDocArg);
   }
 
   /**
    * finds an object in the DbCollection
    */
-  public async findAll(filterObject: any): Promise<any[]> {
+  public async findAll(
+    filterObject: any,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ): Promise<any[]> {
     await this.init();
-    const cursor = this.mongoDbCollection.find(filterObject);
+    const cursor = this.mongoDbCollection.find(filterObject, { session: opts?.session });
     const result = await cursor.toArray();
     cursor.close();
     return result;
   }
 
   /**
-   * watches the collection while applying a filter
+   * Watches the collection, returning a SmartdataDbWatcher with RxJS and EventEmitter support.
+   * @param filterObject match filter for change stream
+   * @param opts optional MongoDB ChangeStreamOptions & { bufferTimeMs } to buffer events
+   * @param smartdataDbDocArg document class for instance creation
    */
   public async watch(
     filterObject: any,
-    smartdataDbDocArg: typeof SmartDataDbDoc,
+    opts: (plugins.mongodb.ChangeStreamOptions & { bufferTimeMs?: number }) = {},
+    smartdataDbDocArg?: typeof SmartDataDbDoc,
   ): Promise<SmartdataDbWatcher> {
     await this.init();
+    // Extract bufferTimeMs from options
+    const { bufferTimeMs, fullDocument, ...otherOptions } = opts || {};
+    // Determine fullDocument behavior: default to 'updateLookup'
+    const changeStreamOptions: plugins.mongodb.ChangeStreamOptions = {
+      ...otherOptions,
+      fullDocument:
+        fullDocument === undefined
+          ? 'updateLookup'
+          : (fullDocument as any) === true
+          ? 'updateLookup'
+          : fullDocument,
+    } as any;
+    // Build pipeline with match if provided
+    const pipeline = filterObject ? [{ $match: filterObject }] : [];
     const changeStream = this.mongoDbCollection.watch(
-      [
+      pipeline,
-        {
+      changeStreamOptions,
-          $match: filterObject,
+    );
-        },
+    const smartdataWatcher = new SmartdataDbWatcher(
-      ],
+      changeStream,
-      {
+      smartdataDbDocArg,
-        fullDocument: 'updateLookup',
+      { bufferTimeMs },
-      },
     );
-    const smartdataWatcher = new SmartdataDbWatcher(changeStream, smartdataDbDocArg);
     await smartdataWatcher.readyDeferred.promise;
     return smartdataWatcher;
   }
@@ -253,7 +298,10 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
   /**
    * create an object in the database
    */
-  public async insert(dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>): Promise<any> {
+  public async insert(
+    dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ): Promise<any> {
     await this.init();
     await this.checkDoc(dbDocArg);
     this.markUniqueIndexes(dbDocArg.uniqueIndexes);
@@ -264,14 +312,17 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
     }
     
     const saveableObject = await dbDocArg.createSavableObject();
-    const result = await this.mongoDbCollection.insertOne(saveableObject);
+    const result = await this.mongoDbCollection.insertOne(saveableObject, { session: opts?.session });
     return result;
   }
 
   /**
    * inserts object into the DbCollection
    */
-  public async update(dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>): Promise<any> {
+  public async update(
+    dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ): Promise<any> {
     await this.init();
     await this.checkDoc(dbDocArg);
     const identifiableObject = await dbDocArg.createIdentifiableObject();
@@ -286,21 +337,27 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
     const result = await this.mongoDbCollection.updateOne(
       identifiableObject,
       { $set: updateableObject },
-      { upsert: true },
+      { upsert: true, session: opts?.session },
     );
     return result;
   }
 
-  public async delete(dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>): Promise<any> {
+  public async delete(
+    dbDocArg: T & SmartDataDbDoc<T, unknown>,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ): Promise<any> {
     await this.init();
     await this.checkDoc(dbDocArg);
     const identifiableObject = await dbDocArg.createIdentifiableObject();
-    await this.mongoDbCollection.deleteOne(identifiableObject);
+    await this.mongoDbCollection.deleteOne(identifiableObject, { session: opts?.session });
   }
 
-  public async getCount(filterObject: any) {
+  public async getCount(
+    filterObject: any,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
+  ) {
     await this.init();
-    return this.mongoDbCollection.countDocuments(filterObject);
+    return this.mongoDbCollection.countDocuments(filterObject, { session: opts?.session });
   }
 
   /**

ts/classes.db.ts

@@ -35,24 +35,43 @@ export class SmartdataDb {
    * connects to the database that was specified during instance creation
    */
   public async init(): Promise<any> {
-    const finalConnectionUrl = this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUrl
+    try {
-      .replace('<USERNAME>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser)
+      // Safely encode credentials to handle special characters
-      .replace('<username>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser)
+      const encodedUser = this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser 
-      .replace('<USER>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser)
+        ? encodeURIComponent(this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser) 
-      .replace('<user>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUser)
+        : '';
-      .replace('<PASSWORD>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbPass)
+      const encodedPass = this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbPass 
-      .replace('<password>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbPass)
+        ? encodeURIComponent(this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbPass) 
-      .replace('<DBNAME>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName)
+        : '';
-      .replace('<dbname>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName);
+      
+      const finalConnectionUrl = this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbUrl
+        .replace('<USERNAME>', encodedUser)
+        .replace('<username>', encodedUser)
+        .replace('<USER>', encodedUser)
+        .replace('<user>', encodedUser)
+        .replace('<PASSWORD>', encodedPass)
+        .replace('<password>', encodedPass)
+        .replace('<DBNAME>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName)
+        .replace('<dbname>', this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName);
 
-    this.mongoDbClient = await plugins.mongodb.MongoClient.connect(finalConnectionUrl, {
+      const clientOptions: plugins.mongodb.MongoClientOptions = {
-      maxPoolSize: 100,
+        maxPoolSize: (this.smartdataOptions as any).maxPoolSize ?? 100,
-      maxIdleTimeMS: 10,
+        maxIdleTimeMS: (this.smartdataOptions as any).maxIdleTimeMS ?? 300000, // 5 minutes default
-    });
+        serverSelectionTimeoutMS: (this.smartdataOptions as any).serverSelectionTimeoutMS ?? 30000,
-    this.mongoDb = this.mongoDbClient.db(this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName);
+        retryWrites: true,
-    this.status = 'connected';
+      };
-    this.statusConnectedDeferred.resolve();
+
-    console.log(`Connected to database ${this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName}`);
+      this.mongoDbClient = await plugins.mongodb.MongoClient.connect(finalConnectionUrl, clientOptions);
+      this.mongoDb = this.mongoDbClient.db(this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName);
+      this.status = 'connected';
+      this.statusConnectedDeferred.resolve();
+      logger.log('info', `Connected to database ${this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName}`);
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.status = 'disconnected';
+      this.statusConnectedDeferred.reject(error);
+      logger.log('error', `Failed to connect to database ${this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName}: ${error.message}`);
+      throw error;
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -63,6 +82,12 @@ export class SmartdataDb {
     this.status = 'disconnected';
     logger.log('info', `disconnected from database ${this.smartdataOptions.mongoDbName}`);
   }
+  /**
+   * Start a MongoDB client session for transactions
+   */
+  public startSession(): plugins.mongodb.ClientSession {
+    return this.mongoDbClient.startSession();
+  }
 
   // handle table to class distribution
 

ts/classes.distributedcoordinator.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { SmartdataDb } from './classes.db.js';
 import { managed, setDefaultManagerForDoc } from './classes.collection.js';
 import { SmartDataDbDoc, svDb, unI } from './classes.doc.js';
 import { SmartdataDbWatcher } from './classes.watcher.js';
+import { logger } from './logging.js';
 
 @managed()
 export class DistributedClass extends SmartDataDbDoc<DistributedClass, DistributedClass> {
@@ -63,11 +64,11 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
         this.ownInstance.data.elected = false;
       }
       if (this.ownInstance?.data.status === 'stopped') {
-        console.log(`stopping a distributed instance that has not been started yet.`);
+        logger.log('warn', `stopping a distributed instance that has not been started yet.`);
       }
       this.ownInstance.data.status = 'stopped';
       await this.ownInstance.save();
-      console.log(`stopped ${this.ownInstance.id}`);
+      logger.log('info', `stopped ${this.ownInstance.id}`);
     });
   }
 
@@ -83,17 +84,17 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
   public async sendHeartbeat() {
     await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
       if (this.ownInstance.data.status === 'stopped') {
-        console.log(`aborted sending heartbeat because status is stopped`);
+        logger.log('debug', `aborted sending heartbeat because status is stopped`);
         return;
       }
       await this.ownInstance.updateFromDb();
       this.ownInstance.data.lastUpdated = Date.now();
       await this.ownInstance.save();
-      console.log(`sent heartbeat for ${this.ownInstance.id}`);
+      logger.log('debug', `sent heartbeat for ${this.ownInstance.id}`);
       const allInstances = DistributedClass.getInstances({});
     });
     if (this.ownInstance.data.status === 'stopped') {
-      console.log(`aborted sending heartbeat because status is stopped`);
+      logger.log('info', `aborted sending heartbeat because status is stopped`);
       return;
     }
     const eligibleLeader = await this.getEligibleLeader();
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
         await this.ownInstance.save();
       });
     } else {
-      console.warn(`distributed instance already initialized`);
+      logger.log('warn', `distributed instance already initialized`);
     }
 
     // lets enable the heartbeat
@@ -149,24 +150,24 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
   public async checkAndMaybeLead() {
     await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
       this.ownInstance.data.status = 'initializing';
-      this.ownInstance.save();
+      await this.ownInstance.save();
     });
     if (await this.getEligibleLeader()) {
       await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
         await this.ownInstance.updateFromDb();
         this.ownInstance.data.status = 'settled';
         await this.ownInstance.save();
-        console.log(`${this.ownInstance.id} settled as follower`);
+        logger.log('info', `${this.ownInstance.id} settled as follower`);
       });
       return;
     } else if (
       (await DistributedClass.getInstances({})).find((instanceArg) => {
-        instanceArg.data.status === 'bidding' &&
+        return instanceArg.data.status === 'bidding' &&
           instanceArg.data.biddingStartTime <= Date.now() - 4000 &&
           instanceArg.data.biddingStartTime >= Date.now() - 30000;
       })
     ) {
-      console.log('too late to the bidding party... waiting for next round.');
+      logger.log('info', 'too late to the bidding party... waiting for next round.');
       return;
     } else {
       await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
@@ -175,9 +176,9 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
         this.ownInstance.data.biddingStartTime = Date.now();
         this.ownInstance.data.biddingShortcode = plugins.smartunique.shortId();
         await this.ownInstance.save();
-        console.log('bidding code stored.');
+        logger.log('info', 'bidding code stored.');
       });
-      console.log(`bidding for leadership...`);
+      logger.log('info', `bidding for leadership...`);
       await plugins.smartdelay.delayFor(plugins.smarttime.getMilliSecondsFromUnits({ seconds: 5 }));
       await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
         let biddingInstances = await DistributedClass.getInstances({});
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
             instanceArg.data.lastUpdated >=
               Date.now() - plugins.smarttime.getMilliSecondsFromUnits({ seconds: 10 }),
         );
-        console.log(`found ${biddingInstances.length} bidding instances...`);
+        logger.log('info', `found ${biddingInstances.length} bidding instances...`);
         this.ownInstance.data.elected = true;
         for (const biddingInstance of biddingInstances) {
           if (biddingInstance.data.biddingShortcode < this.ownInstance.data.biddingShortcode) {
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
           }
         }
         await plugins.smartdelay.delayFor(5000);
-        console.log(`settling with status elected = ${this.ownInstance.data.elected}`);
+        logger.log('info', `settling with status elected = ${this.ownInstance.data.elected}`);
         this.ownInstance.data.status = 'settled';
         await this.ownInstance.save();
       });
@@ -226,11 +227,11 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
     this.distributedWatcher.changeSubject.subscribe({
       next: async (distributedDoc) => {
         if (!distributedDoc) {
-          console.log(`registered deletion of instance...`);
+          logger.log('info', `registered deletion of instance...`);
           return;
         }
-        console.log(distributedDoc);
+        logger.log('info', distributedDoc);
-        console.log(`registered change for ${distributedDoc.id}`);
+        logger.log('info', `registered change for ${distributedDoc.id}`);
         distributedDoc;
       },
     });
@@ -252,7 +253,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
   ): Promise<plugins.taskbuffer.distributedCoordination.IDistributedTaskRequestResult> {
     await this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
       if (!this.ownInstance) {
-        console.error('instance need to be started first...');
+        logger.log('error', 'instance need to be started first...');
         return;
       }
       await this.ownInstance.updateFromDb();
@@ -268,7 +269,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
       return taskRequestResult;
     });
     if (!result) {
-      console.warn('no result found for task request...');
+      logger.log('warn', 'no result found for task request...');
       return null;
     }
     return result;
@@ -285,7 +286,7 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
         );
       });
       if (!existingInfoBasis) {
-        console.warn('trying to update a non existing task request... aborting!');
+        logger.log('warn', 'trying to update a non existing task request... aborting!');
         return;
       }
       Object.assign(existingInfoBasis, infoBasisArg);
@@ -293,8 +294,10 @@ export class SmartdataDistributedCoordinator extends plugins.taskbuffer.distribu
       plugins.smartdelay.delayFor(60000).then(() => {
         this.asyncExecutionStack.getExclusiveExecutionSlot(async () => {
           const indexToRemove = this.ownInstance.data.taskRequests.indexOf(existingInfoBasis);
-          this.ownInstance.data.taskRequests.splice(indexToRemove, indexToRemove);
+          if (indexToRemove >= 0) {
-          await this.ownInstance.save();
+            this.ownInstance.data.taskRequests.splice(indexToRemove, 1);
+            await this.ownInstance.save();
+          }
         });
       });
     });

ts/classes.doc.ts

@@ -1,19 +1,38 @@
 import * as plugins from './plugins.js';
 
 import { SmartdataDb } from './classes.db.js';
+import { logger } from './logging.js';
 import { SmartdataDbCursor } from './classes.cursor.js';
 import { type IManager, SmartdataCollection } from './classes.collection.js';
 import { SmartdataDbWatcher } from './classes.watcher.js';
 import { SmartdataLuceneAdapter } from './classes.lucene.adapter.js';
+/**
+ * Search options for `.search()`:
+ * - filter: additional MongoDB query to AND-merge
+ * - validate: post-fetch validator, return true to keep a doc
+ */
+export interface SearchOptions<T> {
+  /**
+   * Additional MongoDB filter to AND‐merge into the query
+   */
+  filter?: Record<string, any>;
+  /**
+   * Post‐fetch validator; return true to keep each doc
+   */
+  validate?: (doc: T) => Promise<boolean> | boolean;
+  /**
+   * Optional MongoDB session for transactional operations
+   */
+  session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession;
+}
 
 export type TDocCreation = 'db' | 'new' | 'mixed';
 
-// Set of searchable fields for each class
+
-const searchableFieldsMap = new Map<string, Set<string>>();
 
 export function globalSvDb() {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called svDb() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
+    logger.log('debug', `called svDb() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
     if (!target.globalSaveableProperties) {
       target.globalSaveableProperties = [];
     }
@@ -21,16 +40,34 @@ export function globalSvDb() {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Options for custom serialization/deserialization of a field.
+ */
+export interface SvDbOptions {
+  /** Function to serialize the field value before saving to DB */
+  serialize?: (value: any) => any;
+  /** Function to deserialize the field value after reading from DB */
+  deserialize?: (value: any) => any;
+}
+
 /**
  * saveable - saveable decorator to be used on class properties
  */
-export function svDb() {
+export function svDb(options?: SvDbOptions) {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called svDb() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
+    logger.log('debug', `called svDb() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
     if (!target.saveableProperties) {
       target.saveableProperties = [];
     }
     target.saveableProperties.push(key);
+    // attach custom serializer/deserializer options to the class constructor
+    const ctor = target.constructor as any;
+    if (!ctor._svDbOptions) {
+      ctor._svDbOptions = {};
+    }
+    if (options) {
+      ctor._svDbOptions[key] = options;
+    }
   };
 }
 
@@ -39,27 +76,18 @@ export function svDb() {
  */
 export function searchable() {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called searchable() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
+    // Attach to class constructor for direct access
-
+    const ctor = target.constructor as any;
-    // Initialize the set for this class if it doesn't exist
+    if (!Array.isArray(ctor.searchableFields)) {
-    const className = target.constructor.name;
+      ctor.searchableFields = [];
-    if (!searchableFieldsMap.has(className)) {
-      searchableFieldsMap.set(className, new Set<string>());
     }
-
+    ctor.searchableFields.push(key);
-    // Add the property to the searchable fields set
-    searchableFieldsMap.get(className).add(key);
   };
 }
 
-/**
+// Escape user input for safe use in MongoDB regular expressions
- * Get searchable fields for a class
+function escapeForRegex(input: string): string {
- */
+  return input.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
-export function getSearchableFields(className: string): string[] {
-  if (!searchableFieldsMap.has(className)) {
-    return [];
-  }
-  return Array.from(searchableFieldsMap.get(className));
 }
 
 /**
@@ -67,7 +95,7 @@ export function getSearchableFields(className: string): string[] {
  */
 export function unI() {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called unI on >>${target.constructor.name}.${key}<<`);
+    logger.log('debug', `called unI on >>${target.constructor.name}.${key}<<`);
 
     // mark the index as unique
     if (!target.uniqueIndexes) {
@@ -99,7 +127,7 @@ export interface IIndexOptions {
  */
 export function index(options?: IIndexOptions) {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called index() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
+    logger.log('debug', `called index() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
     
     // Initialize regular indexes array if it doesn't exist
     if (!target.regularIndexes) {
@@ -123,42 +151,181 @@ export function index(options?: IIndexOptions) {
   };
 }
 
+// Helper type to extract element type from arrays or return T itself
+type ElementOf<T> = T extends ReadonlyArray<infer U> ? U : T;
+
+// Type for $in/$nin values - arrays of the element type
+type InValues<T> = ReadonlyArray<ElementOf<T>>;
+
+// Type that allows MongoDB operators on leaf values while maintaining nested type safety
+export type MongoFilterCondition<T> = T | {
+  $eq?: T;
+  $ne?: T;
+  $gt?: T;
+  $gte?: T;
+  $lt?: T;
+  $lte?: T;
+  $in?: InValues<T>;
+  $nin?: InValues<T>;
+  $exists?: boolean;
+  $type?: string | number;
+  $regex?: string | RegExp;
+  $options?: string;
+  $all?: T extends ReadonlyArray<infer U> ? ReadonlyArray<U> : never;
+  $elemMatch?: T extends ReadonlyArray<infer U> ? MongoFilter<U> : never;
+  $size?: T extends ReadonlyArray<any> ? number : never;
+  $not?: MongoFilterCondition<T>;
+};
+
+export type MongoFilter<T> = {
+  [K in keyof T]?: T[K] extends object 
+    ? T[K] extends any[]
+      ? MongoFilterCondition<T[K]>  // Arrays can have operators
+      : MongoFilter<T[K]> | MongoFilterCondition<T[K]>  // Objects can be nested or have operators
+    : MongoFilterCondition<T[K]>;  // Primitives get operators
+} & {
+  // Logical operators
+  $and?: MongoFilter<T>[];
+  $or?: MongoFilter<T>[];
+  $nor?: MongoFilter<T>[];
+  $not?: MongoFilter<T>;
+  // Allow any string key for dot notation (we lose type safety here but maintain flexibility)
+  [key: string]: any;
+};
+
 export const convertFilterForMongoDb = (filterArg: { [key: string]: any }) => {
-  // Special case: detect MongoDB operators and pass them through directly
+  // SECURITY: Block $where to prevent server-side JS execution
-  const topLevelOperators = ['$and', '$or', '$nor', '$not', '$text', '$where', '$regex'];
+  if (filterArg.$where !== undefined) {
+    throw new Error('$where operator is not allowed for security reasons');
+  }
+  
+  // Handle logical operators recursively
+  const logicalOperators = ['$and', '$or', '$nor', '$not'];
+  const processedFilter: { [key: string]: any } = {};
+  
   for (const key of Object.keys(filterArg)) {
-    if (topLevelOperators.includes(key)) {
+    if (logicalOperators.includes(key)) {
-      return filterArg; // Return the filter as-is for MongoDB operators
+      if (key === '$not') {
+        processedFilter[key] = convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg[key]);
+      } else if (Array.isArray(filterArg[key])) {
+        processedFilter[key] = filterArg[key].map((subFilter: any) => convertFilterForMongoDb(subFilter));
+      }
     }
   }
+  
+  // If only logical operators, return them
+  const hasOnlyLogicalOperators = Object.keys(filterArg).every(key => logicalOperators.includes(key));
+  if (hasOnlyLogicalOperators) {
+    return processedFilter;
+  }
 
   // Original conversion logic for non-MongoDB query objects
   const convertedFilter: { [key: string]: any } = {};
+  
+  // Helper to merge operator objects
+  const mergeIntoConverted = (path: string, value: any) => {
+    const existing = convertedFilter[path];
+    if (!existing) {
+      convertedFilter[path] = value;
+    } else if (
+      typeof existing === 'object' && !Array.isArray(existing) &&
+      typeof value === 'object' && !Array.isArray(value) &&
+      (Object.keys(existing).some(k => k.startsWith('$')) || Object.keys(value).some(k => k.startsWith('$')))
+    ) {
+      // Both have operators, merge them
+      convertedFilter[path] = { ...existing, ...value };
+    } else {
+      // Otherwise later wins
+      convertedFilter[path] = value;
+    }
+  };
 
   const convertFilterArgument = (keyPathArg2: string, filterArg2: any) => {
     if (Array.isArray(filterArg2)) {
-      // Directly assign arrays (they might be using operators like $in or $all)
+      // Arrays are typically used as values for operators like $in or as direct equality matches
-      convertFilterArgument(keyPathArg2, filterArg2[0]);
+      mergeIntoConverted(keyPathArg2, filterArg2);
+      return;
     } else if (typeof filterArg2 === 'object' && filterArg2 !== null) {
-      for (const key of Object.keys(filterArg2)) {
+      // Check if this is an object with MongoDB operators
-        if (key.startsWith('$')) {
+      const keys = Object.keys(filterArg2);
-          convertedFilter[keyPathArg2] = filterArg2;
+      const hasOperators = keys.some(key => key.startsWith('$'));
-          return;
+      
-        } else if (key.includes('.')) {
+      if (hasOperators) {
+        // This object contains MongoDB operators
+        // Validate and pass through allowed operators
+        const allowedOperators = [
+          // Comparison operators
+          '$eq', '$ne', '$gt', '$gte', '$lt', '$lte',
+          // Array operators
+          '$in', '$nin', '$all', '$elemMatch', '$size',
+          // Element operators
+          '$exists', '$type',
+          // Evaluation operators (safe ones only)
+          '$regex', '$options', '$text', '$mod',
+          // Logical operators (nested)
+          '$and', '$or', '$nor', '$not'
+        ];
+        
+        // Check for dangerous operators
+        if (keys.includes('$where')) {
+          throw new Error('$where operator is not allowed for security reasons');
+        }
+        
+        // Validate all operators are in the allowed list
+        const invalidOperators = keys.filter(key => 
+          key.startsWith('$') && !allowedOperators.includes(key)
+        );
+        
+        if (invalidOperators.length > 0) {
+          console.warn(`Warning: Unknown MongoDB operators detected: ${invalidOperators.join(', ')}`);
+        }
+        
+        // For array operators, ensure the values are appropriate
+        if (filterArg2.$in && !Array.isArray(filterArg2.$in)) {
+          throw new Error('$in operator requires an array value');
+        }
+        if (filterArg2.$nin && !Array.isArray(filterArg2.$nin)) {
+          throw new Error('$nin operator requires an array value');
+        }
+        if (filterArg2.$all && !Array.isArray(filterArg2.$all)) {
+          throw new Error('$all operator requires an array value');
+        }
+        if (filterArg2.$size && typeof filterArg2.$size !== 'number') {
+          throw new Error('$size operator requires a numeric value');
+        }
+        
+        // Use merge helper to handle duplicate paths
+        mergeIntoConverted(keyPathArg2, filterArg2);
+        return;
+      }
+      
+      // No operators, check for dots in keys
+      for (const key of keys) {
+        if (key.includes('.')) {
           throw new Error('keys cannot contain dots');
         }
       }
-      for (const key of Object.keys(filterArg2)) {
+      
+      // Recursively process nested objects
+      for (const key of keys) {
         convertFilterArgument(`${keyPathArg2}.${key}`, filterArg2[key]);
       }
     } else {
-      convertedFilter[keyPathArg2] = filterArg2;
+      // Primitive values
+      mergeIntoConverted(keyPathArg2, filterArg2);
     }
   };
 
   for (const key of Object.keys(filterArg)) {
-    convertFilterArgument(key, filterArg[key]);
+    // Skip logical operators, they were already processed
+    if (!logicalOperators.includes(key)) {
+      convertFilterArgument(key, filterArg[key]);
+    }
   }
+  
+  // Add back processed logical operators
+  Object.assign(convertedFilter, processedFilter);
+  
   return convertedFilter;
 };
 
@@ -180,7 +347,12 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
     const newInstance = new this();
     (newInstance as any).creationStatus = 'db';
     for (const key of Object.keys(mongoDbNativeDocArg)) {
-      newInstance[key] = mongoDbNativeDocArg[key];
+      const rawValue = mongoDbNativeDocArg[key];
+      const optionsMap = (this as any)._svDbOptions || {};
+      const opts = optionsMap[key];
+      newInstance[key] = opts && typeof opts.deserialize === 'function'
+        ? opts.deserialize(rawValue)
+        : rawValue;
     }
     return newInstance;
   }
@@ -188,14 +360,19 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
   /**
    * gets all instances as array
    * @param this
-   * @param filterArg
+   * @param filterArg - Type-safe MongoDB filter with nested object support and operators
    * @returns
    */
   public static async getInstances<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T>,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
   ): Promise<T[]> {
-    const foundDocs = await (this as any).collection.findAll(convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg));
+    // Pass session through to findAll for transactional queries
+    const foundDocs = await (this as any).collection.findAll(
+      convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg),
+      { session: opts?.session },
+    );
     const returnArray = [];
     for (const foundDoc of foundDocs) {
       const newInstance: T = (this as any).createInstanceFromMongoDbNativeDoc(foundDoc);
@@ -212,9 +389,14 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    */
   public static async getInstance<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T>,
+    opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }
   ): Promise<T> {
-    const foundDoc = await (this as any).collection.findOne(convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg));
+    // Retrieve one document, with optional session for transactions
+    const foundDoc = await (this as any).collection.findOne(
+      convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg),
+      { session: opts?.session },
+    );
     if (foundDoc) {
       const newInstance: T = (this as any).createInstanceFromMongoDbNativeDoc(foundDoc);
       return newInstance;
@@ -234,32 +416,27 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
   }
 
   /**
-   * get cursor
+   * Get a cursor for streaming results, with optional session and native cursor modifiers.
-   * @returns
+   * @param filterArg Partial filter to apply
+   * @param opts Optional session and modifier for the raw MongoDB cursor
    */
   public static async getCursor<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T>,
-  ) {
+    opts?: {
-    const collection: SmartdataCollection<T> = (this as any).collection;
+      session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession;
-    const cursor: SmartdataDbCursor<T> = await collection.getCursor(
+      modifier?: (cursorArg: plugins.mongodb.FindCursor<plugins.mongodb.WithId<plugins.mongodb.BSON.Document>>) => plugins.mongodb.FindCursor<plugins.mongodb.WithId<plugins.mongodb.BSON.Document>>;
-      convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg),
+    }
-      this as any as typeof SmartDataDbDoc,
-    );
-    return cursor;
-  }
-
-  public static async getCursorExtended<T>(
-    this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
-    modifierFunction = (cursorArg: plugins.mongodb.FindCursor<plugins.mongodb.WithId<plugins.mongodb.BSON.Document>>) => cursorArg,
   ): Promise<SmartdataDbCursor<T>> {
     const collection: SmartdataCollection<T> = (this as any).collection;
-    let cursor: plugins.mongodb.FindCursor<any> = collection.mongoDbCollection.find(
+    const { session, modifier } = opts || {};
-      convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg),
+    await collection.init();
-    );
+    let rawCursor: plugins.mongodb.FindCursor<any> =
-    cursor = modifierFunction(cursor);
+      collection.mongoDbCollection.find(convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg), { session });
-    return new SmartdataDbCursor<T>(cursor, this as any as typeof SmartDataDbDoc);
+    if (modifier) {
+      rawCursor = modifier(rawCursor);
+    }
+    return new SmartdataDbCursor<T>(rawCursor, this as any as typeof SmartDataDbDoc);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -268,13 +445,20 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    * @param filterArg
    * @param forEachFunction
    */
+  /**
+   * Watch the collection for changes, with optional buffering and change stream options.
+   * @param filterArg MongoDB filter to select which changes to observe
+   * @param opts optional ChangeStreamOptions plus bufferTimeMs
+   */
   public static async watch<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T>,
-  ) {
+    opts?: plugins.mongodb.ChangeStreamOptions & { bufferTimeMs?: number },
+  ): Promise<SmartdataDbWatcher<T>> {
     const collection: SmartdataCollection<T> = (this as any).collection;
     const watcher: SmartdataDbWatcher<T> = await collection.watch(
       convertFilterForMongoDb(filterArg),
+      opts || {},
       this as any,
     );
     return watcher;
@@ -286,7 +470,7 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    */
   public static async forEach<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T>,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T>,
     forEachFunction: (itemArg: T) => Promise<any>,
   ) {
     const cursor: SmartdataDbCursor<T> = await (this as any).getCursor(filterArg);
@@ -298,7 +482,7 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    */
   public static async getCount<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    filterArg: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.PartialDeep<T> = {} as any,
+    filterArg: MongoFilter<T> = {} as any,
   ) {
     const collection: SmartdataCollection<T> = (this as any).collection;
     return await collection.getCount(filterArg);
@@ -313,118 +497,186 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
     luceneQuery: string,
   ): any {
-    const className = (this as any).className || this.name;
+    const searchableFields = (this as any).getSearchableFields();
-    const searchableFields = getSearchableFields(className);
-
     if (searchableFields.length === 0) {
-      throw new Error(`No searchable fields defined for class ${className}`);
+      throw new Error(`No searchable fields defined for class ${this.name}`);
     }
-
     const adapter = new SmartdataLuceneAdapter(searchableFields);
     return adapter.convert(luceneQuery);
   }
+  /**
+   * List all searchable fields defined on this class
+   */
+  public static getSearchableFields(): string[] {
+    const ctor = this as any;
+    return Array.isArray(ctor.searchableFields) ? ctor.searchableFields : [];
+  }
+  /**
+   * Execute a query with optional hard filter and post-fetch validation
+   */
+  private static async execQuery<T>(
+    this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
+    baseFilter: Record<string, any>,
+    opts?: SearchOptions<T>
+  ): Promise<T[]> {
+    let mongoFilter = baseFilter || {};
+    if (opts?.filter) {
+      mongoFilter = { $and: [mongoFilter, opts.filter] };
+    }
+    // Fetch with optional session for transactions
+    // Fetch within optional session
+    let docs: T[] = await (this as any).getInstances(mongoFilter, { session: opts?.session });
+    if (opts?.validate) {
+      const out: T[] = [];
+      for (const d of docs) {
+        if (await opts.validate(d)) out.push(d);
+      }
+      docs = out;
+    }
+    return docs;
+  }
 
   /**
-   * Search documents using Lucene query syntax
+   * Search documents by text or field:value syntax, with safe regex fallback
-   * @param luceneQuery Lucene query string
+   * Supports additional filtering and post-fetch validation via opts
+   * @param query A search term or field:value expression
+   * @param opts Optional filter and validate hooks
    * @returns Array of matching documents
    */
   public static async search<T>(
     this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    luceneQuery: string,
+    query: string,
+    opts?: SearchOptions<T>,
   ): Promise<T[]> {
-    const filter = (this as any).createSearchFilter(luceneQuery);
+    const searchableFields = (this as any).getSearchableFields();
-    return await (this as any).getInstances(filter);
+    if (searchableFields.length === 0) {
-  }
+      throw new Error(`No searchable fields defined for class ${this.name}`);
-
-  /**
-   * Search documents using Lucene query syntax with robust error handling
-   * @param luceneQuery The Lucene query string to search with
-   * @returns Array of matching documents
-   */
-  public static async searchWithLucene<T>(
-    this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    luceneQuery: string,
-  ): Promise<T[]> {
-    try {
-      const className = (this as any).className || this.name;
-      const searchableFields = getSearchableFields(className);
-
-      if (searchableFields.length === 0) {
-        console.warn(
-          `No searchable fields defined for class ${className}, falling back to simple search`,
-        );
-        return (this as any).searchByTextAcrossFields(luceneQuery);
-      }
-
-      // Simple term search optimization
-      if (
-        !luceneQuery.includes(':') &&
-        !luceneQuery.includes(' AND ') &&
-        !luceneQuery.includes(' OR ') &&
-        !luceneQuery.includes(' NOT ')
-      ) {
-        return (this as any).searchByTextAcrossFields(luceneQuery);
-      }
-
-      // Try to use the Lucene-to-MongoDB conversion
-      const filter = (this as any).createSearchFilter(luceneQuery);
-      return await (this as any).getInstances(filter);
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error in searchWithLucene: ${error.message}`);
-      return (this as any).searchByTextAcrossFields(luceneQuery);
     }
-  }
+    // empty query -> return all
-
+    const q = query.trim();
-  /**
+    if (!q) {
-   * Search by text across all searchable fields (fallback method)
+      // empty query: fetch all, apply opts
-   * @param searchText The text to search for in all searchable fields
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({}, opts);
-   * @returns Array of matching documents
+    }
-   */
+    // simple exact field:value (no spaces, no wildcards, no quotes)
-  private static async searchByTextAcrossFields<T>(
+    // simple exact field:value (no spaces, wildcards, quotes)
-    this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
+    const simpleExact = q.match(/^(\w+):([^"'\*\?\s]+)$/);
-    searchText: string,
+    if (simpleExact) {
-  ): Promise<T[]> {
+      const field = simpleExact[1];
-    try {
+      const value = simpleExact[2];
-      const className = (this as any).className || this.name;
+      if (!searchableFields.includes(field)) {
-      const searchableFields = getSearchableFields(className);
+        throw new Error(`Field '${field}' is not searchable for class ${this.name}`);
-
-      // Fallback to direct filter if we have searchable fields
-      if (searchableFields.length > 0) {
-        // Create a simple $or query with regex for each field
-        const orConditions = searchableFields.map((field) => ({
-          [field]: { $regex: searchText, $options: 'i' },
-        }));
-
-        const filter = { $or: orConditions };
-
-        try {
-          // Try with MongoDB filter first
-          return await (this as any).getInstances(filter);
-        } catch (error) {
-          console.warn('MongoDB filter failed, falling back to in-memory search');
-        }
       }
-
+      // simple field:value search
-      // Last resort: get all and filter in memory
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ [field]: value }, opts);
-      const allDocs = await (this as any).getInstances({});
+    }
-      const lowerSearchText = searchText.toLowerCase();
+    // quoted phrase across all searchable fields: exact match of phrase
-
+    const quoted = q.match(/^"(.+)"$|^'(.+)'$/);
-      return allDocs.filter((doc: any) => {
+    if (quoted) {
-        for (const field of searchableFields) {
+      const phrase = quoted[1] || quoted[2] || '';
-          const value = doc[field];
+      const parts = phrase.split(/\s+/).map((t) => escapeForRegex(t));
-          if (value && typeof value === 'string' && value.toLowerCase().includes(lowerSearchText)) {
+      const pattern = parts.join('\\s+');
-            return true;
+      const orConds = searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' } }));
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ $or: orConds }, opts);
+    }
+    // wildcard field:value (supports * and ?) -> direct regex on that field
+    const wildcardField = q.match(/^(\w+):(.+[*?].*)$/);
+    if (wildcardField) {
+      const field = wildcardField[1];
+      // Support quoted wildcard patterns: strip surrounding quotes
+      let pattern = wildcardField[2];
+      if ((pattern.startsWith('"') && pattern.endsWith('"')) ||
+          (pattern.startsWith("'") && pattern.endsWith("'"))) {
+        pattern = pattern.slice(1, -1);
+      }
+      if (!searchableFields.includes(field)) {
+        throw new Error(`Field '${field}' is not searchable for class ${this.name}`);
+      }
+      // escape regex special chars except * and ?, then convert wildcards
+      const escaped = pattern.replace(/([.+^${}()|[\\]\\])/g, '\\$1');
+      const regexPattern = escaped.replace(/\*/g, '.*').replace(/\?/g, '.');
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ [field]: { $regex: regexPattern, $options: 'i' } }, opts);
+    }
+    // wildcard plain term across all fields (supports * and ?)
+    if (!q.includes(':') && (q.includes('*') || q.includes('?'))) {
+      // build wildcard regex pattern: escape all except * and ? then convert
+      const escaped = q.replace(/([.+^${}()|[\\]\\])/g, '\\$1');
+      const pattern = escaped.replace(/\*/g, '.*').replace(/\?/g, '.');
+      const orConds = searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' } }));
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ $or: orConds }, opts);
+    }
+    // implicit AND for multiple tokens: free terms, quoted phrases, and field:values
+    {
+      // Split query into tokens, preserving quoted substrings
+      const rawTokens = q.match(/(?:[^\s"']+|"[^"]*"|'[^']*')+/g) || [];
+      // Only apply when more than one token and no boolean operators or grouping
+      if (
+        rawTokens.length > 1 &&
+        !/(\bAND\b|\bOR\b|\bNOT\b|\(|\))/i.test(q) &&
+        !/\[|\]/.test(q)
+      ) {
+        const andConds: any[] = [];
+        for (let token of rawTokens) {
+          // field:value token
+          const fv = token.match(/^(\w+):(.+)$/);
+          if (fv) {
+            const field = fv[1];
+            let value = fv[2];
+            if (!searchableFields.includes(field)) {
+              throw new Error(`Field '${field}' is not searchable for class ${this.name}`);
+            }
+            // Strip surrounding quotes if present
+            if ((value.startsWith('"') && value.endsWith('"')) || (value.startsWith("'") && value.endsWith("'"))) {
+              value = value.slice(1, -1);
+            }
+            // Wildcard search?
+            if (value.includes('*') || value.includes('?')) {
+              const escaped = value.replace(/([.+^${}()|[\\]\\])/g, '\\$1');
+              const pattern = escaped.replace(/\*/g, '.*').replace(/\?/g, '.');
+              andConds.push({ [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' } });
+            } else {
+              andConds.push({ [field]: value });
+            }
+          } else if ((token.startsWith('"') && token.endsWith('"')) || (token.startsWith("'") && token.endsWith("'"))) {
+            // Quoted free phrase across all fields
+            const phrase = token.slice(1, -1);
+            const parts = phrase.split(/\s+/).map((t) => escapeForRegex(t));
+            const pattern = parts.join('\\s+');
+            andConds.push({ $or: searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' } })) });
+          } else {
+            // Free term across all fields
+            const esc = escapeForRegex(token);
+            andConds.push({ $or: searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: esc, $options: 'i' } })) });
           }
         }
-        return false;
+        return await (this as any).execQuery({ $and: andConds }, opts);
-      });
+      }
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error in searchByTextAcrossFields: ${error.message}`);
-      return [];
     }
+    // detect advanced Lucene syntax: field:value, wildcards, boolean, grouping
+    const luceneSyntax = /(\w+:[^\s]+)|\*|\?|\bAND\b|\bOR\b|\bNOT\b|\(|\)/;
+    if (luceneSyntax.test(q)) {
+      const filter = (this as any).createSearchFilter(q);
+      return await (this as any).execQuery(filter, opts);
+    }
+    // multi-term unquoted -> AND of regex across fields for each term
+    const terms = q.split(/\s+/);
+    if (terms.length > 1) {
+      const andConds = terms.map((term) => {
+        const esc = escapeForRegex(term);
+        const ors = searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: esc, $options: 'i' } }));
+        return { $or: ors };
+      });
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ $and: andConds }, opts);
+    }
+    // single term -> regex across all searchable fields
+    const esc = escapeForRegex(q);
+    const orConds = searchableFields.map((f) => ({ [f]: { $regex: esc, $options: 'i' } }));
+    return await (this as any).execQuery({ $or: orConds }, opts);
   }
 
+
+  // INSTANCE
+
   // INSTANCE
 
   /**
@@ -480,35 +732,52 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
   constructor() {}
 
   /**
-   * saves this instance but not any connected items
+   * saves this instance (optionally within a transaction)
-   * may lead to data inconsistencies, but is faster
    */
-  public async save() {
+  public async save(opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }) {
+    // allow hook before saving
+    if (typeof (this as any).beforeSave === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).beforeSave();
+    }
     // tslint:disable-next-line: no-this-assignment
     const self: any = this;
     let dbResult: any;
-
+    // update timestamp
     this._updatedAt = new Date().toISOString();
-
+    // perform insert or update
     switch (this.creationStatus) {
       case 'db':
-        dbResult = await this.collection.update(self);
+        dbResult = await this.collection.update(self, { session: opts?.session });
         break;
       case 'new':
-        dbResult = await this.collection.insert(self);
+        dbResult = await this.collection.insert(self, { session: opts?.session });
         this.creationStatus = 'db';
         break;
       default:
-        console.error('neither new nor in db?');
+        logger.log('error', 'neither new nor in db?');
+    }
+    // allow hook after saving
+    if (typeof (this as any).afterSave === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).afterSave();
     }
     return dbResult;
   }
 
   /**
-   * deletes a document from the database
+   * deletes a document from the database (optionally within a transaction)
    */
-  public async delete() {
+  public async delete(opts?: { session?: plugins.mongodb.ClientSession }) {
-    await this.collection.delete(this);
+    // allow hook before deleting
+    if (typeof (this as any).beforeDelete === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).beforeDelete();
+    }
+    // perform deletion
+    const result = await this.collection.delete(this, { session: opts?.session });
+    // allow hook after delete
+    if (typeof (this as any).afterDelete === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).afterDelete();
+    }
+    return result;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -532,11 +801,20 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
   /**
    * updates an object from db
    */
-  public async updateFromDb() {
+  public async updateFromDb(): Promise<boolean> {
     const mongoDbNativeDoc = await this.collection.findOne(await this.createIdentifiableObject());
-    for (const key of Object.keys(mongoDbNativeDoc)) {
+    if (!mongoDbNativeDoc) {
-      this[key] = mongoDbNativeDoc[key];
+      return false; // Document not found in database
     }
+    for (const key of Object.keys(mongoDbNativeDoc)) {
+      const rawValue = mongoDbNativeDoc[key];
+      const optionsMap = (this.constructor as any)._svDbOptions || {};
+      const opts = optionsMap[key];
+      this[key] = opts && typeof opts.deserialize === 'function'
+        ? opts.deserialize(rawValue)
+        : rawValue;
+    }
+    return true;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -544,9 +822,17 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    */
   public async createSavableObject(): Promise<TImplements> {
     const saveableObject: unknown = {}; // is not exposed to outside, so any is ok here
-    const saveableProperties = [...this.globalSaveableProperties, ...this.saveableProperties];
+    const globalProps = this.globalSaveableProperties || [];
+    const specificProps = this.saveableProperties || [];
+    const saveableProperties = [...globalProps, ...specificProps];
+    // apply custom serialization if configured
+    const optionsMap = (this.constructor as any)._svDbOptions || {};
     for (const propertyNameString of saveableProperties) {
-      saveableObject[propertyNameString] = this[propertyNameString];
+      const rawValue = (this as any)[propertyNameString];
+      const opts = optionsMap[propertyNameString];
+      (saveableObject as any)[propertyNameString] = opts && typeof opts.serialize === 'function'
+        ? opts.serialize(rawValue)
+        : rawValue;
     }
     return saveableObject as TImplements;
   }

ts/classes.easystore.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export class EasyStore<T> {
       public nameId: string;
 
       @svDb()
-      public ephermal: {
+      public ephemeral: {
         activated: boolean;
         timeout: number;
       };
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ export class EasyStore<T> {
     return SmartdataEasyStore;
   })();
 
-  constructor(nameIdArg: string, smnartdataDbRefArg: SmartdataDb) {
+  constructor(nameIdArg: string, smartdataDbRefArg: SmartdataDb) {
-    this.smartdataDbRef = smnartdataDbRefArg;
+    this.smartdataDbRef = smartdataDbRefArg;
     this.nameId = nameIdArg;
   }
 
@@ -110,10 +110,12 @@ export class EasyStore<T> {
     await easyStore.save();
   }
 
-  public async cleanUpEphermal() {
+  public async cleanUpEphemeral() {
-    while (
+    // Clean up ephemeral data periodically while connected
-      (await this.smartdataDbRef.statusConnectedDeferred.promise) &&
+    while (this.smartdataDbRef.status === 'connected') {
-      this.smartdataDbRef.status === 'connected'
+      await plugins.smartdelay.delayFor(60000); // Check every minute
-    ) {}
+      // TODO: Implement actual cleanup logic for ephemeral data
+      // For now, this prevents the infinite CPU loop
+    }
   }
 }

ts/classes.lucene.adapter.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
  * Lucene to MongoDB query adapter for SmartData
  */
 import * as plugins from './plugins.js';
+import { logger } from './logging.js';
 
 // Types
 type NodeType =
@@ -290,11 +291,11 @@ export class LuceneParser {
     const includeLower = this.tokens[this.pos] === '[';
     const includeUpper = this.tokens[this.pos + 4] === ']';
 
-    this.pos++; // Skip open bracket
+    // Ensure tokens for lower, TO, upper, and closing bracket exist
-
     if (this.pos + 4 >= this.tokens.length) {
       throw new Error('Invalid range query syntax');
     }
+    this.pos++; // Skip open bracket
 
     const lower = this.tokens[this.pos];
     this.pos++;
@@ -329,7 +330,16 @@ export class LuceneParser {
  * FIXED VERSION - proper MongoDB query structure
  */
 export class LuceneToMongoTransformer {
-  constructor() {}
+  private defaultFields: string[];
+  constructor(defaultFields: string[] = []) {
+    this.defaultFields = defaultFields;
+  }
+  /**
+   * Escape special characters for use in RegExp patterns
+   */
+  private escapeRegex(input: string): string {
+    return input.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+  }
 
   /**
    * Transform a Lucene AST node to a MongoDB query
@@ -366,18 +376,21 @@ export class LuceneToMongoTransformer {
    * FIXED: properly structured $or query for multiple fields
    */
   private transformTerm(node: TermNode, searchFields?: string[]): any {
-    // If specific fields are provided, search across those fields
+    // Build regex pattern, support wildcard (*) and fuzzy (?) if present
-    if (searchFields && searchFields.length > 0) {
+    const term = node.value;
-      // Create an $or query to search across multiple fields
+    // Determine regex pattern: wildcard conversion or exact escape
-      const orConditions = searchFields.map((field) => ({
+    let pattern: string;
-        [field]: { $regex: node.value, $options: 'i' },
+    if (term.includes('*') || term.includes('?')) {
-      }));
+      pattern = this.luceneWildcardToRegex(term);
-
+    } else {
-      return { $or: orConditions };
+      pattern = this.escapeRegex(term);
     }
-
+    // Search across provided fields or default fields
-    // Otherwise, use text search (requires a text index on desired fields)
+    const fields = searchFields && searchFields.length > 0 ? searchFields : this.defaultFields;
-    return { $text: { $search: node.value } };
+    const orConditions = fields.map((field) => ({
+      [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' },
+    }));
+    return { $or: orConditions };
   }
 
   /**
@@ -385,17 +398,14 @@ export class LuceneToMongoTransformer {
    * FIXED: properly structured $or query for multiple fields
    */
   private transformPhrase(node: PhraseNode, searchFields?: string[]): any {
-    // If specific fields are provided, search phrase across those fields
+    // Use regex across provided fields or default fields, respecting word boundaries
-    if (searchFields && searchFields.length > 0) {
+    const parts = node.value.split(/\s+/).map((t) => this.escapeRegex(t));
-      const orConditions = searchFields.map((field) => ({
+    const pattern = parts.join('\\s+');
-        [field]: { $regex: `${node.value.replace(/\s+/g, '\\s+')}`, $options: 'i' },
+    const fields = searchFields && searchFields.length > 0 ? searchFields : this.defaultFields;
-      }));
+    const orConditions = fields.map((field) => ({
-
+      [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' },
-      return { $or: orConditions };
+    }));
-    }
+    return { $or: orConditions };
-
-    // For phrases, we use a regex to ensure exact matches
-    return { $text: { $search: `"${node.value}"` } };
   }
 
   /**
@@ -429,9 +439,14 @@ export class LuceneToMongoTransformer {
       };
     }
 
-    // Special case for exact term matches on fields
+    // Special case for exact term matches on fields (supporting wildcard characters)
     if (node.value.type === 'TERM') {
-      return { [node.field]: { $regex: (node.value as TermNode).value, $options: 'i' } };
+      const val = (node.value as TermNode).value;
+      if (val.includes('*') || val.includes('?')) {
+        const regex = this.luceneWildcardToRegex(val);
+        return { [node.field]: { $regex: regex, $options: 'i' } };
+      }
+      return { [node.field]: { $regex: val, $options: 'i' } };
     }
 
     // Special case for phrase matches on fields
@@ -626,7 +641,7 @@ export class LuceneToMongoTransformer {
   /**
    * Convert Lucene wildcards to MongoDB regex patterns
    */
-  private luceneWildcardToRegex(wildcardPattern: string): string {
+  public luceneWildcardToRegex(wildcardPattern: string): string {
     // Replace Lucene wildcards with regex equivalents
     // * => .*
     // ? => .
@@ -691,7 +706,8 @@ export class SmartdataLuceneAdapter {
    */
   constructor(defaultSearchFields?: string[]) {
     this.parser = new LuceneParser();
-    this.transformer = new LuceneToMongoTransformer();
+    // Pass default searchable fields into transformer
+    this.transformer = new LuceneToMongoTransformer(defaultSearchFields || []);
     if (defaultSearchFields) {
       this.defaultSearchFields = defaultSearchFields;
     }
@@ -704,7 +720,7 @@ export class SmartdataLuceneAdapter {
    */
   convert(luceneQuery: string, searchFields?: string[]): any {
     try {
-      // For simple single term queries, create a simpler query structure
+      // For simple single-term queries (no field:, boolean, grouping), use simpler regex
       if (
         !luceneQuery.includes(':') &&
         !luceneQuery.includes(' AND ') &&
@@ -713,13 +729,17 @@ export class SmartdataLuceneAdapter {
         !luceneQuery.includes('(') &&
         !luceneQuery.includes('[')
       ) {
-        // This is a simple term, use a more direct approach
         const fieldsToSearch = searchFields || this.defaultSearchFields;
-
         if (fieldsToSearch && fieldsToSearch.length > 0) {
+          // Handle wildcard characters in query
+          let pattern = luceneQuery;
+          if (luceneQuery.includes('*') || luceneQuery.includes('?')) {
+            // Use transformer to convert wildcard pattern
+            pattern = this.transformer.luceneWildcardToRegex(luceneQuery);
+          }
           return {
             $or: fieldsToSearch.map((field) => ({
-              [field]: { $regex: luceneQuery, $options: 'i' },
+              [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' },
             })),
           };
         }
@@ -735,7 +755,7 @@ export class SmartdataLuceneAdapter {
       // Transform the AST to a MongoDB query
       return this.transformWithFields(ast, fieldsToSearch);
     } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Failed to convert Lucene query "${luceneQuery}":`, error);
+      logger.log('error', `Failed to convert Lucene query "${luceneQuery}":`, error);
       throw new Error(`Failed to convert Lucene query: ${error}`);
     }
   }

ts/classes.watcher.ts

@@ -1,37 +1,73 @@
 import { SmartDataDbDoc } from './classes.doc.js';
 import * as plugins from './plugins.js';
+import { EventEmitter } from 'events';
 
 /**
  * a wrapper for the native mongodb cursor. Exposes better
  */
-export class SmartdataDbWatcher<T = any> {
+/**
+ * Wraps a MongoDB ChangeStream with RxJS and EventEmitter support.
+ */
+export class SmartdataDbWatcher<T = any> extends EventEmitter {
   // STATIC
   public readyDeferred = plugins.smartpromise.defer();
 
   // INSTANCE
   private changeStream: plugins.mongodb.ChangeStream<T>;
-
+  private rawSubject: plugins.smartrx.rxjs.Subject<T>;
-  public changeSubject = new plugins.smartrx.rxjs.Subject<T>();
+  /** Emits change documents (or arrays of documents if buffered) */
+  public changeSubject: any;
+  /**
+   * @param changeStreamArg native MongoDB ChangeStream
+   * @param smartdataDbDocArg document class for instance creation
+   * @param opts.bufferTimeMs optional milliseconds to buffer events via RxJS
+   */
   constructor(
     changeStreamArg: plugins.mongodb.ChangeStream<T>,
     smartdataDbDocArg: typeof SmartDataDbDoc,
+    opts?: { bufferTimeMs?: number },
   ) {
+    super();
+    this.rawSubject = new plugins.smartrx.rxjs.Subject<T>();
+    // Apply buffering if requested
+    if (opts && opts.bufferTimeMs) {
+      this.changeSubject = this.rawSubject.pipe(plugins.smartrx.rxjs.ops.bufferTime(opts.bufferTimeMs));
+    } else {
+      this.changeSubject = this.rawSubject;
+    }
     this.changeStream = changeStreamArg;
     this.changeStream.on('change', async (item: any) => {
-      if (!item.fullDocument) {
+      let docInstance: T = null;
-        this.changeSubject.next(null);
+      if (item.fullDocument) {
-        return;
+        docInstance = smartdataDbDocArg.createInstanceFromMongoDbNativeDoc(
+          item.fullDocument
+        ) as any as T;
       }
-      this.changeSubject.next(
+      // Notify subscribers
-        smartdataDbDocArg.createInstanceFromMongoDbNativeDoc(item.fullDocument) as any as T,
+      this.rawSubject.next(docInstance);
-      );
+      this.emit('change', docInstance);
     });
+    // Signal readiness after one tick
     plugins.smartdelay.delayFor(0).then(() => {
       this.readyDeferred.resolve();
     });
   }
 
-  public async close() {
+  /**
+   * Close the change stream, complete the RxJS subject, and remove listeners.
+   */
+  public async close(): Promise<void> {
+    // Close MongoDB ChangeStream
     await this.changeStream.close();
+    // Complete the subject to teardown any buffering operators
+    this.rawSubject.complete();
+    // Remove all EventEmitter listeners
+    this.removeAllListeners();
+  }
+  /**
+   * Alias for close(), matching README usage
+   */
+  public async stop(): Promise<void> {
+    return this.close();
   }
 }