5.14.0

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,117 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 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
 

codex.md

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# SmartData Project Overview
+
+This document provides a high-level overview of the SmartData library (`@push.rocks/smartdata`), its architecture, core components, and key features—including recent enhancements to the search API.
+
+## 1. Project Purpose
+- A TypeScript‑first wrapper around MongoDB that supplies:
+  - Strongly‑typed document & collection classes
+  - Decorator‑based schema definition (no external schema files)
+  - Advanced search capabilities with Lucene‑style queries
+  - Built‑in support for real‑time data sync, distributed coordination, and key‑value EasyStore
+
+## 2. Core Concepts & Components
+- **SmartDataDb**: Manages the MongoDB connection, pooling, and initialization of collections.
+- **SmartDataDbDoc**: Base class for all document models; provides CRUD, upsert, and cursor APIs.
+- **Decorators**:
+  - `@Collection`: Associates a class with a MongoDB collection
+  - `@svDb()`: Marks a field as persisted to the DB
+  - `@unI()`: Marks a field as a unique index
+  - `@index()`: Adds a regular index
+  - `@searchable()`: Marks a field for inclusion in text searches or regex queries
+- **SmartdataCollection**: Wraps a MongoDB collection; auto‑creates indexes based on decorators.
+- **Lucene Adapter**: Parses a Lucene query string into an AST and transforms it to a MongoDB filter object.
+- **EasyStore**: A simple, schema‑less key‑value store built on top of MongoDB for sharing ephemeral data.
+- **Distributed Coordinator**: Leader election and task‑distribution API for building resilient, multi‑instance systems.
+- **Watcher**: Listens to change streams for real‑time updates and integrates with RxJS.
+
+## 3. Search API
+SmartData provides a unified `.search(query[, opts])` method on all models with `@searchable()` fields:
+
+- **Supported Syntax**:
+  1. Exact field:value (e.g. `field:Value`)
+  2. Quoted phrases (e.g. `"exact phrase"` or `'exact phrase'`)
+  3. Wildcards: `*` (zero or more chars) and `?` (single char)
+  4. Boolean operators: `AND`, `OR`, `NOT`
+  5. Grouping: parenthesis `(A OR B) AND C`
+  6. Range queries: `[num TO num]`, `{num TO num}`
+  7. Multi‑term unquoted: terms AND’d across all searchable fields
+  8. Empty query returns all documents
+
+- **Fallback Mechanisms**:
+  1. Text index based `$text` search (if supported)
+  2. Field‑scoped and multi‑field regex queries
+  3. In‑memory filtering for complex or unsupported cases
+
+### New Security & Extensibility Hooks
+The `.search(query, opts?)` signature now accepts a `SearchOptions<T>` object:
+```ts
+interface SearchOptions<T> {
+  filter?: Record<string, any>;        // Additional MongoDB filter AND‑merged
+  validate?: (doc: T) => boolean;      // Post‑fetch hook to drop results
+}
+```
+- **filter**: Enforces mandatory constraints (e.g. multi‑tenant isolation) directly in the Mongo query.
+- **validate**: An async function that runs after fetching; return `false` to exclude a document.
+
+## 4. Testing Strategy
+- Unit tests in `test/test.search.ts` cover basic search functionality and new options:
+  - Exact, wildcard, phrase, boolean and grouping cases
+  - Implicit AND and mixed free‑term + field searches
+  - Edge cases (non‑searchable fields, quoted wildcards, no matches)
+  - `filter` and `validate` tests ensure security hooks work as intended
+- Advanced search scenarios are covered in `test/test.search.advanced.ts`.
+
+## 5. Usage Example
+```ts
+// Basic search
+const prods = await Product.search('wireless earbuds');
+
+// Scoped search (only your organization’s items)
+const myItems = await Product.search('book', { filter: { ownerId } });
+
+// Post‑search validation (only cheap items)
+const cheapItems = await Product.search('', { validate: p => p.price < 50 });
+```
+
+---
+Last updated: 2025-04-22

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@push.rocks/smartdata",
-  "version": "5.8.3",
+  "version": "5.14.0",
   "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",
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "test": "tstest test/",
+    "testSearch": "tsx test/test.search.ts",
     "build": "tsbuild --web --allowimplicitany",
     "buildDocs": "tsdoc"
   },

readme.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ A powerful TypeScript-first MongoDB wrapper that provides advanced features for
 - **Enhanced Cursors**: Chainable, type-safe cursor API with memory efficient data processing
 - **Type Conversion**: Automatic handling of MongoDB types like ObjectId and Binary data
 - **Serialization Hooks**: Custom serialization and deserialization of document properties
-- **Powerful Search Capabilities**: Lucene-like query syntax with field-specific search, advanced operators, and fallback mechanisms
+- **Powerful Search Capabilities**: Unified `search(query)` API supporting field:value exact matches, multi-field regex searches, case-insensitive matching, and automatic escaping to prevent regex injection
 
 ## Requirements
 
@@ -189,72 +189,61 @@ await user.delete(); // Delete the user from the database
 
 ### Search Functionality
 
-SmartData provides powerful search capabilities with a Lucene-like query syntax and robust fallback mechanisms:
+SmartData provides powerful, Lucene‑style search capabilities with robust fallback mechanisms:
 
 ```typescript
 // Define a model with searchable fields
 @Collection(() => db)
 class Product extends SmartDataDbDoc<Product, Product> {
-  @unI()
-  public id: string = 'product-id';
-
-  @svDb()
-  @searchable() // Mark this field as searchable
-  public name: string;
-
-  @svDb()
-  @searchable() // Mark this field as searchable
-  public description: string;
-
-  @svDb()
-  @searchable() // Mark this field as searchable
-  public category: string;
-
-  @svDb()
-  public price: number;
+  @unI() public id: string = 'product-id';
+  @svDb() @searchable() public name: string;
+  @svDb() @searchable() public description: string;
+  @svDb() @searchable() public category: string;
+  @svDb() public price: number;
 }
 
-// Get all fields marked as searchable for a class
-const searchableFields = getSearchableFields('Product'); // ['name', 'description', 'category']
+// List searchable fields
+const searchableFields = Product.getSearchableFields();
 
-// Basic search across all searchable fields
-const iPhoneProducts = await Product.searchWithLucene('iPhone');
+// 1: Exact phrase across all fields
+await Product.search('"Kindle Paperwhite"');
 
-// Field-specific search
-const electronicsProducts = await Product.searchWithLucene('category:Electronics');
+// 2: Wildcard search across all fields
+await Product.search('Air*');
 
-// Search with wildcards
-const macProducts = await Product.searchWithLucene('Mac*');
+// 3: Field‑scoped wildcard
+await Product.search('name:Air*');
 
-// Search in specific fields with partial words
-const laptopResults = await Product.searchWithLucene('description:laptop');
+// 4: Boolean AND/OR/NOT
+await Product.search('category:Electronics AND name:iPhone');
 
-// Search is case-insensitive
-const results1 = await Product.searchWithLucene('electronics');
-const results2 = await Product.searchWithLucene('Electronics');
-// results1 and results2 will contain the same documents
+// 5: Grouping with parentheses
+await Product.search('(Furniture OR Electronics) AND Chair');
 
-// Using boolean operators (requires text index in MongoDB)
-const wirelessOrLaptop = await Product.searchWithLucene('wireless OR laptop');
+// 6: Multi‑term unquoted (terms AND’d across fields)
+await Product.search('TypeScript Aufgabe');
 
-// Negative searches
-const electronicsNotSamsung = await Product.searchWithLucene('Electronics NOT Samsung');
-
-// Phrase searches
-const exactPhrase = await Product.searchWithLucene('"high-speed blender"');
-
-// Grouping with parentheses
-const complexQuery = await Product.searchWithLucene('(wireless OR bluetooth) AND Electronics');
+// 7: Empty query returns all documents
+await Product.search('');
+// 8: Scoped search with additional filter (e.g. multi-tenant isolation)
+await Product.search('book', { filter: { ownerId: currentUserId } });
+// 9: Post-search validation hook to drop unwanted results (e.g. price check)
+await Product.search('', { validate: (p) => p.price < 100 });
 ```
 
 The search functionality includes:
 
 - `@searchable()` decorator for marking fields as searchable
-- `getSearchableFields()` to retrieve all searchable fields for a class
-- `search()` method for basic search (requires MongoDB text index)
-- `searchWithLucene()` method with robust fallback mechanisms
-- Support for field-specific searches, wildcards, and boolean operators
-- Automatic fallback to regex-based search if MongoDB text search fails
+- `Class.getSearchableFields()` static method to list searchable fields for a model
+- `search(query: string)` method supporting:
+  - Exact phrase matches (`"my exact string"` or `'my exact string'`)
+  - Field‑scoped exact & wildcard searches (`field:value`, `field:Air*`)
+  - Wildcard searches across all fields (`Air*`, `?Pods`)
+  - Boolean operators (`AND`, `OR`, `NOT`) with grouping (`(...)`)
+  - Multi‑term unquoted queries AND’d across fields (`TypeScript Aufgabe`)
+  - Single/multi‑term regex searches across fields
+  - Empty queries returning all documents
+- Automatic escaping & wildcard conversion to prevent regex injection
 
 ### EasyStore
 
@@ -549,10 +538,10 @@ class Order extends SmartDataDbDoc<Order, Order> {
 
 ### Search Optimization
 
-- Create MongoDB text indexes for collections that need advanced search operations
-- Use `searchWithLucene()` for robust searches with fallback mechanisms
-- Prefer field-specific searches when possible for better performance
-- Use simple term queries instead of boolean operators if you don't have text indexes
+- (Optional) Create MongoDB text indexes on searchable fields to speed up full-text search
+- Use `search(query)` for all search operations (field:value, partial matches, multi-word)
+- Prefer field-specific exact matches when possible for optimal performance
+- Avoid unnecessary complexity in query strings to keep regex searches efficient
 
 ### Performance Optimization
 

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');
-  console.log(
-    `Found ${wirelessResults.length} products matching 'wireless' using searchWithLucene`,
-  );
+    const wirelessResults = await Product.search('wireless');
+    console.log(
+      `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');
-  console.log(`Found ${kitchenResults.length} products in Kitchen category using searchWithLucene`);
+  const kitchenResults = await Product.search('category:Kitchen');
+  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.searchWithLucene('Electronics');
+  const electronicsResults = await Product.search('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

@@ -64,7 +64,11 @@ tap.test('should watch a collection', async (toolsArg) => {
 // 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: '5.8.3',
+  version: '5.14.0',
   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

@@ -32,13 +32,22 @@ 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 +137,8 @@ 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
@@ -153,6 +164,18 @@ export class SmartdataCollection<T> {
         console.log(`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;
+      }
     }
   }
 

ts/classes.doc.ts

@@ -5,11 +5,19 @@ 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> {
+  filter?: Record<string, any>;
+  validate?: (doc: T) => Promise<boolean> | boolean;
+}
 
 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) => {
@@ -39,27 +47,18 @@ export function svDb() {
  */
 export function searchable() {
   return (target: SmartDataDbDoc<unknown, unknown>, key: string) => {
-    console.log(`called searchable() on >${target.constructor.name}.${key}<`);
-
-    // Initialize the set for this class if it doesn't exist
-    const className = target.constructor.name;
-    if (!searchableFieldsMap.has(className)) {
-      searchableFieldsMap.set(className, new Set<string>());
+    // Attach to class constructor for direct access
+    const ctor = target.constructor as any;
+    if (!Array.isArray(ctor.searchableFields)) {
+      ctor.searchableFields = [];
     }
-
-    // Add the property to the searchable fields set
-    searchableFieldsMap.get(className).add(key);
+    ctor.searchableFields.push(key);
   };
 }
 
-/**
- * Get searchable fields for a class
- */
-export function getSearchableFields(className: string): string[] {
-  if (!searchableFieldsMap.has(className)) {
-    return [];
-  }
-  return Array.from(searchableFieldsMap.get(className));
+// Escape user input for safe use in MongoDB regular expressions
+function escapeForRegex(input: string): string {
+  return input.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
 }
 
 /**
@@ -314,118 +313,184 @@ 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 = getSearchableFields(className);
-
+    const searchableFields = (this as any).getSearchableFields();
     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] };
+    }
+    let docs: T[] = await (this as any).getInstances(mongoFilter);
+    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
-   * @param luceneQuery Lucene query string
+   * Search documents by text or field:value syntax, with safe regex fallback
+   * 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);
-    return await (this as any).getInstances(filter);
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * 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);
+    const searchableFields = (this as any).getSearchableFields();
+    if (searchableFields.length === 0) {
+      throw new Error(`No searchable fields defined for class ${this.name}`);
     }
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Search by text across all searchable fields (fallback method)
-   * @param searchText The text to search for in all searchable fields
-   * @returns Array of matching documents
-   */
-  private static async searchByTextAcrossFields<T>(
-    this: plugins.tsclass.typeFest.Class<T>,
-    searchText: string,
-  ): Promise<T[]> {
-    try {
-      const className = (this as any).className || this.name;
-      const searchableFields = getSearchableFields(className);
-
-      // 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 = { $or: orConditions };
-
-        try {
-          // Try with MongoDB filter first
-          return await (this as any).getInstances(filter);
-        } catch (error) {
-          console.warn('MongoDB filter failed, falling back to in-memory search');
-        }
+    // empty query -> return all
+    const q = query.trim();
+    if (!q) {
+      // empty query: fetch all, apply opts
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({}, opts);
+    }
+    // simple exact field:value (no spaces, no wildcards, no quotes)
+    // simple exact field:value (no spaces, wildcards, quotes)
+    const simpleExact = q.match(/^(\w+):([^"'\*\?\s]+)$/);
+    if (simpleExact) {
+      const field = simpleExact[1];
+      const value = simpleExact[2];
+      if (!searchableFields.includes(field)) {
+        throw new Error(`Field '${field}' is not searchable for class ${this.name}`);
       }
-
-      // Last resort: get all and filter in memory
-      const allDocs = await (this as any).getInstances({});
-      const lowerSearchText = searchText.toLowerCase();
-
-      return allDocs.filter((doc: any) => {
-        for (const field of searchableFields) {
-          const value = doc[field];
-          if (value && typeof value === 'string' && value.toLowerCase().includes(lowerSearchText)) {
-            return true;
+      // simple field:value search
+      return await (this as any).execQuery({ [field]: value }, opts);
+    }
+    // quoted phrase across all searchable fields: exact match of phrase
+    const quoted = q.match(/^"(.+)"$|^'(.+)'$/);
+    if (quoted) {
+      const phrase = quoted[1] || quoted[2] || '';
+      const parts = phrase.split(/\s+/).map((t) => escapeForRegex(t));
+      const pattern = parts.join('\\s+');
+      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;
-      });
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.error(`Error in searchByTextAcrossFields: ${error.message}`);
-      return [];
+        return await (this as any).execQuery({ $and: andConds }, opts);
+      }
     }
+    // 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
 
   /**
@@ -485,12 +550,16 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    * may lead to data inconsistencies, but is faster
    */
   public async save() {
+    // 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);
@@ -502,6 +571,10 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
       default:
         console.error('neither new nor in db?');
     }
+    // allow hook after saving
+    if (typeof (this as any).afterSave === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).afterSave();
+    }
     return dbResult;
   }
 
@@ -509,7 +582,17 @@ export class SmartDataDbDoc<T extends TImplements, TImplements, TManager extends
    * deletes a document from the database
    */
   public async delete() {
-    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);
+    // allow hook after delete
+    if (typeof (this as any).afterDelete === 'function') {
+      await (this as any).afterDelete();
+    }
+    return result;
   }
 
   /**

ts/classes.lucene.adapter.ts

@@ -290,11 +290,11 @@ 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 +329,16 @@ 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 +375,21 @@ 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
-    if (searchFields && searchFields.length > 0) {
-      // Create an $or query to search across multiple fields
-      const orConditions = searchFields.map((field) => ({
-        [field]: { $regex: node.value, $options: 'i' },
-      }));
-
-      return { $or: orConditions };
+    // Build regex pattern, support wildcard (*) and fuzzy (?) if present
+    const term = node.value;
+    // Determine regex pattern: wildcard conversion or exact escape
+    let pattern: string;
+    if (term.includes('*') || term.includes('?')) {
+      pattern = this.luceneWildcardToRegex(term);
+    } else {
+      pattern = this.escapeRegex(term);
     }
-
-    // Otherwise, use text search (requires a text index on desired fields)
-    return { $text: { $search: node.value } };
+    // Search across provided fields or default fields
+    const fields = searchFields && searchFields.length > 0 ? searchFields : this.defaultFields;
+    const orConditions = fields.map((field) => ({
+      [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' },
+    }));
+    return { $or: orConditions };
   }
 
   /**
@@ -385,17 +397,14 @@ 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
-    if (searchFields && searchFields.length > 0) {
-      const orConditions = searchFields.map((field) => ({
-        [field]: { $regex: `${node.value.replace(/\s+/g, '\\s+')}`, $options: 'i' },
-      }));
-
-      return { $or: orConditions };
-    }
-
-    // For phrases, we use a regex to ensure exact matches
-    return { $text: { $search: `"${node.value}"` } };
+    // Use regex across provided fields or default fields, respecting word boundaries
+    const parts = node.value.split(/\s+/).map((t) => this.escapeRegex(t));
+    const pattern = parts.join('\\s+');
+    const fields = searchFields && searchFields.length > 0 ? searchFields : this.defaultFields;
+    const orConditions = fields.map((field) => ({
+      [field]: { $regex: pattern, $options: 'i' },
+    }));
+    return { $or: orConditions };
   }
 
   /**
@@ -429,9 +438,14 @@ 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 +640,7 @@ 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 +705,8 @@ 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 +719,7 @@ 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 +728,17 @@ 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' },
             })),
           };
         }