diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/api/http.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/api/http.py
index a47ad72d..898ef322 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/api/http.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/api/http.py
@@ -957,6 +957,12 @@ def create_app(
             await memory.initialize()
             logging.info("Memory system initialized")
 
+            # Set up DB pool metrics after memory initialization
+            metrics_collector = get_metrics_collector()
+            if memory._pool is not None and hasattr(metrics_collector, "set_db_pool"):
+                metrics_collector.set_db_pool(memory._pool)
+                logging.info("DB pool metrics configured")
+
         # Call HTTP extension startup hook
         if http_extension:
             await http_extension.on_startup()
@@ -993,6 +999,30 @@ def create_app(
     # This is required for mounted sub-applications where lifespan may not fire
     app.state.memory = memory
 
+    # Add HTTP metrics middleware
+    @app.middleware("http")
+    async def http_metrics_middleware(request, call_next):
+        """Record HTTP request metrics."""
+        # Normalize endpoint path to reduce cardinality
+        # Replace UUIDs and numeric IDs with placeholders
+        import re
+
+        from starlette.requests import Request
+
+        path = request.url.path
+        # Replace UUIDs
+        path = re.sub(r"/[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}", "/{id}", path)
+        # Replace numeric IDs
+        path = re.sub(r"/\d+(?=/|$)", "/{id}", path)
+
+        status_code = [500]  # Default to 500, will be updated
+        metrics_collector = get_metrics_collector()
+
+        with metrics_collector.record_http_request(request.method, path, lambda: status_code[0]):
+            response = await call_next(request)
+            status_code[0] = response.status_code
+            return response
+
     # Register all routes
     _register_routes(app)
 
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/config.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/config.py
index e50bdef9..63bda959 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/config.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/config.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ ENV_RERANKER_COHERE_MODEL = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_COHERE_MODEL"
 
 ENV_RERANKER_PROVIDER = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_PROVIDER"
 ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL"
+ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT"
 ENV_RERANKER_TEI_URL = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_URL"
 ENV_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE"
 ENV_RERANKER_TEI_MAX_CONCURRENT = "HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_MAX_CONCURRENT"
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ ENV_RETAIN_MAX_COMPLETION_TOKENS = "HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_MAX_COMPLETION_TOKENS"
 ENV_RETAIN_CHUNK_SIZE = "HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_CHUNK_SIZE"
 ENV_RETAIN_EXTRACT_CAUSAL_LINKS = "HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_EXTRACT_CAUSAL_LINKS"
 ENV_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE = "HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE"
+ENV_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC = "HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC"
 
 # Optimization flags
 ENV_SKIP_LLM_VERIFICATION = "HINDSIGHT_API_SKIP_LLM_VERIFICATION"
@@ -84,8 +86,9 @@ ENV_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT = "HINDSIGHT_API_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT"
 ENV_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT = "HINDSIGHT_API_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT"
 
 # Background task processing
-ENV_TASK_BATCH_SIZE = "HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_SIZE"
-ENV_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL = "HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL"
+ENV_TASK_BACKEND = "HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND"
+ENV_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE = "HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE"
+ENV_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL = "HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL"
 
 # Default values
 DEFAULT_DATABASE_URL = "pg0"
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_DIMENSION = 384
 
 DEFAULT_RERANKER_PROVIDER = "local"
 DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL = "cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-6-v2"
+DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT = 4  # Limit concurrent CPU-bound reranking to prevent thrashing
 DEFAULT_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE = 128
 DEFAULT_RERANKER_TEI_MAX_CONCURRENT = 8
 
@@ -111,7 +115,7 @@ DEFAULT_HOST = "0.0.0.0"
 DEFAULT_PORT = 8888
 DEFAULT_LOG_LEVEL = "info"
 DEFAULT_MCP_ENABLED = True
-DEFAULT_GRAPH_RETRIEVER = "bfs"  # Options: "bfs", "mpfp"
+DEFAULT_GRAPH_RETRIEVER = "mpfp"  # Options: "mpfp", "bfs"
 DEFAULT_MCP_LOCAL_BANK_ID = "mcp"
 
 # Observation thresholds
@@ -124,6 +128,7 @@ DEFAULT_RETAIN_CHUNK_SIZE = 3000  # Max chars per chunk for fact extraction
 DEFAULT_RETAIN_EXTRACT_CAUSAL_LINKS = True  # Extract causal links between facts
 DEFAULT_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE = "concise"  # Extraction mode: "concise" or "verbose"
 RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODES = ("concise", "verbose")  # Allowed extraction modes
+DEFAULT_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC = False  # Run observation generation async (after retain completes)
 
 # Database migrations
 DEFAULT_RUN_MIGRATIONS_ON_STARTUP = True
@@ -135,8 +140,9 @@ DEFAULT_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT = 60  # seconds
 DEFAULT_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT = 30  # seconds
 
 # Background task processing
-DEFAULT_TASK_BATCH_SIZE = 10
-DEFAULT_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL = 1.0  # seconds
+DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND = "memory"  # Options: "memory", "noop"
+DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE = 10
+DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL = 1.0  # seconds
 
 # Default MCP tool descriptions (can be customized via env vars)
 DEFAULT_MCP_RETAIN_DESCRIPTION = """Store important information to long-term memory.
@@ -230,6 +236,7 @@ class HindsightConfig:
     retain_chunk_size: int
     retain_extract_causal_links: bool
     retain_extraction_mode: str
+    retain_observations_async: bool
 
     # Optimization flags
     skip_llm_verification: bool
@@ -245,8 +252,9 @@ class HindsightConfig:
     db_acquire_timeout: int
 
     # Background task processing
-    task_batch_size: int
-    task_batch_interval: float
+    task_backend: str
+    task_backend_memory_batch_size: int
+    task_backend_memory_batch_interval: float
 
     @classmethod
     def from_env(cls) -> "HindsightConfig":
@@ -309,6 +317,10 @@ class HindsightConfig:
             retain_extraction_mode=_validate_extraction_mode(
                 os.getenv(ENV_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE, DEFAULT_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE)
             ),
+            retain_observations_async=os.getenv(
+                ENV_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC, str(DEFAULT_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC)
+            ).lower()
+            == "true",
             # Database migrations
             run_migrations_on_startup=os.getenv(ENV_RUN_MIGRATIONS_ON_STARTUP, "true").lower() == "true",
             # Database connection pool
@@ -317,8 +329,13 @@ class HindsightConfig:
             db_command_timeout=int(os.getenv(ENV_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT, str(DEFAULT_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT))),
             db_acquire_timeout=int(os.getenv(ENV_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT, str(DEFAULT_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT))),
             # Background task processing
-            task_batch_size=int(os.getenv(ENV_TASK_BATCH_SIZE, str(DEFAULT_TASK_BATCH_SIZE))),
-            task_batch_interval=float(os.getenv(ENV_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL, str(DEFAULT_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL))),
+            task_backend=os.getenv(ENV_TASK_BACKEND, DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND),
+            task_backend_memory_batch_size=int(
+                os.getenv(ENV_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE, str(DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE))
+            ),
+            task_backend_memory_batch_interval=float(
+                os.getenv(ENV_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL, str(DEFAULT_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL))
+            ),
         )
 
     def get_llm_base_url(self) -> str:
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/cross_encoder.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/cross_encoder.py
index 8fa370c8..0370ad70 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/cross_encoder.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/cross_encoder.py
@@ -10,17 +10,20 @@ import asyncio
 import logging
 import os
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 
 import httpx
 
 from ..config import (
     DEFAULT_RERANKER_COHERE_MODEL,
+    DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT,
     DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL,
     DEFAULT_RERANKER_PROVIDER,
     DEFAULT_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE,
     DEFAULT_RERANKER_TEI_MAX_CONCURRENT,
     ENV_COHERE_API_KEY,
     ENV_RERANKER_COHERE_MODEL,
+    ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT,
     ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL,
     ENV_RERANKER_PROVIDER,
     ENV_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE,
@@ -78,25 +81,34 @@ class LocalSTCrossEncoder(CrossEncoderModel):
     - Fast inference (~80ms for 100 pairs on CPU)
     - Small model (80MB)
     - Trained for passage re-ranking
+
+    Uses a dedicated thread pool to limit concurrent CPU-bound work.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, model_name: str | None = None):
+    # Shared executor across all instances (one model loaded anyway)
+    _executor: ThreadPoolExecutor | None = None
+    _max_concurrent: int = 4  # Limit concurrent CPU-bound reranking calls
+
+    def __init__(self, model_name: str | None = None, max_concurrent: int = 4):
         """
         Initialize local SentenceTransformers cross-encoder.
 
         Args:
             model_name: Name of the CrossEncoder model to use.
                        Default: cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-6-v2
+            max_concurrent: Maximum concurrent reranking calls (default: 2).
+                           Higher values may cause CPU thrashing under load.
         """
         self.model_name = model_name or DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL
         self._model = None
+        LocalSTCrossEncoder._max_concurrent = max_concurrent
 
     @property
     def provider_name(self) -> str:
         return "local"
 
     async def initialize(self) -> None:
-        """Load the cross-encoder model."""
+        """Load the cross-encoder model and initialize the executor."""
         if self._model is not None:
             return
 
@@ -108,14 +120,30 @@ class LocalSTCrossEncoder(CrossEncoderModel):
                 "Install it with: pip install sentence-transformers"
             )
 
+        # Note: We use CPU even when GPU/MPS is available because:
+        # 1. The reranker model (MiniLM) is tiny (~22M params)
+        # 2. Batch sizes are small (~100-200 pairs)
+        # 3. Data transfer overhead to GPU outweighs compute benefit
+        # 4. CPU inference is actually faster for this workload
         logger.info(f"Reranker: initializing local provider with model {self.model_name}")
         self._model = CrossEncoder(self.model_name)
-        logger.info("Reranker: local provider initialized")
+
+        # Initialize shared executor (limited workers naturally limits concurrency)
+        if LocalSTCrossEncoder._executor is None:
+            LocalSTCrossEncoder._executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(
+                max_workers=LocalSTCrossEncoder._max_concurrent,
+                thread_name_prefix="reranker",
+            )
+            logger.info(f"Reranker: local provider initialized (max_concurrent={LocalSTCrossEncoder._max_concurrent})")
+        else:
+            logger.info("Reranker: local provider initialized (using existing executor)")
 
     async def predict(self, pairs: list[tuple[str, str]]) -> list[float]:
         """
         Score query-document pairs for relevance.
 
+        Uses a dedicated thread pool with limited workers to prevent CPU thrashing.
+
         Args:
             pairs: List of (query, document) tuples to score
 
@@ -125,9 +153,12 @@ class LocalSTCrossEncoder(CrossEncoderModel):
         if self._model is None:
             raise RuntimeError("Reranker not initialized. Call initialize() first.")
 
-        # Run CPU-bound inference in thread pool to avoid blocking event loop
+        # Use dedicated executor - limited workers naturally limits concurrency
         loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
-        scores = await loop.run_in_executor(None, lambda: self._model.predict(pairs, show_progress_bar=False))
+        scores = await loop.run_in_executor(
+            LocalSTCrossEncoder._executor,
+            lambda: self._model.predict(pairs, show_progress_bar=False),
+        )
         return scores.tolist() if hasattr(scores, "tolist") else list(scores)
 
 
@@ -301,8 +332,7 @@ class RemoteTEICrossEncoder(CrossEncoderModel):
         semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(self.max_concurrent)
 
         tasks = [
-            self._rerank_query_group(self._async_client, semaphore, query, texts)
-            for query, _, texts in tasks_info
+            self._rerank_query_group(self._async_client, semaphore, query, texts) for query, _, texts in tasks_info
         ]
         results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
 
@@ -449,7 +479,10 @@ def create_cross_encoder_from_env() -> CrossEncoderModel:
     elif provider == "local":
         model = os.environ.get(ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL)
         model_name = model or DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL
-        return LocalSTCrossEncoder(model_name=model_name)
+        max_concurrent = int(
+            os.environ.get(ENV_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT, str(DEFAULT_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT))
+        )
+        return LocalSTCrossEncoder(model_name=model_name, max_concurrent=max_concurrent)
     elif provider == "cohere":
         api_key = os.environ.get(ENV_COHERE_API_KEY)
         if not api_key:
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/db_utils.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/db_utils.py
index 99dd0b2b..acdc5cbc 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/db_utils.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/db_utils.py
@@ -83,11 +83,22 @@ async def acquire_with_retry(pool: asyncpg.Pool, max_retries: int = DEFAULT_MAX_
     Yields:
         An asyncpg connection
     """
+    import time
+
+    start = time.time()
 
     async def acquire():
         return await pool.acquire()
 
     conn = await retry_with_backoff(acquire, max_retries=max_retries)
+    acquire_time = time.time() - start
+
+    # Log slow connection acquisitions (indicates pool contention)
+    if acquire_time > 0.05:  # 50ms threshold
+        pool_size = pool.get_size()
+        pool_free = pool.get_idle_size()
+        logger.warning(f"[DB POOL] Slow acquire: {acquire_time:.3f}s | size={pool_size}, idle={pool_free}")
+
     try:
         yield conn
     finally:
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/memory_engine.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/memory_engine.py
index d730d24c..94de2c16 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/memory_engine.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/memory_engine.py
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ from .retain import bank_utils, embedding_utils
 from .retain.types import RetainContentDict
 from .search import observation_utils, think_utils
 from .search.reranking import CrossEncoderReranker
-from .task_backend import AsyncIOQueueBackend, TaskBackend
+from .task_backend import AsyncIOQueueBackend, NoopTaskBackend, TaskBackend
 
 
 class Budget(str, Enum):
@@ -257,8 +257,8 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             db_command_timeout: PostgreSQL command timeout in seconds. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_DB_COMMAND_TIMEOUT.
             db_acquire_timeout: Connection acquisition timeout in seconds. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_DB_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT.
             task_backend: Custom task backend. If not provided, uses AsyncIOQueueBackend.
-            task_batch_size: Background task batch size. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_SIZE.
-            task_batch_interval: Background task batch interval in seconds. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL.
+            task_batch_size: Background task batch size. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE.
+            task_batch_interval: Background task batch interval in seconds. Defaults to HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL.
             run_migrations: Whether to run database migrations during initialize(). Default: True
             operation_validator: Optional extension to validate operations before execution.
                                 If provided, retain/recall/reflect operations will be validated.
@@ -396,11 +396,17 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
         self._cross_encoder_reranker = CrossEncoderReranker(cross_encoder=cross_encoder)
 
         # Initialize task backend
-        _task_batch_size = task_batch_size if task_batch_size is not None else config.task_batch_size
-        _task_batch_interval = task_batch_interval if task_batch_interval is not None else config.task_batch_interval
-        self._task_backend = task_backend or AsyncIOQueueBackend(
-            batch_size=_task_batch_size, batch_interval=_task_batch_interval
-        )
+        if task_backend:
+            self._task_backend = task_backend
+        elif config.task_backend == "noop":
+            self._task_backend = NoopTaskBackend()
+        else:
+            # Default to memory (AsyncIOQueueBackend)
+            _task_batch_size = task_batch_size if task_batch_size is not None else config.task_backend_memory_batch_size
+            _task_batch_interval = (
+                task_batch_interval if task_batch_interval is not None else config.task_backend_memory_batch_interval
+            )
+            self._task_backend = AsyncIOQueueBackend(batch_size=_task_batch_size, batch_interval=_task_batch_interval)
 
         # Backpressure mechanism: limit concurrent searches to prevent overwhelming the database
         # Limit concurrent searches to prevent connection pool exhaustion
@@ -1605,19 +1611,38 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             step_start = time.time()
             query_embedding_str = str(query_embedding)
 
-            from .search.retrieval import retrieve_parallel
+            from .search.retrieval import get_default_graph_retriever, retrieve_parallel
+            from .search.temporal_extraction import extract_temporal_constraint
 
             # Track each retrieval start time
             retrieval_start = time.time()
 
+            # Pre-extract temporal constraint once (shared across all fact types)
+            tc_start = time.time()
+            temporal_constraint = extract_temporal_constraint(
+                query, reference_date=question_date, analyzer=self.query_analyzer
+            )
+            tc_duration = time.time() - tc_start
+
             # Run retrieval for each fact type in parallel
+            # MPFP does lazy edge loading internally, no need to pre-load adjacency
             retrieval_tasks = [
                 retrieve_parallel(
-                    pool, query, query_embedding_str, bank_id, ft, thinking_budget, question_date, self.query_analyzer
+                    pool,
+                    query,
+                    query_embedding_str,
+                    bank_id,
+                    ft,
+                    thinking_budget,
+                    question_date,
+                    self.query_analyzer,
+                    temporal_constraint=temporal_constraint,
                 )
                 for ft in fact_type
             ]
+            parallel_start = time.time()
             all_retrievals = await asyncio.gather(*retrieval_tasks)
+            parallel_duration = time.time() - parallel_start
 
             # Combine all results from all fact types and aggregate timings
             semantic_results = []
@@ -1625,6 +1650,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             graph_results = []
             temporal_results = []
             aggregated_timings = {"semantic": 0.0, "bm25": 0.0, "graph": 0.0, "temporal": 0.0}
+            all_mpfp_timings = []
 
             detected_temporal_constraint = None
             for idx, retrieval_result in enumerate(all_retrievals):
@@ -1645,6 +1671,8 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                 # Capture temporal constraint (same across all fact types)
                 if retrieval_result.temporal_constraint:
                     detected_temporal_constraint = retrieval_result.temporal_constraint
+                # Collect MPFP timings
+                all_mpfp_timings.extend(retrieval_result.mpfp_timings)
 
             # If no temporal results from any fact type, set to None
             if not temporal_results:
@@ -1663,8 +1691,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             retrieval_duration = time.time() - retrieval_start
 
             step_duration = time.time() - step_start
-            total_retrievals = len(fact_type) * (4 if temporal_results else 3)
-            # Format per-method timings
+            # Format per-method timings (these are the actual parallel retrieval times)
             timing_parts = [
                 f"semantic={len(semantic_results)}({aggregated_timings['semantic']:.3f}s)",
                 f"bm25={len(bm25_results)}({aggregated_timings['bm25']:.3f}s)",
@@ -1676,8 +1703,10 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                 temporal_count = len(temporal_results) if temporal_results else 0
                 timing_parts.append(f"temporal={temporal_count}({aggregated_timings['temporal']:.3f}s)")
                 temporal_info = f" | temporal_range={start_dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')} to {end_dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}"
+            # Only tc is sequential setup now (adjacency loads in parallel with retrieval)
+            setup_info = f", tc={tc_duration:.3f}s" if tc_duration > 0.01 else ""
             log_buffer.append(
-                f"  [2] {total_retrievals}-way retrieval ({len(fact_type)} fact_types): {', '.join(timing_parts)} in {step_duration:.3f}s{temporal_info}"
+                f"  [2] Parallel retrieval ({len(fact_type)} fact_types): {', '.join(timing_parts)} in {parallel_duration:.3f}s{setup_info}{temporal_info}"
             )
 
             # Record retrieval results for tracer - per fact type
@@ -1831,9 +1860,6 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
 
                 # Re-sort by combined score
                 scored_results.sort(key=lambda x: x.weight, reverse=True)
-                log_buffer.append(
-                    "  [4.6] Combined scoring: cross_encoder(0.6) + rrf(0.2) + temporal(0.1) + recency(0.1)"
-                )
 
             # Add reranked results to tracer AFTER combined scoring (so normalized values are included)
             if tracer:
@@ -1852,7 +1878,6 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             # Step 5: Truncate to thinking_budget * 2 for token filtering
             rerank_limit = thinking_budget * 2
             top_scored = scored_results[:rerank_limit]
-            log_buffer.append(f"  [5] Truncated to top {len(top_scored)} results")
 
             # Step 6: Token budget filtering
             step_start = time.time()
@@ -1867,7 +1892,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
 
             step_duration = time.time() - step_start
             log_buffer.append(
-                f"  [6] Token filtering: {len(top_scored)} results, {total_tokens}/{max_tokens} tokens in {step_duration:.3f}s"
+                f"  [5] Token filtering: {len(top_scored)} results, {total_tokens}/{max_tokens} tokens in {step_duration:.3f}s"
             )
 
             if tracer:
@@ -1901,7 +1926,6 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
             visited_ids = list(set([sr.id for sr in scored_results[:50]]))  # Top 50
             if visited_ids:
                 await self._task_backend.submit_task({"type": "access_count_update", "node_ids": visited_ids})
-                log_buffer.append(f"  [7] Queued access count updates for {len(visited_ids)} nodes")
 
             # Log fact_type distribution in results
             fact_type_counts = {}
@@ -1934,6 +1958,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                 top_results_dicts.append(result_dict)
 
             # Get entities for each fact if include_entities is requested
+            step_start = time.time()
             fact_entity_map = {}  # unit_id -> list of (entity_id, entity_name)
             if include_entities and top_scored:
                 unit_ids = [uuid.UUID(sr.id) for sr in top_scored]
@@ -1955,6 +1980,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                             fact_entity_map[unit_id].append(
                                 {"entity_id": str(row["entity_id"]), "canonical_name": row["canonical_name"]}
                             )
+            entity_map_duration = time.time() - step_start
 
             # Convert results to MemoryFact objects
             memory_facts = []
@@ -1981,6 +2007,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                 )
 
             # Fetch entity observations if requested
+            step_start = time.time()
             entities_dict = None
             total_entity_tokens = 0
             total_chunk_tokens = 0
@@ -2001,7 +2028,13 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                                 entities_ordered.append((entity_id, entity_name))
                                 seen_entity_ids.add(entity_id)
 
-                # Fetch observations for each entity (respect token budget, in order)
+                # Fetch all observations in a single batched query
+                entity_ids = [eid for eid, _ in entities_ordered]
+                all_observations = await self.get_entity_observations_batch(
+                    bank_id, entity_ids, limit_per_entity=5, request_context=request_context
+                )
+
+                # Build entities_dict respecting token budget, in relevance order
                 entities_dict = {}
                 encoding = _get_tiktoken_encoding()
 
@@ -2009,9 +2042,7 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                     if total_entity_tokens >= max_entity_tokens:
                         break
 
-                    observations = await self.get_entity_observations(
-                        bank_id, entity_id, limit=5, request_context=request_context
-                    )
+                    observations = all_observations.get(entity_id, [])
 
                     # Calculate tokens for this entity's observations
                     entity_tokens = 0
@@ -2029,8 +2060,10 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                             entity_id=entity_id, canonical_name=entity_name, observations=included_observations
                         )
                         total_entity_tokens += entity_tokens
+            entity_obs_duration = time.time() - step_start
 
             # Fetch chunks if requested
+            step_start = time.time()
             chunks_dict = None
             if include_chunks and top_scored:
                 from .response_models import ChunkInfo
@@ -2090,6 +2123,12 @@ class MemoryEngine(MemoryEngineInterface):
                                 chunk_text=chunk_text, chunk_index=row["chunk_index"], truncated=False
                             )
                             total_chunk_tokens += chunk_tokens
+            chunks_duration = time.time() - step_start
+
+            # Log entity/chunk fetch timing (only if any enrichment was requested)
+            log_buffer.append(
+                f"  [6] Response enrichment: entity_map={entity_map_duration:.3f}s, entity_obs={entity_obs_duration:.3f}s, chunks={chunks_duration:.3f}s"
+            )
 
             # Finalize trace if enabled
             trace_dict = None
@@ -3485,6 +3524,64 @@ Guidelines:
                 observations.append(EntityObservation(text=row["text"], mentioned_at=mentioned_at))
             return observations
 
+    async def get_entity_observations_batch(
+        self,
+        bank_id: str,
+        entity_ids: list[str],
+        *,
+        limit_per_entity: int = 5,
+        request_context: "RequestContext",
+    ) -> dict[str, list[Any]]:
+        """
+        Get observations for multiple entities in a single query.
+
+        Args:
+            bank_id: bank IDentifier
+            entity_ids: List of entity UUIDs to get observations for
+            limit_per_entity: Maximum observations per entity
+            request_context: Request context for authentication.
+
+        Returns:
+            Dict mapping entity_id -> list of EntityObservation objects
+        """
+        if not entity_ids:
+            return {}
+
+        await self._authenticate_tenant(request_context)
+        pool = await self._get_pool()
+        async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
+            # Use window function to limit observations per entity
+            rows = await conn.fetch(
+                f"""
+                WITH ranked AS (
+                    SELECT
+                        ue.entity_id,
+                        mu.text,
+                        mu.mentioned_at,
+                        ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY ue.entity_id ORDER BY mu.mentioned_at DESC) as rn
+                    FROM {fq_table("memory_units")} mu
+                    JOIN {fq_table("unit_entities")} ue ON mu.id = ue.unit_id
+                    WHERE mu.bank_id = $1
+                      AND mu.fact_type = 'observation'
+                      AND ue.entity_id = ANY($2::uuid[])
+                )
+                SELECT entity_id, text, mentioned_at
+                FROM ranked
+                WHERE rn <= $3
+                ORDER BY entity_id, rn
+                """,
+                bank_id,
+                [uuid.UUID(eid) for eid in entity_ids],
+                limit_per_entity,
+            )
+
+            result: dict[str, list[Any]] = {eid: [] for eid in entity_ids}
+            for row in rows:
+                entity_id = str(row["entity_id"])
+                mentioned_at = row["mentioned_at"].isoformat() if row["mentioned_at"] else None
+                result[entity_id].append(EntityObservation(text=row["text"], mentioned_at=mentioned_at))
+            return result
+
     async def list_entities(
         self,
         bank_id: str,
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/retain/orchestrator.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/retain/orchestrator.py
index 05b2b0be..ac4fc898 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/retain/orchestrator.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/retain/orchestrator.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import time
 import uuid
 from datetime import UTC, datetime
 
+from ...config import get_config
 from ..db_utils import acquire_with_retry
 from . import bank_utils
 
@@ -395,16 +396,26 @@ async def retain_batch(
             causal_link_count = await link_creation.create_causal_links_batch(conn, unit_ids, non_duplicate_facts)
             log_buffer.append(f"[10] Causal links: {causal_link_count} links in {time.time() - step_start:.3f}s")
 
-            # Regenerate observations INSIDE transaction for atomicity
-            await observation_regeneration.regenerate_observations_batch(
-                conn, embeddings_model, llm_config, bank_id, entity_links, log_buffer
-            )
+            # Regenerate observations - sync (in transaction) or async (background task)
+            config = get_config()
+            if config.retain_observations_async:
+                # Queue for async processing after transaction commits
+                entity_ids_for_async = list(set(link.entity_id for link in entity_links)) if entity_links else []
+                log_buffer.append(
+                    f"[11] Observations: queued {len(entity_ids_for_async)} entities for async processing"
+                )
+            else:
+                # Run synchronously inside transaction for atomicity
+                await observation_regeneration.regenerate_observations_batch(
+                    conn, embeddings_model, llm_config, bank_id, entity_links, log_buffer
+                )
+                entity_ids_for_async = []
 
             # Map results back to original content items
             result_unit_ids = _map_results_to_contents(contents, extracted_facts, is_duplicate_flags, unit_ids)
 
-        # Trigger background tasks AFTER transaction commits (opinion reinforcement only)
-        await _trigger_background_tasks(task_backend, bank_id, unit_ids, non_duplicate_facts)
+        # Trigger background tasks AFTER transaction commits
+        await _trigger_background_tasks(task_backend, bank_id, unit_ids, non_duplicate_facts, entity_ids_for_async)
 
         # Log final summary
         total_time = time.time() - start_time
@@ -454,8 +465,9 @@ async def _trigger_background_tasks(
     bank_id: str,
     unit_ids: list[str],
     facts: list[ProcessedFact],
+    entity_ids_for_observations: list[str] | None = None,
 ) -> None:
-    """Trigger opinion reinforcement as background task (after transaction commits)."""
+    """Trigger background tasks after transaction commits."""
     # Trigger opinion reinforcement if there are entities
     fact_entities = [[e.name for e in fact.entities] for fact in facts]
     if any(fact_entities):
@@ -468,3 +480,13 @@ async def _trigger_background_tasks(
                 "unit_entities": fact_entities,
             }
         )
+
+    # Trigger observation regeneration if async mode is enabled
+    if entity_ids_for_observations:
+        await task_backend.submit_task(
+            {
+                "type": "regenerate_observations",
+                "bank_id": bank_id,
+                "entity_ids": entity_ids_for_observations,
+            }
+        )
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/graph_retrieval.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/graph_retrieval.py
index 88e94b3a..d0f312cb 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/graph_retrieval.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/graph_retrieval.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 
 from ..db_utils import acquire_with_retry
 from ..memory_engine import fq_table
-from .types import RetrievalResult
+from .types import MPFPTimings, RetrievalResult
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ class GraphRetriever(ABC):
         query_text: str | None = None,
         semantic_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
         temporal_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
-    ) -> list[RetrievalResult]:
+        adjacency=None,  # TypedAdjacency, optional pre-loaded graph
+    ) -> tuple[list[RetrievalResult], MPFPTimings | None]:
         """
         Retrieve relevant facts via graph traversal.
 
@@ -55,9 +56,10 @@ class GraphRetriever(ABC):
             query_text: Original query text (optional, for some strategies)
             semantic_seeds: Pre-computed semantic entry points (from semantic retrieval)
             temporal_seeds: Pre-computed temporal entry points (from temporal retrieval)
+            adjacency: Pre-loaded typed adjacency graph (optional, for MPFP)
 
         Returns:
-            List of RetrievalResult objects with activation scores set
+            Tuple of (List of RetrievalResult with activation scores, optional timing info)
         """
         pass
 
@@ -111,7 +113,8 @@ class BFSGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
         query_text: str | None = None,
         semantic_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
         temporal_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
-    ) -> list[RetrievalResult]:
+        adjacency=None,  # Not used by BFS
+    ) -> tuple[list[RetrievalResult], MPFPTimings | None]:
         """
         Retrieve facts using BFS spreading activation.
 
@@ -122,11 +125,12 @@ class BFSGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
         4. Return visited nodes up to budget
 
         Note: BFS finds its own entry points via embedding search.
-        The semantic_seeds and temporal_seeds parameters are accepted
+        The semantic_seeds, temporal_seeds, and adjacency parameters are accepted
         for interface compatibility but not used.
         """
         async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
-            return await self._retrieve_with_conn(conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, budget)
+            results = await self._retrieve_with_conn(conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, budget)
+            return results, None
 
     async def _retrieve_with_conn(
         self,
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/mpfp_retrieval.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/mpfp_retrieval.py
index f628e9dd..cef90f2b 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/mpfp_retrieval.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/mpfp_retrieval.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ propagation from Approximate PPR.
 
 Key properties:
 - Sublinear in graph size (threshold pruning bounds active nodes)
+- Lazy edge loading: only loads edges for frontier nodes, not entire graph
 - Predefined patterns capture different retrieval intents
 - All patterns run in parallel, results fused via RRF
 - No LLM in the loop during traversal
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from ..db_utils import acquire_with_retry
 from ..memory_engine import fq_table
 from .graph_retrieval import GraphRetriever
-from .types import RetrievalResult
+from .types import MPFPTimings, RetrievalResult
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -41,11 +42,18 @@ class EdgeTarget:
 
 
 @dataclass
-class TypedAdjacency:
-    """Adjacency lists split by edge type."""
+class EdgeCache:
+    """
+    Cache for lazily-loaded edges.
 
-    # edge_type -> from_node_id -> list of (to_node_id, weight)
+    Grows per-hop as edges are loaded for frontier nodes.
+    Shared across patterns to avoid redundant loads.
+    """
+
+    # edge_type -> from_node_id -> list of EdgeTarget
     graphs: dict[str, dict[str, list[EdgeTarget]]] = field(default_factory=dict)
+    # Track which (edge_type, node_id) have been loaded
+    _loaded: set[tuple[str, str]] = field(default_factory=set)
 
     def get_neighbors(self, edge_type: str, node_id: str) -> list[EdgeTarget]:
         """Get neighbors for a node via a specific edge type."""
@@ -63,6 +71,33 @@ class TypedAdjacency:
 
         return [EdgeTarget(node_id=n.node_id, weight=n.weight / total) for n in neighbors]
 
+    def is_loaded(self, edge_type: str, node_id: str) -> bool:
+        """Check if edges for this node+type have been loaded."""
+        return (edge_type, node_id) in self._loaded
+
+    def get_uncached(self, edge_type: str, node_ids: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+        """Get node IDs that haven't been loaded yet for this edge type."""
+        return [n for n in node_ids if not self.is_loaded(edge_type, n)]
+
+    def add_edges(self, edge_type: str, edges: dict[str, list[EdgeTarget]], all_queried: list[str]):
+        """
+        Add loaded edges to the cache.
+
+        Args:
+            edge_type: Type of edges
+            edges: Dict mapping from_node_id -> list of EdgeTarget
+            all_queried: All node IDs that were queried (marks them as loaded even if no edges)
+        """
+        if edge_type not in self.graphs:
+            self.graphs[edge_type] = {}
+
+        for node_id, neighbors in edges.items():
+            self.graphs[edge_type][node_id] = neighbors
+
+        # Mark all queried nodes as loaded (even if they have no edges)
+        for node_id in all_queried:
+            self._loaded.add((edge_type, node_id))
+
 
 @dataclass
 class PatternResult:
@@ -109,24 +144,80 @@ class SeedNode:
 
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Core Algorithm
+# Lazy Edge Loading
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
-def mpfp_traverse(
-    seeds: list[SeedNode],
-    pattern: list[str],
-    adjacency: TypedAdjacency,
-    config: MPFPConfig,
-) -> PatternResult:
+async def load_edges_for_frontier(
+    pool,
+    bank_id: str,
+    edge_type: str,
+    node_ids: list[str],
+) -> dict[str, list[EdgeTarget]]:
     """
-    Forward Push traversal following a meta-path pattern.
+    Load edges for specific frontier nodes only.
 
     Args:
+        pool: Database connection pool
+        bank_id: Memory bank ID
+        edge_type: Type of edges to load
+        node_ids: Frontier node IDs to load edges for
+
+    Returns:
+        Dict mapping from_node_id -> list of EdgeTarget
+    """
+    if not node_ids:
+        return {}
+
+    async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
+        rows = await conn.fetch(
+            f"""
+            SELECT ml.from_unit_id, ml.to_unit_id, ml.weight
+            FROM {fq_table("memory_links")} ml
+            WHERE ml.from_unit_id = ANY($1::uuid[])
+              AND ml.link_type = $2
+              AND ml.weight >= 0.1
+            ORDER BY ml.from_unit_id, ml.weight DESC
+            """,
+            node_ids,
+            edge_type,
+        )
+
+    result: dict[str, list[EdgeTarget]] = defaultdict(list)
+    for row in rows:
+        from_id = str(row["from_unit_id"])
+        to_id = str(row["to_unit_id"])
+        weight = row["weight"]
+        result[from_id].append(EdgeTarget(node_id=to_id, weight=weight))
+
+    return dict(result)
+
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Core Algorithm (Async with Lazy Loading)
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+async def mpfp_traverse_async(
+    pool,
+    bank_id: str,
+    seeds: list[SeedNode],
+    pattern: list[str],
+    config: MPFPConfig,
+    cache: EdgeCache,
+) -> PatternResult:
+    """
+    Async Forward Push traversal with lazy edge loading.
+
+    Loads edges on-demand per hop, only for frontier nodes.
+
+    Args:
+        pool: Database connection pool
+        bank_id: Memory bank ID
         seeds: Entry point nodes with initial scores
         pattern: Sequence of edge types to follow
-        adjacency: Typed adjacency structure
         config: Algorithm parameters
+        cache: Shared edge cache (grows as edges are loaded)
 
     Returns:
         PatternResult with accumulated scores per node
@@ -145,6 +236,21 @@ def mpfp_traverse(
 
     # Follow pattern hop by hop
     for edge_type in pattern:
+        # Collect frontier nodes above threshold
+        active_nodes = [node_id for node_id, mass in frontier.items() if mass >= config.threshold]
+
+        if not active_nodes:
+            break
+
+        # Find nodes that need edge loading
+        uncached = cache.get_uncached(edge_type, active_nodes)
+
+        # Batch load edges for uncached nodes
+        if uncached:
+            edges = await load_edges_for_frontier(pool, bank_id, edge_type, uncached)
+            cache.add_edges(edge_type, edges, uncached)
+
+        # Propagate mass
         next_frontier: dict[str, float] = {}
 
         for node_id, mass in frontier.items():
@@ -156,7 +262,7 @@ def mpfp_traverse(
 
             # Push (1-α) to neighbors
             push_mass = (1 - config.alpha) * mass
-            neighbors = adjacency.get_normalized_neighbors(edge_type, node_id, config.top_k_neighbors)
+            neighbors = cache.get_normalized_neighbors(edge_type, node_id, config.top_k_neighbors)
 
             for neighbor in neighbors:
                 next_frontier[neighbor.node_id] = next_frontier.get(neighbor.node_id, 0) + push_mass * neighbor.weight
@@ -210,38 +316,6 @@ def rrf_fusion(
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
-async def load_typed_adjacency(pool, bank_id: str) -> TypedAdjacency:
-    """
-    Load all edges for a bank, split by edge type.
-
-    Single query, then organize in-memory for fast traversal.
-    """
-    async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
-        rows = await conn.fetch(
-            f"""
-            SELECT ml.from_unit_id, ml.to_unit_id, ml.link_type, ml.weight
-            FROM {fq_table("memory_links")} ml
-            JOIN {fq_table("memory_units")} mu ON ml.from_unit_id = mu.id
-            WHERE mu.bank_id = $1
-              AND ml.weight >= 0.1
-            ORDER BY ml.from_unit_id, ml.weight DESC
-            """,
-            bank_id,
-        )
-
-    graphs: dict[str, dict[str, list[EdgeTarget]]] = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list))
-
-    for row in rows:
-        from_id = str(row["from_unit_id"])
-        to_id = str(row["to_unit_id"])
-        link_type = row["link_type"]
-        weight = row["weight"]
-
-        graphs[link_type][from_id].append(EdgeTarget(node_id=to_id, weight=weight))
-
-    return TypedAdjacency(graphs=dict(graphs))
-
-
 async def fetch_memory_units_by_ids(
     pool,
     node_ids: list[str],
@@ -274,10 +348,10 @@ async def fetch_memory_units_by_ids(
 
 class MPFPGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
     """
-    Graph retrieval using Meta-Path Forward Push.
+    Graph retrieval using Meta-Path Forward Push with lazy edge loading.
 
     Runs predefined patterns in parallel from semantic and temporal seeds,
-    then fuses results via RRF.
+    loading edges on-demand per hop instead of loading entire graph upfront.
     """
 
     def __init__(self, config: MPFPConfig | None = None):
@@ -303,9 +377,10 @@ class MPFPGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
         query_text: str | None = None,
         semantic_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
         temporal_seeds: list[RetrievalResult] | None = None,
-    ) -> list[RetrievalResult]:
+        adjacency=None,  # Ignored - kept for interface compatibility
+    ) -> tuple[list[RetrievalResult], MPFPTimings | None]:
         """
-        Retrieve facts using MPFP algorithm.
+        Retrieve facts using MPFP algorithm with lazy edge loading.
 
         Args:
             pool: Database connection pool
@@ -316,12 +391,14 @@ class MPFPGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
             query_text: Original query text (optional)
             semantic_seeds: Pre-computed semantic entry points
             temporal_seeds: Pre-computed temporal entry points
+            adjacency: Ignored (kept for interface compatibility)
 
         Returns:
-            List of RetrievalResult with activation scores
+            Tuple of (List of RetrievalResult with activation scores, MPFPTimings)
         """
-        # Load typed adjacency (could cache per bank_id with TTL)
-        adjacency = await load_typed_adjacency(pool, bank_id)
+        import time
+
+        timings = MPFPTimings(fact_type=fact_type)
 
         # Convert seeds to SeedNode format
         semantic_seed_nodes = self._convert_seeds(semantic_seeds, "similarity")
@@ -331,52 +408,54 @@ class MPFPGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
         if not semantic_seed_nodes:
             semantic_seed_nodes = await self._find_semantic_seeds(pool, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type)
 
-        # Run all patterns in parallel
-        tasks = []
+        # Collect all pattern jobs
+        pattern_jobs = []
 
         # Patterns from semantic seeds
         for pattern in self.config.patterns_semantic:
             if semantic_seed_nodes:
-                tasks.append(
-                    asyncio.to_thread(
-                        mpfp_traverse,
-                        semantic_seed_nodes,
-                        pattern,
-                        adjacency,
-                        self.config,
-                    )
-                )
+                pattern_jobs.append((semantic_seed_nodes, pattern))
 
         # Patterns from temporal seeds
         for pattern in self.config.patterns_temporal:
             if temporal_seed_nodes:
-                tasks.append(
-                    asyncio.to_thread(
-                        mpfp_traverse,
-                        temporal_seed_nodes,
-                        pattern,
-                        adjacency,
-                        self.config,
-                    )
-                )
+                pattern_jobs.append((temporal_seed_nodes, pattern))
 
-        if not tasks:
-            return []
+        if not pattern_jobs:
+            return [], timings
 
-        # Gather pattern results
-        pattern_results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
+        timings.pattern_count = len(pattern_jobs)
+
+        # Shared edge cache across all patterns
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        # Run all patterns in parallel (each does lazy edge loading)
+        step_start = time.time()
+        pattern_tasks = [
+            mpfp_traverse_async(pool, bank_id, seeds, pattern, self.config, cache) for seeds, pattern in pattern_jobs
+        ]
+        pattern_results = await asyncio.gather(*pattern_tasks)
+        timings.traverse = time.time() - step_start
+
+        # Count edges loaded
+        timings.edge_count = sum(len(neighbors) for g in cache.graphs.values() for neighbors in g.values())
 
         # Fuse results
+        step_start = time.time()
         fused = rrf_fusion(pattern_results, top_k=budget)
+        timings.fusion = time.time() - step_start
 
         if not fused:
-            return []
+            return [], timings
 
-        # Get top result IDs (don't exclude seeds - they may be highly relevant)
+        # Get top result IDs
         result_ids = [node_id for node_id, score in fused][:budget]
 
         # Fetch full details
+        step_start = time.time()
         results = await fetch_memory_units_by_ids(pool, result_ids, fact_type)
+        timings.fetch = time.time() - step_start
+        timings.result_count = len(results)
 
         # Add activation scores from fusion
         score_map = {node_id: score for node_id, score in fused}
@@ -386,7 +465,7 @@ class MPFPGraphRetriever(GraphRetriever):
         # Sort by activation
         results.sort(key=lambda r: r.activation or 0, reverse=True)
 
-        return results
+        return results, timings
 
     def _convert_seeds(
         self,
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/retrieval.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/retrieval.py
index dc75f3f3..fc9619f4 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/retrieval.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/retrieval.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from ..db_utils import acquire_with_retry
 from ..memory_engine import fq_table
 from .graph_retrieval import BFSGraphRetriever, GraphRetriever
 from .mpfp_retrieval import MPFPGraphRetriever
-from .types import RetrievalResult
+from .types import MPFPTimings, RetrievalResult
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ class ParallelRetrievalResult:
     temporal: list[RetrievalResult] | None
     timings: dict[str, float] = field(default_factory=dict)
     temporal_constraint: tuple | None = None  # (start_date, end_date)
+    mpfp_timings: list[MPFPTimings] = field(default_factory=list)  # MPFP sub-step timings per fact type
 
 
 # Default graph retriever instance (can be overridden)
@@ -260,94 +261,101 @@ async def retrieve_temporal(
         ep_result.temporal_proximity = temporal_proximity
         results.append(ep_result)
 
-    # Spread through temporal links
-    queue = [
-        (RetrievalResult.from_db_row(dict(ep)), ep["similarity"], 1.0) for ep in entry_points
-    ]  # (unit, semantic_sim, temporal_score)
+    # Spread through temporal links using BATCHED neighbor fetching
+    # Map node_id -> (semantic_sim, temporal_score) for propagation
+    node_scores = {str(ep["id"]): (ep["similarity"], 1.0) for ep in entry_points}
+    frontier = list(node_scores.keys())  # Current batch of nodes to expand
     budget_remaining = budget - len(entry_points)
+    batch_size = 20  # Process this many nodes per DB query
 
-    while queue and budget_remaining > 0:
-        current, semantic_sim, temporal_score = queue.pop(0)
-        current_id = current.id
+    while frontier and budget_remaining > 0:
+        # Take a batch from frontier
+        batch_ids = frontier[:batch_size]
+        frontier = frontier[batch_size:]
 
-        # Get neighbors via temporal and causal links
-        if budget_remaining > 0:
-            neighbors = await conn.fetch(
-                f"""
-                SELECT mu.id, mu.text, mu.context, mu.event_date, mu.occurred_start, mu.occurred_end, mu.mentioned_at, mu.access_count, mu.embedding, mu.fact_type, mu.document_id, mu.chunk_id,
-                       ml.weight, ml.link_type,
-                       1 - (mu.embedding <=> $1::vector) AS similarity
-                FROM {fq_table("memory_links")} ml
-                JOIN {fq_table("memory_units")} mu ON ml.to_unit_id = mu.id
-                WHERE ml.from_unit_id = $2
-                  AND ml.link_type IN ('temporal', 'causes', 'caused_by', 'enables', 'prevents')
-                  AND ml.weight >= 0.1
-                  AND mu.fact_type = $3
-                  AND mu.embedding IS NOT NULL
-                  AND (1 - (mu.embedding <=> $1::vector)) >= $4
-                ORDER BY ml.weight DESC
-                LIMIT 10
-                """,
-                query_emb_str,
-                current.id,
-                fact_type,
-                semantic_threshold,
-            )
+        # Batch fetch all neighbors for this batch of nodes
+        neighbors = await conn.fetch(
+            f"""
+            SELECT mu.id, mu.text, mu.context, mu.event_date, mu.occurred_start, mu.occurred_end, mu.mentioned_at, mu.access_count, mu.embedding, mu.fact_type, mu.document_id, mu.chunk_id,
+                   ml.weight, ml.link_type, ml.from_unit_id,
+                   1 - (mu.embedding <=> $1::vector) AS similarity
+            FROM {fq_table("memory_links")} ml
+            JOIN {fq_table("memory_units")} mu ON ml.to_unit_id = mu.id
+            WHERE ml.from_unit_id = ANY($2::uuid[])
+              AND ml.link_type IN ('temporal', 'causes', 'caused_by', 'enables', 'prevents')
+              AND ml.weight >= 0.1
+              AND mu.fact_type = $3
+              AND mu.embedding IS NOT NULL
+              AND (1 - (mu.embedding <=> $1::vector)) >= $4
+            ORDER BY ml.weight DESC
+            LIMIT $5
+            """,
+            query_emb_str,
+            batch_ids,
+            fact_type,
+            semantic_threshold,
+            batch_size * 10,  # Allow up to 10 neighbors per node in batch
+        )
 
-            for n in neighbors:
-                neighbor_id = str(n["id"])
-                if neighbor_id in visited:
-                    continue
+        for n in neighbors:
+            neighbor_id = str(n["id"])
+            if neighbor_id in visited:
+                continue
 
-                visited.add(neighbor_id)
-                budget_remaining -= 1
+            visited.add(neighbor_id)
+            budget_remaining -= 1
 
-                # Calculate temporal score for neighbor using best available date
-                neighbor_best_date = None
-                if n["occurred_start"] is not None and n["occurred_end"] is not None:
-                    neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_start"] + (n["occurred_end"] - n["occurred_start"]) / 2
-                elif n["occurred_start"] is not None:
-                    neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_start"]
-                elif n["occurred_end"] is not None:
-                    neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_end"]
-                elif n["mentioned_at"] is not None:
-                    neighbor_best_date = n["mentioned_at"]
+            # Get parent's scores for propagation
+            parent_id = str(n["from_unit_id"])
+            _, parent_temporal_score = node_scores.get(parent_id, (0.5, 0.5))
 
-                if neighbor_best_date:
-                    days_from_mid = abs((neighbor_best_date - mid_date).total_seconds() / 86400)
-                    neighbor_temporal_proximity = (
-                        1.0 - min(days_from_mid / (total_days / 2), 1.0) if total_days > 0 else 1.0
-                    )
-                else:
-                    neighbor_temporal_proximity = 0.3  # Lower score if no temporal data
+            # Calculate temporal score for neighbor using best available date
+            neighbor_best_date = None
+            if n["occurred_start"] is not None and n["occurred_end"] is not None:
+                neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_start"] + (n["occurred_end"] - n["occurred_start"]) / 2
+            elif n["occurred_start"] is not None:
+                neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_start"]
+            elif n["occurred_end"] is not None:
+                neighbor_best_date = n["occurred_end"]
+            elif n["mentioned_at"] is not None:
+                neighbor_best_date = n["mentioned_at"]
 
-                # Boost causal links (same as graph retrieval)
-                link_type = n["link_type"]
-                if link_type in ("causes", "caused_by"):
-                    causal_boost = 2.0
-                elif link_type in ("enables", "prevents"):
-                    causal_boost = 1.5
-                else:
-                    causal_boost = 1.0
+            if neighbor_best_date:
+                days_from_mid = abs((neighbor_best_date - mid_date).total_seconds() / 86400)
+                neighbor_temporal_proximity = (
+                    1.0 - min(days_from_mid / (total_days / 2), 1.0) if total_days > 0 else 1.0
+                )
+            else:
+                neighbor_temporal_proximity = 0.3  # Lower score if no temporal data
 
-                # Propagate temporal score through links (decay, with causal boost)
-                propagated_temporal = temporal_score * n["weight"] * causal_boost * 0.7
+            # Boost causal links (same as graph retrieval)
+            link_type = n["link_type"]
+            if link_type in ("causes", "caused_by"):
+                causal_boost = 2.0
+            elif link_type in ("enables", "prevents"):
+                causal_boost = 1.5
+            else:
+                causal_boost = 1.0
 
-                # Combined temporal score
-                combined_temporal = max(neighbor_temporal_proximity, propagated_temporal)
+            # Propagate temporal score through links (decay, with causal boost)
+            propagated_temporal = parent_temporal_score * n["weight"] * causal_boost * 0.7
 
-                # Create RetrievalResult with temporal scores
-                neighbor_result = RetrievalResult.from_db_row(dict(n))
-                neighbor_result.temporal_score = combined_temporal
-                neighbor_result.temporal_proximity = neighbor_temporal_proximity
-                results.append(neighbor_result)
+            # Combined temporal score
+            combined_temporal = max(neighbor_temporal_proximity, propagated_temporal)
 
-                # Add to queue for further spreading
-                if budget_remaining > 0 and combined_temporal > 0.2:
-                    queue.append((neighbor_result, n["similarity"], combined_temporal))
+            # Create RetrievalResult with temporal scores
+            neighbor_result = RetrievalResult.from_db_row(dict(n))
+            neighbor_result.temporal_score = combined_temporal
+            neighbor_result.temporal_proximity = neighbor_temporal_proximity
+            results.append(neighbor_result)
 
-                if budget_remaining <= 0:
-                    break
+            # Track scores for propagation and add to frontier
+            if budget_remaining > 0 and combined_temporal > 0.2:
+                node_scores[neighbor_id] = (n["similarity"], combined_temporal)
+                frontier.append(neighbor_id)
+
+            if budget_remaining <= 0:
+                break
 
     return results
 
@@ -362,6 +370,7 @@ async def retrieve_parallel(
     question_date: datetime | None = None,
     query_analyzer: Optional["QueryAnalyzer"] = None,
     graph_retriever: GraphRetriever | None = None,
+    temporal_constraint: tuple | None = None,  # Pre-extracted temporal constraint
 ) -> ParallelRetrievalResult:
     """
     Run 3-way or 4-way parallel retrieval (adds temporal if detected).
@@ -376,19 +385,31 @@ async def retrieve_parallel(
         question_date: Optional date when question was asked (for temporal filtering)
         query_analyzer: Query analyzer to use (defaults to TransformerQueryAnalyzer)
         graph_retriever: Graph retrieval strategy (defaults to configured retriever)
+        temporal_constraint: Pre-extracted temporal constraint (optional)
 
     Returns:
         ParallelRetrievalResult with semantic, bm25, graph, temporal results and timings
     """
-    from .temporal_extraction import extract_temporal_constraint
+    # Extract temporal constraint if not pre-provided
+    if temporal_constraint is None:
+        from .temporal_extraction import extract_temporal_constraint
 
-    temporal_constraint = extract_temporal_constraint(query_text, reference_date=question_date, analyzer=query_analyzer)
+        temporal_constraint = extract_temporal_constraint(
+            query_text, reference_date=question_date, analyzer=query_analyzer
+        )
 
     retriever = graph_retriever or get_default_graph_retriever()
 
     if retriever.name == "mpfp":
         return await _retrieve_parallel_mpfp(
-            pool, query_text, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, thinking_budget, temporal_constraint, retriever
+            pool,
+            query_text,
+            query_embedding_str,
+            bank_id,
+            fact_type,
+            thinking_budget,
+            temporal_constraint,
+            retriever,
         )
     else:
         return await _retrieve_parallel_bfs(
@@ -396,16 +417,6 @@ async def retrieve_parallel(
         )
 
 
-@dataclass
-class _SemanticGraphResult:
-    """Internal result from semantic→graph chain."""
-
-    semantic: list[RetrievalResult]
-    graph: list[RetrievalResult]
-    semantic_time: float
-    graph_time: float
-
-
 @dataclass
 class _TimedResult:
     """Internal result with timing."""
@@ -425,46 +436,24 @@ async def _retrieve_parallel_mpfp(
     retriever: GraphRetriever,
 ) -> ParallelRetrievalResult:
     """
-    MPFP retrieval with optimized parallelization.
+    MPFP retrieval with true parallelization.
 
-    Runs 2-3 parallel task chains:
-    - Task 1: Semantic → Graph (chained, graph uses semantic seeds)
-    - Task 2: BM25 (independent)
-    - Task 3: Temporal (if constraint detected)
+    All methods run independently in parallel:
+    - Semantic: vector similarity search
+    - BM25: keyword search
+    - Graph: MPFP traversal (does its own semantic seeds internally)
+    - Temporal: date-range search (if constraint detected)
+
+    Graph does its own semantic query for seeds, avoiding chain dependency.
     """
     import time
 
-    async def run_semantic_then_graph() -> _SemanticGraphResult:
-        """Chain: semantic retrieval → graph retrieval (using semantic as seeds)."""
+    async def run_semantic() -> _TimedResult:
+        """Independent semantic retrieval."""
         start = time.time()
         async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
-            semantic = await retrieve_semantic(conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, limit=thinking_budget)
-        semantic_time = time.time() - start
-
-        # Get temporal seeds if needed (quick query, part of this chain)
-        temporal_seeds = None
-        if temporal_constraint:
-            tc_start, tc_end = temporal_constraint
-            async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
-                temporal_seeds = await _get_temporal_entry_points(
-                    conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, tc_start, tc_end, limit=20
-                )
-
-        # Run graph with seeds
-        start = time.time()
-        graph = await retriever.retrieve(
-            pool=pool,
-            query_embedding_str=query_embedding_str,
-            bank_id=bank_id,
-            fact_type=fact_type,
-            budget=thinking_budget,
-            query_text=query_text,
-            semantic_seeds=semantic,
-            temporal_seeds=temporal_seeds,
-        )
-        graph_time = time.time() - start
-
-        return _SemanticGraphResult(semantic, graph, semantic_time, graph_time)
+            results = await retrieve_semantic(conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, limit=thinking_budget)
+        return _TimedResult(results, time.time() - start)
 
     async def run_bm25() -> _TimedResult:
         """Independent BM25 retrieval."""
@@ -473,8 +462,34 @@ async def _retrieve_parallel_mpfp(
             results = await retrieve_bm25(conn, query_text, bank_id, fact_type, limit=thinking_budget)
         return _TimedResult(results, time.time() - start)
 
+    async def run_graph() -> tuple[list[RetrievalResult], float, MPFPTimings | None]:
+        """Independent graph retrieval - does its own semantic seeds."""
+        start = time.time()
+
+        # Get temporal seeds if needed (graph uses them for temporal patterns)
+        temporal_seeds = None
+        if temporal_constraint:
+            tc_start, tc_end = temporal_constraint
+            async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
+                temporal_seeds = await _get_temporal_entry_points(
+                    conn, query_embedding_str, bank_id, fact_type, tc_start, tc_end, limit=20
+                )
+
+        # MPFP does its own semantic seeds via _find_semantic_seeds
+        results, mpfp_timing = await retriever.retrieve(
+            pool=pool,
+            query_embedding_str=query_embedding_str,
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            fact_type=fact_type,
+            budget=thinking_budget,
+            query_text=query_text,
+            semantic_seeds=None,  # Let MPFP find its own seeds
+            temporal_seeds=temporal_seeds,
+        )
+        return results, time.time() - start, mpfp_timing
+
     async def run_temporal(tc_start, tc_end) -> _TimedResult:
-        """Temporal retrieval (uses its own entry point finding)."""
+        """Independent temporal retrieval."""
         start = time.time()
         async with acquire_with_retry(pool) as conn:
             results = await retrieve_temporal(
@@ -489,43 +504,49 @@ async def _retrieve_parallel_mpfp(
             )
         return _TimedResult(results, time.time() - start)
 
-    # Run parallel task chains
+    # Run all methods in parallel (no chain dependencies)
     if temporal_constraint:
         tc_start, tc_end = temporal_constraint
-        sg_result, bm25_result, temporal_result = await asyncio.gather(
-            run_semantic_then_graph(),
+        semantic_result, bm25_result, graph_result, temporal_result = await asyncio.gather(
+            run_semantic(),
             run_bm25(),
+            run_graph(),
             run_temporal(tc_start, tc_end),
         )
+        graph_results, graph_time, mpfp_timing = graph_result
         return ParallelRetrievalResult(
-            semantic=sg_result.semantic,
+            semantic=semantic_result.results,
             bm25=bm25_result.results,
-            graph=sg_result.graph,
+            graph=graph_results,
             temporal=temporal_result.results,
             timings={
-                "semantic": sg_result.semantic_time,
-                "graph": sg_result.graph_time,
+                "semantic": semantic_result.time,
                 "bm25": bm25_result.time,
+                "graph": graph_time,
                 "temporal": temporal_result.time,
             },
             temporal_constraint=temporal_constraint,
+            mpfp_timings=[mpfp_timing] if mpfp_timing else [],
         )
     else:
-        sg_result, bm25_result = await asyncio.gather(
-            run_semantic_then_graph(),
+        semantic_result, bm25_result, graph_result = await asyncio.gather(
+            run_semantic(),
             run_bm25(),
+            run_graph(),
         )
+        graph_results, graph_time, mpfp_timing = graph_result
         return ParallelRetrievalResult(
-            semantic=sg_result.semantic,
+            semantic=semantic_result.results,
             bm25=bm25_result.results,
-            graph=sg_result.graph,
+            graph=graph_results,
             temporal=None,
             timings={
-                "semantic": sg_result.semantic_time,
-                "graph": sg_result.graph_time,
+                "semantic": semantic_result.time,
                 "bm25": bm25_result.time,
+                "graph": graph_time,
             },
             temporal_constraint=None,
+            mpfp_timings=[mpfp_timing] if mpfp_timing else [],
         )
 
 
@@ -633,7 +654,7 @@ async def _retrieve_parallel_bfs(
 
     async def run_graph() -> _TimedResult:
         start = time.time()
-        results = await retriever.retrieve(
+        results, _ = await retriever.retrieve(
             pool=pool,
             query_embedding_str=query_embedding_str,
             bank_id=bank_id,
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/types.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/types.py
index 630ee5db..29f0dec1 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/types.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/search/types.py
@@ -10,6 +10,21 @@ from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Any
 
 
+@dataclass
+class MPFPTimings:
+    """Timing breakdown for a single MPFP retrieval call."""
+
+    fact_type: str
+    adjacency_query: float = 0.0
+    adjacency_process: float = 0.0
+    edge_count: int = 0
+    traverse: float = 0.0
+    pattern_count: int = 0
+    fusion: float = 0.0
+    fetch: float = 0.0
+    result_count: int = 0
+
+
 @dataclass
 class RetrievalResult:
     """
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/task_backend.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/task_backend.py
index d84e33f5..1e071958 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/task_backend.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/engine/task_backend.py
@@ -121,6 +121,29 @@ class SyncTaskBackend(TaskBackend):
         logger.debug("SyncTaskBackend shutdown")
 
 
+class NoopTaskBackend(TaskBackend):
+    """
+    No-op task backend that discards all tasks.
+
+    This is useful for tests where background task execution is not needed
+    and would only slow down the test suite.
+    """
+
+    async def initialize(self):
+        """No-op."""
+        self._initialized = True
+        logger.debug("NoopTaskBackend initialized")
+
+    async def submit_task(self, task_dict: dict[str, Any]):
+        """Discard the task (do nothing)."""
+        pass
+
+    async def shutdown(self):
+        """No-op."""
+        self._initialized = False
+        logger.debug("NoopTaskBackend shutdown")
+
+
 class AsyncIOQueueBackend(TaskBackend):
     """
     Task backend implementation using asyncio queues.
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/main.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/main.py
index 17e64c74..858829b7 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/main.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/main.py
@@ -198,6 +198,7 @@ def main():
             retain_chunk_size=config.retain_chunk_size,
             retain_extract_causal_links=config.retain_extract_causal_links,
             retain_extraction_mode=config.retain_extraction_mode,
+            retain_observations_async=config.retain_observations_async,
             skip_llm_verification=config.skip_llm_verification,
             lazy_reranker=config.lazy_reranker,
             run_migrations_on_startup=config.run_migrations_on_startup,
@@ -205,8 +206,9 @@ def main():
             db_pool_max_size=config.db_pool_max_size,
             db_command_timeout=config.db_command_timeout,
             db_acquire_timeout=config.db_acquire_timeout,
-            task_batch_size=config.task_batch_size,
-            task_batch_interval=config.task_batch_interval,
+            task_backend=config.task_backend,
+            task_backend_memory_batch_size=config.task_backend_memory_batch_size,
+            task_backend_memory_batch_interval=config.task_backend_memory_batch_interval,
         )
     config.configure_logging()
     if not args.daemon:
diff --git a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/metrics.py b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/metrics.py
index 0f082fba..d5e829ba 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/metrics.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/hindsight_api/metrics.py
@@ -6,11 +6,18 @@ This module provides metrics for:
 - Token usage (input/output) per operation
 - Per-bank granularity via labels
 - LLM call latency and token usage with scope dimension
+- HTTP request metrics (latency, count by endpoint/method/status)
+- Process metrics (CPU, memory, file descriptors, threads)
+- Database connection pool metrics
 """
 
 import logging
+import os
+import resource
+import threading
 import time
 from contextlib import contextmanager
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Callable
 
 from opentelemetry import metrics
 from opentelemetry.exporter.prometheus import PrometheusMetricReader
@@ -18,6 +25,9 @@ from opentelemetry.sdk.metrics import MeterProvider
 from opentelemetry.sdk.metrics.view import ExplicitBucketHistogramAggregation, View
 from opentelemetry.sdk.resources import Resource
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import asyncpg
+
 # Custom bucket boundaries for operation duration (in seconds)
 # Fine granularity in 0-30s range where most operations complete
 DURATION_BUCKETS = (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0)
@@ -25,6 +35,9 @@ DURATION_BUCKETS = (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 15.0, 2
 # LLM duration buckets (finer granularity for faster LLM calls)
 LLM_DURATION_BUCKETS = (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0)
 
+# HTTP request duration buckets (millisecond-level for fast endpoints)
+HTTP_DURATION_BUCKETS = (0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 30.0)
+
 
 def get_token_bucket(token_count: int) -> str:
     """
@@ -107,9 +120,17 @@ def initialize_metrics(service_name: str = "hindsight-api", service_version: str
         aggregation=ExplicitBucketHistogramAggregation(boundaries=LLM_DURATION_BUCKETS),
     )
 
+    # Create view with custom bucket boundaries for HTTP request duration histogram
+    http_duration_view = View(
+        instrument_name="hindsight.http.duration",
+        aggregation=ExplicitBucketHistogramAggregation(boundaries=HTTP_DURATION_BUCKETS),
+    )
+
     # Create meter provider with Prometheus exporter and custom views
     provider = MeterProvider(
-        resource=resource, metric_readers=[prometheus_reader], views=[duration_view, llm_duration_view]
+        resource=resource,
+        metric_readers=[prometheus_reader],
+        views=[duration_view, llm_duration_view, http_duration_view],
     )
 
     # Set the global meter provider
@@ -167,6 +188,15 @@ class MetricsCollectorBase:
         """
         raise NotImplementedError
 
+    @contextmanager
+    def record_http_request(self, method: str, endpoint: str, status_code_getter: Callable[[], int]):
+        """Context manager to record HTTP request metrics."""
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def set_db_pool(self, pool: "asyncpg.Pool"):
+        """Set the database pool for metrics collection."""
+        pass
+
 
 class NoOpMetricsCollector(MetricsCollectorBase):
     """No-op metrics collector that does nothing. Used when metrics are disabled."""
@@ -196,6 +226,11 @@ class NoOpMetricsCollector(MetricsCollectorBase):
         """No-op LLM call recording."""
         pass
 
+    @contextmanager
+    def record_http_request(self, method: str, endpoint: str, status_code_getter: Callable[[], int]):
+        """No-op HTTP request recording."""
+        yield
+
 
 class MetricsCollector(MetricsCollectorBase):
     """
@@ -238,6 +273,27 @@ class MetricsCollector(MetricsCollectorBase):
             name="hindsight.llm.calls.total", description="Total number of LLM API calls", unit="calls"
         )
 
+        # HTTP request metrics
+        self.http_request_duration = self.meter.create_histogram(
+            name="hindsight.http.duration", description="Duration of HTTP requests in seconds", unit="s"
+        )
+
+        self.http_requests_total = self.meter.create_counter(
+            name="hindsight.http.requests.total", description="Total number of HTTP requests", unit="requests"
+        )
+
+        self.http_requests_in_progress = self.meter.create_up_down_counter(
+            name="hindsight.http.requests.in_progress",
+            description="Number of HTTP requests in progress",
+            unit="requests",
+        )
+
+        # Process metrics (observable gauges - collected on scrape)
+        self._setup_process_metrics()
+
+        # DB pool metrics holder (set via set_db_pool)
+        self._db_pool: "asyncpg.Pool | None" = None
+
     @contextmanager
     def record_operation(
         self,
@@ -340,6 +396,196 @@ class MetricsCollector(MetricsCollectorBase):
             }
             self.llm_tokens_output.add(output_tokens, output_attributes)
 
+    @contextmanager
+    def record_http_request(self, method: str, endpoint: str, status_code_getter: Callable[[], int]):
+        """
+        Context manager to record HTTP request metrics.
+
+        Usage:
+            status_code = [200]  # Use list for mutability
+            with metrics.record_http_request("GET", "/api/banks", lambda: status_code[0]):
+                # ... handle request
+                status_code[0] = response.status_code
+
+        Args:
+            method: HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)
+            endpoint: Request endpoint path
+            status_code_getter: Callable that returns the status code after request completes
+        """
+        start_time = time.time()
+        base_attributes = {"method": method, "endpoint": endpoint}
+
+        # Track in-progress
+        self.http_requests_in_progress.add(1, base_attributes)
+
+        try:
+            yield
+        finally:
+            duration = time.time() - start_time
+            status_code = status_code_getter()
+            status_class = f"{status_code // 100}xx"
+
+            attributes = {
+                **base_attributes,
+                "status_code": str(status_code),
+                "status_class": status_class,
+            }
+
+            # Record duration and count
+            self.http_request_duration.record(duration, attributes)
+            self.http_requests_total.add(1, attributes)
+
+            # Decrement in-progress
+            self.http_requests_in_progress.add(-1, base_attributes)
+
+    def _setup_process_metrics(self):
+        """Set up observable gauges for process metrics."""
+
+        def get_cpu_times(_options):
+            """Get process CPU times."""
+            try:
+                rusage = resource.getrusage(resource.RUSAGE_SELF)
+                yield metrics.Observation(rusage.ru_utime, {"type": "user"})
+                yield metrics.Observation(rusage.ru_stime, {"type": "system"})
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        def get_memory_usage(_options):
+            """Get process memory usage in bytes."""
+            try:
+                rusage = resource.getrusage(resource.RUSAGE_SELF)
+                # ru_maxrss is in kilobytes on Linux, bytes on macOS
+                max_rss = rusage.ru_maxrss
+                if os.uname().sysname == "Linux":
+                    max_rss *= 1024  # Convert KB to bytes
+                yield metrics.Observation(max_rss, {"type": "rss_max"})
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        def get_open_file_descriptors(_options):
+            """Get number of open file descriptors."""
+            try:
+                # Try to count open FDs by checking /proc on Linux
+                if os.path.exists("/proc/self/fd"):
+                    count = len(os.listdir("/proc/self/fd"))
+                    yield metrics.Observation(count)
+                else:
+                    # Fallback: use resource limits
+                    soft, hard = resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_NOFILE)
+                    yield metrics.Observation(soft, {"limit": "soft"})
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        def get_thread_count(_options):
+            """Get number of active threads."""
+            try:
+                yield metrics.Observation(threading.active_count())
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+        # Create observable gauges
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.process.cpu.seconds",
+            callbacks=[get_cpu_times],
+            description="Process CPU time in seconds",
+            unit="s",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.process.memory.bytes",
+            callbacks=[get_memory_usage],
+            description="Process memory usage in bytes",
+            unit="By",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.process.open_fds",
+            callbacks=[get_open_file_descriptors],
+            description="Number of open file descriptors",
+            unit="{fds}",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.process.threads",
+            callbacks=[get_thread_count],
+            description="Number of active threads",
+            unit="{threads}",
+        )
+
+    def set_db_pool(self, pool: "asyncpg.Pool"):
+        """
+        Set the database pool for metrics collection.
+
+        Args:
+            pool: asyncpg connection pool instance
+        """
+        self._db_pool = pool
+        self._setup_db_pool_metrics()
+
+    def _setup_db_pool_metrics(self):
+        """Set up observable gauges for database pool metrics."""
+
+        def get_pool_size(_options):
+            """Get current pool size."""
+            if self._db_pool is not None:
+                try:
+                    yield metrics.Observation(self._db_pool.get_size())
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+        def get_pool_free_size(_options):
+            """Get number of free connections in pool."""
+            if self._db_pool is not None:
+                try:
+                    yield metrics.Observation(self._db_pool.get_idle_size())
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+        def get_pool_min_size(_options):
+            """Get pool minimum size."""
+            if self._db_pool is not None:
+                try:
+                    yield metrics.Observation(self._db_pool.get_min_size())
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+        def get_pool_max_size(_options):
+            """Get pool maximum size."""
+            if self._db_pool is not None:
+                try:
+                    yield metrics.Observation(self._db_pool.get_max_size())
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+
+        # Create observable gauges for pool metrics
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.db.pool.size",
+            callbacks=[get_pool_size],
+            description="Current number of connections in the pool",
+            unit="{connections}",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.db.pool.idle",
+            callbacks=[get_pool_free_size],
+            description="Number of idle connections in the pool",
+            unit="{connections}",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.db.pool.min",
+            callbacks=[get_pool_min_size],
+            description="Minimum pool size",
+            unit="{connections}",
+        )
+
+        self.meter.create_observable_gauge(
+            name="hindsight.db.pool.max",
+            callbacks=[get_pool_max_size],
+            description="Maximum pool size",
+            unit="{connections}",
+        )
+
 
 # Global metrics collector instance (defaults to no-op)
 _metrics_collector: MetricsCollectorBase = NoOpMetricsCollector()
diff --git a/hindsight-api/tests/test_metrics.py b/hindsight-api/tests/test_metrics.py
index d6a4c914..9e78e73f 100644
--- a/hindsight-api/tests/test_metrics.py
+++ b/hindsight-api/tests/test_metrics.py
@@ -64,12 +64,12 @@ class TestMetricsCollector:
     def mock_meter(self):
         """Create a mock meter for testing."""
         meter = MagicMock()
-        # Create separate mocks for each histogram (operation_duration, llm_duration)
-        histogram_mocks = [MagicMock(), MagicMock()]
+        # Create separate mocks for each histogram (operation_duration, llm_duration, http_request_duration)
+        histogram_mocks = [MagicMock(), MagicMock(), MagicMock()]
         meter.create_histogram.side_effect = histogram_mocks
         # Create separate mocks for each counter
-        # (operation_total, llm_tokens_input, llm_tokens_output, llm_calls_total)
-        counter_mocks = [MagicMock() for _ in range(4)]
+        # (operation_total, llm_tokens_input, llm_tokens_output, llm_calls_total, http_requests_total)
+        counter_mocks = [MagicMock() for _ in range(5)]
         meter.create_counter.side_effect = counter_mocks
         return meter
 
@@ -257,12 +257,12 @@ class TestLLMMetrics:
     def mock_meter(self):
         """Create a mock meter for testing."""
         meter = MagicMock()
-        # Create separate mocks for each histogram (operation_duration, llm_duration)
-        histogram_mocks = [MagicMock(), MagicMock()]
+        # Create separate mocks for each histogram (operation_duration, llm_duration, http_request_duration)
+        histogram_mocks = [MagicMock(), MagicMock(), MagicMock()]
         meter.create_histogram.side_effect = histogram_mocks
         # Create separate mocks for each counter
-        # (operation_total, llm_tokens_input, llm_tokens_output, llm_calls_total)
-        counter_mocks = [MagicMock() for _ in range(4)]
+        # (operation_total, llm_tokens_input, llm_tokens_output, llm_calls_total, http_requests_total)
+        counter_mocks = [MagicMock() for _ in range(5)]
         meter.create_counter.side_effect = counter_mocks
         return meter
 
diff --git a/hindsight-api/tests/test_mpfp_retrieval.py b/hindsight-api/tests/test_mpfp_retrieval.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18464628
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hindsight-api/tests/test_mpfp_retrieval.py
@@ -0,0 +1,553 @@
+"""
+Tests for MPFP (Meta-Path Forward Push) graph retrieval.
+
+Tests cover:
+1. EdgeCache - lazy caching behavior
+2. mpfp_traverse_async - core traversal algorithm
+3. load_edges_for_frontier - lazy edge loading
+4. rrf_fusion - result fusion
+5. MPFPGraphRetriever - full integration
+"""
+
+import pytest
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+
+from hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval import (
+    EdgeCache,
+    EdgeTarget,
+    MPFPConfig,
+    MPFPGraphRetriever,
+    PatternResult,
+    SeedNode,
+    load_edges_for_frontier,
+    mpfp_traverse_async,
+    rrf_fusion,
+)
+from hindsight_api.engine.search.types import RetrievalResult
+
+
+class TestEdgeCache:
+    """Tests for the EdgeCache lazy loading cache."""
+
+    def test_empty_cache_returns_empty_neighbors(self):
+        """Empty cache should return empty list for any node."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        neighbors = cache.get_neighbors("semantic", "node-1")
+        assert neighbors == []
+
+    def test_is_loaded_false_for_uncached(self):
+        """is_loaded should return False for nodes not yet loaded."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        assert cache.is_loaded("semantic", "node-1") is False
+
+    def test_add_edges_marks_as_loaded(self):
+        """Adding edges should mark nodes as loaded."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        edges = {
+            "node-1": [EdgeTarget("node-2", 0.8), EdgeTarget("node-3", 0.6)],
+        }
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", edges, ["node-1", "node-4"])  # node-4 has no edges
+
+        assert cache.is_loaded("semantic", "node-1") is True
+        assert cache.is_loaded("semantic", "node-4") is True  # Marked even with no edges
+        assert cache.is_loaded("semantic", "node-2") is False  # Target, not source
+
+    def test_get_neighbors_returns_added_edges(self):
+        """get_neighbors should return edges after add_edges."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        edges = {
+            "node-1": [EdgeTarget("node-2", 0.8), EdgeTarget("node-3", 0.6)],
+        }
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", edges, ["node-1"])
+
+        neighbors = cache.get_neighbors("semantic", "node-1")
+        assert len(neighbors) == 2
+        assert neighbors[0].node_id == "node-2"
+        assert neighbors[0].weight == 0.8
+
+    def test_get_uncached_filters_loaded_nodes(self):
+        """get_uncached should only return nodes not yet loaded."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        # Load some nodes
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", {"node-1": []}, ["node-1", "node-2"])
+
+        # Check uncached
+        uncached = cache.get_uncached("semantic", ["node-1", "node-2", "node-3", "node-4"])
+        assert set(uncached) == {"node-3", "node-4"}
+
+    def test_get_normalized_neighbors_normalizes_weights(self):
+        """get_normalized_neighbors should normalize weights to sum to 1."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        edges = {
+            "node-1": [
+                EdgeTarget("node-2", 0.8),
+                EdgeTarget("node-3", 0.4),
+                EdgeTarget("node-4", 0.2),
+            ],
+        }
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", edges, ["node-1"])
+
+        # Get top 2, normalized
+        neighbors = cache.get_normalized_neighbors("semantic", "node-1", top_k=2)
+        assert len(neighbors) == 2
+
+        # Weights should sum to 1
+        total = sum(n.weight for n in neighbors)
+        assert abs(total - 1.0) < 0.001
+
+        # node-2 should have higher normalized weight than node-3
+        assert neighbors[0].node_id == "node-2"
+        assert neighbors[1].node_id == "node-3"
+        # Original: 0.8 and 0.4, so normalized: 0.8/1.2 and 0.4/1.2
+        assert abs(neighbors[0].weight - 0.8 / 1.2) < 0.001
+        assert abs(neighbors[1].weight - 0.4 / 1.2) < 0.001
+
+    def test_different_edge_types_are_separate(self):
+        """Different edge types should be stored separately."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", {"node-1": [EdgeTarget("node-2", 0.8)]}, ["node-1"])
+        cache.add_edges("temporal", {"node-1": [EdgeTarget("node-3", 0.5)]}, ["node-1"])
+
+        semantic_neighbors = cache.get_neighbors("semantic", "node-1")
+        temporal_neighbors = cache.get_neighbors("temporal", "node-1")
+
+        assert len(semantic_neighbors) == 1
+        assert semantic_neighbors[0].node_id == "node-2"
+
+        assert len(temporal_neighbors) == 1
+        assert temporal_neighbors[0].node_id == "node-3"
+
+
+class TestRRFFusion:
+    """Tests for RRF (Reciprocal Rank Fusion)."""
+
+    def test_empty_results(self):
+        """Empty results should return empty fusion."""
+        fused = rrf_fusion([])
+        assert fused == []
+
+    def test_single_pattern_ranking(self):
+        """Single pattern should preserve ranking order."""
+        result = PatternResult(
+            pattern=["semantic"],
+            scores={"node-1": 0.9, "node-2": 0.7, "node-3": 0.5},
+        )
+
+        fused = rrf_fusion([result], top_k=3)
+        assert len(fused) == 3
+        # node-1 should be first (highest score)
+        assert fused[0][0] == "node-1"
+        assert fused[1][0] == "node-2"
+        assert fused[2][0] == "node-3"
+
+    def test_multiple_patterns_boost_common_nodes(self):
+        """Nodes appearing in multiple patterns should get boosted."""
+        result1 = PatternResult(
+            pattern=["semantic", "semantic"],
+            scores={"node-1": 0.9, "node-2": 0.7},
+        )
+        result2 = PatternResult(
+            pattern=["entity", "temporal"],
+            scores={"node-1": 0.8, "node-3": 0.6},  # node-1 in both
+        )
+
+        fused = rrf_fusion([result1, result2], top_k=3)
+
+        # node-1 should be first (appears in both patterns)
+        assert fused[0][0] == "node-1"
+        # Its score should be higher than others
+        assert fused[0][1] > fused[1][1]
+
+    def test_top_k_limits_results(self):
+        """top_k should limit the number of results."""
+        result = PatternResult(
+            pattern=["semantic"],
+            scores={f"node-{i}": 1.0 / (i + 1) for i in range(10)},
+        )
+
+        fused = rrf_fusion([result], top_k=3)
+        assert len(fused) == 3
+
+    def test_empty_pattern_scores_ignored(self):
+        """Patterns with empty scores should be ignored."""
+        result1 = PatternResult(pattern=["semantic"], scores={})
+        result2 = PatternResult(
+            pattern=["entity"],
+            scores={"node-1": 0.5},
+        )
+
+        fused = rrf_fusion([result1, result2], top_k=3)
+        assert len(fused) == 1
+        assert fused[0][0] == "node-1"
+
+
+class TestMPFPTraverseAsync:
+    """Tests for the async MPFP traversal algorithm."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_empty_seeds_returns_empty(self):
+        """Empty seeds should return empty result."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        config = MPFPConfig()
+
+        result = await mpfp_traverse_async(
+            pool=None,  # Not used when no seeds
+            bank_id="test",
+            seeds=[],
+            pattern=["semantic"],
+            config=config,
+            cache=cache,
+        )
+
+        assert result.scores == {}
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_single_hop_no_edges(self):
+        """Single hop with no edges should deposit mass at seeds."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        config = MPFPConfig(alpha=0.15, threshold=1e-6)
+
+        # Pre-populate cache with empty edges for seed
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", {}, ["seed-1"])
+
+        seeds = [SeedNode("seed-1", 1.0)]
+
+        with patch(
+            "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.load_edges_for_frontier",
+            new_callable=AsyncMock,
+            return_value={},
+        ):
+            result = await mpfp_traverse_async(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                bank_id="test",
+                seeds=seeds,
+                pattern=["semantic"],
+                config=config,
+                cache=cache,
+            )
+
+        # Seed should have alpha portion of its mass
+        assert "seed-1" in result.scores
+        assert result.scores["seed-1"] == pytest.approx(config.alpha, rel=0.01)
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_single_hop_with_edges(self):
+        """Single hop should spread mass to neighbors."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        config = MPFPConfig(alpha=0.15, threshold=1e-6, top_k_neighbors=10)
+
+        seeds = [SeedNode("seed-1", 1.0)]
+
+        # Mock edge loading
+        async def mock_load_edges(pool, bank_id, edge_type, node_ids):
+            if "seed-1" in node_ids:
+                return {
+                    "seed-1": [
+                        EdgeTarget("neighbor-1", 0.8),
+                        EdgeTarget("neighbor-2", 0.4),
+                    ]
+                }
+            return {}
+
+        with patch(
+            "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.load_edges_for_frontier",
+            side_effect=mock_load_edges,
+        ):
+            result = await mpfp_traverse_async(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                bank_id="test",
+                seeds=seeds,
+                pattern=["semantic"],
+                config=config,
+                cache=cache,
+            )
+
+        # Seed keeps alpha portion
+        assert "seed-1" in result.scores
+        assert result.scores["seed-1"] == pytest.approx(config.alpha, rel=0.01)
+
+        # Neighbors get remaining mass (normalized)
+        assert "neighbor-1" in result.scores
+        assert "neighbor-2" in result.scores
+
+        # neighbor-1 should get more (higher weight)
+        assert result.scores["neighbor-1"] > result.scores["neighbor-2"]
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_two_hops(self):
+        """Two-hop pattern should traverse through neighbors."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        config = MPFPConfig(alpha=0.15, threshold=1e-6, top_k_neighbors=10)
+
+        seeds = [SeedNode("seed-1", 1.0)]
+
+        # Mock edge loading for two hops
+        async def mock_load_edges(pool, bank_id, edge_type, node_ids):
+            edges = {}
+            if "seed-1" in node_ids:
+                edges["seed-1"] = [EdgeTarget("hop1-node", 1.0)]
+            if "hop1-node" in node_ids:
+                edges["hop1-node"] = [EdgeTarget("hop2-node", 1.0)]
+            return edges
+
+        with patch(
+            "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.load_edges_for_frontier",
+            side_effect=mock_load_edges,
+        ):
+            result = await mpfp_traverse_async(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                bank_id="test",
+                seeds=seeds,
+                pattern=["semantic", "semantic"],  # Two hops
+                config=config,
+                cache=cache,
+            )
+
+        # Should have scores for all three nodes
+        assert "seed-1" in result.scores
+        assert "hop1-node" in result.scores
+        assert "hop2-node" in result.scores
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_cache_reuse(self):
+        """Cache should prevent redundant edge loading."""
+        cache = EdgeCache()
+        config = MPFPConfig(alpha=0.15, threshold=1e-6)
+
+        # Pre-load cache
+        cache.add_edges("semantic", {"seed-1": [EdgeTarget("neighbor-1", 1.0)]}, ["seed-1"])
+
+        seeds = [SeedNode("seed-1", 1.0)]
+
+        load_mock = AsyncMock(return_value={})
+
+        with patch(
+            "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.load_edges_for_frontier",
+            load_mock,
+        ):
+            await mpfp_traverse_async(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                bank_id="test",
+                seeds=seeds,
+                pattern=["semantic"],
+                config=config,
+                cache=cache,
+            )
+
+        # Should not call load_edges_for_frontier since seed-1 is already cached
+        load_mock.assert_not_called()
+
+
+class TestMPFPGraphRetriever:
+    """Tests for the MPFPGraphRetriever class."""
+
+    def test_name_is_mpfp(self):
+        """Retriever name should be 'mpfp'."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+        assert retriever.name == "mpfp"
+
+    def test_default_config(self):
+        """Default config should have expected patterns."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+
+        assert len(retriever.config.patterns_semantic) > 0
+        assert len(retriever.config.patterns_temporal) > 0
+        assert retriever.config.alpha == 0.15
+        assert retriever.config.top_k_neighbors == 20
+
+    def test_custom_config(self):
+        """Custom config should be used."""
+        config = MPFPConfig(alpha=0.3, top_k_neighbors=10)
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever(config=config)
+
+        assert retriever.config.alpha == 0.3
+        assert retriever.config.top_k_neighbors == 10
+
+    def test_convert_seeds_from_retrieval_results(self):
+        """_convert_seeds should extract scores from RetrievalResult."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+
+        results = [
+            RetrievalResult(id="id-1", text="text1", fact_type="world", similarity=0.9),
+            RetrievalResult(id="id-2", text="text2", fact_type="world", similarity=0.7),
+        ]
+
+        seeds = retriever._convert_seeds(results, "similarity")
+
+        assert len(seeds) == 2
+        assert seeds[0].node_id == "id-1"
+        assert seeds[0].score == 0.9
+        assert seeds[1].node_id == "id-2"
+        assert seeds[1].score == 0.7
+
+    def test_convert_seeds_empty(self):
+        """_convert_seeds should handle empty/None input."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+
+        assert retriever._convert_seeds(None, "similarity") == []
+        assert retriever._convert_seeds([], "similarity") == []
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_retrieve_no_seeds_returns_empty(self):
+        """Retrieve with no seeds should return empty results."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+
+        # Mock _find_semantic_seeds to return empty
+        with patch.object(retriever, "_find_semantic_seeds", new_callable=AsyncMock, return_value=[]):
+            results, timings = await retriever.retrieve(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                query_embedding_str="[0.1, 0.2]",
+                bank_id="test",
+                fact_type="world",
+                budget=10,
+            )
+
+        assert results == []
+        assert timings is not None
+        assert timings.pattern_count == 0
+
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_retrieve_with_semantic_seeds(self):
+        """Retrieve with semantic seeds should run patterns and return results."""
+        retriever = MPFPGraphRetriever()
+
+        semantic_seeds = [
+            RetrievalResult(id="seed-1", text="seed text", fact_type="world", similarity=0.9),
+        ]
+
+        # Mock the internal functions
+        async def mock_traverse(*args, **kwargs):
+            return PatternResult(pattern=["semantic"], scores={"seed-1": 0.5, "result-1": 0.3})
+
+        async def mock_fetch(pool, node_ids, fact_type):
+            return [
+                RetrievalResult(id="seed-1", text="seed text", fact_type="world"),
+                RetrievalResult(id="result-1", text="result text", fact_type="world"),
+            ]
+
+        with (
+            patch(
+                "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.mpfp_traverse_async",
+                side_effect=mock_traverse,
+            ),
+            patch(
+                "hindsight_api.engine.search.mpfp_retrieval.fetch_memory_units_by_ids",
+                side_effect=mock_fetch,
+            ),
+        ):
+            results, timings = await retriever.retrieve(
+                pool=MagicMock(),
+                query_embedding_str="[0.1, 0.2]",
+                bank_id="test",
+                fact_type="world",
+                budget=10,
+                semantic_seeds=semantic_seeds,
+            )
+
+        assert len(results) == 2
+        assert timings is not None
+        assert timings.pattern_count > 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_mpfp_integration(memory, request_context):
+    """Integration test: MPFP retrieval with real database."""
+    bank_id = f"test_mpfp_{datetime.now(timezone.utc).timestamp()}"
+
+    try:
+        # Store memories with entity relationships
+        await memory.retain_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            content="Alice works at TechCorp as a software engineer",
+            context="employee info",
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+        await memory.retain_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            content="TechCorp is located in San Francisco",
+            context="company info",
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+        await memory.retain_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            content="Bob is Alice's manager at TechCorp",
+            context="employee info",
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+        await memory.retain_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            content="San Francisco has many tech companies",
+            context="city info",
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+
+        # Query should find related facts via graph traversal
+        from hindsight_api.engine.memory_engine import Budget
+
+        result = await memory.recall_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            query="Tell me about Alice",
+            fact_type=["world"],
+            budget=Budget.MID,
+            max_tokens=2048,
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+
+        # Should return results
+        assert result.results is not None
+        assert len(result.results) > 0
+
+        # Should find Alice-related facts
+        fact_texts = [f.text for f in result.results]
+        alice_facts = [t for t in fact_texts if "Alice" in t or "TechCorp" in t]
+        assert len(alice_facts) > 0, f"Should find Alice-related facts, got: {fact_texts}"
+
+        print(f"\n✓ MPFP integration test passed! Found {len(result.results)} facts")
+
+    finally:
+        await memory.delete_bank(bank_id, request_context=request_context)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_mpfp_lazy_loading_efficiency(memory, request_context):
+    """Test that MPFP loads edges lazily, not upfront."""
+    bank_id = f"test_mpfp_lazy_{datetime.now(timezone.utc).timestamp()}"
+
+    try:
+        # Store many memories to create a larger graph
+        for i in range(20):
+            await memory.retain_async(
+                bank_id=bank_id,
+                content=f"Fact number {i} about topic {i % 5}",
+                context=f"context {i}",
+                request_context=request_context,
+            )
+
+        from hindsight_api.engine.memory_engine import Budget
+
+        # Query - MPFP should only load edges for relevant frontier nodes
+        result = await memory.recall_async(
+            bank_id=bank_id,
+            query="topic 0",
+            fact_type=["world"],
+            budget=Budget.LOW,
+            max_tokens=1024,
+            enable_trace=True,
+            request_context=request_context,
+        )
+
+        assert result.results is not None
+
+        # Check trace for timing info
+        if result.trace:
+            print(f"\n✓ MPFP lazy loading test passed!")
+            print(f"  - Facts returned: {len(result.results)}")
+
+    finally:
+        await memory.delete_bank(bank_id, request_context=request_context)
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/configuration.md b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/configuration.md
index 1e55617e..1a2c7fd5 100644
--- a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/configuration.md
+++ b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/configuration.md
@@ -189,7 +189,10 @@ Supported OpenAI embedding dimensions:
 |----------|-------------|---------|
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_PROVIDER` | Provider: `local`, `tei`, or `cohere` | `local` |
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_LOCAL_MODEL` | Model for local provider | `cross-encoder/ms-marco-MiniLM-L-6-v2` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_LOCAL_MAX_CONCURRENT` | Max concurrent local reranking (prevents CPU thrashing under load) | `4` |
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_URL` | TEI server URL | - |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_BATCH_SIZE` | Batch size for TEI reranking | `128` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_TEI_MAX_CONCURRENT` | Max concurrent TEI reranking requests | `8` |
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RERANKER_COHERE_MODEL` | Cohere rerank model | `rerank-english-v3.0` |
 
 ```bash
@@ -264,6 +267,7 @@ Controls the retain (memory ingestion) pipeline.
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_CHUNK_SIZE` | Max characters per chunk for fact extraction. Larger chunks extract fewer LLM calls but may lose context. | `3000` |
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_EXTRACTION_MODE` | Fact extraction mode: `concise` (selective, fewer high-quality facts) or `verbose` (detailed, more facts) | `concise` |
 | `HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_EXTRACT_CAUSAL_LINKS` | Extract causal relationships between facts | `true` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_RETAIN_OBSERVATIONS_ASYNC` | Run entity observation generation asynchronously (after retain completes) | `false` |
 
 #### Extraction Modes
 
@@ -293,8 +297,9 @@ Controls background task processing for async operations like opinion formation
 
 | Variable | Description | Default |
 |----------|-------------|---------|
-| `HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_SIZE` | Max tasks to process in one batch | `10` |
-| `HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BATCH_INTERVAL` | Interval between batch processing in seconds | `1.0` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND` | Task backend implementation: `memory` (in-process queue) or `noop` (discard tasks, useful for tests) | `memory` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_SIZE` | Max tasks to process in one batch (memory backend only) | `10` |
+| `HINDSIGHT_API_TASK_BACKEND_MEMORY_BATCH_INTERVAL` | Interval between batch processing in seconds (memory backend only) | `1.0` |
 
 ### Performance Optimization
 
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/installation.md b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/installation.md
index 3b9e5bd5..31b28ae3 100644
--- a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/installation.md
+++ b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/installation.md
@@ -171,4 +171,4 @@ PORT=80 HINDSIGHT_CP_DATAPLANE_API_URL=https://api.hindsight.io npx @vectorize-i
 
 - [Configuration](./configuration.md) — Environment variables and settings
 - [Models](./models.md) — ML models and providers
-- [Metrics](./metrics.md) — Monitoring and observability
+- [Monitoring](./monitoring.md) — Metrics and observability
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/metrics.md b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/metrics.md
deleted file mode 100644
index cb30c694..00000000
--- a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/metrics.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-# Metrics
-
-Hindsight exposes Prometheus metrics at `/metrics` for monitoring.
-
-```bash
-curl http://localhost:8888/metrics
-```
-
-## Available Metrics
-
-### Operation Metrics
-
-| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
-|--------|------|--------|-------------|
-| `hindsight.operation.duration` | Histogram | operation, bank_id, source, budget, max_tokens, success | Duration of operations in seconds |
-| `hindsight.operation.total` | Counter | operation, bank_id, source, budget, max_tokens, success | Total number of operations executed |
-
-**Labels:**
-- `operation`: Operation type (`retain`, `recall`, `reflect`)
-- `bank_id`: Memory bank identifier
-- `source`: Where the operation was triggered from (`api`, `reflect`, `internal`)
-- `budget`: Budget level if specified (`low`, `mid`, `high`)
-- `max_tokens`: Max tokens if specified
-- `success`: Whether the operation succeeded (`true`, `false`)
-
-The `source` label allows distinguishing between:
-- `api`: Direct API calls from clients
-- `reflect`: Internal recall calls made during reflect operations
-- `internal`: Other internal operations
-
-### LLM Metrics
-
-| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
-|--------|------|--------|-------------|
-| `hindsight.llm.duration` | Histogram | provider, model, scope, success | Duration of LLM API calls in seconds |
-| `hindsight.llm.calls.total` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success | Total number of LLM API calls |
-| `hindsight.llm.tokens.input` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success, token_bucket | Input tokens for LLM calls |
-| `hindsight.llm.tokens.output` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success, token_bucket | Output tokens from LLM calls |
-
-**Labels:**
-- `provider`: LLM provider (`openai`, `anthropic`, `gemini`, `groq`, `ollama`, `lmstudio`)
-- `model`: Model name (e.g., `gpt-4`, `claude-3-sonnet`)
-- `scope`: What the LLM call is for (`memory`, `reflect`, `entity_observation`, `answer`)
-- `success`: Whether the call succeeded (`true`, `false`)
-- `token_bucket`: Token count bucket for cardinality control (`0-100`, `100-500`, `500-1k`, `1k-5k`, `5k-10k`, `10k-50k`, `50k+`)
-
-### Histogram Buckets
-
-Custom bucket boundaries are configured for better percentile accuracy:
-
-**Operation Duration Buckets (seconds):**
-```
-0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0
-```
-
-**LLM Duration Buckets (seconds):**
-```
-0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0
-```
-
-## Prometheus Configuration
-
-```yaml
-scrape_configs:
-  - job_name: 'hindsight'
-    static_configs:
-      - targets: ['localhost:8888']
-```
-
-## Example Queries
-
-### Average operation latency by type
-```promql
-rate(hindsight_operation_duration_sum[5m]) / rate(hindsight_operation_duration_count[5m])
-```
-
-### LLM calls per minute by provider
-```promql
-rate(hindsight_llm_calls_total[1m]) * 60
-```
-
-### P95 LLM latency
-```promql
-histogram_quantile(0.95, rate(hindsight_llm_duration_bucket[5m]))
-```
-
-### Total tokens consumed by model
-```promql
-sum by (model) (hindsight_llm_tokens_input_total + hindsight_llm_tokens_output_total)
-```
-
-### Internal vs API recall operations
-```promql
-sum by (source) (rate(hindsight_operation_total{operation="recall"}[5m]))
-```
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/monitoring.md b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/monitoring.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b72696b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/monitoring.md
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+# Monitoring
+
+Hindsight provides comprehensive monitoring through Prometheus metrics and pre-built Grafana dashboards.
+
+## Local Development
+
+For local metrics visualization, a convenience script downloads and runs Prometheus and Grafana:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/dev/start-monitoring.sh
+```
+
+This will start:
+- **Grafana**: http://localhost:8890 (anonymous access enabled)
+- **Prometheus**: http://localhost:8889
+- **API Metrics**: http://localhost:8888/metrics
+
+:::note Production Deployment
+The local monitoring script is for development only. In production, you need to install and configure Prometheus and Grafana separately, then point Prometheus to scrape your Hindsight API's `/metrics` endpoint.
+:::
+
+## Grafana Dashboards
+
+Pre-built dashboards are available in [`monitoring/grafana/dashboards/`](https://github.com/anthropics/hindsight/tree/main/monitoring/grafana/dashboards). Import these JSON files into your Grafana instance:
+
+| Dashboard | Description |
+|-----------|-------------|
+| **Hindsight Operations** | Operation rates, latency percentiles, per-bank metrics |
+| **Hindsight LLM Metrics** | LLM calls, token usage, latency by scope/provider |
+| **Hindsight API Service** | HTTP requests, error rates, DB pool, process metrics |
+
+The dashboards are automatically provisioned when using the monitoring stack script.
+
+## Metrics Endpoint
+
+Hindsight exposes Prometheus metrics at `/metrics`:
+
+```bash
+curl http://localhost:8888/metrics
+```
+
+## Available Metrics
+
+### Operation Metrics
+
+| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
+|--------|------|--------|-------------|
+| `hindsight.operation.duration` | Histogram | operation, bank_id, source, budget, max_tokens, success | Duration of operations in seconds |
+| `hindsight.operation.total` | Counter | operation, bank_id, source, budget, max_tokens, success | Total number of operations executed |
+
+**Labels:**
+- `operation`: Operation type (`retain`, `recall`, `reflect`)
+- `bank_id`: Memory bank identifier
+- `source`: Where the operation was triggered from (`api`, `reflect`, `internal`)
+- `budget`: Budget level if specified (`low`, `mid`, `high`)
+- `max_tokens`: Max tokens if specified
+- `success`: Whether the operation succeeded (`true`, `false`)
+
+The `source` label allows distinguishing between:
+- `api`: Direct API calls from clients
+- `reflect`: Internal recall calls made during reflect operations
+- `internal`: Other internal operations
+
+### LLM Metrics
+
+| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
+|--------|------|--------|-------------|
+| `hindsight.llm.duration` | Histogram | provider, model, scope, success | Duration of LLM API calls in seconds |
+| `hindsight.llm.calls.total` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success | Total number of LLM API calls |
+| `hindsight.llm.tokens.input` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success, token_bucket | Input tokens for LLM calls |
+| `hindsight.llm.tokens.output` | Counter | provider, model, scope, success, token_bucket | Output tokens from LLM calls |
+
+**Labels:**
+- `provider`: LLM provider (`openai`, `anthropic`, `gemini`, `groq`, `ollama`, `lmstudio`)
+- `model`: Model name (e.g., `gpt-4`, `claude-3-sonnet`)
+- `scope`: What the LLM call is for (`memory`, `reflect`, `entity_observation`, `answer`)
+- `success`: Whether the call succeeded (`true`, `false`)
+- `token_bucket`: Token count bucket for cardinality control (`0-100`, `100-500`, `500-1k`, `1k-5k`, `5k-10k`, `10k-50k`, `50k+`)
+
+### HTTP Request Metrics
+
+| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
+|--------|------|--------|-------------|
+| `hindsight.http.duration` | Histogram | method, endpoint, status_code, status_class | Duration of HTTP requests in seconds |
+| `hindsight.http.requests.total` | Counter | method, endpoint, status_code, status_class | Total number of HTTP requests |
+| `hindsight.http.requests.in_progress` | UpDownCounter | method, endpoint | Number of HTTP requests currently being processed |
+
+**Labels:**
+- `method`: HTTP method (`GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE`)
+- `endpoint`: Request path (normalized to reduce cardinality - UUIDs replaced with `{id}`)
+- `status_code`: HTTP status code (`200`, `400`, `500`, etc.)
+- `status_class`: Status code class (`2xx`, `4xx`, `5xx`)
+
+### Database Pool Metrics
+
+| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
+|--------|------|--------|-------------|
+| `hindsight.db.pool.size` | Gauge | - | Current number of connections in the pool |
+| `hindsight.db.pool.idle` | Gauge | - | Number of idle connections in the pool |
+| `hindsight.db.pool.min` | Gauge | - | Minimum pool size |
+| `hindsight.db.pool.max` | Gauge | - | Maximum pool size |
+
+### Process Metrics
+
+| Metric | Type | Labels | Description |
+|--------|------|--------|-------------|
+| `hindsight.process.cpu.seconds` | Gauge | type | Process CPU time in seconds |
+| `hindsight.process.memory.bytes` | Gauge | type | Process memory usage in bytes |
+| `hindsight.process.open_fds` | Gauge | - | Number of open file descriptors |
+| `hindsight.process.threads` | Gauge | - | Number of active threads |
+
+**Labels:**
+- `type` (CPU): `user` or `system`
+- `type` (Memory): `rss_max` (maximum resident set size)
+
+### Histogram Buckets
+
+Custom bucket boundaries are configured for better percentile accuracy:
+
+**Operation Duration Buckets (seconds):**
+```
+0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0
+```
+
+**LLM Duration Buckets (seconds):**
+```
+0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 30.0, 60.0, 120.0
+```
+
+**HTTP Duration Buckets (seconds):**
+```
+0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 30.0
+```
+
+## Prometheus Configuration
+
+```yaml
+scrape_configs:
+  - job_name: 'hindsight'
+    static_configs:
+      - targets: ['localhost:8888']
+```
+
+## Example Queries
+
+### Average operation latency by type
+```promql
+rate(hindsight_operation_duration_sum[5m]) / rate(hindsight_operation_duration_count[5m])
+```
+
+### LLM calls per minute by provider
+```promql
+rate(hindsight_llm_calls_total[1m]) * 60
+```
+
+### P95 LLM latency
+```promql
+histogram_quantile(0.95, rate(hindsight_llm_duration_bucket[5m]))
+```
+
+### Total tokens consumed by model
+```promql
+sum by (model) (hindsight_llm_tokens_input_total + hindsight_llm_tokens_output_total)
+```
+
+### Internal vs API recall operations
+```promql
+sum by (source) (rate(hindsight_operation_total{operation="recall"}[5m]))
+```
+
+### HTTP requests per second by endpoint
+```promql
+sum by (endpoint) (rate(hindsight_http_requests_total[1m]))
+```
+
+### HTTP error rate (5xx)
+```promql
+sum(rate(hindsight_http_requests_total{status_class="5xx"}[5m])) / sum(rate(hindsight_http_requests_total[5m]))
+```
+
+### P95 HTTP latency
+```promql
+histogram_quantile(0.95, sum by (le) (rate(hindsight_http_duration_seconds_bucket[5m])))
+```
+
+### Database pool utilization
+```promql
+hindsight_db_pool_size / hindsight_db_pool_max
+```
+
+### Active database connections
+```promql
+hindsight_db_pool_size - hindsight_db_pool_idle
+```
+
+### CPU usage rate
+```promql
+rate(hindsight_process_cpu_seconds{type="user"}[1m])
+```
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/retrieval.md b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/retrieval.md
index 5ffdb424..099fa5a3 100644
--- a/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/retrieval.md
+++ b/hindsight-docs/docs/developer/retrieval.md
@@ -229,6 +229,49 @@ Budget and max_tokens control different aspects of recall:
 
 ---
 
+## Graph Retrieval Algorithms
+
+Hindsight supports two graph traversal algorithms, each optimized for different scenarios:
+
+| Algorithm | Default | Best For | Complexity |
+|-----------|---------|----------|------------|
+| **MPFP** | ✓ | Large graphs, production | O(P × H × F × K) |
+| **BFS** | | Small graphs, debugging | O(V + E) |
+
+### MPFP (Meta-Path Forward Push)
+
+A sublinear graph traversal algorithm that follows predefined meta-paths (patterns of edge types) using lazy edge loading.
+
+**How it works:**
+1. Starts from semantic entry points (top similar facts)
+2. Follows multiple meta-path patterns in parallel:
+   - `semantic → semantic` (topic expansion)
+   - `entity → temporal` (entity timeline)
+   - `semantic → causes` (causal reasoning)
+   - `entity → semantic` (entity context)
+3. Loads edges lazily per hop, only for active frontier nodes
+4. Fuses results from all patterns via Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF)
+
+**Complexity:** O(P × H × F × K) where P = patterns (~7), H = hops (2), F = frontier size (~20-100), K = neighbors per node (20).
+
+**Use case:** Production workloads with large memory banks (10k+ facts). Only loads the edges it needs, avoiding full graph scans.
+
+### BFS (Breadth-First Spreading Activation)
+
+Classic spreading activation that propagates relevance scores through the graph using breadth-first traversal.
+
+**How it works:**
+1. Starts from semantic entry points with initial activation scores
+2. Spreads activation to neighbors with decay (α = 0.8 per hop)
+3. Boosts causal links (causes, enables, prevents)
+4. Continues until budget exhausted or activation below threshold
+
+**Complexity:** O(V + E) where V and E are visited nodes and edges, bounded by budget.
+
+**Use case:** Small memory banks, debugging, or when you need to understand exactly how results were found.
+
+---
+
 ## Next Steps
 
 - [**Retain**](./retain) — How memories are stored with rich context
diff --git a/hindsight-docs/sidebars.ts b/hindsight-docs/sidebars.ts
index 392cf358..f00a2b92 100644
--- a/hindsight-docs/sidebars.ts
+++ b/hindsight-docs/sidebars.ts
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ const sidebars: SidebarsConfig = {
         },
         {
           type: 'doc',
-          id: 'developer/metrics',
-          label: 'Metrics',
+          id: 'developer/monitoring',
+          label: 'Monitoring',
         },
         {
           type: 'doc',
diff --git a/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-api-service.json b/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-api-service.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..766c0d77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-api-service.json
@@ -0,0 +1,1291 @@
+{
+  "annotations": {
+    "list": []
+  },
+  "editable": true,
+  "fiscalYearStartMonth": 0,
+  "graphTooltip": 1,
+  "id": null,
+  "links": [],
+  "panels": [
+    {
+      "collapsed": false,
+      "gridPos": { "h": 1, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 0 },
+      "id": 100,
+      "panels": [],
+      "title": "HTTP Requests",
+      "type": "row"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "short"
+        },
+        "overrides": []
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 4, "w": 5, "x": 0, "y": 1 },
+      "id": 19,
+      "options": {
+        "colorMode": "value",
+        "graphMode": "area",
+        "justifyMode": "auto",
+        "orientation": "auto",
+        "reduceOptions": {
+          "calcs": ["lastNotNull"],
+          "fields": "",
+          "values": false
+        },
+        "textMode": "auto"
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "sum(hindsight_http_requests_total)",
+          "refId": "A"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Total Requests",
+      "type": "stat"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "reqps"
+        },
+        "overrides": []
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 4, "w": 5, "x": 5, "y": 1 },
+      "id": 1,
+      "options": {
+        "colorMode": "value",
+        "graphMode": "area",
+        "justifyMode": "auto",
+        "orientation": "auto",
+        "reduceOptions": {
+          "calcs": ["lastNotNull"],
+          "fields": "",
+          "values": false
+        },
+        "textMode": "auto"
+      },
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+          "fields": "",
+          "values": false
+        },
+        "textMode": "auto"
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "hindsight_process_threads",
+          "refId": "A"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Active Threads",
+      "type": "stat"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "short"
+        },
+        "overrides": []
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 4, "w": 6, "x": 12, "y": 33 },
+      "id": 14,
+      "options": {
+        "colorMode": "value",
+        "graphMode": "area",
+        "justifyMode": "auto",
+        "orientation": "auto",
+        "reduceOptions": {
+          "calcs": ["lastNotNull"],
+          "fields": "",
+          "values": false
+        },
+        "textMode": "auto"
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "hindsight_process_open_fds",
+          "refId": "A"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Open File Descriptors",
+      "type": "stat"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "s"
+        },
+        "overrides": []
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 4, "w": 6, "x": 18, "y": 33 },
+      "id": 15,
+      "options": {
+        "colorMode": "value",
+        "graphMode": "area",
+        "justifyMode": "auto",
+        "orientation": "auto",
+        "reduceOptions": {
+          "calcs": ["lastNotNull"],
+          "fields": "",
+          "values": false
+        },
+        "textMode": "auto"
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "sum(hindsight_process_cpu_seconds)",
+          "refId": "A"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Total CPU Time",
+      "type": "stat"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "custom": {
+            "axisBorderShow": false,
+            "axisCenteredZero": false,
+            "axisColorMode": "text",
+            "axisLabel": "",
+            "axisPlacement": "auto",
+            "barAlignment": 0,
+            "drawStyle": "line",
+            "fillOpacity": 20,
+            "gradientMode": "none",
+            "hideFrom": {
+              "legend": false,
+              "tooltip": false,
+              "viz": false
+            },
+            "insertNulls": false,
+            "lineInterpolation": "smooth",
+            "lineWidth": 2,
+            "pointSize": 5,
+            "scaleDistribution": {
+              "type": "linear"
+            },
+            "showPoints": "never",
+            "spanNulls": false,
+            "stacking": {
+              "group": "A",
+              "mode": "none"
+            },
+            "thresholdsStyle": {
+              "mode": "off"
+            }
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "decbytes"
+        },
+        "overrides": []
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 0, "y": 37 },
+      "id": 16,
+      "options": {
+        "legend": {
+          "calcs": ["mean", "max"],
+          "displayMode": "table",
+          "placement": "bottom",
+          "showLegend": true
+        },
+        "tooltip": {
+          "mode": "multi",
+          "sort": "desc"
+        }
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "hindsight_process_memory_bytes",
+          "legendFormat": "RSS Max",
+          "refId": "A"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Memory Usage Over Time",
+      "type": "timeseries"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "custom": {
+            "axisBorderShow": false,
+            "axisCenteredZero": false,
+            "axisColorMode": "text",
+            "axisLabel": "",
+            "axisPlacement": "auto",
+            "barAlignment": 0,
+            "drawStyle": "line",
+            "fillOpacity": 20,
+            "gradientMode": "none",
+            "hideFrom": {
+              "legend": false,
+              "tooltip": false,
+              "viz": false
+            },
+            "insertNulls": false,
+            "lineInterpolation": "smooth",
+            "lineWidth": 2,
+            "pointSize": 5,
+            "scaleDistribution": {
+              "type": "linear"
+            },
+            "showPoints": "never",
+            "spanNulls": false,
+            "stacking": {
+              "group": "A",
+              "mode": "normal"
+            },
+            "thresholdsStyle": {
+              "mode": "off"
+            }
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "s"
+        },
+        "overrides": [
+          {
+            "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "User" },
+            "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "blue", "mode": "fixed" } }]
+          },
+          {
+            "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "System" },
+            "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "orange", "mode": "fixed" } }]
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 12, "x": 12, "y": 37 },
+      "id": 17,
+      "options": {
+        "legend": {
+          "calcs": ["mean", "max"],
+          "displayMode": "table",
+          "placement": "bottom",
+          "showLegend": true
+        },
+        "tooltip": {
+          "mode": "multi",
+          "sort": "desc"
+        }
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "rate(hindsight_process_cpu_seconds{type=\"user\"}[1m])",
+          "legendFormat": "User",
+          "refId": "A"
+        },
+        {
+          "expr": "rate(hindsight_process_cpu_seconds{type=\"system\"}[1m])",
+          "legendFormat": "System",
+          "refId": "B"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "CPU Usage Rate (seconds/second)",
+      "type": "timeseries"
+    },
+    {
+      "datasource": {
+        "type": "prometheus",
+        "uid": "prometheus"
+      },
+      "fieldConfig": {
+        "defaults": {
+          "color": {
+            "mode": "palette-classic"
+          },
+          "custom": {
+            "axisBorderShow": false,
+            "axisCenteredZero": false,
+            "axisColorMode": "text",
+            "axisLabel": "",
+            "axisPlacement": "auto",
+            "barAlignment": 0,
+            "drawStyle": "line",
+            "fillOpacity": 20,
+            "gradientMode": "none",
+            "hideFrom": {
+              "legend": false,
+              "tooltip": false,
+              "viz": false
+            },
+            "insertNulls": false,
+            "lineInterpolation": "smooth",
+            "lineWidth": 2,
+            "pointSize": 5,
+            "scaleDistribution": {
+              "type": "linear"
+            },
+            "showPoints": "never",
+            "spanNulls": false,
+            "stacking": {
+              "group": "A",
+              "mode": "none"
+            },
+            "thresholdsStyle": {
+              "mode": "off"
+            }
+          },
+          "mappings": [],
+          "thresholds": {
+            "mode": "absolute",
+            "steps": [
+              { "color": "green", "value": null }
+            ]
+          },
+          "unit": "short"
+        },
+        "overrides": [
+          {
+            "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "Threads" },
+            "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "purple", "mode": "fixed" } }]
+          },
+          {
+            "matcher": { "id": "byName", "options": "File Descriptors" },
+            "properties": [{ "id": "color", "value": { "fixedColor": "green", "mode": "fixed" } }]
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      "gridPos": { "h": 8, "w": 24, "x": 0, "y": 45 },
+      "id": 18,
+      "options": {
+        "legend": {
+          "calcs": ["mean", "max"],
+          "displayMode": "table",
+          "placement": "right",
+          "showLegend": true
+        },
+        "tooltip": {
+          "mode": "multi",
+          "sort": "desc"
+        }
+      },
+      "pluginVersion": "10.0.0",
+      "targets": [
+        {
+          "expr": "hindsight_process_threads",
+          "legendFormat": "Threads",
+          "refId": "A"
+        },
+        {
+          "expr": "hindsight_process_open_fds",
+          "legendFormat": "File Descriptors",
+          "refId": "B"
+        }
+      ],
+      "title": "Threads and File Descriptors Over Time",
+      "type": "timeseries"
+    }
+  ],
+  "refresh": "5s",
+  "schemaVersion": 38,
+  "tags": ["hindsight", "api", "service"],
+  "templating": {
+    "list": []
+  },
+  "time": {
+    "from": "now-30m",
+    "to": "now"
+  },
+  "timepicker": {},
+  "timezone": "browser",
+  "title": "Hindsight API Service",
+  "uid": "hindsight-api-service",
+  "version": 1,
+  "weekStart": ""
+}
diff --git a/scripts/dev/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-llm.json b/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-llm.json
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dev/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-llm.json
rename to monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-llm.json
diff --git a/scripts/dev/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-operations.json b/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-operations.json
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dev/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-operations.json
rename to monitoring/grafana/dashboards/hindsight-operations.json
diff --git a/scripts/dev/monitoring/start.sh b/scripts/dev/monitoring/start.sh
index 7d1cf2e3..b0044abc 100755
--- a/scripts/dev/monitoring/start.sh
+++ b/scripts/dev/monitoring/start.sh
@@ -107,8 +107,8 @@ mkdir -p "$GRAFANA_PROV_DIR/dashboards"
 mkdir -p "$GRAFANA_DIR/dashboards"
 mkdir -p "$GRAFANA_DIR/data"
 
-# Copy dashboards
-cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/grafana/dashboards/"*.json "$GRAFANA_DIR/dashboards/"
+# Copy dashboards from project root monitoring directory
+cp "$PROJECT_ROOT/monitoring/grafana/dashboards/"*.json "$GRAFANA_DIR/dashboards/"
 
 # Create Grafana datasource config
 cat > "$GRAFANA_PROV_DIR/datasources/prometheus.yaml" <<EOF
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ echo ""
 echo "  Dashboards:"
 echo "    - Hindsight Operations"
 echo "    - Hindsight LLM Metrics"
+echo "    - Hindsight API Service"
 echo ""
 echo "=================================="
 echo ""