fix: schedule nightly index rebuild on worker and skip per-ingest rebuild.

Ingest relies on SurrealDB incremental index maintenance; the worker runs native REBUILD INDEX on a configurable interval with lease state on system_settings.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # Changelog
 ## Unreleased
+- Performance: ingestion skips per-task index rebuild; worker runs scheduled `REBUILD INDEX` (default every 24h via `index_rebuild_interval_secs`, `0` disables)
 
 ## 1.0.3 (2026-06-12)
 - Search: filter results by type — knowledge entities, ingested content, or both

common/db/migrations/20260612_000001_system_settings_index_rebuild.surql

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+-- Track scheduled runtime index rebuild state on the system_settings singleton.
+
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS last_index_rebuild_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_owner ON system_settings TYPE option<string>;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_expires_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;

common/db/migrations/definitions/20260612_000001_system_settings_index_rebuild.json

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{"schemas":"--- original\n+++ modified\n@@ -201,6 +201,10 @@\n DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS ingestion_system_prompt ON system_settings TYPE string;\n DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS image_processing_prompt ON system_settings TYPE string;\n DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS voice_processing_model ON system_settings TYPE string;\n+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS embedding_backend ON system_settings TYPE option<string>;\n+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS last_index_rebuild_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;\n+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_owner ON system_settings TYPE option<string>;\n+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_expires_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;\n\n # Defines the schema for the 'text_chunk' table.\n\n","events":null}

common/db/schemas/system_settings.surql

@@ -14,3 +14,7 @@ DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS query_system_prompt ON system_settings TYPE string;
 DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS ingestion_system_prompt ON system_settings TYPE string;
 DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS image_processing_prompt ON system_settings TYPE string;
 DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS voice_processing_model ON system_settings TYPE string;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS embedding_backend ON system_settings TYPE option<string>;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS last_index_rebuild_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_owner ON system_settings TYPE option<string>;
+DEFINE FIELD IF NOT EXISTS index_rebuild_lease_expires_at ON system_settings TYPE option<datetime>;

common/src/storage/indexes.rs

@@ -1,12 +1,19 @@
-use std::time::Duration;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 use futures::future::try_join_all;
 use serde::Deserialize;
 use serde_json::{Map, Value};
-use tracing::{debug, info, warn};
+use tracing::{debug, error, info, warn};
 
-use crate::{error::AppError, storage::db::SurrealDbClient};
+use crate::{
+    error::AppError,
+    storage::{
+        db::SurrealDbClient,
+        types::system_settings::SystemSettings,
+    },
+};
 
 const INDEX_POLL_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(50);
 const INDEX_BUILD_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(30 * 60);
@@ -204,6 +211,9 @@ pub async fn ensure_runtime(
 
 /// Rebuild known FTS and HNSW indexes, skipping any that are not yet defined.
 ///
+/// Uses `DEFINE INDEX OVERWRITE` and is reserved for dimension migrations, re-embed
+/// flows, and tests. Routine optimization should use [`rebuild_runtime`].
+///
 /// # Errors
 ///
 /// Returns `AppError::InternalError` if any index rebuild operation fails.
@@ -211,6 +221,117 @@ pub async fn rebuild(db: &SurrealDbClient) -> Result<(), AppError> {
     rebuild_inner(db).await.map_err(AppError::internal)
 }
 
+/// Rebuilds existing runtime FTS and HNSW indexes in place via SurrealQL `REBUILD INDEX`.
+///
+/// SurrealDB maintains ready indexes incrementally on writes; this is for periodic
+/// optimization (for example a nightly maintainer job), not ingest correctness.
+/// On SurrealDB 2.6 this runs synchronously (`CONCURRENTLY` is not supported on `REBUILD`).
+///
+/// # Errors
+///
+/// Returns `AppError::InternalError` if any rebuild operation fails.
+pub async fn rebuild_runtime(db: &SurrealDbClient) -> Result<(), AppError> {
+    rebuild_runtime_inner(db)
+        .await
+        .map_err(AppError::internal)
+}
+
+/// Returns whether a scheduled index rebuild is due based on the persisted last-run time.
+#[must_use]
+pub fn scheduled_index_rebuild_due(
+    last_run: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
+    interval_secs: u64,
+    now: DateTime<Utc>,
+) -> bool {
+    if interval_secs == 0 {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    let Some(last_run) = last_run else {
+        return false;
+    };
+
+    let elapsed = now.signed_duration_since(last_run);
+    elapsed.num_seconds() >= i64::try_from(interval_secs).unwrap_or(i64::MAX)
+}
+
+/// Runs a scheduled native `REBUILD INDEX` pass when due, using a DB lock so only one
+/// maintainer rebuilds at a time. Seeds a checkpoint on first run so the initial rebuild
+/// waits one full interval after worker startup.
+pub async fn maybe_run_scheduled_index_rebuild(
+    db: &SurrealDbClient,
+    worker_id: &str,
+    interval_secs: u64,
+) {
+    if interval_secs == 0 {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let now = Utc::now();
+    let settings = match SystemSettings::get_current(db).await {
+        Ok(settings) => settings,
+        Err(err) => {
+            warn!(error = %err, "failed to load system settings for index rebuild schedule");
+            return;
+        }
+    };
+
+    let last_run = settings.last_index_rebuild_at;
+
+    if last_run.is_none() {
+        match SystemSettings::seed_index_rebuild_checkpoint(db).await {
+            Ok(true) => debug!("seeded index rebuild checkpoint; first rebuild deferred"),
+            Ok(false) => {}
+            Err(err) => warn!(error = %err, "failed to seed index rebuild checkpoint"),
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if !scheduled_index_rebuild_due(last_run, interval_secs, now) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let lock_owner = format!("{worker_id}-index-rebuild");
+    let acquired = match SystemSettings::try_acquire_index_rebuild_lease(db, &lock_owner).await {
+        Ok(value) => value,
+        Err(err) => {
+            warn!(error = %err, "failed to acquire index rebuild lease");
+            return;
+        }
+    };
+
+    if !acquired {
+        debug!("another maintainer is rebuilding indexes");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let started = Instant::now();
+    info!(interval_secs, "starting scheduled runtime index rebuild");
+    let rebuild_result = rebuild_runtime(db).await;
+
+    match rebuild_result {
+        Ok(()) => {
+            if let Err(err) = SystemSettings::record_index_rebuild_completed(db, &lock_owner).await
+            {
+                warn!(error = %err, "failed to persist index rebuild checkpoint");
+                SystemSettings::release_index_rebuild_lease(db, &lock_owner).await;
+            }
+            info!(
+                elapsed_ms = started.elapsed().as_millis(),
+                "scheduled runtime index rebuild completed"
+            );
+        }
+        Err(err) => {
+            SystemSettings::release_index_rebuild_lease(db, &lock_owner).await;
+            error!(
+                error = %err,
+                elapsed_ms = started.elapsed().as_millis(),
+                "scheduled runtime index rebuild failed"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Returns the dimension of the currently defined chunk-embedding HNSW index, if any.
 ///
 /// Stored embeddings always share this index's dimension because re-embedding rewrites the
@@ -382,6 +503,46 @@ async fn rebuild_inner(db: &SurrealDbClient) -> Result<()> {
     try_join_all(hnsw_tasks).await.map(|_| ())
 }
 
+async fn rebuild_runtime_inner(db: &SurrealDbClient) -> Result<()> {
+    debug!("Rebuilding runtime indexes with REBUILD INDEX");
+
+    for spec in fts_index_specs() {
+        rebuild_existing_index_in_place(db, spec.index_name, spec.table).await?;
+    }
+
+    let hnsw_tasks = hnsw_index_specs().into_iter().map(|spec| async move {
+        rebuild_existing_index_in_place(db, spec.index_name, spec.table).await
+    });
+
+    try_join_all(hnsw_tasks).await.map(|_| ())
+}
+
+async fn rebuild_existing_index_in_place(
+    db: &SurrealDbClient,
+    index_name: &str,
+    table: &str,
+) -> Result<()> {
+    if !index_exists(db, table, index_name).await? {
+        debug!(
+            index = index_name,
+            table,
+            "Skipping in-place rebuild because index is missing"
+        );
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    let query = format!("REBUILD INDEX IF EXISTS {index_name} ON {table};");
+    let res = db
+        .client
+        .query(query)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("rebuilding index {index_name} on table {table}"))?;
+    res.check()
+        .with_context(|| format!("rebuild index {index_name} on table {table} failed"))?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 async fn existing_hnsw_dimension(
     db: &SurrealDbClient,
     spec: &HnswIndexSpec,
@@ -906,6 +1067,37 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(extract_dimension(definition), Some(1536));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn scheduled_index_rebuild_due_respects_interval_and_disabled() {
+        let now = Utc::now();
+        let last = now - chrono::Duration::hours(25);
+
+        assert!(!scheduled_index_rebuild_due(None, 86_400, now));
+        assert!(!scheduled_index_rebuild_due(Some(last), 0, now));
+        assert!(!scheduled_index_rebuild_due(Some(now - chrono::Duration::hours(1)), 86_400, now));
+        assert!(scheduled_index_rebuild_due(Some(last), 86_400, now));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn rebuild_runtime_is_idempotent() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let namespace = "indexes_in_place_rebuild";
+        let database = &Uuid::new_v4().to_string();
+        let db = SurrealDbClient::memory(namespace, database)
+            .await
+            .context("in-memory db")?;
+
+        db.apply_migrations().await.context("migrations")?;
+        ensure_runtime(&db, 8).await.context("ensure runtime indexes")?;
+
+        rebuild_runtime(&db)
+            .await
+            .context("first in-place rebuild")?;
+        rebuild_runtime(&db)
+            .await
+            .context("second in-place rebuild")?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn ensure_runtime_is_idempotent() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         let namespace = "indexes_ns";

common/src/storage/types/system_settings.rs

@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
+use tracing::warn;
+
 use crate::utils::config::EmbeddingBackend;
 use crate::utils::serde_helpers::deserialize_flexible_id;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
@@ -22,6 +25,15 @@ pub struct SystemSettings {
     pub image_processing_model: String,
     pub image_processing_prompt: String,
     pub voice_processing_model: String,
+    /// When the maintainer last completed a scheduled `REBUILD INDEX` pass.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub last_index_rebuild_at: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
+    /// Worker id holding the index-rebuild lease, if any.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub index_rebuild_lease_owner: Option<String>,
+    /// Lease expiry for in-flight scheduled index rebuilds.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub index_rebuild_lease_expires_at: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
 }
 
 /// Partial update for singleton system settings without cloning unchanged fields.
@@ -100,6 +112,8 @@ impl SystemSettingsPatch {
     }
 }
 
+const INDEX_REBUILD_LEASE_TTL: &str = "6h";
+
 impl SystemSettings {
     pub const RECORD_ID: &'static str = "current";
 
@@ -227,6 +241,89 @@ impl SystemSettings {
 
         Ok((settings, needs_update))
     }
+
+    /// Seeds the first rebuild checkpoint so the initial scheduled rebuild waits one interval.
+    pub async fn seed_index_rebuild_checkpoint(db: &SurrealDbClient) -> Result<bool, AppError> {
+        let mut response = db
+            .client
+            .query(
+                "UPDATE type::thing('system_settings', $id) SET last_index_rebuild_at = time::now()
+                 WHERE last_index_rebuild_at IS NONE
+                 RETURN AFTER;",
+            )
+            .bind(("id", Self::RECORD_ID))
+            .await
+            .map_err(AppError::from)?;
+
+        let updated: Option<Self> = response.take(0).map_err(AppError::from)?;
+        Ok(updated.is_some())
+    }
+
+    /// Claims the singleton index-rebuild lease when it is free or expired.
+    pub async fn try_acquire_index_rebuild_lease(
+        db: &SurrealDbClient,
+        owner: &str,
+    ) -> Result<bool, AppError> {
+        let mut response = db
+            .client
+            .query(format!(
+                "UPDATE type::thing('system_settings', $id) SET
+                    index_rebuild_lease_owner = $owner,
+                    index_rebuild_lease_expires_at = time::now() + {INDEX_REBUILD_LEASE_TTL}
+                 WHERE index_rebuild_lease_expires_at IS NONE
+                    OR index_rebuild_lease_expires_at < time::now()
+                 RETURN AFTER;"
+            ))
+            .bind(("id", Self::RECORD_ID))
+            .bind(("owner", owner.to_string()))
+            .await
+            .map_err(AppError::from)?;
+
+        let updated: Option<Self> = response.take(0).map_err(AppError::from)?;
+        Ok(updated.is_some())
+    }
+
+    /// Releases the index-rebuild lease when held by `owner`.
+    pub async fn release_index_rebuild_lease(db: &SurrealDbClient, owner: &str) {
+        let released = db
+            .client
+            .query(
+                "UPDATE type::thing('system_settings', $id) SET
+                    index_rebuild_lease_owner = NONE,
+                    index_rebuild_lease_expires_at = NONE
+                 WHERE index_rebuild_lease_owner = $owner;",
+            )
+            .bind(("id", Self::RECORD_ID))
+            .bind(("owner", owner.to_string()))
+            .await
+            .and_then(surrealdb::Response::check);
+
+        if let Err(err) = released {
+            warn!(error = %err, "failed to release index rebuild lease");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Records a completed scheduled index rebuild and clears the lease.
+    pub async fn record_index_rebuild_completed(
+        db: &SurrealDbClient,
+        owner: &str,
+    ) -> Result<(), AppError> {
+        let response = db
+            .client
+            .query(
+                "UPDATE type::thing('system_settings', $id) SET
+                    last_index_rebuild_at = time::now(),
+                    index_rebuild_lease_owner = NONE,
+                    index_rebuild_lease_expires_at = NONE
+                 WHERE index_rebuild_lease_owner = $owner;",
+            )
+            .bind(("id", Self::RECORD_ID))
+            .bind(("owner", owner.to_string()))
+            .await
+            .map_err(AppError::from)?;
+        response.check().map_err(AppError::from)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -802,4 +899,35 @@ mod tests {
         );
         Ok(())
     }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn index_rebuild_lease_is_exclusive_on_system_settings() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let namespace = "system_settings_index_rebuild";
+        let database = &Uuid::new_v4().to_string();
+        let db = SurrealDbClient::memory(namespace, database)
+            .await
+            .context("in-memory db")?;
+        db.apply_migrations().await.context("migrations")?;
+
+        assert!(
+            SystemSettings::try_acquire_index_rebuild_lease(&db, "worker-a")
+                .await?,
+            "first lease claim should succeed"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            !SystemSettings::try_acquire_index_rebuild_lease(&db, "worker-b")
+                .await?,
+            "second lease claim should fail while lease is held"
+        );
+
+        SystemSettings::release_index_rebuild_lease(&db, "worker-a").await;
+
+        SystemSettings::try_acquire_index_rebuild_lease(&db, "worker-b").await?;
+        SystemSettings::record_index_rebuild_completed(&db, "worker-b").await?;
+
+        let settings = SystemSettings::get_current(&db).await?;
+        assert!(settings.last_index_rebuild_at.is_some());
+        assert!(settings.index_rebuild_lease_owner.is_none());
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }

common/src/utils/config.rs

@@ -135,6 +135,9 @@ pub struct AppConfig {
     pub ingest_max_context_bytes: usize,
     #[serde(default = "default_ingest_max_category_bytes")]
     pub ingest_max_category_bytes: usize,
+    /// Seconds between scheduled `REBUILD INDEX` maintainer runs (`0` disables).
+    #[serde(default = "default_index_rebuild_interval_secs")]
+    pub index_rebuild_interval_secs: u64,
 }
 
 /// Default data directory for persisted assets.
@@ -172,6 +175,10 @@ fn default_ingest_max_category_bytes() -> usize {
     128
 }
 
+fn default_index_rebuild_interval_secs() -> u64 {
+    86_400
+}
+
 static ORT_PATH_INIT: Once = Once::new();
 
 /// Sets `ORT_DYLIB_PATH` once per process when a bundled ONNX runtime library is found.
@@ -238,6 +245,7 @@ impl Default for AppConfig {
             ingest_max_content_bytes: default_ingest_max_content_bytes(),
             ingest_max_context_bytes: default_ingest_max_context_bytes(),
             ingest_max_category_bytes: default_ingest_max_category_bytes(),
+            index_rebuild_interval_secs: default_index_rebuild_interval_secs(),
         }
     }
 }

html-router/src/routes/admin/handlers.rs

@@ -350,6 +350,9 @@ mod tests {
             image_processing_model: "gpt-4o-mini".into(),
             image_processing_prompt: "p".into(),
             voice_processing_model: "whisper-1".into(),
+            last_index_rebuild_at: None,
+            index_rebuild_lease_owner: None,
+            index_rebuild_lease_expires_at: None,
         }
     }
 

ingestion-pipeline/src/lib.rs

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ pub mod utils;
 use chrono::Utc;
 use common::storage::{
     db::SurrealDbClient,
+    indexes::maybe_run_scheduled_index_rebuild,
     types::ingestion_task::{IngestionTask, DEFAULT_LEASE_SECS},
 };
 pub use pipeline::{
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ const WORKER_CLAIM_ERROR_BACKOFF_MS: u64 = 1_000;
 pub async fn run_worker_loop(
     db: Arc<SurrealDbClient>,
     ingestion_pipeline: Arc<IngestionPipeline>,
+    index_rebuild_interval_secs: u64,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let worker_id = format!("ingestion-worker-{}", Uuid::new_v4());
     let lease_duration = Duration::from_secs(DEFAULT_LEASE_SECS as u64);
@@ -46,6 +48,12 @@ pub async fn run_worker_loop(
                 }
             }
             Ok(None) => {
+                maybe_run_scheduled_index_rebuild(
+                    db.as_ref(),
+                    &worker_id,
+                    index_rebuild_interval_secs,
+                )
+                .await;
                 sleep(idle_backoff).await;
             }
             Err(err) => {

ingestion-pipeline/src/pipeline/stages.rs

@@ -6,10 +6,7 @@
 
 use common::{
     error::AppError,
-    storage::{
-        indexes::rebuild,
-        types::{ingestion_payload::IngestionPayload, system_settings::SystemSettings},
-    },
+    storage::types::{ingestion_payload::IngestionPayload, system_settings::SystemSettings},
 };
 use state_machines::core::GuardError;
 use tracing::{debug, instrument};
@@ -179,7 +176,6 @@ pub async fn persist(
     )
     .await?;
     ctx.db.store_item(text_content).await?;
-    rebuild(ctx.db).await?;
 
     debug!(
         task_id = %ctx.task_id,

main/src/main.rs

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let worker_openai = Arc::clone(&services.openai_client);
     let worker_embedding = Arc::clone(&services.embedding_provider);
     let worker_config = services.config.clone();
+    let index_rebuild_interval_secs = worker_config.index_rebuild_interval_secs;
     let worker_reranker = services.reranker_pool.clone();
     let worker_storage = services.storage.clone();
 
@@ -59,7 +60,12 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             worker_embedding,
         )?);
 
-        run_worker_loop(worker_db, ingestion_pipeline).await
+        run_worker_loop(
+            worker_db,
+            ingestion_pipeline,
+            index_rebuild_interval_secs,
+        )
+        .await
     });
 
     tokio::select! {

main/src/worker.rs

@@ -26,7 +26,12 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         Arc::clone(&services.embedding_provider),
     )?);
 
-    run_worker_loop(services.db, ingestion_pipeline).await
+    run_worker_loop(
+        services.db,
+        ingestion_pipeline,
+        services.config.index_rebuild_interval_secs,
+    )
+    .await
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -69,7 +74,9 @@ mod tests {
         let db = Arc::clone(&services.db);
         let pipeline = Arc::new(pipeline);
         let worker =
-            tokio::spawn(async move { ingestion_pipeline::run_worker_loop(db, pipeline).await });
+            tokio::spawn(async move {
+                ingestion_pipeline::run_worker_loop(db, pipeline, 0).await
+            });
 
         tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(250)).await;
         assert!(