8. Defer Embedding Pipeline to Phase 2b

Status: Accepted

Context

Vector embeddings require an external API (OpenRouter, OpenAI) to generate 1536-dimensional vectors. Claude.ai cannot generate embeddings directly. The database schema and search function can be prepared now.

Decision

Include embedding vector(1536) column (nullable) and match_thoughts function in the initial schema. Do not wire up any embedding API at launch. Phase 2b will add an API key to the cluster secret and server-side embedding generation in the MCP function.

Consequences

• Phase 1 uses metadata-only search (topic, person, type, keyword)

• Schema is ready for embeddings — no migration needed later

• No external API costs at launch

• Semantic search quality will improve significantly in Phase 2b