Context

Sub of #12153 — the core change: make the persist dir a single flat unified store, identical local + cloud; migrate existing data; delete the federated-leftover memory-core folder. Builds on the #12152 SSOT.

The Architectural Reality

• SSOT ai/config.template.mjs engines.chroma.dataDir (#12152) — flip value …/chroma/knowledge-base → …/chroma/unified.
• Local daemon launch — orchestrator ai/daemons/orchestrator/TaskDefinitions.mjs chroma --path → .neo-ai-data/chroma/unified (SSOT-sourced, or kept-in-sync literal per #12152's resilience note).
• Cloud — ai/deploy/docker-compose.yml (+ .dev.yml/.test.yml) chroma-data:/chroma/chroma → /chroma/unified + the image persist-dir env.
• One-time migration — relocate the live served store's contents into unified; delete the stale chroma/memory-core/ folder.

The Fix

• Config SSOT value → unified.
• Orchestrator --path → unified.
• Compose volume mounts → /chroma/unified (all three compose files) + persist-dir env.
• One-shot idempotent migration under ai/scripts/migrations/ (snapshot-protected) to move live data and remove the stale memory-core folder. (structural-pre-flight applies to the new .mjs.)

Contract Ledger

Acceptance Criteria

• SSOT + orchestrator --path + all compose files resolve to unified; no knowledge-base/memory-core persist paths remain.
• Migration relocates live data into unified and deletes the stale memory-core (snapshot first).
• Post-migration: HealthService topology: 'unified'; KB + MC connect and search green.
• Depends-on #12152 (SSOT merged first).

Out of Scope

defrag (parent sub 3), release scripts (parent sub 4), docs (parent sub 5).

Related

#12153 (parent), #12152 (depends-on).

Origin Session ID: efd8dc2e-2052-4089-814a-ab22cd8c6a62