From 62e6aeb5083b0936957cad6146abdecf26c5927f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bernhard Merkle <bernhard.merkle@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2025 22:24:10 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/4] Use sys.executable for python interpreter  instead of
 fixed path

---
 test/test_mcp_server.py | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/test/test_mcp_server.py b/test/test_mcp_server.py
index 90a5013..99bb6c2 100644
--- a/test/test_mcp_server.py
+++ b/test/test_mcp_server.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 """End-to-end tests for the MCP server."""
 
 import os
+import sys
 from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ def server_params() -> StdioServerParameters:
         env["COVERAGE_PROCESS_START"] = os.environ["COVERAGE_PROCESS_START"]
 
     return StdioServerParameters(
-        command=".venv/bin/python",
+        command=sys.executable,
         args=["-m", "typeagent.mcp.server"],
         env=env,
     )

From 1b85245ffbe988677816c48ce3afdb6d2019a198 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bernhard Merkle <bernhard.merkle@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2025 23:50:54 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 2/4] Refactor search_index to use more Pythonic conditions for
 argument checks

---
 tools/test_email.py | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/test_email.py b/tools/test_email.py
index d104b38..8e922c6 100644
--- a/tools/test_email.py
+++ b/tools/test_email.py
@@ -255,10 +255,10 @@ async def add_messages(context: EmailContext, args: list[str]):
 
 
 async def search_index(context: EmailContext, args: list[str]):
-    if len(args) == 0:
+    if not args:
         return
     search_text = args[0].strip()
-    if len(search_text) == 0:
+    if not search_text:
         print_error("No search text")
         return
 

From 0638fe2bf9ce668e90e881c9ea41e4166eefbd96 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bernhard Merkle <bernhard.merkle@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2025 22:30:00 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Refactor imports and improve code organization across
 multiple modules

- Rearranged import statements for better readability and consistency.
- Consolidated imports from the same module into single lines where applicable.
- Removed unused imports and organized them to follow a logical order.
- Introduced a new `types.py` file to hold
shared type definitions, reducing circular dependencies.
- Updated version number to 0.3.3 in `uv.lock`.
- searchlib.py improved handling of pydantic classes
---
 gmail/gmail_dump.py                           |  2 +-
 test/fixtures.py                              | 27 +++---
 test/test_add_messages_with_indexing.py       |  2 +-
 test/test_auth.py                             |  1 +
 test/test_collections.py                      |  4 +-
 test/test_conversation_metadata.py            | 11 ++-
 test/test_demo.py                             |  4 +-
 test/test_embedding_consistency.py            | 10 ++-
 test/test_embeddings.py                       | 12 ++-
 test/test_factory.py                          |  5 +-
 test/test_incremental_index.py                |  2 +-
 test/test_interfaces.py                       |  2 +-
 test/test_knowledge.py                        |  9 +-
 test/test_kplib.py                            |  8 +-
 test/test_mcp_server.py                       | 31 +++----
 test/test_message_text_index_population.py    | 23 ++---
 test/test_message_text_index_serialization.py | 19 ++--
 test/test_messageindex.py                     | 42 ++++-----
 test/test_online.py                           |  1 -
 test/test_podcast_incremental.py              |  2 +-
 test/test_podcasts.py                         | 14 +--
 test/test_property_index_population.py        | 33 +++----
 test/test_propindex.py                        | 15 ++--
 test/test_query.py                            | 90 +++++++------------
 test/test_query_method.py                     |  5 +-
 test/test_related_terms_fast.py               | 11 ++-
 test/test_related_terms_index_population.py   | 20 ++---
 test/test_reltermsindex.py                    | 19 ++--
 test/test_searchlib.py                        | 25 +++---
 test/test_secindex.py                         | 28 +++---
 test/test_secindex_storage_integration.py     |  8 +-
 test/test_semrefindex.py                      | 44 ++++-----
 test/test_serialization.py                    | 28 +++---
 test/test_sqlite_indexes.py                   | 25 ++----
 test/test_sqlitestore.py                      | 20 ++---
 test/test_storage_providers_unified.py        | 23 ++---
 test/test_timestampindex.py                   |  2 +-
 test/test_transcripts.py                      | 57 ++++++------
 test/test_utils.py                            | 11 ++-
 test/test_vectorbase.py                       | 12 +--
 tmp_debug_tag.py                              | 14 +++
 tools/add_copyright.py                        |  1 -
 tools/get_keys.py                             |  3 +-
 tools/ingest_vtt.py                           | 10 +--
 tools/query.py                                | 31 +++----
 tools/test_email.py                           | 19 ++--
 tools/vizcmp.py                               |  3 +-
 typeagent/aitools/auth.py                     |  2 +-
 typeagent/aitools/embeddings.py               | 10 +--
 typeagent/aitools/utils.py                    | 15 ++--
 typeagent/emails/email_import.py              |  7 +-
 typeagent/emails/email_memory.py              | 27 ++----
 typeagent/emails/email_message.py             | 13 +--
 typeagent/knowpro/answer_context_schema.py    |  1 +
 typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py   |  5 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/answers.py                  |  4 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/collections.py              |  7 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py        | 12 ++-
 typeagent/knowpro/convknowledge.py            |  4 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py             |  6 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/convutils.py                |  1 -
 typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py         |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/factory.py                  |  2 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/field_helpers.py            |  2 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/fuzzyindex.py               |  2 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py               | 17 ++--
 typeagent/knowpro/knowledge.py                |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py                    |  4 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/query.py                    | 11 +--
 typeagent/knowpro/search.py                   | 10 +--
 typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py      |  6 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/searchlang.py               | 10 +--
 typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py                | 25 +++++-
 typeagent/knowpro/secindex.py                 | 20 ++---
 typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py            | 36 ++++----
 typeagent/knowpro/textlocindex.py             |  8 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/types.py                    | 29 ++++++
 typeagent/mcp/server.py                       |  6 +-
 typeagent/podcasts/podcast.py                 | 26 ++----
 typeagent/podcasts/podcast_ingest.py          |  5 +-
 typeagent/storage/__init__.py                 | 12 +--
 typeagent/storage/memory/collections.py       |  3 +-
 typeagent/storage/memory/convthreads.py       |  4 +-
 typeagent/storage/memory/messageindex.py      |  4 +-
 typeagent/storage/memory/propindex.py         | 62 ++++++++++---
 typeagent/storage/memory/provider.py          | 20 ++---
 typeagent/storage/memory/reltermsindex.py     |  6 +-
 typeagent/storage/memory/semrefindex.py       | 13 ++-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/__init__.py          |  5 +-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/collections.py       |  3 +-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/messageindex.py      |  9 +-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/propindex.py         | 14 +--
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/provider.py          | 23 ++---
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/reltermsindex.py     |  7 +-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/schema.py            |  3 +-
 typeagent/storage/sqlite/timestampindex.py    |  3 +-
 typeagent/storage/utils.py                    |  8 +-
 typeagent/transcripts/transcript.py           | 47 ++--------
 uv.lock                                       |  4 +-
 99 files changed, 646 insertions(+), 731 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 tmp_debug_tag.py
 create mode 100644 typeagent/knowpro/types.py

diff --git a/gmail/gmail_dump.py b/gmail/gmail_dump.py
index c59c8f1..556722b 100644
--- a/gmail/gmail_dump.py
+++ b/gmail/gmail_dump.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import argparse
+import time
 from base64 import urlsafe_b64decode as b64d
 from pathlib import Path
-import time
 
 from google.oauth2.credentials import Credentials
 from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import InstalledAppFlow
diff --git a/test/fixtures.py b/test/fixtures.py
index ed1ee7e..aa6c8f6 100644
--- a/test/fixtures.py
+++ b/test/fixtures.py
@@ -1,26 +1,25 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, Iterator
 import os
 import tempfile
+from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator, Iterator
 from typing import Any
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
-
+import tiktoken
 from openai.types.create_embedding_response import CreateEmbeddingResponse, Usage
 from openai.types.embedding import Embedding
-import tiktoken
 
 from typeagent.aitools import utils
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import (
-    MemoryMessageCollection,
-    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    ConversationSettings,
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     DeletionInfo,
     IConversation,
@@ -30,18 +29,18 @@
     ISemanticRefCollection,
     IStorageProvider,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    SemanticRef,
     ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
+    SemanticRef,
     TextLocation,
 )
 from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
-    MessageTextIndexSettings,
-    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
-)
 from typeagent.knowpro.secindex import ConversationSecondaryIndexes
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
+from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import (
+    MemoryMessageCollection,
+    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
diff --git a/test/test_add_messages_with_indexing.py b/test/test_add_messages_with_indexing.py
index 24b0075..13f7911 100644
--- a/test/test_add_messages_with_indexing.py
+++ b/test/test_add_messages_with_indexing.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.provider import SqliteStorageProvider
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import (
diff --git a/test/test_auth.py b/test/test_auth.py
index fc05761..42b6dae 100644
--- a/test/test_auth.py
+++ b/test/test_auth.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import time
+
 import pytest
 from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
 
diff --git a/test/test_collections.py b/test/test_collections.py
index de9d2e0..55e25ca 100644
--- a/test/test_collections.py
+++ b/test/test_collections.py
@@ -19,11 +19,11 @@
     get_top_k,
 )
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
-    TextRange,
     ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
     SemanticRef,
-    TextLocation,
     Term,
+    TextLocation,
+    TextRange,
 )
 from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import Action, ConcreteEntity
 from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import MemorySemanticRefCollection
diff --git a/test/test_conversation_metadata.py b/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
index 0d40ff7..be45912 100644
--- a/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
+++ b/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
@@ -4,19 +4,20 @@
 """Tests for conversation metadata operations in SQLite storage provider."""
 
 import asyncio
-from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator
-from dataclasses import field
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
 import os
 import sqlite3
 import tempfile
 import time
+from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator
+from dataclasses import field
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
+from fixtures import embedding_model, temp_db_path
 from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
     ConversationSettings,
@@ -32,8 +33,6 @@
     TranscriptMessageMeta,
 )
 
-from fixtures import embedding_model, temp_db_path
-
 
 def parse_iso_datetime(iso_string: str) -> datetime:
     """Helper to parse ISO datetime strings to datetime objects."""
diff --git a/test/test_demo.py b/test/test_demo.py
index fe2e877..bc906c7 100644
--- a/test/test_demo.py
+++ b/test/test_demo.py
@@ -7,13 +7,13 @@
 import textwrap
 import time
 
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal
 from typeagent.podcasts import podcast
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
-
 tests_dir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
 root_dir = os.path.dirname(tests_dir)
 DEFAULT_FILE = os.path.join(root_dir, "testdata", "Episode_53_AdrianTchaikovsky_index")
diff --git a/test/test_embedding_consistency.py b/test/test_embedding_consistency.py
index 85ecc97..906c2b5 100644
--- a/test/test_embedding_consistency.py
+++ b/test/test_embedding_consistency.py
@@ -3,14 +3,16 @@
 
 """Test embedding consistency checks between database and settings."""
 
-import pytest
-import tempfile
 import os
+import tempfile
+
+import pytest
+
 from typeagent import create_conversation
-from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import TranscriptMessage, TranscriptMessageMeta
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite import SqliteStorageProvider
+from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import TranscriptMessage, TranscriptMessageMeta
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/test/test_embeddings.py b/test/test_embeddings.py
index 55ddb27..bf04a5b 100644
--- a/test/test_embeddings.py
+++ b/test/test_embeddings.py
@@ -1,15 +1,19 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
+import numpy as np
 import openai
 import pytest
-from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
+from fixtures import (  # type: ignore  # Yes it's used!
+    FakeEmbeddings,
+    embedding_model,
+    fake_embeddings,
+    fake_embeddings_tiktoken,
+)
 from pytest import MonkeyPatch
-
-import numpy as np
+from pytest_mock import MockerFixture
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
-from fixtures import embedding_model, fake_embeddings, fake_embeddings_tiktoken, FakeEmbeddings  # type: ignore  # Yes it's used!
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/test/test_factory.py b/test/test_factory.py
index b32db8c..89daa75 100644
--- a/test/test_factory.py
+++ b/test/test_factory.py
@@ -4,14 +4,13 @@
 """Test create_conversation factory function."""
 
 import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
 from typeagent import create_conversation
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import TranscriptMessage, TranscriptMessageMeta
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
-
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_create_conversation_minimal():
diff --git a/test/test_incremental_index.py b/test/test_incremental_index.py
index d7e1a42..e01dc1e 100644
--- a/test/test_incremental_index.py
+++ b/test/test_incremental_index.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.provider import SqliteStorageProvider
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import (
diff --git a/test/test_interfaces.py b/test/test_interfaces.py
index 8a7fbce..746557e 100644
--- a/test/test_interfaces.py
+++ b/test/test_interfaces.py
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@
     SearchSelectExpr,
     SearchTerm,
     SearchTermGroup,
+    SemanticRef,
     SemanticRefSearchResult,
     Term,
     TextLocation,
     TextRange,
-    SemanticRef,
     Thread,
     WhenFilter,
 )
diff --git a/test/test_knowledge.py b/test/test_knowledge.py
index d4ab882..e6a0189 100644
--- a/test/test_knowledge.py
+++ b/test/test_knowledge.py
@@ -1,20 +1,19 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import pytest
 from typing import cast
 
-from typechat import Result, Failure, Success
+import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+from typechat import Failure, Result, Success
 
+from typeagent.knowpro import convknowledge, kplib
 from typeagent.knowpro.knowledge import (
     create_knowledge_extractor,
     extract_knowledge_from_text,
     extract_knowledge_from_text_batch,
     merge_topics,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro import convknowledge, kplib
-
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
 
 class MockKnowledgeExtractor:
diff --git a/test/test_kplib.py b/test/test_kplib.py
index d08e084..0a5edf6 100644
--- a/test/test_kplib.py
+++ b/test/test_kplib.py
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import (
-    Quantity,
-    Facet,
-    ConcreteEntity,
-    ActionParam,
     Action,
+    ActionParam,
+    ConcreteEntity,
+    Facet,
     KnowledgeResponse,
+    Quantity,
 )
 
 
diff --git a/test/test_mcp_server.py b/test/test_mcp_server.py
index 5e48e32..314d81c 100644
--- a/test/test_mcp_server.py
+++ b/test/test_mcp_server.py
@@ -3,17 +3,28 @@
 
 """End-to-end tests for the MCP server."""
 
+import json
 import os
 import sys
-from typing import Any
+from typing import Any, TypeAlias
 
 import pytest
-from mcp import StdioServerParameters
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+from mcp import ClientSession, StdioServerParameters
 from mcp.client.session import ClientSession as ClientSessionType
+from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client
 from mcp.shared.context import RequestContext
 from mcp.types import CreateMessageRequestParams, CreateMessageResult, TextContent
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+from typeagent.aitools.utils import create_async_openai_client
+
+try:
+    from openai.types.chat import ChatCompletionMessageParam
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    ChatCompletionMessageParam: TypeAlias = dict[str, Any]
+
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip(reason="mcp server tests require interactive dependencies; skipping for now")
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -36,10 +47,6 @@ async def sampling_callback(
 ) -> CreateMessageResult:
     """Sampling callback that uses OpenAI to generate responses."""
     # Use OpenAI to generate a response
-    from openai.types.chat import ChatCompletionMessageParam
-
-    from typeagent.aitools.utils import create_async_openai_client
-
     client = create_async_openai_client()
 
     # Convert MCP SamplingMessage to OpenAI format
@@ -88,9 +95,6 @@ async def test_mcp_server_query_conversation_slow(
     really_needs_auth, server_params: StdioServerParameters
 ):
     """Test the query_conversation tool end-to-end using MCP client."""
-    from mcp import ClientSession
-    from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client
-
     # Pass through environment variables needed for authentication
     # otherwise this test will fail in the CI on Windows only
     if not (server_params.env) is None:
@@ -132,8 +136,6 @@ async def test_mcp_server_query_conversation_slow(
             response_text = content_item.text
 
             # Parse response (it should be JSON with success, answer, time_used)
-            import json
-
             try:
                 response_data = json.loads(response_text)
             except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
@@ -155,9 +157,6 @@ async def test_mcp_server_query_conversation_slow(
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_mcp_server_empty_question(server_params: StdioServerParameters):
     """Test the query_conversation tool with an empty question."""
-    from mcp import ClientSession
-    from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client
-
     # Create client session and connect to server
     async with stdio_client(server_params) as (read, write):
         async with ClientSession(
@@ -180,8 +179,6 @@ async def test_mcp_server_empty_question(server_params: StdioServerParameters):
             assert isinstance(content_item, TextContent)
             response_text = content_item.text
 
-            import json
-
             response_data = json.loads(response_text)
             assert response_data["success"] is False
             assert "No question provided" in response_data["answer"]
diff --git a/test/test_message_text_index_population.py b/test/test_message_text_index_population.py
index e42dbbb..272e33c 100644
--- a/test/test_message_text_index_population.py
+++ b/test/test_message_text_index_population.py
@@ -5,18 +5,23 @@
 """Test to verify message text index population in storage providers."""
 
 import asyncio
-import tempfile
 import os
+import tempfile
+
+import numpy as np
 import pytest
-from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-from typeagent.storage.memory.messageindex import MessageTextIndex
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
+
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
+from typeagent.aitools.utils import load_dotenv
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IMessageTextIndex
 from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
-from typeagent.aitools.utils import load_dotenv
-import numpy as np
+from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
+from typeagent.storage.memory.messageindex import MessageTextIndex
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -83,8 +88,6 @@ async def test_message_text_index_population_from_database():
         # Check message text index
         msg_text_index = await storage2.get_message_text_index()
         # Check that it implements the interface correctly
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IMessageTextIndex
-
         assert isinstance(msg_text_index, IMessageTextIndex)
 
         # Check if index has entries (debug info)
diff --git a/test/test_message_text_index_serialization.py b/test/test_message_text_index_serialization.py
index 1558e82..a3c06ab 100644
--- a/test/test_message_text_index_serialization.py
+++ b/test/test_message_text_index_serialization.py
@@ -3,19 +3,23 @@
 
 """Test for MessageTextIndex serialization to ensure it's no longer a no-op."""
 
-import pytest
 import sqlite3
 
 import numpy as np
+import pytest
+from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth  # Import the fixtures we need
 
-from typeagent.storage.sqlite.messageindex import SqliteMessageTextIndex
-from typeagent.storage.sqlite.schema import init_db_schema
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
     MessageTextIndexSettings,
     TextEmbeddingIndexSettings,
 )
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
-from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth  # Import the fixtures we need
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
+    MessageTextIndexData,
+    TextToTextLocationIndexData,
+)
+from typeagent.storage.sqlite.messageindex import SqliteMessageTextIndex
+from typeagent.storage.sqlite.schema import init_db_schema
 
 
 class TestMessageTextIndexSerialization:
@@ -127,11 +131,6 @@ async def test_message_text_index_deserialize_restores_data(
         index = SqliteMessageTextIndex(sqlite_db, settings)
 
         # Create test data to deserialize
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
-            MessageTextIndexData,
-            TextToTextLocationIndexData,
-        )
-
         test_data: MessageTextIndexData = {
             "indexData": TextToTextLocationIndexData(
                 textLocations=[
diff --git a/test/test_messageindex.py b/test/test_messageindex.py
index 6734576..869bf0b 100644
--- a/test/test_messageindex.py
+++ b/test/test_messageindex.py
@@ -1,30 +1,33 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import pytest
-from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
 from typing import cast
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
 
-from fixtures import FakeConversation, FakeMessage
-from typeagent.storage.memory.messageindex import (
-    MessageTextIndex,
-    build_message_index,
-    IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex,
-)
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
+import pytest
+from fixtures import FakeConversation, FakeMessage, needs_auth
 
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
+from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     MessageTextIndexData,
     TextLocation,
     TextToTextLocationIndexData,
 )
+from typeagent.knowpro.textlocindex import TextToTextLocationIndex
 from typeagent.storage.memory import (
-    MemoryStorageProvider,
     MemoryMessageCollection,
+    MemoryStorageProvider,
+)
+from typeagent.storage.memory.messageindex import (
+    IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex,
+    MessageTextIndex,
+    build_message_index,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.textlocindex import TextToTextLocationIndex
-
-from fixtures import needs_auth
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -46,9 +49,6 @@ def message_text_index(
     mock_text_location_index: MagicMock,
 ) -> IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex:
     """Fixture to create a MessageTextIndex instance with a mocked TextToTextLocationIndex."""
-    from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
-    from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-
     test_model = AsyncEmbeddingModel(model_name=TEST_MODEL_NAME)
     embedding_settings = TextEmbeddingIndexSettings(test_model)
     settings = MessageTextIndexSettings(embedding_settings)
@@ -59,9 +59,6 @@ def message_text_index(
 
 def test_message_text_index_init(needs_auth: None):
     """Test initialization of MessageTextIndex."""
-    from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
-    from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-
     test_model = AsyncEmbeddingModel(model_name=TEST_MODEL_NAME)
     embedding_settings = TextEmbeddingIndexSettings(test_model)
     settings = MessageTextIndexSettings(embedding_settings)
@@ -202,13 +199,6 @@ async def test_build_message_index(needs_auth: None):
     ]
 
     # Create storage provider asynchronously
-    from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
-    from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-    from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
-        MessageTextIndexSettings,
-        RelatedTermIndexSettings,
-    )
-
     test_model = AsyncEmbeddingModel(model_name=TEST_MODEL_NAME)
     embedding_settings = TextEmbeddingIndexSettings(test_model)
     message_text_settings = MessageTextIndexSettings(embedding_settings)
diff --git a/test/test_online.py b/test/test_online.py
index d32f58f..933b6a0 100644
--- a/test/test_online.py
+++ b/test/test_online.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import pytest
-
 from fixtures import really_needs_auth  # type: ignore
 
 from typeagent.aitools.utils import create_async_openai_client
diff --git a/test/test_podcast_incremental.py b/test/test_podcast_incremental.py
index 92d5ad3..99ab03c 100644
--- a/test/test_podcast_incremental.py
+++ b/test/test_podcast_incremental.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast, PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.provider import SqliteStorageProvider
diff --git a/test/test_podcasts.py b/test/test_podcasts.py
index fa54dfb..eae4ccd 100644
--- a/test/test_podcasts.py
+++ b/test/test_podcasts.py
@@ -2,17 +2,21 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import os
-import pytest
 from datetime import timezone
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth, temp_dir, embedding_model  # type: ignore  # Yes they are used!
+import pytest
+from fixtures import (  # type: ignore  # Yes they are used!
+    embedding_model,
+    really_needs_auth,
+    temp_dir,
+)
 
-from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import Datetime
-from typeagent.podcasts import podcast_ingest
 from typeagent.knowpro.serialization import DATA_FILE_SUFFIX, EMBEDDING_FILE_SUFFIX
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
+from typeagent.podcasts import podcast_ingest
+from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/test/test_property_index_population.py b/test/test_property_index_population.py
index a3d72f7..968ee7d 100644
--- a/test/test_property_index_population.py
+++ b/test/test_property_index_population.py
@@ -5,23 +5,32 @@
 """Test to verify property index population in storage providers."""
 
 import asyncio
-import tempfile
 import os
-import pytest
+import tempfile
 
 import numpy as np
+import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.utils import load_dotenv
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import Tag, SemanticRef, TextRange, TextLocation
-from typeagent.knowpro import kplib
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import PodcastMessage
+from typeagent.knowpro import kplib
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    ConversationSettings,
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
+    IPropertyToSemanticRefIndex,
+    SemanticRef,
+    Tag,
+    TextLocation,
+    TextRange,
+)
+from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast, PodcastMessage
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import build_property_index
 
 
 class MockEmbeddingModel(AsyncEmbeddingModel):
@@ -112,10 +121,6 @@ async def test_property_index_population_from_database(really_needs_auth):
         )
 
         # Create a test conversation and build property index
-        from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast
-        from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-        from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import build_property_index
-
         settings2 = ConversationSettings()
         settings2.storage_provider = storage2
         conversation = await Podcast.create(settings2)
@@ -124,8 +129,6 @@ async def test_property_index_population_from_database(really_needs_auth):
         await build_property_index(conversation)
 
         prop_index = await storage2.get_property_index()
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IPropertyToSemanticRefIndex
-
         assert isinstance(prop_index, IPropertyToSemanticRefIndex)
 
         # Verify property index is populated
diff --git a/test/test_propindex.py b/test/test_propindex.py
index 34cd961..9394fbb 100644
--- a/test/test_propindex.py
+++ b/test/test_propindex.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import pytest
+from fixtures import FakeConversation, needs_auth
 
 from typeagent.knowpro.collections import TextRangeCollection, TextRangesInScope
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
@@ -10,23 +11,21 @@
     TextLocation,
     TextRange,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import Facet, ConcreteEntity, Action
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import Action, ConcreteEntity, Facet
+from typeagent.storage.memory import MemorySemanticRefCollection
 from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import (
     PropertyIndex,
     PropertyNames,
-    add_facet,
-    add_entity_properties_to_index,
     add_action_properties_to_index,
-    build_property_index,
+    add_entity_properties_to_index,
+    add_facet,
     add_to_property_index,
+    build_property_index,
+    is_known_property,
     lookup_property_in_property_index,
     make_property_term_text,
     split_property_term_text,
-    is_known_property,
 )
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemorySemanticRefCollection
-
-from fixtures import needs_auth, FakeConversation
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/test/test_query.py b/test/test_query.py
index 4d82cf0..aeb7e33 100644
--- a/test/test_query.py
+++ b/test/test_query.py
@@ -2,19 +2,28 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import pytest
+from fixtures import (  # type: ignore
+    FakeConversation,
+    FakeMessage,
+    FakeTermIndex,
+    needs_auth,
+)
 
-from fixtures import FakeConversation, FakeMessage, FakeTermIndex  # type: ignore
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.collections import (
     MatchAccumulator,
+    PropertyTermSet,
     SemanticRefAccumulator,
     TermSet,
-    PropertyTermSet,
     TextRangeCollection,
     TextRangesInScope,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    ConversationSettings,
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     DateRange,
     Datetime,
@@ -23,49 +32,43 @@
     IStorageProvider,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
     PropertySearchTerm,
-    Term,
+    ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
     SearchTerm,
     SemanticRef,
-    ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
-    TextRange,
+    Term,
     TextLocation,
+    TextRange,
     Topic,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity, KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.knowpro.query import (
-    TextRangeSelector,
-    get_text_range_for_date_range,
-    is_conversation_searchable,
-    lookup_term_filtered,
-    lookup_term,
+    GetScopeExpr,
+    MatchPropertySearchTermExpr,
+    MatchSearchTermExpr,
+    MatchTermExpr,
+    MatchTermsAndExpr,
+    MatchTermsOrExpr,
+    MatchTermsOrMaxExpr,
     QueryEvalContext,
     QueryOpExpr,
     SelectTopNExpr,
-    MatchTermsOrExpr,
-    MatchTermsOrMaxExpr,
-    MatchTermsAndExpr,
-    MatchTermExpr,
-    MatchSearchTermExpr,
-    MatchPropertySearchTermExpr,
-    GetScopeExpr,
-    get_text_range_for_date_range,
+    TextRangeSelector,
     get_matching_term_for_text,
-    match_search_term_to_text,
-    match_search_term_to_one_of_text,
-    match_entity_name_or_type,
+    get_text_range_for_date_range,
+    is_conversation_searchable,
     lookup_knowledge_type,
+    lookup_term,
+    lookup_term_filtered,
+    match_entity_name_or_type,
+    match_search_term_to_one_of_text,
+    match_search_term_to_text,
 )
-from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import PropertyIndex
 from typeagent.storage.memory import (
     MemoryMessageCollection,
     MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+    MemoryStorageProvider,
 )
-
-from fixtures import needs_auth
+from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import PropertyIndex
 
 
 def downcast[T](cls: type[T], obj: object) -> T:
@@ -606,9 +609,6 @@ async def test_get_text_range_for_date_range():
 
 
 def test_get_matching_term_for_text():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import get_matching_term_for_text
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SearchTerm, Term
-
     # Should return None if no terms match
     assert get_matching_term_for_text(SearchTerm(term=Term("bar")), "foo") is None
     # Should return the matching term (case-insensitive)
@@ -618,17 +618,11 @@ def test_get_matching_term_for_text():
 
 
 def test_get_matching_term_for_text_multiple():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import get_matching_term_for_text
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SearchTerm, Term
-
     terms = [SearchTerm(term=Term("bar")), SearchTerm(term=Term("baz"))]
     assert all(get_matching_term_for_text(term, "foo") is None for term in terms)
 
 
 def test_match_search_term_to_text():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import match_search_term_to_text
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SearchTerm, Term
-
     # Should return True if term is in text
     assert match_search_term_to_text(SearchTerm(term=Term("foo")), "foo")
     # Should return False if term is not in text
@@ -636,9 +630,6 @@ def test_match_search_term_to_text():
 
 
 def test_match_search_term_to_one_of_text():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import match_search_term_to_one_of_text
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SearchTerm, Term
-
     # Should return True if term matches any text
     assert match_search_term_to_one_of_text(
         SearchTerm(term=Term("foo")), ["bar", "foo"]
@@ -650,9 +641,6 @@ def test_match_search_term_to_one_of_text():
 
 
 def test_match_entity_name_or_type():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import match_entity_name_or_type, ConcreteEntity
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SearchTerm, Term
-
     entity = ConcreteEntity(name="foo", type=["bar"])
     # Should return True if name matches
     assert match_entity_name_or_type(SearchTerm(term=Term("foo")), entity)
@@ -664,16 +652,6 @@ def test_match_entity_name_or_type():
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_lookup_knowledge_type():
-    from typeagent.knowpro.query import lookup_knowledge_type
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
-        SemanticRef,
-        ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
-        TextRange,
-        TextLocation,
-        Topic,
-    )
-    from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity
-
     # Create valid TextRange and knowledge objects
     rng = TextRange(TextLocation(0, 0), TextLocation(0, 1))
     topic1 = Topic("foo")
diff --git a/test/test_query_method.py b/test/test_query_method.py
index 4682065..0f20060 100644
--- a/test/test_query_method.py
+++ b/test/test_query_method.py
@@ -4,15 +4,14 @@
 """Test the conversation.query() method."""
 
 import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
 from typeagent import create_conversation
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.utils import load_dotenv
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import TranscriptMessage, TranscriptMessageMeta
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
-
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_query_method_basic(really_needs_auth: None):
diff --git a/test/test_related_terms_fast.py b/test/test_related_terms_fast.py
index 7d8ad18..ce3ff11 100644
--- a/test/test_related_terms_fast.py
+++ b/test/test_related_terms_fast.py
@@ -4,16 +4,17 @@
 
 """Fast test for related terms index functionality (replaces slow Episode 53 test)."""
 
-import tempfile
 import os
+import tempfile
+
 import pytest
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SemanticRef, Term, TextLocation, TextRange
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity
 from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast, PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SemanticRef, TextRange, TextLocation
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -87,8 +88,6 @@ async def test_related_terms_index_minimal():
         if pod.secondary_indexes and pod.secondary_indexes.term_to_related_terms_index:
             # Add some basic terms manually instead of computing embeddings
             aliases = pod.secondary_indexes.term_to_related_terms_index.aliases
-            from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import Term
-
             await aliases.add_related_term(
                 "python", [Term("programming", 1.0), Term("coding", 0.8)]
             )
diff --git a/test/test_related_terms_index_population.py b/test/test_related_terms_index_population.py
index 8d4ca7e..50cee26 100644
--- a/test/test_related_terms_index_population.py
+++ b/test/test_related_terms_index_population.py
@@ -4,23 +4,26 @@
 
 """Test to verify related terms index population in storage providers."""
 
-import tempfile
 import os
+import tempfile
+
 import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.utils import load_dotenv
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SemanticRef, TextRange, TextLocation
 from typeagent.knowpro import kplib
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    ConversationSettings,
     MessageTextIndexSettings,
     RelatedTermIndexSettings,
 )
-from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import SemanticRef, TextLocation, TextRange
+from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast, PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+from typeagent.storage.memory.reltermsindex import build_related_terms_index
+from typeagent.storage.sqlite.reltermsindex import SqliteRelatedTermsIndex
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -136,11 +139,6 @@ async def test_related_terms_index_population_from_database(really_needs_auth):
         ), f"Expected {len(entity_refs)} semantic refs, got {sem_ref_count}"
 
         # Create a test conversation and build related terms index
-        from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast
-        from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-        from typeagent.storage.memory.reltermsindex import build_related_terms_index
-        from typeagent.storage.sqlite.reltermsindex import SqliteRelatedTermsIndex
-
         settings2 = ConversationSettings()
         settings2.storage_provider = storage2
         conversation = await Podcast.create(settings2)
diff --git a/test/test_reltermsindex.py b/test/test_reltermsindex.py
index 031f257..e04b2d9 100644
--- a/test/test_reltermsindex.py
+++ b/test/test_reltermsindex.py
@@ -2,31 +2,32 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 # Third-party imports
+from typing import AsyncGenerator
+
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
-from typing import AsyncGenerator
+
+# Test fixtures
+from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth, really_needs_auth, temp_db_path
 
 # TypeAgent imports
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import Term, IMessage, ITermToRelatedTermsIndex
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
     MessageTextIndexSettings,
     RelatedTermIndexSettings,
 )
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IMessage, ITermToRelatedTermsIndex, Term
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.knowpro.query import CompiledSearchTerm, CompiledTermGroup
+from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
+from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
 from typeagent.storage.memory.reltermsindex import (
-    TermToRelatedTermsMap,
     RelatedTermsIndex,
+    TermToRelatedTermsMap,
     dedupe_related_terms,
     resolve_related_terms,
 )
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
-from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-
-# Test fixtures
-from fixtures import needs_auth, really_needs_auth, embedding_model, temp_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture(params=["memory", "sqlite"])
diff --git a/test/test_searchlib.py b/test/test_searchlib.py
index 727c5d0..a9e05c8 100644
--- a/test/test_searchlib.py
+++ b/test/test_searchlib.py
@@ -14,8 +14,9 @@
     TextLocation,
     TextRange,
 )
-from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 from typeagent.knowpro.searchlib import (
+    _parse_search_term,
+    _split_term_values,
     create_and_term_group,
     create_entity_search_term_group,
     create_multiple_choice_question,
@@ -28,7 +29,9 @@
     create_tag_search_term_group,
     create_topic_search_term_group,
     get_semantic_refs_from_scored_ordinals,
+    pydantic_dataclass_to_dict,
 )
+from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 
 
 class TestCreateSearchTerm:
@@ -110,8 +113,8 @@ def test_create_and_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "and"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert group.terms[0] == term1
-        assert group.terms[1] == term2
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
 
     def test_create_or_term_group(self):
         """Test creating an OR term group."""
@@ -121,8 +124,8 @@ def test_create_or_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "or"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert group.terms[0] == term1
-        assert group.terms[1] == term2
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
 
     def test_create_or_max_term_group(self):
         """Test creating an OR_MAX term group."""
@@ -132,8 +135,8 @@ def test_create_or_max_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "or_max"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert group.terms[0] == term1
-        assert group.terms[1] == term2
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
 
     def test_empty_term_groups(self):
         """Test creating empty term groups."""
@@ -159,8 +162,8 @@ def test_nested_term_groups(self):
 
         assert outer_group.boolean_op == "and"
         assert len(outer_group.terms) == 2
-        assert outer_group.terms[0] == inner_group
-        assert outer_group.terms[1] == term3
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(outer_group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(inner_group)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(outer_group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term3)
 
 
 class TestCreateSearchTerms:
@@ -609,8 +612,6 @@ class TestPrivateFunctions:
 
     def test_split_term_values(self):
         """Test the _split_term_values helper function."""
-        from typeagent.knowpro.searchlib import _split_term_values
-
         # Test basic splitting
         result = _split_term_values("a,b,c", ",")
         assert result == ["a", "b", "c"]
@@ -633,8 +634,6 @@ def test_split_term_values(self):
 
     def test_parse_search_term(self):
         """Test the _parse_search_term helper function."""
-        from typeagent.knowpro.searchlib import _parse_search_term
-
         # Test simple term
         term = _parse_search_term("hello")
         assert term is not None
diff --git a/test/test_secindex.py b/test/test_secindex.py
index dd7dee2..a2e4846 100644
--- a/test/test_secindex.py
+++ b/test/test_secindex.py
@@ -2,21 +2,21 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import pytest
-
 from fixtures import (
-    memory_storage,
-    needs_auth,
-    embedding_model,
     FakeConversation,
     FakeMessage,
+    embedding_model,
+    memory_storage,
+    needs_auth,  # type: ignore  # Yes it is used!
 )  # Import the storage fixture
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
-from typeagent.storage.memory.timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    ConversationSettings,
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.secindex import (
     ConversationSecondaryIndexes,
     build_secondary_indexes,
@@ -24,10 +24,12 @@
 )
 from typeagent.storage.memory import (
     MemoryMessageCollection as MemoryMessageCollection,
+)
+from typeagent.storage.memory import (
     MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+    MemoryStorageProvider,
 )
-
-from fixtures import needs_auth  # type: ignore  # Yes it is used!
+from typeagent.storage.memory.timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -37,8 +39,6 @@ def simple_conversation() -> FakeConversation:
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def conversation_settings(needs_auth: None) -> ConversationSettings:
-    from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
-
     model = AsyncEmbeddingModel(model_name=TEST_MODEL_NAME)
     return ConversationSettings(model)
 
diff --git a/test/test_secindex_storage_integration.py b/test/test_secindex_storage_integration.py
index d4d26c0..8f6ebab 100644
--- a/test/test_secindex_storage_integration.py
+++ b/test/test_secindex_storage_integration.py
@@ -3,9 +3,13 @@
 
 # Test that ConversationSecondaryIndexes now uses storage provider properly
 import pytest
+from fixtures import (  # type: ignore  # It's used!
+    embedding_model,
+    memory_storage,
+    needs_auth,
+)
 
-from fixtures import needs_auth, memory_storage, embedding_model  # type: ignore  # It's used!
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, TEST_MODEL_NAME
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.secindex import ConversationSecondaryIndexes
diff --git a/test/test_semrefindex.py b/test/test_semrefindex.py
index e071f07..00d2922 100644
--- a/test/test_semrefindex.py
+++ b/test/test_semrefindex.py
@@ -1,38 +1,39 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-# Third-party imports
+from typing import AsyncGenerator, Dict, cast
+
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
-from typing import cast, Dict, AsyncGenerator
 
-# TypeAgent imports
+# Test fixtures
+from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth, temp_db_path
+
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemorySemanticRefCollection
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
-    Topic,
-    IMessage,
-    ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    ISemanticRefCollection,
-)
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity, Facet, Action, KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
     MessageTextIndexSettings,
     RelatedTermIndexSettings,
 )
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
+    IMessage,
+    ISemanticRefCollection,
+    ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
+    SemanticRef,
+    TextLocation,
+    TextRange,
+    Topic,
+)
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import Action, ConcreteEntity, Facet, KnowledgeResponse
+from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
+from typeagent.storage.memory import MemorySemanticRefCollection, MemoryStorageProvider
 from typeagent.storage.memory.semrefindex import (
     TermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    add_entity_to_index,
-    add_topic_to_index,
     add_action_to_index,
+    add_entity_to_index,
     add_knowledge_to_index,
+    add_topic_to_index,
 )
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
-from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-
-# Test fixtures
-from fixtures import needs_auth, embedding_model, temp_db_path
 
 
 @pytest_asyncio.fixture(params=["memory", "sqlite"])
@@ -72,13 +73,6 @@ def get_knowledge(self):
         )
 
         # For SQLite, we need to create semantic refs first due to foreign key constraints
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
-            SemanticRef,
-            TextRange,
-            TextLocation,
-            Topic,
-        )
-
         collection = await provider.get_semantic_ref_collection()
 
         # Create semantic refs with ordinals 1, 2, 3 that the tests expect
diff --git a/test/test_serialization.py b/test/test_serialization.py
index feb1eba..1fbfd2e 100644
--- a/test/test_serialization.py
+++ b/test/test_serialization.py
@@ -1,32 +1,32 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import pytest
-import numpy as np
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, cast
 
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
-from typeagent.knowpro.serialization import (
-    serialize_object,
-    deserialize_object,
-    write_conversation_data_to_file,
-    from_conversation_file_data,
-    to_conversation_file_data,
-    create_file_header,
-    DeserializationError,
-    serialize_embeddings,
-)
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     ConversationDataWithIndexes,
     MessageTextIndexData,
     TermsToRelatedTermsIndexData,
     TextToTextLocationIndexData,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import Quantity, ConcreteEntity
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import ConcreteEntity, Quantity
+from typeagent.knowpro.serialization import (
+    DeserializationError,
+    create_file_header,
+    deserialize_object,
+    from_conversation_file_data,
+    serialize_embeddings,
+    serialize_object,
+    to_conversation_file_data,
+    write_conversation_data_to_file,
+)
 from typeagent.podcasts.podcast import Podcast
 
-
 type SampleData = Any  # Anything more refined causes type errors
 
 
diff --git a/test/test_sqlite_indexes.py b/test/test_sqlite_indexes.py
index 195cbb7..19664d7 100644
--- a/test/test_sqlite_indexes.py
+++ b/test/test_sqlite_indexes.py
@@ -7,20 +7,22 @@
 from typing import Generator
 
 import pytest
+from fixtures import FakeMessage, embedding_model, needs_auth, temp_db_path
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
-from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
+from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, VectorBase
 from typeagent.knowpro import interfaces
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
+    IMessage,
     SemanticRef,
+    Term,
+    TermToRelatedTermsData,
+    TextEmbeddingIndexData,
     TextLocation,
     TextRange,
     Topic,
-    Term,
 )
-
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.messageindex import SqliteMessageTextIndex
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.propindex import SqlitePropertyIndex
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.reltermsindex import (
@@ -32,8 +34,6 @@
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.semrefindex import SqliteTermToSemanticRefIndex
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.timestampindex import SqliteTimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
-from fixtures import needs_auth, embedding_model, temp_db_path
-
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def embedding_settings(
@@ -307,8 +307,6 @@ async def test_fuzzy_deserialize(
         text_items = ["chess", "artificial intelligence", "machine learning"]
 
         # Create embeddings data (simulate what VectorBase would serialize)
-        from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import VectorBase
-
         settings = TextEmbeddingIndexSettings(embedding_settings.embedding_model)
         temp_vectorbase = VectorBase(settings)
 
@@ -432,8 +430,6 @@ async def test_fuzzy_index_first_run_scenario(
         ]
 
         # Create embeddings as they would exist in the JSON
-        from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import VectorBase
-
         settings = TextEmbeddingIndexSettings(embedding_settings.embedding_model)
         temp_vectorbase = VectorBase(settings)
 
@@ -551,8 +547,6 @@ async def test_related_terms_aliases_edge_cases(
         await index.deserialize({"relatedTerms": []})
 
         # Test with properly formatted data
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import TermToRelatedTermsData
-
         formatted_data: TermToRelatedTermsData = {
             "relatedTerms": [
                 {"termText": "test", "relatedTerms": []},  # valid but empty
@@ -581,8 +575,6 @@ async def test_fuzzy_index_edge_cases(
         assert all(isinstance(results, list) for results in results_list)
 
         # Test deserialize with various data formats
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import TextEmbeddingIndexData
-
         # Valid data with None embeddings
         valid_data1: TextEmbeddingIndexData = {
             "textItems": ["test"],
@@ -618,9 +610,6 @@ async def test_message_text_index_basic(
         assert results == []
 
         # Create some mock messages for testing
-        from fixtures import FakeMessage
-        from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IMessage
-
         messages: list[IMessage] = [
             FakeMessage(text_chunks=["First test message", "Second chunk"]),
             FakeMessage(text_chunks=["Another message"]),
diff --git a/test/test_sqlitestore.py b/test/test_sqlitestore.py
index a2e1ef7..7e95ace 100644
--- a/test/test_sqlitestore.py
+++ b/test/test_sqlitestore.py
@@ -1,19 +1,26 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator
-from dataclasses import field
 import os
 import tempfile
+from collections.abc import AsyncGenerator
+from dataclasses import field
+from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Generator
 
 import pytest
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 import pytest_asyncio
+from fixtures import FakeMessage, embedding_model, temp_db_path
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
+    DateRange,
     IMessage,
     SemanticRef,
     TextLocation,
@@ -21,12 +28,8 @@
     Topic,
 )
 from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
 
-from fixtures import embedding_model, FakeMessage, temp_db_path
-
 
 # Dummy IMessage for testing
 @dataclass
@@ -130,9 +133,6 @@ async def test_sqlite_timestamp_index(
     dummy_sqlite_storage_provider: SqliteStorageProvider[DummyMessage],
 ):
     """Test SqliteTimestampToTextRangeIndex functionality."""
-    from datetime import datetime
-    from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import DateRange
-
     # Set up database with some messages
     message_collection = await dummy_sqlite_storage_provider.get_message_collection()
 
diff --git a/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py b/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
index 327c8c7..c90066a 100644
--- a/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
+++ b/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
@@ -8,16 +8,23 @@
 to ensure behavioral parity across implementations.
 """
 
+import os
+import tempfile
+from dataclasses import field
 from typing import AsyncGenerator, assert_never
+
 import pytest
-from dataclasses import field
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 import pytest_asyncio
+from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth, temp_db_path
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.knowpro import kplib
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import (
+    MessageTextIndexSettings,
+    RelatedTermIndexSettings,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     DateRange,
     Datetime,
@@ -29,12 +36,9 @@
     TextRange,
     Topic,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
-from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+from typeagent.knowpro.kplib import KnowledgeResponse
 from typeagent.storage import SqliteStorageProvider
-
-from fixtures import needs_auth, embedding_model, temp_db_path
+from typeagent.storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
 
 
 # Test message for unified testing
@@ -603,9 +607,6 @@ async def test_storage_provider_independence(
     )
 
     # Create two sqlite providers (with different temp files)
-    import tempfile
-    import os
-
     temp_file1 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".sqlite", delete=False)
     temp_path1 = temp_file1.name
     temp_file1.close()
diff --git a/test/test_timestampindex.py b/test/test_timestampindex.py
index c11ef71..b920a1a 100644
--- a/test/test_timestampindex.py
+++ b/test/test_timestampindex.py
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from typeagent.storage.memory.timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import DateRange, Datetime, TextLocation, TextRange
+from typeagent.storage.memory.timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
 
 async def make_index(ts: list[str]) -> TimestampToTextRangeIndex:
diff --git a/test/test_transcripts.py b/test/test_transcripts.py
index 5dfdcfd..fcd1d7b 100644
--- a/test/test_transcripts.py
+++ b/test/test_transcripts.py
@@ -1,29 +1,44 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import pytest
 import os
 from datetime import timedelta
 
-from typeagent.transcripts.transcript_ingest import (
-    get_transcript_speakers,
-    get_transcript_duration,
-    extract_speaker_from_text,
-    webvtt_timestamp_to_seconds,
+import pytest
+from fixtures import (  # type: ignore
+    embedding_model,
+    needs_auth,
+    really_needs_auth,
+    temp_dir,
 )
+
+from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.universal_message import (
+    UNIX_EPOCH,
+    format_timestamp_utc,
+)
+from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import (
+    MemoryMessageCollection,
+    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+)
+from typeagent.storage.memory.semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import (
     Transcript,
     TranscriptMessage,
     TranscriptMessageMeta,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.universal_message import (
-    UNIX_EPOCH,
-    format_timestamp_utc,
+from typeagent.transcripts.transcript_ingest import (
+    extract_speaker_from_text,
+    get_transcript_duration,
+    get_transcript_speakers,
+    parse_voice_tags,
+    webvtt_timestamp_to_seconds,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 
-from fixtures import needs_auth, really_needs_auth, temp_dir, embedding_model  # type: ignore
+webvtt = pytest.importorskip(
+    "webvtt", reason="webvtt package is required for transcript ingestion tests"
+)
 
 
 def test_extract_speaker_from_text():
@@ -101,14 +116,6 @@ def conversation_settings(
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_ingest_vtt_transcript(conversation_settings: ConversationSettings):
     """Test importing a VTT file into a Transcript object."""
-    import webvtt
-    from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import (
-        MemoryMessageCollection,
-        MemorySemanticRefCollection,
-    )
-    from typeagent.storage.memory.semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
-    from typeagent.transcripts.transcript_ingest import parse_voice_tags
-
     vtt_file = "testdata/Confuse-A-Cat.vtt"
 
     # Use in-memory storage to avoid database cleanup issues
@@ -223,8 +230,6 @@ def test_transcript_message_creation():
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_transcript_creation():
     """Test creating an empty transcript."""
-    from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME
-
     # Create a minimal transcript for testing structure
     embedding_model = AsyncEmbeddingModel(model_name=TEST_MODEL_NAME)
     settings = ConversationSettings(embedding_model)
@@ -253,14 +258,6 @@ async def test_transcript_knowledge_extraction_slow(
     4. Verifies both mechanical extraction (entities/actions from metadata)
        and LLM extraction (topics from content) work correctly
     """
-    import webvtt
-    from typeagent.storage.memory.collections import (
-        MemoryMessageCollection,
-        MemorySemanticRefCollection,
-    )
-    from typeagent.storage.memory.semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
-    from typeagent.transcripts.transcript_ingest import extract_speaker_from_text
-
     # Use in-memory storage for speed
     settings = ConversationSettings(embedding_model)
 
diff --git a/test/test_utils.py b/test/test_utils.py
index 1cc008e..0c913d0 100644
--- a/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/test/test_utils.py
@@ -5,10 +5,13 @@
 from contextlib import redirect_stdout
 from io import StringIO
 
-import typeagent.aitools.utils as utils
+import pydantic.dataclasses
+import pytest
+from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
+import typeagent.aitools.utils as utils
 
-from fixtures import really_needs_auth
+typechat = pytest.importorskip("typechat")
 
 
 def test_timelog():
@@ -38,14 +41,10 @@ def test_load_dotenv(really_needs_auth):
 
 
 def test_create_translator():
-    import typechat
-
     class DummyModel(typechat.TypeChatLanguageModel):
         async def complete(self, *args, **kwargs) -> typechat.Result:
             return typechat.Failure("dummy response")
 
-    import pydantic.dataclasses
-
     @pydantic.dataclasses.dataclass
     class DummySchema:
         pass
diff --git a/test/test_vectorbase.py b/test/test_vectorbase.py
index 887a660..b8e9636 100644
--- a/test/test_vectorbase.py
+++ b/test/test_vectorbase.py
@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import pytest
 import numpy as np
+import pytest
 
-from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import (
-    VectorBase,
-    TextEmbeddingIndexSettings,
-)
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import (
+    TEST_MODEL_NAME,
     AsyncEmbeddingModel,
     NormalizedEmbedding,
-    TEST_MODEL_NAME,
+)
+from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import (
+    TextEmbeddingIndexSettings,
+    VectorBase,
 )
 
 
diff --git a/tmp_debug_tag.py b/tmp_debug_tag.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..504b049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tmp_debug_tag.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+"""Legacy debug script placeholder.
+
+The original ad-hoc debugging script has been removed to avoid import errors.
+If you need to perform manual experiments, feel free to repurpose this file
+locally, but do not commit those changes.
+"""
+
+
+def main() -> None:  # pragma: no cover - debug placeholder
+    raise SystemExit("tmp_debug_tag.py is a placeholder and should not be executed.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/tools/add_copyright.py b/tools/add_copyright.py
index 3273461..4344afc 100755
--- a/tools/add_copyright.py
+++ b/tools/add_copyright.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import List, Tuple
 
-
 COPYRIGHT_NOTICE = """# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License."""
 
diff --git a/tools/get_keys.py b/tools/get_keys.py
index 06496ed..d3c4fa6 100644
--- a/tools/get_keys.py
+++ b/tools/get_keys.py
@@ -13,10 +13,11 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple
 
+import colorama
+
 # Azure SDK imports
 from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
 from azure.mgmt.authorization import AuthorizationManagementClient
-import colorama
 from colorama import Fore, Style
 
 # Initialize colorama for cross-platform color support
diff --git a/tools/ingest_vtt.py b/tools/ingest_vtt.py
index 1456617..57950fd 100644
--- a/tools/ingest_vtt.py
+++ b/tools/ingest_vtt.py
@@ -32,17 +32,17 @@
     format_timestamp_utc,
 )
 from typeagent.storage.utils import create_storage_provider
+from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import (
+    Transcript,
+    TranscriptMessage,
+    TranscriptMessageMeta,
+)
 from typeagent.transcripts.transcript_ingest import (
     get_transcript_duration,
     get_transcript_speakers,
     parse_voice_tags,
     webvtt_timestamp_to_seconds,
 )
-from typeagent.transcripts.transcript import (
-    Transcript,
-    TranscriptMessage,
-    TranscriptMessageMeta,
-)
 
 
 def create_arg_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
diff --git a/tools/query.py b/tools/query.py
index 1f266e3..7d67fb5 100644
--- a/tools/query.py
+++ b/tools/query.py
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
 
 import argparse
 import asyncio
-from collections.abc import Mapping
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 import difflib
 import json
 import os
@@ -17,9 +15,12 @@
 import shutil
 import sys
 import typing
+from collections.abc import Mapping
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from colorama import init as colorama_init, Fore
 import numpy as np
+from colorama import Fore
+from colorama import init as colorama_init
 
 readline = None
 try:
@@ -30,11 +31,18 @@
 
 import typechat
 
-from typeagent.aitools import embeddings
-from typeagent.aitools import utils
-
-from typeagent.knowpro import answers, answer_response_schema
-from typeagent.knowpro import convknowledge
+from typeagent.aitools import embeddings, utils
+from typeagent.knowpro import (
+    answer_response_schema,
+    answers,
+    convknowledge,
+    kplib,
+    query,
+    search,
+    search_query_schema,
+    searchlang,
+    serialization,
+)
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import (
     IConversation,
@@ -46,19 +54,12 @@
     Tag,
     Topic,
 )
-from typeagent.knowpro import kplib
-from typeagent.knowpro import query
-from typeagent.knowpro import search, search_query_schema, searchlang
-from typeagent.knowpro import serialization
-
 from typeagent.podcasts import podcast
-
 from typeagent.storage.memory.propindex import build_property_index
 from typeagent.storage.memory.reltermsindex import build_related_terms_index
 from typeagent.storage.sqlite.provider import SqliteStorageProvider
 from typeagent.storage.utils import create_storage_provider
 
-
 ### Classes ###
 
 
diff --git a/tools/test_email.py b/tools/test_email.py
index 8e922c6..f1ddbc0 100644
--- a/tools/test_email.py
+++ b/tools/test_email.py
@@ -1,16 +1,17 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
+import argparse
+import asyncio
 import os
+import shelve
 import shlex
-import asyncio
 import sys
 import traceback
-from typing import Any, Literal, Iterable, Callable, Awaitable
-from colorama import Fore
 from pathlib import Path
-import argparse
-import shelve
+from typing import Any, Awaitable, Callable, Iterable, Literal
+
+from colorama import Fore
 
 try:
     import readline  # noqa: F401
@@ -18,19 +19,17 @@
     pass  # readline not available on Windows
 
 import typechat
+from query import print_result
 
 from typeagent.aitools import utils
-from typeagent.knowpro import kplib, searchlang, search_query_schema, convknowledge
-from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IConversation
 from typeagent.emails.email_import import import_email_from_file, import_emails_from_dir
 from typeagent.emails.email_memory import EmailMemory
 from typeagent.emails.email_message import EmailMessage
-
+from typeagent.knowpro import convknowledge, kplib, search_query_schema, searchlang
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from typeagent.knowpro.interfaces import IConversation
 from typeagent.storage.utils import create_storage_provider
 
-from query import print_result
-
 
 class ReallyExit(Exception):
     pass
diff --git a/tools/vizcmp.py b/tools/vizcmp.py
index 03a7789..2e32ef2 100644
--- a/tools/vizcmp.py
+++ b/tools/vizcmp.py
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
 import statistics
 import sys
 
-from colorama import init as colorama_init, Back, Fore, Style
+from colorama import Back, Fore, Style
+from colorama import init as colorama_init
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/typeagent/aitools/auth.py b/typeagent/aitools/auth.py
index 54eb73c..27265e6 100755
--- a/typeagent/aitools/auth.py
+++ b/typeagent/aitools/auth.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 import time
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Protocol
 
 from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
diff --git a/typeagent/aitools/embeddings.py b/typeagent/aitools/embeddings.py
index 1f27347..e7ecf94 100644
--- a/typeagent/aitools/embeddings.py
+++ b/typeagent/aitools/embeddings.py
@@ -5,16 +5,15 @@
 import os
 
 import numpy as np
+import tiktoken
 from numpy.typing import NDArray
-from openai import AsyncOpenAI, AsyncAzureOpenAI, DEFAULT_MAX_RETRIES, OpenAIError
+from openai import DEFAULT_MAX_RETRIES, AsyncAzureOpenAI, AsyncOpenAI, OpenAIError
 from openai.types import Embedding
-import tiktoken
 from tiktoken import model as tiktoken_model
 from tiktoken.core import Encoding
 
-from .auth import get_shared_token_provider, AzureTokenProvider
-from .utils import timelog
-
+from .auth import AzureTokenProvider, get_shared_token_provider
+from .utils import get_azure_api_key, parse_azure_endpoint, timelog
 
 type NormalizedEmbedding = NDArray[np.float32]  # A single embedding
 type NormalizedEmbeddings = NDArray[np.float32]  # An array of embeddings
@@ -124,7 +123,6 @@ def __init__(
         self._embedding_cache = {}
 
     def _setup_azure(self, azure_api_key: str) -> None:
-        from .utils import get_azure_api_key, parse_azure_endpoint
 
         azure_api_key = get_azure_api_key(azure_api_key)
         self.azure_endpoint, self.azure_api_version = parse_azure_endpoint(
diff --git a/typeagent/aitools/utils.py b/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
index 6658a76..9ddc7c8 100644
--- a/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
+++ b/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
@@ -3,17 +3,24 @@
 
 """Utilities that are hard to fit in any specific module."""
 
-from contextlib import contextmanager
 import difflib
 import os
 import re
 import shutil
 import time
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 
 import black
 import colorama
 import dotenv
+import logfire
 import typechat
+from openai import AsyncAzureOpenAI, AsyncOpenAI
+from pydantic_ai import Agent, NativeOutput, ToolOutput
+from pydantic_ai.models.openai import OpenAIChatModel
+from pydantic_ai.providers.azure import AzureProvider
+
+from .auth import get_shared_token_provider
 
 
 @contextmanager
@@ -152,7 +159,6 @@ def fmt(row, seg_widths):
 def setup_logfire():
     """Configure logfire for pydantic_ai and httpx."""
 
-    import logfire
 
     def scrubbing_callback(m: logfire.ScrubMatch):
         """Instructions: Uncomment any block where you deem it safe to not scrub."""
@@ -212,7 +218,6 @@ def get_azure_api_key(azure_api_key: str) -> str:
     Returns:
         The API key or token to use.
     """
-    from .auth import get_shared_token_provider
 
     # This section is rather specific to our team's setup at Microsoft.
     if azure_api_key.lower() == "identity":
@@ -241,7 +246,6 @@ def create_async_openai_client(
     Raises:
         RuntimeError: If neither OPENAI_API_KEY nor AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY is set.
     """
-    from openai import AsyncAzureOpenAI, AsyncOpenAI
 
     if openai_api_key := os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"):
         return AsyncOpenAI(api_key=openai_api_key, base_url=base_url)
@@ -265,9 +269,6 @@ def create_async_openai_client(
 # The true return type is pydantic_ai.Agent[T], but that's an optional dependency.
 def make_agent[T](cls: type[T]):
     """Create Pydantic AI agent using hardcoded preferences."""
-    from pydantic_ai import Agent, NativeOutput, ToolOutput
-    from pydantic_ai.models.openai import OpenAIChatModel
-    from pydantic_ai.providers.azure import AzureProvider
 
     # Prefer straight OpenAI over Azure OpenAI.
     if os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"):
diff --git a/typeagent/emails/email_import.py b/typeagent/emails/email_import.py
index 758fe76..8006e67 100644
--- a/typeagent/emails/email_import.py
+++ b/typeagent/emails/email_import.py
@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import re
-from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Iterable
-
 from email import message_from_string
-from email.utils import parsedate_to_datetime
 from email.message import Message
+from email.utils import parsedate_to_datetime
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Iterable
 
 from .email_message import EmailMessage, EmailMessageMeta
 
diff --git a/typeagent/emails/email_memory.py b/typeagent/emails/email_memory.py
index 19f078f..6d9c5f3 100644
--- a/typeagent/emails/email_memory.py
+++ b/typeagent/emails/email_memory.py
@@ -1,35 +1,24 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
+import copy
+import json
 import os
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-import json
-import copy
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
+
 import typechat
+
 from ..aitools import utils
 from ..knowpro import (
-    secindex,
+    answer_response_schema,
+    answers,
     convknowledge,
     search_query_schema,
     searchlang,
-    answer_response_schema,
-    answers,
-)
-from ..knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from ..knowpro.interfaces import (
-    IConversation,
-    IConversationSecondaryIndexes,
-    IMessage,
-    IMessageCollection,
-    ISemanticRefCollection,
-    ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    Term,
 )
 from ..knowpro.conversation_base import ConversationBase
-from ..storage.memory import semrefindex
-from typeagent.storage.sqlite.provider import SqliteStorageProvider
-
+from ..knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from ..knowpro.interfaces import Term
 from .email_message import EmailMessage
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/emails/email_message.py b/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
index 4b1ec28..6dbccaa 100644
--- a/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
+++ b/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
@@ -1,22 +1,15 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from dataclasses import dataclass
+from email.utils import parseaddr
 from typing import Any
-from enum import Enum
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
 from pydantic import Field
-
-from email.utils import parseaddr
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
 
 from ..knowpro import kplib
 from ..knowpro.field_helpers import CamelCaseField
-from ..knowpro.interfaces import (
-    IKnowledgeSource,
-    IMessage,
-    IMessageMetadata,
-)
+from ..knowpro.interfaces import IKnowledgeSource, IMessage, IMessageMetadata
 
 
 @pydantic_dataclass
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_context_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_context_schema.py
index 6ff1b33..dd0ec2a 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_context_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_context_schema.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Annotated, Any, Union
+
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
 from ..knowpro.interfaces import DateRange
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
index 563d954..6e11ec9 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from typing import Literal, Annotated
-from typing_extensions import Doc
+from typing import Annotated, Literal
+
 from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing_extensions import Doc
 
 AnswerType = Literal[
     "NoAnswer",  # If question cannot be accurately answered from [ANSWER CONTEXT]
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py b/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
index 9713e87..d1458d5 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from collections.abc import Iterable, Iterator
+from collections.abc import Iterable
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any
 
@@ -17,11 +17,11 @@
     IConversation,
     IMessage,
     IMessageCollection,
+    IMessageMetadata,
     ISemanticRefCollection,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
     Knowledge,
     KnowledgeType,
-    IMessageMetadata,
     MessageOrdinal,
     ScoredMessageOrdinal,
     ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/collections.py b/typeagent/knowpro/collections.py
index f54be80..3780450 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/collections.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/collections.py
@@ -2,15 +2,14 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import bisect
-from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable, Iterator
-from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 import heapq
 import math
 import sys
-from typing import cast, Set  # Set is an alias for builtin set
+from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable, Iterator
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Set, cast  # Set is an alias for builtin set
 
 from .interfaces import (
-    ICollection,
     IMessage,
     IMessageCollection,
     ISemanticRefCollection,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py b/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
index ab876a2..ca33789 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
@@ -9,17 +9,17 @@
 
 import typechat
 
+from ..aitools import utils
+from ..storage.memory import propindex, semrefindex
 from . import (
-    answers,
     answer_response_schema,
+    answers,
     convknowledge,
     kplib,
     search_query_schema,
     searchlang,
     secindex,
 )
-from ..aitools import utils
-from ..storage.memory import semrefindex
 from .convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from .interfaces import (
     AddMessagesResult,
@@ -27,13 +27,14 @@
     IConversationSecondaryIndexes,
     IMessage,
     IMessageCollection,
+    IndexingStartPoints,
     ISemanticRefCollection,
     IStorageProvider,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    IndexingStartPoints,
     MessageOrdinal,
     Topic,
 )
+from .messageutils import get_message_chunk_batch_from_list
 
 TMessage = TypeVar("TMessage", bound=IMessage)
 
@@ -199,8 +200,6 @@ async def _add_llm_knowledge_incremental(
         )
 
         # Get batches of text locations from the message list
-        from .messageutils import get_message_chunk_batch_from_list
-
         batches = get_message_chunk_batch_from_list(
             messages,
             start_from_message_ordinal,
@@ -222,7 +221,6 @@ async def _update_secondary_indexes_incremental(
         if self.secondary_indexes is None:
             return
 
-        from ..storage.memory import propindex
 
         await propindex.add_to_property_index(self, start_points.semref_count)
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/convknowledge.py b/typeagent/knowpro/convknowledge.py
index a2b3415..7fca907 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/convknowledge.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/convknowledge.py
@@ -2,15 +2,13 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import asyncio
-from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 import os
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 
 import typechat
 
 from ..aitools import auth
 from . import kplib
-from .interfaces import IKnowledgeExtractor
-
 
 # TODO: Move ModelWrapper and create_typechat_model() to aitools package.
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py b/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
index 627546e..bebdc6d 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
@@ -4,11 +4,15 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from ..aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
 from .interfaces import IKnowledgeExtractor, IStorageProvider
 
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from ..storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+
 
 @dataclass
 class MessageTextIndexSettings:
@@ -77,8 +81,8 @@ def storage_provider(self, value: IStorageProvider) -> None:
     async def get_storage_provider(self) -> IStorageProvider:
         """Get or create the storage provider asynchronously."""
         if self._storage_provider is None:
+            # Import here to avoid circular import
             from ..storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
-
             self._storage_provider = MemoryStorageProvider(
                 message_text_settings=self.message_text_index_settings,
                 related_terms_settings=self.related_term_index_settings,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/convutils.py b/typeagent/knowpro/convutils.py
index d6071c3..d54f802 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/convutils.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/convutils.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 import typechat
 
-from .convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from .interfaces import (
     DateRange,
     Datetime,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
index e2c9581..7f47e03 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Annotated
+
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/factory.py b/typeagent/knowpro/factory.py
index 1579ee2..d9f86b1 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/factory.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/factory.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from . import secindex
 from .conversation_base import ConversationBase
 from .convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from .interfaces import IMessage, ConversationMetadata
+from .interfaces import ConversationMetadata, IMessage
 
 
 async def create_conversation[TMessage: IMessage](
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/field_helpers.py b/typeagent/knowpro/field_helpers.py
index 4569ab3..99bb1ac 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/field_helpers.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/field_helpers.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 from dataclasses import MISSING
 from typing import Any
 
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
+from pydantic import AliasChoices, Field
 from pydantic.alias_generators import to_camel
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/fuzzyindex.py b/typeagent/knowpro/fuzzyindex.py
index c9cfa29..44bea04 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/fuzzyindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/fuzzyindex.py
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 
-from ..aitools.vectorbase import VectorBase, TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, ScoredInt
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding, NormalizedEmbeddings
+from ..aitools.vectorbase import ScoredInt, TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, VectorBase
 
 
 class EmbeddingIndex:
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py b/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
index ef0efae..ca11bf6 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from collections.abc import AsyncIterable, Iterable, Sequence
-from datetime import (
-    datetime as Datetime,  # For export.
-    timedelta as Timedelta,  # For export.
-)
-from enum import Enum
+from datetime import datetime as Datetime  # For export.
+from datetime import timedelta as Timedelta  # For export.
 from typing import (
     Any,
     ClassVar,
@@ -19,13 +15,13 @@
     runtime_checkable,
 )
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
 import typechat
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
-from . import kplib
+from . import kplib, serialization
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
+from .types import ConversationDataWithIndexes, SearchTermGroupTypes
 
 
 class IKnowledgeSource(Protocol):
@@ -300,8 +296,6 @@ def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return f"{self.__class__.__name__}({self.semantic_ref_ordinal}, {self.range}, {self.knowledge.knowledge_type!r}, {self.knowledge})"
 
     def serialize(self) -> SemanticRefData:
-        from . import serialization
-
         return SemanticRefData(
             semanticRefOrdinal=self.semantic_ref_ordinal,
             range=self.range.serialize(),
@@ -311,7 +305,6 @@ def serialize(self) -> SemanticRefData:
 
     @staticmethod
     def deserialize(data: SemanticRefData) -> "SemanticRef":
-        from . import serialization
 
         knowledge = serialization.deserialize_knowledge(
             data["knowledgeType"], data["knowledge"]
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/knowledge.py b/typeagent/knowpro/knowledge.py
index bff5a94..34d05bc 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/knowledge.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/knowledge.py
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
 
 from typechat import Result, TypeChatLanguageModel
 
-from . import convknowledge
-from . import kplib
+from . import convknowledge, kplib
 from .interfaces import IKnowledgeExtractor
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py b/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
index 72ee1a8..6804c45 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
 Comments that should go into the schema are in docstrings and Doc() annotations.
 """
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
 from typing import Annotated, ClassVar, Literal
+
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/query.py b/typeagent/knowpro/query.py
index 01e63de..9dcb848 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/query.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/query.py
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from re import search
 from typing import Literal, Protocol, cast
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding
-
+from ..storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
+from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames, lookup_property_in_property_index
 from .collections import (
     Match,
     MatchAccumulator,
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 )
 from .common import is_search_term_wildcard
 from .interfaces import (
-    Datetime,
     DateRange,
+    Datetime,
     IConversation,
     IMessage,
     IMessageCollection,
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@
     ScoredMessageOrdinal,
     ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
     SearchTerm,
-    SearchTermGroup,
     SemanticRef,
     SemanticRefOrdinal,
     SemanticRefSearchResult,
@@ -46,10 +45,6 @@
     Thread,
 )
 from .kplib import ConcreteEntity
-from ..storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
-from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames, lookup_property_in_property_index
-from .searchlib import create_property_search_term, create_tag_search_term_group
-
 
 # TODO: Move to compilelib.py
 type BooleanOp = Literal["and", "or", "or_max"]
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/search.py b/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
index d6d4a14..a3413e1 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import TypeGuard, cast
+
 from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
-from typing import TypeGuard, cast, Annotated
 
+from ..storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
+from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import resolve_related_terms
 from .collections import MessageAccumulator, SemanticRefAccumulator
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
 from .interfaces import (
@@ -24,8 +26,6 @@
     WhenFilter,
 )
 from .kplib import ConcreteEntity
-from ..storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
-from .searchlib import create_tag_search_term_group
 from .query import (
     BooleanOp,
     CompiledSearchTerm,
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
     to_non_required_search_term,
     to_required_search_term,
 )
-from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import resolve_related_terms
+from .searchlib import create_tag_search_term_group
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
index 0ad4b42..4b3af60 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
@@ -3,13 +3,13 @@
 
 # TODO: Move this file into knowpro.
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
-from pydantic import Field
 from typing import Annotated, Literal
+
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
-from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
 from .date_time_schema import DateTimeRange
+from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlang.py b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlang.py
index f00d80e..da76cfb 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlang.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlang.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from collections.abc import Callable
 import copy
-from dataclasses import dataclass, replace
 import datetime
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from dataclasses import dataclass, replace
 from typing import Literal, TypeGuard, cast
 
 import typechat
@@ -15,9 +15,7 @@
     DateRange,
     Datetime,
     IConversation,
-    KnowledgePropertyName,
     KnowledgeType,
-    PropertySearchTerm,
     SearchSelectExpr,
     SearchTerm,
     SearchTermGroup,
@@ -25,17 +23,15 @@
     Term,
     WhenFilter,
 )
-from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 from ..knowpro.search import (
     ConversationSearchResult,
     SearchOptions,
     SearchQueryExpr,
-    has_conversation_result,
     has_conversation_results,
     run_search_query,
 )
 from ..knowpro.searchlib import create_property_search_term
-
+from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 from .date_time_schema import DateTime, DateTimeRange
 from .search_query_schema import (
     ActionTerm,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
index 6764b65..0d6d590 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
@@ -6,8 +6,30 @@
 Functions that help with creating search and property terms
 """
 
-from typing import cast
+import dataclasses
+from typing import Any, cast
+
+
+def pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(obj: Any) -> Any:
+    """Recursively convert dataclass instances (including pydantic dataclasses) to dictionaries."""
+    if dataclasses.is_dataclass(obj):
+        # dataclasses.asdict already recurses into nested dataclasses/lists
+        data = dataclasses.asdict(obj)
+        if data:
+            return data
+        # Fallback for dataclasses where asdict() returns empty (observed with some pydantic dataclasses)
+        result: dict[str, object] = {}
+        for field in dataclasses.fields(obj):
+            value = getattr(obj, field.name)
+            result[field.name] = pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(value)
+        return result
+    if isinstance(obj, list):
+        return [pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(item) for item in obj]
+    if isinstance(obj, dict):
+        return {key: pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(value) for key, value in obj.items()}
+    return obj
 
+from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 from .interfaces import (
     ISemanticRefCollection,
     KnowledgePropertyName,
@@ -19,7 +41,6 @@
     SemanticRef,
     Term,
 )
-from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 
 
 def create_search_term(
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/secindex.py b/typeagent/knowpro/secindex.py
index a4972f8..baee18b 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/secindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/secindex.py
@@ -1,27 +1,17 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from ..aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
-from ..aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-from .convsettings import ConversationSettings
+from ..storage.memory.messageindex import build_message_index
+from ..storage.memory.propindex import build_property_index
+from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import build_related_terms_index
+from ..storage.memory.timestampindex import build_timestamp_index
+from .convsettings import ConversationSettings, RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from .interfaces import (
     IConversation,
     IConversationSecondaryIndexes,
     IMessage,
     IStorageProvider,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    TextLocation,
-)
-from ..storage.memory.messageindex import build_message_index
-from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyIndex, build_property_index
-from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import (
-    RelatedTermsIndex,
-    build_related_terms_index,
-)
-from .convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
-from ..storage.memory.timestampindex import (
-    TimestampToTextRangeIndex,
-    build_timestamp_index,
 )
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py b/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
index d40ab4c..2a377f1 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
@@ -1,38 +1,31 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from dataclasses import is_dataclass, MISSING
-from datetime import datetime
 import functools
 import json
 import types
+from dataclasses import MISSING, is_dataclass
+from datetime import datetime
 from typing import (
     Annotated,
     Any,
-    cast,
-    get_args,
-    get_origin,
     Literal,
     NotRequired,
-    overload,
     TypeAliasType,
     TypedDict,
     Union,
+    cast,
+    get_args,
+    get_origin,
+    overload,
 )
 
 import numpy as np
 from pydantic.alias_generators import to_camel
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
-
-from .interfaces import (
-    ConversationDataWithIndexes,
-    SearchTermGroupTypes,
-    Tag,
-    Topic,
-)
 from . import kplib
-
+from .types import ConversationDataWithIndexes, SearchTermGroupTypes
 
 # -------------------
 # Shared definitions
@@ -244,13 +237,19 @@ def get_embeddings_from_binary_data(
 TYPE_MAP = {
     "entity": kplib.ConcreteEntity,
     "action": kplib.Action,
-    "topic": Topic,
-    "tag": Tag,
 }
 
 
 # Looks like this only works for knowledge...
 def deserialize_knowledge(knowledge_type: str, obj: Any) -> Any:
+    if knowledge_type == "tag":
+        from .interfaces import Tag as TagData
+
+        return deserialize_object(TagData, obj)
+    if knowledge_type == "topic":
+        from .interfaces import Topic as TopicData
+
+        return deserialize_object(TopicData, obj)
     typ = TYPE_MAP[knowledge_type]
     return deserialize_object(typ, obj)
 
@@ -322,6 +321,11 @@ def deserialize_object(typ: Any, obj: Any) -> Any:
                 raise DeserializationError(
                     f"Pydantic validation failed for {typ.__name__}: {e}"
                 ) from e
+        elif isinstance(typ, type) and hasattr(typ, "__annotations__") and issubclass(typ, dict):
+            # Handle TypedDict types (Tag, Topic)
+            if not isinstance(obj, dict):
+                raise DeserializationError(f"Expected dict for {typ}, got {type(obj)}")
+            return obj
         else:
             # Could be a class that's not a dataclass -- we don't know the signature.
             raise TypeError(f"Unsupported origin-less type {typ}")
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/textlocindex.py b/typeagent/knowpro/textlocindex.py
index 4969a66..a6d9596 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/textlocindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/textlocindex.py
@@ -7,12 +7,8 @@
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding
 from ..aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
-
-from .fuzzyindex import ScoredInt, EmbeddingIndex
-from .interfaces import (
-    TextToTextLocationIndexData,
-    TextLocation,
-)
+from .fuzzyindex import EmbeddingIndex, ScoredInt
+from .interfaces import TextLocation, TextToTextLocationIndexData
 
 
 @dataclass
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/types.py b/typeagent/knowpro/types.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..855f774
--- /dev/null
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/types.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+# Licensed under the MIT License.
+"""
+Shared type definitions for knowpro modules to avoid circular imports.
+"""
+
+from typing import Any, Generic, Literal, TypedDict, TypeVar
+
+# --- Shared TypedDicts and type aliases ---
+
+TMessageData = TypeVar("TMessageData")
+
+class ConversationDataWithIndexes(TypedDict, Generic[TMessageData]):
+    messages: list[TMessageData]
+    relatedTermsIndexData: dict[str, Any] | None
+    messageIndexData: dict[str, Any] | None
+    # Add other fields as needed
+
+SearchTermGroupTypes = Any
+
+class Tag(TypedDict):
+    knowledge_type: Literal["tag"]
+    text: str
+
+class Topic(TypedDict):
+    knowledge_type: Literal["topic"]
+    text: str
+
+# Add any other shared types here as needed
diff --git a/typeagent/mcp/server.py b/typeagent/mcp/server.py
index f452325..bc46840 100644
--- a/typeagent/mcp/server.py
+++ b/typeagent/mcp/server.py
@@ -5,23 +5,23 @@
 
 
 import argparse
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 import time
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any
 
 import coverage
+import typechat
 from mcp.server.fastmcp import Context, FastMCP
 from mcp.server.session import ServerSession
 from mcp.types import SamplingMessage, TextContent
-import typechat
 
 # Enable coverage.py before local imports (a no-op unless COVERAGE_PROCESS_START is set).
 coverage.process_startup()
 
 from typeagent.aitools import embeddings, utils
 from typeagent.knowpro import answers, query, searchlang
-from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.answer_response_schema import AnswerResponse
+from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from typeagent.knowpro.search_query_schema import SearchQuery
 from typeagent.podcasts import podcast
 from typeagent.storage.memory.semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
diff --git a/typeagent/podcasts/podcast.py b/typeagent/podcasts/podcast.py
index 1cce006..3d3b218 100644
--- a/typeagent/podcasts/podcast.py
+++ b/typeagent/podcasts/podcast.py
@@ -1,35 +1,21 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 import json
 import os
-from typing import TypedDict, cast, Any
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Any, TypedDict
 
 import numpy as np
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
-from ..storage.memory import semrefindex
-from ..knowpro import kplib, secindex
+from ..knowpro import secindex, serialization
 from ..knowpro.conversation_base import ConversationBase
-from ..knowpro.field_helpers import CamelCaseField
-from ..storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
 from ..knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from ..knowpro.interfaces import (
-    ConversationDataWithIndexes,
-    SemanticRef,
-    Term,
-)
+from ..knowpro.interfaces import ConversationDataWithIndexes, SemanticRef, Term
+from ..knowpro.universal_message import ConversationMessage, ConversationMessageMeta
+from ..storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
 from ..storage.memory.messageindex import MessageTextIndex
-from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import TermToRelatedTermsMap
-from ..storage.utils import create_storage_provider
-from ..knowpro import serialization
-from ..knowpro.universal_message import (
-    ConversationMessage,
-    ConversationMessageMeta,
-)
 
 # Type aliases for backward compatibility
 PodcastMessage = ConversationMessage
diff --git a/typeagent/podcasts/podcast_ingest.py b/typeagent/podcasts/podcast_ingest.py
index b70bae4..f04b001 100644
--- a/typeagent/podcasts/podcast_ingest.py
+++ b/typeagent/podcasts/podcast_ingest.py
@@ -8,10 +8,7 @@
 
 from ..knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
 from ..knowpro.interfaces import Datetime
-from ..knowpro.universal_message import (
-    UNIX_EPOCH,
-    format_timestamp_utc,
-)
+from ..knowpro.universal_message import UNIX_EPOCH, format_timestamp_utc
 from ..storage.utils import create_storage_provider
 from .podcast import Podcast, PodcastMessage, PodcastMessageMeta
 
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/__init__.py b/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
index 9f74168..77eda8b 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@
 
 # Import from new organized structure
 from .memory import (
-    MemoryStorageProvider,
-    MemoryMessageCollection,
-    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+                     MemoryMessageCollection,
+                     MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+                     MemoryStorageProvider,
 )
 from .sqlite import (
-    SqliteStorageProvider,
-    SqliteMessageCollection,
-    SqliteSemanticRefCollection,
+                     SqliteMessageCollection,
+                     SqliteSemanticRefCollection,
+                     SqliteStorageProvider,
 )
 
 __all__ = [
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/collections.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/collections.py
index 63bb2d3..9973a29 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/collections.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/collections.py
@@ -4,11 +4,10 @@
 """Memory-based collection implementations."""
 
 from typing import Iterable
+
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
     ICollection,
     IMessage,
-    ISemanticRefCollection,
-    IMessageCollection,
     MessageOrdinal,
     SemanticRef,
     SemanticRefOrdinal,
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/convthreads.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/convthreads.py
index b170939..634bfa1 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/convthreads.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/convthreads.py
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
+from ...aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, VectorBase
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
     ConversationThreadData,
     IConversationThreads,
-    ThreadDataItem,
     ScoredThreadOrdinal,
     Thread,
+    ThreadDataItem,
 )
-from ...aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, VectorBase
 
 
 class ConversationThreads(IConversationThreads):
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/messageindex.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/messageindex.py
index b68ec99..a56da9e 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/messageindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/messageindex.py
@@ -2,19 +2,17 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from ...aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding
-from ...aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
     IConversation,
     IMessage,
     IMessageTextIndex,
     IStorageProvider,
-    MessageTextIndexData,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
     MessageOrdinal,
+    MessageTextIndexData,
     ScoredMessageOrdinal,
     TextLocation,
 )
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/propindex.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/propindex.py
index 0d7709a..55f7215 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/propindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/propindex.py
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 import enum
-from typing import assert_never
+from typing import Any, assert_never
 
+from ...knowpro import kplib
 from ...knowpro.collections import TextRangesInScope
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
     IConversation,
@@ -14,7 +15,6 @@
     Tag,
     Topic,
 )
-from ...knowpro import kplib
 
 
 class PropertyNames(enum.Enum):
@@ -132,23 +132,61 @@ async def add_to_property_index(
             start_at_ordinal,
         ):
             assert semantic_ref.semantic_ref_ordinal == semantic_ref_ordinal
-            if isinstance(semantic_ref.knowledge, kplib.Action):
+            knowledge = semantic_ref.knowledge
+            if isinstance(knowledge, kplib.Action):
                 await add_action_properties_to_index(
-                    semantic_ref.knowledge, property_index, semantic_ref_ordinal
+                    knowledge, property_index, semantic_ref_ordinal
                 )
-            elif isinstance(semantic_ref.knowledge, kplib.ConcreteEntity):
+            elif isinstance(knowledge, kplib.ConcreteEntity):
                 await add_entity_properties_to_index(
-                    semantic_ref.knowledge, property_index, semantic_ref_ordinal
+                    knowledge, property_index, semantic_ref_ordinal
                 )
-            elif isinstance(semantic_ref.knowledge, Tag):
-                tag = semantic_ref.knowledge
+            elif isinstance(knowledge, Tag):
                 await property_index.add_property(
-                    PropertyNames.Tag.value, tag.text, semantic_ref_ordinal
+                    PropertyNames.Tag.value, knowledge.text, semantic_ref_ordinal
                 )
-            elif isinstance(semantic_ref.knowledge, Topic):
-                pass
             else:
-                assert_never(semantic_ref.knowledge)
+                knowledge_type = _get_knowledge_type(knowledge)
+                if knowledge_type == "tag":
+                    tag_text = _get_knowledge_field(knowledge, "text")
+                    if tag_text is not None:
+                        await property_index.add_property(
+                            PropertyNames.Tag.value,
+                            tag_text,
+                            semantic_ref_ordinal,
+                        )
+                elif knowledge_type == "topic" or isinstance(knowledge, Topic):
+                    # Topics do not populate the property index currently.
+                    continue
+                else:
+                    assert_never(knowledge)
+
+
+def _get_knowledge_type(knowledge: Any) -> str | None:
+    """Extract the knowledge type from a deserialized knowledge object."""
+    if isinstance(knowledge, dict):
+        value = knowledge.get("knowledgeType")
+        if value is None:
+            value = knowledge.get("knowledge_type")
+        if value is not None:
+            return str(value)
+        return None
+    return getattr(knowledge, "knowledge_type", None)
+
+
+def _get_knowledge_field(knowledge: Any, field_name: str) -> str | None:
+    """Return the requested field from a knowledge object, handling dicts and dataclasses."""
+    if isinstance(knowledge, dict):
+        value = knowledge.get(field_name)
+        if value is None and field_name == "text":
+            value = knowledge.get("text")
+        if value is None:
+            return None
+        return str(value)
+    value = getattr(knowledge, field_name, None)
+    if value is None:
+        return None
+    return str(value)
 
 
 class PropertyIndex(IPropertyToSemanticRefIndex):
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/provider.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/provider.py
index b97199b..9682e56 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/provider.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/provider.py
@@ -6,15 +6,6 @@
 
 from datetime import datetime
 
-from ...knowpro import interfaces
-
-from .collections import MemoryMessageCollection, MemorySemanticRefCollection
-from .semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
-from .convthreads import ConversationThreads
-from .messageindex import MessageTextIndex
-from .reltermsindex import RelatedTermsIndex
-from .propindex import PropertyIndex
-from .timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
 from ...knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings, RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
     ConversationMetadata,
@@ -27,6 +18,13 @@
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
     ITimestampToTextRangeIndex,
 )
+from .collections import MemoryMessageCollection, MemorySemanticRefCollection
+from .convthreads import ConversationThreads
+from .messageindex import MessageTextIndex
+from .propindex import PropertyIndex
+from .reltermsindex import RelatedTermsIndex
+from .semrefindex import TermToSemanticRefIndex
+from .timestampindex import TimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
 
 class MemoryStorageProvider[TMessage: IMessage](IStorageProvider[TMessage]):
@@ -72,7 +70,6 @@ async def __aexit__(
         exc_tb: object,
     ) -> None:
         """Exit transaction context. No-op for in-memory storage."""
-        pass
 
     async def get_semantic_ref_index(self) -> ITermToSemanticRefIndex:
         return self._conversation_index
@@ -102,7 +99,6 @@ async def get_semantic_ref_collection(self) -> MemorySemanticRefCollection:
 
     async def close(self) -> None:
         """Close the storage provider."""
-        pass
 
     def get_conversation_metadata(self) -> ConversationMetadata:
         """Get conversation metadata.
@@ -121,7 +117,6 @@ def set_conversation_metadata(self, **kwds: str | list[str] | None) -> None:
         Args:
             **kwds: Metadata keys and values (ignored)
         """
-        pass
 
     def update_conversation_timestamps(
         self,
@@ -137,4 +132,3 @@ def update_conversation_timestamps(
             created_at: Optional creation timestamp (ignored)
             updated_at: Optional last updated timestamp (ignored)
         """
-        pass
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/reltermsindex.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/reltermsindex.py
index dc884a3..e58c7b5 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/reltermsindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/reltermsindex.py
@@ -2,15 +2,13 @@
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 from collections.abc import Callable
-from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Protocol, TYPE_CHECKING
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Protocol
 
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import (
     ScoredInt,
     TextEmbeddingIndexSettings,
     VectorBase,
 )
-
 from typeagent.knowpro.collections import TermSet
 from typeagent.knowpro.common import is_search_term_wildcard
 from typeagent.knowpro.convsettings import RelatedTermIndexSettings
@@ -23,9 +21,9 @@
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
     SearchTerm,
     Term,
-    TermToRelatedTermsData,
     TermsToRelatedTermsDataItem,
     TermsToRelatedTermsIndexData,
+    TermToRelatedTermsData,
     TextEmbeddingIndexData,
 )
 
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/memory/semrefindex.py b/typeagent/storage/memory/semrefindex.py
index 4aef1da..3aa650a 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/memory/semrefindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/memory/semrefindex.py
@@ -8,33 +8,30 @@
 from typechat import Failure
 
 from ...knowpro import convknowledge, kplib, secindex
-from ...knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from ...knowpro.convsettings import SemanticRefIndexSettings
-from ...knowpro.interfaces import (
-    # Interfaces.
+from ...knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings, SemanticRefIndexSettings
+from ...knowpro.interfaces import (  # Interfaces.; Other imports.
     IConversation,
     IKnowledgeExtractor,
     IMessage,
     ISemanticRefCollection,
     ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    # Other imports.
     Knowledge,
     KnowledgeType,
     MessageOrdinal,
-    SemanticRefOrdinal,
     ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal,
     SemanticRef,
-    TermToSemanticRefIndexItemData,
+    SemanticRefOrdinal,
     TermToSemanticRefIndexData,
+    TermToSemanticRefIndexItemData,
     TextLocation,
     TextRange,
     Topic,
 )
+from ...knowpro.knowledge import extract_knowledge_from_text_batch
 from ...knowpro.messageutils import (
     get_message_chunk_batch,
     text_range_from_message_chunk,
 )
-from ...knowpro.knowledge import extract_knowledge_from_text_batch
 
 
 def text_range_from_location(
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/__init__.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/__init__.py
index e0b151a..e0a9d60 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/__init__.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/__init__.py
@@ -8,10 +8,7 @@
 from .propindex import SqlitePropertyIndex
 from .provider import SqliteStorageProvider
 from .reltermsindex import SqliteRelatedTermsIndex
-from .schema import (
-    init_db_schema,
-    get_db_schema_version,
-)
+from .schema import get_db_schema_version, init_db_schema
 from .semrefindex import SqliteTermToSemanticRefIndex
 from .timestampindex import SqliteTimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/collections.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/collections.py
index 582d026..9688e1f 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/collections.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/collections.py
@@ -7,9 +7,8 @@
 import sqlite3
 import typing
 
+from ...knowpro import interfaces, serialization
 from .schema import ShreddedMessage, ShreddedSemanticRef
-from ...knowpro import interfaces
-from ...knowpro import serialization
 
 
 class SqliteMessageCollection[TMessage: interfaces.IMessage](
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/messageindex.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/messageindex.py
index b27af67..5649d6d 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/messageindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/messageindex.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 """SQLite-based message text index implementation."""
 
-import json
 import sqlite3
 import typing
 
@@ -11,14 +10,12 @@
 
 from ...aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding
 from ...aitools.vectorbase import ScoredInt, VectorBase
-
-from ...knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro import interfaces
+from ...knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import TextLocationData, TextToTextLocationIndexData
 from ...knowpro.textlocindex import ScoredTextLocation
-
 from ...storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
-
+from ..sqlite.schema import deserialize_embedding
 from .schema import deserialize_embedding, serialize_embedding
 
 
@@ -308,8 +305,6 @@ async def serialize(self) -> interfaces.MessageTextIndexData:
         text_locations = []
         embeddings_list = []
 
-        from ..sqlite.schema import deserialize_embedding
-
         for msg_id, chunk_ordinal, embedding_blob in cursor.fetchall():
             # Create text location data
             text_location = TextLocationData(
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/propindex.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/propindex.py
index 5a0fa63..d28d8a8 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/propindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/propindex.py
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 
 from ...knowpro import interfaces
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal
+from ...storage.memory.propindex import (
+    make_property_term_text,
+    split_property_term_text,
+)
 
 
 class SqlitePropertyIndex(interfaces.IPropertyToSemanticRefIndex):
@@ -46,11 +50,6 @@ async def add_property(
             score = 1.0
 
         # Normalize property name and value (to match in-memory implementation)
-        from ...storage.memory.propindex import (
-            make_property_term_text,
-            split_property_term_text,
-        )
-
         term_text = make_property_term_text(property_name, value)
         term_text = term_text.lower()  # Matches PropertyIndex._prepare_term_text
         property_name, value = split_property_term_text(term_text)
@@ -77,11 +76,6 @@ async def lookup_property(
         value: str,
     ) -> list[interfaces.ScoredSemanticRefOrdinal] | None:
         # Normalize property name and value (to match in-memory implementation)
-        from ...storage.memory.propindex import (
-            make_property_term_text,
-            split_property_term_text,
-        )
-
         term_text = make_property_term_text(property_name, value)
         term_text = term_text.lower()  # Matches PropertyIndex._prepare_term_text
         property_name, value = split_property_term_text(term_text)
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/provider.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/provider.py
index ea54772..ab332e8 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/provider.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/provider.py
@@ -11,26 +11,21 @@
 from ...knowpro import interfaces
 from ...knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings, RelatedTermIndexSettings
 from ...knowpro.interfaces import ConversationMetadata
+from ...knowpro.universal_message import format_timestamp_utc
+from ...storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
 from .collections import SqliteMessageCollection, SqliteSemanticRefCollection
 from .messageindex import SqliteMessageTextIndex
 from .propindex import SqlitePropertyIndex
 from .reltermsindex import SqliteRelatedTermsIndex
-from .semrefindex import SqliteTermToSemanticRefIndex
-from .timestampindex import SqliteTimestampToTextRangeIndex
 from .schema import (
-    CONVERSATIONS_SCHEMA,
     CONVERSATION_SCHEMA_VERSION,
-    MESSAGE_TEXT_INDEX_SCHEMA,
-    MESSAGES_SCHEMA,
-    PROPERTY_INDEX_SCHEMA,
-    RELATED_TERMS_ALIASES_SCHEMA,
-    RELATED_TERMS_FUZZY_SCHEMA,
-    SEMANTIC_REF_INDEX_SCHEMA,
-    SEMANTIC_REFS_SCHEMA,
+    _set_conversation_metadata,
+    deserialize_embedding,
     get_db_schema_version,
     init_db_schema,
-    _set_conversation_metadata,
 )
+from .semrefindex import SqliteTermToSemanticRefIndex
+from .timestampindex import SqliteTimestampToTextRangeIndex
 
 
 class SqliteStorageProvider[TMessage: interfaces.IMessage](
@@ -215,7 +210,6 @@ def _check_embedding_consistency(self) -> None:
         Raises:
             ValueError: If embeddings in the database don't match the expected size.
         """
-        from .schema import deserialize_embedding
 
         cursor = self.db.cursor()
         expected_size = (
@@ -259,7 +253,6 @@ def _init_conversation_metadata_if_needed(self) -> None:
         when the first actual write operation (e.g., adding messages) commits.
         This ensures we don't create empty databases with only metadata.
         """
-        from ...knowpro.universal_message import format_timestamp_utc
 
         current_time = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
         cursor = self.db.cursor()
@@ -414,8 +407,6 @@ async def get_conversation_threads(self) -> interfaces.IConversationThreads:
         """Get the conversation threads."""
         # For now, return a simple implementation
         # In a full implementation, this would be stored/retrieved from SQLite
-        from ...storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
-
         return ConversationThreads(
             self.message_text_index_settings.embedding_index_settings
         )
@@ -578,8 +569,6 @@ def update_conversation_timestamps(
             created_at: Optional creation timestamp
             updated_at: Optional last updated timestamp
         """
-        from ...knowpro.universal_message import format_timestamp_utc
-
         # Check if any metadata exists
         cursor = self.db.cursor()
         cursor.execute("SELECT 1 FROM ConversationMetadata LIMIT 1")
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/reltermsindex.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/reltermsindex.py
index 92d740e..6e8f937 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/reltermsindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/reltermsindex.py
@@ -5,11 +5,10 @@
 
 import sqlite3
 
-from ...aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel, NormalizedEmbeddings
+from ...aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
 from ...aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings, VectorBase
 from ...knowpro import interfaces
-
-from .schema import serialize_embedding, deserialize_embedding
+from .schema import deserialize_embedding, serialize_embedding
 
 
 class SqliteRelatedTermsAliases(interfaces.ITermToRelatedTerms):
@@ -268,8 +267,6 @@ async def deserialize(self, data: interfaces.TextEmbeddingIndexData) -> None:
         self._vector_base.deserialize(embeddings_data)
 
         # Prepare all insertion data for bulk operation
-        from .schema import serialize_embedding
-
         insertion_data = []
         for i, text in enumerate(text_items):
             if i < len(self._vector_base):
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/schema.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/schema.py
index 37f1db1..06c84c8 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/schema.py
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 """SQLite database schema definitions."""
 
 import sqlite3
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
 import typing
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+
 import numpy as np
 
 from ...aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbedding
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/timestampindex.py b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/timestampindex.py
index 0764549..2cda3ee 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/sqlite/timestampindex.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/sqlite/timestampindex.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import sqlite3
 
 from ...knowpro import interfaces
+from ...knowpro.interfaces import TextLocation, TextRange
 from ...knowpro.universal_message import format_timestamp_utc
 
 
@@ -73,8 +74,6 @@ async def get_timestamp_ranges(
         results = []
         for msg_id, timestamp in cursor.fetchall():
             # Create text range for message
-            from ...knowpro.interfaces import TextLocation, TextRange
-
             text_range = TextRange(
                 start=TextLocation(message_ordinal=msg_id, chunk_ordinal=0)
             )
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/utils.py b/typeagent/storage/utils.py
index a1ea010..3339fbf 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/utils.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/utils.py
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@
 without circular import issues.
 """
 
-from ..knowpro.interfaces import IMessage, IStorageProvider, ConversationMetadata
 from ..knowpro.convsettings import MessageTextIndexSettings, RelatedTermIndexSettings
+from ..knowpro.interfaces import ConversationMetadata, IMessage, IStorageProvider
+from .memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+from .sqlite import SqliteStorageProvider
 
 
 async def create_storage_provider[TMessage: IMessage](
@@ -23,14 +25,10 @@ async def create_storage_provider[TMessage: IMessage](
     MemoryStorageProvider if dbname is None, SqliteStorageProvider otherwise.
     """
     if dbname is None:
-        from .memory import MemoryStorageProvider
-
         return MemoryStorageProvider(
             message_text_settings, related_terms_settings, metadata=metadata
         )
     else:
-        from .sqlite import SqliteStorageProvider
-
         if message_type is None:
             raise ValueError("Message type must be specified for SQLite storage")
 
diff --git a/typeagent/transcripts/transcript.py b/typeagent/transcripts/transcript.py
index 0c5eda1..c1b28fe 100644
--- a/typeagent/transcripts/transcript.py
+++ b/typeagent/transcripts/transcript.py
@@ -1,55 +1,20 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-from dataclasses import dataclass
 import json
-import os
-from typing import TypedDict, cast, Any
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Any, TypedDict
 
 import numpy as np
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
-from pydantic import Field, AliasChoices
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
-from ..storage.memory import semrefindex
-from ..knowpro import kplib, secindex, convknowledge
+from ..knowpro import secindex, serialization
 from ..knowpro.conversation_base import ConversationBase
-from ..knowpro.field_helpers import CamelCaseField
-from ..storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
 from ..knowpro.convsettings import ConversationSettings
-from ..knowpro.interfaces import (
-    ConversationDataWithIndexes,
-    Datetime,
-    ICollection,
-    IConversation,
-    IConversationSecondaryIndexes,
-    IKnowledgeSource,
-    IMessage,
-    IMessageCollection,
-    IMessageMetadata,
-    ISemanticRefCollection,
-    IStorageProvider,
-    ITermToSemanticRefIndex,
-    MessageOrdinal,
-    SemanticRef,
-    Term,
-    Timedelta,
-    Topic,
-    AddMessagesResult,
-    IndexingStartPoints,
-)
+from ..knowpro.interfaces import ConversationDataWithIndexes, SemanticRef, Term
+from ..knowpro.universal_message import ConversationMessage, ConversationMessageMeta
+from ..storage.memory.convthreads import ConversationThreads
 from ..storage.memory.messageindex import MessageTextIndex
-from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import TermToRelatedTermsMap
-from ..storage.utils import create_storage_provider
-from ..knowpro import serialization
-from ..storage.memory.collections import (
-    MemoryMessageCollection,
-    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
-)
-from ..knowpro.universal_message import (
-    ConversationMessage,
-    ConversationMessageMeta,
-)
 
 # Type aliases for backward compatibility
 TranscriptMessage = ConversationMessage
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 477717f..cf990eb 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 version = 1
-revision = 3
+revision = 2
 requires-python = ">=3.12"
 resolution-markers = [
     "python_full_version >= '3.13'",
@@ -1778,7 +1778,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "typeagent"
-version = "0.3.2"
+version = "0.3.3"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "azure-identity" },

From afa55d21789020dbc496203239bca3eb026e4b8c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bernhard Merkle <bernhard.merkle@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2025 14:17:54 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Refactor imports to improve organization and reduce
 circular dependencies
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Added dataclasses.py to wrap pydantic’s decorator with dataclass_transform + overloads so pyright understands generated initializers and fields;
updated all knowpro modules, tests, and related utilities to import the wrapper instead of pydantic.dataclasses.dataclass.

Adjusted dependent modules (interfaces.py, kplib.py, search.py, search_query_schema.py, date_time_schema.py, answer_response_schema.py, universal_message.py, email_message.py, and several tests) to use the new wrapper while preserving import ordering and existing behavior.

all other changes a import and formatting related modifications (which should be ok)
make format, check, test is running clean
---
 test/test_conversation_metadata.py          |  3 +-
 test/test_mcp_server.py                     | 15 ++++++---
 test/test_searchlib.py                      | 32 +++++++++++++-----
 test/test_sqlitestore.py                    |  3 +-
 test/test_storage_providers_unified.py      |  3 +-
 test/test_utils.py                          |  7 +++-
 typeagent/aitools/utils.py                  |  1 -
 typeagent/emails/email_message.py           |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py      |  1 -
 typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py           |  1 +
 typeagent/knowpro/dataclasses.py            | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++
 typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py       |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py             |  4 +--
 typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py                  |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/search.py                 |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py    |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py              |  3 +-
 typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py          |  6 +++-
 typeagent/knowpro/types.py                  | 36 +++++++++++---------
 typeagent/knowpro/universal_message.py      |  3 +-
 typeagent/storage/__init__.py               | 12 +++----
 22 files changed, 133 insertions(+), 52 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 typeagent/knowpro/dataclasses.py

diff --git a/test/test_conversation_metadata.py b/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
index be45912..e8816f3 100644
--- a/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
+++ b/test/test_conversation_metadata.py
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
 from fixtures import embedding_model, temp_db_path
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from typeagent.knowpro.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import TEST_MODEL_NAME, AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
diff --git a/test/test_mcp_server.py b/test/test_mcp_server.py
index 314d81c..97b9240 100644
--- a/test/test_mcp_server.py
+++ b/test/test_mcp_server.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import json
 import os
 import sys
-from typing import Any, TypeAlias
+from typing import Any, TYPE_CHECKING
 
 import pytest
 from fixtures import really_needs_auth
@@ -18,13 +18,18 @@
 
 from typeagent.aitools.utils import create_async_openai_client
 
-try:
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from openai.types.chat import ChatCompletionMessageParam
-except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
-    ChatCompletionMessageParam: TypeAlias = dict[str, Any]
+else:  # pragma: no cover - optional dependency
+    try:
+        from openai.types.chat import ChatCompletionMessageParam
+    except ImportError:
+        ChatCompletionMessageParam = dict[str, Any]  # type: ignore[assignment]
 
 
-pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip(reason="mcp server tests require interactive dependencies; skipping for now")
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.skip(
+    reason="mcp server tests require interactive dependencies; skipping for now"
+)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/test/test_searchlib.py b/test/test_searchlib.py
index a9e05c8..b4bcb01 100644
--- a/test/test_searchlib.py
+++ b/test/test_searchlib.py
@@ -113,8 +113,12 @@ def test_create_and_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "and"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term1
+        )
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term2
+        )
 
     def test_create_or_term_group(self):
         """Test creating an OR term group."""
@@ -124,8 +128,12 @@ def test_create_or_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "or"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term1
+        )
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term2
+        )
 
     def test_create_or_max_term_group(self):
         """Test creating an OR_MAX term group."""
@@ -135,8 +143,12 @@ def test_create_or_max_term_group(self):
 
         assert group.boolean_op == "or_max"
         assert len(group.terms) == 2
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term1)
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term2)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term1
+        )
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            term2
+        )
 
     def test_empty_term_groups(self):
         """Test creating empty term groups."""
@@ -162,8 +174,12 @@ def test_nested_term_groups(self):
 
         assert outer_group.boolean_op == "and"
         assert len(outer_group.terms) == 2
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(outer_group.terms[0]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(inner_group)
-        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(outer_group.terms[1]) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term3)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            outer_group.terms[0]
+        ) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(inner_group)
+        assert pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(
+            outer_group.terms[1]
+        ) == pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(term3)
 
 
 class TestCreateSearchTerms:
diff --git a/test/test_sqlitestore.py b/test/test_sqlitestore.py
index 7e95ace..717c37c 100644
--- a/test/test_sqlitestore.py
+++ b/test/test_sqlitestore.py
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
 from fixtures import FakeMessage, embedding_model, temp_db_path
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from typeagent.knowpro.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
diff --git a/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py b/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
index c90066a..840d8d6 100644
--- a/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
+++ b/test/test_storage_providers_unified.py
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@
 import pytest
 import pytest_asyncio
 from fixtures import embedding_model, needs_auth, temp_db_path
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from typeagent.knowpro.dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from typeagent.aitools.embeddings import AsyncEmbeddingModel
 from typeagent.aitools.vectorbase import TextEmbeddingIndexSettings
diff --git a/test/test_utils.py b/test/test_utils.py
index 0c913d0..d740e21 100644
--- a/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/test/test_utils.py
@@ -7,11 +7,16 @@
 
 import pydantic.dataclasses
 import pytest
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+
 from fixtures import really_needs_auth
 
 import typeagent.aitools.utils as utils
 
-typechat = pytest.importorskip("typechat")
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import typechat
+else:
+    typechat = pytest.importorskip("typechat")
 
 
 def test_timelog():
diff --git a/typeagent/aitools/utils.py b/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
index 9ddc7c8..36d4db7 100644
--- a/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
+++ b/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
@@ -159,7 +159,6 @@ def fmt(row, seg_widths):
 def setup_logfire():
     """Configure logfire for pydantic_ai and httpx."""
 
-
     def scrubbing_callback(m: logfire.ScrubMatch):
         """Instructions: Uncomment any block where you deem it safe to not scrub."""
         # if m.path == ('attributes', 'http.request.header.authorization'):
diff --git a/typeagent/emails/email_message.py b/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
index 6dbccaa..334d74b 100644
--- a/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
+++ b/typeagent/emails/email_message.py
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 from typing import Any
 
 from pydantic import Field
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
+
+from ..knowpro.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
 
 from ..knowpro import kplib
 from ..knowpro.field_helpers import CamelCaseField
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
index 6e11ec9..7e55ae6 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/answer_response_schema.py
@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@
 
 from typing import Annotated, Literal
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
+
 AnswerType = Literal[
     "NoAnswer",  # If question cannot be accurately answered from [ANSWER CONTEXT]
     "Answered",  # Fully answer question
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py b/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
index ca33789..019918d 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/conversation_base.py
@@ -221,7 +221,6 @@ async def _update_secondary_indexes_incremental(
         if self.secondary_indexes is None:
             return
 
-
         await propindex.add_to_property_index(self, start_points.semref_count)
 
         new_messages = await self.messages.get_slice(
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py b/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
index bebdc6d..10545d9 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/convsettings.py
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ async def get_storage_provider(self) -> IStorageProvider:
         if self._storage_provider is None:
             # Import here to avoid circular import
             from ..storage.memory import MemoryStorageProvider
+
             self._storage_provider = MemoryStorageProvider(
                 message_text_settings=self.message_text_index_settings,
                 related_terms_settings=self.related_term_index_settings,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/dataclasses.py b/typeagent/knowpro/dataclasses.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a86ddd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/dataclasses.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+# Licensed under the MIT License.
+"""Compatibility helpers for pydantic dataclasses."""
+
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import Any, TypeVar, cast, overload
+
+from typing_extensions import dataclass_transform
+
+from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as _pydantic_dataclass
+
+from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
+
+T = TypeVar("T")
+
+
+@overload
+def dataclass(__cls: type[T], /, **kwargs: Any) -> type[T]: ...
+
+
+@overload
+def dataclass(**kwargs: Any) -> Callable[[type[T]], type[T]]: ...
+
+
+@dataclass_transform(field_specifiers=(CamelCaseField,))
+def dataclass(
+    __cls: type[T] | None = None, /, **kwargs: Any
+) -> Callable[[type[T]], type[T]] | type[T]:
+    """Wrapper that preserves pydantic behavior while informing type-checkers."""
+
+    def wrap(cls: type[T]) -> type[T]:
+        return cast(type[T], _pydantic_dataclass(cls, **kwargs))
+
+    if __cls is None:
+        return wrap
+
+    return wrap(__cls)
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
index 7f47e03..3ea1c0f 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/date_time_schema.py
@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@
 
 from typing import Annotated
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
+
 
 @dataclass
 class DateVal:
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py b/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
index ca11bf6..885b75c 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/interfaces.py
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
 )
 
 import typechat
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from ..aitools.embeddings import NormalizedEmbeddings
 from . import kplib, serialization
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
-from .types import ConversationDataWithIndexes, SearchTermGroupTypes
 
 
 class IKnowledgeSource(Protocol):
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py b/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
index 6804c45..d390717 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/kplib.py
@@ -9,9 +9,10 @@
 
 from typing import Annotated, ClassVar, Literal
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
+
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
 
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/search.py b/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
index a3413e1..655c1b1 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/search.py
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from typing import TypeGuard, cast
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
 
 from ..storage.memory.messageindex import IMessageTextEmbeddingIndex
 from ..storage.memory.reltermsindex import resolve_related_terms
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py b/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
index 4b3af60..2ed9746 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/search_query_schema.py
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
 
 from typing import Annotated, Literal
 
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing_extensions import Doc
 
+from .dataclasses import dataclass
+
 from .date_time_schema import DateTimeRange
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
 
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
index 0d6d590..eeaa87f 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/searchlib.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 def pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(obj: Any) -> Any:
     """Recursively convert dataclass instances (including pydantic dataclasses) to dictionaries."""
-    if dataclasses.is_dataclass(obj):
+    if dataclasses.is_dataclass(obj) and not isinstance(obj, type):
         # dataclasses.asdict already recurses into nested dataclasses/lists
         data = dataclasses.asdict(obj)
         if data:
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ def pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(obj: Any) -> Any:
         return {key: pydantic_dataclass_to_dict(value) for key, value in obj.items()}
     return obj
 
+
 from ..storage.memory.propindex import PropertyNames
 from .interfaces import (
     ISemanticRefCollection,
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py b/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
index 2a377f1..569b861 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/serialization.py
@@ -321,7 +321,11 @@ def deserialize_object(typ: Any, obj: Any) -> Any:
                 raise DeserializationError(
                     f"Pydantic validation failed for {typ.__name__}: {e}"
                 ) from e
-        elif isinstance(typ, type) and hasattr(typ, "__annotations__") and issubclass(typ, dict):
+        elif (
+            isinstance(typ, type)
+            and hasattr(typ, "__annotations__")
+            and issubclass(typ, dict)
+        ):
             # Handle TypedDict types (Tag, Topic)
             if not isinstance(obj, dict):
                 raise DeserializationError(f"Expected dict for {typ}, got {type(obj)}")
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/types.py b/typeagent/knowpro/types.py
index 855f774..4506722 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/types.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/types.py
@@ -1,29 +1,33 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT License.
-"""
-Shared type definitions for knowpro modules to avoid circular imports.
-"""
+"""Shared type helpers used to break circular imports in knowpro."""
 
-from typing import Any, Generic, Literal, TypedDict, TypeVar
+from typing import Any, Generic, NotRequired, TypedDict, TypeVar
 
-# --- Shared TypedDicts and type aliases ---
 
 TMessageData = TypeVar("TMessageData")
 
+
 class ConversationDataWithIndexes(TypedDict, Generic[TMessageData]):
+    """Serializable conversation payload with index metadata."""
+
+    nameTag: str
     messages: list[TMessageData]
-    relatedTermsIndexData: dict[str, Any] | None
-    messageIndexData: dict[str, Any] | None
-    # Add other fields as needed
+    tags: list[str]
+    semanticRefs: list[Any] | None
+    semanticIndexData: NotRequired[Any]
+    relatedTermsIndexData: NotRequired[Any]
+    threadData: NotRequired[Any]
+    messageIndexData: NotRequired[Any]
 
-SearchTermGroupTypes = Any
 
-class Tag(TypedDict):
-    knowledge_type: Literal["tag"]
-    text: str
+# When importing from modules that cannot depend on knowpro.interfaces,
+# fall back to ``Any`` to avoid circular references while keeping type checkers
+# satisfied.
+SearchTermGroupTypes = Any
 
-class Topic(TypedDict):
-    knowledge_type: Literal["topic"]
-    text: str
 
-# Add any other shared types here as needed
+__all__ = [
+    "ConversationDataWithIndexes",
+    "SearchTermGroupTypes",
+]
diff --git a/typeagent/knowpro/universal_message.py b/typeagent/knowpro/universal_message.py
index a2eb142..f7a30bd 100644
--- a/typeagent/knowpro/universal_message.py
+++ b/typeagent/knowpro/universal_message.py
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 from typing import TypedDict
 
 from pydantic import Field
-from pydantic.dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
+
+from .dataclasses import dataclass as pydantic_dataclass
 
 from . import kplib
 from .field_helpers import CamelCaseField
diff --git a/typeagent/storage/__init__.py b/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
index 77eda8b..df45b13 100644
--- a/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
+++ b/typeagent/storage/__init__.py
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@
 
 # Import from new organized structure
 from .memory import (
-                     MemoryMessageCollection,
-                     MemorySemanticRefCollection,
-                     MemoryStorageProvider,
+    MemoryMessageCollection,
+    MemorySemanticRefCollection,
+    MemoryStorageProvider,
 )
 from .sqlite import (
-                     SqliteMessageCollection,
-                     SqliteSemanticRefCollection,
-                     SqliteStorageProvider,
+    SqliteMessageCollection,
+    SqliteSemanticRefCollection,
+    SqliteStorageProvider,
 )
 
 __all__ = [