diff --git a/paperforge/plugin/src/services/memory-state.ts b/paperforge/plugin/src/services/memory-state.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e3dc0831
--- /dev/null
+++ b/paperforge/plugin/src/services/memory-state.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+import * as fs from "fs";
+import * as path from "path";
+import { execFileSync } from "child_process";
+import type { PaperForgeSettings } from "../constants";
+
+// ── Types ──
+
+export interface PathConfig {
+  system_dir: string;
+  resources_dir: string;
+  literature_dir: string;
+  base_dir: string;
+  _warning: string | null;
+}
+
+export interface ResolvedPaths {
+  vault: string;
+  systemDir: string;
+  indexesDir: string;
+  logsDir: string;
+  dbPath: string;
+  memoryStatePath: string;
+  vectorStatePath: string;
+  healthStatePath: string;
+  buildStatePath: string;
+  orphanStatePath: string;
+  exportsDir: string;
+  ocrDir: string;
+  pluginDataPath: string;
+  pfJsonPath: string;
+  configWarning: string | null;
+}
+
+export interface MemoryRuntime {
+  paper_count_db?: number;
+  needs_rebuild?: boolean;
+  fresh?: boolean;
+  updated_at?: string;
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+}
+
+export interface VectorRuntime {
+  enabled?: boolean;
+  deps_installed?: boolean;
+  db_exists?: boolean;
+  healthy?: boolean | null;
+  chunk_count?: number;
+  model?: string;
+  mode?: string;
+  updated_at?: string;
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+}
+
+export interface PythonResult {
+  path: string;
+  source: "manual" | "auto-detected";
+  extraArgs: string[];
+}
+
+export interface Snapshot {
+  memory: MemoryRuntime | null;
+  vector: VectorRuntime | null;
+  health: Record<string, unknown> | null;
+  updatedAt: string;
+  summary: {
+    status: string;
+    memoryReady: boolean;
+    vectorReady: boolean;
+    healthOk: boolean;
+  };
+}
+
+// ── Module-level closure state ──
+
+let _cachedPython: PythonResult | null = null;
+
+// ── Functions ──
+
+export function readPathConfig(vaultPath: string): PathConfig {
+  const pfPath = path.join(vaultPath, 'paperforge.json');
+  const defaults = {
+    system_dir: 'System',
+    resources_dir: 'Resources',
+    literature_dir: 'Literature',
+    base_dir: 'Bases',
+  };
+
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(pfPath)) {
+      return { ...defaults, _warning: 'paperforge.json not found; using defaults' };
+    }
+    const raw = fs.readFileSync(pfPath, 'utf-8');
+    const data = JSON.parse(raw);
+    const vc = data.vault_config || {};
+    return {
+      system_dir: vc.system_dir || data.system_dir || defaults.system_dir,
+      resources_dir: vc.resources_dir || data.resources_dir || defaults.resources_dir,
+      literature_dir: vc.literature_dir || data.literature_dir || defaults.literature_dir,
+      base_dir: vc.base_dir || data.base_dir || defaults.base_dir,
+      _warning: null,
+    };
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.warn('PaperForge: Failed to read paperforge.json, using defaults', e);
+    return { ...defaults, _warning: 'paperforge.json invalid; using defaults' };
+  }
+}
+
+export function resolveVaultPaths(vaultPath: string): ResolvedPaths {
+  const cfg = readPathConfig(vaultPath);
+  const systemDir = path.join(vaultPath, cfg.system_dir, 'PaperForge');
+  return {
+    vault: vaultPath,
+    systemDir,
+    indexesDir: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes'),
+    logsDir: path.join(systemDir, 'logs'),
+    dbPath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'paperforge.db'),
+    memoryStatePath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'memory-runtime-state.json'),
+    vectorStatePath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'vector-runtime-state.json'),
+    healthStatePath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'runtime-health.json'),
+    buildStatePath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'vector-build-state.json'),
+    orphanStatePath: path.join(systemDir, 'indexes', 'sync-orphan-state.json'),
+    exportsDir: path.join(systemDir, 'exports'),
+    ocrDir: path.join(systemDir, 'ocr'),
+    pluginDataPath: path.join(vaultPath, '.obsidian', 'plugins', 'paperforge', 'data.json'),
+    pfJsonPath: path.join(vaultPath, 'paperforge.json'),
+    configWarning: cfg._warning,
+  };
+}
+
+export function readJSONFile(filePath: string): Record<string, unknown> | null {
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) return null;
+    return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf-8'));
+  } catch (_) { return null; }
+}
+
+export function getMemoryRuntime(vaultPath: string): MemoryRuntime | null {
+  const paths = resolveVaultPaths(vaultPath);
+  return readJSONFile(paths.memoryStatePath) as MemoryRuntime | null;
+}
+
+export function getVectorRuntime(vaultPath: string): VectorRuntime | null {
+  const paths = resolveVaultPaths(vaultPath);
+  return readJSONFile(paths.vectorStatePath) as VectorRuntime | null;
+}
+
+export function getRuntimeHealth(vaultPath: string): Record<string, unknown> | null {
+  const paths = resolveVaultPaths(vaultPath);
+  return readJSONFile(paths.healthStatePath);
+}
+
+export function isMemoryReady(vaultPath: string): boolean {
+  const s = getMemoryRuntime(vaultPath);
+  return !!(s && (s.paper_count_db ?? 0) > 0 && !s.needs_rebuild);
+}
+
+export function isVectorReady(vaultPath: string): boolean {
+  const s = getVectorRuntime(vaultPath);
+  if (!s) return false;
+  if (!s.enabled) return false;
+  if (!s.deps_installed) return false;
+  if (!s.db_exists) return false;
+  if (s.healthy === false) return false;
+  if (s.chunk_count === 0) return false;
+  return true;
+}
+
+export function isHealthOk(vaultPath: string): boolean {
+  const s = getRuntimeHealth(vaultPath);
+  return !!(s && (s.summary as { status?: string })?.status === 'ok');
+}
+
+export function getMemoryStatusText(vaultPath: string): string {
+  const s = getMemoryRuntime(vaultPath);
+  if (!s || s.paper_count_db === 0) return 'DB not found. Run paperforge memory build.';
+  return 'Papers: ' + s.paper_count_db + ' | ' + (s.fresh ? 'fresh' : 'stale');
+}
+
+export function getVectorStatusText(vaultPath: string): string {
+  const s = getVectorRuntime(vaultPath);
+  if (!s) return 'Status unavailable';
+  if (s.healthy === false) return 'Vector index unreadable - rebuild required';
+  return 'Chunks: ' + s.chunk_count + ' | ' + s.model + ' | ' + s.mode;
+}
+
+export function getCachedPython(vaultPath: string, settings: PaperForgeSettings): PythonResult {
+  if (_cachedPython) return _cachedPython;
+  if (settings && settings.python_path && settings.python_path.trim()) {
+    const p = settings.python_path.trim();
+    if (fs.existsSync(p)) { _cachedPython = { path: p, source: 'manual', extraArgs: [] }; return _cachedPython; }
+  }
+  const venvCandidates = [
+    path.join(vaultPath, '.paperforge-test-venv', 'Scripts', 'python.exe'),
+    path.join(vaultPath, '.venv', 'Scripts', 'python.exe'),
+    path.join(vaultPath, 'venv', 'Scripts', 'python.exe'),
+  ];
+  for (let i = 0; i < venvCandidates.length; i++) {
+    if (fs.existsSync(venvCandidates[i])) {
+      _cachedPython = { path: venvCandidates[i], source: 'auto-detected', extraArgs: [] };
+      return _cachedPython;
+    }
+  }
+  const sysCandidates = [{path:'py',extraArgs:['-3']},{path:'python',extraArgs:[]},{path:'python3',extraArgs:[]}];
+  for (let j = 0; j < sysCandidates.length; j++) {
+    try {
+      const c = sysCandidates[j];
+      const out = execFileSync(c.path, c.extraArgs.concat(['--version']), {encoding:'utf-8',timeout:5000,windowsHide:true});
+      if (out && out.toLowerCase().indexOf('python') !== -1) {
+        _cachedPython = { path: c.path, source: 'auto-detected', extraArgs: c.extraArgs };
+        return _cachedPython;
+      }
+    } catch (_) {}
+  }
+  _cachedPython = { path: 'python', source: 'auto-detected', extraArgs: [] };
+  return _cachedPython;
+}
+
+export function buildSnapshot(
+  vaultPath: string,
+  _readFn?: (filePath: string) => Record<string, unknown> | null,
+  _resolvePaths?: (vaultPath: string) => ResolvedPaths,
+): Snapshot {
+  const readFn = _readFn || readJSONFile;
+  const resolvePaths = _resolvePaths || resolveVaultPaths;
+  const paths = resolvePaths(vaultPath);
+  const memory = readFn(paths.memoryStatePath) as MemoryRuntime | null;
+  const vector = readFn(paths.vectorStatePath) as VectorRuntime | null;
+  const health = readFn(paths.healthStatePath);
+  const memoryOk = !!(memory && (memory.paper_count_db ?? 0) > 0 && !memory.needs_rebuild);
+  const vectorOk = !!(vector && vector.enabled && vector.deps_installed && vector.db_exists && (vector.chunk_count ?? 0) > 0);
+  return {
+    memory: memory, vector: vector, health: health,
+    updatedAt: (memory && memory.updated_at) || (vector && vector.updated_at) || '',
+    summary: {
+      status: memoryOk && vectorOk ? 'ready' : 'degraded',
+      memoryReady: memoryOk, vectorReady: vectorOk,
+      healthOk: !!(health && (health.summary as { status?: string })?.status === 'ok'),
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function shouldRenderVectorReady(vectorDepsOk: boolean | null, embedStatusText: string): boolean {
+  return vectorDepsOk === true;
+}