diff --git a/.github/scripts/check-docker-images.sh b/.github/scripts/check-docker-images.sh
index 23b99147d4..c49c97bcd3 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/check-docker-images.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/check-docker-images.sh
@@ -35,8 +35,7 @@ for pair in \
         case "$dockerfile" in
             hugegraph-pd/*) OWNED_DIRS=". logs pd_data" ;;
             hugegraph-store/*) OWNED_DIRS=". logs storage" ;;
-            hugegraph-server/Dockerfile) OWNED_DIRS=". logs rocksdb-data" ;;
-            *) OWNED_DIRS=". logs" ;;
+            hugegraph-server/*) OWNED_DIRS=". logs rocksdb-data" ;;
         esac
         IMAGE_USER=$(docker image inspect --format '{{.Config.User}}' "$IMAGE_ID")
         RUNTIME_IDS=$(docker run --rm --pull never --entrypoint sh "$IMAGE_ID" -c \
@@ -47,6 +46,20 @@ for pair in \
             exit 1
         }
 
+        if [[ "$dockerfile" == hugegraph-server/* ]]; then
+            (
+                volume=$(docker volume create)
+                trap 'docker volume rm "$volume" >/dev/null' EXIT
+                # A new named volume must inherit writable ownership, including
+                # when the HStore image is explicitly used with local RocksDB.
+                docker run --rm --pull never --entrypoint sh \
+                    -v "$volume:/hugegraph-server/rocksdb-data" "$IMAGE_ID" -ec '
+                        test "$(stat -c %u:%g rocksdb-data)" = 10001:10001
+                        touch rocksdb-data/ownership-probe
+                    '
+            )
+        fi
+
         # Helm reuses these images for tool containers instead of pulling curlimages/curl.
         # Check the same non-root/read-only tool environment as the Server test hook.
         if [[ "$dockerfile" == hugegraph-store/* || "$dockerfile" == hugegraph-server/* ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/scripts/test_ci_policy.py b/.github/scripts/test_ci_policy.py
index 7e1f511111..b20cdaac95 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/test_ci_policy.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/test_ci_policy.py
@@ -89,6 +89,19 @@ def test_ordinary_server_changes_only_run_mainline_server_and_arm_smoke(self):
                 self.assertFalse(plan["macos_full"])
                 self.assertFalse(plan["pd_store"])
 
+    def test_topling_assets_run_server_native_contracts(self):
+        scripts = ("test-topling-prepare.sh", "test-topling-selection.sh")
+        workflow = (Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "workflows/server-tests.yml").read_text()
+        for script in scripts:
+            step = next(step for step in workflow.split("\n      - ") if script in step)
+            self.assertIn("if: inputs.backend == 'rocksdb'", step)
+        paths = [policy.TRAVIS + script for script in scripts]
+        paths += ["hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/" + path for path in
+                  ("bin/prepare-topling.sh", "bin/preload-topling.sh", "conf/toplingdb.yaml")]
+        for path in paths:
+            with self.subTest(path=path):
+                self.assertIn("server-rocksdb", self.coordinator_jobs(self.plan_for([path])))
+
     def test_distributed_server_contracts_keep_hstore_cluster_without_pd_store_units(self):
         for path in [policy.SERVER_CORE + "backend/store/BackendStore.java",
                      policy.SERVER_CORE + "meta/MetaManager.java", policy.SERVER_CORE + "StandardHugeGraph.java",
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pd-store-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/pd-store-ci.yml
index a556e1cde8..44facb281a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pd-store-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pd-store-ci.yml
@@ -188,6 +188,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check explicit Topling launcher selection
         run: |
           bash $TRAVIS_DIR/test-topling-selection.sh
+          bash $TRAVIS_DIR/test-topling-prepare.sh
           bash hugegraph-store/hg-store-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-store-preloads.sh
 
       - name: Run PD docker entrypoint secret override tests
diff --git a/.github/workflows/server-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/server-tests.yml
index 1f707604ea..13dde6f94e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/server-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/server-tests.yml
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ jobs:
           "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-wait-storage.sh"
           "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-start-server.sh"
           "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-riscv64-java-runtime.sh"
+          bash "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-topling-selection.sh"
+          bash "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-topling-prepare.sh"
           bash "$TRAVIS_DIR/test-tinkerpop-reports.sh"
 
       - name: Validate Docker integration
diff --git a/docker/README.md b/docker/README.md
index ee5e39f36f..ee7e5fcbcf 100644
--- a/docker/README.md
+++ b/docker/README.md
@@ -112,6 +112,11 @@ an explicit `-Xmx` that exceeds the container's limit.
 
 This is the recommended quickstart.
 
+For a single Server without Hubble, or an unpacked binary distribution, see
+[Standalone Server deployment](../docs/deployment-standalone.md). The standard
+image is `hugegraph/hugegraph`; `hugegraph/server` selects HStore defaults and
+requires PD/Store unless its backend configuration is explicitly replaced.
+
 Start:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/docs/deployment-standalone.md b/docs/deployment-standalone.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..738e9be9d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/deployment-standalone.md
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# Standalone Server with local RocksDB
+
+Standalone Server needs no PD or Store. The standard distribution ships
+`backend=rocksdb` and `serializer=binary`; `pd.peers` is commented out. The
+HStore image deliberately replaces this graph configuration. Select the image
+or distribution before diagnosing a wait for distributed storage.
+
+| Deployment | Artifact | Default backend |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Single Server container | `hugegraph/hugegraph:<tag>` | Local RocksDB |
+| Binary distribution | `apache-hugegraph-server-<version>` | Local RocksDB |
+| Distributed Server container | `hugegraph/server:<tag>` | HStore; requires PD and Store |
+| Current Helm chart | `helm/hugegraph` | HStore only |
+
+The chart's `values-single.yaml` means one PD, one Store and one Server. It does
+not mean a standalone RocksDB Server. Vermeer and SeaTunnel each have their own
+standalone topology setting, independent of the Server storage backend.
+
+## One Server container
+
+Pin a tag built from the revision you want to run; `latest` is mutable. A
+published image may not yet contain the corresponding source fixes.
+
+```bash
+docker volume create hugegraph-rocksdb
+docker run -d --name hugegraph-standalone \
+  -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 \
+  -e PASSWORD='replace-with-your-password' \
+  -v hugegraph-rocksdb:/hugegraph-server/rocksdb-data \
+  hugegraph/hugegraph:latest
+docker logs -f hugegraph-standalone
+```
+
+The image initializes authentication from `PASSWORD` on the first startup.
+Changing this variable does not rotate an existing account's password. The
+named data volume retains its contents when the container is removed. The
+default data path is `/hugegraph-server/rocksdb-data`; mounting a volume at
+`/hugegraph-server/data` does not persist the default RocksDB database.
+
+If you need to reuse the HStore Server image for a new, empty standalone
+installation, set both `HG_SERVER_BACKEND=rocksdb` and
+`HG_SERVER_USE_PD=false`. Its template already uses `serializer=binary`.
+The entrypoint then configures local storage before the storage-wait step;
+non-HStore backends skip PD/Store polling even if the template retains
+`pd.peers`. Backend selection accepts spaces around `=` as well as the ordinary
+colon/whitespace property separators, without requiring a backend environment
+override. Only recognized local backends bypass the wait; an unread or unknown
+backend cannot silently take that path.
+Images containing this fix pre-create `rocksdb-data` owned by
+10001:10001 so a fresh named volume inherits writable ownership.
+No graph configuration bind mount is needed. Older HStore images need a
+corrected writable graph configuration and data-directory ownership instead.
+Do not switch an existing
+HStore installation's backend or reuse its initialization marker this way.
+
+Custom configuration bind mounts must be writable by UID/GID 10001. Mount a
+whole writable configuration directory rather than a single properties file:
+the entrypoint edits files with atomic rename. Prefer a named data volume to
+changing host-directory permissions recursively. See the
+[Docker guide](../docker/README.md) for authentication keys, volume ownership
+and a Server plus Hubble Compose quickstart.
+
+## Binary distribution
+
+Use Java 17. Server 1.8 bytecode does not run on Java 11. Run these commands
+inside a fresh unpacked Server distribution:
+
+```bash
+java -version
+# Confirm backend=rocksdb, serializer=binary and no active pd.peers in this file.
+cat conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties
+bin/init-store.sh
+bin/start-hugegraph.sh
+```
+
+To enable authentication on a fresh distribution instead, set
+`auth.admin_pa` in `conf/rest-server.properties`, run `bin/enable-auth.sh`,
+and provide the same password on stdin when running `bin/init-store.sh`.
+The initializer does not read the container entrypoint's `PASSWORD` variable.
+Then start Server normally. Configuration files containing passwords must be
+readable only by the service account and its administrators.
+
+## Verify the graph
+
+```bash
+curl -fsS http://localhost:8080/versions
+curl -fsS -u 'admin:replace-with-your-password' \
+  http://localhost:8080/graphspaces/DEFAULT/graphs
+curl -fsS -u 'admin:replace-with-your-password' \
+  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+  -d '{"gremlin":"g.V().count()","aliases":{"g":"__g_DEFAULT-hugegraph"}}' \
+  http://localhost:8080/gremlin
+```
+
+Omit `-u` if authentication is disabled. Server 1.8 still uses the `DEFAULT`
+GraphSpace in standalone mode; it does not register the legacy
+`__g_hugegraph` traversal source. GraphSpace management itself requires PD.
+See [REST requests](rest-api-usage.md) for aliases, shard pagination and tasks.
+
+## Optional Topling runtime
+
+Keep `backend=rocksdb` and select the native provider separately, following
+[Storage provider selection](storage-lifecycle.md#storage-provider-selection-and-toplingdb).
+The standard image includes a Java 17 JDK and `unzip` for preparing a compatible
+JNI supplied by the operator; it does not bundle or download optional JNI.
+The JNI's glibc, libaio and CPU requirements must match the image or host.
+Do not assume that a mutable image tag proves which native library is loaded.
diff --git a/docs/rest-api-usage.md b/docs/rest-api-usage.md
index 06201002ae..f489996bb8 100644
--- a/docs/rest-api-usage.md
+++ b/docs/rest-api-usage.md
@@ -26,10 +26,46 @@ are query variables; they do not create graph bindings. An alias target must be
 an existing graph or traversal-source binding, rather than a Gremlin expression
 such as `graph.traversal()`.
 
-For a standalone legacy graph with no GraphSpace, use `<graph>` and
-`__g_<graph>` instead. The Java client builds the appropriate aliases from its
-configured GraphSpace and graph. Verify the configured names before treating a
-`Could not rebind` response as a graph-registration failure.
+Server 1.8 uses these GraphSpace-scoped bindings in standalone RocksDB mode too:
+the default graph is `DEFAULT-hugegraph`, and its traversal source is
+`__g_DEFAULT-hugegraph`. Disabling PD does not select legacy aliases. Only older
+Servers without GraphSpace bindings use `<graph>` and `__g_<graph>`. Select the
+Java client's GraphSpace to match the Server, and verify the configured names
+before treating a `Could not rebind` response as a graph-registration failure.
+
+## Export a shard with bounded pages
+
+Both `GET .../traversers/vertices/scan` and `GET .../traversers/edges/scan`
+require `start` and `end`. Missing either parameter returns HTTP 400 with its
+name on every backend. This also changes HStore and in-memory requests that
+previously interpreted missing bounds as zero; callers must now supply both.
+See the [upgrade notes](upgrade-notes.md#required-shard-scan-bounds).
+
+Empty strings represent open bounds in RocksDB and HBase. They do **not**
+represent a whole-graph range in HStore or the in-memory backend. The following
+example is for **RocksDB**:
+
+```bash
+curl -G 'http://localhost:8080/graphspaces/DEFAULT/graphs/hugegraph/traversers/vertices/scan' \
+  --data-urlencode 'start=' --data-urlencode 'end=' \
+  --data-urlencode 'page=' --data-urlencode 'page_limit=1000'
+```
+
+Pass `page=` explicitly for the first page, then URL-encode the returned `page`
+token on subsequent requests, keeping the same bounds. Stop when the returned
+token is null or empty. Edge scans use the same pagination contract.
+
+For HStore and in-memory exports, first request the corresponding
+`.../vertices/shards?split_size=1048576` or `.../edges/shards?split_size=1048576`.
+Iterate **every** returned shard, using its exact `start` and `end` and a fresh
+`page=` for each shard. Preserve the backend's boundary encoding; do not reuse
+vertex bounds for edges. An empty HStore range can stop after the partition
+containing hash zero, and an empty in-memory end can produce no results.
+A terminal page token finishes only that shard, not the entire graph.
+
+Omitting `page` retains the existing unpaged scan behavior: `page_limit` does
+not bound that response and the result has no continuation token. Exporters
+must pass the empty initial page to avoid reading an entire shard at once.
 
 ## Run long queries as tasks
 
diff --git a/docs/storage-lifecycle.md b/docs/storage-lifecycle.md
index ddf7731a0a..0aac771e35 100644
--- a/docs/storage-lifecycle.md
+++ b/docs/storage-lifecycle.md
@@ -503,7 +503,30 @@ Use a stopped Server distribution on Linux x86_64 with a Java 17 JDK. If your
 distribution lacks these scripts, [build it from this source](#build-and-prepare) first.
 Prepare the runtime once, select it, then initialize and start the Server. The graph
 APIs and normal start/stop commands stay the same; Topling's native options are
-configured in `conf/toplingdb.yaml`. Use new, empty, service-writable data and WAL
+configured in `conf/toplingdb.yaml`. The shipped native profile uses community-compatible SkipList
+memtables and BlockBasedTable files; it does not require CSPP, DispatcherTable
+or private compression plugins. Its 64 MiB cache and 16 MiB write buffers are
+individual native budgets, not a process memory limit. Budget for every database
+and column family and tune the profile for the deployment.
+
+With the tested community JNI, EasyMigrate applies these YAML values when the
+database opens, overriding the corresponding Java RocksDBOptions values.
+The observed settings are a 64 MiB block cache, 16 MiB write buffers and three
+write buffers; Java initializes the latter two to 128 MiB and six beforehand.
+Other JNI builds must be checked against their persisted OPTIONS files and
+`rocksdb.block-cache-capacity`; Java option getters before open do not establish
+the effective native settings.
+
+Custom profiles can require additional plugins in the chosen JNI. Preparation
+imports the selected profile to verify its plugins before installing the
+runtime. Existing data written with other table formats still requires those
+formats' readers; changing this default does not convert existing SST files.
+For existing CSPP installations, preserve the matching JNI and native options;
+`conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml` retains the prior configuration and readers in
+Server, PD and Store distributions. Read the [Topling upgrade notes](upgrade-notes.md#topling-native-profiles)
+before applying the new profile or its smaller memory and compaction defaults.
+
+Use new, empty, service-writable data and WAL
 directories outside the distribution for this example.
 
 **1. Prepare the runtime.** Supply your ToplingDB JNI JAR and its trusted SHA-256:
@@ -569,8 +592,18 @@ entry, the ELF architecture and native dependencies. Before installation, it ope
 closes a disposable database with the selected JNI and checks that a probe configuration
 changes the persisted write-buffer size. A marker or matching hash alone is
 insufficient: builds without the EasyMigrate configuration entry point are rejected. The
-probe validates the configuration entry point, not existing-data compatibility or every
-setting in your production profile. Its checksum receipt binds the probe to the
+probe validates the configuration entry point. A second native import validates
+`TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF` when set, otherwise the component's
+`conf/toplingdb.yaml`; unavailable plugins fail preparation before publication.
+It does not open databases using production WAL/log paths.
+Relative profile overrides are converted to absolute paths against the caller's
+working directory by both preparation and runtime selection, before the launcher
+changes directories. Resolution ignores `CDPATH` and follows physical directory
+semantics for symlinks combined with `..`, matching the file checked for readability.
+Use the same file for preparation and service startup.
+This is not an existing-data compatibility test or validation of every production
+column family. Keep an explicit profile override in the service environment too.
+The checksum receipt binds the capability probe to the
 installed JAR and native library. Launchers reject missing or stale receipts; prepare a
 fresh distribution when upgrading from an older preparation script. It installs
 `topling/rocksdbjni.jar`, its matching native library and optional web resources outside
diff --git a/docs/upgrade-notes.md b/docs/upgrade-notes.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..906964bee2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/upgrade-notes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Storage and scan upgrade notes
+
+These notes describe development storage changes. A published image can lag the
+source revision; check that the deployed build contains the corresponding fixes.
+
+## Required shard scan bounds
+
+`traversers/vertices/scan` and `traversers/edges/scan` now reject a missing
+`start` or `end` with HTTP 400 on **all backends**. Previously RocksDB could
+throw an NPE and return 500, while HStore and in-memory implementations could
+interpret omitted values as zero and run an incomplete scan. Both parameters
+are now mandatory even when that older behavior appeared to succeed.
+
+For an export, obtain all ranges from the matching `vertices/shards` or
+`edges/shards` endpoint. Keep each range's exact boundary strings and paginate
+it independently with an explicit initial `page=`. Only RocksDB and HBase
+interpret empty bounds as an open range. Do not use `start=&end=` for a
+whole-graph HStore or in-memory export. See [REST usage](rest-api-usage.md#export-a-shard-with-bounded-pages).
+
+## Topling native profiles
+
+The new default `conf/toplingdb.yaml` supports the tested community JNI without
+CSPP plugins. It changes native formats and tuning from the previous default:
+
+| Setting | Previous CSPP profile | New community profile |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Memtable/table factories | CSPP with DispatcherTable and CSPPMemTabTable readers | SkipList and BlockBasedTable |
+| Block cache | 8 GiB | 64 MiB |
+| Write buffer / maximum buffers | 128 MiB / 6 | 16 MiB / 3 |
+| Maximum background jobs | 8 | 2 |
+
+Other prior compaction tuning is also absent from the smaller community profile.
+This is a configuration and performance change, not a transparent optimization
+or an existing-data format conversion. With the tested community JNI, native
+EasyMigrate options override corresponding Java options when opening a database.
+Inspect effective OPTIONS and cache capacity when using a different JNI build.
+
+For an existing Topling installation, stop the component and retain its previous
+JNI, configuration and a recoverable data backup. The Server, PD and Store
+distributions also ship `conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml`, preserving the old
+profile unchanged. Select that profile, or the deployment's previous tuned
+profile, through an absolute `TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF` path during preparation
+and startup. Keep the native library that provides the required CSPP readers.
+The community JNI used for validation lacks those readers and cannot validate
+old CSPP SST data; such an upgrade needs a matching JNI and old-format dataset
+before deployment. Do not replace its options with the new community profile.
+
+The prepare script verifies JNI capabilities with a disposable database and
+imports the selected profile before publication. This import checks plugin
+availability; it does not read existing business SSTs or certify their
+compatibility. Relative profile paths are normalized before a launcher changes
+its working directory; absolute service configuration is recommended.
diff --git a/hugegraph-pd/hg-pd-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml b/hugegraph-pd/hg-pd-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
index fcf0d93005..a18bb0929b 100644
--- a/hugegraph-pd/hg-pd-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
+++ b/hugegraph-pd/hg-pd-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@
             <outputDirectory>conf</outputDirectory>
             <fileMode>644</fileMode>
         </file>
+        <file>
+            <source>${project.basedir}/../../hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml</source>
+            <outputDirectory>conf</outputDirectory>
+            <fileMode>644</fileMode>
+        </file>
     </files>
 
     <dependencySets>
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile b/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile
index 912ddf8755..12577eee50 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile
+++ b/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ RUN apt-get -q update \
        procps \
        curl \
        iproute2 \
+       unzip \
        vim \
     && apt-get clean \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile-hstore b/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile-hstore
index bcf405e42b..896b235945 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile-hstore
+++ b/hugegraph-server/Dockerfile-hstore
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ RUN apt-get -q update \
        procps \
        curl \
        iproute2 \
+       unzip \
        vim \
     && apt-get clean \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
@@ -72,7 +73,8 @@ ARG HG_GID=10001
 RUN groupadd --system --gid "${HG_GID}" hugegraph \
     && useradd --system --uid "${HG_UID}" --gid hugegraph --no-create-home \
        --home-dir /hugegraph-server --shell /usr/sbin/nologin hugegraph \
-    && install -d -o "${HG_UID}" -g "${HG_GID}" /hugegraph-server /hugegraph-server/logs
+    && install -d -o "${HG_UID}" -g "${HG_GID}" \
+       /hugegraph-server /hugegraph-server/rocksdb-data /hugegraph-server/logs
 
 COPY --from=build --chown=${HG_UID}:${HG_GID} /pkg/hugegraph-server/apache-hugegraph-server-*/ /hugegraph-server/
 USER ${HG_UID}:${HG_GID}
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/EdgesAPI.java b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/EdgesAPI.java
index 9ae331a02d..86fc140904 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/EdgesAPI.java
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/EdgesAPI.java
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ public String scan(@Context GraphManager manager,
         LOG.debug("Graph [{}] query edges by shard(start: {}, end: {}, " +
                   "page: {}) ", graph, start, end, page);
 
+        E.checkArgument(start != null, "The start parameter is required (use a boundary returned by shards)");
+        E.checkArgument(end != null, "The end parameter is required (use a boundary returned by shards)");
+
         HugeGraph g = graph(manager, graphSpace, graph);
 
         ConditionQuery query = new ConditionQuery(HugeType.EDGE_OUT);
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/VerticesAPI.java b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/VerticesAPI.java
index 0dc09256fe..df58968b7c 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/VerticesAPI.java
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-api/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/VerticesAPI.java
@@ -116,6 +116,9 @@ public String scan(@Context GraphManager manager,
         LOG.debug("Graph [{}] query vertices by shard(start: {}, end: {}, " +
                   "page: {}) ", graph, start, end, page);
 
+        E.checkArgument(start != null, "The start parameter is required (use a boundary returned by shards)");
+        E.checkArgument(end != null, "The end parameter is required (use a boundary returned by shards)");
+
         HugeGraph g = graph(manager, graphSpace, graph);
 
         ConditionQuery query = new ConditionQuery(HugeType.VERTEX);
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/preload-topling.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/preload-topling.sh
index 3f88216368..84ee514d52 100755
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/preload-topling.sh
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/preload-topling.sh
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ topling_remove_path() {
 topling_select_runtime() {
     local top provider native jar conf inherited entry
     local -a preloads
-    top="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)" || return 1
+    top="$(CDPATH= cd -P -- "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)" || return 1
     provider="${TOPLINGDB_ROCKSDB_PROVIDER:-rocksdb}"
     case "$provider" in rocksdb | topling) ;; *)
         echo "Error: invalid TOPLINGDB_ROCKSDB_PROVIDER '$provider'" >&2; return 1 ;;
@@ -83,9 +83,12 @@ topling_select_runtime() {
     conf="${TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF:-}"
     if [ -z "$conf" ]; then
         conf="$top/conf/toplingdb.yaml"
-        export TOPLING_AUTO_MIGRATE_CONF="$conf"
     fi
     [ -r "$conf" ] || { echo "Error: unreadable Easy Migrate configuration: $conf" >&2; return 1; }
+    conf="$(CDPATH= cd -P -- "$(dirname "$conf")" && pwd)/$(basename "$conf")" || return 1
+    if [ -z "${TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF:-}" ]; then
+        export TOPLING_AUTO_MIGRATE_CONF="$conf"
+    fi
     export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF="$conf"
     export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$top/topling${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}"
     # The selected JNI must precede inherited preloads during native symbol lookup.
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/prepare-topling.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/prepare-topling.sh
index 847924c464..8cdd03c427 100755
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/prepare-topling.sh
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/prepare-topling.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 #
 # Run only after stopping this component. Runtime preparation never changes data.
 set -Eeuo pipefail
-TOP="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+TOP="$(CDPATH= cd -P -- "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 [ "$(uname -s)/$(uname -m)" = Linux/x86_64 ] || {
     echo 'Error: Topling requires Linux x86_64' >&2; exit 1;
 }
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ TOP="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 [ ! -e "$TOP/topling" ] && [ ! -L "$TOP/topling" ] || {
     echo 'Error: runtime already prepared; use a fresh stopped distribution to replace it' >&2; exit 1;
 }
+profile="${TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF:-$TOP/conf/toplingdb.yaml}"
+[ -r "$profile" ] || { echo 'Error: Topling configuration must be readable' >&2; exit 1; }
+profile="$(CDPATH= cd -P -- "$(dirname "$profile")" && pwd)/$(basename "$profile")"
 staging=$(mktemp -d "$TOP/.topling-prepare.XXXXXX")
 trap 'rm -rf "$staging"' EXIT
 cp "$TOPLING_JNI_JAR" "$staging/rocksdbjni.jar"
@@ -76,6 +79,7 @@ import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 import org.rocksdb.Options;
 import org.rocksdb.RocksDB;
+import org.rocksdb.SidePluginRepo;
 
 class ToplingRuntimeProbe {
     public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
@@ -83,6 +87,12 @@ class ToplingRuntimeProbe {
             throw new IllegalStateException("Prepare Topling with Java 17");
         }
         RocksDB.loadLibrary();
+        if (args.length == 2 && "--profile".equals(args[0])) {
+            try (SidePluginRepo repo = new SidePluginRepo()) {
+                repo.importAutoFile(args[1]);
+            }
+            return;
+        }
         Path database = Path.of(args[0]);
         try (Options options = new Options().setCreateIfMissing(true);
              RocksDB db = RocksDB.open(options, database.toString())) {
@@ -112,6 +122,17 @@ if ! LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$staging${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}" \
     echo 'Error: Java 17 JDK / Topling EasyMigrate capability probe failed' >&2
     exit 1
 fi
+# Import the selected profile without opening its databases. In particular, do
+# not let production WAL/log paths redirect the disposable write probe above.
+# EasyMigrate support alone does not prove that every named plugin is present.
+if ! LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$staging${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}" \
+     LD_PRELOAD="$staging/librocksdbjni-linux64.so" \
+     TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF="$staging/probe.yaml" \
+     java --add-opens=java.base/java.nio=ALL-UNNAMED --source 17 \
+     --class-path "$staging/rocksdbjni.jar" "$staging/ToplingRuntimeProbe.java" --profile "$profile"; then
+    echo 'Error: Topling configuration validation failed; runtime was not installed' >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
 native_hash=$(sha256sum "$staging/librocksdbjni-linux64.so" | awk '{print $1}')
 printf '%s  rocksdbjni.jar\n%s  librocksdbjni-linux64.so\n' "$actual" "$native_hash" > "$staging/easy-migrate.sha256"
 rm -rf "$staging/probe-db" "$staging/probe.yaml" "$staging/ToplingRuntimeProbe.java"
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/wait-storage.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/wait-storage.sh
index c5bc9c83de..d8b3450589 100755
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/wait-storage.sh
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/bin/wait-storage.sh
@@ -101,6 +101,29 @@ while IFS=' ' read -r envvar_key envvar_val; do
     fi
 done < <(env | sort -r | awk -F= '{ st = index($0, "="); print $1 " " substr($0, st+1) }')
 
+# A reused HStore configuration can retain pd.peers after switching to a local
+# backend. Only HStore depends on PD/Store registration for initialization.
+# Accept the ordinary Java-properties separators (including whitespace before
+# '=') without relying on the backend environment override to normalize them.
+BACKEND=$(awk '
+    {
+        sub(/\r$/, "")
+        sub(/^[ \t\f]+/, "")
+        if ($0 !~ /^backend([ \t\f]*[:=]|[ \t\f]+|$)/) next
+        sub(/^backend[ \t\f]*([:=][ \t\f]*)?/, "")
+        sub(/[ \t\f]+$/, "")
+        backend = $0
+    }
+    END { print backend }
+' "$GRAPH_CONF")
+# Only a recognized local backend can bypass PD. An unrecognized property
+# must not silently turn a distributed deployment into a local-backend path.
+case "$BACKEND" in
+    rocksdb | memory | hbase)
+        log "Backend '$BACKEND' does not use PD/Store, skipping storage wait"
+        exit 0 ;;
+esac
+
 # wait for storage
 if env | grep '^hugegraph\.' > /dev/null; then
     if [ -n "${WAIT_STORAGE_TIMEOUT_S:-}" ]; then
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3067b378f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+# (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+# the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+# common parameters
+http:
+  # normally parent path of db path
+  document_root: ./topling/rocksdb_resource
+  listening_ports: '127.0.0.1:2011'
+  auto_start_http: false
+Cache:
+  lru_cache:
+    class: LRUCache
+    params:
+      capacity: 8G
+      num_shard_bits: -1
+      strict_capacity_limit: false
+      high_pri_pool_ratio: 0.5
+      use_adaptive_mutex: false
+      metadata_charge_policy: kFullChargeCacheMetadata
+Statistics:
+  stat:
+    class: default
+    params:
+      discard_tickers:
+        - rocksdb.block.cache
+        - rocksdb.block.cachecompressed
+        - rocksdb.block
+        - rocksdb.memtable.payload.bytes.at.flush
+        - rocksdb.memtable.garbage.bytes.at.flush
+        - rocksdb.txn
+        - rocksdb.blobdb
+        - rocksdb.row.cache
+        - rocksdb.number.block
+        - rocksdb.bloom.filter
+        - rocksdb.persistent
+        - rocksdb.sim.block.cache
+      discard_histograms:
+        # comment: ....
+        - rocksdb.blobdb
+        - rocksdb.bytes.compressed
+        - rocksdb.bytes.decompressed
+        - rocksdb.num.index.and.filter.blocks.read.per.level
+        - rocksdb.num.data.blocks.read.per.level
+        - rocksdb.compression.times.nanos
+        - rocksdb.decompression.times.nanos
+        - rocksdb.read.block.get.micros
+        - rocksdb.write.raw.block.micros
+      # comment end of array
+      #stats_level: kAll
+      stats_level: kDisableAll
+MemTableRepFactory:
+  cspp:
+    class: cspp
+    params:
+      mem_cap: 16G
+      use_vm: false
+      token_use_idle: true
+      chunk_size: 16K
+      convert_to_sst: kFileMmap
+      sync_sst_file: false
+  skiplist:
+    class: SkipList
+    params:
+      lookahead: 0
+TableFactory:
+  cspp_memtab_sst:
+    class: CSPPMemTabTable
+    params: # empty params
+  bb:
+    class: BlockBasedTable
+    params:
+      checksum: kCRC32c
+      block_size: 4K
+      block_restart_interval: 16
+      index_block_restart_interval: 1
+      metadata_block_size: 4K
+      enable_index_compression: true
+      block_cache: "${lru_cache}"
+      readers:
+        BlockBasedTable: bb
+        CSPPMemTabTable: cspp_memtab_sst
+      block_cache_compressed:
+      persistent_cache:
+      filter_policy:
+  dispatch:
+    class: DispatcherTable
+    params:
+      default: bb
+      readers:
+        BlockBasedTable: bb
+        CSPPMemTabTable: cspp_memtab_sst
+      level_writers: [ bb, bb, bb, bb, bb, bb ]
+CFOptions:
+  default:
+    max_write_buffer_number: 6
+    memtable_factory: "${cspp}"
+    write_buffer_size: 128M
+    # set target_file_size_base as small as 512K is to make many SST files,
+    # thus key prefix cache can present efficiency
+    target_file_size_base: 64M
+    target_file_size_multiplier: 1
+    table_factory: dispatch
+    max_bytes_for_level_base: 512M
+    max_bytes_for_level_multiplier: 10
+    level_compaction_dynamic_level_bytes: false
+    level0_slowdown_writes_trigger: 20
+    level0_stop_writes_trigger: 36
+    level0_file_num_compaction_trigger: 2
+    merge_operator: uint64add # support merge
+    level_compaction_dynamic_file_size: true
+    optimize_filters_for_hits: true
+    allow_merge_memtables: true
+    min_write_buffer_number_to_merge: 2
+    compression_per_level:
+      - kNoCompression
+      - kNoCompression
+      - kSnappyCompression
+      - kSnappyCompression
+      - kSnappyCompression
+      - kSnappyCompression
+      - kSnappyCompression
+DBOptions:
+  log:
+    create_if_missing: true
+    create_missing_column_families: true
+  default:
+    create_if_missing: true
+    create_missing_column_families: false # this is important, must be false to hugegraph
+    max_background_compactions: -1
+    max_subcompactions: 4
+    max_level1_subcompactions: 0
+    inplace_update_support: false
+    WAL_size_limit_MB: 0
+    statistics: "${stat}"
+    max_manifest_file_size: 100M
+    max_background_jobs: 8
+    # Java org.rocksdb.WriteBatch has no Topling mmap WAL. With
+    # memtable_as_log_index enabled, every batch write fails:
+    # "WriteBatch has no mmap wal". Keep the option false for this client.
+    # convert_to_sst is still Topling-specific. Do not open data written by
+    # this profile with the standard RocksDB provider; restore a snapshot
+    # taken before migration instead.
+    compaction_readahead_size: 0
+    memtable_as_log_index: false
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb.yaml b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb.yaml
index 3067b378f1..5c0ee4226e 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb.yaml
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb.yaml
@@ -14,144 +14,40 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 #
-# common parameters
+
+# Community image defaults. Memory grows with databases and column families;
+# these are individual native budgets, not a process memory limit.
 http:
-  # normally parent path of db path
-  document_root: ./topling/rocksdb_resource
-  listening_ports: '127.0.0.1:2011'
   auto_start_http: false
 Cache:
   lru_cache:
     class: LRUCache
     params:
-      capacity: 8G
-      num_shard_bits: -1
-      strict_capacity_limit: false
-      high_pri_pool_ratio: 0.5
-      use_adaptive_mutex: false
-      metadata_charge_policy: kFullChargeCacheMetadata
-Statistics:
-  stat:
-    class: default
-    params:
-      discard_tickers:
-        - rocksdb.block.cache
-        - rocksdb.block.cachecompressed
-        - rocksdb.block
-        - rocksdb.memtable.payload.bytes.at.flush
-        - rocksdb.memtable.garbage.bytes.at.flush
-        - rocksdb.txn
-        - rocksdb.blobdb
-        - rocksdb.row.cache
-        - rocksdb.number.block
-        - rocksdb.bloom.filter
-        - rocksdb.persistent
-        - rocksdb.sim.block.cache
-      discard_histograms:
-        # comment: ....
-        - rocksdb.blobdb
-        - rocksdb.bytes.compressed
-        - rocksdb.bytes.decompressed
-        - rocksdb.num.index.and.filter.blocks.read.per.level
-        - rocksdb.num.data.blocks.read.per.level
-        - rocksdb.compression.times.nanos
-        - rocksdb.decompression.times.nanos
-        - rocksdb.read.block.get.micros
-        - rocksdb.write.raw.block.micros
-      # comment end of array
-      #stats_level: kAll
-      stats_level: kDisableAll
+      capacity: 64M
 MemTableRepFactory:
-  cspp:
-    class: cspp
-    params:
-      mem_cap: 16G
-      use_vm: false
-      token_use_idle: true
-      chunk_size: 16K
-      convert_to_sst: kFileMmap
-      sync_sst_file: false
   skiplist:
     class: SkipList
     params:
       lookahead: 0
 TableFactory:
-  cspp_memtab_sst:
-    class: CSPPMemTabTable
-    params: # empty params
-  bb:
+  block_based:
     class: BlockBasedTable
     params:
-      checksum: kCRC32c
-      block_size: 4K
-      block_restart_interval: 16
-      index_block_restart_interval: 1
-      metadata_block_size: 4K
-      enable_index_compression: true
       block_cache: "${lru_cache}"
-      readers:
-        BlockBasedTable: bb
-        CSPPMemTabTable: cspp_memtab_sst
-      block_cache_compressed:
-      persistent_cache:
-      filter_policy:
-  dispatch:
-    class: DispatcherTable
-    params:
-      default: bb
-      readers:
-        BlockBasedTable: bb
-        CSPPMemTabTable: cspp_memtab_sst
-      level_writers: [ bb, bb, bb, bb, bb, bb ]
 CFOptions:
   default:
-    max_write_buffer_number: 6
-    memtable_factory: "${cspp}"
-    write_buffer_size: 128M
-    # set target_file_size_base as small as 512K is to make many SST files,
-    # thus key prefix cache can present efficiency
-    target_file_size_base: 64M
-    target_file_size_multiplier: 1
-    table_factory: dispatch
-    max_bytes_for_level_base: 512M
-    max_bytes_for_level_multiplier: 10
-    level_compaction_dynamic_level_bytes: false
-    level0_slowdown_writes_trigger: 20
-    level0_stop_writes_trigger: 36
-    level0_file_num_compaction_trigger: 2
-    merge_operator: uint64add # support merge
-    level_compaction_dynamic_file_size: true
-    optimize_filters_for_hits: true
-    allow_merge_memtables: true
-    min_write_buffer_number_to_merge: 2
-    compression_per_level:
-      - kNoCompression
-      - kNoCompression
-      - kSnappyCompression
-      - kSnappyCompression
-      - kSnappyCompression
-      - kSnappyCompression
-      - kSnappyCompression
+    memtable_factory: "${skiplist}"
+    table_factory: block_based
+    write_buffer_size: 16M
+    max_write_buffer_number: 3
+    merge_operator: uint64add
 DBOptions:
   log:
     create_if_missing: true
     create_missing_column_families: true
   default:
     create_if_missing: true
-    create_missing_column_families: false # this is important, must be false to hugegraph
-    max_background_compactions: -1
-    max_subcompactions: 4
-    max_level1_subcompactions: 0
-    inplace_update_support: false
-    WAL_size_limit_MB: 0
-    statistics: "${stat}"
-    max_manifest_file_size: 100M
-    max_background_jobs: 8
-    # Java org.rocksdb.WriteBatch has no Topling mmap WAL. With
-    # memtable_as_log_index enabled, every batch write fails:
-    # "WriteBatch has no mmap wal". Keep the option false for this client.
-    # convert_to_sst is still Topling-specific. Do not open data written by
-    # this profile with the standard RocksDB provider; restore a snapshot
-    # taken before migration instead.
-    compaction_readahead_size: 0
+    create_missing_column_families: false
+    max_background_jobs: 2
+    # Java WriteBatch does not carry Topling's mmap WAL references.
     memtable_as_log_index: false
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-prepare.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-prepare.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ba10b0e798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-prepare.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+# (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+# the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+# Exercise preparation publication/failure with process fixtures. Real JNI
+# compatibility requires a separate native read/write smoke test.
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+source_bin="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../static/bin" && pwd)"
+test_root=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$test_root"' EXIT
+mkdir -p "$test_root/tools"
+python3 - "$test_root/jni.jar" <<'PY'
+import sys
+import zipfile
+
+header = bytearray(20)
+header[:6] = b'\x7fELF\x02\x01'
+header[18:20] = b'\x3e\x00'
+with zipfile.ZipFile(sys.argv[1], 'w') as jar:
+    jar.writestr('org/rocksdb/SidePluginRepo.class', b'fixture')
+    jar.writestr('librocksdbjni-linux64.so', header)
+PY
+cat > "$test_root/tools/ldd" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/sh
+exit 0
+SH
+cat > "$test_root/tools/uname" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/sh
+case "$1" in -s) echo Linux ;; -m) echo x86_64 ;; *) exit 1 ;; esac
+SH
+cat > "$test_root/tools/java" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eu
+profile="$TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF"
+if [[ "${*: -2:1}" == --profile ]]; then
+    profile="${@: -1}"
+fi
+printf '%s\n' "$profile" >> "$PROBE_LOG"
+printf '%s\n' "$TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF" >> "$PROBE_ENV_LOG"
+if grep -q 'missing-plugin' "$profile"; then
+    exit 1
+fi
+SH
+chmod +x "$test_root/tools/"*
+export PATH="$test_root/tools:$PATH"
+export TOPLING_JNI_JAR="$test_root/jni.jar"
+TOPLING_JNI_SHA256=$(sha256sum "$TOPLING_JNI_JAR" | awk '{print $1}')
+export TOPLING_JNI_SHA256
+unset TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF
+
+for scenario in default invalid override relative cdpath symlink; do
+    component="$test_root/$scenario"
+    mkdir -p "$component/bin" "$component/conf"
+    cp "$source_bin/prepare-topling.sh" "$component/bin/"
+    printf '%s\n' 'http: {auto_start_http: false}' > "$component/conf/toplingdb.yaml"
+    export PROBE_LOG="$component/probes"
+    export PROBE_ENV_LOG="$component/probe-env"
+    unset TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF
+    if [[ "$scenario" != default ]]; then
+        printf '%s\n' 'missing-plugin' > "$component/conf/toplingdb.yaml"
+    fi
+    if [[ "$scenario" == override || "$scenario" == relative ||
+          "$scenario" == cdpath || "$scenario" == symlink ]]; then
+        printf '%s\n' 'http: {auto_start_http: false}' > "$component/custom.yaml"
+        export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF="$component/custom.yaml"
+    fi
+    if [[ "$scenario" == relative || "$scenario" == cdpath ]]; then
+        export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF="$scenario/custom.yaml"
+    fi
+    if [[ "$scenario" == symlink ]]; then
+        mkdir -p "$component/physical/child"
+        ln -s "$component/physical/child" "$component/alias"
+        cp "$component/custom.yaml" "$component/physical/custom.yaml"
+        printf '%s\n' 'missing-plugin' > "$component/custom.yaml"
+        export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF="$component/alias/../custom.yaml"
+    fi
+    script="$component/bin/prepare-topling.sh"
+    fixture_cdpath=""
+    if [[ "$scenario" == cdpath ]]; then
+        fixture_cdpath=.
+        script="$scenario/bin/prepare-topling.sh"
+    fi
+    status=0
+    (cd "$test_root" && CDPATH="$fixture_cdpath" bash "$script") > "$component/output" 2>&1 || status=$?
+    # Both the minimal capability and selected profile must be probed.
+    [[ $(wc -l < "$PROBE_LOG") == 2 ]]
+    capability=$(head -1 "$PROBE_LOG")
+    [[ "$capability" == "$component"/.topling-prepare.*/probe.yaml ]]
+    # Both JVMs initialize under disposable options. Only the importer's
+    # explicit --profile argument names the production configuration.
+    [[ $(head -1 "$PROBE_ENV_LOG") == "$capability" ]]
+    [[ $(tail -1 "$PROBE_ENV_LOG") == "$capability" ]]
+    if [[ "$scenario" == invalid ]]; then
+        [[ "$status" != 0 && ! -e "$component/topling" ]]
+        grep -q 'configuration validation failed' "$component/output"
+    else
+        [[ "$status" == 0 ]]
+        (cd "$component/topling" && sha256sum -c easy-migrate.sha256 >/dev/null)
+        [[ ! -e "$component/topling/ToplingRuntimeProbe.java" ]]
+        expected="${TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF:-$component/conf/toplingdb.yaml}"
+        case "$scenario" in
+            relative | cdpath) expected="$component/custom.yaml" ;;
+            symlink) expected="$component/physical/custom.yaml" ;;
+        esac
+        [[ $(tail -1 "$PROBE_LOG") == "$expected" ]]
+    fi
+    [[ -z $(find "$component" -maxdepth 1 -name '.topling-prepare.*' -print -quit) ]]
+done
+echo 'Topling capability/profile preparation contract passed'
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-selection.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-selection.sh
index de9624cf1f..77469a945f 100755
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-selection.sh
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-topling-selection.sh
@@ -106,6 +106,32 @@ for provider in unset rocksdb topling; do
         grep -q 'competing RocksDB JNI in LD_PRELOAD' "$TEST_ROOT/error"
     done
 done
+# Relative overrides must survive cd to TOP, CDPATH, and symlink/.. semantics.
+mkdir -p "$TEST_ROOT/server/physical/child"
+cp "$TEST_ROOT/server/conf/toplingdb.yaml" "$TEST_ROOT/server/physical/custom.yaml"
+ln -s "$TEST_ROOT/server/physical/child" "$TEST_ROOT/profile-link"
+for scenario in relative cdpath symlink; do
+PATH="$TEST_ROOT/fake-bin:$PATH" bash -ec '
+    unset TOPLING_ACTIVE_NATIVE TOPLING_RUNTIME_CLASSPATH TOPLING_AUTO_MIGRATE_CONF
+    export TOPLINGDB_ROCKSDB_PROVIDER=topling
+    cd "$1"
+    export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF=server/conf/toplingdb.yaml
+    expected="$1/server/conf/toplingdb.yaml"
+    if [[ "$2" == cdpath ]]; then
+        export CDPATH=.
+    elif [[ "$2" == symlink ]]; then
+        export TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF=profile-link/../custom.yaml
+        expected="$1/server/physical/custom.yaml"
+    fi
+    source server/bin/preload-topling.sh
+    if [[ "$2" == cdpath ]]; then
+        test "$CDPATH" = .
+    fi
+    cd "$1/pd"
+    test "$TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF" = "$expected"
+    test -r "$TOPLINGDB_EASY_MIGRATE_CONF"
+' _ "$TEST_ROOT" "$scenario"
+done
 # Older or modified preparations must be verified again before launch.
 for state in missing stale; do
     receipt="$TEST_ROOT/server/topling/easy-migrate.sha256"
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-wait-storage.sh b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-wait-storage.sh
index 046f255d50..6c72687e9c 100755
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-wait-storage.sh
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/travis/test-wait-storage.sh
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ assert_contract() {
 run_case() {
     local scenario="$1" peers="$2" abort_after="$3" password="${4:-test-password}"
     local timeout_args=()
+    local backend_args=('hugegraph.backend=hstore')
     if [[ "$#" -ge 5 ]]; then
         timeout_args=("WAIT_STORAGE_TIMEOUT_S=$5")
     fi
@@ -83,9 +84,14 @@ run_case() {
     : > "${CONFIG_LOG}"
     : > "${COUNT_FILE}"
     : > "${TIMEOUT_LOG}"
-    : > "${DIST_ROOT}/conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties"
+    if [[ "$#" -ge 6 ]]; then
+        printf '%s\n' "$6" > "${DIST_ROOT}/conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties"
+        backend_args=()
+    else
+        : > "${DIST_ROOT}/conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties"
+    fi
 
-    CASE_OUTPUT=$(env -u WAIT_STORAGE_TIMEOUT_S \
+    CASE_OUTPUT=$(env -u WAIT_STORAGE_TIMEOUT_S -u hugegraph.backend \
         ${timeout_args[@]+"${timeout_args[@]}"} \
         PATH="${MOCK_BIN}:${PATH}" \
         MOCK_SCENARIO="${scenario}" \
@@ -98,7 +104,7 @@ run_case() {
         HG_SERVER_PD_REST_ENDPOINT="${peers}" \
         PD_AUTH_USER="test-user" \
         PD_AUTH_PASSWORD="${password}" \
-        'hugegraph.backend=hstore' \
+        ${backend_args[@]+"${backend_args[@]}"} \
         'hugegraph.pd.peers=config-only:8686' \
         "${DIST_ROOT}/bin/wait-storage.sh" 2>&1)
     CASE_RC=$?
@@ -310,7 +316,7 @@ CASE_OUTPUT=$(env \
     "${DIST_ROOT}/bin/wait-storage.sh" 2>&1)
 CASE_RC=$?
 assert_equal "no-PD topology rc" "0" "${CASE_RC}"
-assert_output "No pd.peers configured, skipping storage wait"
+assert_output "does not use PD/Store, skipping storage wait"
 [[ "${CASE_OUTPUT}" != *"PD_AUTH_PASSWORD is empty"* ]] || \
     fail "warned about an unused PD credential with no pd.peers configured"
 echo "  PASS no credential warning without pd.peers"
@@ -334,4 +340,47 @@ for storage_timeout in '' 0 -1 1.5 abc 86401 999999999999999999999; do
     echo "  PASS invalid timeout '${storage_timeout}'"
 done
 
-echo "20 passed, 0 failed"
+# With only the PD-peer override, entrypoint leaves backend syntax untouched.
+# Exercise ready and unready stores without a backend override that could hide
+# the configured-property parsing bug.
+for property in 'backend = hstore' $' \tbackend\t=\thstore \t' \
+                'backend:hstore' 'backend hstore' \
+                $'# backend=memory\nbackend.other=rocksdb\nbackend=rocksdb\nbackend = hstore'; do
+    run_case "pd1-up" "pd0:8620,pd1:8620" 6 test-password 5 "$property"
+    assert_equal "configured HStore rc" 0 "$CASE_RC"
+    assert_equal "configured HStore polls both peers" "$TWO_CALLS" "$(cat "$CALL_LOG")"
+    assert_output "Store registration check PASSED via pd1:8620"
+    assert_contract 5
+
+    run_case "none" "pd0:8620,pd1:8620" 2 test-password 5 "$property"
+    [[ "$CASE_RC" -ne 0 ]] || fail "configured HStore proceeded before a Store was Up"
+    assert_output "ERROR: Timeout waiting for storage backend"
+    assert_contract 5
+done
+
+# A local backend override must ignore even the distributed image's active
+# pd.peers. A failed fix would reach curl or timeout before initialization.
+for backend in rocksdb memory hbase; do
+    cp "$SOURCE_BIN/../conf/graphs/hstore.properties.template" \
+       "$DIST_ROOT/conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties" || fail "cannot copy the HStore graph template"
+    grep -Eq '^[[:blank:]]*pd[.]peers[[:blank:]]*=[[:blank:]]*[^[:space:]#]' \
+        "$DIST_ROOT/conf/graphs/hugegraph.properties" || fail "HStore fixture has no active pd.peers"
+    : > "$CALL_LOG"
+    : > "$TIMEOUT_LOG"
+    CASE_OUTPUT=$(env PATH="$MOCK_BIN:$PATH" \
+        MOCK_CALL_LOG="$CALL_LOG" MOCK_ARGS_LOG="$ARGS_LOG" \
+        MOCK_CONFIG_LOG="$CONFIG_LOG" MOCK_COUNT_FILE="$COUNT_FILE" \
+        MOCK_TIMEOUT_LOG="$TIMEOUT_LOG" MOCK_SCENARIO=auth-401 MOCK_ABORT_AFTER=1 \
+        WAIT_STORAGE_TIMEOUT_S=5 "hugegraph.backend=$backend" \
+        "$DIST_ROOT/bin/wait-storage.sh" 2>&1)
+    CASE_RC=$?
+    assert_equal "$backend ignores stale pd.peers" 0 "$CASE_RC"
+    [[ ! -s "$CALL_LOG" && ! -s "$TIMEOUT_LOG" ]] || fail "local backend contacted PD"
+    assert_output "does not use PD/Store, skipping storage wait"
+
+    run_case "auth-401" "pd0:8620,pd1:8620" 1 test-password 5 "backend = $backend"
+    assert_equal "configured $backend ignores PD" 0 "$CASE_RC"
+    [[ ! -s "$CALL_LOG" && ! -s "$TIMEOUT_LOG" ]] || fail "configured local backend contacted PD"
+done
+
+echo "36 passed, 0 failed"
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/ShardScanApiTest.java b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/ShardScanApiTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..69553d0373
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/ShardScanApiTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.hugegraph.api.traversers;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.apache.hugegraph.api.BaseApiTest;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Assume;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
+
+@RunWith(Parameterized.class)
+public class ShardScanApiTest extends BaseApiTest {
+
+    @Parameterized.Parameters(name = "{0}")
+    public static Collection<Object[]> elements() {
+        return Arrays.asList(new Object[]{"vertices", 6}, new Object[]{"edges", 5});
+    }
+
+    private final String elements;
+    private final String path;
+    private final int count;
+
+    public ShardScanApiTest(String elements, int count) {
+        this.elements = elements;
+        this.path = TRAVERSERS_API + "/" + elements + "/scan";
+        this.count = count;
+    }
+
+    private void prepareRocksDBData() {
+        Assume.assumeTrue("Shard scan contract requires RocksDB",
+                          "rocksdb".equals(System.getProperty("backend")));
+        initPropertyKey();
+        initVertexLabel();
+        initEdgeLabel();
+        initVertex();
+        initEdge();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testMissingBounds() {
+        String content = assertResponseStatus(400, client().get(this.path,
+                                             ImmutableMap.of("page_limit", 2)));
+        String message = assertJsonContains(content, "message");
+        Assert.assertTrue(message, message.contains("start parameter is required"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testMissingStartWithEmptyEnd() {
+        String content = assertResponseStatus(400, client().get(this.path,
+                                             ImmutableMap.of("end", "")));
+        String message = assertJsonContains(content, "message");
+        Assert.assertTrue(message, message.contains("start parameter is required"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testMissingEndWithEmptyStart() {
+        String content = assertResponseStatus(400, client().get(this.path,
+                                             ImmutableMap.of("start", "")));
+        String message = assertJsonContains(content, "message");
+        Assert.assertTrue(message, message.contains("end parameter is required"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testExplicitEmptyPageLimitsAndResumesScan() {
+        this.prepareRocksDBData();
+        Map<String, Object> params = new HashMap<>();
+        params.put("start", "");
+        params.put("end", "");
+        params.put("page", "");
+        params.put("page_limit", 2);
+        Set<Object> ids = new HashSet<>();
+        int requests = 0;
+        String page;
+        do {
+            String content = assertResponseStatus(200, client().get(this.path, params));
+            List<Map<String, Object>> result = assertJsonContains(content, this.elements);
+            Assert.assertTrue(result.size() <= 2);
+            for (Map<String, Object> element : result) {
+                Assert.assertTrue("Duplicate scan element", ids.add(element.get("id")));
+            }
+            page = assertJsonContains(content, "page");
+            params.put("page", page);
+            Assert.assertTrue("Scan cursor did not terminate", ++requests < 10);
+        } while (page != null && !page.isEmpty());
+        Assert.assertEquals(this.count, ids.size());
+        Assert.assertTrue(requests > 1);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testOmittedPageRetainsUnpagedContract() {
+        this.prepareRocksDBData();
+        String content = assertResponseStatus(200, client().get(this.path,
+                ImmutableMap.of("start", "", "end", "", "page_limit", 2)));
+        List<?> result = assertJsonContains(content, this.elements);
+        Assert.assertEquals(this.count, result.size());
+        Assert.assertFalse(content.contains("\"page\""));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/TraversersApiTestSuite.java b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/TraversersApiTestSuite.java
index e985caf58d..57dbb5ffd0 100644
--- a/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/TraversersApiTestSuite.java
+++ b/hugegraph-server/hugegraph-test/src/main/java/org/apache/hugegraph/api/traversers/TraversersApiTestSuite.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
         CrosspointsApiTest.class,
         CustomizedCrosspointsApiTest.class,
         EdgesApiTest.class,
+        ShardScanApiTest.class,
         FusiformSimilarityApiTest.class,
         JaccardSimilarityApiTest.class,
         KneighborApiTest.class,
diff --git a/hugegraph-store/hg-store-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml b/hugegraph-store/hg-store-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
index ee2b6af9bf..d0f8494027 100644
--- a/hugegraph-store/hg-store-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
+++ b/hugegraph-store/hg-store-dist/src/assembly/descriptor/server-assembly.xml
@@ -75,6 +75,11 @@
             <outputDirectory>conf</outputDirectory>
             <fileMode>644</fileMode>
         </file>
+        <file>
+            <source>${project.basedir}/../../hugegraph-server/hugegraph-dist/src/assembly/static/conf/toplingdb-legacy-cspp.yaml</source>
+            <outputDirectory>conf</outputDirectory>
+            <fileMode>644</fileMode>
+        </file>
     </files>
 
     <dependencySets>