diff --git a/.bumpversion.toml b/.bumpversion.toml
index cb1b6ebd7..12d7f0804 100644
--- a/.bumpversion.toml
+++ b/.bumpversion.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [tool.bumpversion]
-current_version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+current_version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 parse = """(?x)
     (?P<major>0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.
     (?P<minor>0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 1b8f5490f..b05d85f5b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3584,8 +3584,8 @@ checksum = "42703706b716c37f96a77aea830392ad231f44c9e9a67872fa5548707e11b11c"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fsst"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "rand 0.9.5",
@@ -5059,8 +5059,8 @@ checksum = "e037a2e1d8d5fdbd49b16a4ea09d5d6401c1f29eca5ff29d03d3824dba16256a"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arc-swap",
  "arrow",
@@ -5133,7 +5133,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-arrow"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5155,7 +5155,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-arrow-scalar"
 version = "58.0.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5169,7 +5169,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-arrow-stats"
 version = "58.0.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-schema",
@@ -5178,8 +5178,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-bitpacking"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrayref",
  "crunchy",
@@ -5189,8 +5189,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-core"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5227,8 +5227,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-datafusion"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5259,8 +5259,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-datagen"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5277,8 +5277,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-derive"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -5287,8 +5287,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-encoding"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-arith",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5321,8 +5321,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-file"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-arith",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5354,8 +5354,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-geo"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "datafusion",
  "geo-traits",
@@ -5369,8 +5369,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-index"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arc-swap",
  "arrow",
@@ -5441,8 +5441,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-index-core"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-schema",
@@ -5465,8 +5465,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-io"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5508,8 +5508,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-jsonb"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "byteorder",
  "ethnum",
@@ -5526,8 +5526,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-linalg"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-schema",
@@ -5541,8 +5541,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-namespace"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "async-trait",
@@ -5556,8 +5556,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-namespace-impls"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arc-swap",
  "arrow",
@@ -5611,8 +5611,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-select"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5626,8 +5626,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-table"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "arrow-array",
@@ -5667,8 +5667,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-testing"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-schema",
@@ -5681,8 +5681,8 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-tokenizer"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
-source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.13#145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
+source = "git+https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git?tag=v14.0.0-beta.15#765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4"
 dependencies = [
  "frostem",
  "icu_segmenter",
@@ -5695,7 +5695,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb"
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 dependencies = [
  "ahash",
  "anyhow",
@@ -5792,7 +5792,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb-nodejs"
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5817,7 +5817,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb-python"
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 dependencies = [
  "arc-swap",
  "arrow",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 5acc0f351..191f77919 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,21 +13,21 @@ categories = ["database-implementations"]
 rust-version = "1.94.0"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
-lance = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-core = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-datagen = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-file = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-io = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-index = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-jsonb = { version = "=14.0.0-beta.13", tag = "v14.0.0-beta.13", git = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-linalg = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-namespace = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-namespace-impls = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-table = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-testing = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-datafusion = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-encoding = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.13", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.13", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
-lance-arrow = { version = "=14.0.0-beta.13", path = "python/vendor/lance-arrow" }
+lance = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-core = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-datagen = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-file = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-io = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-index = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-jsonb = { version = "=14.0.0-beta.15", tag = "v14.0.0-beta.15", git = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-linalg = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-namespace = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-namespace-impls = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", default-features = false, "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-table = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-testing = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-datafusion = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-encoding = { "version" = "=14.0.0-beta.15", "tag" = "v14.0.0-beta.15", "git" = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance.git" }
+lance-arrow = { version = "=14.0.0-beta.15", path = "python/vendor/lance-arrow" }
 lancedb = { path = "rust/lancedb", default-features = false }
 ahash = "0.8"
 # Note that this one does not include pyarrow
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index bce1ec668..c5a99943d 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -15,18 +15,21 @@ unreleased features.
 
 ### Preview the docs
 
+Run these commands from the LanceDB repository root. The subshell changes into
+`docs` to load `mkdocs.yml`, while leaving your shell in the repository root.
+
 ```shell
-cd docs
-mkdocs serve
+(cd docs && PYTHONPATH=. mkdocs serve)
 ```
 
 If you want to just generate the HTML files:
 
 ```shell
-PYTHONPATH=. mkdocs build -f docs/mkdocs.yml
+(cd docs && PYTHONPATH=. mkdocs build)
 ```
 
-If successful, you should see a `docs/site` directory that you can verify locally.
+If successful, you should see a `docs/site` directory in the repository root that
+you can verify locally.
 
 ## Adding examples
 
diff --git a/docs/src/java/java.md b/docs/src/java/java.md
index 1fb657175..e2d46921e 100644
--- a/docs/src/java/java.md
+++ b/docs/src/java/java.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Add the following dependency to your `pom.xml`:
 <dependency>
     <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
     <artifactId>lancedb-core</artifactId>
-    <version>0.41.0-beta.5</version>
+    <version>0.41.0-beta.6</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
diff --git a/docs/src/js/classes/VectorQuery.md b/docs/src/js/classes/VectorQuery.md
index 3f56bb600..4809ebefd 100644
--- a/docs/src/js/classes/VectorQuery.md
+++ b/docs/src/js/classes/VectorQuery.md
@@ -646,6 +646,38 @@ rerank(reranker): VectorQuery
 
 ***
 
+### searchEffort()
+
+```ts
+searchEffort(searchEffort): VectorQuery
+```
+
+Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+
+The default, null, uses Auto (internally 0.5). Zero starts at the caller
+minimum; one searches all partitions within the caller maximum. Later
+probing may continue when too few candidates are found.
+Any explicit effort, including 0.5, overrides nprobes in either call order.
+Explicit minimum and maximum bounds still apply. This is not a recall
+guarantee and does not change refinement or HNSW ef. The MemWAL LSM
+scanner does not yet support this option.
+
+#### Parameters
+
+* **searchEffort**: `null` \| `number`
+
+#### Returns
+
+[`VectorQuery`](VectorQuery.md)
+
+#### Example
+
+```ts
+table.vectorSearch([0.1, 0.2]).searchEffort(0.75).limit(10);
+```
+
+***
+
 ### select()
 
 ```ts
diff --git a/java/lancedb-core/pom.xml b/java/lancedb-core/pom.xml
index ba0d1c8f2..b312ffebf 100644
--- a/java/lancedb-core/pom.xml
+++ b/java/lancedb-core/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
       <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
       <artifactId>lancedb-parent</artifactId>
-      <version>0.41.0-beta.5</version>
+      <version>0.41.0-beta.6</version>
       <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
 
diff --git a/java/pom.xml b/java/pom.xml
index 7949e9c79..33446040b 100644
--- a/java/pom.xml
+++ b/java/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
     <artifactId>lancedb-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>0.41.0-beta.5</version>
+    <version>0.41.0-beta.6</version>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
     <name>${project.artifactId}</name>
     <description>LanceDB Java SDK Parent POM</description>
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <arrow.version>15.0.0</arrow.version>
-        <lance-core.version>14.0.0-beta.13</lance-core.version>
+        <lance-core.version>14.0.0-beta.15</lance-core.version>
         <jackson.version>2.18.11</jackson.version>
         <spotless.skip>false</spotless.skip>
         <spotless.version>2.30.0</spotless.version>
diff --git a/nodejs/Cargo.toml b/nodejs/Cargo.toml
index 2f38dd299..9404a0913 100644
--- a/nodejs/Cargo.toml
+++ b/nodejs/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb-nodejs"
 edition.workspace = true
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 publish = false
 license.workspace = true
 description.workspace = true
diff --git a/nodejs/__test__/query.test.ts b/nodejs/__test__/query.test.ts
index 16a595002..786f04015 100644
--- a/nodejs/__test__/query.test.ts
+++ b/nodejs/__test__/query.test.ts
@@ -527,3 +527,106 @@ describe("Query orderBy", () => {
     ]);
   });
 });
+
+describe("IVF search effort", () => {
+  let directory: tmp.DirResult;
+  let table: Table;
+  const vector = Array.from({ length: 16 }, (_, i) => (i === 0 ? 1 : 0));
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    directory = tmp.dirSync({ unsafeCleanup: true });
+    const db = await connect(directory.name);
+    const rows = Array.from({ length: 512 }, (_, id) => ({
+      id,
+      vector: Array.from(
+        { length: 16 },
+        (_, j) =>
+          (Math.floor(id / 32) === j ? 1 : 0) + Math.sin(id * 17 + j) * 0.001,
+      ),
+    }));
+    table = await db.createTable("effort", rows.slice(0, 256));
+    await table.add(rows.slice(256));
+    await table.createIndex("vector", {
+      config: Index.ivfFlat({ numPartitions: 16 }),
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    directory.removeCallback();
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    [null, 6],
+    [0, 1],
+    [0.25, 3],
+    [0.5, 6],
+    [0.75, 10],
+    [1, 16],
+  ])(
+    "preserves effort %s through execution and probe precedence",
+    async (effort, expected) => {
+      const partitions = async (query: ReturnType<Table["vectorSearch"]>) => {
+        const plan = await query.limit(8).analyzePlan();
+        const matches = [...plan.matchAll(/partitions_searched=(\d+)/g)];
+        expect(matches.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+        return matches.reduce((total, match) => total + Number(match[1]), 0);
+      };
+      expect(
+        await partitions(table.vectorSearch(vector).searchEffort(effort)),
+      ).toBe(expected);
+      expect(
+        await partitions(
+          table.vectorSearch(vector).nprobes(1).searchEffort(effort),
+        ),
+      ).toBe(effort === null ? 1 : expected);
+      expect(
+        await partitions(
+          table.vectorSearch(vector).searchEffort(effort).nprobes(1),
+        ),
+      ).toBe(effort === null ? 1 : expected);
+      expect(
+        await partitions(
+          table
+            .vectorSearch(vector)
+            .searchEffort(effort)
+            .nprobes(1)
+            .searchEffort(null),
+        ),
+      ).toBe(1);
+      expect(
+        await partitions(
+          table.vectorSearch(vector).searchEffort(effort).maximumNprobes(2),
+        ),
+      ).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2);
+      const actual = await table
+        .vectorSearch(vector)
+        .searchEffort(effort)
+        .limit(8)
+        .toArray();
+      const exact = await table
+        .vectorSearch(vector)
+        .bypassVectorIndex()
+        .limit(8)
+        .toArray();
+      const ids = new Set(exact.map((row) => row.id));
+      expect(
+        actual.filter((row) => ids.has(row.id)).length / 8,
+      ).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0.5);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each([
+    -0.1,
+    1.1,
+    Number.NaN,
+    Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+    Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY,
+  ])("rejects invalid effort %s before execution", (effort) => {
+    expect(() => table.vectorSearch(vector).searchEffort(effort)).toThrow(
+      "search_effort must be finite and in [0, 1]",
+    );
+    expect(() =>
+      table.vectorSearch(vector).fullTextSearch("dog").searchEffort(effort),
+    ).toThrow("search_effort must be finite and in [0, 1]");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/nodejs/lancedb/query.ts b/nodejs/lancedb/query.ts
index 0f0eaf610..cce505c97 100644
--- a/nodejs/lancedb/query.ts
+++ b/nodejs/lancedb/query.ts
@@ -549,6 +549,27 @@ export class VectorQuery extends StandardQueryBase<NativeVectorQuery> {
     return this;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+   *
+   * The default, null, uses Auto (internally 0.5). Zero starts at the caller
+   * minimum; one searches all partitions within the caller maximum. Later
+   * probing may continue when too few candidates are found.
+   * Any explicit effort, including 0.5, overrides nprobes in either call order.
+   * Explicit minimum and maximum bounds still apply. This is not a recall
+   * guarantee and does not change refinement or HNSW ef. The MemWAL LSM
+   * scanner does not yet support this option.
+   *
+   * @example
+   * ```ts
+   * table.vectorSearch([0.1, 0.2]).searchEffort(0.75).limit(10);
+   * ```
+   */
+  searchEffort(searchEffort: number | null): VectorQuery {
+    this.doVectorCall((inner) => inner.searchEffort(searchEffort));
+    return this;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Set the minimum number of probes used.
    *
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json b/nodejs/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
index 6b8fcf993..08e5b3a41 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-darwin-arm64",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["darwin"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.darwin-arm64.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json b/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
index cbb0462e7..5aaa172ac 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-arm64-gnu",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-arm64-gnu.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-musl/package.json b/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-musl/package.json
index e752f03a8..cb1881aaf 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-musl/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-musl/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-arm64-musl",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-arm64-musl.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json b/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
index 43d9d2fc3..9881b85d1 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-x64-gnu",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-x64-gnu.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-musl/package.json b/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-musl/package.json
index 109e469a5..29f3e7986 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-musl/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/linux-x64-musl/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-x64-musl",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-x64-musl.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/win32-arm64-msvc/package.json b/nodejs/npm/win32-arm64-msvc/package.json
index 5c1723bed..f70f4eacd 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/win32-arm64-msvc/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/win32-arm64-msvc/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@lancedb/lancedb-win32-arm64-msvc",
-  "version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+  "version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
   "os": [
     "win32"
   ],
diff --git a/nodejs/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json b/nodejs/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
index 928dfc5bb..c06f89a36 100644
--- a/nodejs/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-win32-x64-msvc",
-	"version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+	"version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
 	"os": ["win32"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.win32-x64-msvc.node",
diff --git a/nodejs/package.json b/nodejs/package.json
index 121896f41..4c9be04a7 100644
--- a/nodejs/package.json
+++ b/nodejs/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "ann"
   ],
   "private": false,
-  "version": "0.41.0-beta.5",
+  "version": "0.41.0-beta.6",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "exports": {
     ".": "./dist/index.js",
diff --git a/nodejs/src/query.rs b/nodejs/src/query.rs
index 712569b2f..480426411 100644
--- a/nodejs/src/query.rs
+++ b/nodejs/src/query.rs
@@ -298,6 +298,16 @@ impl VectorQuery {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    #[napi]
+    pub fn search_effort(&mut self, search_effort: Option<f64>) -> napi::Result<()> {
+        self.inner = self
+            .inner
+            .clone()
+            .search_effort(search_effort)
+            .default_error()?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     #[napi]
     pub fn minimum_nprobes(&mut self, minimum_nprobe: u32) -> napi::Result<()> {
         self.inner = self
diff --git a/python/Cargo.toml b/python/Cargo.toml
index 2e0a776e3..eaaef05ed 100644
--- a/python/Cargo.toml
+++ b/python/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb-python"
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 publish = false
 edition.workspace = true
 description = "Python bindings for LanceDB"
diff --git a/python/pyproject.toml b/python/pyproject.toml
index cde7247f3..ed54ae536 100644
--- a/python/pyproject.toml
+++ b/python/pyproject.toml
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ tests = [
     "polars>=0.19, <=1.32.3",
     "pyarrow<25",
     "pyarrow-stubs>=16.0",
-    "pylance==14.0.0b10",
+    "pylance==14.0.0b12",
     "requests>=2.31.0",
     "datafusion>=54,<55",
     "opentelemetry-sdk>=1.30.0",
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ dev = [
     "pre-commit>=3.5.0",
     "pyright>=1.1.350",
     'typing-extensions>=4.0.0; python_version < "3.11"',
+    "maturin>=1.10",
 ]
 docs = ["mkdocs", "mkdocs-jupyter", "mkdocs-material", "mkdocstrings-python"]
 clip = ["torch", "pillow>=12.1.1", "open-clip-torch"]
diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/_blob.py b/python/python/lancedb/_blob.py
index dc4ed37df..ee78a7312 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/_blob.py
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/_blob.py
@@ -110,7 +110,9 @@ def projection_includes_blob_column(
     if projection is None:
         return True
     for output, source in _iter_projection_pairs(projection):
-        if output in columns or source in columns:
+        if output in columns or any(
+            column == source or column.startswith(f"{source}.") for column in columns
+        ):
             return True
     return False
 
@@ -122,14 +124,16 @@ def blob_v2_projection_sources(
     blob_columns = row_addressable_blob_v2_paths(schema)
     if not blob_columns:
         return {}
-    columns = set(blob_columns)
     if projection is None:
         return {column: column for column in blob_columns}
-    return {
-        output: source
-        for output, source in _iter_projection_pairs(projection)
-        if source in columns
-    }
+    sources = {}
+    for output, source in _iter_projection_pairs(projection):
+        for column in blob_columns:
+            if column == source:
+                sources[output] = column
+            elif column.startswith(f"{source}."):
+                sources[f"{output}{column[len(source) :]}"] = column
+    return sources
 
 
 def v2_projection_needs_row_id(
@@ -180,7 +184,7 @@ async def replace_v2_blob_columns_with_bytes(
     fetch_blobs: FetchBlobsAsync,
 ) -> pa.Table:
     for output_name, source_name in blob_sources.items():
-        if output_name not in tbl.column_names:
+        if not _has_column_path(tbl.schema, output_name):
             continue
         blobs = await fetch_blobs(source_name, tbl)
         tbl = _set_blob_column(tbl, output_name, blobs)
@@ -193,7 +197,7 @@ def replace_v2_blob_columns_with_bytes_sync(
     fetch_blobs: FetchBlobsSync,
 ) -> pa.Table:
     for output_name, source_name in blob_sources.items():
-        if output_name not in tbl.column_names:
+        if not _has_column_path(tbl.schema, output_name):
             continue
         blobs = fetch_blobs(source_name, tbl)
         tbl = _set_blob_column(tbl, output_name, blobs)
@@ -287,9 +291,46 @@ def _iter_projection_pairs(
                 yield name, source if source is not None else expr.to_sql()
 
 
-def _set_blob_column(tbl: pa.Table, output_name: str, blobs: pa.Array) -> pa.Table:
+def _has_column_path(schema: pa.Schema, path: str) -> bool:
+    if schema.get_field_index(path) >= 0:
+        return True
+    top_name, *rest = path.split(".")
+    index = schema.get_field_index(top_name)
+    if index < 0:
+        return False
+    field = schema.field(index)
+    for name in rest:
+        if not pa.types.is_struct(field.type):
+            return False
+        index = field.type.get_field_index(name)
+        if index < 0:
+            return False
+        field = field.type.field(index)
+    return True
+
+
+def _set_blob_column(
+    tbl: pa.Table, output_name: str, blobs: pa.Array | pa.ChunkedArray
+) -> pa.Table:
     index = tbl.schema.get_field_index(output_name)
-    return tbl.set_column(index, pa.field(output_name, blobs.type), [blobs])
+    if index >= 0:
+        return tbl.set_column(index, pa.field(output_name, blobs.type), [blobs])
+
+    parent_path, leaf_name = output_name.rsplit(".", 1)
+    if isinstance(blobs, pa.ChunkedArray):
+        blobs = blobs.combine_chunks()
+
+    def replace_blob(children: list, child_fields: list) -> None:
+        for i, field in enumerate(child_fields):
+            if field.name == leaf_name:
+                children[i] = blobs
+                child_fields[i] = pa.field(
+                    leaf_name, blobs.type, nullable=field.nullable
+                )
+                return
+        raise KeyError(f"Blob field '{leaf_name}' not found in struct '{parent_path}'")
+
+    return _transform_struct_column(tbl, parent_path, replace_blob)
 
 
 def _embed_row_id_in_column(tbl: pa.Table, path: str, row_ids: pa.Array) -> pa.Table:
diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/_lancedb.pyi b/python/python/lancedb/_lancedb.pyi
index cfaa8c68a..8d0a86e4a 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/_lancedb.pyi
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/_lancedb.pyi
@@ -727,6 +727,7 @@ class VectorQuery:
     def use_lsm(self, enable: bool): ...
     def refine_factor(self, refine_factor: int): ...
     def nprobes(self, nprobes: int): ...
+    def search_effort(self, search_effort: Optional[float]): ...
     def minimum_nprobes(self, minimum_nprobes: int): ...
     def maximum_nprobes(self, maximum_nprobes: int): ...
     def bypass_vector_index(self): ...
@@ -752,6 +753,7 @@ class HybridQuery:
     def distance_type(self, distance_type: str): ...
     def refine_factor(self, refine_factor: int): ...
     def nprobes(self, nprobes: int): ...
+    def search_effort(self, search_effort: Optional[float]): ...
     def minimum_nprobes(self, minimum_nprobes: int): ...
     def maximum_nprobes(self, maximum_nprobes: int): ...
     def bypass_vector_index(self): ...
@@ -781,6 +783,7 @@ class PyQueryRequest:
     nprobes: Optional[int]
     minimum_nprobes: Optional[int]
     maximum_nprobes: Optional[int]
+    search_effort: Optional[float]
     lower_bound: Optional[float]
     upper_bound: Optional[float]
     ef: Optional[int]
diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/namespace.py b/python/python/lancedb/namespace.py
index ed87e441f..26c62925f 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/namespace.py
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/namespace.py
@@ -105,6 +105,11 @@ def _query_to_namespace_request(
 
     if not isinstance(query, Query):
         raise TypeError(f"Expected Query, got {type(query)}")
+    if query.search_effort is not None:
+        raise ValueError(
+            "namespace QueryTable does not support search_effort; "
+            "execute the query locally"
+        )
 
     vector_request = None
     if query.vector is not None:
diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/query.py b/python/python/lancedb/query.py
index c7664ab78..eece390c2 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/query.py
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/query.py
@@ -475,8 +475,8 @@ class MatchQuery(FullTextQuery):
     ----------
     query : str
         The query string to match against.
-    column : str
-        The name of the column to match against.
+    column : str, optional
+        The column to match against. None leaves column selection to query planning.
     boost : float, default 1.0
         The boost factor for the query.
         The score of each matching document is multiplied by this value.
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ class MatchQuery(FullTextQuery):
     """
 
     query: str
-    column: str
+    column: Optional[str] = None
     boost: float = pydantic.Field(1.0, kw_only=True)
     fuzziness: Optional[int] = pydantic.Field(0, kw_only=True)
     max_expansions: int = pydantic.Field(50, kw_only=True)
@@ -793,6 +793,9 @@ class Query(pydantic.BaseModel):
     # and all partitions could be searched if needed to satisfy the limit.
     maximum_nprobes: Optional[int] = None
 
+    # Optional initial IVF effort; None preserves Auto and explicit nprobes.
+    search_effort: Optional[float] = None
+
     # lower bound for distance search
     lower_bound: Optional[float] = None
 
@@ -854,6 +857,7 @@ class Query(pydantic.BaseModel):
         query.nprobes = req.nprobes
         query.minimum_nprobes = req.minimum_nprobes
         query.maximum_nprobes = req.maximum_nprobes
+        query.search_effort = req.search_effort
         query.lower_bound = req.lower_bound
         query.upper_bound = req.upper_bound
         query.ef = req.ef
@@ -1635,6 +1639,7 @@ class LanceVectorQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
         self._nprobes = None
         self._minimum_nprobes = None
         self._maximum_nprobes = None
+        self._search_effort = None
         self._lower_bound = None
         self._upper_bound = None
         self._refine_factor = None
@@ -1716,6 +1721,27 @@ class LanceVectorQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
         self._nprobes = nprobes
         return self
 
+    def search_effort(self, search_effort: Optional[float]) -> LanceVectorQueryBuilder:
+        """Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+
+        None (the default) uses Auto, internally 0.5. Zero starts at the caller
+        minimum; one searches all partitions within the caller maximum. Later
+        probing may continue when too few candidates are found. Any explicit
+        effort, including 0.5, overrides nprobes in either call order. Explicit
+        minimum and maximum bounds still apply. This is not a recall guarantee
+        and does not change refinement or HNSW ef. MemWAL LSM queries do not
+        yet support this option.
+
+        Examples
+        --------
+        >>> import lancedb
+        >>> db = lancedb.connect("memory://")
+        >>> table = db.create_table("effort_vectors", [{"vector": [0.1, 0.2]}])
+        >>> query = table.search([0.1, 0.2]).search_effort(0.75)
+        """
+        self._search_effort = search_effort
+        return self
+
     def minimum_nprobes(self, minimum_nprobes: int) -> LanceVectorQueryBuilder:
         """Set the minimum number of probes to use.
 
@@ -1858,6 +1884,7 @@ class LanceVectorQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
             nprobes=self._nprobes,
             minimum_nprobes=self._minimum_nprobes,
             maximum_nprobes=self._maximum_nprobes,
+            search_effort=self._search_effort,
             lower_bound=self._lower_bound,
             upper_bound=self._upper_bound,
             refine_factor=self._refine_factor,
@@ -2217,6 +2244,7 @@ class LanceHybridQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
         self._nprobes = None
         self._minimum_nprobes = None
         self._maximum_nprobes = None
+        self._search_effort = None
         self._refine_factor = None
         self._distance_type = None
         self._phrase_query = None
@@ -2524,6 +2552,32 @@ class LanceHybridQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
         self._nprobes = nprobes
         return self
 
+    def search_effort(self, search_effort: Optional[float]) -> LanceHybridQueryBuilder:
+        """Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+
+        None (the default) uses Auto, internally 0.5. Zero starts at the caller
+        minimum; one searches all partitions within the caller maximum. Later
+        probing may continue when too few candidates are found. Any explicit
+        effort, including 0.5, overrides nprobes in either call order. Explicit
+        minimum and maximum bounds still apply. This is not a recall guarantee
+        and does not change refinement or HNSW ef. MemWAL LSM queries do not
+        yet support this option.
+
+        Examples
+        --------
+        >>> import lancedb
+        >>> db = lancedb.connect("memory://")
+        >>> table = db.create_table(
+        ...     "effort_hybrid", [{"vector": [0.1, 0.2], "text": "dog"}]
+        ... )
+        >>> query = (
+        ...     table.search(query_type="hybrid").vector([0.1, 0.2])
+        ...     .text("dog").search_effort(0.75)
+        ... )
+        """
+        self._search_effort = search_effort
+        return self
+
     def minimum_nprobes(self, minimum_nprobes: int) -> LanceHybridQueryBuilder:
         """Set the minimum number of probes to use.
 
@@ -2802,6 +2856,8 @@ class LanceHybridQueryBuilder(LanceQueryBuilder):
             self._vector_query.metric(self._distance_type)
         if self._nprobes is not None:
             self._vector_query.nprobes(self._nprobes)
+        if self._search_effort is not None:
+            self._vector_query.search_effort(self._search_effort)
         if self._minimum_nprobes is not None:
             self._vector_query.minimum_nprobes(self._minimum_nprobes)
         if self._maximum_nprobes is not None:
@@ -3730,6 +3786,32 @@ class AsyncVectorQueryBase:
         self._inner.nprobes(nprobes)
         return self
 
+    def search_effort(self, search_effort: Optional[float]) -> Self:
+        """Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+
+        None preserves Auto (internally 0.5) and fixed nprobes. Any explicit
+        effort, including 0.5, overrides nprobes in either call order; explicit
+        minimum and maximum bounds remain effective. Zero starts at the caller
+        minimum and one searches all partitions within the maximum. Later
+        probing may continue to obtain enough candidates. This is not a recall
+        guarantee and does not change refinement or HNSW ef. MemWAL LSM queries
+        do not yet support this option.
+
+        Examples
+        --------
+        >>> import asyncio
+        >>> import lancedb
+        >>> async def build_query():
+        ...     db = await lancedb.connect_async("memory://")
+        ...     table = await db.create_table(
+        ...         "effort_async", [{"vector": [0.1, 0.2]}]
+        ...     )
+        ...     return table.vector_search([0.1, 0.2]).search_effort(0.75)
+        >>> query = asyncio.run(build_query())
+        """
+        self._inner.search_effort(search_effort)
+        return self
+
     def minimum_nprobes(self, minimum_nprobes: int) -> Self:
         """Set the minimum number of probes to use.
 
diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/table.py b/python/python/lancedb/table.py
index 21838ecef..81b376ebd 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/table.py
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/table.py
@@ -4440,6 +4440,7 @@ class LanceTable(Table):
             and not self._route_pushdown_to_rust
             and self.current_branch() is None
             and query.take_offsets is None
+            and query.search_effort is None
         ):
             from lancedb.namespace import _execute_server_side_query
 
@@ -6441,6 +6442,8 @@ class AsyncTable:
                 async_query = async_query.distance_type(query.distance_type)
             if query.nprobes is not None:
                 async_query = async_query.nprobes(query.nprobes)
+            if query.search_effort is not None:
+                async_query = async_query.search_effort(query.search_effort)
             if query.minimum_nprobes is not None and query.maximum_nprobes is not None:
                 async_query = async_query.minimum_nprobes(
                     query.minimum_nprobes
@@ -6481,6 +6484,7 @@ class AsyncTable:
             )
             and not self._route_pushdown_to_rust
             and query.take_offsets is None
+            and query.search_effort is None
         ):
             from lancedb.namespace import _execute_server_side_query
 
diff --git a/python/python/tests/test_blob.py b/python/python/tests/test_blob.py
index 72107364c..2bb5b6bea 100644
--- a/python/python/tests/test_blob.py
+++ b/python/python/tests/test_blob.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from lance.blob import Blob, BlobType as LanceBlobType
 
 import lancedb
 from lancedb._blob import (
+    _set_blob_column,
     blob_v2_projection_sources,
     read_row_ids_from_hits,
     stash_auto_row_ids,
@@ -297,6 +298,121 @@ def test_blob_v2_projection_sources_use_typed_column_name():
     }
 
 
+def test_blob_v2_projection_sources_include_selected_struct():
+    schema = pa.schema(
+        [
+            pa.field(
+                "info", pa.struct([pa.field("name", pa.string()), lancedb.blob("blob")])
+            )
+        ]
+    )
+
+    assert blob_v2_projection_sources(schema, ["info"]) == {"info.blob": "info.blob"}
+    assert blob_v2_projection_sources(schema, {"renamed": "info"}) == {
+        "renamed.blob": "info.blob"
+    }
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("parent_path", ["info", "outer.info"])
+def test_set_blob_column_missing_nested_field_raises(parent_path):
+    row = {"name": "first"}
+    for name in reversed(parent_path.split(".")):
+        row = {name: row}
+    table = pa.Table.from_pylist([row])
+    blobs = pa.array([b"hello"], type=pa.large_binary())
+
+    with pytest.raises(KeyError) as exc_info:
+        _set_blob_column(table, f"{parent_path}.blob", blobs)
+
+    assert parent_path in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "'blob'" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+
+def _nested_blob_table(db, name):
+    schema = pa.schema(
+        [
+            pa.field("id", pa.int64()),
+            pa.field(
+                "info", pa.struct([pa.field("name", pa.string()), lancedb.blob("blob")])
+            ),
+        ]
+    )
+    table = db.create_table(name, schema=schema)
+    info = pa.StructArray.from_arrays(
+        [
+            pa.array(["first", "second", "third"]),
+            pa.array([b"hello", None, b"hidden"], type=pa.large_binary()),
+        ],
+        names=["name", "blob"],
+        mask=pa.array([False, False, True]),
+    )
+    table.add(pa.table({"id": pa.array([0, 1, 2]), "info": info}))
+    return table
+
+
+def test_nested_blob_to_pandas_bytes(tmp_path):
+    table = _nested_blob_table(lancedb.connect(tmp_path), "nested_pandas_bytes")
+    expected = [
+        {"name": "first", "blob": b"hello"},
+        {"name": "second", "blob": None},
+        None,
+    ]
+
+    assert table.to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes")["info"].tolist() == expected
+    assert table.search().to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes")["info"].tolist() == expected
+    assert (
+        table.search().select(["info"]).to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes")["info"].tolist()
+        == expected
+    )
+    assert (
+        table.search()
+        .select({"renamed": "info"})
+        .to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes")["renamed"]
+        .tolist()
+        == expected
+    )
+    assert table.search().select({"b": "info.blob"}).to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes")[
+        "b"
+    ].tolist() == [b"hello", None, None]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_nested_blob_to_pandas_bytes_async(tmp_path):
+    db = await lancedb.connect_async(tmp_path)
+    schema = pa.schema(
+        [
+            pa.field("id", pa.int64()),
+            pa.field(
+                "info", pa.struct([pa.field("name", pa.string()), lancedb.blob("blob")])
+            ),
+        ]
+    )
+    table = await db.create_table("nested_pandas_bytes_async", schema=schema)
+    await table.add(
+        pa.table(
+            {
+                "id": pa.array([0, 1]),
+                "info": pa.StructArray.from_arrays(
+                    [
+                        pa.array(["first", "second"]),
+                        pa.array([b"hello", None], type=pa.large_binary()),
+                    ],
+                    names=["name", "blob"],
+                ),
+            }
+        )
+    )
+    expected = [
+        {"name": "first", "blob": b"hello"},
+        {"name": "second", "blob": None},
+    ]
+
+    assert (await table.to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes"))["info"].tolist() == expected
+    assert (await table.query().to_pandas(blob_mode="bytes"))[
+        "info"
+    ].tolist() == expected
+
+
 def _legacy_v1_table(name):
     # Legacy v1 blob columns are only writable at file version <= 2.1.
     db = lancedb.connect(
diff --git a/python/python/tests/test_namespace.py b/python/python/tests/test_namespace.py
index 76aa5fc55..520a6992d 100644
--- a/python/python/tests/test_namespace.py
+++ b/python/python/tests/test_namespace.py
@@ -1209,3 +1209,15 @@ def test_local_table_to_arrow_and_to_pandas_are_unchanged(tmp_path):
 
     assert table.to_arrow().column("id").to_pylist() == [1, 2]
     assert table.to_pandas()["id"].tolist() == [1, 2]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("effort", [0.0, 0.5, 1.0])
+def test_namespace_request_rejects_search_effort(effort):
+    from lancedb.query import Query
+
+    with pytest.raises(
+        ValueError, match="namespace QueryTable does not support search_effort"
+    ):
+        _query_to_namespace_request(
+            ["test"], Query(vector=[1.0, 0.0], search_effort=effort)
+        )
diff --git a/python/python/tests/test_query.py b/python/python/tests/test_query.py
index daee0dd07..74a67b909 100644
--- a/python/python/tests/test_query.py
+++ b/python/python/tests/test_query.py
@@ -2265,3 +2265,127 @@ def test_blob_v2_to_batches_row_id(tmp_db):
     assert "_rowid" in hits.column_names
     blobs = table.fetch_blobs("blob", hits)
     assert [blobs[i].as_py() for i in range(len(blobs))] == [b"one", b"two"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("metric", ["l2", "cosine", "dot"])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "effort,probes", [(None, 4), (0, 1), (0.25, 2), (0.5, 4), (0.75, 8), (1, 16)]
+)
+def test_search_effort_probe_budget(tmp_path, monkeypatch, metric, effort, probes):
+    import re
+    from lancedb.index import IvfFlat
+
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LANCE_AUTO_PROBE_MARGIN", "0")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LANCE_AUTO_MIN_INITIAL_NPROBES", "4")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LANCE_AUTO_MAX_INITIAL_NPROBES", "4")
+    rng = np.random.default_rng(42)
+    vectors = np.repeat(np.eye(16, dtype=np.float32), 32, axis=0)
+    vectors += rng.normal(0, 0.001, vectors.shape).astype(np.float32)
+    data = pa.table(
+        {
+            "id": np.arange(512),
+            "text": ["dog"] * 512,
+            "vector": pa.FixedSizeListArray.from_arrays(pa.array(vectors.ravel()), 16),
+        }
+    )
+    table = lancedb.connect(tmp_path).create_table("effort", data.slice(0, 256))
+    table.add(data.slice(256))
+    table.create_index(
+        "vector", config=IvfFlat(distance_type=metric, num_partitions=16)
+    )
+    vector = np.eye(16, dtype=np.float32)[0]
+
+    def search(value=effort):
+        return table.search(vector).distance_type(metric).search_effort(value).limit(8)
+
+    def partitions(query):
+        vector_plan = query.analyze_plan().split("FTS Search Plan:", 1)[0]
+        values = re.findall(r"partitions_searched=(\d+)", vector_plan)
+        assert values
+        return sum(map(int, values))
+
+    assert partitions(search()) == probes
+    exact = set(
+        table.search(vector)
+        .distance_type(metric)
+        .bypass_vector_index()
+        .limit(8)
+        .to_arrow()["id"]
+        .to_pylist()
+    )
+    actual = set(search().to_arrow()["id"].to_pylist())
+    assert len(actual & exact) / 8 >= 0.5
+    expected = 1 if effort is None else probes
+    assert partitions(search().nprobes(1)) == expected
+    assert (
+        partitions(
+            table.search(vector)
+            .distance_type(metric)
+            .nprobes(1)
+            .search_effort(effort)
+            .limit(8)
+        )
+        == expected
+    )
+    assert partitions(search().nprobes(1).search_effort(None)) == 1
+    assert partitions(search().maximum_nprobes(2)) <= 2
+    assert partitions(search().minimum_nprobes(3).maximum_nprobes(3)) == 3
+    assert partitions(search(0).nprobes(16).maximum_nprobes(0)) == 1
+    if effort is None:
+        assert search().to_arrow() == search(0.5).to_arrow()
+    filtered = search(0).maximum_nprobes(2).where("id % 8 = 0", prefilter=True)
+    assert partitions(filtered) <= 2
+    assert all(row["id"] % 8 == 0 for row in filtered.to_list())
+
+    if metric == "l2" and effort == 0.5:
+        table.create_index("text", config=FTS())
+        hybrid = (
+            table.search(query_type="hybrid")
+            .vector(vector)
+            .text("dog")
+            .nprobes(1)
+            .search_effort(0.5)
+            .limit(8)
+        )
+        assert partitions(hybrid) == 4
+        assert partitions(hybrid.search_effort(None)) == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "effort", [-0.1, 1.1, float("nan"), float("inf"), -float("inf")]
+)
+def test_search_effort_invalid_sync(table, effort):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="search_effort must be finite and in"):
+        table.search([0, 0]).search_effort(effort).to_list()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("hybrid", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("effort", [None, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1])
+async def test_search_effort_async_roundtrip(table_async, hybrid, effort):
+    query = table_async.vector_search([0, 0])
+    if hybrid:
+        query = query.nearest_to_text("dog")
+    query = query.nprobes(5).search_effort(effort).minimum_nprobes(2).maximum_nprobes(3)
+    request = query.to_query_object()
+    assert request.search_effort == effort
+    assert request.nprobes == 5
+    assert request.minimum_nprobes == 2
+    assert request.maximum_nprobes == 3
+    assert query.search_effort(None).to_query_object().search_effort is None
+    query.search_effort(effort)
+    if not hybrid:
+        assert len(await query.limit(1).to_list()) == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("hybrid", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "effort", [-0.1, 1.1, float("nan"), float("inf"), -float("inf")]
+)
+async def test_search_effort_invalid_async(table_async, hybrid, effort):
+    query = table_async.vector_search([0, 0])
+    if hybrid:
+        query = query.nearest_to_text("dog")
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="search_effort must be finite and in"):
+        query.search_effort(effort)
diff --git a/python/src/query.rs b/python/src/query.rs
index 88b7243d4..e5547881a 100644
--- a/python/src/query.rs
+++ b/python/src/query.rs
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ impl<'a, 'py> FromPyObject<'a, 'py> for PyLanceDB<FtsQuery> {
         match class_name(&ob)?.as_str() {
             "MatchQuery" => {
                 let query = ob.getattr("query")?.extract()?;
-                let column = ob.getattr("column")?.extract()?;
+                let column = ob.getattr("column")?.extract::<Option<String>>()?;
                 let boost = ob.getattr("boost")?.extract()?;
                 let fuzziness = ob.getattr("fuzziness")?.extract()?;
                 let max_expansions = ob.getattr("max_expansions")?.extract()?;
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ impl<'a, 'py> FromPyObject<'a, 'py> for PyLanceDB<FtsQuery> {
 
                 let mut query =
                     MatchQuery::new(query)
-                        .with_column(Some(column))
+                        .with_column(column)
                         .with_boost(boost)
                         .with_fuzziness(fuzziness)
                         .with_max_expansions(max_expansions)
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ impl<'py> IntoPyObject<'py> for PyLanceDB<FtsQuery> {
                 }
                 namespace
                     .getattr(intern!(py, "MatchQuery"))?
-                    .call((query.terms, query.column.unwrap()), Some(&kwargs))
+                    .call((query.terms, query.column), Some(&kwargs))
             }
             FtsQuery::Phrase(query) => {
                 let kwargs = PyDict::new(py);
@@ -339,6 +339,7 @@ pub struct PyQueryRequest {
     pub nprobes: Option<usize>,
     pub minimum_nprobes: Option<usize>,
     pub maximum_nprobes: Option<usize>,
+    pub search_effort: Option<f64>,
     pub lower_bound: Option<f32>,
     pub upper_bound: Option<f32>,
     pub ef: Option<usize>,
@@ -371,6 +372,7 @@ impl From<AnyQuery> for PyQueryRequest {
                 nprobes: None,
                 minimum_nprobes: None,
                 maximum_nprobes: None,
+                search_effort: None,
                 lower_bound: None,
                 upper_bound: None,
                 ef: None,
@@ -399,6 +401,7 @@ impl From<AnyQuery> for PyQueryRequest {
                 nprobes: vector_query.nprobes,
                 minimum_nprobes: vector_query.minimum_nprobes,
                 maximum_nprobes: vector_query.maximum_nprobes,
+                search_effort: vector_query.search_effort,
                 lower_bound: vector_query.lower_bound,
                 upper_bound: vector_query.upper_bound,
                 ef: vector_query.ef,
@@ -998,6 +1001,15 @@ impl VectorQuery {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    pub fn search_effort(&mut self, search_effort: Option<f64>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        self.inner = self
+            .inner
+            .clone()
+            .search_effort(search_effort)
+            .infer_error()?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     pub fn minimum_nprobes(&mut self, minimum_nprobes: u32) -> PyResult<()> {
         self.inner = self
             .inner
@@ -1191,6 +1203,18 @@ impl HybridQuery {
         self.inner_vec.nprobes(nprobe)
     }
 
+    pub fn search_effort(&mut self, search_effort: Option<f64>) -> PyResult<()> {
+        self.inner_vec.search_effort(search_effort)
+    }
+
+    pub fn minimum_nprobes(&mut self, minimum_nprobes: u32) -> PyResult<()> {
+        self.inner_vec.minimum_nprobes(minimum_nprobes)
+    }
+
+    pub fn maximum_nprobes(&mut self, maximum_nprobes: u32) -> PyResult<()> {
+        self.inner_vec.maximum_nprobes(maximum_nprobes)
+    }
+
     pub fn ef(&mut self, ef: u32) {
         self.inner_vec.ef(ef);
     }
@@ -1235,6 +1259,10 @@ impl HybridQuery {
         req.query_vector = vec_req.query_vector;
         req.column = vec_req.column;
         req.distance_type = vec_req.distance_type;
+        req.nprobes = vec_req.nprobes;
+        req.minimum_nprobes = vec_req.minimum_nprobes;
+        req.maximum_nprobes = vec_req.maximum_nprobes;
+        req.search_effort = vec_req.search_effort;
         req.ef = vec_req.ef;
         req.refine_factor = vec_req.refine_factor;
         req.lower_bound = vec_req.lower_bound;
diff --git a/python/uv.lock b/python/uv.lock
index b013e5982..ace8b98b9 100644
--- a/python/uv.lock
+++ b/python/uv.lock
@@ -1900,6 +1900,7 @@ clip = [
     { name = "torch" },
 ]
 dev = [
+    { name = "maturin" },
     { name = "pre-commit" },
     { name = "pyright" },
     { name = "ruff" },
@@ -1981,6 +1982,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "ibm-watsonx-ai", marker = "python_full_version >= '3.10' and extra == 'embeddings'", specifier = ">=1.1.2" },
     { name = "instructorembedding", marker = "extra == 'embeddings'", specifier = ">=1.0.1" },
     { name = "lance-namespace", specifier = ">=0.13.0" },
+    { name = "maturin", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=1.10" },
     { name = "mkdocs", marker = "extra == 'docs'" },
     { name = "mkdocs-jupyter", marker = "extra == 'docs'" },
     { name = "mkdocs-material", marker = "extra == 'docs'" },
@@ -2005,7 +2007,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "pyarrow-stubs", marker = "extra == 'tests'", specifier = ">=16.0" },
     { name = "pydantic", specifier = ">=2.7.4,<3" },
     { name = "pylance", marker = "extra == 'pylance'", specifier = ">=5.0.0b5" },
-    { name = "pylance", marker = "extra == 'tests'", specifier = "==14.0.0b10" },
+    { name = "pylance", marker = "extra == 'tests'", specifier = "==14.0.0b12" },
     { name = "pyright", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=1.1.350" },
     { name = "pytest", marker = "extra == 'tests'", specifier = ">=7.0" },
     { name = "pytest-asyncio", marker = "extra == 'tests'", specifier = ">=0.21" },
@@ -2156,6 +2158,30 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/41/09/5b161152e2d90f7b87f781c2e1267494aef9c32498df793f73ad0a0a494a/matplotlib_inline-0.2.2-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:3c821cf1c209f59fb2d2d64abbf5b23b67bcb2210d663f9918dd851c6da1fcf6", size = 9534, upload-time = "2026-05-08T17:33:32.055Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "maturin"
+version = "1.15.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "tomli", marker = "python_full_version < '3.11'" },
+]
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+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "mdit-py-plugins"
 version = "0.6.1"
@@ -3912,7 +3938,7 @@ crypto = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pylance"
-version = "14.0.0b10"
+version = "14.0.0b12"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/" }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "lance-namespace" },
@@ -3922,12 +3948,12 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "pyarrow" },
 ]
 wheels = [
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_4hvE/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:415b6b1b9fe735fbae7c755eb9774ae2fe0feddc90bf80bee24087cbfbfdf8c1" },
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_pM1km/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:87317cad22f4d35fea11eb70aa5c0d71a0e1ea3b96de38f3deca933daa749fff" },
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_24jdyj/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:6da554a2fc2197ba254676b12824d8120b48d65937697e0661a61302458a4740" },
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_XclaZ/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:36c80a801675bb9dcbd681fa99d0cdd5ca642dfb3ca08d71ac980278a2f7748b" },
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_L0yh/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:e50ad0b866faefb2fa3ae87328b93fa0d06b2bdd5bb5d0c1a6c74b907cc2fd93" },
-    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_2gbNr8/pylance-14.0.0b10-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:3d86451fe00f71510005bb700737fb1a4f9361554541cbf802f3c5072554d014" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_1Ixasc/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:84350a3c5c1eea3398f4c4fad7cfe85b831d831a5e43b5ca2a783dbdb0e11969" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_sCEkG/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:76b386c182a6a8e7b86fbef28f84d1dd39e4626ac8681a0cf36f40a45dd7cb87" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_1vdT1C/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:6aa548c7937fcdfa8f1943a2d59041a42f8b500199880dbb509c7195fa253381" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_2fXu1V/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:79f82d6a6c50f37aab338470e3733436e6a27fbb5972d29fcf453ece56d3b3c6" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_24UavN/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:de0305999257002785f60169e6926896584d66f1da050bb5afd1d48c6e3d9bb9" },
+    { url = "https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/-/ver_XNynX/pylance-14.0.0b12-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:4d0cdb689e898ce71e8e434d00a3b97639cea8fb97da21f1c921543be363268f" },
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/python/vendor/lance-arrow/Cargo.toml b/python/vendor/lance-arrow/Cargo.toml
index b4552519e..d94c4a6e5 100644
--- a/python/vendor/lance-arrow/Cargo.toml
+++ b/python/vendor/lance-arrow/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "lance-arrow"
-version = "14.0.0-beta.13"
+version = "14.0.0-beta.15"
 edition = "2024"
 authors = ["Lance Devs <dev@lance.org>"]
 license = "Apache-2.0"
diff --git a/python/vendor/lance-arrow/README.lancedb.md b/python/vendor/lance-arrow/README.lancedb.md
index da9a5a1df..a82b1f33a 100644
--- a/python/vendor/lance-arrow/README.lancedb.md
+++ b/python/vendor/lance-arrow/README.lancedb.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-This directory contains `rust/lance-arrow` from Lance tag `v14.0.0-beta.13`
-(commit `145fd4b933fb4a9a45831f0ae9185c88e908fe6a`), licensed under Apache-2.0.
+This directory contains `rust/lance-arrow` from Lance tag `v14.0.0-beta.15`
+(commit `765641dc0d7100f032fdebc00d73eef49711c4d4`), licensed under Apache-2.0.
 
 LanceDB carries a local fix in `src/lib.rs` for sliced child validity bitmaps
 until a Lance release includes the fix. The patch is selected in the root
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/Cargo.toml b/rust/lancedb/Cargo.toml
index 419577d05..3cc524bfc 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/Cargo.toml
+++ b/rust/lancedb/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb"
-version = "0.41.0-beta.5"
+version = "0.41.0-beta.6"
 edition.workspace = true
 description = "LanceDB: A serverless, low-latency vector database for AI applications"
 license.workspace = true
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/query.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/query.rs
index 8fb56ceca..07db69bb3 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/query.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/query.rs
@@ -1127,6 +1127,11 @@ pub struct VectorQueryRequest {
     /// If unset, Lance's default is used. Zero represents an explicitly unbounded
     /// maximum on request and wire representations.
     pub maximum_nprobes: Option<usize>,
+    /// Optional initial IVF search effort in [0, 1].
+    ///
+    /// None preserves Auto and fixed `nprobes`; any explicit value overrides
+    /// `nprobes` while retaining explicit minimum and maximum bounds.
+    pub search_effort: Option<f64>,
     /// The lower bound (inclusive) of the distance to search for.
     pub lower_bound: Option<f32>,
     /// The upper bound (exclusive) of the distance to search for.
@@ -1153,6 +1158,7 @@ impl Default for VectorQueryRequest {
             nprobes: None,
             minimum_nprobes: None,
             maximum_nprobes: None,
+            search_effort: None,
             lower_bound: None,
             upper_bound: None,
             ef: None,
@@ -1165,6 +1171,17 @@ impl Default for VectorQueryRequest {
 }
 
 impl VectorQueryRequest {
+    pub(crate) fn validate_search_effort(&self) -> Result<()> {
+        if let Some(effort) = self.search_effort
+            && (!effort.is_finite() || !(0.0..=1.0).contains(&effort))
+        {
+            return Err(Error::InvalidInput {
+                message: format!("search_effort must be finite and in [0, 1], got {effort}"),
+            });
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     fn add_query_vector(&mut self, vector: impl IntoQueryVector) -> Result<()> {
         let vector = vector.to_query_vector(&DataType::Float32, "default")?;
         let array =
@@ -1279,7 +1296,8 @@ impl VectorQuery {
     /// you the desired recall.
     ///
     /// LanceDB retains this as `nprobes` through local and remote request
-    /// construction. Lance sets both probe bounds to this value. For more
+    /// construction. Lance sets both probe bounds to this value only when
+    /// [`Self::search_effort`] is unset. For more
     /// fine-grained control see [`VectorQuery::minimum_nprobes`] and
     /// [`VectorQuery::maximum_nprobes`].
     ///
@@ -1294,6 +1312,31 @@ impl VectorQuery {
         Ok(self)
     }
 
+    /// Set the initial IVF search effort to a finite value in [0, 1].
+    ///
+    /// None (the default) resolves to 0.5, preserving Auto probing. At 0 the
+    /// search starts at the caller minimum; at 1 it searches all partitions
+    /// within the caller maximum. Intermediate values interpolate around Auto.
+    /// Later probing may continue when too few candidates are found.
+    /// Any explicit value, including 0.5, overrides [`Self::nprobes`] regardless
+    /// of setter order. Explicit minimum and maximum bounds still apply.
+    /// This does not change refinement or HNSW ef and is not a recall guarantee.
+    /// Lance's MemWAL LSM scanner does not yet support this option.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use lancedb::{Table, query::{QueryBase, ExecutableQuery}};
+    /// # async fn example(table: &Table) -> lancedb::Result<()> {
+    /// let results = table.query().nearest_to([0.1, 0.2].as_slice())?
+    ///     .search_effort(0.75)?.execute().await?;
+    /// # Ok(())
+    /// # }
+    /// ```
+    pub fn search_effort(mut self, search_effort: impl Into<Option<f64>>) -> Result<Self> {
+        self.request.search_effort = search_effort.into();
+        self.request.validate_search_effort()?;
+        Ok(self)
+    }
+
     /// Set the minimum number of partitions to search
     ///
     /// This argument is only used when the vector column has an IVF PQ index.
@@ -1333,6 +1376,8 @@ impl VectorQuery {
     ///
     /// If this value is greater than minimum_nprobes then the excess partitions will
     /// only be searched if the initial search does not return enough results.
+    /// The bound applies per index segment to initial and later probing without
+    /// disabling Auto probing.
     ///
     /// This can be useful when there is a narrow filter to allow these queries to
     /// spend more time searching and avoid potential false negatives.
@@ -2448,6 +2493,26 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(query.request.nprobes, None);
         assert_eq!(query.request.minimum_nprobes, None);
         assert_eq!(query.request.maximum_nprobes, None);
+        assert_eq!(query.request.search_effort, None);
+
+        let effort_query = query
+            .clone()
+            .nprobes(20)
+            .unwrap()
+            .search_effort(0.5)
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(effort_query.request.search_effort, Some(0.5));
+        assert_eq!(effort_query.request.nprobes, Some(20));
+        assert_eq!(effort_query.request.minimum_nprobes, None);
+        assert_eq!(effort_query.request.maximum_nprobes, None);
+        assert_eq!(
+            effort_query
+                .search_effort(None)
+                .unwrap()
+                .request
+                .search_effort,
+            None
+        );
         assert_eq!(
             *query
                 .request
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/remote/table.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/remote/table.rs
index 119577dc5..356fb1e1a 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/remote/table.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/remote/table.rs
@@ -1137,6 +1137,7 @@ impl<S: HttpSend> RemoteTable<S> {
         mut body: serde_json::Value,
         query: &VectorQueryRequest,
     ) -> Result<Vec<serde_json::Value>> {
+        query.validate_search_effort()?;
         self.apply_query_params(&mut body, &query.base)?;
 
         // Apply general parameters, before we dispatch based on number of query vectors.
@@ -1155,6 +1156,9 @@ impl<S: HttpSend> RemoteTable<S> {
         if let Some(maximum_nprobes) = query.maximum_nprobes {
             body["maximum_nprobes"] = maximum_nprobes.into();
         }
+        if let Some(search_effort) = query.search_effort {
+            body["search_effort"] = search_effort.into();
+        }
         body["lower_bound"] = query.lower_bound.into();
         body["upper_bound"] = query.upper_bound.into();
         body["ef"] = query.ef.into();
@@ -6269,6 +6273,77 @@ mod tests {
         ));
     }
 
+    #[rstest]
+    #[case::unset(None)]
+    #[case::minimum(Some(0.0))]
+    #[case::low(Some(0.25))]
+    #[case::auto(Some(0.5))]
+    #[case::high(Some(0.75))]
+    #[case::maximum(Some(1.0))]
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_query_vector_search_effort_wire(#[case] effort: Option<f64>) {
+        let table = Table::new_with_handler("my_table", move |request| {
+            let body = request_body_json(&request);
+            assert_eq!(body["nprobes"], 7);
+            assert_eq!(body["minimum_nprobes"], 2);
+            assert_eq!(body["maximum_nprobes"], 8);
+            if let Some(effort) = effort {
+                assert_eq!(body["search_effort"], effort);
+            } else {
+                assert!(body.get("search_effort").is_none());
+            }
+            let batch = RecordBatch::try_new(
+                Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false)])),
+                vec![Arc::new(Int32Array::from(vec![1]))],
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+            http::Response::builder()
+                .status(200)
+                .header(CONTENT_TYPE, ARROW_FILE_CONTENT_TYPE)
+                .body(write_ipc_file(&batch))
+                .unwrap()
+        });
+        let batches = table
+            .query()
+            .nearest_to(vec![0.1, 0.2])
+            .unwrap()
+            .search_effort(effort)
+            .unwrap()
+            .nprobes(7)
+            .unwrap()
+            .minimum_nprobes(2)
+            .unwrap()
+            .maximum_nprobes(Some(8))
+            .unwrap()
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(batches[0].num_rows(), 1);
+    }
+
+    #[rstest]
+    #[case::negative(-0.1)]
+    #[case::too_large(1.1)]
+    #[case::nan(f64::NAN)]
+    #[case::infinity(f64::INFINITY)]
+    #[case::negative_infinity(f64::NEG_INFINITY)]
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_query_vector_search_effort_invalid(#[case] effort: f64) {
+        let table = Table::new_with_handler::<&str>("my_table", |_| {
+            panic!("invalid search_effort must not send a request")
+        });
+        let result = table
+            .query()
+            .nearest_to(vec![0.1, 0.2])
+            .unwrap()
+            .search_effort(effort);
+        assert!(matches!(result, Err(Error::InvalidInput { message })
+            if message.contains("search_effort must be finite and in [0, 1]")));
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_query_vector_all_params() {
         let table = Table::new_with_handler("my_table", |request| {
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table.rs
index b296d135d..15ca3702b 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ pub use lance::dataset::ReadParams;
 pub use lance::dataset::Version;
 use lance::dataset::WriteMode;
 use lance::dataset::builder::DatasetBuilder;
+pub use lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry;
+/// The traits a memtable index plugin implements; see [`MemIndexRegistry`].
+pub use lance::dataset::mem_wal::index as mem_index;
 use lance::dataset::{InsertBuilder, WriteParams};
 use lance::index::DatasetIndexExt;
 use lance::index::scalar::load_segment_params;
@@ -424,7 +427,8 @@ impl LsmWriteSpec {
     /// changes, so an index created later is maintained too; one of a kind the
     /// MemWAL cannot mirror is skipped rather than failing the table. A list is
     /// verbatim: each name must already exist and be maintainable, and an empty
-    /// list maintains nothing.
+    /// list maintains nothing. The maintainable kinds are Lance's built-ins plus
+    /// any added with [`NativeTable::set_mem_index_registry`].
     ///
     /// ```
     /// # use lancedb::table::LsmWriteSpec;
@@ -2590,6 +2594,9 @@ pub struct NativeTable {
     pub(crate) pushdown_operations: HashSet<NamespaceClientPushdownOperation>,
     // Read-freshness baseline; `Some` only for namespace-backed tables.
     freshness: Option<TableFreshness>,
+    // Memtable index kinds this handle's LSM writes maintain, shared with its
+    // clones and branch handles.
+    mem_index_registry: Arc<std::sync::RwLock<MemIndexRegistry>>,
 }
 
 impl std::fmt::Debug for NativeTable {
@@ -2756,9 +2763,51 @@ impl NativeTable {
             namespace_client,
             pushdown_operations,
             freshness: None,
+            mem_index_registry: Default::default(),
         })
     }
 
+    /// Maintain the memtable index kinds in `registry` when this table writes
+    /// through its [`LsmWriteSpec`], and accept them when
+    /// [`LsmWriteSpec::with_maintained_indexes`] names one.
+    ///
+    /// The registry belongs to this handle, its clones and its branch handles,
+    /// and is not stored with the table: a handle opened separately starts from
+    /// Lance's built-ins. Set it before the handle's first LSM write; writers
+    /// already open keep the registry they were opened with. Local tables only,
+    /// reached through [`Table::as_native`].
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use std::sync::Arc;
+    /// # use lancedb::Table;
+    /// # use lancedb::table::{LsmWriteSpec, MemIndexRegistry, mem_index::MemIndexPlugin};
+    /// # async fn example(
+    /// #     table: &Table,
+    /// #     plugin: Arc<dyn MemIndexPlugin>,
+    /// # ) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+    /// let registry = MemIndexRegistry::default().with_plugin(plugin)?;
+    /// if let Some(native) = table.as_native() {
+    ///     native.set_mem_index_registry(registry);
+    /// }
+    /// let spec = LsmWriteSpec::unsharded().with_maintained_indexes(vec!["region_bitmap".to_string()]);
+    /// table.set_lsm_write_spec(spec).await?;
+    /// # Ok(())
+    /// # }
+    /// ```
+    pub fn set_mem_index_registry(&self, registry: MemIndexRegistry) {
+        *self
+            .mem_index_registry
+            .write()
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner) = registry;
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn mem_index_registry(&self) -> MemIndexRegistry {
+        self.mem_index_registry
+            .read()
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner)
+            .clone()
+    }
+
     /// Set the namespace client for server-side query execution.
     ///
     /// When set, queries will be executed on the namespace server instead of locally.
@@ -2786,6 +2835,7 @@ impl NativeTable {
             namespace_client: self.namespace_client.clone(),
             pushdown_operations: self.pushdown_operations.clone(),
             freshness: self.freshness.clone(),
+            mem_index_registry: self.mem_index_registry.clone(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -2893,6 +2943,7 @@ impl NativeTable {
             namespace_client: stored_namespace_client,
             pushdown_operations,
             freshness: None,
+            mem_index_registry: Default::default(),
         })
     }
 
@@ -2984,6 +3035,7 @@ impl NativeTable {
             namespace_client,
             pushdown_operations,
             freshness: None,
+            mem_index_registry: Default::default(),
         })
     }
 
@@ -3117,6 +3169,7 @@ impl NativeTable {
             namespace_client: stored_namespace_client,
             pushdown_operations,
             freshness: None,
+            mem_index_registry: Default::default(),
         })
     }
 
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/datafusion.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/datafusion.rs
index 26c423497..0b820494f 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/datafusion.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/datafusion.rs
@@ -166,6 +166,7 @@ pub struct BaseTableAdapter {
     table: Arc<dyn BaseTable>,
     schema: Arc<ArrowSchema>,
     fts_query: Option<FullTextSearchQuery>,
+    use_lsm: Option<bool>,
 }
 
 impl BaseTableAdapter {
@@ -181,9 +182,16 @@ impl BaseTableAdapter {
             table,
             schema: Arc::new(schema),
             fts_query: None,
+            use_lsm: None,
         })
     }
 
+    /// Set the MemWAL read routing of every scan; see [`QueryRequest::use_lsm`].
+    pub fn with_use_lsm(mut self, use_lsm: Option<bool>) -> Self {
+        self.use_lsm = use_lsm;
+        self
+    }
+
     /// Create a new adapter with an FTS query applied.
     pub fn with_fts_query(&self, fts_query: FullTextSearchQuery) -> Self {
         // Add _score column to the schema
@@ -196,6 +204,7 @@ impl BaseTableAdapter {
             table: self.table.clone(),
             schema,
             fts_query: Some(fts_query),
+            use_lsm: self.use_lsm,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -223,6 +232,7 @@ impl TableProvider for BaseTableAdapter {
         let mut query = QueryRequest {
             full_text_search: self.fts_query.clone(),
             disable_scoring_autoprojection: disable_scoring,
+            use_lsm: self.use_lsm,
             ..Default::default()
         };
 
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge.rs
index 1ad084e22..fbe82a198 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge.rs
@@ -1349,6 +1349,41 @@ mod lsm_tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn base_table_adapter_use_lsm_false_scans_the_base_only() {
+        use crate::table::datafusion::BaseTableAdapter;
+        use datafusion::prelude::SessionContext;
+
+        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
+        let table = id_value_table(&dir).await; // base: ids 1,2,3
+        table
+            .set_lsm_write_spec(LsmWriteSpec::unsharded())
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        // Ids 4,5 land in the active memtable, not the base table.
+        lsm_upsert(&table, vec![4, 5]).await;
+
+        let adapter = BaseTableAdapter::try_new(table.base_table().clone())
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .with_use_lsm(Some(false));
+        let ctx = SessionContext::new();
+        ctx.register_table("base_only", Arc::new(adapter)).unwrap();
+        let batches = ctx
+            .sql("SELECT id FROM base_only")
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .collect()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let mut ids: Vec<i64> = batches
+            .iter()
+            .flat_map(|b| b.column(0).as_primitive::<Int64Type>().values().to_vec())
+            .collect();
+        ids.sort();
+        assert_eq!(ids, vec![1, 2, 3]);
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn query_snapshot_preserves_lsm_read_semantics() {
         let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
@@ -1782,8 +1817,13 @@ mod lsm_tests {
         assert_eq!(rows, 1, "LSM FTS must still see base rows");
     }
 
-    #[tokio::test]
-    async fn lsm_read_vector_search() {
+    /// A table whose vector index the LSM maintains: base rows filled with
+    /// their id, and one memtable row filled with 1000, nearest to `[1000; 8]`.
+    /// `registry` replaces the table's memtable kinds.
+    async fn lsm_vector_table(
+        dir: &std::path::Path,
+        registry: Option<lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry>,
+    ) -> Table {
         use crate::index::Index;
         use crate::index::vector::IvfPqIndexBuilder;
         use arrow::array::{FixedSizeListBuilder, Float32Builder};
@@ -1815,12 +1855,7 @@ mod lsm_tests {
             .unwrap()
         };
 
-        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
-        let conn = connect(dir.path().to_str().unwrap())
-            .execute()
-            .await
-            .unwrap();
-        // Base rows fill each vector with its own id (0..256); all far from 1000.
+        let conn = connect(dir.to_str().unwrap()).execute().await.unwrap();
         let base = make_batch((0..N).map(|i| (i, i as f32)).collect());
         let base_reader: Box<dyn RecordBatchReader + Send> =
             Box::new(RecordBatchIterator::new(vec![Ok(base)], schema.clone()));
@@ -1838,13 +1873,15 @@ mod lsm_tests {
             .execute()
             .await
             .unwrap();
+        if let Some(registry) = registry {
+            table.as_native().unwrap().set_mem_index_registry(registry);
+        }
         let vec_index = table.list_indices().await.unwrap()[0].name.clone();
         table
             .set_lsm_write_spec(LsmWriteSpec::unsharded().with_maintained_indexes(vec![vec_index]))
             .await
             .unwrap();
 
-        // Insert a vector (filled with 1000) that is nearest to the query.
         let mut builder = table.merge_insert(&[]);
         builder
             .when_matched_update_all(None)
@@ -1854,20 +1891,21 @@ mod lsm_tests {
             schema.clone(),
         ));
         builder.execute(insert_reader).await.unwrap();
+        table
+    }
 
-        // KNN near [1000; DIM]: the default (auto-routed) read surfaces the
-        // memtable row.
-        let stream = table
-            .query()
-            .nearest_to(&[1000.0_f32; 8])
-            .unwrap()
-            .limit(1)
-            .execute()
-            .await
-            .unwrap();
-        let ids = collect_ids(stream).await;
+    /// The ids of the nearest row to `[1000; 8]` through the default read.
+    async fn nearest_ids(table: &Table) -> Vec<i64> {
+        let query = table.query().nearest_to(&[1000.0_f32; 8]).unwrap().limit(1);
+        collect_ids(query.execute().await.unwrap()).await
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn lsm_read_vector_search() {
+        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
+        let table = lsm_vector_table(dir.path(), None).await;
         assert_eq!(
-            ids,
+            nearest_ids(&table).await,
             vec![9999],
             "LSM vector search must rank the memtable row first"
         );
@@ -1893,4 +1931,417 @@ mod lsm_tests {
             assert_eq!(ids, vec![255]);
         }
     }
+
+    /// The built-in vector plugin, except that its index answers no search.
+    #[derive(Debug)]
+    struct AnswersNothing;
+
+    #[derive(Debug)]
+    struct AnswersNothingIndex(Arc<dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndex>);
+
+    fn vector_plugin() -> Arc<dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexPlugin> {
+        Arc::new(lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::HnswMemIndexPlugin)
+    }
+
+    #[async_trait::async_trait]
+    impl lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexPlugin for AnswersNothing {
+        fn name(&self) -> &str {
+            "AnswersNothing"
+        }
+        fn details_message(&self) -> &str {
+            "VectorIndexDetails"
+        }
+        fn flush_index_type(&self) -> lance_index::IndexType {
+            vector_plugin().flush_index_type()
+        }
+        fn training_criteria(&self) -> lance_index::scalar::registry::TrainingCriteria {
+            vector_plugin().training_criteria()
+        }
+        async fn resolve(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::ResolveContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::ResolvedIndex> {
+            vector_plugin().resolve(ctx).await
+        }
+        fn validate(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexBuildContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<()> {
+            vector_plugin().validate(ctx)
+        }
+        fn create(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexBuildContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<Arc<dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndex>> {
+            Ok(Arc::new(AnswersNothingIndex(vector_plugin().create(ctx)?)))
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[async_trait::async_trait]
+    impl lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndex for AnswersNothingIndex {
+        fn columns(&self) -> &[String] {
+            self.0.columns()
+        }
+        fn can_answer(&self, _query: &dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemQuery) -> bool {
+            false
+        }
+        fn insert(&self, batch: &RecordBatch, row_offset: u64) -> lance_core::Result<()> {
+            self.0.insert(batch, row_offset)
+        }
+        fn insert_batches(
+            &self,
+            batches: &[lance::dataset::mem_wal::write::StoredBatch],
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<()> {
+            self.0.insert_batches(batches)
+        }
+        fn resident_bytes(&self) -> usize {
+            self.0.resident_bytes()
+        }
+        fn search(
+            &self,
+            _query: &dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemQuery,
+            _ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::SearchContext,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<Option<lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemMatches>> {
+            Ok(None)
+        }
+        async fn flush(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::FlushContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::FlushOutcome> {
+            self.0.flush(ctx).await
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A resident memtable whose vector index answers nothing still serves an
+    /// LSM vector search: Lance compares every row instead.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn lsm_vector_search_compares_every_row_when_no_resident_index_answers() {
+        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
+        let mut registry = lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry::default();
+        registry.replace_plugin(Arc::new(AnswersNothing)).unwrap();
+        let table = lsm_vector_table(dir.path(), Some(registry)).await;
+        assert_eq!(nearest_ids(&table).await, vec![9999]);
+
+        // The second page starts after the memtable row.
+        let page = table
+            .query()
+            .nearest_to(&[1000.0_f32; 8])
+            .unwrap()
+            .limit(2)
+            .offset(1);
+        assert_eq!(
+            collect_ids(page.execute().await.unwrap()).await,
+            vec![255, 254]
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Claims the base table's bitmap index and keeps it as a B-tree, whose
+    /// flush rows are in the shape the bitmap trainer takes.
+    #[derive(Debug)]
+    struct BitmapAsBTree;
+
+    fn btree_plugin() -> Arc<dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexPlugin> {
+        lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry::default()
+            .plugin_for_details_url("/lance.table.BTreeIndexDetails")
+            .unwrap()
+            .clone()
+    }
+
+    #[async_trait::async_trait]
+    impl lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexPlugin for BitmapAsBTree {
+        fn name(&self) -> &str {
+            "BitmapAsBTree"
+        }
+        fn details_message(&self) -> &str {
+            "BitmapIndexDetails"
+        }
+        fn flush_index_type(&self) -> lance_index::IndexType {
+            lance_index::IndexType::Bitmap
+        }
+        fn training_criteria(&self) -> lance_index::scalar::registry::TrainingCriteria {
+            btree_plugin().training_criteria()
+        }
+        fn validate(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexBuildContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<()> {
+            btree_plugin().validate(ctx)
+        }
+        fn create(
+            &self,
+            ctx: &lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexBuildContext<'_>,
+        ) -> lance_core::Result<Arc<dyn lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndex>> {
+            btree_plugin().create(ctx)
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// A kind Lance has no memtable index for is refused when named until the
+    /// table's registry maintains it; then it is maintained, flushed with each
+    /// generation, and answers searches on the flushed generations.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn lsm_maintains_an_index_kind_from_the_tables_registry() {
+        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
+        let conn = connect(dir.path().to_str().unwrap())
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let table = conn
+            .create_table("t", id_region_reader(vec![(1, "us"), (2, "eu"), (3, "us")]))
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        table.set_unenforced_primary_key(["id"]).await.unwrap();
+        table
+            .create_index(&["region"], crate::index::Index::Bitmap(Default::default()))
+            .name("region_bitmap".to_string())
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let spec =
+            || LsmWriteSpec::unsharded().with_maintained_indexes(vec!["region_bitmap".to_string()]);
+
+        let refused = table.set_lsm_write_spec(spec()).await.unwrap_err();
+        assert!(
+            refused.to_string().contains("region_bitmap")
+                && refused
+                    .to_string()
+                    .contains("no registered plugin maintains"),
+            "{refused:?}"
+        );
+
+        let registry = lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry::default()
+            .with_plugin(Arc::new(BitmapAsBTree))
+            .unwrap();
+        table.as_native().unwrap().set_mem_index_registry(registry);
+        table.set_lsm_write_spec(spec()).await.unwrap();
+
+        // The registry is not stored with the table.
+        let other = conn.open_table("t").execute().await.unwrap();
+        let mut builder = other.merge_insert(&["id"]);
+        builder
+            .when_matched_update_all(None)
+            .when_not_matched_insert_all();
+        let refused = builder
+            .execute(id_region_reader(vec![(20, "us")]))
+            .await
+            .unwrap_err();
+        assert!(
+            refused
+                .to_string()
+                .contains("no registered plugin maintains"),
+            "{refused:?}"
+        );
+
+        let mut builder = table.merge_insert(&["id"]);
+        builder
+            .when_matched_update_all(None)
+            .when_not_matched_insert_all();
+        builder
+            .execute(id_region_reader(vec![
+                (10, "fresh"),
+                (11, "fresh"),
+                (12, "eu"),
+            ]))
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        let fresh = || async {
+            let query = table.query().only_if("region = 'fresh'");
+            let mut ids = collect_ids(query.execute().await.unwrap()).await;
+            ids.sort_unstable();
+            ids
+        };
+        assert_eq!(fresh().await, vec![10, 11]);
+        let (_, _, memtables) = table
+            .as_native()
+            .unwrap()
+            .dataset
+            .shard_writer()
+            .read_snapshot()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .expect("the merge opened a writer");
+        let active = memtables.expect("the writer keeps memtables").active;
+        assert!(
+            active
+                .index_store
+                .index_names()
+                .contains(&"region_bitmap".to_string()),
+            "the memtable maintains the plugin's index: {:?}",
+            active.index_store.index_names()
+        );
+
+        table.close_lsm_writers().await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(fresh().await, vec![10, 11]);
+        assert_generations_answer_through_region_bitmap(&table, vec![10, 11]).await;
+    }
+
+    /// The generations each shard's manifest publishes.
+    async fn published_generations(table: &Table) -> Vec<lance::Dataset> {
+        use lance::dataset::mem_wal::ShardManifestStore;
+
+        let uri = table.uri().await.unwrap();
+        let (store, base) = lance_io::object_store::ObjectStore::from_uri(&uri)
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let mem_wal = std::path::Path::new(&uri).join("_mem_wal");
+        let mut generations = Vec::new();
+        for shard in std::fs::read_dir(&mem_wal).unwrap() {
+            let Ok(shard_id) = shard.unwrap().file_name().to_string_lossy().parse() else {
+                continue;
+            };
+            let manifest = ShardManifestStore::new(store.clone(), &base, shard_id, 2)
+                .latest()
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .expect("a shard directory has a manifest");
+            for sstable in manifest.sstables {
+                let path = mem_wal.join(shard_id.to_string()).join(&sstable.path);
+                generations.push(lance::Dataset::open(path.to_str().unwrap()).await.unwrap());
+            }
+        }
+        generations
+    }
+
+    /// Every published generation carries `region_bitmap` as a bitmap index on
+    /// `region`, and a search for `region = 'fresh'` on it uses that index.
+    async fn assert_generations_answer_through_region_bitmap(table: &Table, fresh: Vec<i64>) {
+        use lance::index::DatasetIndexExt;
+
+        let generations = published_generations(table).await;
+        assert!(
+            !generations.is_empty(),
+            "closing the writer flushed a generation"
+        );
+        let mut found = Vec::new();
+        for generation in generations {
+            let region = generation.schema().field("region").unwrap().id;
+            let indices = generation.load_indices().await.unwrap();
+            let index = indices
+                .iter()
+                .find(|index| index.name == "region_bitmap")
+                .expect("the generation carries the index the plugin trained");
+            assert_eq!(index.fields, vec![region]);
+            assert!(
+                index
+                    .index_details
+                    .as_ref()
+                    .is_some_and(|details| details.type_url.ends_with("BitmapIndexDetails")),
+                "{:?}",
+                index.index_details
+            );
+
+            let mut scan = generation.scan();
+            scan.filter("region = 'fresh'").unwrap();
+            let plan = scan.explain_plan(false).await.unwrap();
+            assert!(plan.contains("ScalarIndexQuery"), "{plan}");
+            let batch = scan.try_into_batch().await.unwrap();
+            found.extend(
+                batch["id"]
+                    .as_primitive::<Int64Type>()
+                    .values()
+                    .iter()
+                    .copied(),
+            );
+        }
+        found.sort_unstable();
+        assert_eq!(found, fresh);
+    }
+
+    /// Under the default set, a kind only the registry maintains is picked up
+    /// when its index is created after the writer opened, and the table's
+    /// clones share the registry.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn lsm_default_set_maintains_a_registry_kind_created_while_writing() {
+        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
+        let conn = connect(dir.path().to_str().unwrap())
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let table = conn
+            .create_table("t", id_region_reader(vec![(1, "us"), (2, "eu")]))
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        table.set_unenforced_primary_key(["id"]).await.unwrap();
+        let registry = lance::dataset::mem_wal::MemIndexRegistry::default()
+            .with_plugin(Arc::new(BitmapAsBTree))
+            .unwrap();
+        table.as_native().unwrap().set_mem_index_registry(registry);
+        let clone = table.clone();
+        assert!(
+            clone
+                .as_native()
+                .unwrap()
+                .mem_index_registry()
+                .plugin_for_details_url("/lance.table.BitmapIndexDetails")
+                .is_some(),
+            "a clone shares the handle's registry"
+        );
+        table
+            .set_lsm_write_spec(LsmWriteSpec::unsharded())
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        let upsert = |rows: Vec<(i64, &'static str)>| {
+            let table = table.clone();
+            async move {
+                let mut builder = table.merge_insert(&["id"]);
+                builder
+                    .when_matched_update_all(None)
+                    .when_not_matched_insert_all();
+                builder.execute(id_region_reader(rows)).await.unwrap();
+            }
+        };
+        // Opens the writer before the table has a bitmap index.
+        upsert(vec![(3, "us")]).await;
+        table
+            .create_index(&["region"], crate::index::Index::Bitmap(Default::default()))
+            .name("region_bitmap".to_string())
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        upsert(vec![(10, "fresh"), (11, "fresh")]).await;
+
+        let (_, _, memtables) = table
+            .as_native()
+            .unwrap()
+            .dataset
+            .shard_writer()
+            .read_snapshot()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .expect("the merge opened a writer");
+        let active = memtables.expect("the writer keeps memtables").active;
+        assert!(
+            active
+                .index_store
+                .index_names()
+                .contains(&"region_bitmap".to_string()),
+            "the open writer picked up the new index: {:?}",
+            active.index_store.index_names()
+        );
+
+        table.close_lsm_writers().await.unwrap();
+        // Only the generation written after the index exists carries it.
+        let generations = published_generations(&table).await;
+        let mut carrying = 0;
+        for generation in &generations {
+            use lance::index::DatasetIndexExt;
+            if generation
+                .load_indices()
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .iter()
+                .any(|index| index.name == "region_bitmap")
+            {
+                carrying += 1;
+            }
+        }
+        assert!(
+            carrying >= 1,
+            "{} generations, none carry the index",
+            generations.len()
+        );
+    }
 }
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge/lsm.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge/lsm.rs
index 0f86fdcac..33bf54535 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge/lsm.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/merge/lsm.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ use arrow_schema::{DataType, Schema as ArrowSchema, SchemaRef};
 use lance::Dataset;
 use lance::dataset::mem_wal::{
     DatasetMemWalExt, ShardWriter, ShardWriterConfig, evaluate_sharding_spec,
-    validate_maintained_indexes,
+    validate_maintained_indexes_with,
 };
 use lance::index::DatasetIndexExt;
 use lance_core::datatypes::Schema as LanceSchema;
@@ -103,7 +103,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn set_lsm_write_spec(table: &NativeTable, spec: LsmWriteSpec)
                 }
             }
             let dataset = table.dataset.get().await?;
-            validate_maintained_indexes(&dataset, requested).await?;
+            validate_maintained_indexes_with(&dataset, requested, &table.mem_index_registry())
+                .await?;
             Some(requested.to_vec())
         }
         None => None,
@@ -126,7 +127,9 @@ pub(crate) async fn set_lsm_write_spec(table: &NativeTable, spec: LsmWriteSpec)
                 .into(),
         });
     }
-    let mut builder = dataset.initialize_mem_wal();
+    let mut builder = dataset
+        .initialize_mem_wal()
+        .mem_index_registry(table.mem_index_registry());
     let writer_config_defaults = match spec {
         LsmWriteSpec::Bucket {
             column,
@@ -725,7 +728,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn execute_lsm_merge_insert(
         return Ok(lsm_merge_result(0));
     };
 
-    let config = shard_writer_config_from_defaults(&plan.writer_config_defaults);
+    let mut config = shard_writer_config_from_defaults(&plan.writer_config_defaults);
+    config.mem_index_registry = table.mem_index_registry();
     let writer = table
         .dataset
         .shard_writer()
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/query.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/query.rs
index 77c4ca1a5..3ab54ae07 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/query.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/query.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ async fn can_execute_namespace_query(table: &NativeTable, query: &AnyQuery) -> R
 }
 
 fn requires_local_namespace_execution(query: &AnyQuery) -> bool {
-    // The namespace QueryTable request cannot represent approx_mode or use_lsm.
+    // The namespace QueryTable request cannot represent approx_mode, search_effort or use_lsm.
     // For use_lsm that is worse than a tuning miss: MemWAL read routing lives only
     // in `create_plan`, so a pushed-down query would return stale base-only data.
     if query.base().use_lsm.is_some() || query.base().take_offsets.is_some() {
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ fn requires_local_namespace_execution(query: &AnyQuery) -> bool {
     matches!(
         query,
         AnyQuery::VectorQuery(vector_query)
-            if vector_query.approx_mode.is_some()
+            if vector_query.approx_mode.is_some() || vector_query.search_effort.is_some()
     )
 }
 
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ pub async fn create_plan(
         AnyQuery::Query(query) => VectorQueryRequest::from_plain_query(query),
     };
     query.base.check_filter()?;
+    query.validate_search_effort()?;
 
     let ds_ref = table.dataset.get().await?;
 
@@ -293,7 +294,9 @@ pub async fn create_plan(
             scanner.approx_mode(approx_mode.into());
         }
 
-        if let Some(nprobes) = query.nprobes {
+        if query.search_effort.is_none()
+            && let Some(nprobes) = query.nprobes
+        {
             if query.maximum_nprobes == Some(0) {
                 scanner.minimum_nprobes(nprobes);
             } else {
@@ -306,6 +309,9 @@ pub async fn create_plan(
         if let Some(maximum_nprobes) = query.maximum_nprobes.filter(|nprobes| *nprobes != 0) {
             scanner.maximum_nprobes(maximum_nprobes);
         }
+        if let Some(search_effort) = query.search_effort {
+            scanner.search_effort(search_effort)?;
+        }
     }
 
     // For a batch query, `nearest` already applies k to each query vector.
@@ -604,6 +610,11 @@ fn convert_to_namespace_query(query: &AnyQuery) -> Result<NsQueryTableRequest> {
             };
 
             // Check for unsupported features
+            if vq.search_effort.is_some() {
+                return Err(Error::NotSupported {
+                    message: "namespace QueryTable does not support search_effort; execute the query locally".to_string(),
+                });
+            }
             if vq.base.reranker.is_some() {
                 return Err(Error::NotSupported {
                     message: "Reranker is not supported for server-side queries".to_string(),
@@ -962,6 +973,19 @@ mod tests {
         let default_query = AnyQuery::VectorQuery(VectorQueryRequest::default());
         assert!(!requires_local_namespace_execution(&default_query));
 
+        for effort in [0.0, 0.5, 1.0] {
+            let effort_query = AnyQuery::VectorQuery(VectorQueryRequest {
+                query_vector: vec![Arc::new(Float32Array::from(vec![1.0, 2.0]))],
+                search_effort: Some(effort),
+                ..Default::default()
+            });
+            assert!(requires_local_namespace_execution(&effort_query));
+            assert!(matches!(
+                convert_to_namespace_query(&effort_query),
+                Err(Error::NotSupported { message }) if message.contains("search_effort")
+            ));
+        }
+
         let nprobes_query = AnyQuery::VectorQuery(VectorQueryRequest {
             query_vector: vec![Arc::new(Float32Array::from(vec![1.0, 2.0]))],
             nprobes: Some(20),
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/query/lsm.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/query/lsm.rs
index 698b9c736..4798da431 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/query/lsm.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/query/lsm.rs
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ use datafusion_physical_plan::expressions::Column;
 use datafusion_physical_plan::projection::ProjectionExec;
 use datafusion_physical_plan::{ExecutionPlan, PhysicalExpr};
 use lance::Dataset;
-use lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::{IndexStore, VectorMemQuery};
 use lance::dataset::mem_wal::scanner::{InMemoryMemTableRef, InMemoryMemTables};
 use lance::dataset::mem_wal::{
     DatasetMemWalExt, LsmScanner, ShardManifestStore, ShardSnapshot, ShardWriterConfig,
@@ -174,6 +173,9 @@ fn reject_unsupported(query: &VectorQueryRequest) -> Result<()> {
     // brute-force search the index-only base arm can't do. (ef / approx_mode are
     // recall/speed knobs and are left to no-op.)
     if !query.query_vector.is_empty() {
+        if query.search_effort.is_some() {
+            return unsupported("search_effort on vector search");
+        }
         if query.lower_bound.is_some() || query.upper_bound.is_some() {
             return unsupported("distance_range on vector search");
         }
@@ -708,17 +710,14 @@ async fn vector_plan(
 
     // The base arm relies on the column's vector index (`fast_search`). Unmaintained,
     // its catch-up is untracked and exclusion falls back to the compaction watermark,
-    // dropping compacted SSTables the lagging base index has not re-indexed; and a
-    // resident MemTable built before the index joined the set carries none either.
+    // dropping compacted SSTables the lagging base index has not re-indexed.
     // Reject rather than silently omit rows, mirroring the FTS arm.
-    if !index_maintained(dataset, &column, details, "VectorIndexDetails").await?
-        || !resident_memtables_carry(&in_memory, |memtable| {
-            carries_vector_index(&memtable.index_store, &column)
-        })
-    {
+    // A resident MemTable needs no index of its own: one that cannot answer
+    // compares every row.
+    if !index_maintained(dataset, &column, details, "VectorIndexDetails").await? {
         return Err(Error::NotSupported {
             message: format!(
-                "the MemWAL LSM scanner requires the vector index on '{column}' to be maintained by the write spec (LsmWriteSpec::with_maintained_indexes) and carried by every resident MemTable; otherwise compacted rows not yet re-indexed are omitted. set use_lsm(false) to read the base table only"
+                "the MemWAL LSM scanner requires the vector index on '{column}' to be maintained by the write spec (LsmWriteSpec::with_maintained_indexes); otherwise compacted rows not yet re-indexed are omitted. set use_lsm(false) to read the base table only"
             ),
         });
     }
@@ -761,22 +760,6 @@ async fn vector_plan(
     Ok(scanner.create_plan().await?)
 }
 
-/// Probe for a resident vector index without imposing a distance metric, matching
-/// the presence check used before Lance introduced query-based index lookup.
-fn carries_vector_index(store: &IndexStore, column: &str) -> bool {
-    let probe = VectorMemQuery {
-        vector: arrow_array::FixedSizeListArray::new_null(
-            Arc::new(arrow_schema::Field::new("item", DataType::Float32, true)),
-            1,
-            1,
-        ),
-        k: 1,
-        ef: None,
-        distance_type: None,
-    };
-    store.index_answering(column, &probe).is_some()
-}
-
 /// Whether `column` stores binary (uint8) vectors, which the LSM vector planner
 /// does not support.
 fn is_binary_vector_column(schema: &ArrowSchema, column: &str) -> bool {
@@ -822,9 +805,22 @@ mod tests {
     use lance_index::mem_wal::{CompactedSsTable, IndexCatchupProgress};
 
     #[test]
-    fn resident_index_checks_distinguish_columns_and_query_types() {
+    fn search_effort_is_not_silently_ignored() {
+        let query = VectorQueryRequest {
+            query_vector: vec![Arc::new(arrow_array::Float32Array::from(vec![1.0, 0.0]))],
+            search_effort: Some(0.5),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        assert!(
+            matches!(reject_unsupported(&query), Err(Error::NotSupported { message })
+            if message.contains("search_effort") && message.contains("un-compacted MemWAL"))
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resident_fts_check_distinguishes_columns() {
         use arrow_schema::Field;
-        use lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::MemIndexSpec;
+        use lance::dataset::mem_wal::index::{IndexStore, MemIndexSpec};
 
         let schema = ArrowSchema::new(vec![
             Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false),
@@ -847,16 +843,11 @@ mod tests {
             ),
         ];
         let store = IndexStore::from_specs(&specs, &schema, 1_000, 16).unwrap();
-        assert!(carries_vector_index(&store, "vector"));
-        for column in ["id", "text", "missing"] {
-            assert!(!carries_vector_index(&store, column));
-        }
         assert!(!store.fts_granularities_on("text").is_empty());
         for column in ["id", "vector", "missing"] {
             assert!(store.fts_granularities_on(column).is_empty());
         }
         let empty = IndexStore::from_specs(&[], &schema, 1_000, 16).unwrap();
-        assert!(!carries_vector_index(&empty, "vector"));
         assert!(empty.fts_granularities_on("text").is_empty());
     }
 
diff --git a/rust/lancedb/src/table/refresh.rs b/rust/lancedb/src/table/refresh.rs
index 884648f54..0119ba36d 100644
--- a/rust/lancedb/src/table/refresh.rs
+++ b/rust/lancedb/src/table/refresh.rs
@@ -1847,8 +1847,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(
             layouts,
             vec![
-                (1, Some(BlobKind::Managed)),
-                (2, Some(BlobKind::Managed)),
+                (1, Some(BlobKind::Dedicated)),
+                (2, Some(BlobKind::Packed)),
                 (3, Some(BlobKind::Inline)),
                 (4, None),
             ]