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+# Pluggable Fill Strategies Design
+
+## Problem
+
+`DefaultNestEngine.FindBestFill` is a monolithic method that hard-wires four fill phases (Pairs, Linear, RectBestFit, Extents) in a fixed order. Adding a new fill strategy or changing the execution order requires modifying `DefaultNestEngine` directly. The Linear phase is expensive and rarely wins, but there's no way to skip or reorder it without editing the orchestration code.
+
+## Goal
+
+Extract fill strategies into pluggable components behind a common interface. Engines compose strategies in a pipeline where each strategy receives the current best result from prior strategies and can decide whether to run. New strategies can be added by implementing the interface — including from plugin DLLs discovered via reflection.
+
+## Design
+
+### `IFillStrategy` Interface
+
+```csharp
+public interface IFillStrategy
+{
+    string Name { get; }
+    NestPhase Phase { get; }
+    int Order { get; }  // lower runs first; gaps of 100 for plugin insertion
+    List<Part> Fill(FillContext context);
+}
+```
+
+### `FillContext`
+
+Carries inputs and pipeline state through the strategy chain:
+
+```csharp
+public class FillContext
+{
+    // Inputs
+    public NestItem Item { get; init; }
+    public Box WorkArea { get; init; }
+    public Plate Plate { get; init; }
+    public int PlateNumber { get; init; }
+    public CancellationToken Token { get; init; }
+    public IProgress<NestProgress> Progress { get; init; }
+
+    // Pipeline state
+    public List<Part> CurrentBest { get; set; }
+    public FillScore CurrentBestScore { get; set; }
+    public NestPhase WinnerPhase { get; set; }
+    public List<PhaseResult> PhaseResults { get; } = new();
+    public List<AngleResult> AngleResults { get; } = new();
+
+    // Shared resources (populated by earlier strategies, available to later ones)
+    public Dictionary<string, object> SharedState { get; } = new();
+}
+```
+
+`SharedState` enables cross-strategy data sharing without direct coupling. For example, `PairsFillStrategy` stores the `BestFitCache` results and `ExtentsFillStrategy` retrieves them.
+
+### `FillStrategyRegistry`
+
+Discovers strategies via reflection, similar to `NestEngineRegistry.LoadPlugins`:
+
+```csharp
+public static class FillStrategyRegistry
+{
+    private static readonly List<IFillStrategy> strategies = new();
+
+    static FillStrategyRegistry()
+    {
+        LoadFrom(typeof(FillStrategyRegistry).Assembly);
+    }
+
+    public static IReadOnlyList<IFillStrategy> Strategies =>
+        strategies.OrderBy(s => s.Order).ToList();
+
+    public static void LoadFrom(Assembly assembly) { /* scan for IFillStrategy implementations */ }
+
+    public static void LoadPlugins(string directory) { /* load DLLs and scan each */ }
+}
+```
+
+### Built-in Strategy Order
+
+| Strategy | Order | Notes |
+|----------|-------|-------|
+| `PairsFillStrategy` | 100 | Populates `SharedState["BestFits"]` for Extents |
+| `RectBestFitStrategy` | 200 | |
+| `ExtentsFillStrategy` | 300 | Reads `SharedState["BestFits"]` from Pairs |
+| `LinearFillStrategy` | 400 | Expensive, rarely wins, runs last |
+
+Gaps of 100 allow plugins to slot in between (e.g., Order 150 runs after Pairs, before RectBestFit).
+
+### Strategy Implementations
+
+Each strategy is a thin adapter around the existing filler class:
+
+- **`PairsFillStrategy`** — wraps `PairFiller`, stores `BestFitCache` in `SharedState`
+- **`RectBestFitStrategy`** — wraps `FillBestFit` via `BinConverter`
+- **`ExtentsFillStrategy`** — wraps `FillExtents`, reads shared `BestFitCache`
+- **`LinearFillStrategy`** — wraps `FillLinear` + `AngleCandidateBuilder`
+
+The underlying classes (`PairFiller`, `FillLinear`, `FillExtents`, `FillBestFit`) are unchanged.
+
+### Changes to `DefaultNestEngine`
+
+`FindBestFill` is replaced by `RunPipeline`:
+
+```csharp
+private void RunPipeline(FillContext context)
+{
+    foreach (var strategy in FillStrategyRegistry.Strategies)
+    {
+        context.Token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
+
+        var sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
+        var result = strategy.Fill(context);
+        sw.Stop();
+
+        context.PhaseResults.Add(new PhaseResult(
+            strategy.Phase, result?.Count ?? 0, sw.ElapsedMilliseconds));
+
+        if (IsBetterFill(result, context.CurrentBest, context.WorkArea))
+        {
+            context.CurrentBest = result;
+            context.CurrentBestScore = FillScore.Compute(result, context.WorkArea);
+            context.WinnerPhase = strategy.Phase;
+            ReportProgress(context.Progress, strategy.Phase, PlateNumber,
+                result, context.WorkArea, BuildProgressSummary());
+        }
+    }
+}
+```
+
+**Removed from `DefaultNestEngine`:**
+- `FindBestFill` method (replaced by `RunPipeline`)
+- `FillRectangleBestFit` method (moves into `RectBestFitStrategy`)
+- `QuickFillCount` method (moves into relevant strategy)
+- `AngleCandidateBuilder` field and `ForceFullAngleSweep` property (move into `LinearFillStrategy`)
+
+**Stays in `DefaultNestEngine`:**
+- `Fill(List<Part> groupParts, ...)` overload — separate group-fill concern
+- `PackArea` — packing is not part of the fill pipeline
+
+**Static helpers `BuildRotatedPattern` and `FillPattern`** move to `Strategies/FillHelpers.cs`.
+
+### File Layout
+
+```
+OpenNest.Engine/
+  Strategies/
+    IFillStrategy.cs
+    FillContext.cs
+    FillStrategyRegistry.cs
+    FillHelpers.cs
+    PairsFillStrategy.cs
+    LinearFillStrategy.cs
+    RectBestFitStrategy.cs
+    ExtentsFillStrategy.cs
+```
+
+### What Doesn't Change
+
+- `PairFiller.cs`, `FillLinear.cs`, `FillExtents.cs`, `RectanglePacking/FillBestFit.cs` — underlying implementations
+- `FillScore.cs`, `NestProgress.cs`, `Compactor.cs` — shared infrastructure
+- `NestEngineBase.cs` — base class
+- `NestEngineRegistry.cs` — engine-level registry (separate concern)
+- `StripNestEngine.cs` — delegates to `DefaultNestEngine` internally