diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6ed0479..301a038 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,3 +5,4 @@ __pycache__/
 *.pyc
 *.egg-info/
 library.sqlite3
+ops/
diff --git a/examples/literature-explorer/demo-token.md b/examples/literature-explorer/demo-token.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83ae8e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/literature-explorer/demo-token.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+
+abd358981999c08a4f777efa4f38f2d4990c42e3421342cf9e9b460bf9700e41
diff --git a/examples/literature-explorer/index.html b/examples/literature-explorer/index.html
index e0e8433..d555117 100644
--- a/examples/literature-explorer/index.html
+++ b/examples/literature-explorer/index.html
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@
       position: sticky;
       top: 1rem;
       align-self: start;
+      max-height: calc(100vh - 2rem);
+      overflow-y: auto;
     }
 
     .content {
@@ -191,6 +193,8 @@
     .status.error { color: var(--danger); }
     .status.ok { color: var(--accent-2); }
 
+    .status.note { color: #5d4716; }
+
     .meta-grid {
       display: grid;
       gap: 0.5rem;
@@ -382,6 +386,61 @@
       margin-top: 0.75rem;
     }
 
+    .api-reference {
+      display: grid;
+      gap: 0.85rem;
+    }
+
+    .summary-box {
+      margin-top: 0.75rem;
+      padding: 0.8rem 0.9rem;
+      border-radius: 16px;
+      background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.74);
+      border: 1px solid rgba(73, 57, 35, 0.11);
+      display: grid;
+      gap: 0.35rem;
+    }
+
+    .summary-box strong {
+      color: var(--ink);
+    }
+
+    .endpoint-card {
+      border-radius: 18px;
+      border: 1px solid rgba(73, 57, 35, 0.11);
+      background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.74);
+      padding: 0.95rem 1rem;
+      display: grid;
+      gap: 0.55rem;
+    }
+
+    .endpoint-head {
+      display: flex;
+      gap: 0.6rem;
+      align-items: center;
+      flex-wrap: wrap;
+    }
+
+    .endpoint-method {
+      display: inline-flex;
+      align-items: center;
+      justify-content: center;
+      min-width: 4.4rem;
+      padding: 0.28rem 0.55rem;
+      border-radius: 999px;
+      background: var(--accent-2);
+      color: #f7fbfb;
+      font-size: 0.78rem;
+      font-weight: 700;
+      letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+    }
+
+    .endpoint-path {
+      font-family: "IBM Plex Mono", "SFMono-Regular", monospace;
+      font-size: 0.9rem;
+      color: var(--ink);
+    }
+
     @media (max-width: 1080px) {
       .shell { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
       .sidebar { position: static; }
@@ -403,11 +462,16 @@
           <h2>Bridge</h2>
           <label>
             Server URL
-            <input id="server-url" value="http://127.0.0.1:8765" />
+            <input id="server-url" value="" />
+          </label>
+          <label>
+            API Token
+            <input id="api-token" type="password" value="" placeholder="Bearer token for /api access" />
           </label>
           <div class="toolbar">
             <button id="connect-button" class="primary">Connect</button>
             <button id="refresh-topics-button" class="tertiary">Refresh Topics</button>
+            <button id="api-reference-button" class="secondary">API Reference</button>
           </div>
           <div id="connect-status" class="status">Not connected.</div>
         </section>
@@ -442,10 +506,47 @@
               <input id="bootstrap-status" value="draft" />
             </label>
           </div>
+          <div class="row-3">
+            <label>
+              Expansion Mode
+              <select id="bootstrap-expansion-mode">
+                <option value="legacy">legacy</option>
+                <option value="cites">cites</option>
+                <option value="cited_by">cited_by</option>
+                <option value="both">both</option>
+              </select>
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Rounds
+              <input id="bootstrap-expansion-rounds" type="number" min="1" value="3" />
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Recent Years
+              <input id="bootstrap-recent-years" type="number" min="0" value="5" />
+            </label>
+          </div>
+          <div class="row-3">
+            <label>
+              Recent Target
+              <input id="bootstrap-target-recent" type="number" min="1" value="5" />
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Max Expanded Entries
+              <input id="bootstrap-max-expanded-entries" type="number" min="1" value="100" />
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Max Expand Seconds
+              <input id="bootstrap-max-expand-seconds" type="number" min="1" step="0.5" value="20" />
+            </label>
+          </div>
           <div class="toolbar">
             <button id="bootstrap-preview-button" class="secondary">Preview Bootstrap</button>
             <button id="bootstrap-commit-button" class="primary">Commit Bootstrap</button>
           </div>
+          <div id="bootstrap-summary" class="summary-box">
+            <strong>Bootstrap Policy</strong>
+            <p>Use graph-limited bootstrap when you want topic seeding and expansion in one pass. The same expansion policy applies to preview and commit.</p>
+          </div>
         </section>
 
         <section class="panel card">
@@ -471,6 +572,7 @@
               <select id="expand-relation">
                 <option value="cites">cites</option>
                 <option value="cited_by">cited_by</option>
+                <option value="both">both</option>
               </select>
             </label>
             <label>
@@ -488,10 +590,28 @@
               <input id="expand-per-seed-limit" type="number" min="1" value="12" />
             </label>
           </div>
+          <div class="row-3">
+            <label>
+              Rounds
+              <input id="expand-rounds" type="number" min="1" value="3" />
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Recent Years
+              <input id="expand-recent-years" type="number" min="0" value="5" />
+            </label>
+            <label>
+              Recent Target
+              <input id="expand-target-recent" type="number" min="1" value="10" />
+            </label>
+          </div>
           <div class="toolbar">
             <button id="expand-preview-button" class="secondary">Preview Expansion</button>
             <button id="expand-commit-button" class="primary">Apply Expansion</button>
           </div>
+          <div id="expand-summary" class="summary-box">
+            <strong>Expansion Policy</strong>
+            <p>Use <code>cites</code> to bias toward newer work, or <code>both</code> for broader graph growth. Recursive rounds stop once the recent-entry target is met.</p>
+          </div>
         </section>
 
         <section class="panel card">
@@ -579,14 +699,83 @@
         <h2>Graph View</h2>
         <div id="graph-output" class="empty">Load a topic to view a small local network around its first few entries.</div>
       </section>
+
+      <section id="api-reference" class="panel card">
+        <h2>API Reference</h2>
+        <div class="api-reference">
+          <div class="endpoint-card">
+            <div class="endpoint-head">
+              <span class="endpoint-method">GET</span>
+              <span class="endpoint-path">/api/healthz</span>
+            </div>
+            <p>Health check endpoint. Does not require a bearer token.</p>
+          </div>
+          <div class="endpoint-card">
+            <div class="endpoint-head">
+              <span class="endpoint-method">GET</span>
+              <span class="endpoint-path">/api/capabilities</span>
+            </div>
+            <p>Returns the available operation names and preview-capable actions. Requires <code>Authorization: Bearer &lt;token&gt;</code>.</p>
+          </div>
+          <div class="endpoint-card">
+            <div class="endpoint-head">
+              <span class="endpoint-method">POST</span>
+              <span class="endpoint-path">/api/call</span>
+            </div>
+            <p>RPC-style API entry point for search, topic loading, graph traversal, extraction, verification, and topic BibTeX export.</p>
+            <div class="code-block">{
+  "method": "expand_topic",
+  "params": {
+    "topic_slug": "acraniates",
+    "relation_type": "cites",
+    "max_rounds": 3,
+    "recent_years": 5,
+    "target_recent_entries": 10
+  }
+}</div>
+          </div>
+          <div class="endpoint-card">
+            <div class="endpoint-head">
+              <span class="endpoint-method">POST</span>
+              <span class="endpoint-path">/api/call bootstrap policy</span>
+            </div>
+            <p>Bootstrap also accepts expansion policy controls when you want bounded topic seeding plus graph growth in one step.</p>
+            <div class="code-block">{
+  "method": "bootstrap",
+  "params": {
+    "topic": "abiogenesis",
+    "topic_slug": "abiogenesis",
+    "expansion_mode": "cites",
+    "expansion_rounds": 3,
+    "recent_years": 5,
+    "target_recent_entries": 5,
+    "max_expanded_entries": 100,
+    "max_expand_seconds": 20
+  }
+}</div>
+          </div>
+          <div class="endpoint-card">
+            <div class="endpoint-head">
+              <span class="endpoint-method">AUTH</span>
+              <span class="endpoint-path">Bearer token</span>
+            </div>
+            <p>Set the token in the sidebar once. The demo stores it in localStorage and attaches it to subsequent <code>/api/*</code> requests.</p>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </section>
     </main>
   </div>
 
   <script type="module">
     import { createHttpBridge, createLiteratureExplorerClient } from "./literature-explorer.js";
 
+    const DEFAULT_BRIDGE_URL = window.location.origin.startsWith("http")
+      ? `${window.location.origin}/api`
+      : "http://127.0.0.1:8765";
+
     const state = {
-      bridgeUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:8765",
+      bridgeUrl: localStorage.getItem("citegeist.bridgeUrl") || DEFAULT_BRIDGE_URL,
+      apiToken: localStorage.getItem("citegeist.apiToken") || "",
       client: null,
       topics: [],
       activeTopic: null,
@@ -595,8 +784,10 @@
 
     const els = {
       serverUrl: document.getElementById("server-url"),
+      apiToken: document.getElementById("api-token"),
       connectButton: document.getElementById("connect-button"),
       refreshTopicsButton: document.getElementById("refresh-topics-button"),
+      apiReferenceButton: document.getElementById("api-reference-button"),
       connectStatus: document.getElementById("connect-status"),
       topicsList: document.getElementById("topics-list"),
       topicView: document.getElementById("topic-view"),
@@ -614,8 +805,15 @@
       bootstrapTopicLimit: document.getElementById("bootstrap-topic-limit"),
       bootstrapCommitLimit: document.getElementById("bootstrap-commit-limit"),
       bootstrapStatus: document.getElementById("bootstrap-status"),
+      bootstrapExpansionMode: document.getElementById("bootstrap-expansion-mode"),
+      bootstrapExpansionRounds: document.getElementById("bootstrap-expansion-rounds"),
+      bootstrapRecentYears: document.getElementById("bootstrap-recent-years"),
+      bootstrapTargetRecent: document.getElementById("bootstrap-target-recent"),
+      bootstrapMaxExpandedEntries: document.getElementById("bootstrap-max-expanded-entries"),
+      bootstrapMaxExpandSeconds: document.getElementById("bootstrap-max-expand-seconds"),
       bootstrapPreviewButton: document.getElementById("bootstrap-preview-button"),
       bootstrapCommitButton: document.getElementById("bootstrap-commit-button"),
+      bootstrapSummary: document.getElementById("bootstrap-summary"),
       expandTopicSlug: document.getElementById("expand-topic-slug"),
       expandTopicPhrase: document.getElementById("expand-topic-phrase"),
       expandSource: document.getElementById("expand-source"),
@@ -623,8 +821,12 @@
       expandMinRelevance: document.getElementById("expand-min-relevance"),
       expandSeedLimit: document.getElementById("expand-seed-limit"),
       expandPerSeedLimit: document.getElementById("expand-per-seed-limit"),
+      expandRounds: document.getElementById("expand-rounds"),
+      expandRecentYears: document.getElementById("expand-recent-years"),
+      expandTargetRecent: document.getElementById("expand-target-recent"),
       expandPreviewButton: document.getElementById("expand-preview-button"),
       expandCommitButton: document.getElementById("expand-commit-button"),
+      expandSummary: document.getElementById("expand-summary"),
       searchQuery: document.getElementById("search-query"),
       searchTopic: document.getElementById("search-topic"),
       searchButton: document.getElementById("search-button"),
@@ -633,6 +835,9 @@
       verifyButton: document.getElementById("verify-button"),
     };
 
+    els.serverUrl.value = state.bridgeUrl;
+    els.apiToken.value = state.apiToken;
+
     function setStatus(text, kind = "") {
       els.connectStatus.textContent = text;
       els.connectStatus.className = `status ${kind}`.trim();
@@ -706,6 +911,9 @@
             ${topic.expansion_phrase ? `<span class="pill">${escapeHtml(topic.expansion_phrase)}</span>` : ""}
             ${topic.source_url ? `<span class="pill">${escapeHtml(topic.source_url)}</span>` : ""}
           </div>
+          <div class="toolbar">
+            <button type="button" class="secondary" data-export-topic="${escapeHtml(topic.slug)}">Export Topic BibTeX</button>
+          </div>
         </div>
         ${entries.map((entry) => `
           <div class="list-item">
@@ -724,6 +932,11 @@
           await loadEntry(node.getAttribute("data-entry-key"));
         });
       });
+      els.topicView.querySelectorAll("[data-export-topic]").forEach((node) => {
+        node.addEventListener("click", async () => {
+          await exportTopicBibtex(node.getAttribute("data-export-topic"));
+        });
+      });
     }
 
     function renderEntry(entry) {
@@ -842,11 +1055,40 @@
       els.extractVerifyOutput.textContent = JSON.stringify(payload, null, 2);
     }
 
+    function renderExpandSummary(payload) {
+      if (!els.expandSummary) return;
+      const results = payload?.results || [];
+      const assigned = results.filter((item) => item.assigned_to_topic).length;
+      const runMeta = payload?.run_meta || {};
+      els.expandSummary.innerHTML = `
+        <strong>Expansion Summary</strong>
+        <p>${results.length} discoveries returned · ${assigned} assigned to topic · relation ${escapeHtml(els.expandRelation.value)} · rounds ${escapeHtml(els.expandRounds.value)}</p>
+        <p>Recent target: ${escapeHtml(els.expandTargetRecent.value)} within ${escapeHtml(els.expandRecentYears.value)} years. Stop reason: <strong>${escapeHtml(runMeta.stop_reason || "unknown")}</strong>.</p>
+        <p>Recent hits: ${escapeHtml(runMeta.recent_hits ?? 0)} · recent topic hits: ${escapeHtml(runMeta.recent_topic_hits ?? 0)}.</p>
+      `;
+    }
+
+    function renderBootstrapSummary(payload) {
+      if (!els.bootstrapSummary) return;
+      const results = payload?.results || [];
+      const created = results.filter((item) => item.created).length;
+      const runMeta = payload?.run_meta || {};
+      els.bootstrapSummary.innerHTML = `
+        <strong>Bootstrap Summary</strong>
+        <p>${results.length} candidate entries returned · ${created} newly created in this pass · mode ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapExpansionMode.value)} · rounds ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapExpansionRounds.value)}</p>
+        <p>Recent target: ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapTargetRecent.value)} within ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapRecentYears.value)} years · caps ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapMaxExpandedEntries.value)} entries / ${escapeHtml(els.bootstrapMaxExpandSeconds.value)} seconds.</p>
+        <p>Stop reason: <strong>${escapeHtml(runMeta.stop_reason || "unknown")}</strong> · expanded discoveries: ${escapeHtml(runMeta.expanded_discoveries ?? 0)} · recent topic hits: ${escapeHtml(runMeta.recent_topic_hits ?? 0)}.</p>
+      `;
+    }
+
     async function connect() {
       setBusy(els.connectButton, true);
       try {
         state.bridgeUrl = els.serverUrl.value.trim() || state.bridgeUrl;
-        const bridge = createHttpBridge(state.bridgeUrl);
+        state.apiToken = els.apiToken.value.trim();
+        localStorage.setItem("citegeist.bridgeUrl", state.bridgeUrl);
+        localStorage.setItem("citegeist.apiToken", state.apiToken);
+        const bridge = createHttpBridge(state.bridgeUrl, { token: state.apiToken });
         const client = createLiteratureExplorerClient(bridge);
         const capabilities = await client.capabilities();
         state.client = client;
@@ -919,10 +1161,17 @@
           topic_limit: Number(els.bootstrapTopicLimit.value || 5),
           topic_commit_limit: Number(els.bootstrapCommitLimit.value || 0) || null,
           preview_only: previewOnly,
-          expand: false,
+          expand: els.bootstrapExpansionMode.value !== "legacy",
           review_status: els.bootstrapStatus.value.trim() || "draft",
+          expansion_mode: els.bootstrapExpansionMode.value,
+          expansion_rounds: Number(els.bootstrapExpansionRounds.value || 1),
+          recent_years: Number(els.bootstrapRecentYears.value || 0) || null,
+          target_recent_entries: Number(els.bootstrapTargetRecent.value || 0) || null,
+          max_expanded_entries: Number(els.bootstrapMaxExpandedEntries.value || 0) || null,
+          max_expand_seconds: Number(els.bootstrapMaxExpandSeconds.value || 0) || null,
         });
         renderExtractVerify(payload);
+        renderBootstrapSummary(payload);
         setLastOp(previewOnly ? "bootstrap_preview" : "bootstrap_commit");
         logActivity(previewOnly ? "bootstrap_preview" : "bootstrap_commit", payload);
         if (!previewOnly) {
@@ -954,9 +1203,13 @@
           min_relevance: Number(els.expandMinRelevance.value || 0.2),
           seed_limit: Number(els.expandSeedLimit.value || 10),
           per_seed_limit: Number(els.expandPerSeedLimit.value || 12),
+          max_rounds: Number(els.expandRounds.value || 1),
+          recent_years: Number(els.expandRecentYears.value || 0),
+          target_recent_entries: Number(els.expandTargetRecent.value || 0) || null,
           preview_only: previewOnly,
         });
         renderExtractVerify(payload);
+        renderExpandSummary(payload);
         setLastOp(previewOnly ? "expand_preview" : "expand_commit");
         logActivity(previewOnly ? "expand_preview" : "expand_commit", payload);
         if (!previewOnly && topicSlug) {
@@ -1027,6 +1280,29 @@
       }
     }
 
+    async function exportTopicBibtex(topicSlug) {
+      if (!state.client || !topicSlug) {
+        setStatus("Connect to the server first.", "error");
+        return;
+      }
+      try {
+        const payload = await state.client.exportTopicBibtex(topicSlug, { include_stubs: false });
+        const filename = `${topicSlug}.bib`;
+        downloadText(filename, payload?.bibtex || "");
+        renderExtractVerify(payload);
+        setLastOp("export_topic_bibtex");
+        logActivity(`export_topic_bibtex:${topicSlug}`, payload);
+        const skippedCount = Array.isArray(payload?.skipped) ? payload.skipped.length : 0;
+        if (skippedCount) {
+          setStatus(`Exported ${filename} with ${skippedCount} skipped malformed entr${skippedCount === 1 ? "y" : "ies"}.`, "ok");
+        } else {
+          setStatus(`Exported ${filename}`, "ok");
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        setStatus(String(error.message || error), "error");
+      }
+    }
+
     function escapeHtml(value) {
       return String(value ?? "")
         .replaceAll("&", "&amp;")
@@ -1068,8 +1344,23 @@
       });
     }
 
+    function downloadText(filename, text) {
+      const blob = new Blob([text], { type: "application/x-bibtex; charset=utf-8" });
+      const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
+      const anchor = document.createElement("a");
+      anchor.href = url;
+      anchor.download = filename;
+      document.body.appendChild(anchor);
+      anchor.click();
+      anchor.remove();
+      URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
+    }
+
     els.connectButton.addEventListener("click", connect);
     els.refreshTopicsButton.addEventListener("click", refreshTopics);
+    els.apiReferenceButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
+      document.getElementById("api-reference").scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "start" });
+    });
     els.bootstrapPreviewButton.addEventListener("click", () => runBootstrap(true));
     els.bootstrapCommitButton.addEventListener("click", () => runBootstrap(false));
     els.expandPreviewButton.addEventListener("click", () => runExpand(true));
diff --git a/examples/literature-explorer/literature-explorer.js b/examples/literature-explorer/literature-explorer.js
index d6212ff..c5aecde 100644
--- a/examples/literature-explorer/literature-explorer.js
+++ b/examples/literature-explorer/literature-explorer.js
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ export function createLiteratureExplorerClient(bridge) {
     getTopic(topicSlug, options = {}) {
       return bridge.call("get_topic", { topic_slug: topicSlug, ...options });
     },
+    exportTopicBibtex(topicSlug, options = {}) {
+      return bridge.call("export_topic_bibtex", { topic_slug: topicSlug, ...options });
+    },
     bootstrap(options = {}) {
       return bridge.call("bootstrap", options);
     },
@@ -36,12 +39,23 @@ export function createLiteratureExplorerClient(bridge) {
   };
 }
 
-export function createHttpBridge(baseUrl = "http://127.0.0.1:8765") {
+function defaultApiBaseUrl() {
+  if (typeof window !== "undefined" && window.location?.origin) {
+    return `${window.location.origin}/api`;
+  }
+  return "http://127.0.0.1:8765";
+}
+
+export function createHttpBridge(baseUrl = defaultApiBaseUrl(), options = {}) {
+  const token = String(options.token || "").trim();
   return {
     async call(method, params = {}) {
       const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/call`, {
         method: "POST",
-        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+        headers: {
+          "Content-Type": "application/json",
+          ...(token ? { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } : {}),
+        },
         body: JSON.stringify({ method, params }),
       });
       const payload = await response.json();
diff --git a/src/citegeist/app_api.py b/src/citegeist/app_api.py
index 7cf660d..a3ae29b 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/app_api.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/app_api.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
                 "show_entry",
                 "list_topics",
                 "get_topic",
+                "export_topic_bibtex",
                 "bootstrap",
                 "expand_topic",
                 "extract_text",
@@ -81,6 +82,22 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
             "entries": self.store.list_topic_entries(topic_slug, limit=entry_limit),
         }
 
+    def export_topic_bibtex(self, topic_slug: str, *, include_stubs: bool = False) -> dict[str, object] | None:
+        topic = self.store.get_topic(topic_slug)
+        if topic is None:
+            return None
+        entries = self.store.list_topic_entries(topic_slug, limit=100000)
+        citation_keys = [row["citation_key"] for row in entries]
+        export = self.store.export_bibtex_report(citation_keys, include_stubs=include_stubs)
+        return {
+            "topic": topic,
+            "entry_count": len(citation_keys),
+            "exported_count": export["exported_count"],
+            "include_stubs": include_stubs,
+            "skipped": export["skipped"],
+            "bibtex": export["bibtex"],
+        }
+
     def bootstrap(
         self,
         *,
@@ -94,6 +111,12 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
         expand: bool = True,
         preview_only: bool = False,
         review_status: str = "draft",
+        expansion_mode: str = "legacy",
+        expansion_rounds: int = 1,
+        recent_years: int | None = None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expanded_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expand_seconds: float | None = None,
     ) -> dict[str, object]:
         results = self.bootstrapper.bootstrap(
             self.store,
@@ -107,6 +130,12 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
             topic_slug=topic_slug,
             topic_name=topic_name,
             topic_phrase=topic_phrase,
+            expansion_mode=expansion_mode,
+            expansion_rounds=expansion_rounds,
+            recent_years=recent_years,
+            target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
+            max_expanded_entries=max_expanded_entries,
+            max_expand_seconds=max_expand_seconds,
         )
         effective_slug = topic_slug
         if effective_slug is None and topic:
@@ -114,6 +143,7 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
         payload: dict[str, object] = {
             "preview": preview_only,
             "results": [asdict(result) for result in results],
+            "run_meta": dict(getattr(self.bootstrapper, "last_run_meta", {}) or {}),
         }
         if effective_slug is not None:
             payload["topic"] = self.store.get_topic(effective_slug)
@@ -132,6 +162,9 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
         min_relevance: float = 0.2,
         seed_keys: list[str] | None = None,
         preview_only: bool = False,
+        max_rounds: int = 1,
+        recent_years: int | None = None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None = None,
     ) -> dict[str, object] | None:
         topic = self.store.get_topic(topic_slug)
         if topic is None:
@@ -147,12 +180,16 @@ class LiteratureExplorerApi:
             min_relevance=min_relevance,
             seed_keys=seed_keys,
             preview_only=preview_only,
+            max_rounds=max_rounds,
+            recent_years=recent_years,
+            target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
         )
         return {
             "topic": self.store.get_topic(topic_slug),
             "preview": preview_only,
             "results": [asdict(result) for result in results],
             "entries": self.store.list_topic_entries(topic_slug, limit=200),
+            "run_meta": dict(getattr(self.topic_expander, "last_run_meta", {}) or {}),
         }
 
     def extract_text(self, text: str, *, backend: str = "heuristic") -> dict[str, object]:
diff --git a/src/citegeist/app_server.py b/src/citegeist/app_server.py
index 16547e0..d16450d 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/app_server.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/app_server.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from http import HTTPStatus
-from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, ThreadingHTTPServer
+from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
 import argparse
 import json
+import os
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
 
@@ -12,8 +13,9 @@ from .storage import BibliographyStore
 
 
 class LiteratureExplorerAppServer:
-    def __init__(self, api: LiteratureExplorerApi) -> None:
+    def __init__(self, api: LiteratureExplorerApi, *, api_token: str | None = None) -> None:
         self.api = api
+        self.api_token = (api_token or "").strip() or None
 
     def dispatch(self, method: str, params: dict[str, Any] | None = None) -> Any:
         params = params or {}
@@ -42,6 +44,11 @@ class LiteratureExplorerAppServer:
                 str(params.get("topic_slug") or ""),
                 entry_limit=int(params.get("entry_limit", 100)),
             )
+        if method == "export_topic_bibtex":
+            return self.api.export_topic_bibtex(
+                str(params.get("topic_slug") or ""),
+                include_stubs=bool(params.get("include_stubs", False)),
+            )
         if method == "bootstrap":
             return self.api.bootstrap(
                 seed_bibtex=_optional_str(params.get("seed_bibtex")),
@@ -54,6 +61,12 @@ class LiteratureExplorerAppServer:
                 expand=bool(params.get("expand", True)),
                 preview_only=bool(params.get("preview_only", False)),
                 review_status=str(params.get("review_status") or "draft"),
+                expansion_mode=str(params.get("expansion_mode") or "legacy"),
+                expansion_rounds=int(params.get("expansion_rounds", 1)),
+                recent_years=_optional_int(params.get("recent_years")),
+                target_recent_entries=_optional_int(params.get("target_recent_entries")),
+                max_expanded_entries=_optional_int(params.get("max_expanded_entries")),
+                max_expand_seconds=_optional_float(params.get("max_expand_seconds")),
             )
         if method == "expand_topic":
             return self.api.expand_topic(
@@ -66,6 +79,9 @@ class LiteratureExplorerAppServer:
                 min_relevance=float(params.get("min_relevance", 0.2)),
                 seed_keys=_string_list(params.get("seed_keys")),
                 preview_only=bool(params.get("preview_only", False)),
+                max_rounds=int(params.get("max_rounds", 1)),
+                recent_years=_optional_int(params.get("recent_years")),
+                target_recent_entries=_optional_int(params.get("target_recent_entries")),
             )
         if method == "extract_text":
             return self.api.extract_text(
@@ -106,6 +122,9 @@ def create_request_handler(server: LiteratureExplorerAppServer):
             if self.path != "/call":
                 self._write_json({"error": "not_found"}, status=HTTPStatus.NOT_FOUND)
                 return
+            if not _request_is_authorized(self.headers, server.api_token):
+                self._write_unauthorized()
+                return
             try:
                 body = self.rfile.read(int(self.headers.get("Content-Length", "0") or "0"))
                 payload = json.loads(body.decode("utf-8") or "{}")
@@ -125,6 +144,9 @@ def create_request_handler(server: LiteratureExplorerAppServer):
                 self._write_json({"ok": True})
                 return
             if self.path == "/capabilities":
+                if not _request_is_authorized(self.headers, server.api_token):
+                    self._write_unauthorized()
+                    return
                 self._write_json({"ok": True, "result": server.dispatch("capabilities", {})})
                 return
             self._write_json({"error": "not_found"}, status=HTTPStatus.NOT_FOUND)
@@ -143,9 +165,19 @@ def create_request_handler(server: LiteratureExplorerAppServer):
 
         def _write_cors_headers(self) -> None:
             self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*")
-            self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Content-Type")
+            self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Authorization, Content-Type, X-API-Token")
             self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET, POST, OPTIONS")
 
+        def _write_unauthorized(self) -> None:
+            body = json.dumps({"ok": False, "error": "unauthorized"}, indent=2).encode("utf-8")
+            self.send_response(HTTPStatus.UNAUTHORIZED)
+            self._write_cors_headers()
+            self.send_header("WWW-Authenticate", 'Bearer realm="citegeist"')
+            self.send_header("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=utf-8")
+            self.send_header("Content-Length", str(len(body)))
+            self.end_headers()
+            self.wfile.write(body)
+
     return Handler
 
 
@@ -154,12 +186,14 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     parser.add_argument("--db", default="library.sqlite3", help="SQLite database path")
     parser.add_argument("--host", default="127.0.0.1", help="Bind host")
     parser.add_argument("--port", type=int, default=8765, help="Bind port")
+    parser.add_argument("--api-token", default=None, help="Optional bearer token required for API access")
     args = parser.parse_args(argv)
 
     store = BibliographyStore(Path(args.db))
     api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store)
-    server = LiteratureExplorerAppServer(api)
-    httpd = ThreadingHTTPServer((args.host, args.port), create_request_handler(server))
+    api_token = args.api_token or os.environ.get("CITEGEIST_API_TOKEN")
+    server = LiteratureExplorerAppServer(api, api_token=api_token)
+    httpd = HTTPServer((args.host, args.port), create_request_handler(server))
     try:
         print(f"CiteGeist explorer server listening on http://{args.host}:{args.port}")
         httpd.serve_forever()
@@ -182,6 +216,12 @@ def _optional_int(value: object) -> int | None:
     return int(value)
 
 
+def _optional_float(value: object) -> float | None:
+    if value is None or value == "":
+        return None
+    return float(value)
+
+
 def _string_list(value: object) -> list[str]:
     if value is None:
         return []
@@ -190,5 +230,28 @@ def _string_list(value: object) -> list[str]:
     return [str(value)] if str(value) else []
 
 
+def _request_is_authorized(headers: Any, api_token: str | None) -> bool:
+    if not api_token:
+        return True
+    bearer_value = _extract_bearer_token(headers)
+    if bearer_value == api_token:
+        return True
+    header_token = headers.get("X-API-Token", "").strip() if headers else ""
+    return header_token == api_token
+
+
+def _extract_bearer_token(headers: Any) -> str | None:
+    if not headers:
+        return None
+    authorization = headers.get("Authorization", "")
+    if not authorization:
+        return None
+    scheme, _, value = authorization.partition(" ")
+    if scheme.lower() != "bearer":
+        return None
+    value = value.strip()
+    return value or None
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/src/citegeist/batch.py b/src/citegeist/batch.py
index 203a4a1..ce12526 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/batch.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/batch.py
@@ -56,6 +56,12 @@ class BatchBootstrapRunner:
             topic_slug = job.get("topic_slug")
             topic_name = job.get("topic_name")
             topic_phrase = job.get("topic_phrase")
+            expansion_mode = str(job.get("expansion_mode", "legacy"))
+            expansion_rounds = int(job.get("expansion_rounds", 1))
+            recent_years = job.get("recent_years")
+            target_recent_entries = job.get("target_recent_entries")
+            max_expanded_entries = job.get("max_expanded_entries")
+            max_expand_seconds = job.get("max_expand_seconds")
 
             seed_bibtex = None
             if seed_bib:
@@ -73,6 +79,12 @@ class BatchBootstrapRunner:
                 topic_slug=str(topic_slug) if topic_slug else None,
                 topic_name=str(topic_name) if topic_name else None,
                 topic_phrase=str(topic_phrase) if topic_phrase else None,
+                expansion_mode=expansion_mode,
+                expansion_rounds=expansion_rounds,
+                recent_years=int(recent_years) if recent_years is not None else None,
+                target_recent_entries=int(target_recent_entries) if target_recent_entries is not None else None,
+                max_expanded_entries=int(max_expanded_entries) if max_expanded_entries is not None else None,
+                max_expand_seconds=float(max_expand_seconds) if max_expand_seconds is not None else None,
             )
             results.append(BatchJobResult(name, len(job_results), job_results))
         return results
diff --git a/src/citegeist/bootstrap.py b/src/citegeist/bootstrap.py
index be2b38c..a2cfbbc 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/bootstrap.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/bootstrap.py
@@ -1,10 +1,19 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
+import random
 import re
+import time
 
 from .bibtex import BibEntry, parse_bibtex
-from .expand import CrossrefExpander, OpenAlexExpander
+from .expand import (
+    CrossrefExpander,
+    OpenAlexExpander,
+    _entry_is_recent,
+    _expand_relation_types,
+    _meets_topic_assignment_threshold as _expand_meets_topic_assignment_threshold,
+    _topic_relevance_score as _expand_topic_relevance_score,
+)
 from .resolve import MetadataResolver
 from .storage import BibliographyStore
 
@@ -31,6 +40,7 @@ class Bootstrapper:
         self.resolver = resolver or MetadataResolver()
         self.crossref_expander = crossref_expander or CrossrefExpander(self.resolver)
         self.openalex_expander = openalex_expander or OpenAlexExpander(self.resolver)
+        self.last_run_meta: dict[str, object] = {}
 
     def bootstrap(
         self,
@@ -45,7 +55,25 @@ class Bootstrapper:
         topic_slug: str | None = None,
         topic_name: str | None = None,
         topic_phrase: str | None = None,
+        expansion_mode: str = "legacy",
+        expansion_rounds: int = 1,
+        recent_years: int | None = None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expanded_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expand_seconds: float | None = None,
     ) -> list[BootstrapResult]:
+        self.last_run_meta = {
+            "stop_reason": "completed",
+            "expansion_mode": expansion_mode,
+            "preview_only": preview_only,
+            "recent_years": recent_years,
+            "target_recent_entries": target_recent_entries,
+            "max_expanded_entries": max_expanded_entries,
+            "max_expand_seconds": max_expand_seconds,
+            "recent_hits": 0,
+            "recent_topic_hits": 0,
+            "expanded_discoveries": 0,
+        }
         results: list[BootstrapResult] = []
         seed_keys: list[str] = []
         effective_topic_slug = topic_slug or (_slugify(topic) if topic else None)
@@ -140,15 +168,200 @@ class Bootstrapper:
 
         if expand and not preview_only:
             expanded_keys = list(dict.fromkeys(seed_keys))
-            for citation_key in expanded_keys:
-                for item in self.crossref_expander.expand_entry_references(store, citation_key):
-                    results.append(BootstrapResult(item.discovered_citation_key, "crossref_expand", item.created_entry))
-                for item in self.openalex_expander.expand_entry(store, citation_key, relation_type="cites", limit=topic_limit):
-                    results.append(BootstrapResult(item.discovered_citation_key, "openalex_expand", item.created_entry))
+            expanded_discoveries: set[str] = set()
+            deadline = time.monotonic() + max_expand_seconds if max_expand_seconds is not None else None
+            if expansion_mode == "legacy":
+                random.shuffle(expanded_keys)
+                for citation_key in expanded_keys:
+                    if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                        store.connection.commit()
+                        return results
+                    for item in self.crossref_expander.expand_entry_references(store, citation_key):
+                        results.append(BootstrapResult(item.discovered_citation_key, "crossref_expand", item.created_entry))
+                        expanded_discoveries.add(item.discovered_citation_key)
+                        if max_expanded_entries is not None and len(expanded_discoveries) >= max_expanded_entries:
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expanded_entries",
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            store.connection.commit()
+                            return results
+                        if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            store.connection.commit()
+                            return results
+                    for item in self.openalex_expander.expand_entry(
+                        store,
+                        citation_key,
+                        relation_type="cites",
+                        limit=topic_limit,
+                    ):
+                        results.append(BootstrapResult(item.discovered_citation_key, "openalex_expand", item.created_entry))
+                        expanded_discoveries.add(item.discovered_citation_key)
+                        if max_expanded_entries is not None and len(expanded_discoveries) >= max_expanded_entries:
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expanded_entries",
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            store.connection.commit()
+                            return results
+                        if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            store.connection.commit()
+                            return results
+            else:
+                results.extend(
+                    self._bootstrap_openalex_expansion(
+                        store,
+                        expanded_keys,
+                        relation_type=expansion_mode,
+                        limit=topic_limit,
+                        max_rounds=expansion_rounds,
+                        topic_slug=effective_topic_slug,
+                        topic_name=effective_topic_name,
+                        topic_phrase=topic_phrase or topic,
+                        recent_years=recent_years,
+                        target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
+                        max_expanded_entries=max_expanded_entries,
+                        deadline=deadline,
+                    )
+                )
 
+        self.last_run_meta.setdefault("stop_reason", "completed")
         store.connection.commit()
         return results
 
+    def _bootstrap_openalex_expansion(
+        self,
+        store: BibliographyStore,
+        seed_keys: list[str],
+        relation_type: str,
+        limit: int,
+        max_rounds: int,
+        topic_slug: str | None,
+        topic_name: str | None,
+        topic_phrase: str | None,
+        recent_years: int | None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None,
+        max_expanded_entries: int | None,
+        deadline: float | None,
+    ) -> list[BootstrapResult]:
+        results: list[BootstrapResult] = []
+        frontier = list(dict.fromkeys(seed_keys))
+        seen_seeds: set[str] = set()
+        recent_hits: set[str] = set()
+        recent_topic_hits: set[str] = set()
+        expanded_discoveries: set[str] = set()
+
+        for _round in range(max(1, max_rounds)):
+            if not frontier:
+                break
+            if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                self.last_run_meta.update({
+                    "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                    "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                    "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                    "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                })
+                return results
+            next_frontier: list[str] = []
+            for citation_key in frontier:
+                if citation_key in seen_seeds:
+                    continue
+                seen_seeds.add(citation_key)
+                if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                    self.last_run_meta.update({
+                        "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                        "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                        "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                        "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                    })
+                    return results
+                for relation_name in _expand_relation_types(relation_type):
+                    if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                        self.last_run_meta.update({
+                            "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                            "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                            "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                            "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                        })
+                        return results
+                    for item in self.openalex_expander.expand_entry(
+                        store,
+                        citation_key,
+                        relation_type=relation_name,
+                        limit=limit,
+                    ):
+                        discovered_key = item.discovered_citation_key
+                        entry = store.get_entry(discovered_key)
+                        if _entry_is_recent(entry, recent_years):
+                            recent_hits.add(discovered_key)
+                        if topic_slug and topic_name and topic_phrase and entry is not None:
+                            score = _expand_topic_relevance_score(topic_phrase, entry)
+                            if _expand_meets_topic_assignment_threshold(
+                                topic_phrase,
+                                entry,
+                                min_relevance=0.2,
+                                relevance_score=score,
+                            ):
+                                store.add_entry_topic(
+                                    discovered_key,
+                                    topic_slug=topic_slug,
+                                    topic_name=topic_name,
+                                    source_type="bootstrap_expand",
+                                    source_label=f"openalex:{relation_name}:{citation_key}",
+                                    confidence=score,
+                                    expansion_phrase=topic_phrase,
+                                )
+                                if _entry_is_recent(entry, recent_years) and score >= 0.5:
+                                    recent_topic_hits.add(discovered_key)
+                        results.append(BootstrapResult(discovered_key, f"openalex_expand:{relation_name}", item.created_entry))
+                        expanded_discoveries.add(discovered_key)
+                        if discovered_key not in seen_seeds:
+                            next_frontier.append(discovered_key)
+                        if max_expanded_entries is not None and len(expanded_discoveries) >= max_expanded_entries:
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expanded_entries",
+                                "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                                "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            return results
+                        if target_recent_entries is not None and len(recent_topic_hits) >= target_recent_entries:
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "target_recent_entries",
+                                "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                                "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            return results
+                        if _deadline_reached(deadline):
+                            self.last_run_meta.update({
+                                "stop_reason": "max_expand_seconds",
+                                "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                                "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                                "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+                            })
+                            return results
+            frontier = list(dict.fromkeys(next_frontier))
+        self.last_run_meta.update({
+            "stop_reason": "frontier_exhausted",
+            "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+            "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+            "expanded_discoveries": len(expanded_discoveries),
+        })
+        return results
+
+
+def _deadline_reached(deadline: float | None) -> bool:
+    return deadline is not None and time.monotonic() >= deadline
+
     def _topic_candidates(self, topic: str, seed_keys: list[str], limit: int) -> list[tuple[BibEntry, float]]:
         scored: dict[str, tuple[BibEntry, float]] = {}
 
diff --git a/src/citegeist/cli.py b/src/citegeist/cli.py
index 352b616..201d4df 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/cli.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/cli.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from .batch import BatchBootstrapRunner, load_batch_jobs
 from .bibtex import parse_bibtex, render_bibtex
 from .bootstrap import Bootstrapper
 from .examples.talkorigins import TalkOriginsScraper
-from .expand import CrossrefExpander, OpenAlexExpander, TopicExpander
+from .expand import CrossrefExpander, OpenAlexExpander, TopicExpander, _expand_relation_types
 from .extract import (
     available_extraction_backends,
     check_extraction_comparison_summary,
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     )
     expand_parser.add_argument(
         "--relation",
-        choices=["cites", "cited_by"],
+        choices=["cites", "cited_by", "both"],
         default="cites",
         help="Graph direction to expand for sources that support it",
     )
@@ -225,12 +225,23 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     )
     expand_topic_parser.add_argument(
         "--relation",
-        choices=["cites", "cited_by"],
+        choices=["cites", "cited_by", "both"],
         default="cites",
         help="Graph direction to expand for sources that support it",
     )
     expand_topic_parser.add_argument("--seed-limit", type=int, default=25, help="Maximum topic seed entries to expand from")
     expand_topic_parser.add_argument("--per-seed-limit", type=int, default=25, help="Maximum discovered works to fetch per seed")
+    expand_topic_parser.add_argument("--rounds", type=int, default=1, help="Maximum recursive expansion rounds")
+    expand_topic_parser.add_argument(
+        "--recent-years",
+        type=int,
+        help="Treat discoveries within this many years of the current year as recent for termination heuristics",
+    )
+    expand_topic_parser.add_argument(
+        "--target-recent-entries",
+        type=int,
+        help="Stop recursive topic expansion once this many recent discoveries have been found",
+    )
     expand_topic_parser.add_argument(
         "--seed-key",
         action="append",
@@ -300,6 +311,38 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
         action="store_true",
         help="Do not run immediate graph expansion after seeding",
     )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--expansion-mode",
+        choices=["legacy", "cites", "cited_by", "both"],
+        default="legacy",
+        help="Expansion policy after bootstrap seeding; legacy keeps Crossref refs plus OpenAlex cites",
+    )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--expansion-rounds",
+        type=int,
+        default=1,
+        help="Maximum recursive OpenAlex expansion rounds for non-legacy expansion modes",
+    )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--recent-years",
+        type=int,
+        help="Treat discoveries within this many years of the current year as recent for termination heuristics",
+    )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--target-recent-entries",
+        type=int,
+        help="Stop non-legacy expansion once this many recent discoveries have been found",
+    )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-expanded-entries",
+        type=int,
+        help="Hard cap on unique discovered entries added during one bootstrap job",
+    )
+    bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-expand-seconds",
+        type=float,
+        help="Wall-clock cap for one bootstrap job's expansion phase",
+    )
     bootstrap_parser.add_argument(
         "--preview",
         action="store_true",
@@ -364,6 +407,38 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
         type=int,
         help="Default bootstrap topic commit limit to include in generated jobs",
     )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--expansion-mode",
+        choices=["legacy", "cites", "cited_by", "both"],
+        default="legacy",
+        help="Expansion policy to write into generated bootstrap jobs",
+    )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--expansion-rounds",
+        type=int,
+        default=1,
+        help="Maximum recursive OpenAlex expansion rounds to write into generated jobs",
+    )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--recent-years",
+        type=int,
+        help="Optional recent-discovery window to write into generated jobs",
+    )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--target-recent-entries",
+        type=int,
+        help="Optional recent-discovery target to write into generated jobs",
+    )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-expanded-entries",
+        type=int,
+        help="Optional hard cap on unique discovered entries per generated bootstrap job",
+    )
+    talkorigins_parser.add_argument(
+        "--max-expand-seconds",
+        type=float,
+        help="Optional wall-clock cap to write into generated bootstrap jobs",
+    )
     talkorigins_parser.add_argument("--status", default="draft", help="Review status for generated seed jobs")
 
     validate_talkorigins_parser = subparsers.add_parser(
@@ -637,6 +712,11 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
                 args.min_relevance,
                 args.seed_keys,
                 args.preview,
+                args.rounds,
+                args.recent_years,
+                args.target_recent_entries,
+                args.max_expanded_entries,
+                args.max_expand_seconds,
             )
         if args.command == "set-topic-phrase":
             return _run_set_topic_phrase(store, args.topic_slug, args.phrase, args.clear)
@@ -666,6 +746,10 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
                 args.topic_slug,
                 args.topic_name,
                 args.store_topic_phrase,
+                args.expansion_mode,
+                args.expansion_rounds,
+                args.recent_years,
+                args.target_recent_entries,
             )
         if args.command == "bootstrap-batch":
             return _run_bootstrap_batch(store, Path(args.input))
@@ -682,6 +766,12 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
                 not args.no_resume,
                 args.topic_limit,
                 args.topic_commit_limit,
+                args.expansion_mode,
+                args.expansion_rounds,
+                args.recent_years,
+                args.target_recent_entries,
+                args.max_expanded_entries,
+                args.max_expand_seconds,
                 args.status,
             )
         if args.command in {"example-talkorigins-validate", "validate-talkorigins"}:
@@ -1387,7 +1477,11 @@ def _run_expand(
         expand_fn = lambda key: expander.expand_entry_references(store, key)
     elif source == "openalex":
         expander = OpenAlexExpander()
-        expand_fn = lambda key: expander.expand_entry(store, key, relation_type=relation, limit=limit)
+        expand_fn = lambda key: [
+            item
+            for relation_name in _expand_relation_types(relation)
+            for item in expander.expand_entry(store, key, relation_type=relation_name, limit=limit)
+        ]
     else:
         print(f"Unsupported expansion source: {source}", file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
@@ -1412,6 +1506,9 @@ def _run_expand_topic(
     min_relevance: float,
     seed_keys: list[str] | None,
     preview: bool,
+    rounds: int,
+    recent_years: int | None,
+    target_recent_entries: int | None,
 ) -> int:
     expander = TopicExpander()
     _print_phase(f"Loading topic expansion for {topic_slug}")
@@ -1430,6 +1527,9 @@ def _run_expand_topic(
         min_relevance=min_relevance,
         seed_keys=seed_keys,
         preview_only=preview,
+        max_rounds=rounds,
+        recent_years=recent_years,
+        target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
     )
     print(json.dumps([asdict(result) for result in results], indent=2))
     return 0
@@ -1513,6 +1613,12 @@ def _run_bootstrap(
     topic_slug: str | None,
     topic_name: str | None,
     stored_topic_phrase: str | None,
+    expansion_mode: str,
+    expansion_rounds: int,
+    recent_years: int | None,
+    target_recent_entries: int | None,
+    max_expanded_entries: int | None,
+    max_expand_seconds: float | None,
 ) -> int:
     if not seed_bib and not topic:
         print("bootstrap requires --seed-bib, --topic, or both", file=sys.stderr)
@@ -1533,6 +1639,12 @@ def _run_bootstrap(
         topic_slug=topic_slug,
         topic_name=topic_name,
         topic_phrase=stored_topic_phrase,
+        expansion_mode=expansion_mode,
+        expansion_rounds=expansion_rounds,
+        recent_years=recent_years,
+        target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
+        max_expanded_entries=max_expanded_entries,
+        max_expand_seconds=max_expand_seconds,
     )
     print(json.dumps([asdict(result) for result in results], indent=2))
     return 0
@@ -1570,6 +1682,12 @@ def _run_scrape_talkorigins(
     resume: bool,
     topic_limit: int,
     topic_commit_limit: int | None,
+    expansion_mode: str,
+    expansion_rounds: int,
+    recent_years: int | None,
+    target_recent_entries: int | None,
+    max_expanded_entries: int | None,
+    max_expand_seconds: float | None,
     review_status: str,
 ) -> int:
     scraper = TalkOriginsScraper()
@@ -1586,6 +1704,12 @@ def _run_scrape_talkorigins(
         resume=resume,
         topic_limit=topic_limit,
         topic_commit_limit=topic_commit_limit,
+        expansion_mode=expansion_mode,
+        expansion_rounds=expansion_rounds,
+        recent_years=recent_years,
+        target_recent_entries=target_recent_entries,
+        max_expanded_entries=max_expanded_entries,
+        max_expand_seconds=max_expand_seconds,
     )
     print(json.dumps(asdict(export), indent=2))
     return 0
diff --git a/src/citegeist/expand.py b/src/citegeist/expand.py
index 72f641a..612d9a1 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/expand.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/expand.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+from datetime import date
 import html
 import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass
@@ -180,6 +181,7 @@ class OpenAlexExpander:
 
             if relation_type == "cites":
                 source_key = citation_key
+                target_key = target_key
             else:
                 source_key = target_key
                 target_key = citation_key
@@ -194,8 +196,8 @@ class OpenAlexExpander:
             )
             results.append(
                 ExpansionResult(
-                    source_citation_key=source_key,
-                    discovered_citation_key=target_key,
+                    source_citation_key=citation_key,
+                    discovered_citation_key=existing_key or discovered.citation_key,
                     created_entry=created,
                     relation_type=relation_type,
                     source_label=f"openalex:{relation_type}:{openalex_id}",
@@ -225,6 +227,7 @@ class TopicExpander:
     ) -> None:
         self.crossref_expander = crossref_expander or CrossrefExpander()
         self.openalex_expander = openalex_expander or OpenAlexExpander()
+        self.last_run_meta: dict[str, object] = {}
 
     def expand_topic(
         self,
@@ -238,7 +241,21 @@ class TopicExpander:
         min_relevance: float = 0.2,
         seed_keys: list[str] | None = None,
         preview_only: bool = False,
+        max_rounds: int = 1,
+        recent_years: int | None = None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None = None,
     ) -> list[TopicExpansionResult]:
+        self.last_run_meta = {
+            "stop_reason": "completed",
+            "preview_only": preview_only,
+            "relation_type": relation_type,
+            "source": source,
+            "max_rounds": max_rounds,
+            "recent_years": recent_years,
+            "target_recent_entries": target_recent_entries,
+            "recent_hits": 0,
+            "recent_topic_hits": 0,
+        }
         topic = store.get_topic(topic_slug)
         if topic is None:
             return []
@@ -249,59 +266,89 @@ class TopicExpander:
             allowed = set(seed_keys)
             seeds = [seed for seed in seeds if str(seed["citation_key"]) in allowed]
         results: list[TopicExpansionResult] = []
+        frontier = [str(seed["citation_key"]) for seed in seeds]
+        seen_seed_keys: set[str] = set()
+        recent_hits: set[str] = set()
+        recent_topic_hits: set[str] = set()
 
-        for seed in seeds:
-            seed_key = str(seed["citation_key"])
-            if preview_only:
-                discovered_rows = self._preview_discoveries(
-                    store,
-                    seed_key,
-                    source=source,
-                    relation_type=relation_type,
-                    limit=per_seed_limit,
-                )
-            else:
-                discovered_rows = self._materialized_discoveries(
-                    store,
-                    seed_key,
-                    source=source,
-                    relation_type=relation_type,
-                    limit=per_seed_limit,
-                )
-
-            for row, target_entry in discovered_rows:
-                score = _topic_relevance_score(phrase, target_entry)
-                meets_threshold = _meets_topic_assignment_threshold(
-                    phrase,
-                    target_entry,
-                    min_relevance=min_relevance,
-                    relevance_score=score,
-                )
-                assigned = False
-                if not preview_only and meets_threshold and target_entry is not None:
-                    assigned = store.add_entry_topic(
-                        row.discovered_citation_key,
-                        topic_slug=topic_slug,
-                        topic_name=str(topic.get("name") or topic_slug),
-                        source_type="topic_expand",
-                        source_url=str(topic.get("source_url") or ""),
-                        source_label=f"{source}:{relation_type}:{seed_key}",
-                        confidence=score,
+        for _round in range(max(1, max_rounds)):
+            if not frontier:
+                break
+            next_frontier: list[str] = []
+            for seed_key in frontier:
+                if seed_key in seen_seed_keys:
+                    continue
+                seen_seed_keys.add(seed_key)
+                if preview_only:
+                    discovered_rows = self._preview_discoveries(
+                        store,
+                        seed_key,
+                        source=source,
+                        relation_type=relation_type,
+                        limit=per_seed_limit,
                     )
-                results.append(
-                    TopicExpansionResult(
-                        topic_slug=topic_slug,
-                        source_citation_key=row.source_citation_key,
-                        discovered_citation_key=row.discovered_citation_key,
-                        discovered_title=str(target_entry.get("title") or ""),
-                        created_entry=row.created_entry,
-                        relation_type=row.relation_type,
-                        source_label=row.source_label,
+                else:
+                    discovered_rows = self._materialized_discoveries(
+                        store,
+                        seed_key,
+                        source=source,
+                        relation_type=relation_type,
+                        limit=per_seed_limit,
+                    )
+
+                for row, target_entry in discovered_rows:
+                    score = _topic_relevance_score(phrase, target_entry)
+                    meets_threshold = _meets_topic_assignment_threshold(
+                        phrase,
+                        target_entry,
+                        min_relevance=min_relevance,
                         relevance_score=score,
-                        meets_relevance_threshold=meets_threshold,
-                        assigned_to_topic=assigned,
                     )
-                )
+                    assigned = False
+                    if not preview_only and meets_threshold and target_entry is not None:
+                        assigned = store.add_entry_topic(
+                            row.discovered_citation_key,
+                            topic_slug=topic_slug,
+                            topic_name=str(topic.get("name") or topic_slug),
+                            source_type="topic_expand",
+                            source_url=str(topic.get("source_url") or ""),
+                            source_label=f"{source}:{row.relation_type}:{seed_key}",
+                            confidence=score,
+                        )
+                        if assigned and _entry_is_recent(target_entry, recent_years) and score >= 0.5:
+                            recent_topic_hits.add(row.discovered_citation_key)
+                    if _entry_is_recent(target_entry, recent_years):
+                        recent_hits.add(row.discovered_citation_key)
+                    if row.discovered_citation_key not in seen_seed_keys:
+                        next_frontier.append(row.discovered_citation_key)
+                    results.append(
+                        TopicExpansionResult(
+                            topic_slug=topic_slug,
+                            source_citation_key=row.source_citation_key,
+                            discovered_citation_key=row.discovered_citation_key,
+                            discovered_title=str(target_entry.get("title") or ""),
+                            created_entry=row.created_entry,
+                            relation_type=row.relation_type,
+                            source_label=row.source_label,
+                            relevance_score=score,
+                            meets_relevance_threshold=meets_threshold,
+                            assigned_to_topic=assigned,
+                        )
+                    )
+                    if target_recent_entries is not None and len(recent_topic_hits) >= target_recent_entries:
+                        self.last_run_meta.update({
+                            "stop_reason": "target_recent_entries",
+                            "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+                            "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+                        })
+                        store.connection.commit()
+                        return results
+            frontier = list(dict.fromkeys(next_frontier))
+        self.last_run_meta.update({
+            "stop_reason": "frontier_exhausted",
+            "recent_hits": len(recent_hits),
+            "recent_topic_hits": len(recent_topic_hits),
+        })
         store.connection.commit()
         return results
 
@@ -316,12 +363,16 @@ class TopicExpander:
         if source == "crossref":
             expansion_rows = self.crossref_expander.expand_entry_references(store, citation_key)
         else:
-            expansion_rows = self.openalex_expander.expand_entry(
-                store,
-                citation_key,
-                relation_type=relation_type,
-                limit=limit,
-            )
+            expansion_rows: list[ExpansionResult] = []
+            for relation_name in _expand_relation_types(relation_type):
+                expansion_rows.extend(
+                    self.openalex_expander.expand_entry(
+                        store,
+                        citation_key,
+                        relation_type=relation_name,
+                        limit=limit,
+                    )
+                )
         return [(row, store.get_entry(row.discovered_citation_key)) for row in expansion_rows]
 
     def _preview_discoveries(
@@ -334,7 +385,10 @@ class TopicExpander:
     ) -> list[tuple[ExpansionResult, dict[str, object]]]:
         if source == "crossref":
             return self._preview_crossref_discoveries(store, citation_key, limit)
-        return self._preview_openalex_discoveries(store, citation_key, relation_type, limit)
+        rows: list[tuple[ExpansionResult, dict[str, object]]] = []
+        for relation_name in _expand_relation_types(relation_type):
+            rows.extend(self._preview_openalex_discoveries(store, citation_key, relation_name, limit))
+        return rows
 
     def _preview_crossref_discoveries(
         self,
@@ -399,11 +453,10 @@ class TopicExpander:
             if existing_key is None and _skip_openalex_review_like_duplicate(store, discovered):
                 continue
             target_key = existing_key or discovered.citation_key
-            source_key = citation_key if relation_type == "cites" else target_key
             rows.append(
                 (
                     ExpansionResult(
-                        source_citation_key=source_key,
+                        source_citation_key=citation_key,
                         discovered_citation_key=target_key,
                         created_entry=existing_key is None and store.get_entry(discovered.citation_key) is None,
                         relation_type=relation_type,
@@ -441,6 +494,21 @@ def _crossref_reference_to_entry(reference: dict, source_citation_key: str, ordi
     return BibEntry(entry_type=entry_type, citation_key=citation_key, fields=fields)
 
 
+def _expand_relation_types(relation_type: str) -> list[str]:
+    if relation_type == "both":
+        return ["cites", "cited_by"]
+    return [relation_type]
+
+
+def _entry_is_recent(entry: dict[str, object] | None, recent_years: int | None) -> bool:
+    if entry is None or recent_years is None or recent_years < 0:
+        return False
+    year_value = str(entry.get("year") or "").strip()
+    if not year_value.isdigit():
+        return False
+    return int(year_value) >= date.today().year - recent_years
+
+
 def _crossref_reference_title(reference: dict, ordinal: int) -> str:
     raw_title = (
         reference.get("article-title")
diff --git a/src/citegeist/storage.py b/src/citegeist/storage.py
index b25111a..70b7a3c 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/storage.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/storage.py
@@ -1049,6 +1049,13 @@ class BibliographyStore:
         return render_bibtex([entry])
 
     def export_bibtex(self, citation_keys: list[str] | None = None, include_stubs: bool | None = None) -> str:
+        return self.export_bibtex_report(citation_keys, include_stubs=include_stubs)["bibtex"]
+
+    def export_bibtex_report(
+        self,
+        citation_keys: list[str] | None = None,
+        include_stubs: bool | None = None,
+    ) -> dict[str, object]:
         explicit_keys = citation_keys is not None
         if include_stubs is None:
             include_stubs = explicit_keys
@@ -1058,7 +1065,6 @@ class BibliographyStore:
             ).fetchall()
             citation_keys = [str(row["citation_key"]) for row in rows]
 
-        chunks: list[str] = []
         entries: list[BibEntry] = []
         for citation_key in citation_keys:
             entry = self._load_bib_entry(citation_key)
@@ -1066,9 +1072,27 @@ class BibliographyStore:
                 if not include_stubs and self._is_export_stub(entry):
                     continue
                 entries.append(entry)
-        if not entries:
-            return ""
-        return render_bibtex(entries)
+        chunks: list[str] = []
+        skipped: list[dict[str, str]] = []
+        for entry in entries:
+            try:
+                rendered = render_bibtex([entry]).strip()
+            except Exception as exc:
+                skipped.append(
+                    {
+                        "citation_key": entry.citation_key,
+                        "error": str(exc),
+                    }
+                )
+                continue
+            if rendered:
+                chunks.append(rendered)
+        return {
+            "bibtex": "\n\n".join(chunks).strip(),
+            "requested_count": len(entries),
+            "exported_count": len(chunks),
+            "skipped": skipped,
+        }
 
     def _detect_fts5(self) -> bool:
         try:
diff --git a/src/citegeist/talkorigins.py b/src/citegeist/talkorigins.py
index 38fa6e6..069cc45 100644
--- a/src/citegeist/talkorigins.py
+++ b/src/citegeist/talkorigins.py
@@ -189,6 +189,12 @@ class TalkOriginsScraper:
         expand: bool = False,
         topic_limit: int = 5,
         topic_commit_limit: int | None = None,
+        expansion_mode: str = "legacy",
+        expansion_rounds: int = 1,
+        recent_years: int | None = None,
+        target_recent_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expanded_entries: int | None = None,
+        max_expand_seconds: float | None = None,
         resume: bool = True,
     ) -> TalkOriginsBatchExport:
         output_root = Path(output_dir)
@@ -286,6 +292,12 @@ class TalkOriginsScraper:
                     "status": review_status,
                     "topic_limit": topic_limit,
                     "topic_commit_limit": topic_commit_limit,
+                    "expansion_mode": expansion_mode,
+                    "expansion_rounds": expansion_rounds,
+                    "recent_years": recent_years,
+                    "target_recent_entries": target_recent_entries,
+                    "max_expanded_entries": max_expanded_entries,
+                    "max_expand_seconds": max_expand_seconds,
                 }
             )
 
diff --git a/tests/test_app_api.py b/tests/test_app_api.py
index 74db4d4..6b9dd45 100644
--- a/tests/test_app_api.py
+++ b/tests/test_app_api.py
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ from citegeist.expand import ExpansionResult
 
 
 class FakeBootstrapper:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.calls: list[dict] = []
+
     def bootstrap(self, store, **kwargs):
+        self.calls.append(dict(kwargs))
         if not kwargs.get("preview_only"):
             store.ensure_topic("graph-topic", "Graph Topic", source_type="bootstrap", expansion_phrase="graph topic")
             store.upsert_entry(
@@ -40,7 +44,11 @@ class FakeBootstrapper:
 
 
 class FakeTopicExpander:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.calls: list[dict] = []
+
     def expand_topic(self, store, topic_slug, **kwargs):
+        self.calls.append({"topic_slug": topic_slug, **kwargs})
         preview_only = kwargs.get("preview_only", False)
         if not preview_only:
             store.upsert_entry(
@@ -102,18 +110,99 @@ def test_literature_explorer_api_search_and_show_entry():
 def test_literature_explorer_api_bootstrap_returns_topic_payload():
     store = BibliographyStore()
     try:
-        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store, bootstrapper=FakeBootstrapper())
+        bootstrapper = FakeBootstrapper()
+        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store, bootstrapper=bootstrapper)
         payload = api.bootstrap(
             topic="graph topic",
             topic_slug="graph-topic",
             topic_name="Graph Topic",
             preview_only=False,
             expand=False,
+            expansion_mode="both",
+            expansion_rounds=3,
+            recent_years=5,
+            target_recent_entries=10,
+            max_expanded_entries=120,
+            max_expand_seconds=18.5,
         )
 
         assert payload["topic"]["slug"] == "graph-topic"
         assert payload["entries"][0]["citation_key"] == "topic2024graph"
         assert payload["results"][0]["citation_key"] == "topic2024graph"
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["expansion_mode"] == "both"
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["expansion_rounds"] == 3
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["recent_years"] == 5
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["target_recent_entries"] == 10
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["max_expanded_entries"] == 120
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["max_expand_seconds"] == 18.5
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_literature_explorer_api_exports_topic_bibtex():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Graph Seed},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic("seed2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
+        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store)
+
+        payload = api.export_topic_bibtex("graph-topic")
+
+        assert payload is not None
+        assert payload["topic"]["slug"] == "graph-topic"
+        assert payload["entry_count"] == 1
+        assert "@article{seed2024," in payload["bibtex"]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_literature_explorer_api_topic_export_skips_malformed_creator_entries():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{good2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Usable Entry},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+
+@article{bad2024,
+  author = {Normal, Person},
+  title = {Broken Entry},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic("good2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
+        store.add_entry_topic("bad2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
+        store.connection.execute(
+            """
+            UPDATE creators
+            SET full_name = 'Franck, Jean-Louis, Georges, MALIGE'
+            WHERE full_name = 'Normal, Person'
+            """
+        )
+        store.connection.commit()
+        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store)
+
+        payload = api.export_topic_bibtex("graph-topic")
+
+        assert payload is not None
+        assert payload["entry_count"] == 2
+        assert payload["exported_count"] == 1
+        assert "@article{good2024," in payload["bibtex"]
+        assert "@article{bad2024," not in payload["bibtex"]
+        assert payload["skipped"][0]["citation_key"] == "bad2024"
+        assert "Too many commas" in payload["skipped"][0]["error"]
     finally:
         store.close()
 
@@ -131,13 +220,25 @@ def test_literature_explorer_api_expand_topic_returns_updated_entries():
 """
         )
         store.add_entry_topic("seed2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
-        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store, topic_expander=FakeTopicExpander())
+        topic_expander = FakeTopicExpander()
+        api = LiteratureExplorerApi(store, topic_expander=topic_expander)
 
-        payload = api.expand_topic("graph-topic", preview_only=False)
+        payload = api.expand_topic(
+            "graph-topic",
+            preview_only=False,
+            relation_type="both",
+            max_rounds=3,
+            recent_years=5,
+            target_recent_entries=10,
+        )
 
         assert payload is not None
         assert payload["results"][0]["discovered_citation_key"] == "discovered2025graph"
         assert any(item["citation_key"] == "discovered2025graph" for item in payload["entries"])
+        assert topic_expander.calls[0]["relation_type"] == "both"
+        assert topic_expander.calls[0]["max_rounds"] == 3
+        assert topic_expander.calls[0]["recent_years"] == 5
+        assert topic_expander.calls[0]["target_recent_entries"] == 10
     finally:
         store.close()
 
diff --git a/tests/test_app_server.py b/tests/test_app_server.py
index 1524413..2475264 100644
--- a/tests/test_app_server.py
+++ b/tests/test_app_server.py
@@ -1,6 +1,32 @@
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+
 from citegeist import BibliographyStore
 from citegeist.app_api import LiteratureExplorerApi
-from citegeist.app_server import LiteratureExplorerAppServer, create_request_handler
+from citegeist.bootstrap import BootstrapResult
+from citegeist.app_server import (
+    LiteratureExplorerAppServer,
+    _extract_bearer_token,
+    _request_is_authorized,
+    create_request_handler,
+)
+
+
+class FakeBootstrapper:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.calls: list[dict] = []
+
+    def bootstrap(self, store, **kwargs):
+        self.calls.append(dict(kwargs))
+        return [
+            BootstrapResult(
+                citation_key="graph2026topic",
+                origin="topic",
+                created=True,
+                score=4.0,
+                title="Graph Topic Result",
+                year="2026",
+            )
+        ]
 
 
 def test_literature_explorer_app_server_dispatch_search():
@@ -24,6 +50,94 @@ def test_literature_explorer_app_server_dispatch_search():
         store.close()
 
 
+def test_literature_explorer_app_server_dispatch_exports_topic_bibtex():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Graph Topic Result},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic("seed2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
+        server = LiteratureExplorerAppServer(LiteratureExplorerApi(store))
+
+        payload = server.dispatch("export_topic_bibtex", {"topic_slug": "graph-topic"})
+
+        assert payload["entry_count"] == 1
+        assert "@article{seed2024," in payload["bibtex"]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_literature_explorer_app_server_dispatch_expand_topic_with_new_controls():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Graph Topic Result},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic("seed2024", topic_slug="graph-topic", topic_name="Graph Topic", source_label="seed")
+        server = LiteratureExplorerAppServer(LiteratureExplorerApi(store))
+
+        payload = server.dispatch(
+            "expand_topic",
+            {
+                "topic_slug": "graph-topic",
+                "relation_type": "both",
+                "max_rounds": 3,
+                "recent_years": 5,
+                "target_recent_entries": 10,
+                "preview_only": True,
+            },
+        )
+
+        assert payload["preview"] is True
+        assert "results" in payload
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_literature_explorer_app_server_dispatch_bootstrap_with_new_caps():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        bootstrapper = FakeBootstrapper()
+        server = LiteratureExplorerAppServer(LiteratureExplorerApi(store, bootstrapper=bootstrapper))
+
+        payload = server.dispatch(
+            "bootstrap",
+            {
+                "topic": "graph topic",
+                "topic_slug": "graph-topic",
+                "topic_name": "Graph Topic",
+                "preview_only": True,
+                "expand": False,
+                "expansion_mode": "cites",
+                "expansion_rounds": 2,
+                "recent_years": 5,
+                "target_recent_entries": 4,
+                "max_expanded_entries": 75,
+                "max_expand_seconds": 12.5,
+            },
+        )
+
+        assert payload["preview"] is True
+        assert "results" in payload
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["expansion_mode"] == "cites"
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["max_expanded_entries"] == 75
+        assert bootstrapper.calls[0]["max_expand_seconds"] == 12.5
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
 def test_literature_explorer_http_handler_class_can_be_created():
     store = BibliographyStore()
     try:
@@ -43,3 +157,29 @@ def test_literature_explorer_http_handler_class_can_be_created():
         assert issubclass(handler, object)
     finally:
         store.close()
+
+
+def test_request_authorization_accepts_bearer_and_header_token():
+    headers = SimpleNamespace(
+        get=lambda key, default="": {
+            "Authorization": "Bearer secret-token",
+            "X-API-Token": "secret-token",
+        }.get(key, default)
+    )
+
+    assert _extract_bearer_token(headers) == "secret-token"
+    assert _request_is_authorized(headers, "secret-token") is True
+
+
+def test_request_authorization_rejects_missing_or_wrong_token():
+    missing_headers = SimpleNamespace(get=lambda key, default="": default)
+    wrong_headers = SimpleNamespace(
+        get=lambda key, default="": {
+            "Authorization": "Bearer wrong-token",
+            "X-API-Token": "",
+        }.get(key, default)
+    )
+
+    assert _request_is_authorized(missing_headers, "secret-token") is False
+    assert _request_is_authorized(wrong_headers, "secret-token") is False
+    assert _request_is_authorized(missing_headers, None) is True
diff --git a/tests/test_batch.py b/tests/test_batch.py
index 9fe71b6..051e2b3 100644
--- a/tests/test_batch.py
+++ b/tests/test_batch.py
@@ -127,3 +127,93 @@ def test_bootstrap_batch_cli_runs_json_jobs(tmp_path: Path):
         exit_code = main(["--db", str(database), "bootstrap-batch", str(batch_json)])
 
     assert exit_code == 0
+
+
+def test_batch_runner_passes_new_expansion_settings(tmp_path: Path):
+    jobs = [
+        {
+            "name": "topic-job",
+            "topic": "graph topic",
+            "expand": True,
+            "expansion_mode": "both",
+            "expansion_rounds": 3,
+            "recent_years": 5,
+            "target_recent_entries": 12,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    runner = BatchBootstrapRunner()
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        captured: dict[str, object] = {}
+
+        def fake_bootstrap(_store, **kwargs):
+            captured.update(kwargs)
+            return []
+
+        runner.bootstrapper.bootstrap = fake_bootstrap  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner.run(store, jobs)
+
+        assert captured["expansion_mode"] == "both"
+        assert captured["expansion_rounds"] == 3
+        assert captured["recent_years"] == 5
+        assert captured["target_recent_entries"] == 12
+        assert captured["max_expanded_entries"] is None
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_batch_runner_passes_max_expanded_entries(tmp_path: Path):
+    jobs = [
+        {
+            "name": "topic-job",
+            "topic": "graph topic",
+            "expand": True,
+            "expansion_mode": "cites",
+            "max_expanded_entries": 25,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    runner = BatchBootstrapRunner()
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        captured: dict[str, object] = {}
+
+        def fake_bootstrap(_store, **kwargs):
+            captured.update(kwargs)
+            return []
+
+        runner.bootstrapper.bootstrap = fake_bootstrap  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner.run(store, jobs)
+
+        assert captured["max_expanded_entries"] == 25
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_batch_runner_passes_max_expand_seconds(tmp_path: Path):
+    jobs = [
+        {
+            "name": "topic-job",
+            "topic": "graph topic",
+            "expand": True,
+            "expansion_mode": "legacy",
+            "max_expand_seconds": 12.5,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    runner = BatchBootstrapRunner()
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        captured: dict[str, object] = {}
+
+        def fake_bootstrap(_store, **kwargs):
+            captured.update(kwargs)
+            return []
+
+        runner.bootstrapper.bootstrap = fake_bootstrap  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        runner.run(store, jobs)
+
+        assert captured["max_expand_seconds"] == 12.5
+    finally:
+        store.close()
diff --git a/tests/test_bootstrap.py b/tests/test_bootstrap.py
index bbd3110..e72f904 100644
--- a/tests/test_bootstrap.py
+++ b/tests/test_bootstrap.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from citegeist import BibliographyStore
 from citegeist.bootstrap import Bootstrapper
 from citegeist.cli import main
+from citegeist.expand import ExpansionResult
 
 
 def test_bootstrap_from_seed_bib_only():
@@ -299,6 +300,169 @@ def test_bootstrap_topic_commit_requires_title_anchor():
         store.close()
 
 
+def test_bootstrap_nonlegacy_both_mode_expands_both_relations():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        bootstrapper = Bootstrapper()
+        calls: list[tuple[str, str, int]] = []
+
+        bootstrapper.openalex_expander.expand_entry = lambda _store, key, relation_type="cites", limit=5: (  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+            calls.append((key, relation_type, limit)) or []
+        )
+
+        bootstrapper.bootstrap(
+            store,
+            seed_bibtex="""
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+""",
+            expansion_mode="both",
+            expand=True,
+        )
+
+        assert calls == [("seed2024", "cites", 5), ("seed2024", "cited_by", 5)]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_bootstrap_recent_target_stops_recursive_openalex_expansion():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        bootstrapper = Bootstrapper()
+        from citegeist import BibEntry
+
+        store.upsert_entry(
+            BibEntry(entry_type="article", citation_key="recent2026", fields={"title": "Recent discovery", "year": "2026"}),
+            source_type="graph_expand",
+            source_label="test",
+            review_status="draft",
+        )
+        store.connection.commit()
+
+        def fake_expand(_store, key, relation_type="cites", limit=5):
+            if key == "seed2024":
+                return [
+                    ExpansionResult(
+                        "seed2024",
+                        "recent2026",
+                        False,
+                        relation_type,
+                        f"openalex:{relation_type}:seed2024",
+                    )
+                ]
+            return []
+
+        bootstrapper.openalex_expander.expand_entry = fake_expand  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+        results = bootstrapper.bootstrap(
+            store,
+            seed_bibtex="""
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+""",
+            expansion_mode="cites",
+            expansion_rounds=3,
+            recent_years=2,
+            target_recent_entries=1,
+            expand=True,
+        )
+
+        assert [item.origin for item in results][-1] == "openalex_expand:cites"
+        assert [item.citation_key for item in results if item.origin.startswith("openalex_expand")] == ["recent2026"]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_bootstrap_max_expanded_entries_caps_growth():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        bootstrapper = Bootstrapper()
+        from citegeist import BibEntry
+
+        store.upsert_entry(
+            BibEntry(entry_type="article", citation_key="d1", fields={"title": "Discovery One", "year": "2024"}),
+            source_type="graph_expand",
+            source_label="test",
+            review_status="draft",
+        )
+        store.upsert_entry(
+            BibEntry(entry_type="article", citation_key="d2", fields={"title": "Discovery Two", "year": "2024"}),
+            source_type="graph_expand",
+            source_label="test",
+            review_status="draft",
+        )
+        store.connection.commit()
+
+        bootstrapper.openalex_expander.expand_entry = lambda _store, key, relation_type="cites", limit=5: (  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+            [
+                ExpansionResult(key, "d1", False, relation_type, f"openalex:{relation_type}:{key}"),
+                ExpansionResult(key, "d2", False, relation_type, f"openalex:{relation_type}:{key}"),
+            ]
+            if key == "seed2024"
+            else []
+        )
+
+        results = bootstrapper.bootstrap(
+            store,
+            seed_bibtex="""
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+""",
+            expansion_mode="cites",
+            expand=True,
+            max_expanded_entries=1,
+        )
+
+        assert [item.citation_key for item in results if item.origin.startswith("openalex_expand")] == ["d1"]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_bootstrap_max_expand_seconds_stops_legacy_expansion(monkeypatch):
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        bootstrapper = Bootstrapper()
+        ticks = iter([0.0, 0.0, 2.0, 2.0, 2.0])
+        monkeypatch.setattr("citegeist.bootstrap.time.monotonic", lambda: next(ticks))
+        calls: list[str] = []
+
+        bootstrapper.crossref_expander.expand_entry_references = lambda _store, key: (calls.append(f"crossref:{key}") or [])  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+        bootstrapper.openalex_expander.expand_entry = lambda _store, key, relation_type="cites", limit=5: (calls.append(f"openalex:{key}") or [])  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+        bootstrapper.bootstrap(
+            store,
+            seed_bibtex="""
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+
+@article{seed2023,
+  author = {Seed, Bob},
+  title = {Older Seed},
+  year = {2023}
+}
+""",
+            expansion_mode="legacy",
+            expand=True,
+            max_expand_seconds=1.0,
+        )
+
+        assert len(calls) <= 2
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
 def test_bootstrap_preview_uses_topic_commit_limit_when_larger_than_topic_limit():
     store = BibliographyStore()
     try:
diff --git a/tests/test_topic_expand.py b/tests/test_topic_expand.py
index f7cd4a7..1b211ed 100644
--- a/tests/test_topic_expand.py
+++ b/tests/test_topic_expand.py
@@ -11,8 +11,10 @@ from citegeist.storage import BibliographyStore
 class FakeOpenAlexExpander:
     def __init__(self, results: list[ExpansionResult] | dict[str, list[ExpansionResult]]) -> None:
         self.results = results
+        self.calls: list[tuple[str, str, int]] = []
 
     def expand_entry(self, store, citation_key, relation_type="cites", limit=25):
+        self.calls.append((citation_key, relation_type, limit))
         if isinstance(self.results, dict):
             return list(self.results.get(citation_key, []))
         return list(self.results)
@@ -216,6 +218,101 @@ def test_topic_expander_preview_discovers_without_writing():
         store.close()
 
 
+def test_topic_expander_relation_type_both_uses_both_openalex_directions():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Abiogenesis Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic(
+            "seed2024",
+            topic_slug="abiogenesis",
+            topic_name="Abiogenesis",
+            source_type="talkorigins",
+            source_url="https://example.org/topics/abiogenesis",
+            source_label="seed",
+        )
+        fake_expander = FakeOpenAlexExpander([])
+        expander = TopicExpander(openalex_expander=fake_expander)
+
+        expander.expand_topic(store, "abiogenesis", relation_type="both")
+
+        assert [relation for _seed, relation, _limit in fake_expander.calls] == ["cites", "cited_by"]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
+def test_topic_expander_stops_once_recent_target_is_reached():
+    store = BibliographyStore()
+    try:
+        store.ingest_bibtex(
+            """
+@article{seed2024,
+  author = {Seed, Alice},
+  title = {Abiogenesis Seed Paper},
+  year = {2024}
+}
+"""
+        )
+        store.add_entry_topic(
+            "seed2024",
+            topic_slug="abiogenesis",
+            topic_name="Abiogenesis",
+            source_type="talkorigins",
+            source_url="https://example.org/topics/abiogenesis",
+            source_label="seed",
+        )
+        store.upsert_entry(
+            BibEntry(
+                entry_type="article",
+                citation_key="recent1",
+                fields={"title": "Abiogenesis pathways", "abstract": "abiogenesis", "year": "2026"},
+            ),
+            source_type="graph_expand",
+            source_label="test",
+            review_status="draft",
+        )
+        store.upsert_entry(
+            BibEntry(
+                entry_type="article",
+                citation_key="recent2",
+                fields={"title": "Abiogenesis chemistry", "abstract": "abiogenesis", "year": "2025"},
+            ),
+            source_type="graph_expand",
+            source_label="test",
+            review_status="draft",
+        )
+        store.connection.commit()
+
+        fake_expander = FakeOpenAlexExpander(
+            {
+                "seed2024": [ExpansionResult("seed2024", "recent1", False, "cites", "openalex:cites:seed2024")],
+                "recent1": [ExpansionResult("recent1", "recent2", False, "cites", "openalex:cites:recent1")],
+            }
+        )
+        expander = TopicExpander(openalex_expander=fake_expander)
+
+        results = expander.expand_topic(
+            store,
+            "abiogenesis",
+            topic_phrase="abiogenesis chemistry",
+            max_rounds=3,
+            recent_years=2,
+            target_recent_entries=1,
+        )
+
+        assert [item.discovered_citation_key for item in results] == ["recent1"]
+        assert fake_expander.calls == [("seed2024", "cites", 25)]
+    finally:
+        store.close()
+
+
 def test_topic_relevance_score_expands_human_evolution_terms():
     score = _topic_relevance_score(
         "human evolution",