diff --git a/nexus/mnemosyne/tests/test_path.py b/nexus/mnemosyne/tests/test_path.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..895d3cf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nexus/mnemosyne/tests/test_path.py
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+"""Tests for MnemosyneArchive.shortest_path and path_explanation."""
+
+from nexus.mnemosyne.archive import MnemosyneArchive
+from nexus.mnemosyne.entry import ArchiveEntry
+
+
+def _make_archive(tmp_path):
+    archive = MnemosyneArchive(str(tmp_path / "test_archive.json"))
+    return archive
+
+
+class TestShortestPath:
+    def test_direct_connection(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("Alpha", "first entry", topics=["start"])
+        b = archive.add("Beta", "second entry", topics=["end"])
+        # Manually link
+        a.links.append(b.id)
+        b.links.append(a.id)
+        archive._entries[a.id] = a
+        archive._entries[b.id] = b
+        archive._save()
+
+        path = archive.shortest_path(a.id, b.id)
+        assert path == [a.id, b.id]
+
+    def test_multi_hop_path(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "alpha", topics=["x"])
+        b = archive.add("B", "beta", topics=["y"])
+        c = archive.add("C", "gamma", topics=["z"])
+        # Chain: A -> B -> C
+        a.links.append(b.id)
+        b.links.extend([a.id, c.id])
+        c.links.append(b.id)
+        archive._entries[a.id] = a
+        archive._entries[b.id] = b
+        archive._entries[c.id] = c
+        archive._save()
+
+        path = archive.shortest_path(a.id, c.id)
+        assert path == [a.id, b.id, c.id]
+
+    def test_no_path(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "isolated", topics=[])
+        b = archive.add("B", "also isolated", topics=[])
+        path = archive.shortest_path(a.id, b.id)
+        assert path is None
+
+    def test_same_entry(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "lonely", topics=[])
+        path = archive.shortest_path(a.id, a.id)
+        assert path == [a.id]
+
+    def test_nonexistent_entry(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "exists", topics=[])
+        path = archive.shortest_path("fake-id", a.id)
+        assert path is None
+
+    def test_shortest_of_multiple(self, tmp_path):
+        """When multiple paths exist, BFS returns shortest."""
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "a", topics=[])
+        b = archive.add("B", "b", topics=[])
+        c = archive.add("C", "c", topics=[])
+        d = archive.add("D", "d", topics=[])
+        # A -> B -> D (short)
+        # A -> C -> B -> D (long)
+        a.links.extend([b.id, c.id])
+        b.links.extend([a.id, d.id, c.id])
+        c.links.extend([a.id, b.id])
+        d.links.append(b.id)
+        for e in [a, b, c, d]:
+            archive._entries[e.id] = e
+        archive._save()
+
+        path = archive.shortest_path(a.id, d.id)
+        assert len(path) == 3  # A -> B -> D, not A -> C -> B -> D
+
+
+class TestPathExplanation:
+    def test_returns_step_details(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("Alpha", "the beginning", topics=["origin"])
+        b = archive.add("Beta", "the middle", topics=["process"])
+        a.links.append(b.id)
+        b.links.append(a.id)
+        archive._entries[a.id] = a
+        archive._entries[b.id] = b
+        archive._save()
+
+        path = [a.id, b.id]
+        steps = archive.path_explanation(path)
+        assert len(steps) == 2
+        assert steps[0]["title"] == "Alpha"
+        assert steps[1]["title"] == "Beta"
+        assert "origin" in steps[0]["topics"]
+
+    def test_content_preview_truncation(self, tmp_path):
+        archive = _make_archive(tmp_path)
+        a = archive.add("A", "x" * 200, topics=[])
+        steps = archive.path_explanation([a.id])
+        assert len(steps[0]["content_preview"]) <= 123  # 120 + "..."