diff --git a/astrai/inference/__init__.py b/astrai/inference/__init__.py
index b3f3e2e..e867d36 100644
--- a/astrai/inference/__init__.py
+++ b/astrai/inference/__init__.py
@@ -1,25 +1,46 @@
-"""Inference module for continuous batching."""
+"""Inference module for continuous batching.
+
+Layers:
+  - engine.py:    Facade (InferenceEngine), Value Object (GenerationParams, GenerationRequest)
+  - scheduler.py: Continuous-batching loop, Task state machine, TaskStatus enum
+  - cache.py:     Object Pool (SlotAllocator), PrefixCacheManager
+  - sampling.py:  Strategy pattern (TemperatureStrategy, TopKStrategy, TopPStrategy)
+  - server.py:    FastAPI HTTP server (OpenAI-compatible endpoints)
+"""
 
 from astrai.inference.engine import (
+    GenerationParams,
     GenerationRequest,
     InferenceEngine,
 )
+from astrai.inference.sampling import (
+    BaseSamplingStrategy,
+    SamplingPipeline,
+    TemperatureStrategy,
+    TopKStrategy,
+    TopPStrategy,
+    apply_sampling_strategies,
+)
 from astrai.inference.scheduler import (
     InferenceScheduler,
     Task,
     TaskStatus,
-    apply_sampling_strategies,
 )
 
 __all__ = [
-    # Engine
+    # Engine / Requests
     "InferenceEngine",
+    "GenerationRequest",
+    "GenerationParams",
     # Scheduler
     "InferenceScheduler",
     "Task",
     "TaskStatus",
-    # Request
-    "GenerationRequest",
-    # Sampling
+    # Sampling (Strategy pattern)
     "apply_sampling_strategies",
+    "BaseSamplingStrategy",
+    "TemperatureStrategy",
+    "TopKStrategy",
+    "TopPStrategy",
+    "SamplingPipeline",
 ]
diff --git a/astrai/inference/cache.py b/astrai/inference/cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28c96cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astrai/inference/cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+"""KV cache slot allocation and prefix cache management.
+
+Provides:
+  - SlotAllocator: Object Pool pattern for O(1) KV cache slot alloc/free via bitmask.
+  - PrefixCacheManager: Radix-tree prefix cache with LRU eviction for KV cache reuse.
+"""
+
+import time
+from collections import OrderedDict
+from typing import Dict, List, Tuple
+
+from torch import Tensor
+
+_STOP = object()
+
+
+class _RadixNode:
+    """Internal node for the radix tree prefix cache.
+
+    Attributes:
+        children: Mapping from token ID to child node.
+        slot: KV cache slot index for the prefix ending at this node.
+        slot_ver: Version counter of the slot at insertion time.
+        ref_count: Number of tasks currently referencing this node.
+        last_access: Timestamp of the most recent access (for LRU ordering).
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = ("children", "slot", "slot_ver", "ref_count", "last_access")
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.children: Dict[int, "_RadixNode"] = {}
+        self.slot: int = -1
+        self.slot_ver: int = 0
+        self.ref_count: int = 0
+        self.last_access: float = 0.0
+
+
+class SlotAllocator:
+    """KV cache slot allocator using bitmask for O(1) alloc/free.
+
+    Implements the Object Pool pattern: pre-allocated KV cache slots
+    are managed via a bitmask, providing constant-time allocation and
+    deallocation with version counters for staleness detection.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, max_slots: int):
+        self._max_slots = max_slots
+        self._free_mask = (1 << max_slots) - 1
+        self._versions: List[int] = [0] * max_slots
+
+    def alloc(self) -> int:
+        """Allocates a free slot.
+
+        Returns:
+            Slot index on success, -1 if all slots are occupied.
+        """
+        lsb = self._free_mask & -self._free_mask
+        if lsb == 0:
+            return -1
+        idx = lsb.bit_length() - 1
+        self._free_mask ^= lsb
+        self._versions[idx] += 1
+        return idx
+
+    def free(self, idx: int) -> None:
+        """Releases a slot back to the free pool."""
+        self._free_mask |= 1 << idx
+
+    def occupy(self, idx: int) -> None:
+        """Marks a currently free slot as occupied without bumping its version.
+
+        Used for direct slot reuse when a prefix-cached slot is still valid.
+        """
+        self._free_mask ^= 1 << idx
+
+    def is_free(self, idx: int) -> bool:
+        """Checks whether a slot is currently free."""
+        return (self._free_mask >> idx) & 1 == 1
+
+    def version(self, idx: int) -> int:
+        """Returns the current version counter for a slot."""
+        return self._versions[idx]
+
+    @property
+    def free_count(self) -> int:
+        """Returns the number of currently free slots."""
+        return self._free_mask.bit_count()
+
+
+class PrefixCacheManager:
+    """Radix-tree prefix cache with LRU eviction.
+
+    Maps token ID sequences to KV cache slots. Intermediate tree nodes
+    also store slot information, allowing direct slot reuse when the
+    cached slot is free and its version matches (no intervening writes).
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, max_capacity: int = 1000):
+        """Initializes the prefix cache.
+
+        Args:
+            max_capacity: Maximum number of nodes in the LRU list.
+        """
+        self.root = _RadixNode()
+        self.max_capacity = max_capacity
+        self._lru: OrderedDict[int, _RadixNode] = OrderedDict()
+
+    def insert(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...], slot: int, slot_ver: int) -> None:
+        """Inserts a token sequence into the prefix cache.
+
+        Every node along the path records the slot and its version,
+        enabling direct slot reuse for partial prefix matches.
+
+        Args:
+            token_ids: The token ID sequence to cache.
+            slot: The KV cache slot containing this prefix's computed keys/values.
+            slot_ver: The slot version at insertion time, used for staleness detection.
+        """
+        node = self.root
+        for tid in token_ids:
+            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
+            if nxt is None:
+                nxt = _RadixNode()
+                node.children[tid] = nxt
+            node = nxt
+            node.slot = slot
+            node.slot_ver = slot_ver
+            node.last_access = time.time()
+            self._lru[id(node)] = node
+        node.ref_count += 1
+        self._evict_if_needed()
+
+    def find(self, token_ids: List[int]) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
+        """Finds the longest matching prefix in the cache.
+
+        Walks the radix tree token by token, recording the deepest match.
+
+        Args:
+            token_ids: The token sequence to match against.
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (prefix_len, slot, slot_ver):
+                prefix_len: Number of matching tokens (0 if no match).
+                slot: KV cache slot of the matched prefix (-1 if no match).
+                slot_ver: Version of that slot when the prefix was inserted.
+        """
+        node = self.root
+        best_len, best_slot, best_ver = 0, -1, 0
+        for i, tid in enumerate(token_ids):
+            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
+            if nxt is None:
+                break
+            node = nxt
+            best_len, best_slot, best_ver = i + 1, node.slot, node.slot_ver
+            node.last_access = time.time()
+            self._lru.move_to_end(id(node))
+        return best_len, best_slot, best_ver
+
+    def pin(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...]) -> None:
+        """Increments the reference count of a cached prefix.
+
+        Called when a task reuses a cached prefix to prevent eviction.
+
+        Args:
+            token_ids: The token sequence whose node's ref_count to increment.
+        """
+        node = self.root
+        for tid in token_ids:
+            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
+            if nxt is None:
+                return
+            node = nxt
+        node.ref_count += 1
+
+    def release(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...]) -> None:
+        """Decrements the reference count of a cached prefix.
+
+        The node's slot is preserved even when ref_count reaches zero,
+        allowing future tasks to reuse the slot directly if it remains free.
+
+        Args:
+            token_ids: The token sequence whose node's ref_count to decrement.
+        """
+        node = self.root
+        for tid in token_ids:
+            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
+            if nxt is None:
+                return
+            node = nxt
+        if node.ref_count > 0:
+            node.ref_count -= 1
+
+    def copy_kv(
+        self,
+        token_ids: Tuple[int, ...],
+        target_slot: int,
+        kv_cache: Tuple[Tensor, Tensor],
+        n_layers: int,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Copies cached KV data from the source slot to a target slot.
+
+        Args:
+            token_ids: The prefix token sequence identifying the source cache node.
+            target_slot: The destination KV cache slot to copy into.
+            kv_cache: Tuple of (k_cache, v_cache) tensors.
+            n_layers: Number of transformer layers to copy.
+        """
+        node = self.root
+        for tid in token_ids:
+            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
+            if nxt is None:
+                return
+            node = nxt
+        src_slot = node.slot
+        if src_slot < 0:
+            return
+        prefix_len = len(token_ids)
+        k_cache, v_cache = kv_cache
+        for li in range(n_layers):
+            k_cache[target_slot, :prefix_len, li].copy_(
+                k_cache[src_slot, :prefix_len, li]
+            )
+            v_cache[target_slot, :prefix_len, li].copy_(
+                v_cache[src_slot, :prefix_len, li]
+            )
+
+    def _evict_if_needed(self) -> None:
+        """Evicts least-recently-used nodes until under capacity.
+
+        Skips nodes with ref_count > 0 (still in use by active tasks).
+        Evicted nodes have their slot and children cleared.
+        """
+        while len(self._lru) > self.max_capacity:
+            key, node = next(iter(self._lru.items()))
+            if node.ref_count > 0:
+                self._lru.move_to_end(key)
+                continue
+            self._lru.pop(key)
+            node.slot = -1
+            node.slot_ver = 0
+            node.children.clear()
diff --git a/astrai/inference/engine.py b/astrai/inference/engine.py
index 77cd1d5..d3a50ce 100644
--- a/astrai/inference/engine.py
+++ b/astrai/inference/engine.py
@@ -1,22 +1,41 @@
-"""Unified inference engine for continuous batching."""
+"""Unified inference engine for continuous batching.
+
+Layers:
+  - GenerationParams:    Immutable value object for sampling parameters.
+  - GenerationRequest:   User-facing request DTO with validation.
+  - _Result:             Thread-safe token accumulator (Observer pattern).
+  - InferenceEngine:     Facade over InferenceScheduler + async wrapper.
+"""
 
 import asyncio
 import gc
 import threading
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Any, AsyncGenerator, Dict, Generator, List, Optional, Union
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn as nn
 
-from astrai.inference.scheduler import _STOP, InferenceScheduler
+from astrai.inference.cache import _STOP
+from astrai.inference.scheduler import InferenceScheduler
 from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
 
 
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class GenerationParams:
+    """Immutable value object for sampling hyperparameters."""
+
+    top_k: int = 50
+    top_p: float = 1.0
+    temperature: float = 1.0
+    max_tokens: int = 1024
+
+
 class GenerationRequest:
     """Request parameters for text generation.
 
-    Encapsulates messages, sampling parameters, and streaming preference
-    for a single generation request.
+    Encapsulates messages, sampling parameters (via GenerationParams),
+    and streaming preference for a single generation request.
     """
 
     def __init__(
@@ -39,13 +58,31 @@ class GenerationRequest:
             stream: Whether to return output as a token stream.
         """
         self.messages = messages
-        self.top_k = top_k
-        self.top_p = top_p
-        self.temperature = temperature
-        self.max_len = max_len
+        self.params = GenerationParams(
+            top_k=top_k,
+            top_p=top_p,
+            temperature=temperature,
+            max_tokens=max_len,
+        )
         self.stream = stream
         self._validate()
 
+    @property
+    def top_k(self) -> int:
+        return self.params.top_k
+
+    @property
+    def top_p(self) -> float:
+        return self.params.top_p
+
+    @property
+    def temperature(self) -> float:
+        return self.params.temperature
+
+    @property
+    def max_len(self) -> int:
+        return self.params.max_tokens
+
     def _validate(self):
         """Validates sampling parameter ranges."""
         if not (isinstance(self.top_k, int) and self.top_k >= 0):
@@ -296,10 +333,10 @@ class InferenceEngine:
         return self.generate(
             prompt=prompt,
             stream=request.stream,
-            max_tokens=request.max_len,
-            temperature=request.temperature,
-            top_p=request.top_p,
-            top_k=request.top_k,
+            max_tokens=request.params.max_tokens,
+            temperature=request.params.temperature,
+            top_p=request.params.top_p,
+            top_k=request.params.top_k,
         )
 
     def _generate_streaming(
diff --git a/astrai/inference/sampling.py b/astrai/inference/sampling.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7625926
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astrai/inference/sampling.py
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+"""Composable sampling strategies for logit transformation.
+
+Implements the Strategy pattern: each sampling technique
+(temperature, top-k, top-p) is a pluggable strategy that
+can be composed into a pipeline.
+"""
+
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from typing import List
+
+import torch
+from torch import Tensor
+
+
+class BaseSamplingStrategy(ABC):
+    """Abstract base for a logit transformation strategy."""
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def apply(self, logits: Tensor, filter_value: float = -float("inf")) -> Tensor:
+        """Applies the strategy to logits.
+
+        Args:
+            logits: Raw logits tensor (batch, vocab_size).
+            filter_value: Value assigned to filtered-out positions.
+
+        Returns:
+            Transformed logits tensor (may be the same or a new tensor).
+        """
+
+
+class TemperatureStrategy(BaseSamplingStrategy):
+    """Divides logits by temperature to control randomness."""
+
+    def __init__(self, temperature: float = 1.0):
+        self.temperature = temperature
+
+    def apply(self, logits, filter_value=-float("inf")):
+        if self.temperature != 1.0:
+            logits = logits / self.temperature
+        return logits
+
+
+class TopKStrategy(BaseSamplingStrategy):
+    """Keeps only the top-k logits, setting the rest to filter_value."""
+
+    def __init__(self, top_k: int = 0):
+        self.top_k = top_k
+
+    def apply(self, logits, filter_value=-float("inf")):
+        if self.top_k > 0:
+            k = min(self.top_k, logits.size(-1))
+            topk_vals = torch.topk(logits, k, dim=-1)[0]
+            threshold = topk_vals[..., -1, None]
+            indices = logits < threshold
+            logits[indices] = filter_value
+        return logits
+
+
+class TopPStrategy(BaseSamplingStrategy):
+    """Nucleus (top-p) filtering: keeps the smallest set of tokens whose
+    cumulative probability exceeds top_p."""
+
+    def __init__(self, top_p: float = 1.0):
+        self.top_p = top_p
+
+    def apply(self, logits, filter_value=-float("inf")):
+        if self.top_p < 1.0:
+            sorted_logits, sorted_indices = torch.sort(logits, descending=True, dim=-1)
+            cum_probs = torch.cumsum(torch.softmax(sorted_logits, dim=-1), dim=-1)
+            sorted_indices_to_remove = cum_probs > self.top_p
+            sorted_indices_to_remove[..., 1:] = sorted_indices_to_remove[
+                ..., :-1
+            ].clone()
+            sorted_indices_to_remove[..., 0] = 0
+            indices_to_remove = torch.zeros_like(logits, dtype=torch.bool)
+            indices_to_remove.scatter_(
+                dim=1, index=sorted_indices, src=sorted_indices_to_remove
+            )
+            logits[indices_to_remove] = filter_value
+        return logits
+
+
+class SamplingPipeline(BaseSamplingStrategy):
+    """Composes multiple sampling strategies into a single transformation.
+
+    Strategies are applied sequentially in the order they are provided,
+    matching the original temperature → top-k → top-p ordering.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, strategies: List[BaseSamplingStrategy]):
+        self.strategies = strategies
+
+    def apply(self, logits, filter_value=-float("inf")):
+        logits = logits.clone()
+        for strategy in self.strategies:
+            logits = strategy.apply(logits, filter_value)
+        return logits
+
+
+def apply_sampling_strategies(
+    logits: Tensor,
+    temperature: float,
+    top_k: int,
+    top_p: float,
+    filter_value: float = -float("inf"),
+) -> Tensor:
+    """Applies temperature scaling, top-k filtering, and top-p (nucleus) filtering.
+
+    Backward-compatible function that delegates to the Strategy pattern
+    pipeline with TemperatureStrategy → TopKStrategy → TopPStrategy ordering.
+
+    Args:
+        logits: Raw logits tensor of shape (batch, vocab_size).
+        temperature: Temperature scaling factor (1.0 = no scaling).
+        top_k: Keep only top-k logits (0 disables).
+        top_p: Nucleus probability threshold (1.0 disables).
+        filter_value: Value to assign to filtered-out positions.
+
+    Returns:
+        Modified logits tensor with same shape as input.
+    """
+    pipeline = SamplingPipeline(
+        [
+            TemperatureStrategy(temperature),
+            TopKStrategy(top_k),
+            TopPStrategy(top_p),
+        ]
+    )
+    return pipeline.apply(logits, filter_value)
diff --git a/astrai/inference/scheduler.py b/astrai/inference/scheduler.py
index 2c387a5..b41063d 100644
--- a/astrai/inference/scheduler.py
+++ b/astrai/inference/scheduler.py
@@ -1,200 +1,30 @@
-"""Inference scheduler for single-GPU continuous batching."""
+"""Inference scheduler for single-GPU continuous batching.
+
+Splits scheduling concerns across modules:
+  - cache.py:   SlotAllocator (Object Pool), PrefixCacheManager
+  - sampling.py: Strategy-pattern logit transformations
+"""
 
 import logging
 import threading
 import time
 import uuid
-from collections import OrderedDict
+from enum import Enum
 from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 
 import torch
 from torch import Tensor
 
+from astrai.inference.cache import _STOP, PrefixCacheManager, SlotAllocator
+from astrai.inference.sampling import apply_sampling_strategies
 from astrai.model.automodel import AutoModel
 from astrai.tokenize import AutoTokenizer
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-_STOP = object()
 
-
-class _RadixNode:
-    """Internal node for the radix tree prefix cache.
-
-    Attributes:
-        children: Mapping from token ID to child node.
-        slot: KV cache slot index for the prefix ending at this node.
-        slot_ver: Version counter of the slot at insertion time.
-        ref_count: Number of tasks currently referencing this node.
-        last_access: Timestamp of the most recent access (for LRU ordering).
-    """
-
-    __slots__ = ("children", "slot", "slot_ver", "ref_count", "last_access")
-
-    def __init__(self):
-        self.children: Dict[int, "_RadixNode"] = {}
-        self.slot: int = -1
-        self.slot_ver: int = 0
-        self.ref_count: int = 0
-        self.last_access: float = 0.0
-
-
-class PrefixCacheManager:
-    """Radix-tree prefix cache with LRU eviction.
-
-    Maps token ID sequences to KV cache slots. Intermediate tree nodes
-    also store slot information, allowing direct slot reuse when the
-    cached slot is free and its version matches (no intervening writes).
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, max_capacity: int = 1000):
-        """Initializes the prefix cache.
-
-        Args:
-            max_capacity: Maximum number of nodes in the LRU list.
-        """
-        self.root = _RadixNode()
-        self.max_capacity = max_capacity
-        self._lru: OrderedDict[int, _RadixNode] = OrderedDict()
-
-    def insert(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...], slot: int, slot_ver: int) -> None:
-        """Inserts a token sequence into the prefix cache.
-
-        Every node along the path records the slot and its version,
-        enabling direct slot reuse for partial prefix matches.
-
-        Args:
-            token_ids: The token ID sequence to cache.
-            slot: The KV cache slot containing this prefix's computed keys/values.
-            slot_ver: The slot version at insertion time, used for staleness detection.
-        """
-        node = self.root
-        for tid in token_ids:
-            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
-            if nxt is None:
-                nxt = _RadixNode()
-                node.children[tid] = nxt
-            node = nxt
-            node.slot = slot
-            node.slot_ver = slot_ver
-            node.last_access = time.time()
-            self._lru[id(node)] = node
-        node.ref_count += 1
-        self._evict_if_needed()
-
-    def find(self, token_ids: List[int]) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
-        """Finds the longest matching prefix in the cache.
-
-        Walks the radix tree token by token, recording the deepest match.
-
-        Args:
-            token_ids: The token sequence to match against.
-
-        Returns:
-            Tuple of (prefix_len, slot, slot_ver):
-                prefix_len: Number of matching tokens (0 if no match).
-                slot: KV cache slot of the matched prefix (-1 if no match).
-                slot_ver: Version of that slot when the prefix was inserted.
-        """
-        node = self.root
-        best_len, best_slot, best_ver = 0, -1, 0
-        for i, tid in enumerate(token_ids):
-            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
-            if nxt is None:
-                break
-            node = nxt
-            best_len, best_slot, best_ver = i + 1, node.slot, node.slot_ver
-            node.last_access = time.time()
-            self._lru.move_to_end(id(node))
-        return best_len, best_slot, best_ver
-
-    def pin(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...]) -> None:
-        """Increments the reference count of a cached prefix.
-
-        Called when a task reuses a cached prefix to prevent eviction.
-
-        Args:
-            token_ids: The token sequence whose node's ref_count to increment.
-        """
-        node = self.root
-        for tid in token_ids:
-            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
-            if nxt is None:
-                return
-            node = nxt
-        node.ref_count += 1
-
-    def release(self, token_ids: Tuple[int, ...]) -> None:
-        """Decrements the reference count of a cached prefix.
-
-        The node's slot is preserved even when ref_count reaches zero,
-        allowing future tasks to reuse the slot directly if it remains free.
-
-        Args:
-            token_ids: The token sequence whose node's ref_count to decrement.
-        """
-        node = self.root
-        for tid in token_ids:
-            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
-            if nxt is None:
-                return
-            node = nxt
-        if node.ref_count > 0:
-            node.ref_count -= 1
-
-    def copy_kv(
-        self,
-        token_ids: Tuple[int, ...],
-        target_slot: int,
-        kv_cache: Tuple[Tensor, Tensor],
-        n_layers: int,
-    ) -> None:
-        """Copies cached KV data from the source slot to a target slot.
-
-        Args:
-            token_ids: The prefix token sequence identifying the source cache node.
-            target_slot: The destination KV cache slot to copy into.
-            kv_cache: Tuple of (k_cache, v_cache) tensors.
-            n_layers: Number of transformer layers to copy.
-        """
-        node = self.root
-        for tid in token_ids:
-            nxt = node.children.get(tid)
-            if nxt is None:
-                return
-            node = nxt
-        src_slot = node.slot
-        if src_slot < 0:
-            return
-        prefix_len = len(token_ids)
-        k_cache, v_cache = kv_cache
-        for li in range(n_layers):
-            k_cache[target_slot, :prefix_len, li].copy_(
-                k_cache[src_slot, :prefix_len, li]
-            )
-            v_cache[target_slot, :prefix_len, li].copy_(
-                v_cache[src_slot, :prefix_len, li]
-            )
-
-    def _evict_if_needed(self) -> None:
-        """Evicts least-recently-used nodes until under capacity.
-
-        Skips nodes with ref_count > 0 (still in use by active tasks).
-        Evicted nodes have their slot and children cleared.
-        """
-        while len(self._lru) > self.max_capacity:
-            key, node = next(iter(self._lru.items()))
-            if node.ref_count > 0:
-                self._lru.move_to_end(key)
-                continue
-            self._lru.pop(key)
-            node.slot = -1
-            node.slot_ver = 0
-            node.children.clear()
-
-
-class TaskStatus:
-    """Enum-like task states in the continuous batching lifecycle."""
+class TaskStatus(Enum):
+    """Task states in the continuous batching lifecycle."""
 
     PENDING = "pending"
     RUNNING = "running"
@@ -286,46 +116,6 @@ class Task:
         return False
 
 
-def apply_sampling_strategies(
-    logits: Tensor,
-    temperature: float,
-    top_k: int,
-    top_p: float,
-    filter_value: float = -float("inf"),
-) -> Tensor:
-    """Applies temperature scaling, top-k filtering, and top-p (nucleus) filtering.
-
-    Args:
-        logits: Raw logits tensor of shape (batch, vocab_size).
-        temperature: Temperature scaling factor (1.0 = no scaling).
-        top_k: Keep only top-k logits (0 disables).
-        top_p: Nucleus probability threshold (1.0 disables).
-        filter_value: Value to assign to filtered-out positions.
-
-    Returns:
-        Modified logits tensor with same shape as input.
-    """
-    logits = logits.clone()
-    if temperature != 1.0:
-        logits = logits / temperature
-    if top_k > 0:
-        top_k = min(top_k, logits.size(-1))
-        indices = logits < torch.topk(logits, top_k, dim=-1)[0][..., -1, None]
-        logits[indices] = filter_value
-    if top_p < 1.0:
-        sorted_logits, sorted_indices = torch.sort(logits, descending=True, dim=-1)
-        cum_probs = torch.cumsum(torch.softmax(sorted_logits, dim=-1), dim=-1)
-        sorted_indices_to_remove = cum_probs > top_p
-        sorted_indices_to_remove[..., 1:] = sorted_indices_to_remove[..., :-1].clone()
-        sorted_indices_to_remove[..., 0] = 0
-        indices_to_remove = torch.zeros_like(logits, dtype=torch.bool)
-        indices_to_remove.scatter_(
-            dim=1, index=sorted_indices, src=sorted_indices_to_remove
-        )
-        logits[indices_to_remove] = filter_value
-    return logits
-
-
 class InferenceScheduler:
     """Continuous batching scheduler for single-GPU inference.
 
@@ -397,8 +187,7 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
             dtype=torch.bool,
         )
 
-        self._free_slots = (1 << max_batch_size) - 1
-        self._slot_ver: List[int] = [0] * max_batch_size
+        self.slot_allocator = SlotAllocator(max_batch_size)
         self.waiting_queue: List[Task] = []
         self.active_tasks: List[Task] = []
 
@@ -410,18 +199,12 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
         self._total_tokens = 0
 
     def _alloc_slot(self) -> int:
-        """Allocates a free KV cache slot using a bitmask.
+        """Allocates a free KV cache slot using the Object Pool.
 
         Returns:
             Slot index on success, -1 if all slots are occupied.
         """
-        lsb = self._free_slots & -self._free_slots
-        if lsb == 0:
-            return -1
-        idx = lsb.bit_length() - 1
-        self._free_slots ^= lsb
-        self._slot_ver[idx] += 1
-        return idx
+        return self.slot_allocator.alloc()
 
     def _free_slot(self, idx: int) -> None:
         """Releases a KV cache slot back to the free pool.
@@ -429,7 +212,7 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
         Args:
             idx: Slot index to free.
         """
-        self._free_slots |= 1 << idx
+        self.slot_allocator.free(idx)
         self.seq_mask[idx, :] = False
 
     def _try_reuse_slot(self, prefix: Tuple[int, ...]) -> Tuple[int, bool]:
@@ -445,9 +228,9 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
             Tuple of (slot, True) on success, or (-1, False) if reuse is not possible.
         """
         _plen, cached_slot, cached_ver = self.prefix_cache.find(list(prefix))
-        if cached_slot >= 0 and (self._free_slots >> cached_slot) & 1:
-            if cached_ver == self._slot_ver[cached_slot]:
-                self._free_slots ^= 1 << cached_slot
+        if cached_slot >= 0 and self.slot_allocator.is_free(cached_slot):
+            if cached_ver == self.slot_allocator.version(cached_slot):
+                self.slot_allocator.occupy(cached_slot)
                 return cached_slot, True
         return -1, False
 
@@ -588,7 +371,9 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
             if task.prefix_len > 0 and not reused:
                 prefix = tuple(task.prompt_ids[: task.prefix_len])
                 _plen, cached_slot, cached_ver = self.prefix_cache.find(list(prefix))
-                if cached_slot >= 0 and cached_ver == self._slot_ver[cached_slot]:
+                if cached_slot >= 0 and cached_ver == self.slot_allocator.version(
+                    cached_slot
+                ):
                     self.prefix_cache.pin(prefix)
                     self.prefix_cache.copy_kv(
                         prefix, slot, self.kv_cache, self._n_layers
@@ -663,7 +448,7 @@ class InferenceScheduler:
             t.input_tokens = len(t.prompt_ids)
             t.output_tokens = 0
             self.prefix_cache.insert(
-                tuple(t.prompt_ids), t.slot, self._slot_ver[t.slot]
+                tuple(t.prompt_ids), t.slot, self.slot_allocator.version(t.slot)
             )
             if t.slot >= 0:
                 self.seq_mask[t.slot, : t.input_tokens] = True
diff --git a/scripts/demo/stream_chat.py b/scripts/demo/stream_chat.py
index a87a685..88bda06 100644
--- a/scripts/demo/stream_chat.py
+++ b/scripts/demo/stream_chat.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def chat():
     tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(PARAMETER_ROOT)
     model.to(device="cuda", dtype=torch.bfloat16)
 
-    messages = []
+    messages = [{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."}]
     engine = InferenceEngine(model=model, tokenizer=tokenizer)
 
     while True:
diff --git a/tests/inference/test_scheduler_concurrency.py b/tests/inference/test_scheduler_concurrency.py
index 28e4967..d006bbd 100644
--- a/tests/inference/test_scheduler_concurrency.py
+++ b/tests/inference/test_scheduler_concurrency.py
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
+from astrai.inference.cache import PrefixCacheManager
 from astrai.inference.scheduler import (
     InferenceScheduler,
-    PrefixCacheManager,
 )