diff --git a/crates/ml/src/fxcache.rs b/crates/ml/src/fxcache.rs
index bf7eed06b..bfe5adb23 100644
--- a/crates/ml/src/fxcache.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/src/fxcache.rs
@@ -514,8 +514,6 @@ fn read_body_bf16(
 
 // ── Finder ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-// ── Tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod has_ofi_tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -575,3 +573,156 @@ pub fn find_fxcache(cache_dir: &Path, cache_key: &[u8; 32]) -> Option<PathBuf> {
         None
     }
 }
+
+/// Resolve fxcache directory: explicit override > env var > walk-up sibling.
+pub fn resolve_cache_dir(data_dir: &Path, override_dir: Option<&Path>) -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    // 1. Explicit override (CLI --feature-cache-dir)
+    if let Some(dir) = override_dir {
+        if dir.exists() {
+            return Some(dir.to_path_buf());
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 2. Environment variable
+    if let Ok(dir) = std::env::var("FOXHUNT_FEATURE_CACHE_DIR") {
+        let p = PathBuf::from(dir);
+        if p.exists() {
+            return Some(p);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 3. Walk up from data_dir to find sibling feature-cache/
+    let mut dir = data_dir;
+    loop {
+        if let Some(parent) = dir.parent() {
+            let candidate = parent.join("feature-cache");
+            if candidate.exists() {
+                return Some(candidate);
+            }
+            if parent == dir {
+                break;
+            }
+            dir = parent;
+        } else {
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    None
+}
+
+/// Discover and load an fxcache file. Single source of truth for all callers.
+///
+/// Cache dir priority: `cache_dir_override` > `FOXHUNT_FEATURE_CACHE_DIR` env > walk-up sibling.
+/// Strict key match only — returns `None` on miss. No "most recent" fallback.
+///
+/// # Arguments
+/// * `data_dir` — Base data directory (e.g. `test_data/futures-baseline`)
+/// * `symbol` — Trading symbol (e.g. `"ES.FUT"`)
+/// * `mbp10_dir` — Optional MBP-10 order book data directory
+/// * `trades_dir` — Optional trades data directory
+/// * `data_source` — Data source mode (`"ohlcv"` or `"mbp10"`)
+/// * `cache_dir_override` — Explicit cache directory (from CLI `--feature-cache-dir`)
+pub fn discover_and_load(
+    data_dir: &Path,
+    symbol: &str,
+    mbp10_dir: Option<&Path>,
+    trades_dir: Option<&Path>,
+    data_source: &str,
+    cache_dir_override: Option<&Path>,
+) -> Option<FxCacheData> {
+    // 1. Resolve cache directory
+    let cache_dir = resolve_cache_dir(data_dir, cache_dir_override)?;
+
+    // 2. Compute cache key (includes symbol + data_source)
+    let key_hex = crate::feature_cache::calculate_dbn_cache_key_full(
+        data_dir, mbp10_dir, trades_dir, symbol, data_source,
+    )
+    .ok()?;
+    let key: [u8; 32] = hex::decode(&key_hex).ok()?.try_into().ok()?;
+
+    // 3. Strict key match — no fallback to "most recent"
+    let path = find_fxcache(&cache_dir, &key)?;
+
+    // 4. Load and return
+    match load_fxcache(&path) {
+        Ok(data) => {
+            info!(
+                "fxcache hit: {} bars, OFI={} from {:?}",
+                data.bar_count, data.has_ofi, path
+            );
+            Some(data)
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::warn!("fxcache load failed: {e}");
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// ── Tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod discover_tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_discover_returns_none_for_nonexistent_dir() {
+        let result = discover_and_load(
+            Path::new("/nonexistent/path"),
+            "ES.FUT",
+            None,
+            None,
+            "ohlcv",
+            None,
+        );
+        assert!(result.is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_discover_returns_none_on_key_mismatch() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let cache_dir = dir.path().join("feature-cache");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&cache_dir).unwrap();
+
+        // Write a cache file with a known dummy key
+        let path = cache_dir.join(
+            "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.fxcache",
+        );
+        let features = vec![[1.0_f64; 42]; 5];
+        let targets = vec![[0.0_f64; 4]; 5];
+        let ofi = vec![[0.0_f64; 8]; 5];
+        let timestamps = vec![1_i64; 5];
+        write_fxcache(&path, &features, &targets, &ofi, &timestamps, [0u8; 32], false, false)
+            .unwrap();
+
+        // Try to discover with a real data_dir (different key) — should NOT match
+        let result = discover_and_load(
+            Path::new("test_data/futures-baseline"),
+            "ES.FUT",
+            None,
+            None,
+            "ohlcv",
+            Some(&cache_dir),
+        );
+        // Strict match only — no "most recent" fallback
+        assert!(result.is_none(), "Wrong key should not match (strict mode)");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_resolve_cache_dir_explicit_override() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let result = resolve_cache_dir(Path::new("/some/data"), Some(dir.path()));
+        assert_eq!(result, Some(dir.path().to_path_buf()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_resolve_cache_dir_nonexistent_override_falls_through() {
+        let result = resolve_cache_dir(
+            Path::new("/some/data"),
+            Some(Path::new("/nonexistent/override")),
+        );
+        // Falls through to env var / walk-up (both will fail here)
+        assert!(result.is_none());
+    }
+}