diff --git a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.test.ts b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.test.ts
index 28d406e2d3..ef410f34b5 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.test.ts
@@ -589,4 +589,132 @@ describe('InMemoryDriver', () => {
       expect(results).toHaveLength(3);
     });
   });
+
+  describe('FilterCondition Object Format (from parseFilterAST)', () => {
+    beforeEach(async () => {
+      await driver.create(testTable, { id: '1', name: 'Alice Johnson', age: 30, email: 'alice@example.com', bio: null });
+      await driver.create(testTable, { id: '2', name: 'Bob Smith', age: 25, email: 'bob@test.com', bio: 'Developer' });
+      await driver.create(testTable, { id: '3', name: 'Charlie Brown', age: 35, email: 'charlie@example.com', bio: '' });
+      await driver.create(testTable, { id: '4', name: 'Evan Davis', age: 28, email: 'evan@test.com', bio: 'Designer' });
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $contains operator', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { name: { $contains: 'Evan' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(results[0].name).toBe('Evan Davis');
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $contains case-insensitively', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { name: { $contains: 'alice' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(results[0].name).toBe('Alice Johnson');
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $notContains operator', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { email: { $notContains: 'example' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(2);
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name).sort()).toEqual(['Bob Smith', 'Evan Davis']);
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $startsWith operator', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { name: { $startsWith: 'Ch' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(results[0].name).toBe('Charlie Brown');
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $endsWith operator', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { email: { $endsWith: '.com' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(4);
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $between operator', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { age: { $between: [26, 32] } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(2);
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name).sort()).toEqual(['Alice Johnson', 'Evan Davis']);
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $null: true', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { bio: { $null: true } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(results[0].name).toBe('Alice Johnson');
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $null: false', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { bio: { $null: false } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(3);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle $contains inside $and', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { $and: [{ name: { $contains: 'a' } }, { age: { $gte: 30 } }] },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(2);
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name).sort()).toEqual(['Alice Johnson', 'Charlie Brown']);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle $startsWith inside $or', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { $or: [{ name: { $startsWith: 'Al' } }, { name: { $startsWith: 'Ev' } }] },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(2);
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name).sort()).toEqual(['Alice Johnson', 'Evan Davis']);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle AST-converted notcontains via convertConditionToMongo', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { type: 'comparison', field: 'name', operator: 'notcontains', value: 'Bob' },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(3);
+    });
+
+    it('should handle combined $startsWith + $endsWith on same field', async () => {
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { name: { $startsWith: 'A', $endsWith: 'son' } },
+      });
+      expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(results[0].name).toBe('Alice Johnson');
+    });
+
+    it('should filter with $null: true on missing fields', async () => {
+      // bio is null for Alice Johnson — should match
+      // Records without bio field at all should also match $null: true
+      await driver.create(testTable, { id: '5', name: 'Frank', age: 40, email: 'frank@test.com' });
+      const results = await driver.find(testTable, {
+        object: testTable,
+        where: { bio: { $null: true } },
+      });
+      // Alice (bio: null), Frank (bio: missing)
+      expect(results.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name)).toContain('Alice Johnson');
+      expect(results.map((r: any) => r.name)).toContain('Frank');
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.ts b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.ts
index dadfddcd22..daafbf0883 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-driver.ts
@@ -629,8 +629,9 @@ export class InMemoryDriver implements DriverInterface {
         const op = filters.operator === 'or' ? '$or' : '$and';
         return { [op]: conditions };
       }
-      // MongoDB format passthrough: { field: value } or { field: { $eq: value } }
-      return filters;
+      // MongoDB/FilterCondition format: { field: value } or { field: { $op: value } }
+      // Translate non-standard operators ($contains, $notContains, etc.) to Mingo-compatible format
+      return this.normalizeFilterCondition(filters);
     }
 
     // Legacy array format
@@ -694,6 +695,8 @@ export class InMemoryDriver implements DriverInterface {
         return { [field]: { $nin: value } };
       case 'contains': case 'like':
         return { [field]: { $regex: new RegExp(this.escapeRegex(value), 'i') } };
+      case 'notcontains': case 'not_contains':
+        return { [field]: { $not: { $regex: new RegExp(this.escapeRegex(value), 'i') } } };
       case 'startswith': case 'starts_with':
         return { [field]: { $regex: new RegExp(`^${this.escapeRegex(value)}`, 'i') } };
       case 'endswith': case 'ends_with':
@@ -708,6 +711,128 @@ export class InMemoryDriver implements DriverInterface {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Normalize a FilterCondition object by converting non-standard $-prefixed
+   * operators ($contains, $notContains, $startsWith, $endsWith, $between, $null)
+   * to Mingo-compatible equivalents ($regex, $gte/$lte, null checks).
+   */
+  private normalizeFilterCondition(filter: Record<string, any>): Record<string, any> {
+    const result: Record<string, any> = {};
+    const extraAndConditions: Record<string, any>[] = [];
+
+    for (const key of Object.keys(filter)) {
+      const value = filter[key];
+      // Recurse into logical operators
+      if (key === '$and' || key === '$or') {
+        result[key] = Array.isArray(value)
+          ? value.map((child: any) => this.normalizeFilterCondition(child))
+          : value;
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (key === '$not') {
+        result[key] = value && typeof value === 'object'
+          ? this.normalizeFilterCondition(value)
+          : value;
+        continue;
+      }
+      // Skip $-prefixed keys that aren't field names (already handled or unknown)
+      if (key.startsWith('$')) {
+        result[key] = value;
+        continue;
+      }
+      // Field-level: value may be primitive (implicit eq) or operator object
+      if (value && typeof value === 'object' && !Array.isArray(value) && !(value instanceof Date) && !(value instanceof RegExp)) {
+        const normalized = this.normalizeFieldOperators(value);
+        // Handle multiple regex conditions on the same field (e.g. $startsWith + $endsWith)
+        if (normalized._multiRegex) {
+          const regexConditions: Record<string, any>[] = normalized._multiRegex;
+          delete normalized._multiRegex;
+          // Each regex becomes its own { field: { $regex: ... } } inside $and
+          for (const rc of regexConditions) {
+            extraAndConditions.push({ [key]: { ...normalized, ...rc } });
+          }
+        } else {
+          result[key] = normalized;
+        }
+      } else {
+        result[key] = value;
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Merge extra $and conditions from multi-regex fields
+    if (extraAndConditions.length > 0) {
+      const existing = result.$and;
+      const andArray = Array.isArray(existing) ? existing : [];
+      // Include the rest of result as a condition too
+      if (Object.keys(result).filter(k => k !== '$and').length > 0) {
+        const rest = { ...result };
+        delete rest.$and;
+        andArray.push(rest);
+      }
+      andArray.push(...extraAndConditions);
+      return { $and: andArray };
+    }
+
+    return result;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Convert non-standard field operators to Mingo-compatible format.
+   * When multiple regex-producing operators appear on the same field
+   * (e.g. $startsWith + $endsWith), they are combined via $and.
+   */
+  private normalizeFieldOperators(ops: Record<string, any>): Record<string, any> {
+    const result: Record<string, any> = {};
+    const regexConditions: Record<string, any>[] = [];
+
+    for (const op of Object.keys(ops)) {
+      const val = ops[op];
+      switch (op) {
+        case '$contains':
+          regexConditions.push({ $regex: new RegExp(this.escapeRegex(val), 'i') });
+          break;
+        case '$notContains':
+          result.$not = { $regex: new RegExp(this.escapeRegex(val), 'i') };
+          break;
+        case '$startsWith':
+          regexConditions.push({ $regex: new RegExp(`^${this.escapeRegex(val)}`, 'i') });
+          break;
+        case '$endsWith':
+          regexConditions.push({ $regex: new RegExp(`${this.escapeRegex(val)}$`, 'i') });
+          break;
+        case '$between':
+          if (Array.isArray(val) && val.length === 2) {
+            result.$gte = val[0];
+            result.$lte = val[1];
+          }
+          break;
+        case '$null':
+          // $null: true → field is null, $null: false → field is not null
+          // Use $eq/$ne null for Mingo compatibility
+          if (val === true) {
+            result.$eq = null;
+          } else {
+            result.$ne = null;
+          }
+          break;
+        default:
+          result[op] = val;
+          break;
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Merge regex conditions: single → inline, multiple → wrap with $and
+    if (regexConditions.length === 1) {
+      Object.assign(result, regexConditions[0]);
+    } else if (regexConditions.length > 1) {
+      // Cannot have multiple $regex on one object; promote to top-level $and.
+      // _multiRegex is an internal sentinel consumed by normalizeFilterCondition().
+      result._multiRegex = regexConditions;
+    }
+
+    return result;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Escape special regex characters for safe literal matching.
    */
diff --git a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-matcher.ts b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-matcher.ts
index 4267f03f70..f7a7d1acfb 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-matcher.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/driver-memory/src/memory-matcher.ts
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ function checkCondition(value: any, condition: any): boolean {
         const target = condition[op];
         
         // Handle undefined values
-        if (value === undefined && op !== '$exists' && op !== '$ne') {
+        if (value === undefined && op !== '$exists' && op !== '$ne' && op !== '$null') {
             return false; 
         }
 
@@ -151,12 +151,20 @@ function checkCondition(value: any, condition: any): boolean {
             case '$contains': 
                 if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.includes(target)) return false; 
                 break;
+            case '$notContains':
+                if (typeof value !== 'string' || value.includes(target)) return false;
+                break;
             case '$startsWith': 
                 if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.startsWith(target)) return false; 
                 break;
             case '$endsWith': 
                 if (typeof value !== 'string' || !value.endsWith(target)) return false; 
                 break;
+            case '$null':
+                // $null: true → value must be null/undefined; $null: false → value must not be null/undefined
+                if (target === true && value != null) return false;
+                if (target === false && value == null) return false;
+                break;
             case '$regex':
                 try {
                     const re = new RegExp(target, condition.$options || '');
diff --git a/packages/spec/src/data/filter.test.ts b/packages/spec/src/data/filter.test.ts
index 85173a8126..6a2b8cf4cd 100644
--- a/packages/spec/src/data/filter.test.ts
+++ b/packages/spec/src/data/filter.test.ts
@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ describe('StringOperatorSchema', () => {
     expect(() => StringOperatorSchema.parse(filter)).not.toThrow();
   });
 
+  it('should accept $notContains operator', () => {
+    const filter = { $notContains: 'spam' };
+    expect(() => StringOperatorSchema.parse(filter)).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
   it('should accept $endsWith operator', () => {
     const filter = { $endsWith: '.pdf' };
     expect(() => StringOperatorSchema.parse(filter)).not.toThrow();
@@ -826,6 +831,11 @@ describe('parseFilterAST', () => {
     expect(parseFilterAST(['name', 'like', 'John'])).toEqual({ name: { $contains: 'John' } });
   });
 
+  it('should convert notcontains/not_contains operator', () => {
+    expect(parseFilterAST(['name', 'notcontains', 'spam'])).toEqual({ name: { $notContains: 'spam' } });
+    expect(parseFilterAST(['name', 'not_contains', 'spam'])).toEqual({ name: { $notContains: 'spam' } });
+  });
+
   it('should convert startswith operator', () => {
     expect(parseFilterAST(['name', 'startswith', 'A'])).toEqual({ name: { $startsWith: 'A' } });
     expect(parseFilterAST(['name', 'starts_with', 'A'])).toEqual({ name: { $startsWith: 'A' } });
@@ -948,6 +958,8 @@ describe('isFilterAST', () => {
     expect(isFilterAST(['age', '>=', 18])).toBe(true);
     expect(isFilterAST(['role', 'in', ['admin', 'editor']])).toBe(true);
     expect(isFilterAST(['name', 'contains', 'John'])).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFilterAST(['name', 'notcontains', 'spam'])).toBe(true);
+    expect(isFilterAST(['name', 'not_contains', 'spam'])).toBe(true);
     expect(isFilterAST(['name', 'like', 'John'])).toBe(true);
     expect(isFilterAST(['created_at', 'between', ['2024-01-01', '2024-12-31']])).toBe(true);
     expect(isFilterAST(['deleted_at', 'is_null', null])).toBe(true);
@@ -1009,7 +1021,7 @@ describe('isFilterAST', () => {
 describe('VALID_AST_OPERATORS', () => {
   it('should contain all standard comparison operators', () => {
     const expected = ['=', '==', '!=', '<>', '>', '>=', '<', '<=', 'in', 'nin', 'not_in',
-      'contains', 'like', 'startswith', 'starts_with', 'endswith', 'ends_with',
+      'contains', 'notcontains', 'not_contains', 'like', 'startswith', 'starts_with', 'endswith', 'ends_with',
       'between', 'is_null', 'is_not_null'];
     for (const op of expected) {
       expect(VALID_AST_OPERATORS.has(op)).toBe(true);
diff --git a/packages/spec/src/data/filter.zod.ts b/packages/spec/src/data/filter.zod.ts
index e81139ac89..6ea23d72b2 100644
--- a/packages/spec/src/data/filter.zod.ts
+++ b/packages/spec/src/data/filter.zod.ts
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ export const StringOperatorSchema = z.object({
   /** Contains substring - SQL: LIKE %?% | MongoDB: $regex */
   $contains: z.string().optional(),
   
+  /** Does not contain substring - SQL: NOT LIKE %?% | MongoDB: $not: $regex */
+  $notContains: z.string().optional(),
+  
   /** Starts with prefix - SQL: LIKE ?% | MongoDB: $regex */
   $startsWith: z.string().optional(),
   
@@ -163,6 +166,7 @@ export const FieldOperatorsSchema = z.object({
   
   // String-specific
   $contains: z.string().optional(),
+  $notContains: z.string().optional(),
   $startsWith: z.string().optional(),
   $endsWith: z.string().optional(),
   
@@ -272,6 +276,7 @@ export type Filter<T = any> = {
         $nin?: T[K][];
         $between?: T[K] extends number | Date ? [T[K], T[K]] : never;
         $contains?: T[K] extends string ? string : never;
+        $notContains?: T[K] extends string ? string : never;
         $startsWith?: T[K] extends string ? string : never;
         $endsWith?: T[K] extends string ? string : never;
         $null?: boolean;
@@ -346,7 +351,7 @@ export type NormalizedFilter = z.infer<typeof NormalizedFilterSchema>;
 export const VALID_AST_OPERATORS = new Set([
   '=', '==', '!=', '<>', '>', '>=', '<', '<=',
   'in', 'nin', 'not_in',
-  'contains', 'like',
+  'contains', 'notcontains', 'not_contains', 'like',
   'startswith', 'starts_with',
   'endswith', 'ends_with',
   'between',
@@ -418,6 +423,8 @@ const AST_OPERATOR_MAP: Record<string, string> = {
   'nin': '$nin',
   'not_in': '$nin',
   'contains': '$contains',
+  'notcontains': '$notContains',
+  'not_contains': '$notContains',
   'like': '$contains',
   'startswith': '$startsWith',
   'starts_with': '$startsWith',
@@ -532,7 +539,7 @@ export const FILTER_OPERATORS = [
   // Set & Range
   '$in', '$nin', '$between',
   // String
-  '$contains', '$startsWith', '$endsWith',
+  '$contains', '$notContains', '$startsWith', '$endsWith',
   // Special
   '$null', '$exists',
 ] as const;