diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index e3e9ef2..18a98af 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ module github.com/salvacybersec/keyhunter
 go 1.26.1
 
 require (
+	github.com/petar-dambovaliev/aho-corasick v0.0.0-20250424160509-463d218d4745
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index c4c1710..ff10194 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/petar-dambovaliev/aho-corasick v0.0.0-20250424160509-463d218d4745 h1:Vpr4VgAizEgEZsaMohpw6JYDP+i9Of9dmdY4ufNP6HI=
+github.com/petar-dambovaliev/aho-corasick v0.0.0-20250424160509-463d218d4745/go.mod h1:EHPiTAKtiFmrMldLUNswFwfZ2eJIYBHktdaUTZxYWRw=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.11.1 h1:7s2iGBzp5EwR7/aIZr8ao5+dra3wiQyKjjFuvgVKu7U=
diff --git a/pkg/providers/definitions/anthropic.yaml b/pkg/providers/definitions/anthropic.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..23aa116
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/providers/definitions/anthropic.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+format_version: 1
+name: anthropic
+display_name: Anthropic
+tier: 1
+last_verified: "2026-04-04"
+keywords:
+  - "sk-ant-api03-"
+  - "anthropic"
+patterns:
+  - regex: 'sk-ant-api03-[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{93,}'
+    entropy_min: 3.5
+    confidence: high
+verify:
+  method: GET
+  url: https://api.anthropic.com/v1/models
+  headers:
+    x-api-key: "{KEY}"
+    anthropic-version: "2023-06-01"
+  valid_status: [200]
+  invalid_status: [401, 403]
diff --git a/pkg/providers/definitions/huggingface.yaml b/pkg/providers/definitions/huggingface.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db7a0b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/providers/definitions/huggingface.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+format_version: 1
+name: huggingface
+display_name: HuggingFace
+tier: 3
+last_verified: "2026-04-04"
+keywords:
+  - "hf_"
+  - "huggingface"
+patterns:
+  - regex: 'hf_[A-Za-z0-9]{34,}'
+    entropy_min: 3.5
+    confidence: high
+verify:
+  method: GET
+  url: https://huggingface.co/api/whoami-v2
+  headers:
+    Authorization: "Bearer {KEY}"
+  valid_status: [200]
+  invalid_status: [401, 403]
diff --git a/pkg/providers/definitions/openai.yaml b/pkg/providers/definitions/openai.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6a6fdd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/providers/definitions/openai.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+format_version: 1
+name: openai
+display_name: OpenAI
+tier: 1
+last_verified: "2026-04-04"
+keywords:
+  - "sk-proj-"
+  - "openai"
+patterns:
+  - regex: 'sk-proj-[A-Za-z0-9_\-]{48,}'
+    entropy_min: 3.5
+    confidence: high
+verify:
+  method: GET
+  url: https://api.openai.com/v1/models
+  headers:
+    Authorization: "Bearer {KEY}"
+  valid_status: [200]
+  invalid_status: [401, 403]
diff --git a/pkg/providers/loader.go b/pkg/providers/loader.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f366753
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/providers/loader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+package providers
+
+import (
+	"embed"
+	"fmt"
+	"io/fs"
+	"path/filepath"
+
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+)
+
+//go:embed definitions/*.yaml
+var definitionsFS embed.FS
+
+// loadProviders reads all YAML files from the embedded definitions FS.
+func loadProviders() ([]Provider, error) {
+	var providers []Provider
+	err := fs.WalkDir(definitionsFS, "definitions", func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if d.IsDir() || filepath.Ext(path) != ".yaml" {
+			return nil
+		}
+		data, err := definitionsFS.ReadFile(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("reading provider file %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+		var p Provider
+		if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &p); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("parsing provider %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+		providers = append(providers, p)
+		return nil
+	})
+	return providers, err
+}
diff --git a/pkg/providers/registry.go b/pkg/providers/registry.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7696c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/providers/registry.go
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package providers
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	ahocorasick "github.com/petar-dambovaliev/aho-corasick"
+)
+
+// Registry is the in-memory store of all loaded provider definitions.
+// It is initialized once at startup and is safe for concurrent reads.
+type Registry struct {
+	providers []Provider
+	index     map[string]int         // name -> slice index
+	ac        ahocorasick.AhoCorasick // pre-built automaton for keyword pre-filter
+}
+
+// NewRegistry loads all embedded provider YAML files, validates them, builds the
+// Aho-Corasick automaton from all provider keywords, and returns the Registry.
+func NewRegistry() (*Registry, error) {
+	providers, err := loadProviders()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("loading providers: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	index := make(map[string]int, len(providers))
+	var keywords []string
+	for i, p := range providers {
+		index[p.Name] = i
+		keywords = append(keywords, p.Keywords...)
+	}
+
+	builder := ahocorasick.NewAhoCorasickBuilder(ahocorasick.Opts{DFA: true})
+	ac := builder.Build(keywords)
+
+	return &Registry{
+		providers: providers,
+		index:     index,
+		ac:        ac,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// List returns all loaded providers.
+func (r *Registry) List() []Provider {
+	return r.providers
+}
+
+// Get returns a provider by name and a boolean indicating whether it was found.
+func (r *Registry) Get(name string) (Provider, bool) {
+	idx, ok := r.index[name]
+	if !ok {
+		return Provider{}, false
+	}
+	return r.providers[idx], true
+}
+
+// Stats returns aggregate statistics about the loaded providers.
+func (r *Registry) Stats() RegistryStats {
+	stats := RegistryStats{
+		Total:        len(r.providers),
+		ByTier:       make(map[int]int),
+		ByConfidence: make(map[string]int),
+	}
+	for _, p := range r.providers {
+		stats.ByTier[p.Tier]++
+		for _, pat := range p.Patterns {
+			stats.ByConfidence[pat.Confidence]++
+		}
+	}
+	return stats
+}
+
+// AC returns the pre-built Aho-Corasick automaton for keyword pre-filtering.
+func (r *Registry) AC() ahocorasick.AhoCorasick {
+	return r.ac
+}