Improve utils performance

**Description**
Currently core lacks proper filtering support.

**Proposed solution**
Add configurable filtering with sensible defaults.

**Priority**: Low/Medium

Start by locating the core utilities and any existing filtering support in the repository. Trace how filtering is currently handled, then confirm the intended configuration options and sensible defaults with maintainers; done means configurable filtering is available without breaking existing behavior and the utility path is measurably improved.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.