diff --git a/src/store/memoryIndex.ts b/src/store/memoryIndex.ts
index fb2b1f2..daefb2c 100644
--- a/src/store/memoryIndex.ts
+++ b/src/store/memoryIndex.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ export interface MemoryIndexHit {
   score: number;
 }
 
+import { withOpenTimeout } from "./pgOpenGuard.js";
+
 let db: PGliteInstance | undefined;
 let initPromise: Promise<PGliteInstance | undefined> | undefined;
 let disabled = false;
@@ -135,12 +137,19 @@ async function openPgLite(
     if (!mod) return undefined;
     const dir = indexDir();
     mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
-    const pg = await new mod.PGlite({
-      dataDir: dir,
-      extensions: { vector: mod.vector },
-    });
-    await pg.exec("CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;");
-    await pg.exec(`
+    // Bounded open: PGlite is single-writer over a shared dataDir, so a second
+    // pi process on the same dir can block here forever. Without the ceiling the
+    // never-settling promise gets cached in initPromise and every later caller
+    // awaits it — which is how a stalled index wedged a whole pi turn.
+    let openTimedOut = false;
+    const pg = await withOpenTimeout(
+      (async () => {
+        const inst = await new mod.PGlite({
+          dataDir: dir,
+          extensions: { vector: mod.vector },
+        });
+        await inst.exec("CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;");
+        await inst.exec(`
       CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS memory_index (
         repo_id    TEXT NOT NULL,
         memory_id  INTEGER NOT NULL,
@@ -149,9 +158,26 @@ async function openPgLite(
         PRIMARY KEY (repo_id, memory_id)
       );
     `);
-    await pg.exec(
-      "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS memory_index_hnsw ON memory_index USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);",
+        await inst.exec(
+          "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS memory_index_hnsw ON memory_index USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);",
+        );
+        return inst;
+      })(),
+      (reason) => {
+        openTimedOut = true;
+        logWarn(`init ${reason}`);
+      },
     );
+    if (!pg) {
+      if (openTimedOut) {
+        // Don't leave the dead open cached, and don't retry on the next call —
+        // a contended dataDir would just burn another full timeout per caller.
+        // Same terminal state as any other init failure: fall back to the scan.
+        initPromise = undefined;
+        disabled = true;
+      }
+      return undefined;
+    }
     db = pg;
     return pg;
   } catch (err) {
diff --git a/src/store/pgOpenGuard.test.ts b/src/store/pgOpenGuard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aae663b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/store/pgOpenGuard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/**
+ * pgOpenGuard.test.ts — the PGlite open must never hang a turn.
+ *
+ * Regression cover for the wedge: a stalled `await new PGlite(...)` was cached
+ * in initPromise, so every later caller awaited a promise that could not settle
+ * and the pi turn awaiting it never ended.
+ */
+
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { withOpenTimeout, pgOpenTimeoutMs, DEFAULT_PG_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS } from "./pgOpenGuard.js";
+
+test("a never-settling open resolves to undefined instead of hanging", async () => {
+  const never = new Promise<string>(() => {
+    /* deliberately never settles — the wedge */
+  });
+  const reasons: string[] = [];
+  const t0 = Date.now();
+
+  const result = await withOpenTimeout(never, (r) => reasons.push(r), 50);
+
+  assert.equal(result, undefined, "caller gets undefined and can fall back");
+  assert.ok(Date.now() - t0 < 5_000, "returned promptly rather than hanging");
+  assert.equal(reasons.length, 1, "onTimeout fired exactly once");
+  assert.match(reasons[0], /timed out after 50ms/);
+});
+
+test("a successful open passes its value through untouched", async () => {
+  const reasons: string[] = [];
+  const result = await withOpenTimeout(Promise.resolve("pg"), (r) => reasons.push(r), 5_000);
+  assert.equal(result, "pg");
+  assert.deepEqual(reasons, [], "no timeout reported on the happy path");
+});
+
+test("a rejected open propagates so the corrupt-dir retry still runs", async () => {
+  const reasons: string[] = [];
+  await assert.rejects(
+    () => withOpenTimeout(Promise.reject(new Error("Aborted()")), (r) => reasons.push(r), 5_000),
+    /Aborted/,
+    "rejection reaches the caller's catch, which owns the wipe-and-retry path",
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(reasons, [], "a rejection is not reported as a timeout");
+});
+
+test("an abandoned open is closed if it settles after the timeout", async () => {
+  let closed = false;
+  let release: (v: { close: () => void }) => void = () => {};
+  const late = new Promise<{ close: () => void }>((r) => {
+    release = r;
+  });
+
+  const result = await withOpenTimeout(late, () => {}, 25);
+  assert.equal(result, undefined, "timed out first");
+
+  // The open finally completes, long after we stopped waiting for it.
+  release({
+    close: () => {
+      closed = true;
+    },
+  });
+  await late;
+  await new Promise((r) => setImmediate(r));
+
+  assert.ok(closed, "the orphaned instance was closed, not left holding the dataDir");
+});
+
+test("timeout of 0 disables the guard (unbounded, original behavior)", async () => {
+  const result = await withOpenTimeout(Promise.resolve("pg"), () => {}, 0);
+  assert.equal(result, "pg");
+});
+
+test("pgOpenTimeoutMs honors the env override and rejects junk", async () => {
+  const prev = process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  try {
+    process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = "1234";
+    assert.equal(pgOpenTimeoutMs(), 1234);
+
+    process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = "0";
+    assert.equal(pgOpenTimeoutMs(), 0, "0 is a valid opt-out, not junk");
+
+    for (const junk of ["", "   ", "abc", "-5"]) {
+      process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = junk;
+      assert.equal(pgOpenTimeoutMs(), DEFAULT_PG_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS, `junk "${junk}" falls back`);
+    }
+  } finally {
+    if (prev === undefined) delete process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+    else process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = prev;
+  }
+});
diff --git a/src/store/pgOpenGuard.ts b/src/store/pgOpenGuard.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba544b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/store/pgOpenGuard.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+/**
+ * pgOpenGuard.ts — bound the PGlite open so a stalled WASM init can never wedge
+ * a pi turn.
+ *
+ * Both index modules (vectorIndex / memoryIndex) cache their in-flight open in a
+ * module-level `initPromise`. That cache is what turns a single stalled open
+ * into a permanent hang: PGlite is a single-writer WASM Postgres over a shared
+ * dataDir (~/.pi/mega-compact-vector), so a second pi process opening the same
+ * dir can block indefinitely. `await new PGlite(...)` then never settles, the
+ * never-settling promise is cached, and every later caller awaits that same dead
+ * promise — with no timers and no sockets left, node reports
+ * "Promise resolution is still pending but the event loop has already resolved"
+ * and the pi turn that awaited it never ends.
+ *
+ * withOpenTimeout() puts a ceiling on that wait. On timeout the caller gets
+ * undefined (both modules already degrade to a synchronous scan), and the
+ * abandoned open is disowned: if it does eventually settle, the instance is
+ * closed so a stray PGlite can't keep the loop alive or hold the dataDir lock.
+ *
+ * A rejected open is NOT swallowed — it propagates so the callers' existing
+ * corrupt-dir detection (Aborted / RuntimeError → wipe + one retry) still runs.
+ * Only the timeout resolves to undefined.
+ */
+
+/** Sentinel so a legitimately-undefined open is distinguishable from a timeout. */
+const TIMED_OUT = Symbol("pglite-open-timeout");
+
+/** Default ceiling for a PGlite open. Generous — a cold WASM + HNSW init is slow. */
+export const DEFAULT_PG_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+
+/** Resolve the open timeout. 0 (or negative) disables the guard entirely. */
+export function pgOpenTimeoutMs(): number {
+  const raw = process.env.MEGACOMPACT_PGLITE_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  if (raw === undefined || raw.trim() === "") return DEFAULT_PG_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  const n = Number(raw);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(n) || n < 0) return DEFAULT_PG_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  return n;
+}
+
+/** A PGlite-ish handle we may need to dispose of after abandoning it. */
+interface Closable {
+  close?: () => Promise<unknown> | unknown;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Race `open` against the configured timeout.
+ *
+ * Resolves to the opened value, or to undefined when the open outruns the
+ * timeout (`onTimeout` fires first so the caller can log and flip its own
+ * disabled state). Rejections propagate to the caller unchanged.
+ */
+export async function withOpenTimeout<T>(
+  open: Promise<T>,
+  onTimeout: (reason: string) => void,
+  timeoutMs: number = pgOpenTimeoutMs(),
+): Promise<T | undefined> {
+  // Guard disabled — preserve the original unbounded behavior verbatim.
+  if (timeoutMs <= 0) return open;
+
+  let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+  const expiry = new Promise<typeof TIMED_OUT>((resolve) => {
+    timer = setTimeout(() => resolve(TIMED_OUT), timeoutMs);
+    // Never hold the process open on account of the guard itself.
+    timer.unref?.();
+  });
+
+  try {
+    // `open` is raced as-is so a rejection rejects the race — and therefore
+    // this function — leaving the caller's corrupt-retry path intact.
+    const winner = await Promise.race([open, expiry]);
+
+    if (winner === TIMED_OUT) {
+      // Disown the open. If it ever settles, close the instance so an orphaned
+      // PGlite cannot keep the event loop alive or hold the dataDir lock.
+      void open
+        .then((late) => {
+          try {
+            void (late as Closable | undefined)?.close?.();
+          } catch {
+            /* ignore */
+          }
+        })
+        .catch(() => {
+          /* the abandoned open failed on its own — nothing left to release */
+        });
+      onTimeout(`timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`);
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    return winner as T;
+  } finally {
+    if (timer) clearTimeout(timer);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/store/vectorIndex.ts b/src/store/vectorIndex.ts
index dd9dee6..bb94299 100644
--- a/src/store/vectorIndex.ts
+++ b/src/store/vectorIndex.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ export interface VectorIndexHit {
   score: number;
 }
 
+import { withOpenTimeout } from "./pgOpenGuard.js";
+
 let db: PGliteInstance | undefined;
 let initPromise: Promise<PGliteInstance | undefined> | undefined;
 let disabled = false;
@@ -131,12 +133,19 @@ async function openPgLite(
     if (!mod) return undefined;
     const dir = indexDir();
     mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
-    const pg = await new mod.PGlite({
-      dataDir: dir,
-      extensions: { vector: mod.vector },
-    });
-    await pg.exec("CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;");
-    await pg.exec(`
+    // Bounded open: PGlite is single-writer over a shared dataDir, so a second
+    // pi process on the same dir can block here forever. Without the ceiling the
+    // never-settling promise gets cached in initPromise and every later caller
+    // awaits it — which is how a stalled index wedged a whole pi turn.
+    let openTimedOut = false;
+    const pg = await withOpenTimeout(
+      (async () => {
+        const inst = await new mod.PGlite({
+          dataDir: dir,
+          extensions: { vector: mod.vector },
+        });
+        await inst.exec("CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS vector;");
+        await inst.exec(`
       CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS vector_index (
         repo_id       TEXT NOT NULL,
         session_id    TEXT NOT NULL,
@@ -145,10 +154,27 @@ async function openPgLite(
         PRIMARY KEY (repo_id, session_id, checkpoint_id)
       );
     `);
-    // HNSW index over cosine distance for fast NN. Created idempotently.
-    await pg.exec(
-      "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS vector_index_hnsw ON vector_index USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);",
+        // HNSW index over cosine distance for fast NN. Created idempotently.
+        await inst.exec(
+          "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS vector_index_hnsw ON vector_index USING hnsw (embedding vector_cosine_ops);",
+        );
+        return inst;
+      })(),
+      (reason) => {
+        openTimedOut = true;
+        logWarn(`init ${reason}`);
+      },
     );
+    if (!pg) {
+      if (openTimedOut) {
+        // Don't leave the dead open cached, and don't retry on the next call —
+        // a contended dataDir would just burn another full timeout per caller.
+        // Same terminal state as any other init failure: fall back to the scan.
+        initPromise = undefined;
+        disabled = true;
+      }
+      return undefined;
+    }
     db = pg;
     return pg;
   } catch (err) {