diff --git a/lib/config.js b/lib/config.js
index 2785644..58b51c9 100644
--- a/lib/config.js
+++ b/lib/config.js
@@ -170,12 +170,86 @@ function ensureConfigDir() {
       }
     }
     // external-triggers/
-    if (fs.existsSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR) && !fs.existsSync(EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR)) {
-      try {
-        fs.cpSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, { recursive: true });
-        console.warn("[config] Migrated external-triggers/ → " + EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
-      } catch (e) {
-        console.error("[config] Migration of external-triggers/ failed (non-fatal):", e.message);
+    // Use lstatSync (not existsSync) so a pre-existing symlink at the old path is
+    // detected and skipped — we only act on a real directory.
+    var _oldTriggersIsRealDir = false;
+    try {
+      var _oldStat = fs.lstatSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+      _oldTriggersIsRealDir = _oldStat.isDirectory() && !_oldStat.isSymbolicLink();
+    } catch (_) {}
+    if (_oldTriggersIsRealDir) {
+      if (!fs.existsSync(EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR)) {
+        // Case 1: new dir absent — simple copy (existing behavior).
+        try {
+          fs.cpSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, { recursive: true });
+          console.warn("[config] Migrated external-triggers/ → " + EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+        } catch (e) {
+          console.error("[config] Migration of external-triggers/ failed (non-fatal):", e.message);
+        }
+      } else {
+        // Case 2: both old and new exist — merge .json files from old that are not
+        // already present in new (by filename), then replace the old dir with a
+        // symlink → EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR so stale writers (e.g. an un-updated relay
+        // binary still writing to the old root path) are silently redirected.
+        try {
+          // Merge top-level .json files.
+          var _oldFiles = fs.readdirSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+          for (var _oi = 0; _oi < _oldFiles.length; _oi++) {
+            var _oldFile = _oldFiles[_oi];
+            if (_oldFile === "processed") continue; // handled separately below
+            if (path.extname(_oldFile) !== ".json") continue;
+            var _oldFilePath = path.join(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, _oldFile);
+            var _newFilePath = path.join(EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, _oldFile);
+            if (!fs.existsSync(_newFilePath)) {
+              try {
+                fs.copyFileSync(_oldFilePath, _newFilePath);
+                console.warn("[config] Merged external-triggers/" + _oldFile + " → " + _newFilePath);
+              } catch (_ce) {
+                console.error("[config] Merge of " + _oldFile + " failed (non-fatal):", _ce.message);
+              }
+            }
+          }
+          // Merge processed/ subdir files.
+          var _oldProcessedDir = path.join(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, "processed");
+          var _newProcessedDir = path.join(EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, "processed");
+          if (fs.existsSync(_oldProcessedDir)) {
+            try { fs.mkdirSync(_newProcessedDir, { recursive: true }); } catch (_) {}
+            var _oldProcessed = fs.readdirSync(_oldProcessedDir);
+            for (var _pi = 0; _pi < _oldProcessed.length; _pi++) {
+              var _pf = _oldProcessed[_pi];
+              if (path.extname(_pf) !== ".json") continue;
+              var _oldPfPath = path.join(_oldProcessedDir, _pf);
+              var _newPfPath = path.join(_newProcessedDir, _pf);
+              if (!fs.existsSync(_newPfPath)) {
+                try {
+                  fs.copyFileSync(_oldPfPath, _newPfPath);
+                  console.warn("[config] Merged external-triggers/processed/" + _pf + " → " + _newPfPath);
+                } catch (_ce2) {
+                  console.error("[config] Merge of processed/" + _pf + " failed (non-fatal):", _ce2.message);
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          }
+          // Replace old dir with a symlink → EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR. Rename to a temp
+          // name first, create the symlink, then remove the temp. Non-fatal: on any
+          // failure we best-effort restore the original name and leave for manual cleanup.
+          var _oldTriggersTmp = OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR + ".migration-tmp";
+          try {
+            fs.renameSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, _oldTriggersTmp);
+            fs.symlinkSync(EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR, OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+            fs.rmSync(_oldTriggersTmp, { recursive: true, force: true });
+            console.warn("[config] Replaced " + OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR + " with symlink → " + EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+          } catch (_se) {
+            console.error("[config] Symlink replacement of external-triggers/ failed (non-fatal):", _se.message);
+            try {
+              if (!fs.existsSync(OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR)) {
+                fs.renameSync(_oldTriggersTmp, OLD_EXTERNAL_TRIGGERS_DIR);
+              }
+            } catch (_re) {}
+          }
+        } catch (e) {
+          console.error("[config] Migration merge of external-triggers/ failed (non-fatal):", e.message);
+        }
       }
     }
     // daemon.json / daemon-dev.json (lr-eb5a: moved into console/)