diff --git a/cmd/options.go b/cmd/options.go
index 8326de88..9e686207 100644
--- a/cmd/options.go
+++ b/cmd/options.go
@@ -432,6 +432,10 @@ func configureSessionHeavy(sess *engine.Session) {
 	// Memory initialization touches persisted state and optional bridges.
 	enhancedMem := memory.NewEnhancedMemoryManager(cwd)
 	if enhancedMem.Yaad.Ready() {
+		// Periodic yaad snapshots only for long-lived sessions — short-lived
+		// diagnostic bridges skip scheduling entirely.
+		enhancedMem.Yaad.EnsureBackups()
+
 		sess.MemorySvc().SetMemory(enhancedMem)
 		sess.MemorySvc().SetYaad(enhancedMem.Yaad)
 		sess.MemorySvc().SetEnhanced(enhancedMem)
diff --git a/external/yaad b/external/yaad
index 8bc7a83d..fbc04665 160000
--- a/external/yaad
+++ b/external/yaad
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 8bc7a83d4a72e021b3d3a854546340a2bb68b7d7
+Subproject commit fbc04665cca69a56defee566a80404ed399127ba
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 7fedc4a7..6a86554f 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/GrayCodeAI/inspect v0.0.0-20260726091806-08f3151d5738
 	github.com/GrayCodeAI/sight v0.0.0-20260726091804-84c96edfc589
 	github.com/GrayCodeAI/tok v0.1.5-0.20260812042126-622cafb3bd1b
-	github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815092111-8bc7a83d4a72
+	github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815132449-fbc04665cca6
 	github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2 v2.26.1
 	github.com/bwmarrin/discordgo v0.28.1
 	github.com/charmbracelet/x/ansi v0.11.7
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 075e1a9c..d8771348 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ github.com/GrayCodeAI/tok v0.1.5-0.20260812042126-622cafb3bd1b h1:iVEaIbxkbyQ751
 github.com/GrayCodeAI/tok v0.1.5-0.20260812042126-622cafb3bd1b/go.mod h1:/KTHlWg+qg8fDV8qRsLUfp4VKtt5seTyED1byxldBtE=
 github.com/GrayCodeAI/trace v0.1.4-0.20260812042155-a31e98c7d75b h1:xqdfzKQ+wzy7B0aTr14Y7CXply41M7z2LoG/qjO0cYE=
 github.com/GrayCodeAI/trace v0.1.4-0.20260812042155-a31e98c7d75b/go.mod h1:RPt/KV4f2DKezxzqAPe960z3vVmO5eJUGB/ZDlV/sOI=
-github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815092111-8bc7a83d4a72 h1:WPHUhoPW3jay4VbYgRxLHOAFXKKFmgm08FtKFhRPRns=
-github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815092111-8bc7a83d4a72/go.mod h1:oL8Wr0JPEtayrKrQxVqVUQODDQ8g8YjzUadETQVE55A=
+github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815132449-fbc04665cca6 h1:Udda7o9RremeNJ4ETwb6Ltu546PsTSS/KoXP/R8VOOU=
+github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad v0.2.1-0.20260815132449-fbc04665cca6/go.mod h1:oL8Wr0JPEtayrKrQxVqVUQODDQ8g8YjzUadETQVE55A=
 github.com/MakeNowJust/heredoc v1.0.0 h1:cXCdzVdstXyiTqTvfqk9SDHpKNjxuom+DOlyEeQ4pzQ=
 github.com/MakeNowJust/heredoc v1.0.0/go.mod h1:mG5amYoWBHf8vpLOuehzbGGw0EHxpZZ6lCpQ4fNJ8LE=
 github.com/Masterminds/semver/v3 v3.5.0 h1:kQceYJfbupGfZOKZQg0kou0DgAKhzDg2NZPAwZ/2OOE=
diff --git a/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge.go b/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge.go
index 93921894..f608df04 100644
--- a/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge.go
+++ b/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge.go
@@ -23,6 +23,27 @@ import (
 	"github.com/GrayCodeAI/yaad/storage"
 )
 
+// Backup tuning for the yaad snapshot scheduler. Snapshots go to
+// ~/.yaad/data/backups/, kept hourly with a bounded window so an idle or
+// crash-prone host always has a recent consistent copy of the memory DB.
+const (
+	yaadBackupDir      = "backups"
+	yaadBackupInterval = time.Hour
+	yaadBackupKeep     = 7
+	yaadBackupMaxAge   = 30 * 24 * time.Hour
+)
+
+// yaadBackupsMu guards yaadBackupDirs. yaadBackupDirs tracks which backup
+// directories already have a running scheduler so the many bridges a host
+// creates (one per callsite) share a single loop per directory instead of
+// stacking duplicate schedulers. Keying on the directory (not a global
+// sync.Once) keeps tests with distinct temp homes isolated and still dedups
+// the repeated NewYaadBridge calls a real host makes against one home.
+var (
+	yaadBackupsMu  sync.Mutex
+	yaadBackupDirs = make(map[string]struct{})
+)
+
 // YaadBridge connects hawk's memory system to the yaad memory graph.
 // If yaad is not initialized (missing DB), operations return a BridgeError
 // and log a warning on first access.
@@ -33,6 +54,9 @@ type YaadBridge struct {
 	ready    bool
 	warnOnce sync.Once
 
+	dbDir       string
+	backupSched *storage.BackupScheduler
+
 	graphSessionID string
 	graphScope     graphcontracts.Scope
 }
@@ -66,9 +90,52 @@ func (b *YaadBridge) init() {
 
 	b.store = store
 	b.engine = eng
+	b.dbDir = dbDir
 	b.ready = true
 }
 
+// EnsureBackups starts the yaad snapshot scheduler for the bridge's database
+// directory. It is called once by the long-lived memory manager at session
+// startup — not from NewYaadBridge — so short-lived bridges (diagnostics,
+// status queries, tests) never leave scheduler goroutines writing into
+// their working directories. The directory is claimed so concurrent or
+// repeated calls reuse one loop; Close releases the claim and stops the
+// loop this bridge started.
+func (b *YaadBridge) EnsureBackups() {
+	if b == nil || !b.ready {
+		return
+	}
+
+	yaadBackupsMu.Lock()
+	if _, busy := yaadBackupDirs[b.dbDir]; busy {
+		yaadBackupsMu.Unlock()
+		return
+	}
+	// Claim the directory under the lock so concurrent callers cannot both
+	// start a scheduler; released on failure so a later caller can retry.
+	yaadBackupDirs[b.dbDir] = struct{}{}
+	yaadBackupsMu.Unlock()
+
+	sched, err := b.store.ScheduleBackups(
+		filepath.Join(b.dbDir, yaadBackupDir),
+		yaadBackupInterval,
+		yaadBackupKeep,
+		yaadBackupMaxAge,
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		yaadBackupsMu.Lock()
+		delete(yaadBackupDirs, b.dbDir)
+		yaadBackupsMu.Unlock()
+		slog.Warn("[hawk/memory] yaad backup scheduler not started", "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	sched.Start()
+
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	b.backupSched = sched
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
 // Ready reports whether the yaad bridge is initialized and usable.
 func (b *YaadBridge) Ready() bool {
 	return b.ready
@@ -673,15 +740,30 @@ func (b *YaadBridge) GetFullContent(ids []string) ([]FullResult, error) {
 }
 
 // Close shuts down the yaad engine and closes the database connection.
+// If this bridge started the backup scheduler, it is stopped here and the
+// directory claim released so a later bridge can restart snapshots.
 func (b *YaadBridge) Close() {
-	if !b.ready {
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	sched := b.backupSched
+	b.backupSched = nil
+	wasReady := b.ready
+	b.ready = false
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if sched != nil {
+		sched.Stop()
+		yaadBackupsMu.Lock()
+		delete(yaadBackupDirs, b.dbDir)
+		yaadBackupsMu.Unlock()
+	}
+
+	if !wasReady {
 		return
 	}
 	b.engine.Close()
 	if b.store != nil {
 		_ = b.store.Close()
 	}
-	b.ready = false
 }
 
 func bridgeDigest(value string) string {
diff --git a/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge_integration_test.go b/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge_integration_test.go
index 5ae9613a..3cae7f93 100644
--- a/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge_integration_test.go
+++ b/internal/intelligence/memory/yaad_bridge_integration_test.go
@@ -172,6 +172,68 @@ func TestYaadBridge_Close(t *testing.T) {
 	_ = b.store.Close()
 }
 
+// TestYaadBridge_EnsureBackups verifies the scheduler is started once per
+// database directory, idempotent across repeated calls, and torn down by
+// Close so a later bridge can restart snapshots.
+func TestYaadBridge_EnsureBackups(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("HOME", dir)
+	_ = os.MkdirAll(dir+"/.yaad/data", 0o755)
+
+	b := NewYaadBridge()
+	if !b.ready {
+		t.Skip("yaad not available")
+	}
+
+	b.EnsureBackups()
+	b.EnsureBackups() // must be a no-op, not a second scheduler
+
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	sched := b.backupSched
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+	if sched == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected backupSched to be set after EnsureBackups")
+	}
+
+	// Second bridge on the same dbDir reuses the existing claim.
+	b2 := NewYaadBridge()
+	if !b2.ready {
+		t.Skip("yaad not available")
+	}
+	b2.EnsureBackups()
+	b2.mu.Lock()
+	dup := b2.backupSched
+	b2.mu.Unlock()
+	if dup != nil {
+		t.Fatal("second bridge must reuse the existing scheduler")
+	}
+	// Close a non-owning bridge: no scheduler to stop, no claim freed.
+	b2.Close()
+
+	b.Close()
+	b.mu.Lock()
+	stopped := b.backupSched == nil
+	b.mu.Unlock()
+	if !stopped {
+		t.Fatal("expected Close to clear the scheduler reference")
+	}
+
+	// After Close the directory claim is released: a fresh bridge can
+	// re-register without error.
+	b3 := NewYaadBridge()
+	if !b3.ready {
+		t.Skip("yaad not available")
+	}
+	b3.EnsureBackups()
+	b3.mu.Lock()
+	restarted := b3.backupSched != nil
+	b3.mu.Unlock()
+	if !restarted {
+		t.Fatal("expected a fresh bridge to start its own scheduler after Close")
+	}
+	b3.Close()
+}
+
 func TestConfidenceTracker_WithBridge(t *testing.T) {
 	b := newTestBridge(t)
 	if !b.ready {