diff --git a/ka-note/VERSION b/ka-note/VERSION
index 6581d43..911e8ab 100644
--- a/ka-note/VERSION
+++ b/ka-note/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.2.17
\ No newline at end of file
+1.2.18
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ka-note/deploy.ps1 b/ka-note/deploy.ps1
index 92b96a6..2796467 100644
--- a/ka-note/deploy.ps1
+++ b/ka-note/deploy.ps1
@@ -42,6 +42,22 @@ $BackupDir  = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "backups"
 $null = New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $BackupDir -Force
 $BackupFile = Join-Path $BackupDir ("ka-note-pre-deploy-$VERSION.db")
 
+# Flush WAL before download so the snapshot is consistent (WAL file not included in Kudu download).
+$AppUrl = "https://$APP.azurewebsites.net"
+if ($env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
+  Write-Host "  Flushing WAL checkpoint before download..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+  try {
+    $cpResult = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$AppUrl/api/admin/checkpoint" -Method POST `
+      -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY" } `
+      -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 30
+    Write-Host "  Checkpoint: $($cpResult.checkpointed)/$($cpResult.log) pages" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+  } catch {
+    Write-Host "  Checkpoint call failed (continuing anyway): $_" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+  }
+} else {
+  Write-Host "  KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY not set, skipping WAL checkpoint" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+}
+
 Write-Host "  Downloading ka-note.db from prod..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
 try {
   Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $KuduDbUrl `
@@ -107,7 +123,6 @@ az webapp config appsettings set --name $APP --resource-group $RG --settings `
   AZURE_TENANT_ID=$env:AZURE_TENANT_ID | Out-Null
 
 Write-Host "=== Graceful DB shutdown ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
-$AppUrl = "https://$APP.azurewebsites.net"
 if ($env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
   try {
     Write-Host "  Waking up app..." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
@@ -117,7 +132,9 @@ if ($env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY) {
       -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:KA_NOTE_DEPLOY_API_KEY" } `
       -UseBasicParsing -TimeoutSec 30
     Write-Host "  Shutdown response: $($shutdownResult.message)" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
-    Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
+    # Shutdown does WAL checkpoint synchronously before responding, then closes DB after 500ms.
+    # Wait 10s to ensure clean close before Azure kills the container.
+    Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
   } catch {
     Write-Host "  Shutdown call failed (continuing anyway): $_" -ForegroundColor Yellow
   }
diff --git a/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-shm b/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-shm
index 35530bc..4e0fd2b 100644
Binary files a/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-shm and b/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-shm differ
diff --git a/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-wal b/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-wal
index 5752428..24bc4c6 100644
Binary files a/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-wal and b/ka-note/server/ka-note.db-wal differ
diff --git a/ka-note/server/src/routes/admin.ts b/ka-note/server/src/routes/admin.ts
index d3134fd..e62f996 100644
--- a/ka-note/server/src/routes/admin.ts
+++ b/ka-note/server/src/routes/admin.ts
@@ -33,20 +33,37 @@ admin.get('/stats', handle('admin/stats', async (c) => {
   return c.json({ contextCount, topicCount });
 }));
 
+// Flush WAL to main DB file. Call before downloading the DB via Kudu.
+admin.post('/checkpoint', handle('admin/checkpoint', async (c) => {
+  console.log('[admin] checkpoint requested');
+  const result = sqlite.pragma('wal_checkpoint(FULL)', { simple: false }) as { blocking: number; log: number; checkpointed: number }[];
+  const { log, checkpointed } = result[0];
+  console.log(`[admin] checkpoint done: ${checkpointed}/${log} pages`);
+  return c.json({ ok: true, log, checkpointed });
+}));
+
 // Graceful shutdown: checkpoint WAL, close DB, exit.
 // Call from deploy pipeline before restarting the container.
 admin.post('/shutdown', handle('admin/shutdown', async (c) => {
   console.log('[admin] shutdown requested via API');
+  // Checkpoint synchronously before sending response — guarantees WAL is flushed
+  // even if the container is killed shortly after.
+  try {
+    sqlite.pragma('wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
+    console.log('[admin] WAL checkpointed');
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error('[admin] checkpoint error during shutdown:', e);
+  }
+  // Close DB and exit after response has been flushed (500ms buffer).
   setTimeout(() => {
     try {
-      sqlite.pragma('wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
       sqlite.close();
       console.log('[admin] database closed cleanly, exiting');
     } catch (e) {
-      console.error('[admin] error during shutdown:', e);
+      console.error('[admin] close error during shutdown:', e);
     }
     process.exit(0);
-  }, 100);
+  }, 500);
   return c.json({ ok: true, message: 'shutting down' });
 }));