diff --git a/internal/database/database.go b/internal/database/database.go
index 1896d1b..8e20ce1 100644
--- a/internal/database/database.go
+++ b/internal/database/database.go
@@ -106,14 +106,13 @@ func New(cfg *config.Config, logger *logger.Logger) (*Database, error) {
 func (d *Database) Initialize() error {
 	// Set SQLite pragmas for performance
 	pragmas := []string{
-		"PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL",         // Write-Ahead Logging
-		"PRAGMA synchronous=OFF",          // Don't wait for disk writes
-		"PRAGMA cache_size=-3145728",      // 3GB cache (upper limit for 2.4GB DB)
-		"PRAGMA temp_store=MEMORY",        // Use memory for temp tables
-		"PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)", // Checkpoint and truncate WAL now
-		"PRAGMA busy_timeout=5000",        // 5 second busy timeout
-		"PRAGMA analysis_limit=0",         // Disable automatic ANALYZE
-		"PRAGMA auto_vacuum=INCREMENTAL",  // Enable incremental vacuum
+		"PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL",        // Write-Ahead Logging
+		"PRAGMA synchronous=OFF",         // Don't wait for disk writes
+		"PRAGMA cache_size=-3145728",     // 3GB cache (upper limit for 2.4GB DB)
+		"PRAGMA temp_store=MEMORY",       // Use memory for temp tables
+		"PRAGMA busy_timeout=5000",       // 5 second busy timeout
+		"PRAGMA analysis_limit=0",        // Disable automatic ANALYZE
+		"PRAGMA auto_vacuum=INCREMENTAL", // Enable incremental vacuum
 	}
 
 	for _, pragma := range pragmas {
@@ -122,7 +121,20 @@ func (d *Database) Initialize() error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	err := d.exec(dbSchema)
+	// Run WAL checkpoint on startup to consolidate any existing WAL
+	var walPages, checkpointedPages, movedPages int
+	err := d.db.QueryRow("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)").Scan(&walPages, &checkpointedPages, &movedPages)
+	if err != nil {
+		d.logger.Warn("Failed to checkpoint WAL on startup", "error", err)
+	} else {
+		d.logger.Info("WAL checkpoint on startup",
+			"wal_pages", walPages,
+			"checkpointed", checkpointedPages,
+			"moved", movedPages,
+		)
+	}
+
+	err = d.exec(dbSchema)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}