diff --git a/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py b/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
index 4321c9ce417..52c2c73af0d 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/kanban_db.py
@@ -1212,6 +1212,7 @@ def connect(
             # FULL (was NORMAL): fsync before each checkpoint to narrow the
             # crash window that can leave a b-tree page header torn.
             conn.execute("PRAGMA synchronous=FULL")
+            conn.execute("PRAGMA wal_autocheckpoint=100")
             conn.execute("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON")
             # Zero freed pages so a later torn write cannot expose stale
             # cell content; persisted in the DB header for new DBs.
@@ -1502,6 +1503,45 @@ def _migrate_add_optional_columns(conn: sqlite3.Connection) -> None:
         )
 
 
+def _check_file_length_invariant(conn: sqlite3.Connection) -> None:
+    """Read the SQLite header page_count and compare against actual file size.
+
+    Raises sqlite3.DatabaseError if the file is shorter than the header claims
+    (torn-extend corruption).
+    """
+    try:
+        row = conn.execute("PRAGMA database_list").fetchone()
+        if row is None:
+            return
+        path_str = row[2]  # column 2 is the file path; empty for in-memory DBs
+        if not path_str:
+            return  # in-memory or unnamed DB; skip
+        path = path_str
+        page_size = conn.execute("PRAGMA page_size").fetchone()[0]
+        file_size = os.path.getsize(path)
+        with open(path, "rb") as f:
+            f.seek(28)
+            header_bytes = f.read(4)
+        if len(header_bytes) < 4:
+            return  # can't read header; skip
+        header_page_count = int.from_bytes(header_bytes, "big")
+        if header_page_count == 0:
+            return  # new/empty DB; skip
+        actual_pages = file_size // page_size
+        if actual_pages < header_page_count:
+            raise sqlite3.DatabaseError(
+                f"torn-extend detected: page count mismatch on {path}: "
+                f"header claims {header_page_count} pages, "
+                f"file has {actual_pages} pages "
+                f"(missing {header_page_count - actual_pages} pages, "
+                f"file_size={file_size}, page_size={page_size})"
+            )
+    except sqlite3.DatabaseError:
+        raise
+    except Exception:
+        pass  # I/O errors during check are non-fatal; let normal ops continue
+
+
 @contextlib.contextmanager
 def write_txn(conn: sqlite3.Connection):
     """Context manager for an IMMEDIATE write transaction.
@@ -1528,6 +1568,9 @@ def write_txn(conn: sqlite3.Connection):
         raise
     else:
         conn.execute("COMMIT")
+        # Post-commit file-length check: header page_count must match actual file pages.
+        # A discrepancy means a torn-extend — raise now rather than silently corrupt.
+        _check_file_length_invariant(conn)
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
index af3302cc6f3..f591ed9982c 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_kanban_db.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import concurrent.futures
 import os
 import sqlite3
 import time
+import unittest.mock
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import pytest
@@ -3548,3 +3549,106 @@ def test_write_txn_preserves_original_exception_when_rollback_fails(kanban_home)
         f"write_txn surfaced the rollback failure instead of the original "
         f"OperationalError; got {msg!r}"
     )
+def test_write_txn_healthy_commit_no_exception(tmp_path):
+    """Normal commit does not trigger the torn-extend check."""
+    from hermes_cli.kanban_db import connect, write_txn, create_task
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    conn = connect(db_path=db)
+    # Should not raise
+    with write_txn(conn) as c:
+        c.execute(
+            "INSERT INTO tasks (id, title, assignee, status, priority, created_at) "
+            "VALUES ('t_test01', 'test task', 'tester', 'todo', 0, 1234567890)"
+        )
+    row = conn.execute("SELECT title FROM tasks WHERE id='t_test01'").fetchone()
+    assert row["title"] == "test task"
+    conn.close()
+
+
+def test_write_txn_raises_on_truncated_file(tmp_path):
+    """A mocked smaller file size triggers the torn-extend check."""
+    from hermes_cli.kanban_db import connect, write_txn
+    import hermes_cli.kanban_db as kanban_db_module
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    conn = connect(db_path=db)
+    # Get actual page size so we can fake a smaller file
+    page_size = conn.execute("PRAGMA page_size").fetchone()[0]
+    original_getsize = os.path.getsize
+
+    def fake_getsize(path):
+        # Return a size that implies at least 1 fewer page than header claims
+        real_size = original_getsize(path)
+        return max(0, real_size - page_size)
+
+    with pytest.raises(sqlite3.DatabaseError, match="torn-extend|page count mismatch"):
+        with unittest.mock.patch("hermes_cli.kanban_db.os.path.getsize", side_effect=fake_getsize):
+            with write_txn(conn) as c:
+                c.execute(
+                    "INSERT INTO tasks (id, title, assignee, status, priority, created_at) "
+                    "VALUES ('t_test02', 'test task 2', 'tester', 'todo', 0, 1234567890)"
+                )
+    conn.close()
+
+
+def test_write_txn_post_commit_check_fires_every_call(tmp_path):
+    """The invariant check runs on every write_txn call."""
+    from hermes_cli.kanban_db import connect, write_txn
+    import hermes_cli.kanban_db as kanban_db_module
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    conn = connect(db_path=db)
+    call_count = 0
+    real_check = kanban_db_module._check_file_length_invariant
+
+    def counting_check(c):
+        nonlocal call_count
+        call_count += 1
+        real_check(c)
+
+    with unittest.mock.patch.object(kanban_db_module, "_check_file_length_invariant", counting_check):
+        for i in range(3):
+            with write_txn(conn) as c:
+                c.execute(
+                    f"INSERT INTO tasks (id, title, assignee, status, priority, created_at) "
+                    f"VALUES ('t_fire{i:02d}', 'task {i}', 'tester', 'todo', 0, 1234567890)"
+                )
+    assert call_count == 3
+    conn.close()
+
+
+def test_connect_sets_wal_autocheckpoint_100(tmp_path):
+    """connect() sets wal_autocheckpoint to 100."""
+    from hermes_cli.kanban_db import connect
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    conn = connect(db_path=db)
+    val = conn.execute("PRAGMA wal_autocheckpoint").fetchone()[0]
+    assert val == 100
+    conn.close()
+
+
+def test_write_txn_check_reads_correct_header_fields(tmp_path):
+    """Synthetic DB file with mismatched header page_count triggers the check."""
+    import struct
+    from hermes_cli.kanban_db import connect, write_txn, _check_file_length_invariant
+    db = tmp_path / "synthetic.db"
+    conn = connect(db_path=db)
+    page_size = conn.execute("PRAGMA page_size").fetchone()[0]
+    conn.close()
+    # Now corrupt the file: claim N pages but truncate to N-1 pages
+    with open(db, "rb") as f:
+        data = bytearray(f.read())
+    # Read current page_count from header bytes 28-31
+    real_page_count = struct.unpack(">I", data[28:32])[0]
+    if real_page_count < 2:
+        # Need at least 2 pages to fake a truncation
+        pytest.skip("DB too small for synthetic truncation test")
+    # Truncate to N-1 pages
+    truncated = bytes(data[: (real_page_count - 1) * page_size])
+    with open(db, "wb") as f:
+        f.write(truncated)
+    # Now open and check — should raise
+    # We can't use connect() because _validate_sqlite_header may block; use a raw connection
+    raw_conn = sqlite3.connect(str(db), isolation_level=None)
+    with pytest.raises(sqlite3.DatabaseError, match="torn-extend|page count mismatch"):
+        _check_file_length_invariant(raw_conn)
+    raw_conn.close()
+