diff --git a/Makefile.cbm b/Makefile.cbm
index 6bc1eb12..cd91ed22 100644
--- a/Makefile.cbm
+++ b/Makefile.cbm
@@ -279,7 +279,8 @@ TEST_STORE_SRCS = \
     tests/test_store_edges.c \
     tests/test_store_search.c \
     tests/test_store_arch.c \
-    tests/test_store_bulk.c
+    tests/test_store_bulk.c \
+    tests/test_store_checkpoint.c
 
 TEST_CYPHER_SRCS = \
     tests/test_cypher.c
diff --git a/src/store/store.c b/src/store/store.c
index 5d73dcce..63a2fc7b 100644
--- a/src/store/store.c
+++ b/src/store/store.c
@@ -790,7 +790,13 @@ int cbm_store_create_indexes(cbm_store_t *s) {
 /* ── Checkpoint ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 int cbm_store_checkpoint(cbm_store_t *s) {
-    int rc = sqlite3_wal_checkpoint_v2(s->db, NULL, SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_TRUNCATE, NULL, NULL);
+    /* PASSIVE never blocks readers and never ftruncate()s either file.
+     * SQLite recommends PASSIVE for shared databases — TRUNCATE shrinks
+     * the WAL via ftruncate(fd, 0) on success, which on macOS can raise
+     * SIGBUS in a sibling process that has the DB mmap'd through SQLite
+     * when it next faults a page in the now-shorter region.
+     * See https://www.sqlite.org/c3ref/c_checkpoint_full.html */
+    int rc = sqlite3_wal_checkpoint_v2(s->db, NULL, SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_PASSIVE, NULL, NULL);
     if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
         store_set_error_sqlite(s, "checkpoint");
         return CBM_STORE_ERR;
diff --git a/tests/test_main.c b/tests/test_main.c
index 6796f8c3..ac2248ad 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.c
+++ b/tests/test_main.c
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ extern void suite_go_lsp(void);
 extern void suite_c_lsp(void);
 extern void suite_store_arch(void);
 extern void suite_store_bulk(void);
+extern void suite_store_checkpoint(void);
 extern void suite_traces(void);
 extern void suite_configlink(void);
 extern void suite_infrascan(void);
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ int main(void) {
     RUN_SUITE(store_edges);
     RUN_SUITE(store_search);
     RUN_SUITE(store_bulk);
+    RUN_SUITE(store_checkpoint);
 
     /* Cypher (M6) */
     RUN_SUITE(cypher);
diff --git a/tests/test_store_checkpoint.c b/tests/test_store_checkpoint.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d3ed8d1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_store_checkpoint.c
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/*
+ * test_store_checkpoint.c — Tests for WAL checkpoint behavior.
+ *
+ * Verifies that cbm_store_checkpoint() does not truncate the on-disk
+ * WAL file. SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_TRUNCATE shrinks the WAL via ftruncate(fd, 0)
+ * on success; on macOS this can raise SIGBUS in a sibling process that
+ * has the DB mmap'd through SQLite when it next faults a page in the
+ * now-shorter region. SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_PASSIVE marks frames as
+ * checkpointed in the WAL header without changing the file size — disk
+ * space is reclaimed on the next write cycle, not on every checkpoint.
+ */
+#include "../src/foundation/compat.h"
+#include "test_framework.h"
+#include "test_helpers.h"
+#include <store/store.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+
+TEST(checkpoint_does_not_truncate_wal) {
+    enum { N_ROWS = 100, PATH_BUF = 256, PATH_BUF_EXT = 300 };
+    char db_path[PATH_BUF];
+    snprintf(db_path, sizeof(db_path), "/tmp/cbm_test_ckpt_%d.db", (int)getpid());
+    char wal_path[PATH_BUF_EXT];
+    snprintf(wal_path, sizeof(wal_path), "%s-wal", db_path);
+    char shm_path[PATH_BUF_EXT];
+    snprintf(shm_path, sizeof(shm_path), "%s-shm", db_path);
+    unlink(db_path);
+    unlink(wal_path);
+    unlink(shm_path);
+
+    cbm_store_t *s = cbm_store_open_path(db_path);
+    ASSERT(s != NULL);
+
+    /* Grow WAL beyond zero bytes via direct SQL. */
+    int rc_sql = cbm_store_exec(
+        s,
+        "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO projects(name, indexed_at, root_path) "
+        "VALUES('p', '2026-01-01', '/tmp/p');");
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc_sql, 0);
+    for (int i = 0; i < N_ROWS; i++) {
+        char sql[256];
+        snprintf(sql, sizeof(sql),
+                 "INSERT INTO nodes(project, label, name, qualified_name, file_path) "
+                 "VALUES('p', 'Function', 'fn', 'p.module.fn_%d', 'f.c');",
+                 i);
+        rc_sql = cbm_store_exec(s, sql);
+        ASSERT_EQ(rc_sql, 0);
+    }
+
+    /* WAL must exist and be non-empty before the checkpoint call. */
+    struct stat st_before;
+    int rc_stat = stat(wal_path, &st_before);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc_stat, 0);
+    ASSERT(st_before.st_size > 0);
+
+    /* Under SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_TRUNCATE the WAL would be ftruncate()d to 0
+     * bytes on success. Under SQLITE_CHECKPOINT_PASSIVE the file size is
+     * preserved (frames marked, not removed). */
+    int rc_ckpt = cbm_store_checkpoint(s);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc_ckpt, 0); /* CBM_STORE_OK */
+
+    struct stat st_after;
+    rc_stat = stat(wal_path, &st_after);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc_stat, 0);
+    ASSERT(st_after.st_size > 0);
+
+    cbm_store_close(s);
+    unlink(db_path);
+    unlink(wal_path);
+    unlink(shm_path);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+SUITE(store_checkpoint) {
+    RUN_TEST(checkpoint_does_not_truncate_wal);
+}