diff --git a/docs/concepts/memory.md b/docs/concepts/memory.md
index 17ea903df..90463d005 100644
--- a/docs/concepts/memory.md
+++ b/docs/concepts/memory.md
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ out to QMD for retrieval. Key points:
   stable `name`).
 - `sessions`: opt into session JSONL indexing (`enabled`, `retentionDays`,
   `exportDir`).
-- `update`: controls refresh cadence (`interval`, `debounceMs`, `onBoot`).
+- `update`: controls refresh cadence (`interval`, `debounceMs`, `onBoot`, `embedInterval`).
 - `limits`: clamp recall payload (`maxResults`, `maxSnippetChars`,
   `maxInjectedChars`, `timeoutMs`).
 - `scope`: same schema as [`session.sendPolicy`](/reference/configuration#session-sendpolicy).
diff --git a/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts b/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
index f6643bb67..1cf5b3356 100644
--- a/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
+++ b/src/agents/tools/memory-tool.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,10 @@ export function createMemorySearchTool(options: {
       }
       try {
         const citationsMode = resolveMemoryCitationsMode(cfg);
-        const includeCitations = citationsMode !== "off";
+        const includeCitations = shouldIncludeCitations({
+          mode: citationsMode,
+          sessionKey: options.agentSessionKey,
+        });
         const rawResults = await manager.search(query, {
           maxResults,
           minScore,
@@ -141,3 +144,21 @@ function formatCitation(entry: MemorySearchResult): string {
       : `#L${entry.startLine}-L${entry.endLine}`;
   return `${entry.path}${lineRange}`;
 }
+
+function shouldIncludeCitations(params: {
+  mode: MemoryCitationsMode;
+  sessionKey?: string;
+}): boolean {
+  if (params.mode === "on") return true;
+  if (params.mode === "off") return false;
+  // auto: show citations in direct chats; suppress in groups/channels by default.
+  const chatType = deriveChatTypeFromSessionKey(params.sessionKey);
+  return chatType === "direct";
+}
+
+function deriveChatTypeFromSessionKey(sessionKey?: string): "direct" | "group" | "channel" {
+  if (!sessionKey) return "direct";
+  if (sessionKey.includes(":group:")) return "group";
+  if (sessionKey.includes(":channel:")) return "channel";
+  return "direct";
+}
diff --git a/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts b/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
index 1eb77980f..4605a2a69 100644
--- a/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/memory-cli.test.ts
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ describe("memory cli", () => {
     await program.parseAsync(["memory", "status", "--index"], { from: "user" });
 
     expect(sync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: true, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: false, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
     );
     expect(probeEmbeddingAvailability).toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ describe("memory cli", () => {
     await program.parseAsync(["memory", "index"], { from: "user" });
 
     expect(sync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: true, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: false, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
     );
     expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(log).toHaveBeenCalledWith("Memory index updated (main).");
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ describe("memory cli", () => {
     await program.parseAsync(["memory", "index"], { from: "user" });
 
     expect(sync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: true, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ reason: "cli", force: false, progress: expect.any(Function) }),
     );
     expect(close).toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
diff --git a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
index 16520a49d..59a6b9417 100644
--- a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ type MemoryCommandOptions = {
   json?: boolean;
   deep?: boolean;
   index?: boolean;
+  force?: boolean;
   verbose?: boolean;
 };
 
@@ -287,7 +288,7 @@ export async function runMemoryStatus(opts: MemoryCommandOptions) {
                 try {
                   await syncFn({
                     reason: "cli",
-                    force: true,
+                    force: Boolean(opts.force),
                     progress: (syncUpdate) => {
                       update({
                         completed: syncUpdate.completed,
@@ -495,7 +496,7 @@ export function registerMemoryCli(program: Command) {
     .option("--deep", "Probe embedding provider availability")
     .option("--index", "Reindex if dirty (implies --deep)")
     .option("--verbose", "Verbose logging", false)
-    .action(async (opts: MemoryCommandOptions) => {
+    .action(async (opts: MemoryCommandOptions & { force?: boolean }) => {
       await runMemoryStatus(opts);
     });
 
@@ -503,6 +504,7 @@ export function registerMemoryCli(program: Command) {
     .command("index")
     .description("Reindex memory files")
     .option("--agent <id>", "Agent id (default: default agent)")
+    .option("--force", "Force full reindex", false)
     .option("--verbose", "Verbose logging", false)
     .action(async (opts: MemoryCommandOptions) => {
       setVerbose(Boolean(opts.verbose));
@@ -605,7 +607,7 @@ export function registerMemoryCli(program: Command) {
                   try {
                     await syncFn({
                       reason: "cli",
-                      force: true,
+                      force: Boolean(opts.force),
                       progress: (syncUpdate) => {
                         if (syncUpdate.label) {
                           lastLabel = syncUpdate.label;
diff --git a/src/config/schema.ts b/src/config/schema.ts
index edc203d3d..61708c9d0 100644
--- a/src/config/schema.ts
+++ b/src/config/schema.ts
@@ -269,6 +269,7 @@ const FIELD_LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
   "memory.qmd.update.interval": "QMD Update Interval",
   "memory.qmd.update.debounceMs": "QMD Update Debounce (ms)",
   "memory.qmd.update.onBoot": "QMD Update on Startup",
+  "memory.qmd.update.embedInterval": "QMD Embed Interval",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxResults": "QMD Max Results",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxSnippetChars": "QMD Max Snippet Chars",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxInjectedChars": "QMD Max Injected Chars",
@@ -591,6 +592,8 @@ const FIELD_HELP: Record<string, string> = {
   "memory.qmd.update.debounceMs":
     "Minimum delay between successive QMD refresh runs (default: 15000).",
   "memory.qmd.update.onBoot": "Run QMD update once on gateway startup (default: true).",
+  "memory.qmd.update.embedInterval":
+    "How often QMD embeddings are refreshed (duration string, default: 60m). Set to 0 to disable periodic embed.",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxResults": "Max QMD results returned to the agent loop (default: 6).",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxSnippetChars": "Max characters per snippet pulled from QMD (default: 700).",
   "memory.qmd.limits.maxInjectedChars": "Max total characters injected from QMD hits per turn.",
diff --git a/src/config/types.memory.ts b/src/config/types.memory.ts
index dad2f9784..2fc185200 100644
--- a/src/config/types.memory.ts
+++ b/src/config/types.memory.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ export type MemoryQmdUpdateConfig = {
   interval?: string;
   debounceMs?: number;
   onBoot?: boolean;
+  embedInterval?: string;
 };
 
 export type MemoryQmdLimitsConfig = {
diff --git a/src/config/zod-schema.ts b/src/config/zod-schema.ts
index 1fb4c923c..af6668979 100644
--- a/src/config/zod-schema.ts
+++ b/src/config/zod-schema.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ const MemoryQmdUpdateSchema = z
     interval: z.string().optional(),
     debounceMs: z.number().int().nonnegative().optional(),
     onBoot: z.boolean().optional(),
+    embedInterval: z.string().optional(),
   })
   .strict();
 
diff --git a/src/memory/backend-config.ts b/src/memory/backend-config.ts
index 15851ef29..2510d16c3 100644
--- a/src/memory/backend-config.ts
+++ b/src/memory/backend-config.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ export type ResolvedQmdUpdateConfig = {
   intervalMs: number;
   debounceMs: number;
   onBoot: boolean;
+  embedIntervalMs: number;
 };
 
 export type ResolvedQmdLimitsConfig = {
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ const DEFAULT_CITATIONS: MemoryCitationsMode = "auto";
 const DEFAULT_QMD_INTERVAL = "5m";
 const DEFAULT_QMD_DEBOUNCE_MS = 15_000;
 const DEFAULT_QMD_TIMEOUT_MS = 4_000;
+const DEFAULT_QMD_EMBED_INTERVAL = "60m";
 const DEFAULT_QMD_LIMITS: ResolvedQmdLimitsConfig = {
   maxResults: 6,
   maxSnippetChars: 700,
@@ -115,6 +117,16 @@ function resolveIntervalMs(raw: string | undefined): number {
   }
 }
 
+function resolveEmbedIntervalMs(raw: string | undefined): number {
+  const value = raw?.trim();
+  if (!value) return parseDurationMs(DEFAULT_QMD_EMBED_INTERVAL, { defaultUnit: "m" });
+  try {
+    return parseDurationMs(value, { defaultUnit: "m" });
+  } catch {
+    return parseDurationMs(DEFAULT_QMD_EMBED_INTERVAL, { defaultUnit: "m" });
+  }
+}
+
 function resolveDebounceMs(raw: number | undefined): number {
   if (typeof raw === "number" && Number.isFinite(raw) && raw >= 0) {
     return Math.floor(raw);
@@ -221,7 +233,7 @@ export function resolveMemoryBackendConfig(params: {
   ];
 
   const resolved: ResolvedQmdConfig = {
-    command: qmdCfg?.command?.trim() || "qmd",
+    command: (qmdCfg?.command?.trim() || "qmd").split(/\s+/)[0] || "qmd",
     collections,
     includeDefaultMemory,
     sessions: resolveSessionConfig(qmdCfg?.sessions, workspaceDir),
@@ -229,6 +241,7 @@ export function resolveMemoryBackendConfig(params: {
       intervalMs: resolveIntervalMs(qmdCfg?.update?.interval),
       debounceMs: resolveDebounceMs(qmdCfg?.update?.debounceMs),
       onBoot: qmdCfg?.update?.onBoot !== false,
+      embedIntervalMs: resolveEmbedIntervalMs(qmdCfg?.update?.embedInterval),
     },
     limits: resolveLimits(qmdCfg?.limits),
     scope: qmdCfg?.scope ?? DEFAULT_QMD_SCOPE,
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
index 4fcbb0c9f..c91a4dc4e 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ describe("QmdMemoryManager", () => {
       Date.now() - (resolved.qmd?.update.debounceMs ?? 0) - 10;
 
     await manager.sync({ reason: "after-wait" });
-    expect(spawnMock.mock.calls.length).toBe(baselineCalls + 4);
+    // By default we refresh embeddings less frequently than index updates.
+    expect(spawnMock.mock.calls.length).toBe(baselineCalls + 3);
 
     await manager.close();
   });
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
index 003a6ca36..c984aa238 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
   private closed = false;
   private db: SqliteDatabase | null = null;
   private lastUpdateAt: number | null = null;
+  private lastEmbedAt: number | null = null;
 
   private constructor(params: {
     cfg: MoltbotConfig;
@@ -165,9 +166,27 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
 
   private async ensureCollections(): Promise<void> {
     // QMD collections are persisted inside the index database and must be created
-    // via the CLI. The YAML file format is not supported by the QMD builds we
-    // target, so we ensure collections exist by running `qmd collection add`.
+    // via the CLI. Prefer listing existing collections when supported, otherwise
+    // fall back to best-effort idempotent `qmd collection add`.
+    const existing = new Set<string>();
+    try {
+      const result = await this.runQmd(["collection", "list", "--json"]);
+      const parsed = JSON.parse(result.stdout) as unknown;
+      if (Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+        for (const entry of parsed) {
+          if (typeof entry === "string") existing.add(entry);
+          else if (entry && typeof entry === "object") {
+            const name = (entry as { name?: unknown }).name;
+            if (typeof name === "string") existing.add(name);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // ignore; older qmd versions might not support list --json.
+    }
+
     for (const collection of this.qmd.collections) {
+      if (existing.has(collection.name)) continue;
       try {
         await this.runQmd([
           "collection",
@@ -181,7 +200,8 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
       } catch (err) {
         const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
         // Idempotency: qmd exits non-zero if the collection name already exists.
-        if (message.includes("already exists")) continue;
+        if (message.toLowerCase().includes("already exists")) continue;
+        if (message.toLowerCase().includes("exists")) continue;
         log.warn(`qmd collection add failed for ${collection.name}: ${message}`);
       }
     }
@@ -335,10 +355,18 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
         await this.exportSessions();
       }
       await this.runQmd(["update"], { timeoutMs: 120_000 });
-      try {
-        await this.runQmd(["embed"], { timeoutMs: 120_000 });
-      } catch (err) {
-        log.warn(`qmd embed failed (${reason}): ${String(err)}`);
+      const embedIntervalMs = this.qmd.update.embedIntervalMs;
+      const shouldEmbed =
+        Boolean(force) ||
+        this.lastEmbedAt === null ||
+        (embedIntervalMs > 0 && Date.now() - this.lastEmbedAt > embedIntervalMs);
+      if (shouldEmbed) {
+        try {
+          await this.runQmd(["embed"], { timeoutMs: 120_000 });
+          this.lastEmbedAt = Date.now();
+        } catch (err) {
+          log.warn(`qmd embed failed (${reason}): ${String(err)}`);
+        }
       }
       this.lastUpdateAt = Date.now();
       this.docPathCache.clear();
diff --git a/src/memory/session-files.ts b/src/memory/session-files.ts
index 1823e9669..195424a9e 100644
--- a/src/memory/session-files.ts
+++ b/src/memory/session-files.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveSessionTranscriptsDirForAgent } from "../config/sessions/paths.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
+import { redactSensitiveText } from "../logging/redact.js";
 import { hashText } from "./internal.js";
 
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("memory");
@@ -104,8 +105,9 @@ export async function buildSessionEntry(absPath: string): Promise<SessionFileEnt
       if (!text) {
         continue;
       }
+      const safe = redactSensitiveText(text, { mode: "tools" });
       const label = message.role === "user" ? "User" : "Assistant";
-      collected.push(`${label}: ${text}`);
+      collected.push(`${label}: ${safe}`);
     }
     const content = collected.join("\n");
     return {