diff --git a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
index c4e47ec8d..16520a49d 100644
--- a/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/memory-cli.ts
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ export async function runMemoryStatus(opts: MemoryCommandOptions) {
           | Awaited<ReturnType<typeof manager.probeEmbeddingAvailability>>
           | undefined;
         let indexError: string | undefined;
-        const syncFn = manager.sync;
+        const syncFn = manager.sync ? manager.sync.bind(manager) : undefined;
         if (deep) {
           await withProgress({ label: "Checking memory…", total: 2 }, async (progress) => {
             progress.setLabel("Probing vector…");
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ export function registerMemoryCli(program: Command) {
           },
           run: async (manager) => {
             try {
-              const syncFn = manager.sync;
+              const syncFn = manager.sync ? manager.sync.bind(manager) : undefined;
               if (opts.verbose) {
                 const status = manager.status();
                 const rich = isRich();
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
index 2fd2e2c1b..a465260b4 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 vi.mock("node:child_process", () => {
-  const spawn = vi.fn((cmd: string, _args: string[]) => {
+  const spawn = vi.fn((_cmd: string, _args: string[]) => {
     const stdout = new EventEmitter();
     const stderr = new EventEmitter();
     const child = new EventEmitter() as {
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
index 87fe22729..433ddbcba 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
   private readonly xdgCacheHome: string;
   private readonly collectionsFile: string;
   private readonly indexPath: string;
+  private readonly legacyCollectionsFile: string;
+  private readonly legacyIndexPath: string;
   private readonly env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
   private readonly collectionRoots = new Map<string, CollectionRoot>();
   private readonly sources = new Set<MemorySource>();
@@ -107,6 +109,12 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
     this.xdgCacheHome = path.join(this.qmdDir, "xdg-cache");
     this.collectionsFile = path.join(this.xdgConfigHome, "qmd", "index.yml");
     this.indexPath = path.join(this.xdgCacheHome, "qmd", "index.sqlite");
+
+    // Legacy locations (older builds wrote here). Keep them in sync via symlinks
+    // so upgrades don't strand an empty index.
+    this.legacyCollectionsFile = path.join(this.qmdDir, "config", "index.yml");
+    this.legacyIndexPath = path.join(this.qmdDir, "cache", "index.sqlite");
+
     this.env = {
       ...process.env,
       XDG_CONFIG_HOME: this.xdgConfigHome,
@@ -141,8 +149,13 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
     await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(this.collectionsFile), { recursive: true });
     await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(this.indexPath), { recursive: true });
 
+    // Legacy dirs
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(this.legacyCollectionsFile), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(this.legacyIndexPath), { recursive: true });
+
     this.bootstrapCollections();
     await this.writeCollectionsConfig();
+    await this.ensureLegacyCompatSymlinks();
 
     if (this.qmd.update.onBoot) {
       await this.runUpdate("boot", true);
@@ -176,6 +189,42 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
     }
     const yaml = YAML.stringify({ collections }, { indent: 2, lineWidth: 0 });
     await fs.writeFile(this.collectionsFile, yaml, "utf-8");
+
+    // Also write legacy path so older qmd homes remain usable.
+    await fs.writeFile(this.legacyCollectionsFile, yaml, "utf-8");
+  }
+
+  private async ensureLegacyCompatSymlinks(): Promise<void> {
+    // Best-effort: keep legacy locations pointing at the XDG locations.
+    // This helps when users have old state dirs on disk.
+    try {
+      await fs.rm(this.legacyCollectionsFile, { force: true });
+    } catch {}
+    try {
+      await fs.symlink(this.collectionsFile, this.legacyCollectionsFile);
+    } catch {}
+
+    try {
+      // If a legacy index already exists (from an older version), prefer it by
+      // linking the XDG path to the legacy DB.
+      const legacyExists = await fs
+        .stat(this.legacyIndexPath)
+        .then(() => true)
+        .catch(() => false);
+      const xdgExists = await fs
+        .stat(this.indexPath)
+        .then(() => true)
+        .catch(() => false);
+
+      if (legacyExists && !xdgExists) {
+        await fs.symlink(this.legacyIndexPath, this.indexPath);
+      } else if (!legacyExists && xdgExists) {
+        // nothing to do
+      } else if (!legacyExists && !xdgExists) {
+        // Create an empty file so the path exists for read-only opens later.
+        await fs.writeFile(this.indexPath, "");
+      }
+    } catch {}
   }
 
   async search(
diff --git a/src/memory/search-manager.test.ts b/src/memory/search-manager.test.ts
index f7119caa1..8419d7f2c 100644
--- a/src/memory/search-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/memory/search-manager.test.ts
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ describe("getMemorySearchManager caching", () => {
     const second = await getMemorySearchManager({ cfg, agentId: "main" });
 
     expect(first.manager).toBe(second.manager);
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/unbound-method
     expect(QmdMemoryManager.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/memory/search-manager.ts b/src/memory/search-manager.ts
index 5d98f6451..afd392673 100644
--- a/src/memory/search-manager.ts
+++ b/src/memory/search-manager.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
 import type { MoltbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { resolveMemoryBackendConfig } from "./backend-config.js";
 import type { ResolvedQmdConfig } from "./backend-config.js";
-import type { MemoryIndexManager } from "./manager.js";
 import type {
   MemoryEmbeddingProbeResult,
   MemorySearchManager,