diff --git a/src/memory/manager-sync-ops.ts b/src/memory/manager-sync-ops.ts
index e04deeefa..ac2969333 100644
--- a/src/memory/manager-sync-ops.ts
+++ b/src/memory/manager-sync-ops.ts
@@ -55,9 +55,24 @@ const EMBEDDING_CACHE_TABLE = "embedding_cache";
 const SESSION_DIRTY_DEBOUNCE_MS = 5000;
 const SESSION_DELTA_READ_CHUNK_BYTES = 64 * 1024;
 const VECTOR_LOAD_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+const IGNORED_MEMORY_WATCH_DIR_NAMES = new Set([
+  ".git",
+  "node_modules",
+  ".pnpm-store",
+  ".venv",
+  "venv",
+  ".tox",
+  "__pycache__",
+]);
 
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("memory");
 
+function shouldIgnoreMemoryWatchPath(watchPath: string): boolean {
+  const normalized = path.normalize(watchPath);
+  const parts = normalized.split(path.sep).map((segment) => segment.trim().toLowerCase());
+  return parts.some((segment) => IGNORED_MEMORY_WATCH_DIR_NAMES.has(segment));
+}
+
 class MemoryManagerSyncOps {
   [key: string]: any;
   private async ensureVectorReady(dimensions?: number): Promise<boolean> {
@@ -263,24 +278,32 @@ class MemoryManagerSyncOps {
     if (!this.sources.has("memory") || !this.settings.sync.watch || this.watcher) {
       return;
     }
-    const additionalPaths = normalizeExtraMemoryPaths(this.workspaceDir, this.settings.extraPaths)
-      .map((entry) => {
-        try {
-          const stat = fsSync.lstatSync(entry);
-          return stat.isSymbolicLink() ? null : entry;
-        } catch {
-          return null;
-        }
-      })
-      .filter((entry): entry is string => Boolean(entry));
     const watchPaths = new Set<string>([
       path.join(this.workspaceDir, "MEMORY.md"),
       path.join(this.workspaceDir, "memory.md"),
-      path.join(this.workspaceDir, "memory"),
-      ...additionalPaths,
+      path.join(this.workspaceDir, "memory", "**", "*.md"),
     ]);
+    const additionalPaths = normalizeExtraMemoryPaths(this.workspaceDir, this.settings.extraPaths);
+    for (const entry of additionalPaths) {
+      try {
+        const stat = fsSync.lstatSync(entry);
+        if (stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        if (stat.isDirectory()) {
+          watchPaths.add(path.join(entry, "**", "*.md"));
+          continue;
+        }
+        if (stat.isFile() && entry.toLowerCase().endsWith(".md")) {
+          watchPaths.add(entry);
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // Skip missing/unreadable additional paths.
+      }
+    }
     this.watcher = chokidar.watch(Array.from(watchPaths), {
       ignoreInitial: true,
+      ignored: (watchPath) => shouldIgnoreMemoryWatchPath(String(watchPath)),
       awaitWriteFinish: {
         stabilityThreshold: this.settings.sync.watchDebounceMs,
         pollInterval: 100,
diff --git a/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts b/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8f45f256d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { getMemorySearchManager, type MemoryIndexManager } from "./index.js";
+
+const { watchMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  watchMock: vi.fn(() => ({
+    on: vi.fn(),
+    close: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+  })),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("chokidar", () => ({
+  default: { watch: watchMock },
+  watch: watchMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./sqlite-vec.js", () => ({
+  loadSqliteVecExtension: async () => ({ ok: false, error: "sqlite-vec disabled in tests" }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./embeddings.js", () => ({
+  createEmbeddingProvider: async () => ({
+    requestedProvider: "openai",
+    provider: {
+      id: "mock",
+      model: "mock-embed",
+      embedQuery: async () => [1, 0],
+      embedBatch: async (texts: string[]) => texts.map(() => [1, 0]),
+    },
+  }),
+}));
+
+describe("memory watcher config", () => {
+  let manager: MemoryIndexManager | null = null;
+  let workspaceDir = "";
+  let extraDir = "";
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    watchMock.mockClear();
+    if (manager) {
+      await manager.close();
+      manager = null;
+    }
+    if (workspaceDir) {
+      await fs.rm(workspaceDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      workspaceDir = "";
+      extraDir = "";
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("watches markdown globs and ignores dependency directories", async () => {
+    workspaceDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "openclaw-memory-watch-"));
+    extraDir = path.join(workspaceDir, "extra");
+    await fs.mkdir(path.join(workspaceDir, "memory"), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.mkdir(extraDir, { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(extraDir, "notes.md"), "hello");
+
+    const cfg = {
+      agents: {
+        defaults: {
+          workspace: workspaceDir,
+          memorySearch: {
+            provider: "openai",
+            model: "mock-embed",
+            store: { path: path.join(workspaceDir, "index.sqlite"), vector: { enabled: false } },
+            sync: { watch: true, watchDebounceMs: 25, onSessionStart: false, onSearch: false },
+            query: { minScore: 0, hybrid: { enabled: false } },
+            extraPaths: [extraDir],
+          },
+        },
+        list: [{ id: "main", default: true }],
+      },
+    };
+
+    const result = await getMemorySearchManager({ cfg, agentId: "main" });
+    expect(result.manager).not.toBeNull();
+    if (!result.manager) {
+      throw new Error("manager missing");
+    }
+    manager = result.manager;
+
+    expect(watchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const [watchedPaths, options] = watchMock.mock.calls[0] as [string[], Record<string, unknown>];
+    expect(watchedPaths).toEqual(
+      expect.arrayContaining([
+        path.join(workspaceDir, "MEMORY.md"),
+        path.join(workspaceDir, "memory.md"),
+        path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", "**", "*.md"),
+        path.join(extraDir, "**", "*.md"),
+      ]),
+    );
+    expect(options.ignoreInitial).toBe(true);
+    expect(options.awaitWriteFinish).toEqual({ stabilityThreshold: 25, pollInterval: 100 });
+
+    const ignored = options.ignored as ((watchPath: string) => boolean) | undefined;
+    expect(ignored).toBeTypeOf("function");
+    expect(ignored?.(path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", "node_modules", "pkg", "index.md"))).toBe(
+      true,
+    );
+    expect(ignored?.(path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", ".venv", "lib", "python.md"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(ignored?.(path.join(workspaceDir, "memory", "project", "notes.md"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});