diff --git a/src/core/jsonrpc.rs b/src/core/jsonrpc.rs
index 2239fafca..81999797e 100644
--- a/src/core/jsonrpc.rs
+++ b/src/core/jsonrpc.rs
@@ -1819,6 +1819,20 @@ async fn run_server_inner(
                     ),
                     Err(e) => log::warn!("[boot] whatsapp_data::global init failed: {e}"),
                 }
+                // Seed the people store so people controllers + `people_*`
+                // tools can read/write. Without this the process-global stays
+                // empty and every call fails with "people store not
+                // initialised" (Sentry TAURI-RUST-8NM). Sits inside this
+                // Ok(cfg) arm so it inherits the wrong-workspace guard above
+                // (never seed against a Config::default fallback).
+                match crate::openhuman::people::store::init_from_workspace(&cfg.workspace_dir).await
+                {
+                    Ok(_) => log::info!(
+                        "[boot] people::store initialized (workspace={})",
+                        cfg.workspace_dir.display()
+                    ),
+                    Err(e) => log::warn!("[boot] people::store init failed: {e}"),
+                }
                 // Prune legacy bundled skills (dev-workflow / github-issue-crusher
                 // / pr-review-shepherd) that older builds seeded into
                 // <workspace>/skills/. OpenHuman no longer ships bundled defaults;
diff --git a/src/openhuman/people/README.md b/src/openhuman/people/README.md
index f5e087e95..b7e694bca 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/people/README.md
+++ b/src/openhuman/people/README.md
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Dedicated SQLite DB managed by `PeopleStore` (open via `open_at(path)` or `open_
 - `handle_aliases` — `(kind, value)` primary key → `person_id` (FK, `ON DELETE CASCADE`); `value` is the canonicalized form. This table *is* the resolver index.
 - `interactions` — `(person_id, ts, is_outbound, length)` rows the scorer aggregates; indexed by `(person_id, ts DESC)` and `ts DESC`.
 
-Migrations are tracked in `_people_migrations` and applied idempotently in a transaction. The store is exposed process-globally through a `tokio::sync::OnceCell` (`init` once at startup, `get` from controller handlers). Note: no `people::store::init` call was found outside the module — controller handlers will return "people store not initialised" until something seeds it.
+Migrations are tracked in `_people_migrations` and applied idempotently in a transaction. The store is exposed process-globally through a `tokio::sync::OnceCell` (`get` from controller handlers). Core boot seeds it via `store::init_from_workspace(workspace_dir)` (`src/core/jsonrpc.rs`, alongside `memory::global` and `whatsapp_data::global`), opening `<workspace>/people/people.db`; tests construct stores directly with `open_in_memory`.
 
 ## Dependencies
 
diff --git a/src/openhuman/people/store.rs b/src/openhuman/people/store.rs
index 179214515..008cfa20e 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/people/store.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/people/store.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,33 @@ pub async fn init(store: Arc<PeopleStore>) -> Result<(), &'static str> {
         .map_err(|_| "people store already initialised")
 }
 
+/// Seed the process-global store from a workspace directory, opening the
+/// on-disk db at `<workspace>/people/people.db` (schema migrations run on
+/// open). Idempotent: a second call — or a concurrent boot path — is a no-op
+/// that returns the already-seeded store rather than erroring.
+///
+/// Wired into core boot (`src/core/jsonrpc.rs`) alongside `memory::global` and
+/// `whatsapp_data::global`. Without this seed the global stays empty and every
+/// people controller / `people_*` tool fails with "people store not
+/// initialised" (Sentry TAURI-RUST-8NM).
+pub async fn init_from_workspace(
+    workspace_dir: &std::path::Path,
+) -> Result<Arc<PeopleStore>, String> {
+    if let Some(existing) = GLOBAL.get() {
+        log::debug!("[people:store] already initialised");
+        return Ok(existing.clone());
+    }
+    let db_path = workspace_dir.join("people").join("people.db");
+    let store = Arc::new(
+        PeopleStore::open_at(&db_path).map_err(|e| format!("people store open failed: {e}"))?,
+    );
+    // Race-resolve: another caller may have seeded while we were opening.
+    match GLOBAL.set(store.clone()) {
+        Ok(()) => Ok(store),
+        Err(_) => Ok(GLOBAL.get().cloned().unwrap_or(store)),
+    }
+}
+
 pub fn get() -> Result<Arc<PeopleStore>, &'static str> {
     GLOBAL
         .get()
diff --git a/src/openhuman/people/tests.rs b/src/openhuman/people/tests.rs
index 4a7a5828b..7608e5cb5 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/people/tests.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/people/tests.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 //! Cross-file integration tests for the people domain.
 
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
 use chrono::Utc;
 
 use crate::openhuman::people::address_book;
@@ -57,6 +59,31 @@ fn schema_exposes_four_controllers() {
     assert_eq!(names.len(), 4);
 }
 
+/// Regression for Sentry TAURI-RUST-8NM: the process-global people store was
+/// never seeded at boot, so `store::get()` (and every `people_*` tool /
+/// controller) always failed with "people store not initialised". Boot now
+/// calls `init_from_workspace`; verify it seeds the global, creates the on-disk
+/// db, and is idempotent.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn init_from_workspace_seeds_global_store() {
+    use crate::openhuman::people::store;
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let store = store::init_from_workspace(tmp.path()).await.unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        tmp.path().join("people").join("people.db").exists(),
+        "boot seed must create <workspace>/people/people.db"
+    );
+
+    // The previously-dead global is now reachable — this is the fix.
+    let via_global = store::get().expect("people store reachable after boot seed");
+    assert!(Arc::ptr_eq(&store, &via_global));
+
+    // Idempotent: a second seed returns the same instance, never errors.
+    let again = store::init_from_workspace(tmp.path()).await.unwrap();
+    assert!(Arc::ptr_eq(&store, &again));
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn person_id_uuid_format() {
     let id = PersonId::new();