diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index df9404a08..72ee1df3b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4520,7 +4520,7 @@ checksum = "c08d65885ee38876c4f86fa503fb49d7b507c2b62552df7c70b2fce627e06381"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "openhuman"
-version = "0.53.18"
+version = "0.53.19"
 dependencies = [
  "aes-gcm",
  "anyhow",
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index ee198c50a..4fc23443e 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/app/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ version = 4
 
 [[package]]
 name = "OpenHuman"
-version = "0.53.18"
+version = "0.53.19"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-trait",
@@ -4468,7 +4468,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "openhuman"
-version = "0.53.18"
+version = "0.53.19"
 dependencies = [
  "aes-gcm",
  "anyhow",
diff --git a/scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh b/scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..2ede11b80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# memory-tree-progress.sh — live progress monitor for the memory_tree pipeline.
+#
+# Polls the workspace SQLite DB and prints a one-line snapshot every INTERVAL
+# seconds: extract jobs done/pending, summaries per level, the currently
+# claimed job (if any), recent throughput, and a rolling cloud-LLM round-trip
+# estimate scraped from the core log. Exits cleanly when there is nothing left
+# to do (no `ready`/`running` jobs other than the daily digest dedupe).
+#
+# Optionally triggers a fresh `flush_now` first so the seal cascade picks up
+# whatever is currently buffered without waiting for the 50k-token threshold.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh                   # monitor only
+#   scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh --flush           # flush_now then monitor
+#   scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh --interval 10     # change tick (default 5s)
+#   scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh --log /tmp/x.log  # override log path
+#   scripts/memory-tree-progress.sh --once            # one snapshot, then exit
+#
+# Env:
+#   OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE  — workspace dir (default: derive from active_user.toml)
+#   CORE_BIN             — path to openhuman-core (default: target/debug/openhuman-core)
+#   CORE_LOG             — core log to scrape for round-trip times (default: /tmp/oh-core.log)
+#
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+cd "$REPO_ROOT"
+
+INTERVAL=5
+DO_FLUSH=0
+ONCE=0
+CORE_BIN="${CORE_BIN:-target/debug/openhuman-core}"
+CORE_LOG="${CORE_LOG:-/tmp/oh-core.log}"
+
+while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        --flush) DO_FLUSH=1; shift ;;
+        --interval)
+            [ $# -ge 2 ] || { echo "--interval requires a value (seconds)" >&2; exit 2; }
+            [[ "$2" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]] || { echo "--interval must be a positive integer" >&2; exit 2; }
+            INTERVAL="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --log)
+            [ $# -ge 2 ] || { echo "--log requires a file path" >&2; exit 2; }
+            CORE_LOG="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --once) ONCE=1; shift ;;
+        -h|--help) sed -n '2,25p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
+        *) echo "unknown arg: $1" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# ── Resolve workspace + DB path ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+if [ -z "${OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE:-}" ]; then
+    DEFAULT_DIR="$HOME/.openhuman-staging"
+    [ -d "$DEFAULT_DIR" ] || DEFAULT_DIR="$HOME/.openhuman"
+    ACTIVE_USER_FILE="$DEFAULT_DIR/active_user.toml"
+    if [ -f "$ACTIVE_USER_FILE" ]; then
+        USER_ID=$(awk -F'"' '/user_id/ {print $2; exit}' "$ACTIVE_USER_FILE")
+        OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE="$DEFAULT_DIR/users/$USER_ID/workspace"
+    fi
+fi
+DB="${OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE:-}/memory_tree/chunks.db"
+if [ ! -f "$DB" ]; then
+    echo "memory_tree DB not found at: $DB" >&2
+    echo "Set OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE to override." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "workspace: $OPENHUMAN_WORKSPACE"
+echo "db:        $DB"
+echo "log:       $CORE_LOG"
+echo
+
+# ── Optional initial flush ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+if [ "$DO_FLUSH" = 1 ]; then
+    if [ ! -x "$CORE_BIN" ]; then
+        echo "core binary not found: $CORE_BIN — build with 'cargo build --bin openhuman-core'" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "→ triggering memory_tree.flush_now"
+    # Capture the full output so we can echo it on failure (the call's
+    # exit code is what we gate on; the grep below is just for the
+    # success-path summary).
+    flush_out="$("$CORE_BIN" call --method openhuman.memory_tree_flush_now --params '{}' 2>&1)" || {
+        echo "$flush_out" >&2
+        echo "flush_now failed; aborting monitor start." >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+    echo "$flush_out" | grep -E '"enqueued"|"stale_buffers"|memory_tree::read' || true
+    echo
+fi
+
+# ── Snapshot helper ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+q() { sqlite3 "$DB" "$@"; }
+
+# Track previous done counts so we can show throughput per tick.
+PREV_EXTRACT_DONE=0
+PREV_SUMMARIES=0
+START_TS=$(date +%s)
+
+snapshot() {
+    local now ts ext_done ext_ready ext_run sums_l1 sums_l2 sums_l3 sums_l0 \
+          chunks_pending chunks_admitted chunks_buffered \
+          running_kind running_started_ms running_age_s \
+          rt_recent_avg eta_min
+
+    now=$(date +%s)
+    ts=$(date '+%H:%M:%S')
+
+    ext_done=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_jobs WHERE kind='extract_chunk' AND status='done';")
+    ext_ready=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_jobs WHERE kind='extract_chunk' AND status='ready';")
+    ext_run=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_jobs WHERE kind='extract_chunk' AND status='running';")
+
+    sums_l0=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_summaries WHERE level=0;")
+    sums_l1=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_summaries WHERE level=1;")
+    sums_l2=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_summaries WHERE level=2;")
+    sums_l3=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_summaries WHERE level>=3;")
+
+    chunks_pending=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_chunks WHERE lifecycle_status='pending_extraction';")
+    chunks_admitted=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_chunks WHERE lifecycle_status='admitted';")
+    chunks_buffered=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_chunks WHERE lifecycle_status='buffered';")
+
+    # Currently-claimed work (any kind), with age in seconds.
+    local now_ms; now_ms=$((now * 1000))
+    running_row=$(q "SELECT kind, COALESCE(started_at_ms,0) FROM mem_tree_jobs WHERE status='running' ORDER BY started_at_ms ASC LIMIT 1;")
+    if [ -n "$running_row" ]; then
+        running_kind=$(echo "$running_row" | cut -d'|' -f1)
+        running_started_ms=$(echo "$running_row" | cut -d'|' -f2)
+        if [ "$running_started_ms" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
+            running_age_s=$(( (now_ms - running_started_ms) / 1000 ))
+        else
+            running_age_s="?"
+        fi
+    else
+        running_kind="-"
+        running_age_s="-"
+    fi
+
+    # Throughput since last tick.
+    local d_extract=$((ext_done - PREV_EXTRACT_DONE))
+    local d_sums=$(( (sums_l0 + sums_l1 + sums_l2 + sums_l3) - PREV_SUMMARIES ))
+    PREV_EXTRACT_DONE=$ext_done
+    PREV_SUMMARIES=$((sums_l0 + sums_l1 + sums_l2 + sums_l3))
+
+    # Rolling round-trip estimate from the last few cloud responses.
+    rt_recent_avg="?"
+    if [ -f "$CORE_LOG" ]; then
+        rt_recent_avg=$(awk '
+            /\[memory_tree::chat::cloud\] kind=/ {
+                split($1, a, ":"); start = a[1]*3600 + a[2]*60 + a[3]
+            }
+            /\[memory_tree::chat::cloud\] response/ {
+                split($1, a, ":"); end = a[1]*3600 + a[2]*60 + a[3]
+                if (start > 0) { sum += (end - start); n++ }
+            }
+            END { if (n>0) printf "%.1fs", sum/n; else printf "?" }
+        ' "$CORE_LOG" | tail -c 16)
+    fi
+
+    eta_min="?"
+    if [ "$d_extract" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
+        # ETA based on jobs/tick * INTERVAL seconds.
+        local secs_per=$(( INTERVAL / d_extract ))
+        [ "$secs_per" -lt 1 ] && secs_per=1
+        eta_min=$(( ext_ready * secs_per / 60 ))m
+    fi
+
+    # NOTE: source-tree leaves are L1+ (raw chunks are the L0 leaves of the
+    # tree but aren't represented in `mem_tree_summaries`); the L0 row in
+    # `mem_tree_summaries` is only populated by global-tree daily digests.
+    # We surface it here as `digest=` so the bucket name doesn't mislead.
+    printf "%s  extract: done=%d pending=%d run=%d (+%d/tick eta~%s)  summaries L1=%d L2=%d L3+=%d digest=%d (+%d)  chunks: pend=%d adm=%d buf=%d  running=%s/%ss  cloud_avg=%s\n" \
+        "$ts" "$ext_done" "$ext_ready" "$ext_run" "$d_extract" "$eta_min" \
+        "$sums_l1" "$sums_l2" "$sums_l3" "$sums_l0" "$d_sums" \
+        "$chunks_pending" "$chunks_admitted" "$chunks_buffered" \
+        "$running_kind" "$running_age_s" "$rt_recent_avg"
+
+    # Done-condition: nothing pending or running across all kinds (digest_daily
+    # rows are dedupe-suppressed steady state, ignore them).
+    local active_other
+    active_other=$(q "SELECT COALESCE(COUNT(*),0) FROM mem_tree_jobs \
+                      WHERE status IN ('ready','running') \
+                      AND kind <> 'digest_daily';")
+    [ "$active_other" = "0" ]
+}
+
+# ── Loop ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+if [ "$ONCE" = 1 ]; then
+    snapshot || true
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+trap 'echo; echo "interrupted."; exit 0' INT
+
+while true; do
+    if snapshot; then
+        echo "→ pipeline idle (no ready/running jobs). exiting."
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    sleep "$INTERVAL"
+done
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/local.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/local.rs
index 700958f08..18dbb7707 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/local.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/local.rs
@@ -62,6 +62,20 @@ impl ChatProvider for OllamaChatProvider {
     }
 
     async fn chat_for_json(&self, prompt: &ChatPrompt) -> Result<String> {
+        self.run_chat(prompt, Some("json")).await
+    }
+
+    async fn chat_for_text(&self, prompt: &ChatPrompt) -> Result<String> {
+        // Omit `format` entirely — Ollama's `/api/chat` only accepts
+        // `"json"`, a JSON-schema object, or absence-of-field for
+        // free-form text. Sending `format: ""` is undefined behaviour,
+        // so the field is dropped from the request body when None.
+        self.run_chat(prompt, None).await
+    }
+}
+
+impl OllamaChatProvider {
+    async fn run_chat(&self, prompt: &ChatPrompt, format: Option<&str>) -> Result<String> {
         if self.endpoint.is_empty() || self.model.is_empty() {
             return Err(anyhow!(
                 "[memory_tree::chat::local] Ollama endpoint or model not configured \
@@ -84,7 +98,7 @@ impl ChatProvider for OllamaChatProvider {
                     content: prompt.user.clone(),
                 },
             ],
-            format: "json".to_string(),
+            format: format.map(str::to_string),
             stream: false,
             options: OllamaOptions {
                 temperature: prompt.temperature as f32,
@@ -141,7 +155,11 @@ fn truncate_for_log(s: &str, max_chars: usize) -> String {
 struct OllamaChatRequest {
     model: String,
     messages: Vec<OllamaMessage>,
-    format: String,
+    /// Omitted from the wire body when `None` (`#[serde(skip_serializing_if)]`),
+    /// so the JSON-mode flag is only present for the `chat_for_json` path.
+    /// Ollama treats absence as "free-form text".
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    format: Option<String>,
     stream: bool,
     options: OllamaOptions,
 }
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/mod.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/mod.rs
index 505c27e66..009c62cb3 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/mod.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chat/mod.rs
@@ -78,11 +78,24 @@ pub trait ChatProvider: Send + Sync {
     /// Stable, grep-friendly name for logs. e.g. `"cloud:summarization-v1"`.
     fn name(&self) -> &str;
 
-    /// Run one chat completion and return the assistant's content.
+    /// Run one chat completion and return the assistant's content,
+    /// constraining the model to JSON output where the wire format
+    /// supports it (Ollama's `format: "json"`).
     ///
     /// Implementations should log entry / exit at debug level under the
     /// `[memory_tree::chat]` prefix.
     async fn chat_for_json(&self, prompt: &ChatPrompt) -> Result<String>;
+
+    /// Run one chat completion and return the assistant's plain-text
+    /// content. Unlike [`chat_for_json`], implementations MUST NOT
+    /// enable any wire-level JSON-mode flag — used by the summariser
+    /// which emits prose, not a structured envelope.
+    ///
+    /// Default impl forwards to `chat_for_json`; providers that gate
+    /// JSON-mode at the wire (e.g. Ollama) override to skip it.
+    async fn chat_for_text(&self, prompt: &ChatPrompt) -> Result<String> {
+        self.chat_for_json(prompt).await
+    }
 }
 
 /// Build the [`ChatProvider`] dictated by `config.memory_tree.llm_backend`.
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chunker.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chunker.rs
index 3dfe8a248..064e6a205 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chunker.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/chunker.rs
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 //!
 //! The canonicalisers produce one big canonical Markdown blob per source
 //! record; the chunker slices that into chunks of at most [`DEFAULT_CHUNK_MAX_TOKENS`]
-//! so later phases (#709 seal budget = 10k tokens) can ingest them without
-//! blowing past the summariser ceiling.
+//! so later phases (L0 seal at `INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET = 50k` tokens, or 10
+//! items via the count fallback) can ingest them without blowing past
+//! the summariser ceiling.
 //!
 //! ## Dispatch by source kind (Phase B)
 //!
@@ -20,10 +21,10 @@ use crate::openhuman::memory::tree::util::redact::redact;
 
 /// Default upper bound on per-chunk tokens.
 ///
-/// Sized below the L0 seal budget (`tree_source::types::TOKEN_BUDGET = 4_500`)
-/// so each seal accumulates roughly 1–3 chunks before firing — natural pacing
-/// for the local 1B summariser, which produces noticeably better summaries
-/// with smaller (≤4–5k) inputs than at the previous 10k cap.
+/// Well below `tree_source::types::INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET = 50_000` so each
+/// L0 seal accumulates many chunks (~15+) before firing — the cloud
+/// summariser handles large input contexts well, so we let the seal
+/// fold a meaningful slice of the source rather than a single chunk.
 pub const DEFAULT_CHUNK_MAX_TOKENS: u32 = 3_000;
 
 /// Tunable settings for the chunker.
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/mod.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/mod.rs
index ca2bb5f04..9eac121cf 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/mod.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/mod.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 pub mod atomic;
 pub mod compose;
+pub mod obsidian;
 pub mod paths;
 pub mod raw;
 pub mod read;
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0217765e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+//! Obsidian vault defaults.
+//!
+//! When the memory_tree content root is first populated we drop a small
+//! `.obsidian/` directory into it so a user opening the vault gets the
+//! intended graph-view colour mapping (one colour per summary level) and
+//! the front-matter type hints (`time_range_*` as `date`, `sealed_at` as
+//! `datetime`) without any manual configuration.
+//!
+//! The bundled defaults live as static files under `obsidian_defaults/`
+//! and are baked into the binary via `include_str!`. We only stage them
+//! when the corresponding `.obsidian/<file>` doesn't already exist —
+//! never overwrite a file the user has tweaked.
+//!
+//! Callers should invoke [`ensure_obsidian_defaults`] from any code path
+//! that creates files under `content_root` (summary stage, raw write,
+//! etc.). The function is idempotent and cheap on the steady-state path
+//! (one `Path::exists()` per file).
+//!
+//! Failure mode: best-effort. A failed stage logs a warn and returns
+//! `Ok(())` so seal/raw-write callers don't abort persistence over a
+//! cosmetic vault default.
+
+use std::path::Path;
+
+use anyhow::Result;
+
+const GRAPH_JSON: &str = include_str!("obsidian_defaults/graph.json");
+const TYPES_JSON: &str = include_str!("obsidian_defaults/types.json");
+
+/// Write the bundled `.obsidian/` defaults into `content_root` if they
+/// aren't already there. Idempotent — never overwrites existing files.
+pub fn ensure_obsidian_defaults(content_root: &Path) -> Result<()> {
+    let obsidian_dir = content_root.join(".obsidian");
+    if let Err(err) = std::fs::create_dir_all(&obsidian_dir) {
+        log::warn!(
+            "[content_store::obsidian] create .obsidian dir failed at {:?}: {err:#} — skipping defaults",
+            obsidian_dir
+        );
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    write_default_if_missing(&obsidian_dir, "graph.json", GRAPH_JSON);
+    write_default_if_missing(&obsidian_dir, "types.json", TYPES_JSON);
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn write_default_if_missing(obsidian_dir: &Path, name: &str, body: &str) {
+    use std::io::{ErrorKind, Write};
+    let target = obsidian_dir.join(name);
+    // `create_new(true)` makes existence-check + create atomic at the
+    // OS level, so a concurrent staging from another process can't
+    // race past `target.exists()` and clobber the winner. The
+    // AlreadyExists branch is the steady-state idempotent no-op.
+    let mut file = match std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+        .write(true)
+        .create_new(true)
+        .open(&target)
+    {
+        Ok(f) => f,
+        Err(err) if err.kind() == ErrorKind::AlreadyExists => return,
+        Err(err) => {
+            log::warn!(
+                "[content_store::obsidian] create default {} failed at {:?}: {err:#}",
+                name,
+                target
+            );
+            return;
+        }
+    };
+    match file.write_all(body.as_bytes()) {
+        Ok(()) => log::info!(
+            "[content_store::obsidian] staged default {} at {}",
+            name,
+            target.display()
+        ),
+        Err(err) => {
+            // `create_new` already produced an empty file at `target`;
+            // a write_all failure (disk full, transient I/O) leaves a
+            // truncated remnant. Without cleanup, the next call hits
+            // the AlreadyExists fast-path and never repairs the bad
+            // file. Remove it so the next call retries cleanly.
+            if let Err(cleanup_err) = std::fs::remove_file(&target) {
+                log::warn!(
+                    "[content_store::obsidian] cleanup partial default {} failed at {:?}: {cleanup_err:#}",
+                    name,
+                    target
+                );
+            }
+            log::warn!(
+                "[content_store::obsidian] write default {} failed at {:?}: {err:#}",
+                name,
+                target
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn stages_defaults_into_fresh_root() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        ensure_obsidian_defaults(tmp.path()).unwrap();
+        let graph = tmp.path().join(".obsidian").join("graph.json");
+        let types = tmp.path().join(".obsidian").join("types.json");
+        assert!(graph.exists(), "graph.json should be staged");
+        assert!(types.exists(), "types.json should be staged");
+        // Body must be the bundled content, not empty.
+        let g = std::fs::read_to_string(&graph).unwrap();
+        assert!(g.contains("colorGroups"), "graph.json missing colorGroups");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn does_not_overwrite_existing_file() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let obs = tmp.path().join(".obsidian");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&obs).unwrap();
+        let graph = obs.join("graph.json");
+        std::fs::write(&graph, r#"{"user":"custom"}"#).unwrap();
+
+        ensure_obsidian_defaults(tmp.path()).unwrap();
+
+        let body = std::fs::read_to_string(&graph).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            body, r#"{"user":"custom"}"#,
+            "user-customised graph.json must not be clobbered"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn idempotent_second_call_is_no_op() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        ensure_obsidian_defaults(tmp.path()).unwrap();
+        ensure_obsidian_defaults(tmp.path()).unwrap();
+        // Second call must succeed without panicking and must not have
+        // duplicated or grown the file.
+        let g = std::fs::read_to_string(tmp.path().join(".obsidian/graph.json")).unwrap();
+        assert!(g.contains("colorGroups"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/graph.json b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/graph.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa4bbd923
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/graph.json
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+{
+  "collapse-filter": false,
+  "search": "",
+  "showTags": false,
+  "showAttachments": false,
+  "hideUnresolved": true,
+  "showOrphans": true,
+  "collapse-color-groups": false,
+  "colorGroups": [
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L1",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 14701138
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L2",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 14725458
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L3",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 11657298
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L4",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 5420768
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L5",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 5431504
+      }
+    },
+    {
+      "query": "file:summary-L6",
+      "color": {
+        "a": 1,
+        "rgb": 14701261
+      }
+    }
+  ],
+  "collapse-display": false,
+  "showArrow": false,
+  "textFadeMultiplier": 0.9,
+  "nodeSizeMultiplier": 1.34371527777778,
+  "lineSizeMultiplier": 1.44048177083333,
+  "collapse-forces": false,
+  "centerStrength": 0.493880208333333,
+  "repelStrength": 10,
+  "linkStrength": 1,
+  "linkDistance": 250,
+  "scale": 0.5443310539518227,
+  "close": false
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/types.json b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/types.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..34f567621
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/content_store/obsidian_defaults/types.json
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+  "types": {
+    "aliases": "aliases",
+    "cssclasses": "multitext",
+    "tags": "tags",
+    "time_range_end": "date",
+    "time_range_start": "date",
+    "sealed_at": "datetime"
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/ingest.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/ingest.rs
index fb2054ccc..0312223a5 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/ingest.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/ingest.rs
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ mod tests {
         drain_until_idle(&cfg).await.unwrap();
 
         // Final lifecycle is `buffered`: extract → admitted → append_buffer → buffered.
-        // The single packed chunk does not cross TOKEN_BUDGET so no seal fires.
+        // The single packed chunk does not cross INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET so no seal fires.
         assert_eq!(
             count_chunks_by_lifecycle_status(&cfg, CHUNK_STATUS_BUFFERED).unwrap(),
             1
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/handlers/mod.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/handlers/mod.rs
index eef71a7dd..a0e594bca 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/handlers/mod.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/handlers/mod.rs
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     /// Seed a source tree and push enough labeled leaves into its L0 buffer
-    /// to cross `TOKEN_BUDGET`, returning the tree. The caller can then
+    /// to cross `INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`, returning the tree. The caller can then
     /// fire `handle_seal` and inspect the result.
     async fn seed_source_tree_ready_to_seal(
         cfg: &Config,
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ mod tests {
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
             },
             // Bust budget so the L0 buffer is "ready" for seal.
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: 60_000,
             seq_in_source: 0,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ mod tests {
         .unwrap();
         let leaf = LeafRef {
             chunk_id: chunk.id,
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: 60_000,
             timestamp: ts,
             content: chunk.content,
             entities: vec![],
@@ -672,7 +672,12 @@ mod tests {
         let p: TopicRoutePayload = serde_json::from_str(&payload_json).unwrap();
         match p.node {
             NodeRef::Summary { summary_id } => {
-                assert!(summary_id.starts_with("summary:L1:"));
+                // Format: `summary:<13-digit-ms>:L<level>-<8hex>` —
+                // see `tree_source::registry::new_summary_id`.
+                assert!(
+                    summary_id.starts_with("summary:") && summary_id.contains(":L1-"),
+                    "expected summary id with L1 segment, got {summary_id}"
+                );
             }
             other => panic!("expected NodeRef::Summary, got {other:?}"),
         }
@@ -707,7 +712,7 @@ mod tests {
                 tags: vec![],
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
             },
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: 60_000,
             seq_in_source: 0,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -727,7 +732,7 @@ mod tests {
         .unwrap();
         let leaf = LeafRef {
             chunk_id: chunk.id,
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: 60_000,
             timestamp: ts,
             content: chunk.content,
             entities: vec![],
@@ -794,7 +799,7 @@ mod tests {
                     tags: vec![],
                     source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
                 },
-                token_count: 6_000,
+                token_count: 30_000,
                 seq_in_source: seq,
                 created_at: ts,
                 partial_message: false,
@@ -812,7 +817,7 @@ mod tests {
             .unwrap();
             let leaf = LeafRef {
                 chunk_id: chunk.id,
-                token_count: 6_000,
+                token_count: 30_000,
                 timestamp: ts,
                 content: chunk.content,
                 entities: vec![],
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/worker.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/worker.rs
index 5fa99ec9d..da4ffc877 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/worker.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/jobs/worker.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,23 @@ use crate::openhuman::memory::tree::jobs::store::{
     claim_next, mark_done, mark_failed, recover_stale_locks, DEFAULT_LOCK_DURATION_MS,
 };
 
-const WORKER_COUNT: usize = 1;
+/// Number of concurrent job-worker tasks. Each worker claims one job
+/// at a time via `claim_next` (atomic UPDATE under SQLite WAL with
+/// `locked_until_ms` + status='running'), so multiple workers
+/// parallelize independent jobs without double-claim risk.
+///
+/// On cloud backends, LLM-bound jobs drop the global LLM permit
+/// after claim (see `run_once`) so all 4 workers can run cloud
+/// extract/summarise calls in parallel.
+///
+/// On local backends, the single global LLM slot still serialises
+/// Ollama calls for laptop-RAM safety. Note that `wait_for_capacity`
+/// is acquired **before** `claim_next`, so non-LLM jobs (AppendBuffer,
+/// FlushStale, TopicRoute) also block on the gate when an LLM job
+/// holds the permit — they only run in parallel with each other while
+/// no LLM job is in flight. Bumping `WORKER_COUNT` therefore helps
+/// throughput most when local LLM calls are sparse.
+const WORKER_COUNT: usize = 4;
 const POLL_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
 
 static WORKER_NOTIFY: OnceLock<Arc<Notify>> = OnceLock::new();
@@ -108,7 +124,19 @@ pub async fn run_once(config: &Config) -> Result<bool> {
     };
 
     let llm_permit = if job.kind.is_llm_bound() {
-        gate_permit
+        // Local Ollama loads ~1.3 GB resident per concurrent call —
+        // hold the gate to enforce process-wide single-slot RAM
+        // safety. Cloud calls are bandwidth-bound, not RAM-bound:
+        // drop the permit so multiple workers can run cloud
+        // extract/summarise calls in parallel (the worker pool
+        // itself, sized to `WORKER_COUNT`, is the upstream bound).
+        match config.memory_tree.llm_backend {
+            crate::openhuman::config::LlmBackend::Local => gate_permit,
+            crate::openhuman::config::LlmBackend::Cloud => {
+                drop(gate_permit);
+                None
+            }
+        }
     } else {
         // Non-LLM jobs don't need the global slot; release it so an
         // LLM-bound caller waiting elsewhere in the process can run.
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/drill_down.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/drill_down.rs
index a1e56f9ed..f5190f324 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/drill_down.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/drill_down.rs
@@ -301,7 +301,8 @@ mod tests {
                     tags: vec![],
                     source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
                 },
-                token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::TOKEN_BUDGET * 6
+                token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET
+                    * 6
                     / 10,
                 seq_in_source: seq,
                 created_at: ts,
@@ -324,9 +325,9 @@ mod tests {
                 &tree,
                 &LeafRef {
                     chunk_id: c.id.clone(),
-                    token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::TOKEN_BUDGET
-                        * 6
-                        / 10,
+                    token_count:
+                        crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET * 6
+                            / 10,
                     timestamp: ts,
                     content: c.content.clone(),
                     entities: vec![],
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/global.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/global.rs
index dce81ae75..c150f42fd 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/global.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/global.rs
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ mod tests {
                     tags: vec![],
                     source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
                 },
-                token_count: 6_000,
+                token_count: 30_000,
                 seq_in_source: seq,
                 created_at: ts,
                 partial_message: false,
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ mod tests {
                 &tree,
                 &LeafRef {
                     chunk_id: c.id.clone(),
-                    token_count: 6_000,
+                    token_count: 30_000,
                     timestamp: ts,
                     content: c.content.clone(),
                     entities: vec![],
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/integration_test.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/integration_test.rs
index 52df68e1c..3fd58822e 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/integration_test.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/integration_test.rs
@@ -225,8 +225,8 @@ async fn seal_populates_summary_embedding() {
         created_at: ts,
         partial_message: false,
     };
-    let c1 = mk_chunk(0, 6_000);
-    let c2 = mk_chunk(1, 6_000);
+    let c1 = mk_chunk(0, 30_000);
+    let c2 = mk_chunk(1, 30_000);
     upsert_chunks(&cfg, &[c1.clone(), c2.clone()]).unwrap();
     {
         let content_root = cfg.memory_tree_content_root();
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/source.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/source.rs
index a282f85af..85f6aac99 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/source.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/retrieval/source.rs
@@ -346,7 +346,8 @@ mod tests {
                     tags: vec!["eng".into()],
                     source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new(format!("slack://{scope}/{seq}"))),
                 },
-                token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::TOKEN_BUDGET * 6
+                token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET
+                    * 6
                     / 10,
                 seq_in_source: seq,
                 created_at: ts,
@@ -369,9 +370,9 @@ mod tests {
                 &tree,
                 &LeafRef {
                     chunk_id: c.id.clone(),
-                    token_count: crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::TOKEN_BUDGET
-                        * 6
-                        / 10,
+                    token_count:
+                        crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET * 6
+                            / 10,
                     timestamp: ts,
                     content: c.content.clone(),
                     entities: vec![],
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/digest_tests.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/digest_tests.rs
index 2e528f12d..691c9711a 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/digest_tests.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/digest_tests.rs
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_sealed_l1(cfg: &Config, scope: &str, ts: DateTime
             tags: vec![],
             source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
         },
-        token_count: 6_000,
+        token_count: 30_000,
         seq_in_source: 0,
         created_at: ts,
         partial_message: false,
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_sealed_l1(cfg: &Config, scope: &str, ts: DateTime
             tags: vec![],
             source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://y")),
         },
-        token_count: 6_000,
+        token_count: 30_000,
         seq_in_source: 1,
         created_at: ts,
         partial_message: false,
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_sealed_l1(cfg: &Config, scope: &str, ts: DateTime
 
     let leaf1 = LeafRef {
         chunk_id: c1.id.clone(),
-        token_count: 6_000,
+        token_count: 30_000,
         timestamp: ts,
         content: c1.content.clone(),
         entities: vec![],
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_sealed_l1(cfg: &Config, scope: &str, ts: DateTime
     };
     let leaf2 = LeafRef {
         chunk_id: c2.id.clone(),
-        token_count: 6_000,
+        token_count: 30_000,
         timestamp: ts,
         content: c2.content.clone(),
         entities: vec![],
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_labeled_l1(
                 tags: topics.clone(),
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new(format!("slack://{scope}/{seq}"))),
             },
-            token_count: 6_000,
+            token_count: 30_000,
             seq_in_source: seq,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ async fn seed_source_tree_with_labeled_l1(
     for chunk in &chunks {
         let leaf = LeafRef {
             chunk_id: chunk.id.clone(),
-            token_count: 6_000,
+            token_count: 30_000,
             timestamp: ts,
             content: chunk.content.clone(),
             entities: entities.clone(),
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/recap.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/recap.rs
index d4aefe9ca..611f08f71 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/recap.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_global/recap.rs
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ mod tests {
                 tags: vec![],
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
             },
-            token_count: 6_000,
+            token_count: 30_000,
             seq_in_source: 0,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ mod tests {
                 tags: vec![],
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://y")),
             },
-            token_count: 6_000,
+            token_count: 30_000,
             seq_in_source: 1,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ mod tests {
             &tree,
             &LeafRef {
                 chunk_id: c1.id.clone(),
-                token_count: 6_000,
+                token_count: 30_000,
                 timestamp: ts,
                 content: c1.content.clone(),
                 entities: vec![],
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ mod tests {
             &tree,
             &LeafRef {
                 chunk_id: c2.id.clone(),
-                token_count: 6_000,
+                token_count: 30_000,
                 timestamp: ts,
                 content: c2.content.clone(),
                 entities: vec![],
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/README.md b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/README.md
index 434dc5cb8..161917935 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/README.md
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Phase 3a (#709) — per-source summary trees with bucket-seal mechanics. One tre
 - `pub fn build_summariser` / `pub trait Summariser` / `pub struct SummaryInput` / `pub struct SummaryContext` / `pub struct SummaryOutput` — `summariser/mod.rs` — folds N inputs into one summary.
 - `pub struct InertSummariser` — `summariser/inert.rs` — deterministic dependency-free fallback.
 - `pub struct LlmSummariser` / `pub struct LlmSummariserConfig` — `summariser/llm.rs` — Ollama-backed implementation with soft-fallback to inert.
-- `pub struct Tree` / `pub struct SummaryNode` / `pub struct Buffer` / `pub enum TreeKind` / `pub enum TreeStatus` / `pub const TOKEN_BUDGET` / `pub const SUMMARY_FANOUT` — `types.rs`.
+- `pub struct Tree` / `pub struct SummaryNode` / `pub struct Buffer` / `pub enum TreeKind` / `pub enum TreeStatus` / `pub const INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET` / `pub const OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET` / `pub const SUMMARY_FANOUT` — `types.rs`.
 - `pub fn get_summary_embedding` / `pub fn set_summary_embedding` / `pub fn insert_tree` / `pub fn get_tree_by_scope` / `pub fn get_tree` / `pub fn list_trees_by_kind` / `pub fn get_summary` / `pub fn list_summaries_at_level` / `pub fn count_summaries` / `pub fn get_buffer` / `pub fn list_stale_buffers` — `store.rs`.
 
 ## Files
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal.rs
index db189b1f2..9289fd0a5 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 //! `append_leaf` pushes a persisted chunk into the L0 buffer of a tree.
 //! Seal gates differ by level:
 //!
-//! - **L0 (leaves → L1)**: seal when `token_sum >= TOKEN_BUDGET`. Bounds
+//! - **L0 (leaves → L1)**: seal when `token_sum >= INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`. Bounds
 //!   the summariser's raw input.
 //! - **L≥1 (summaries → next level)**: seal when `item_ids.len() >=
 //!   SUMMARY_FANOUT`. Per-summary token size depends on summariser
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ use crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::summariser::{
     Summariser, SummaryContext, SummaryInput,
 };
 use crate::openhuman::memory::tree::tree_source::types::{
-    Buffer, SummaryNode, Tree, TreeKind, SUMMARY_FANOUT, TOKEN_BUDGET,
+    Buffer, SummaryNode, Tree, TreeKind, INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET, OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET, SUMMARY_FANOUT,
 };
 
 /// Hard cap on cascade depth — prevents runaway loops if token accounting
@@ -298,18 +298,22 @@ pub async fn cascade_all_from(
 
 /// Level-aware seal gate.
 ///
-/// L0 buffers (raw leaves) gate on `token_sum` so the summariser's input
-/// stays bounded. L≥1 buffers gate on sibling count so the tree's
+/// L0 buffers gate on **either** `token_sum >= INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`
+/// (so the summariser's input stays bounded) **or** sibling count
+/// `>= SUMMARY_FANOUT` (so leaves form predictably for sources whose
+/// chunks are individually small — without the count fallback,
+/// hundreds of tiny emails can sit unsealed waiting to hit 50k
+/// tokens). L≥1 buffers gate on sibling count alone so the tree's
 /// fan-in is independent of per-summary token size — without this,
 /// summarisers that emit at the full token budget (e.g. the inert
-/// fallback) collapse the cascade into a 1:1:1 chain instead of a real
-/// tree.
+/// fallback) collapse the cascade into a 1:1:1 chain instead of a
+/// real tree.
 pub(crate) fn should_seal(buf: &Buffer) -> bool {
     if buf.is_empty() {
         return false;
     }
     if buf.level == 0 {
-        buf.token_sum >= TOKEN_BUDGET as i64
+        buf.token_sum >= INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET as i64 || (buf.item_ids.len() as u32) >= SUMMARY_FANOUT
     } else {
         (buf.item_ids.len() as u32) >= SUMMARY_FANOUT
     }
@@ -378,7 +382,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn seal_one_level(
         tree_id: &tree.id,
         tree_kind: tree.kind,
         target_level,
-        token_budget: TOKEN_BUDGET,
+        token_budget: OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET,
     };
     let output = summariser
         .summarise(&inputs, &ctx)
@@ -399,11 +403,10 @@ pub(crate) async fn seal_one_level(
     //
     // Embedder context-window guard: `nomic-embed-text-v1.5` accepts
     // up to 8192 tokens of input. Summary content is bounded by
-    // `ctx.token_budget = TOKEN_BUDGET = 10_000` so a worst-case
-    // summary overshoots the embedder. We truncate the input passed
-    // to `embed()` to fit (the persisted summary content stays full;
-    // only the embedding's "view" of it is clamped). 6000 tokens
-    // leaves headroom for tokenizer differences across embedders.
+    // `ctx.token_budget = OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET = 5_000` which fits, but
+    // we still truncate the input passed to `embed()` to leave
+    // headroom for tokenizer drift (the persisted summary content
+    // stays full; only the embedding's "view" of it is clamped).
     let embedder = build_embedder_from_config(config).context("build embedder during seal")?;
     // Conservative cap. Slack-style chat content (URLs, mentions,
     // emoji) tokenizes 2-4× higher than the 4-chars/token heuristic.
@@ -501,11 +504,13 @@ pub(crate) async fn seal_one_level(
     // the raw archive file the chunk's body lives in — the email
     // chunk-store path `email/<scope>/<chunk_id>.md` no longer
     // exists, so `[[<chunk_id>]]` would be an unresolved Obsidian
-    // link. The raw file basename `<ts_ms>_<msg_id>` matches what
-    // `raw_store::write_raw_items` writes. L≥2 children are
-    // summary ids whose default `sanitize_filename` resolves to
-    // existing `wiki/summaries/...md` files — leave overrides
-    // unset there.
+    // link. We emit the relative path under content_root (with `.md`
+    // stripped) so the wikilink resolves unambiguously even outside
+    // Obsidian's unique-basename heuristic — e.g.
+    // `[[raw/gmail-stevent95-at-gmail-dot-com/<ts_ms>_<msg_id>]]`.
+    // L≥2 children are summary ids whose default `sanitize_filename`
+    // resolves to existing `wiki/summaries/...md` files — leave
+    // overrides unset there.
     let child_basename_overrides: Option<Vec<Option<String>>> = if node.level == 1 {
         let overrides: Vec<Option<String>> = node
             .child_ids
@@ -518,15 +523,28 @@ pub(crate) async fn seal_one_level(
                 // takes the sanitised-id fallback) but a warn log
                 // makes the SQL error visible for diagnosis.
                 match crate::openhuman::memory::tree::store::get_chunk_raw_refs(config, chunk_id) {
-                    Ok(refs_opt) => {
-                        refs_opt
-                            .and_then(|refs| refs.into_iter().next())
-                            .and_then(|r| {
-                                std::path::Path::new(&r.path)
-                                    .file_stem()
-                                    .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
-                                    .map(|s| s.to_string())
-                            })
+                    Ok(Some(refs)) if !refs.is_empty() => {
+                        // RawRef::path is a forward-slash relative path
+                        // under content_root, e.g.
+                        // "raw/gmail-…/1700000_msg-id.md". Strip `.md`
+                        // for Obsidian's extension-less wikilink
+                        // convention.
+                        let r = refs.into_iter().next().expect("non-empty");
+                        Some(r.path.strip_suffix(".md").unwrap_or(&r.path).to_string())
+                    }
+                    Ok(_) => {
+                        // No raw_refs persisted for this chunk — most
+                        // commonly slack chunks (we only stage raw
+                        // archive files for gmail today). The wikilink
+                        // falls back to `sanitize_filename(chunk_id)`,
+                        // which produces a deliberately-unresolved
+                        // Obsidian link. Log so the silent-degradation
+                        // path stays visible during diagnosis.
+                        log::debug!(
+                            "[tree_source::bucket_seal] no raw_refs for chunk_id={chunk_id} \
+                             — wikilink will fall back to sanitised chunk id"
+                        );
+                        None
                     }
                     Err(e) => {
                         log::warn!(
@@ -562,6 +580,20 @@ pub(crate) async fn seal_one_level(
     // content_path = NULL. The buffer stays unsealed and the job-retry path
     // will re-attempt the file write on next execution.
     let content_root = config.memory_tree_content_root();
+    // Drop the bundled `.obsidian/` defaults (graph + types) so a user
+    // opening the vault gets the intended graph-view colour mapping
+    // without manual configuration. Best-effort and idempotent — never
+    // overwrites an existing file.
+    if let Err(err) =
+        crate::openhuman::memory::tree::content_store::obsidian::ensure_obsidian_defaults(
+            &content_root,
+        )
+    {
+        log::warn!(
+            "[tree_source::bucket_seal] ensure_obsidian_defaults failed: {err:#} — \
+             continuing seal without vault defaults"
+        );
+    }
     let staged =
         stage_summary(&content_root, &compose_input, &scope_slug, None).with_context(|| {
             format!(
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal_tests.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal_tests.rs
index d06f30fc6..24fe942a9 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal_tests.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/bucket_seal_tests.rs
@@ -101,9 +101,9 @@ async fn crossing_budget_triggers_seal() {
         created_at: ts,
         partial_message: false,
     };
-    // Budget-relative sizes so the test stays correct as TOKEN_BUDGET shifts:
+    // Budget-relative sizes so the test stays correct as INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET shifts:
     // each leaf is 60% of budget, so the second append crosses the threshold.
-    let per_leaf = TOKEN_BUDGET * 6 / 10;
+    let per_leaf = INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET * 6 / 10;
     let c1 = mk_chunk(0, per_leaf);
     let c2 = mk_chunk(1, per_leaf);
     upsert_chunks(&cfg, &[c1.clone(), c2.clone()]).unwrap();
@@ -200,10 +200,10 @@ async fn fanout_at_l1_triggers_l2_seal() {
                 tags: vec![],
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
             },
-            // Each leaf alone busts TOKEN_BUDGET so the L0→L1 seal
+            // Each leaf alone busts INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET so the L0→L1 seal
             // fires on every append. After SUMMARY_FANOUT seals, the
             // L1 buffer's count-based gate trips and cascades to L2.
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET + 1,
             seq_in_source: seq,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ async fn upper_level_does_not_seal_below_fanout() {
                 tags: vec![],
                 source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new("slack://x")),
             },
-            token_count: 10_000,
+            token_count: INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET + 1,
             seq_in_source: seq,
             created_at: ts,
             partial_message: false,
@@ -369,8 +369,8 @@ fn seed_leaf(
             tags: topics.clone(),
             source_ref: Some(SourceRef::new(format!("slack://x{seq}"))),
         },
-        // Bust TOKEN_BUDGET in one leaf so the seal fires immediately.
-        token_count: 10_000,
+        // Bust INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET in one leaf so the seal fires immediately.
+        token_count: INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET + 1,
         seq_in_source: seq,
         created_at: ts,
         partial_message: false,
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ async fn seal_with_union_strategy_inherits_labels_from_children() {
     // a third append triggers a seal containing both. Reuse the helper
     // and override the leaf's token_count for this test.
     // Each leaf at half the budget so two together hit threshold exactly.
-    let per_leaf = TOKEN_BUDGET / 2;
+    let per_leaf = INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET / 2;
     let leaf1 = LeafRef {
         token_count: per_leaf,
         ..leaf1
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/flush.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/flush.rs
index 67daed199..4bfc7e7bc 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/flush.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/flush.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 //! Time-based buffer flush for source trees (#709).
 //!
-//! The bucket-seal path only fires when a buffer crosses `TOKEN_BUDGET`.
-//! Low-volume sources (e.g. an email account with two threads a week) can
-//! otherwise leave leaves parked in the L0 buffer indefinitely, which
-//! hurts recall. `flush_stale_buffers` force-seals any buffer whose
-//! `oldest_at` is older than `max_age`, regardless of token count.
+//! The bucket-seal path only fires when a buffer crosses
+//! `INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET` (token volume) or `SUMMARY_FANOUT` (item count
+//! — the L0 fallback gate). Low-volume sources (e.g. an email account
+//! with two threads a week) can still park a buffer below both
+//! thresholds indefinitely, which hurts recall.
+//! `flush_stale_buffers` force-seals any buffer whose `oldest_at` is
+//! older than `max_age`, regardless of token count or item count.
 //!
 //! This is meant to run on a cadence (e.g. daily cron). Phase 3a ships
 //! the primitive; wiring into a scheduler is not required for merge.
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/mod.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/mod.rs
index 1f9694468..796f74c3a 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/mod.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/mod.rs
@@ -26,4 +26,7 @@ pub use bucket_seal::{append_leaf, append_leaf_deferred, LabelStrategy, LeafRef}
 pub use registry::get_or_create_source_tree;
 pub use store::{get_summary_embedding, set_summary_embedding};
 pub use summariser::{build_summariser, inert::InertSummariser, llm::LlmSummariser, Summariser};
-pub use types::{Buffer, SummaryNode, Tree, TreeKind, TreeStatus, TOKEN_BUDGET};
+pub use types::{
+    Buffer, SummaryNode, Tree, TreeKind, TreeStatus, INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET, OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET,
+    SUMMARY_FANOUT,
+};
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/registry.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/registry.rs
index 7c0c69939..3ab59381e 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/registry.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/registry.rs
@@ -84,10 +84,21 @@ fn new_tree_id(kind: TreeKind) -> String {
 }
 
 /// Public id generator for summary nodes — exported so `bucket_seal` can
-/// share the same format (kept separate for readability; both use UUID v4
-/// suffixes to keep ids short but unambiguous).
+/// share the same format. The Unix-ms timestamp is the leading sort
+/// key so `ORDER BY id` is globally chronological across all levels
+/// (a level-first layout grouped L1, L2, … together, breaking that).
+/// `:013` zero-pads the millisecond field to 13 digits so the
+/// lexicographic order matches numeric order through year 2286 — well
+/// outside any reasonable retention window. Level is suffixed for
+/// filter-by-level queries (`LIKE '%:L1-%'`). 8-hex of `u32` entropy
+/// shrinks same-millisecond collision probability to ~2⁻³² per pair,
+/// sized for uniqueness across the file-system and Obsidian wikilink
+/// namespaces.
 pub fn new_summary_id(level: u32) -> String {
-    format!("summary:L{}:{}", level, Uuid::new_v4())
+    use rand::Rng;
+    let ms = chrono::Utc::now().timestamp_millis() as u64;
+    let rand_tail: u32 = rand::thread_rng().gen();
+    format!("summary:{:013}:L{}-{:08x}", ms, level, rand_tail)
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -126,7 +137,43 @@ mod tests {
         let id = new_tree_id(TreeKind::Source);
         assert!(id.starts_with("source:"));
         let sum_id = new_summary_id(3);
-        assert!(sum_id.starts_with("summary:L3:"));
+        assert!(sum_id.starts_with("summary:"));
+        // Time-first layout: the segment after `summary:` is a 13-digit
+        // zero-padded ms timestamp, then `:L<level>-<8hex>`.
+        assert!(sum_id.contains(":L3-"), "expected level suffix in {sum_id}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn summary_id_format_is_lexicographically_chronological() {
+        // The prefix `summary:` is identical across all ids, so the
+        // first character that differs is in the 13-digit ms field.
+        // Comparing two synthesised ids built around the same ms +/- a
+        // step proves the format sorts by time without depending on
+        // wall-clock granularity in the test runner. We verify the
+        // generator's _format_ (the contract), not the system clock.
+        let earlier_ms: u64 = 1_700_000_000_000;
+        let later_ms: u64 = 1_700_000_000_001;
+        // Use a max-tail rand for the earlier id to prove the
+        // millisecond field dominates over the random suffix.
+        let earlier = format!("summary:{:013}:L1-{:08x}", earlier_ms, u32::MAX);
+        let later = format!("summary:{:013}:L9-{:08x}", later_ms, 0u32);
+        assert!(
+            earlier < later,
+            "expected {earlier} < {later} (ms must outrank level + tail)"
+        );
+
+        // Sanity: a real id from the live generator parses with the
+        // same prefix shape so the contract above maps onto runtime
+        // values, not just synthesised strings.
+        let live = new_summary_id(2);
+        assert!(live.starts_with("summary:"), "live: {live}");
+        let rest = &live["summary:".len()..];
+        let ms_part = rest.split(':').next().expect("ms segment");
+        assert_eq!(ms_part.len(), 13, "ms must be 13 digits in {live}");
+        assert!(
+            ms_part.chars().all(|c| c.is_ascii_digit()),
+            "ms must be all digits in {live}"
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/summariser/llm.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/summariser/llm.rs
index b4d927afb..06a09d45a 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/summariser/llm.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/summariser/llm.rs
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@
 
 use anyhow::Result;
 use async_trait::async_trait;
-use serde::Deserialize;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use super::inert::InertSummariser;
@@ -48,37 +47,28 @@ use crate::openhuman::memory::tree::types::approx_token_count;
 
 /// Hard cap on summariser output length (in approximate tokens).
 ///
-/// Two constraints set this:
-///
-/// 1. The downstream embedder (`nomic-embed-text-v1.5`) accepts up to
-///    8192 tokens, and Phase 4 (`tree_source::bucket_seal`) embeds the
-///    summary right after we produce it. An overshoot returns HTTP 500
-///    and rolls back the whole seal transaction.
-/// 2. Empirically, small instruction-tuned models running locally
-///    degrade quickly past ~3500 tokens — they drift, hallucinate, or
-///    produce repetitive boilerplate as they extend toward longer
-///    targets. Keeping the cap below that breakeven keeps output
-///    quality stable on local Ollama deployments.
-///
-/// 3500 sits comfortably under the embedder ceiling AND below the local
-/// LLM quality cliff. The post-generation [`clamp_to_budget`] enforces
-/// this regardless of what the model produces.
-const MAX_SUMMARY_OUTPUT_TOKENS: u32 = 3_500;
+/// Sized to fit the downstream embedder (`nomic-embed-text-v1.5`,
+/// 8192-token input ceiling) with headroom for tokenizer drift between
+/// our 4-chars/token heuristic and the embedder's real tokenizer. The
+/// post-generation [`clamp_to_budget`] enforces this regardless of what
+/// the model produces.
+const MAX_SUMMARY_OUTPUT_TOKENS: u32 = 5_000;
 
-/// Context window assumed for the model. Used as the divisor in the
-/// per-input clamp so the joined prompt body stays under this even at
-/// upper-level seals where SUMMARY_FANOUT children each near
-/// MAX_SUMMARY_OUTPUT_TOKENS would otherwise overflow. Conservative —
-/// real cloud models have larger contexts; smaller local models may
-/// truncate, but the post-generation `clamp_to_budget` ensures output
-/// fits the embedder regardless.
-const NUM_CTX_TOKENS: u32 = 16_384;
+/// Context window assumed for the model. Sized for the cloud
+/// summariser's 120k-token window with comfortable headroom — leaves
+/// room for the joined L0 input batch (up to `INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET = 50k`),
+/// the requested output budget, the system prompt, and tokenizer drift.
+/// Used as the divisor in the per-input clamp so the joined prompt body
+/// stays under this even at upper-level seals where many children fold
+/// together.
+const NUM_CTX_TOKENS: u32 = 60_000;
 
-/// Tokens reserved for the system prompt, JSON wrapper, and tokenizer
-/// drift between our 4-chars/token heuristic and the model's tokenizer.
-/// Trades a small loss of input capacity for a guarantee that the
-/// prompt body + output budget never exceeds `num_ctx`.
-const OVERHEAD_RESERVE_TOKENS: u32 = 512;
+/// Tokens reserved for the system prompt, message-envelope overhead,
+/// and tokenizer drift between our 4-chars/token heuristic and the
+/// model's tokenizer. Trades a small loss of input capacity for a
+/// guarantee that the prompt body + output budget never exceeds
+/// `num_ctx`.
+const OVERHEAD_RESERVE_TOKENS: u32 = 2_048;
 
 /// Configuration for [`LlmSummariser`]. Threaded down to the chat
 /// provider for diagnostic logging — model selection at the wire level
@@ -189,7 +179,7 @@ impl Summariser for LlmSummariser {
             ctx.token_budget
         );
 
-        let raw = match self.provider.chat_for_json(&prompt).await {
+        let raw = match self.provider.chat_for_text(&prompt).await {
             Ok(v) => v,
             Err(e) => {
                 log::warn!(
@@ -203,19 +193,7 @@ impl Summariser for LlmSummariser {
             }
         };
 
-        let parsed: LlmSummaryOutput = match serde_json::from_str(&raw) {
-            Ok(v) => v,
-            Err(e) => {
-                log::warn!(
-                    "[tree_source::summariser::llm] model returned non-JSON or wrong-shape \
-                     body: {e}; content was: {} — falling back to inert",
-                    truncate_for_log(&raw, 400)
-                );
-                return self.fallback.summarise(inputs, ctx).await;
-            }
-        };
-
-        let (content, token_count) = clamp_to_budget(&parsed.summary, effective_budget);
+        let (content, token_count) = clamp_to_budget(raw.trim(), effective_budget);
         log::debug!(
             "[tree_source::summariser::llm] sealed tree_id={} level={} inputs={} tokens={}",
             ctx.tree_id,
@@ -257,7 +235,7 @@ fn build_user_prompt(inputs: &[SummaryInput], per_input_cap_tokens: u32) -> Stri
     out
 }
 
-/// System prompt. Length isn't templated in — empirically, telling small
+/// System prompt. Length isn't templated in — empirically, telling
 /// instruction-tuned models "stay under N tokens" makes them produce
 /// curt, generic output even when the input has plenty of substance.
 /// Output is clamped post-generation by [`clamp_to_budget`] in the
@@ -267,11 +245,9 @@ fn system_prompt(_budget: u32) -> String {
      single cohesive passage that preserves concrete facts, decisions, \
      and temporal ordering. Do not invent facts.\n\
      \n\
-     Return JSON only — no prose, no markdown, no commentary. Schema:\n\
-     {\n\
-     \x20 \"summary\": \"<summary body>\"\n\
-     }"
-    .to_string()
+     Return only the summary text. No commentary, no preamble, no headings, \
+     no markdown wrappers, no JSON — just the prose summary."
+        .to_string()
 }
 
 /// Truncate to the caller's token budget using the same ~4 chars/token
@@ -287,22 +263,6 @@ fn clamp_to_budget(text: &str, budget: u32) -> (String, u32) {
     (truncated, tokens)
 }
 
-fn truncate_for_log(s: &str, max_chars: usize) -> String {
-    if s.chars().count() <= max_chars {
-        return s.to_string();
-    }
-    let truncated: String = s.chars().take(max_chars).collect();
-    format!("{truncated}…")
-}
-
-// ── LLM JSON output ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
-struct LlmSummaryOutput {
-    #[serde(default)]
-    summary: String,
-}
-
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -385,16 +345,17 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn system_prompt_describes_schema() {
-        // Budget is no longer templated into the prompt — small models
+    fn system_prompt_describes_plain_text_output() {
+        // Budget is no longer templated into the prompt — models
         // produced overly curt output when told to "stay under N tokens".
         // The clamp in `clamp_to_budget` handles enforcement instead.
         let p = system_prompt(4096);
         assert!(!p.contains("4096"));
         assert!(!p.contains("Stay well under"));
-        assert!(p.contains("\"summary\""));
-        assert!(!p.contains("\"entities\""));
-        assert!(!p.contains("\"topics\""));
+        // Output is plain prose, not JSON.
+        assert!(!p.contains("\"summary\""));
+        assert!(p.to_lowercase().contains("no commentary"));
+        assert!(p.to_lowercase().contains("no json"));
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -412,19 +373,6 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(t <= 6);
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn truncate_for_log_short_input_unchanged() {
-        assert_eq!(truncate_for_log("hi", 10), "hi");
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn truncate_for_log_long_input_appends_ellipsis() {
-        let long = "x".repeat(500);
-        let out = truncate_for_log(&long, 10);
-        assert_eq!(out.chars().count(), 11);
-        assert!(out.ends_with('…'));
-    }
-
     /// Mock chat provider that lets us assert prompt shape and stub responses
     /// in summariser unit tests without hitting the network.
     struct StubProvider {
@@ -493,35 +441,22 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(out.topics.is_empty());
     }
 
-    #[tokio::test]
-    async fn malformed_response_falls_back_to_inert() {
-        // Provider returns garbage → parse fails → fallback to inert.
-        let provider = std::sync::Arc::new(StubProvider::ok("not json"));
-        let s = LlmSummariser::new(LlmSummariserConfig::default(), provider);
-        let inputs = vec![sample_input("a", "alice ships friday")];
-        let out = s.summarise(&inputs, &test_ctx()).await.unwrap();
-        // Inert fallback content includes the original input.
-        assert!(out.content.contains("alice"));
-    }
-
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn provider_summary_response_is_used_and_clamped() {
-        // Provider returns valid JSON; summariser parses it and clamps to
-        // the budget.
-        let provider = std::sync::Arc::new(StubProvider::ok(
-            r#"{"summary":"alice decided to ship friday"}"#,
-        ));
+        // Provider returns plain text; summariser uses it verbatim
+        // (after trim) and clamps to the budget.
+        let provider = std::sync::Arc::new(StubProvider::ok("alice decided to ship friday\n"));
         let s = LlmSummariser::new(LlmSummariserConfig::default(), provider.clone());
         let inputs = vec![sample_input("a", "alice ships friday")];
         let out = s.summarise(&inputs, &test_ctx()).await.unwrap();
-        assert!(out.content.contains("alice decided to ship"));
+        assert_eq!(out.content, "alice decided to ship friday");
         assert!(out.token_count > 0);
         assert_eq!(provider.calls.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::SeqCst), 1);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn build_prompt_carries_body_and_kind_tag() {
-        let provider = std::sync::Arc::new(StubProvider::ok("{}"));
+        let provider = std::sync::Arc::new(StubProvider::ok("hi"));
         let s = LlmSummariser::new(
             LlmSummariserConfig {
                 model: "llama3.1:8b".into(),
@@ -529,26 +464,10 @@ mod tests {
             provider,
         );
         let prompt = s.build_prompt("body", 2048);
-        assert!(prompt.system.contains("\"summary\""));
-        assert!(!prompt.system.contains("\"entities\""));
+        assert!(prompt.system.to_lowercase().contains("no commentary"));
+        assert!(!prompt.system.contains("\"summary\""));
         assert_eq!(prompt.user, "body");
         assert_eq!(prompt.temperature, 0.0);
         assert_eq!(prompt.kind, "memory_tree::summarise");
     }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn llm_output_deserialises_with_only_summary() {
-        let v: LlmSummaryOutput = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"summary":"hi"}"#).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(v.summary, "hi");
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn llm_output_ignores_extraneous_fields() {
-        // Prompt no longer asks for entities/topics, but if the model
-        // emits them anyway we should still parse `summary` cleanly.
-        let v: LlmSummaryOutput =
-            serde_json::from_str(r#"{"summary":"hi","entities":["Alice"],"topics":["x"]}"#)
-                .unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(v.summary, "hi");
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/types.rs b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/types.rs
index 2b3b72790..4e7c652b7 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/types.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/memory/tree/tree_source/types.rs
@@ -178,27 +178,31 @@ impl Buffer {
     }
 }
 
-/// Token ceiling for one summariser invocation.
+/// Input token target for one L0 → L1 seal: when an L0 buffer's
+/// `token_sum` reaches this, we summarise the accumulated leaves.
 ///
-/// Sized for the local 1B summariser (`gemma3:1b-it-qat`), which produces
-/// noticeably better summaries with ≤4-5k input than at higher caps. The
-/// chunker's `DEFAULT_CHUNK_MAX_TOKENS` (3_000) sits below this so each
-/// L0 buffer accumulates roughly 1-3 chunks before sealing.
-///
-/// Gates only the L0 → L1 seal: leaves are fan-in by raw token volume so
-/// the summariser input stays bounded. Summaries above L0 use
-/// [`SUMMARY_FANOUT`] instead — see `bucket_seal::should_seal`.
-pub const TOKEN_BUDGET: u32 = 4_500;
+/// Sized for the cloud summariser's 120k-token context with headroom for
+/// the system prompt and the model's own output. With ~5k tokens emitted
+/// per summary (see [`OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`]), one parent represents ~50k
+/// tokens of leaf content — i.e. ~10 child summaries' worth.
+pub const INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET: u32 = 50_000;
+
+/// Output token budget passed to the summariser as `ctx.token_budget`.
+/// The summariser may clamp lower (see `summariser/llm.rs`'s
+/// `MAX_SUMMARY_OUTPUT_TOKENS`). 5k keeps the produced summary well
+/// under the embedder's 8k input ceiling so the post-seal embed never
+/// rejects the row.
+pub const OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET: u32 = 5_000;
 
 /// Sibling count that triggers a seal at level ≥ 1 (summaries → next level).
 ///
-/// Decouples upper-level seals from per-summary token size so the tree's
-/// fan-in stays stable regardless of summariser quality. With a real
-/// summariser each L1 might be ~500 tokens; with the inert fallback each
-/// L1 fills the full [`TOKEN_BUDGET`]. Token-based gating collapses the
-/// inert case into a 1:1:1 chain — count-based gating gives a real tree
-/// shape (`SUMMARY_FANOUT` children per parent) in both cases.
-pub const SUMMARY_FANOUT: u32 = 4;
+/// Set to match the [`INPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`] / [`OUTPUT_TOKEN_BUDGET`]
+/// ratio so each level folds roughly the same volume of content as L0:
+/// 10 summaries × ~5k tokens ≈ 50k input. Decouples upper-level seals
+/// from per-summary token size so the tree's fan-in stays stable
+/// regardless of summariser quality (token-based gating would collapse
+/// the inert-fallback case into a 1:1:1 chain).
+pub const SUMMARY_FANOUT: u32 = 10;
 
 /// Default age at which a non-empty buffer is force-sealed even under the
 /// token budget. Keeps recent activity from stalling waiting for more
diff --git a/src/openhuman/scheduler_gate/gate.rs b/src/openhuman/scheduler_gate/gate.rs
index 826ca5545..157de0b62 100644
--- a/src/openhuman/scheduler_gate/gate.rs
+++ b/src/openhuman/scheduler_gate/gate.rs
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@ use crate::openhuman::scheduler_gate::signals::Signals;
 /// Process-wide ceiling on concurrent LLM-bound work.
 ///
 /// Held at 1 to keep concurrent local-Ollama / bge-m3 calls (8K context,
-/// ~1.3 GB resident each) from saturating local RAM. The cloud path
-/// itself is bandwidth-bound but the gate also fronts triage and
-/// reflection turns that fan out to `agent.run_turn`, where every local
-/// route loads the same Ollama model — so a single global slot is the
-/// safest contract until #1064 (per-toolkit triage toggle) and the
-/// cloud-side rate limiter ship.
-///
-/// See `feedback_local_llm_load.md` — backfills with multiple
+/// ~1.3 GB resident each) from saturating local RAM. See
+/// `feedback_local_llm_load.md` — backfills with multiple
 /// simultaneous Ollama requests have crashed the user's laptop twice.
+///
+/// Cloud-backend LLM calls bypass this semaphore at the worker layer
+/// (see `memory_tree::jobs::worker::run_once`) because they're
+/// bandwidth-bound, not RAM-bound, and the worker pool itself bounds
+/// concurrency upstream. Keeping this at 1 preserves the laptop-RAM
+/// contract regardless of backend.
 const LLM_SLOTS: usize = 1;
 
 static LLM_PERMITS: OnceLock<Arc<Semaphore>> = OnceLock::new();