diff --git a/scripts/api.py b/scripts/api.py
index 67fdba2..bd4415a 100644
--- a/scripts/api.py
+++ b/scripts/api.py
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ SESSIONS_DB = str(Path.home() / "aaronai" / "sessions.db")
 def _init_sessions():
     conn = sqlite3.connect(SESSIONS_DB)
     conn.execute("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sessions (token TEXT PRIMARY KEY, created_at TEXT)")
+    conn.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")
     conn.commit()
     conn.close()
 
@@ -182,6 +183,8 @@ def init_conversations_db():
         timestamp TEXT NOT NULL,
         FOREIGN KEY (conversation_id) REFERENCES conversations(id)
     )''')
+    c.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")
+    c.execute("CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_messages_conv_ts ON messages(conversation_id, timestamp DESC)")
     conn.commit()
     conn.close()
 
diff --git a/scripts/backup.sh b/scripts/backup.sh
index 81cd736..6a51cbb 100755
--- a/scripts/backup.sh
+++ b/scripts/backup.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
 # Copy critical files
 cp ~/aaronai/memory.md "$BACKUP_DIR/memory-$DATE.md"
 cp ~/aaronai/settings.json "$BACKUP_DIR/settings-$DATE.json"
-cp ~/aaronai/conversations.db "$BACKUP_DIR/conversations-$DATE.db"
+python3 -c "import sqlite3, sys; src = sqlite3.connect('$HOME/aaronai/conversations.db'); dst = sqlite3.connect('$BACKUP_DIR/conversations-$DATE.db'); src.backup(dst); dst.close(); src.close()"
 
 # Keep only last 7 days
 find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "*.md" -mtime +7 -delete