diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/_sessions_db_template.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/_sessions_db_template.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ab7e8576f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/_sessions_db_template.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+"""One migrated ``sessions.db`` template per process, copied per test.
+
+``studyloop.history._connection._connect`` creates the sessions database from
+``SCHEMA_FILE`` and runs every migration the first time any caller opens a
+path that does not exist yet. A test module that points ``STUDYLOOP_DB`` at a
+fresh ``tmp_path / "sessions.db"`` therefore pays that bootstrap on its first
+write — ~60 ms and a 1 MB, 75-table file per test on a laptop, and on a slow
+runner disk the first step to stall (CI run 35350636500 timed out two seam
+tests inside ``plan new`` creating the database). Seeding the path from a
+template turns the bootstrap into one buffered file copy.
+
+This is deliberately *not* a shared live database. ``test_plan_application.py``
+(council review 1, F6) needs "no history" to be a fact about the test rather
+than about what a shared file holds, so every test still gets its own file at
+its own path; only the schema bootstrap is shared.
+
+The template is built through the production ``_connect`` — not a copy of its
+steps — so a seeded database is what a genuine first connect would have
+produced (``test_sessions_db_template.py`` pins the schema and
+``user_version`` against a fresh bootstrap). ``connect_db`` sets
+``journal_mode=WAL`` on it; the connection is closed before the first copy so
+SQLite has checkpointed and removed the ``-wal``/``-shm`` sidecars, and the
+main file is the whole database.
+
+Kept out of ``conftest.py`` for the same reason ``_readiness.py`` and
+``_vault_isolation.py`` are: the helper is the subject of a guard test, and a
+test cannot import symbols from a conftest in a way a type checker resolves.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import atexit
+import shutil
+import tempfile
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+_TEMPLATE: Path | None = None
+
+
+def _build(destination: Path) -> Path:
+    """Bootstrap ``destination`` exactly as the first production connect would."""
+    from studyloop.history import _connection
+
+    with pytest.MonkeyPatch.context() as env:
+        env.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(destination))
+        # An absent config file falls through to defaults, so the config's own
+        # ``session_db`` key — which outranks STUDYLOOP_DB by design — cannot
+        # route the bootstrap at a test's or the learner's database.
+        env.setenv("STUDYLOOP_CONFIG", str(destination.parent / "no-config.yaml"))
+        conn = _connection._connect()
+    if conn is None:  # pragma: no cover - agent-session-tools is a hard dependency here
+        raise RuntimeError("could not bootstrap the sessions.db template")
+    conn.close()
+    return destination
+
+
+def template_path() -> Path:
+    """The process-wide migrated template; built on first use."""
+    global _TEMPLATE
+    if _TEMPLATE is None:
+        root = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="studyloop-test-sessions-template-"))
+        atexit.register(shutil.rmtree, root, ignore_errors=True)
+        _TEMPLATE = _build(root / "sessions.db")
+    return _TEMPLATE
+
+
+def seed_sessions_db(destination: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> Path:
+    """Copy the template to ``destination`` and point ``STUDYLOOP_DB`` at it.
+
+    The one-line replacement for ``monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB",
+    str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))``: same path, same isolation, no bootstrap
+    on the test's first write.
+    """
+    destination.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    shutil.copyfile(template_path(), destination)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(destination))
+    return destination
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_agent_prompt_contract.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_agent_prompt_contract.py
index 6fecede4a..f18ca00ff 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_agent_prompt_contract.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_agent_prompt_contract.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import click
 import pytest
 import typer
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from typer.testing import CliRunner
 
 runner = CliRunner()
@@ -455,7 +456,7 @@ def test_bridge_add_persists_to_the_database_not_config_yaml(tmp_path, monkeypat
     )
     before = config_path.read_bytes()
     monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_CONFIG", str(config_path))
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
     result = click_runner.invoke(
         cli,
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_doctor.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_doctor.py
index d27f0a18a..ce1a49a23 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_doctor.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_doctor.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import click
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from studyloop.doctor.models import CheckResult
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ def _isolated_plans(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         from studyloop.planning import store
 
         monkeypatch.setenv(store.PLANS_DIR_ENV, str(tmp_path / "study-plans"))
-        monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+        seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
         self.plans_dir = store.plans_dir()
 
     def test_doctor_names_each_active_but_unready_plan_with_its_blockers(self) -> None:
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_plan_seam.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_plan_seam.py
index 070cdb649..da3bd97f3 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_plan_seam.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_cli_plan_seam.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import re
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from studyloop.cli import cli
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_record_seam.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_record_seam.py
index 4e7eadc7b..f77521006 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_record_seam.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_record_seam.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 pytest.importorskip("mcp")
 
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from mcp.server.fastmcp.exceptions import ToolError
 
 from studyloop.planning import (
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """``store.create_plan`` refreshes the derived index in the sessions
     database; keep that off any developer database (council review 2, F10)."""
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 def _tool():
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_tools.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_tools.py
index 489c27ddd..f37ddd990 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_tools.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_mcp_plan_tools.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 
 pytest.importorskip("mcp")
 
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from mcp.server.fastmcp.exceptions import ToolError
 
 from studyloop.planning import (
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """``store.create_plan`` refreshes the derived index in the sessions
     database; keep that off any developer database (council review 2, F10)."""
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_now_plan_guidance.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_now_plan_guidance.py
index 74d26728e..2bd3d24df 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_now_plan_guidance.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_now_plan_guidance.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.learning import decision
 from studyloop.learning.decision import PlanRef, _Candidate, build_now_plan
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ def isolate_now_world(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> Path:
         encoding="utf-8",
     )
     monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_CONFIG", str(config))
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
     monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_STATE_DIR", str(tmp_path / "state"))
     monkeypatch.setenv(store.PLANS_DIR_ENV, str(tmp_path / "study-plans"))
     monkeypatch.setattr(decision, "datetime", _FrozenDatetime)
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application.py
index dd3053bf5..b8fbe5bfc 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import json
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.planning import store
 from studyloop.planning.application import PlanApplication
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """A fresh checkpoint database per test, so "no history" is a fact about
     this test rather than about what the suite's shared database holds (F6)."""
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
     return tmp_path / "sessions.db"
 
 
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application_mutations.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application_mutations.py
index d671ceeff..2e4db03b5 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application_mutations.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_application_mutations.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import json
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.planning import index as index_module
 from studyloop.planning import store
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """A fresh checkpoint database per test (council review 1, F6)."""
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
     return tmp_path / "sessions.db"
 
 
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_guidance.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_guidance.py
index f61d5a7a1..58c47b7aa 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_guidance.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_guidance.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 from datetime import UTC, date, datetime, timedelta
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.planning import store
 from studyloop.planning.application import PlanApplication
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_intent_snapshots.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_intent_snapshots.py
index 9aadb0527..b05564e1b 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_intent_snapshots.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_intent_snapshots.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 from collections.abc import Mapping
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.planning import CreatePlan, PlanApplication, store
 
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_world(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setenv(store.PLANS_DIR_ENV, str(tmp_path / "study-plans"))
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 def _answers() -> dict[str, object]:
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_journey_combined.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_journey_combined.py
index 1c04c51f3..6c90e7a83 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_journey_combined.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_journey_combined.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 pytest.importorskip("fastapi")
 pytest.importorskip("mcp")
 
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient  # pyright: ignore[reportMissingImports]
 
 from studyloop.planning import store
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ def plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> Path:
     """One plans directory for BOTH the Web routes and the MCP tools — the
     point of the journey is that they see the same documents."""
     monkeypatch.setenv(store.PLANS_DIR_ENV, str(tmp_path / "study-plans"))
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
     return tmp_path / "study-plans"
 
 
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_recording_failures.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_recording_failures.py
index 971337242..333a1f9dc 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_recording_failures.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_plan_recording_failures.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import pytest
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 
 from studyloop.planning import evaluation as evaluation_module
 from studyloop.planning import index as index_module
@@ -33,8 +34,8 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    """A fresh sessions database per test; the schema is created on first connect."""
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    """A fresh sessions database per test, seeded from the migrated template."""
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
     return tmp_path / "sessions.db"
 
 
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_session_start_purpose.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_session_start_purpose.py
index 839aafc52..65c0ae66d 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_session_start_purpose.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_session_start_purpose.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 
 pytest.importorskip("fastapi")
 
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient  # pyright: ignore[reportMissingImports]
 
 from studyloop.planning import store
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def _isolated_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_sessions_db_template.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_sessions_db_template.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..570d8287f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_sessions_db_template.py
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+"""The per-test ``sessions.db`` is a copy of one migrated template, not a bootstrap.
+
+``studyloop.history._connection._connect`` creates the sessions database from
+``SCHEMA_FILE`` and runs every migration the first time any caller opens a
+path that does not exist. Fourteen test modules pointed ``STUDYLOOP_DB`` at a
+fresh ``tmp_path / "sessions.db"`` per test, so each test's first write —
+usually ``plan new`` indexing its document — paid that bootstrap (~60 ms and
+a 1 MB file locally, 241 times across those modules). On a slow runner disk
+that step is the first to stall: CI run 35350636500 timed out two ``plan
+close`` seam tests at 60 s each inside ``plan new`` *creating the database*,
+before ``plan close`` ran.
+
+The fix keeps per-test isolation — ``test_plan_application.py`` (council
+review 1, F6) needs "no history" to be a fact about the test, not about a
+shared database — and removes the bootstrap from every test's critical path:
+one template is built once per process through the production ``_connect``,
+and each test receives its own copy at its own path.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import re
+import sqlite3
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import _sessions_db_template as template_module
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db, template_path
+
+
+def _schema(db: Path) -> set[tuple[str, str, str]]:
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(db)
+    try:
+        rows = conn.execute(
+            "SELECT type, name, COALESCE(sql, '') FROM sqlite_master "
+            "WHERE name NOT LIKE 'sqlite_%' ORDER BY type, name"
+        ).fetchall()
+        return {(t, n, s) for t, n, s in rows}
+    finally:
+        conn.close()
+
+
+def _user_version(db: Path) -> int:
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(db)
+    try:
+        return conn.execute("PRAGMA user_version").fetchone()[0]
+    finally:
+        conn.close()
+
+
+def test_template_is_what_the_production_bootstrap_produces(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> None:
+    """Same schema, same user_version as a genuine first ``_connect`` on a fresh path."""
+    from agent_session_tools.migrations import CURRENT_VERSION
+    from studyloop.history import _connection
+
+    fresh = tmp_path / "fresh" / "sessions.db"
+    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(fresh))
+    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_CONFIG", str(tmp_path / "no-config.yaml"))
+    conn = _connection._connect()
+    assert conn is not None
+    conn.close()
+
+    template = template_path()
+    assert template.is_file()
+    assert _user_version(template) == CURRENT_VERSION == _user_version(fresh)
+    assert _schema(template) == _schema(fresh)
+
+
+def test_seed_gives_each_test_its_own_file_and_skips_the_bootstrap(
+    tmp_path, monkeypatch, caplog
+) -> None:
+    from studyloop.history import _connection
+
+    first = seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "a" / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
+    second = seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "b" / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
+
+    assert first != second and first.is_file() and second.is_file()
+    assert os.environ["STUDYLOOP_DB"] == str(second), "the last seed wins the env var"
+
+    with caplog.at_level("INFO", logger="studyloop.history._connection"):
+        conn = _connection._connect()
+    assert conn is not None
+    conn.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO study_sessions (id, topic, started_at) VALUES ('s1', 'sql', '2026-01-01')"
+    )
+    conn.commit()
+    conn.close()
+    assert "Created sessions DB" not in caplog.text, "a seeded path must not be bootstrapped"
+
+    other = sqlite3.connect(first)
+    try:
+        assert other.execute("SELECT count(*) FROM study_sessions").fetchone()[0] == 0, (
+            "a write to one test's database must not be visible from another's"
+        )
+    finally:
+        other.close()
+
+
+def test_template_is_built_once_per_process(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    template_path()  # ensure built
+
+    def must_not_rebuild():  # pragma: no cover - the assertion is that it is never called
+        raise AssertionError("template rebuilt")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(template_module, "_build", must_not_rebuild)
+    assert template_path() == template_path()
+
+
+def test_seed_copies_a_single_checkpointed_file(tmp_path, monkeypatch) -> None:
+    """No ``-wal`` / ``-shm`` sidecar travels with the template or the copy."""
+    template = template_path()
+    assert sorted(p.name for p in template.parent.iterdir()) == ["sessions.db"]
+
+    dest = seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
+    assert sorted(p.name for p in dest.parent.glob("sessions.db*")) == ["sessions.db"]
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(dest)
+    try:
+        assert conn.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode").fetchone()[0] == "wal"
+        assert conn.execute("PRAGMA integrity_check").fetchone()[0] == "ok"
+    finally:
+        conn.close()
+
+
+_FRESH_PATH_PATTERN = re.compile(
+    r'setenv\(\s*"STUDYLOOP_DB"\s*,\s*str\(tmp_path\s*/\s*"sessions\.db"\)'
+)
+
+
+def test_no_test_module_bootstraps_a_fresh_sessions_db_per_test() -> None:
+    """Lint: the pattern this module retires must not come back.
+
+    A module that needs a database at ``tmp_path / "sessions.db"`` seeds it
+    with :func:`seed_sessions_db`; a module that builds its own database (a
+    drifted FTS index, a scope fixture) uses its own file name and is not
+    matched.
+    """
+    tests_dir = Path(__file__).parent
+    offenders = sorted(
+        str(path.relative_to(tests_dir))
+        for path in tests_dir.rglob("test_*.py")
+        if path != Path(__file__) and _FRESH_PATH_PATTERN.search(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    )
+    assert offenders == [], (
+        "these modules bootstrap a fresh sessions.db per test; "
+        f"seed it from the template instead: {offenders}"
+    )
diff --git a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_web_plans_seam.py b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_web_plans_seam.py
index 4abfa98f9..bf61296a6 100644
--- a/packages/studyloop/tests/test_web_plans_seam.py
+++ b/packages/studyloop/tests/test_web_plans_seam.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 pytest.importorskip("fastapi")
 
+from _sessions_db_template import seed_sessions_db
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 
 from studyloop.planning import PlanApplication, store
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ def isolated_plans_dir(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
 def isolated_checkpoint_db(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    monkeypatch.setenv("STUDYLOOP_DB", str(tmp_path / "sessions.db"))
+    seed_sessions_db(tmp_path / "sessions.db", monkeypatch)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture