diff --git a/mempalace/backends/chroma.py b/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
index 14ae9cd..c8d2f46 100644
--- a/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
+++ b/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
@@ -130,6 +130,35 @@ def quarantine_stale_hnsw(palace_path: str, stale_seconds: float = 3600.0) -> li
     return moved
 
 
+def _pin_hnsw_threads(collection) -> None:
+    """Best-effort retrofit: pin ``hnsw:num_threads=1`` on an existing collection.
+
+    Fresh collections set this via ``metadata=`` at creation. Legacy palaces
+    built before that change keep the default (parallel insert) and can hit
+    the HNSW race described in #974/#965. ChromaDB's
+    ``collection.modify(configuration=...)`` lets us re-apply ``num_threads=1``
+    in memory at load time so every new process is protected.
+
+    Note: in chromadb 1.5.x the modified ``configuration_json["hnsw"]`` does
+    not persist to disk across ``PersistentClient`` reopens, so this must
+    run on every ``get_collection`` call, not just once.
+    """
+    try:
+        from chromadb.api.collection_configuration import (
+            UpdateCollectionConfiguration,
+            UpdateHNSWConfiguration,
+        )
+    except ImportError:
+        logger.debug("_pin_hnsw_threads skipped: chromadb too old", exc_info=True)
+        return
+    try:
+        collection.modify(
+            configuration=UpdateCollectionConfiguration(hnsw=UpdateHNSWConfiguration(num_threads=1))
+        )
+    except Exception:
+        logger.debug("_pin_hnsw_threads modify failed", exc_info=True)
+
+
 def _fix_blob_seq_ids(palace_path: str) -> None:
     """Fix ChromaDB 0.6.x -> 1.5.x migration bug: BLOB seq_ids -> INTEGER.
 
@@ -566,10 +595,13 @@ class ChromaBackend(BaseBackend):
 
         if create:
             collection = client.get_or_create_collection(
-                collection_name, metadata={"hnsw:space": hnsw_space}, **ef_kwargs
+                collection_name,
+                metadata={"hnsw:space": hnsw_space, "hnsw:num_threads": 1},
+                **ef_kwargs,
             )
         else:
             collection = client.get_collection(collection_name, **ef_kwargs)
+        _pin_hnsw_threads(collection)
         return ChromaCollection(collection)
 
     def close_palace(self, palace) -> None:
@@ -613,7 +645,9 @@ class ChromaBackend(BaseBackend):
         ef = self._resolve_embedding_function()
         ef_kwargs = {"embedding_function": ef} if ef is not None else {}
         collection = self._client(palace_path).create_collection(
-            collection_name, metadata={"hnsw:space": hnsw_space}, **ef_kwargs
+            collection_name,
+            metadata={"hnsw:space": hnsw_space, "hnsw:num_threads": 1},
+            **ef_kwargs,
         )
         return ChromaCollection(collection)
 
diff --git a/mempalace/mcp_server.py b/mempalace/mcp_server.py
index 2650e30..485bbe5 100644
--- a/mempalace/mcp_server.py
+++ b/mempalace/mcp_server.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ from .config import (  # noqa: E402
     sanitize_content,
 )
 from .version import __version__  # noqa: E402
-from .backends.chroma import ChromaBackend, ChromaCollection  # noqa: E402
+from .backends.chroma import ChromaBackend, ChromaCollection, _pin_hnsw_threads  # noqa: E402
 from .query_sanitizer import sanitize_query  # noqa: E402
 from .searcher import search_memories  # noqa: E402
 from .palace_graph import (  # noqa: E402
@@ -217,15 +217,25 @@ def _get_collection(create=False):
     try:
         client = _get_client()
         if create:
-            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(
-                client.get_or_create_collection(
-                    _config.collection_name, metadata={"hnsw:space": "cosine"}
-                )
+            # hnsw:num_threads=1 disables ChromaDB's multi-threaded ParallelFor
+            # HNSW insert path, which has a race in repairConnectionsForUpdate /
+            # addPoint (see issues #974, #965). Set via metadata on fresh
+            # collections and re-applied via _pin_hnsw_threads() for legacy
+            # palaces whose collections were created before this fix (the
+            # runtime config does not persist cross-process in chromadb 1.5.x,
+            # so the retrofit runs every time _get_collection opens a cache).
+            raw = client.get_or_create_collection(
+                _config.collection_name,
+                metadata={"hnsw:space": "cosine", "hnsw:num_threads": 1},
             )
+            _pin_hnsw_threads(raw)
+            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw)
             _metadata_cache = None
             _metadata_cache_time = 0
         elif _collection_cache is None:
-            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(client.get_collection(_config.collection_name))
+            raw = client.get_collection(_config.collection_name)
+            _pin_hnsw_threads(raw)
+            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw)
             _metadata_cache = None
             _metadata_cache_time = 0
         return _collection_cache
diff --git a/mempalace/miner.py b/mempalace/miner.py
index b593797..2d610ea 100644
--- a/mempalace/miner.py
+++ b/mempalace/miner.py
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@ from typing import Optional
 from .palace import (
     NORMALIZE_VERSION,
     SKIP_DIRS,
+    MineAlreadyRunning,
     build_closet_lines,
     file_already_mined,
     get_closets_collection,
     get_collection,
     mine_lock,
+    mine_palace_lock,
     purge_file_closets,
     upsert_closet_lines,
 )
@@ -993,6 +995,52 @@ def mine(
     ``mine`` walks the tree itself just like before.
     """
 
+    if dry_run:
+        return _mine_impl(
+            project_dir,
+            palace_path,
+            wing_override=wing_override,
+            agent=agent,
+            limit=limit,
+            dry_run=dry_run,
+            respect_gitignore=respect_gitignore,
+            include_ignored=include_ignored,
+            files=files,
+        )
+
+    try:
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace_path):
+            return _mine_impl(
+                project_dir,
+                palace_path,
+                wing_override=wing_override,
+                agent=agent,
+                limit=limit,
+                dry_run=dry_run,
+                respect_gitignore=respect_gitignore,
+                include_ignored=include_ignored,
+                files=files,
+            )
+    except MineAlreadyRunning:
+        print(
+            f"mempalace: another `mine` is already running against "
+            f"{palace_path} — exiting cleanly.",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return
+
+
+def _mine_impl(
+    project_dir: str,
+    palace_path: str,
+    wing_override: str = None,
+    agent: str = "mempalace",
+    limit: int = 0,
+    dry_run: bool = False,
+    respect_gitignore: bool = True,
+    include_ignored: list = None,
+    files: list = None,
+):
     project_path = Path(project_dir).expanduser().resolve()
     config = load_config(project_dir)
 
diff --git a/mempalace/palace.py b/mempalace/palace.py
index a2a4a8e..07efb6a 100644
--- a/mempalace/palace.py
+++ b/mempalace/palace.py
@@ -310,6 +310,88 @@ def mine_lock(source_file: str):
         lf.close()
 
 
+class MineAlreadyRunning(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when another `mempalace mine` already holds the per-palace lock."""
+
+
+@contextlib.contextmanager
+def mine_palace_lock(palace_path: str):
+    """Per-palace non-blocking lock around the full `mine` pipeline.
+
+    The per-file `mine_lock` only protects delete+insert interleave for a
+    single source; it does not prevent N copies of `mempalace mine <dir>`
+    from being spawned concurrently by hooks. When that happens, each copy
+    drives ChromaDB HNSW inserts in parallel against the same palace,
+    which (combined with chromadb's multi-threaded ParallelFor) can
+    corrupt the HNSW graph and produce sparse link_lists.bin blowups.
+
+    The lock file is keyed by sha256(palace_path) so mines against
+    *different* palaces can still run in parallel — we only serialize
+    writes into the same palace, which is the correctness boundary.
+
+    The key is derived from a fully normalized form of the path:
+    `realpath` resolves symlinks and `..` segments, and `normcase` folds
+    case on Windows (which has a case-insensitive filesystem). Without
+    normcase, `C:\\Palace` and `c:\\palace` would hash to different keys
+    on Windows and let two concurrent mines touch the same on-disk palace.
+
+    Non-blocking: if another `mine` is already writing to this palace,
+    raise MineAlreadyRunning so the caller can exit cleanly instead of
+    piling up as a waiting worker.
+    """
+    lock_dir = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".mempalace", "locks")
+    os.makedirs(lock_dir, exist_ok=True)
+    resolved = os.path.realpath(os.path.expanduser(palace_path))
+    lock_key_source = os.path.normcase(resolved)
+    palace_key = hashlib.sha256(lock_key_source.encode()).hexdigest()[:16]
+    lock_path = os.path.join(lock_dir, f"mine_palace_{palace_key}.lock")
+
+    lf = open(lock_path, "w")
+    acquired = False
+    try:
+        if os.name == "nt":
+            import msvcrt
+
+            try:
+                msvcrt.locking(lf.fileno(), msvcrt.LK_NBLCK, 1)
+                acquired = True
+            except OSError as exc:
+                raise MineAlreadyRunning(
+                    f"another `mempalace mine` is already running against {resolved}"
+                ) from exc
+        else:
+            import fcntl
+
+            try:
+                fcntl.flock(lf, fcntl.LOCK_EX | fcntl.LOCK_NB)
+                acquired = True
+            except BlockingIOError as exc:
+                raise MineAlreadyRunning(
+                    f"another `mempalace mine` is already running against {resolved}"
+                ) from exc
+        yield
+    finally:
+        if acquired:
+            try:
+                if os.name == "nt":
+                    import msvcrt
+
+                    msvcrt.locking(lf.fileno(), msvcrt.LK_UNLCK, 1)
+                else:
+                    import fcntl
+
+                    fcntl.flock(lf, fcntl.LOCK_UN)
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        lf.close()
+
+
+# Backward-compatible alias (previous patch iteration used a single global
+# lock). Kept so third-party callers that imported it continue to work; new
+# code should use `mine_palace_lock(palace_path)` for per-palace scoping.
+mine_global_lock = mine_palace_lock
+
+
 def file_already_mined(collection, source_file: str, check_mtime: bool = False) -> bool:
     """Check if a file has already been filed in the palace.
 
diff --git a/tests/test_backends.py b/tests/test_backends.py
index b3f009a..e47eb6f 100644
--- a/tests/test_backends.py
+++ b/tests/test_backends.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from mempalace.backends.chroma import (
     ChromaBackend,
     ChromaCollection,
     _fix_blob_seq_ids,
+    _pin_hnsw_threads,
     quarantine_stale_hnsw,
 )
 
@@ -443,3 +444,52 @@ def test_quarantine_stale_hnsw_skips_already_quarantined(tmp_path):
     moved = quarantine_stale_hnsw(str(palace), stale_seconds=3600.0)
     assert moved == []
     assert drift.exists()
+
+
+# ── _pin_hnsw_threads ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_pin_hnsw_threads_retrofits_legacy_collection(tmp_path):
+    """Legacy collections (created without num_threads) get the retrofit applied."""
+    palace_path = tmp_path / "legacy-palace"
+    palace_path.mkdir()
+
+    client = chromadb.PersistentClient(path=str(palace_path))
+    col = client.create_collection(
+        "mempalace_drawers",
+        metadata={"hnsw:space": "cosine"},  # no num_threads — legacy
+    )
+    assert col.configuration_json.get("hnsw", {}).get("num_threads") is None
+
+    _pin_hnsw_threads(col)
+
+    assert col.configuration_json["hnsw"]["num_threads"] == 1
+
+
+def test_pin_hnsw_threads_swallows_all_errors():
+    """Retrofit never raises even when collection.modify explodes."""
+
+    class _ExplodingCollection:
+        def modify(self, *args, **kwargs):
+            raise RuntimeError("boom")
+
+    _pin_hnsw_threads(_ExplodingCollection())  # must not raise
+
+
+def test_get_collection_applies_retrofit_on_existing_palace(tmp_path):
+    """ChromaBackend.get_collection(create=False) applies the retrofit."""
+    palace_path = tmp_path / "palace"
+    palace_path.mkdir()
+
+    # Simulate a legacy palace: create collection without num_threads
+    bootstrap_client = chromadb.PersistentClient(path=str(palace_path))
+    bootstrap_client.create_collection("mempalace_drawers", metadata={"hnsw:space": "cosine"})
+    del bootstrap_client  # drop reference so a fresh client reopens cleanly
+
+    wrapper = ChromaBackend().get_collection(
+        str(palace_path),
+        collection_name="mempalace_drawers",
+        create=False,
+    )
+
+    assert wrapper._collection.configuration_json["hnsw"]["num_threads"] == 1
diff --git a/tests/test_palace_locks.py b/tests/test_palace_locks.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..601c894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_palace_locks.py
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+"""Tests for mine_palace_lock — the per-palace non-blocking mine guard.
+
+Covers the fix for the runaway mine fan-out described alongside issues
+#974 and #965: if N copies of `mempalace mine` are spawned concurrently
+against the same palace, they must collapse to a single runner rather
+than queue as waiters that will drive parallel HNSW inserts. Mines
+against *different* palaces must still be free to run in parallel.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import multiprocessing
+import os
+import time
+
+import pytest
+
+from mempalace.palace import (
+    MineAlreadyRunning,
+    mine_global_lock,
+    mine_palace_lock,
+)
+
+
+def _get_mp_context():
+    """Pick a start method that works on every CI runner.
+
+    `fork` is cheaper (no re-import) but is unavailable on Windows, so we fall
+    back to `spawn` there. `spawn` inherits ``os.environ`` (including the
+    monkeypatched ``HOME``) and re-imports the ``mempalace`` package in the
+    child, which is sufficient for the lock-file semantics exercised here.
+    """
+    start_method = "spawn" if os.name == "nt" else "fork"
+    return multiprocessing.get_context(start_method)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _hold_lock(palace_path: str, ready_flag: str, release_flag: str) -> int:
+    """Acquire mine_palace_lock, signal readiness, wait for release flag.
+
+    Returns 0 if we acquired the lock, 1 if MineAlreadyRunning was raised.
+    Runs in a child process for true cross-process locking semantics.
+    """
+    try:
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace_path):
+            # Tell the parent we hold the lock
+            open(ready_flag, "w").close()
+            # Wait until parent tells us to release
+            for _ in range(500):
+                if os.path.exists(release_flag):
+                    return 0
+                time.sleep(0.01)
+            return 0
+    except MineAlreadyRunning:
+        return 1
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Tests
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_single_acquire_succeeds(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    with mine_palace_lock(str(tmp_path / "palace")):
+        pass  # should not raise
+
+
+def test_lock_reusable_after_release(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+        pass
+    # Re-acquire must succeed now that the previous holder released
+    with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+        pass
+
+
+def test_same_palace_serializes_across_processes(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Two processes contending for the same palace: second must be rejected."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release")
+
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(palace, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        # Wait for the holder to acquire
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock in time"
+
+        # From the parent, we must not be able to acquire the same palace lock
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+                pytest.fail("second acquire of same palace should have raised")
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
+        assert holder.exitcode == 0
+
+
+def test_different_palaces_dont_conflict(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Mines against different palaces must NOT block each other."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace_a = str(tmp_path / "palace_a")
+    palace_b = str(tmp_path / "palace_b")
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready_a")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release_a")
+
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(palace_a, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock in time"
+
+        # Different palace — must succeed even while palace_a is held
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace_b):
+            pass  # no exception expected
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
+
+
+def test_palace_path_is_normalized(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Relative and absolute forms of the same path must use the same lock."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+    os.makedirs(tmp_path / "palace", exist_ok=True)
+    absolute = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    relative = "palace"
+
+    # Hold the lock with the absolute form; attempting to re-acquire with
+    # the relative form (which resolves to the same absolute path) must fail.
+    with mine_palace_lock(absolute):
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            with mine_palace_lock(relative):
+                pytest.fail("normalized path collision should have raised")
+
+
+def test_mine_global_lock_is_alias_for_back_compat(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Old callers of `mine_global_lock` should still work."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    assert mine_global_lock is mine_palace_lock
+    with mine_global_lock(str(tmp_path / "palace")):
+        pass  # the alias accepts the same palace_path argument