diff --git a/docs/concepts/memory-builtin.md b/docs/concepts/memory-builtin.md
index 1accffdc519b..e3b108359f99 100644
--- a/docs/concepts/memory-builtin.md
+++ b/docs/concepts/memory-builtin.md
@@ -126,7 +126,12 @@ Doctor removes the retired `memory.backend`, `memory.qmd`, and
 `memory.search.qmd` settings, including agent-scoped `memory.search.qmd`
 forms. It preserves QMD paths and extra collections as the corresponding
 `memory.search.extraPaths` entries, including `{ path, pattern }` globs. When
-Memory Core finds a retired per-agent QMD workspace under
+QMD session indexing was enabled, Doctor also enables builtin session indexing
+and adds `sessions` to `memory.search.sources` without enabling broader
+cross-conversation recall. Retained session-reset transcripts remain in the
+agent's sessions directory and are indexed from those original artifacts.
+
+When Memory Core finds a retired per-agent QMD workspace under
 `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/qmd/`, Doctor also offers to remove its derived
 indexes, model downloads, collection metadata, and session exports.
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/memory-config.md b/docs/reference/memory-config.md
index faa3421a3935..ca2bd3fd967f 100644
--- a/docs/reference/memory-config.md
+++ b/docs/reference/memory-config.md
@@ -501,6 +501,10 @@ allows it).
 separate runtime-only authorization limited to same-agent private
 transcripts during the bounded Active Memory pass.
 
+An explicit `memory_search` request for the `sessions` corpus requires session
+search to be enabled for that agent. If it is unavailable, OpenClaw explains
+how to enable session indexing instead of silently searching memory files.
+
 The examples below place these settings under top-level `memory.search`. You can also
 apply equivalent settings in a per-agent `memory.search` override when only one
 agent should index and search session transcripts.
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/doctor-contract-api.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/doctor-contract-api.test.ts
index 38e45c064bf6..d6478dc256ca 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/doctor-contract-api.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/doctor-contract-api.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-contracts";
+import { buildSessionEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/memory-core-host-engine-sessions";
 import {
   ensureMemoryIndexSchema,
   loadSqliteVecExtension,
@@ -2577,6 +2578,13 @@ describe("memory-core doctor dreaming migration", () => {
       "agent",
       "openclaw-agent.sqlite",
     );
+    const retainedResetTranscript = path.join(
+      stateDir,
+      "agents",
+      "main",
+      "sessions",
+      "session-1.jsonl.reset.2026-08-23T07-10-59.000Z",
+    );
     const invalidAgentQmdHome = path.join(stateDir, "agents", "main!", "qmd");
     const externalModels = path.join(rootDir, "shared-qmd-models");
     const symlinkHomeTarget = path.join(rootDir, "symlink-qmd-home-target");
@@ -2586,6 +2594,7 @@ describe("memory-core doctor dreaming migration", () => {
       path.join(qmdHome, "xdg-config", "qmd", "index.yml"),
       path.join(qmdHome, "sessions", "session.md"),
       canonicalAgentFile,
+      retainedResetTranscript,
       path.join(invalidAgentQmdHome, "index.sqlite"),
       path.join(externalModels, "model.bin"),
       path.join(symlinkHomeTarget, "index.sqlite"),
@@ -2593,6 +2602,14 @@ describe("memory-core doctor dreaming migration", () => {
       await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
       await fs.writeFile(filePath, "derived", "utf8");
     }
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      retainedResetTranscript,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        type: "message",
+        message: { role: "user", content: "Retained reset transcript recall fact" },
+      }),
+      "utf8",
+    );
     await fs.symlink(externalModels, path.join(qmdHome, "xdg-cache", "qmd", "models"));
     await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(symlinkHome), { recursive: true });
     await fs.symlink(symlinkHomeTarget, symlinkHome);
@@ -2611,6 +2628,12 @@ describe("memory-core doctor dreaming migration", () => {
 
     await expect(fs.access(qmdHome)).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "ENOENT" });
     await expect(fs.access(canonicalAgentFile)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    await expect(fs.readFile(retainedResetTranscript, "utf8")).resolves.toContain(
+      "Retained reset transcript recall fact",
+    );
+    expect((await buildSessionEntry(retainedResetTranscript))?.content).toBe(
+      "User: Retained reset transcript recall fact",
+    );
     await expect(fs.access(invalidAgentQmdHome)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
     await expect(fs.access(path.join(externalModels, "model.bin"))).resolves.toBeUndefined();
     expect((await fs.lstat(symlinkHome)).isSymbolicLink()).toBe(true);
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.test.ts
index fc0bc11f5a72..0ca525855a57 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.test.ts
@@ -871,43 +871,73 @@ describe("memory_search corpus labels", () => {
     expect(details.results[2]?.score).toBeCloseTo(0.765);
   });
 
-  it.each(["sessions", "all"] as const)(
-    "does not let ordinary corpus=%s broaden implicitly indexed recall transcripts",
-    async (corpus) => {
-      let seenSources: readonly string[] | undefined;
-      setMemorySearchImpl(async (opts) => {
-        seenSources = opts?.sources;
-        return [
-          {
-            path: "sessions/private-group.jsonl",
-            startLine: 1,
-            endLine: 2,
-            score: 0.95,
-            snippet: "private transcript",
-            source: "sessions" as const,
-          },
-        ];
-      });
+  it("does not let corpus=all broaden implicitly indexed recall transcripts", async () => {
+    let seenSources: readonly string[] | undefined;
+    setMemorySearchImpl(async (opts) => {
+      seenSources = opts?.sources;
+      return [
+        {
+          path: "sessions/private-group.jsonl",
+          startLine: 1,
+          endLine: 2,
+          score: 0.95,
+          snippet: "private transcript",
+          source: "sessions" as const,
+        },
+      ];
+    });
+    const tool = createMemorySearchToolOrThrow({
+      config: {
+        agents: {
+          defaults: {},
+          list: [{ id: "main", default: true }],
+        },
+        memory: {
+          citations: "off",
+          search: { rememberAcrossConversations: true },
+        },
+        tools: { sessions: { visibility: "all" } },
+      },
+      agentSessionKey: "agent:main:main",
+    });
+
+    const result = await tool.execute("ordinary-search", {
+      query: "favorite food",
+      corpus: "all",
+    });
+    const details = result.details as { results: Array<{ source: string }> };
+
+    expect(seenSources).toEqual(["memory"]);
+    expect(details.results).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { name: "recall-only session indexing", rememberAcrossConversations: true },
+    { name: "disabled session indexing", rememberAcrossConversations: false },
+  ])(
+    "reports unavailable for corpus=sessions with $name instead of searching memory files",
+    async ({ rememberAcrossConversations }) => {
       const tool = createMemorySearchToolOrThrow({
         config: {
-          agents: {
-            defaults: {},
-            list: [{ id: "main", default: true }],
-          },
-          memory: {
-            citations: "off",
-            search: { rememberAcrossConversations: true },
-          },
+          agents: { list: [{ id: "main", default: true }] },
+          memory: { search: { rememberAcrossConversations } },
           tools: { sessions: { visibility: "all" } },
         },
         agentSessionKey: "agent:main:main",
       });
 
-      const result = await tool.execute("ordinary-search", { query: "favorite food", corpus });
-      const details = result.details as { results: Array<{ source: string }> };
+      const result = await tool.execute("sessions-unavailable", {
+        query: "favorite food",
+        corpus: "sessions",
+      });
 
-      expect(seenSources).toEqual(["memory"]);
-      expect(details.results).toEqual([]);
+      expectUnavailableMemorySearchDetails(result.details, {
+        error: "Session transcript search is not enabled.",
+        warning: "Session transcript search is unavailable for this agent.",
+        action:
+          'Enable memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory and add "sessions" to memory.search.sources, then retry memory_search.',
+      });
+      expect(getMemorySearchManagerMockCalls()).toBe(0);
     },
   );
 
@@ -943,6 +973,63 @@ describe("memory_search corpus labels", () => {
     },
   );
 
+  it.each([
+    { visibility: "agent" as const, visible: true },
+    { visibility: "self" as const, visible: false },
+  ])(
+    "keeps migrated isolated-DM reset recall within visibility=$visibility",
+    async ({ visibility, visible }) => {
+      let seenSources: readonly string[] | undefined;
+      setMemorySearchImpl(async (opts) => {
+        seenSources = opts?.sources;
+        return [
+          {
+            path: "sessions/main/past-thread.jsonl.reset.2026-08-23T07-10-59.000Z",
+            startLine: 1,
+            endLine: 2,
+            score: 0.9,
+            snippet: "Retained pre-reset conversation fact",
+            source: "sessions" as const,
+          },
+        ];
+      });
+      const tool = createMemorySearchToolOrThrow({
+        config: {
+          agents: { list: [{ id: "main", default: true }] },
+          session: { dmScope: "per-channel-peer" },
+          memory: {
+            citations: "off",
+            search: {
+              rememberAcrossConversations: false,
+              experimental: { sessionMemory: true },
+              sources: ["memory", "sessions"],
+            },
+          },
+          tools: { sessions: { visibility } },
+        },
+        agentSessionKey: "agent:main:main",
+      });
+
+      const result = await tool.execute("isolated-session-search", {
+        query: "pre-reset conversation",
+        corpus: "sessions",
+      });
+      const details = result.details as { results: Array<{ corpus: string; snippet: string }> };
+
+      expect(seenSources).toEqual(["sessions"]);
+      expect(details.results).toEqual(
+        visible
+          ? [
+              expect.objectContaining({
+                corpus: "sessions",
+                snippet: "Retained pre-reset conversation fact",
+              }),
+            ]
+          : [],
+      );
+    },
+  );
+
   it("forces trusted conversation recall onto its authorized transcript corpus", async () => {
     let seenSources: readonly string[] | undefined;
     setMemorySearchImpl(async (opts) => {
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.ts
index cecfc7a5d231..3d00379b2d63 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/tools.ts
@@ -292,6 +292,19 @@ export function createMemorySearchTool(options: MemoryToolOptions) {
         // The trusted runtime chooses the recall corpus; model-authored arguments cannot broaden it.
         const requestedCorpus =
           options.conversationRecall?.corpus === "sessions" ? "sessions" : modelRequestedCorpus;
+        if (
+          requestedCorpus === "sessions" &&
+          !options.conversationRecall &&
+          !resolveMemorySearchConfig(cfg, agentId)?.searchSources.includes("sessions")
+        ) {
+          return jsonResult(
+            buildMemorySearchUnavailableResult("Session transcript search is not enabled.", {
+              warning: "Session transcript search is unavailable for this agent.",
+              action:
+                'Enable memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory and add "sessions" to memory.search.sources, then retry memory_search.',
+            }),
+          );
+        }
         const cooldownKey = resolveMemorySearchToolCooldownKey({
           agentId,
           agentSessionKey: options.agentSessionKey,
diff --git a/packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/session-files.test.ts b/packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/session-files.test.ts
index 23e20bffcedf..51a95f2e05a0 100644
--- a/packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/session-files.test.ts
+++ b/packages/memory-host-sdk/src/host/session-files.test.ts
@@ -307,6 +307,17 @@ describe("listSessionTranscriptCorpusEntriesForAgent", () => {
         message: { role: "user", content: "Archived JSONL transcript text" },
       }),
     );
+    const resetArchivePath = path.join(
+      sessionsDir,
+      `${sessionId}.jsonl.reset.2026-06-25T12-02-00.000Z`,
+    );
+    fsSync.writeFileSync(
+      resetArchivePath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        type: "message",
+        message: { role: "user", content: "Retained pre-reset conversation fact" },
+      }),
+    );
 
     expect(fsSync.existsSync(path.join(sessionsDir, `${sessionId}.jsonl`))).toBe(false);
     const entries = await listSessionTranscriptCorpusEntriesForAgent("main");
@@ -330,6 +341,10 @@ describe("listSessionTranscriptCorpusEntriesForAgent", () => {
           sessionFile: archivePath,
           sessionId,
         }),
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          artifactKind: "archive-artifact",
+          sessionFile: resetArchivePath,
+        }),
       ]),
     );
 
@@ -350,6 +365,7 @@ describe("listSessionTranscriptCorpusEntriesForAgent", () => {
       updatedAtMs: updatedAt,
     });
     const archiveEntry = requireSessionEntry(await buildSessionEntry(archivePath));
+    const resetArchiveEntry = requireSessionEntry(await buildSessionEntry(resetArchivePath));
 
     expect(liveEntry.path).toBe("sessions/main/sqlite-live.jsonl");
     expect(liveEntry.content).toBe("User: Live SQLite transcript text");
@@ -363,6 +379,10 @@ describe("listSessionTranscriptCorpusEntriesForAgent", () => {
       "sessions/main/sqlite-live.jsonl.deleted.2026-06-25T12-01-00.000Z",
     );
     expect(archiveEntry.content).toBe("User: Archived JSONL transcript text");
+    expect(resetArchiveEntry.path).toBe(
+      "sessions/main/sqlite-live.jsonl.reset.2026-06-25T12-02-00.000Z",
+    );
+    expect(resetArchiveEntry.content).toBe("User: Retained pre-reset conversation fact");
   });
 
   it("exposes content revisions that change with SQLite appends and file replacement", async () => {
diff --git a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrate.e2e.test.ts b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrate.e2e.test.ts
index 917a95254f21..efa811af03e1 100644
--- a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrate.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrate.e2e.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveMemorySearchConfig } from "../../../agents/memory-search.js";
 import { validateConfigObjectRaw } from "../../../config/validation.js";
 import { applyLegacyDoctorMigrations } from "./legacy-config-compat.js";
 import { migrateLegacyConfig } from "./legacy-config-migrate.js";
@@ -42,6 +43,80 @@ describe("legacy config migration end to end", () => {
     expect(validateConfigObjectRaw({ agents: { defaults: { tts: {} } } }).ok).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it.each([
+    {
+      name: "defaults-only QMD session indexing",
+      canonical: undefined,
+      defaults: {
+        provider: "none",
+        rememberAcrossConversations: false,
+        extraPaths: ["/defaults-existing"],
+      },
+      expectedSources: ["memory", "sessions"],
+      expectedPaths: ["/defaults-existing", "/defaults-qmd"],
+    },
+    {
+      name: "explicit canonical privacy and indexing policy",
+      canonical: {
+        provider: "none",
+        rememberAcrossConversations: false,
+        experimental: { sessionMemory: false },
+        sources: ["memory"],
+        extraPaths: ["/canonical"],
+      },
+      defaults: {
+        provider: "openai",
+        rememberAcrossConversations: true,
+        experimental: { sessionMemory: true },
+        extraPaths: ["/defaults-existing"],
+      },
+      expectedSources: ["memory"],
+      expectedPaths: ["/canonical", "/defaults-qmd"],
+    },
+  ])(
+    "migrates $name into validated effective memory settings",
+    ({ canonical, defaults, expectedSources, expectedPaths }) => {
+      const result = migrateLegacyConfig({
+        ...(canonical ? { memory: { search: canonical } } : {}),
+        session: { dmScope: "per-peer" },
+        agents: {
+          entries: { main: {} },
+          defaults: {
+            memory: {
+              search: {
+                ...defaults,
+                qmd: {
+                  sessions: { enabled: true },
+                  extraCollections: [{ path: "/defaults-qmd" }],
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(result.partiallyValid).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(result.config).not.toHaveProperty("agents.defaults.memory");
+      const validation = validateConfigObjectRaw(result.config);
+      expect(validation.ok, validation.ok ? undefined : JSON.stringify(validation.issues)).toBe(
+        true,
+      );
+      if (!validation.ok) {
+        return;
+      }
+      const resolved = resolveMemorySearchConfig(validation.config, "main");
+      expect(resolved).toMatchObject({
+        provider: "none",
+        rememberAcrossConversations: false,
+        sources: expectedSources,
+        searchSources: expectedSources,
+        extraPaths: expectedPaths,
+      });
+      expect(validation.config.memory?.search?.experimental?.sessionMemory).toBe(!canonical);
+      expect(migrateLegacyConfig(validation.config)).toEqual({ config: null, changes: [] });
+    },
+  );
+
   it("canonicalizes a multi-family legacy config and is idempotent", () => {
     const result = migrateLegacyConfig({
       env: { shellEnv: { enabled: true }, API_ORIGIN: "https://example.test" },
diff --git a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired-memory-qmd.ts b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired-memory-qmd.ts
index 72dc9edc8f1a..edd54f76ec2b 100644
--- a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired-memory-qmd.ts
+++ b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired-memory-qmd.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import {
   defineLegacyConfigMigration,
   ensureRecord,
   getRecord,
+  mergeMissing,
   type LegacyConfigMigrationSpec,
   type LegacyConfigRule,
 } from "../../../config/legacy.shared.js";
@@ -91,11 +92,50 @@ function migrateRetiredQmdExternalPaths(params: {
   }
 }
 
+function migrateRetiredQmdSessionIndexing(
+  qmd: Record<string, unknown> | null,
+  scope: Record<string, unknown>,
+  sourcePath: string,
+  changes: string[],
+  targetPath = sourcePath === "memory.qmd" ? "memory.search" : sourcePath.slice(0, -4),
+): void {
+  if (getRecord(qmd?.sessions)?.enabled !== true) {
+    return;
+  }
+  const search = ensureRecord(ensureRecord(scope, "memory"), "search");
+  const experimental = getRecord(search.experimental);
+  let changed = false;
+  if (
+    (experimental || search.experimental === undefined) &&
+    experimental?.sessionMemory === undefined
+  ) {
+    ensureRecord(search, "experimental").sessionMemory = true;
+    changed = true;
+  }
+  if (
+    search.sources === undefined ||
+    (Array.isArray(search.sources) && search.sources.length === 0)
+  ) {
+    search.sources = ["memory", "sessions"];
+    changed = true;
+  } else if (Array.isArray(search.sources) && !search.sources.includes("sessions")) {
+    search.sources.push("sessions");
+    changed = true;
+  }
+  if (changed) {
+    changes.push(
+      `Migrated ${sourcePath}.sessions.enabled → ${targetPath}.experimental.sessionMemory and ${targetPath}.sources.`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 function migrateRetiredMemoryQmd(raw: Record<string, unknown>, changes: string[]): void {
   const memory = getRecord(raw.memory);
   const search = getRecord(memory?.search);
   const qmd = getRecord(memory?.qmd);
   const searchQmd = getRecord(search?.qmd);
+  migrateRetiredQmdSessionIndexing(qmd, raw, "memory.qmd", changes);
+  migrateRetiredQmdSessionIndexing(searchQmd, raw, "memory.search.qmd", changes);
   migrateRetiredQmdExternalPaths({
     changes,
     entries: [
@@ -117,14 +157,32 @@ function migrateRetiredMemoryQmd(raw: Record<string, unknown>, changes: string[]
   visitAgentConfigScopes(raw, (scope, scopePath) => {
     const agentSearch = getRecord(getRecord(scope.memory)?.search);
     const agentSearchQmd = getRecord(agentSearch?.qmd);
+    const isAgentDefaults = scopePath === "agents.defaults" && agentSearch?.qmd !== undefined;
+    const targetScope = isAgentDefaults ? raw : scope;
+    const targetPath = isAgentDefaults ? "memory.search" : `${scopePath}.memory.search`;
+    if (isAgentDefaults && agentSearch) {
+      // Agent defaults have no memory owner; global memory.search owns their policy.
+      removed = deleteRetiredPath(scope, ["memory", "search", "qmd"]) || removed;
+      mergeMissing(ensureRecord(ensureRecord(raw, "memory"), "search"), agentSearch);
+      delete scope.memory;
+    }
+    migrateRetiredQmdSessionIndexing(
+      agentSearchQmd,
+      targetScope,
+      `${scopePath}.memory.search.qmd`,
+      changes,
+      targetPath,
+    );
     migrateRetiredQmdExternalPaths({
       changes,
       entries: readRetiredQmdExternalPaths(agentSearchQmd?.extraCollections),
-      scope,
+      scope: targetScope,
       sourcePath: `${scopePath}.memory.search.qmd.extraCollections`,
-      targetPath: `${scopePath}.memory.search.extraPaths`,
+      targetPath: `${targetPath}.extraPaths`,
     });
-    removed = deleteRetiredPath(scope, ["memory", "search", "qmd"]) || removed;
+    if (!isAgentDefaults) {
+      removed = deleteRetiredPath(scope, ["memory", "search", "qmd"]) || removed;
+    }
   });
   if (removed) {
     changes.push(
@@ -152,7 +210,7 @@ export const LEGACY_CONFIG_MIGRATION_RUNTIME_MEMORY_QMD: LegacyConfigMigrationSp
       ),
       rule(
         ["agents", "defaults", "memory", "search", "qmd"],
-        "agents.defaults.memory.search.qmd is retired because the QMD memory backend was removed; configured external collections migrate to agents.defaults.memory.search.extraPaths.",
+        "agents.defaults.memory.search.qmd is retired because the QMD memory backend was removed; configured external collections migrate to memory.search.extraPaths.",
       ),
       rule(
         ["agents", "entries"],
diff --git a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired.memory-qmd.test.ts b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired.memory-qmd.test.ts
index 42c4f52b2a2a..f313a73f516e 100644
--- a/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired.memory-qmd.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-migrations.runtime.retired.memory-qmd.test.ts
@@ -94,11 +94,13 @@ describe("retired QMD memory config migration", () => {
     expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("memory.backend");
     expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("memory.qmd");
     expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("memory.search.qmd");
-    expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("agents.defaults.memory.search.qmd");
+    expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("agents.defaults.memory");
     expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("agents.entries.research.memory.search.qmd");
     expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("agents.list.0.memory.search.qmd");
     expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.citations", "on");
     expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.provider", "openai");
+    expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory", true);
+    expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.sources", ["memory", "sessions"]);
     expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.extraPaths", [
       "notes",
       "/tmp/shared",
@@ -106,9 +108,6 @@ describe("retired QMD memory config migration", () => {
       { path: "/tmp/patterned", pattern: "notes/*.md" },
       { path: "/tmp/shared", pattern: "**/*.md" },
       "/tmp/search",
-    ]);
-    expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("agents.defaults.memory.search.extraPaths", [
-      "notes",
       "/tmp/defaults",
     ]);
     expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("agents.entries.research.memory.search.enabled", false);
@@ -120,9 +119,83 @@ describe("retired QMD memory config migration", () => {
     expect(result.changes).toContain(
       "Migrated 4 external QMD paths from memory.qmd.paths and memory.search.qmd.extraCollections → memory.search.extraPaths.",
     );
+    expect(result.changes).toContain(
+      "Migrated memory.qmd.sessions.enabled → memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory and memory.search.sources.",
+    );
     expect(result.changes).toContain(
       "Removed retired QMD memory configuration; builtin memory is now the only memory engine.",
     );
     expect(applyRetired(result.raw).changes).toEqual([]);
   });
+
+  it.each([
+    {
+      name: "global search",
+      raw: { memory: { search: { qmd: { sessions: { enabled: true } } } } },
+      target: "memory.search",
+    },
+    {
+      name: "agent defaults",
+      raw: {
+        agents: { defaults: { memory: { search: { qmd: { sessions: { enabled: true } } } } } },
+      },
+      target: "memory.search",
+    },
+    {
+      name: "named agent",
+      raw: {
+        agents: {
+          entries: {
+            research: { memory: { search: { qmd: { sessions: { enabled: true } } } } },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      target: "agents.entries.research.memory.search",
+    },
+    {
+      name: "listed agent",
+      raw: {
+        agents: {
+          list: [{ id: "research", memory: { search: { qmd: { sessions: { enabled: true } } } } }],
+        },
+      },
+      target: "agents.list.0.memory.search",
+    },
+  ])("preserves explicitly enabled QMD transcript indexing for $name", ({ raw, target }) => {
+    const result = applyRetired(raw);
+
+    expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty(`${target}.experimental.sessionMemory`, true);
+    expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty(`${target}.sources`, ["memory", "sessions"]);
+    expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty(`${target}.rememberAcrossConversations`);
+    expect(applyRetired(result.raw).changes).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it.each([{ sources: [] }, { sources: ["memory"] }])(
+    "preserves explicit builtin privacy and indexing settings while merging sources=$sources",
+    ({ sources }) => {
+      const result = applyRetired({
+        memory: {
+          qmd: { sessions: { enabled: true } },
+          search: {
+            rememberAcrossConversations: false,
+            experimental: { sessionMemory: false },
+            sources,
+          },
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.rememberAcrossConversations", false);
+      expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory", false);
+      expect(result.raw).toHaveProperty("memory.search.sources", ["memory", "sessions"]);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each([false, undefined])("does not enable builtin sessions for QMD enabled=%s", (enabled) => {
+    const result = applyRetired({
+      memory: { qmd: { sessions: enabled === undefined ? {} : { enabled } } },
+    });
+
+    expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("memory.search.experimental.sessionMemory");
+    expect(result.raw).not.toHaveProperty("memory.search.sources");
+  });
 });