diff --git a/scripts/media-census.py b/scripts/media-census.py
index fd9c5b3..a03251f 100755
--- a/scripts/media-census.py
+++ b/scripts/media-census.py
@@ -128,6 +128,26 @@ where p.file like ? and p.deleted_at is null and mi.deleted_at is null
   and al.deleted_at is null
 """
 
+def open_plex_ro(db):
+    """Plex's library, read the way Plex writes it.
+
+    `immutable=1` tells sqlite the file never changes, so it skips the
+    write-ahead log: every row a scan has committed but not yet checkpointed
+    is invisible, and reading a live database that way can fail outright as
+    "database disk image is malformed". Plain ro reads the WAL through its
+    -shm; immutable is only the fallback for a database whose -shm cannot be
+    read. The same law scripts/media-verify.py states.
+    """
+    last = None
+    for opt in ("mode=ro", "mode=ro&immutable=1"):
+        try:
+            return sqlite3.connect(f"file:{db}?{opt}", uri=True)
+        except sqlite3.Error as e:
+            last = e
+    sys.exit(f"cannot open the Plex database read-only ({db}): {last}\n"
+             "Plex runs rootless here: run this as the container's owner, never "
+             "with sudo — rootless storage is per-user, so root sees nothing.")
+
 
 def enumerate_lib(root, out):
     """One row per real file under root: size, extension, path."""
@@ -227,13 +247,7 @@ def probe(enum, out, jobs):
 
 def plex(root, db, out):
     """Plex's matched titles for files under root, from its DB, read-only."""
-    uri = f"file:{db}?mode=ro&immutable=1"
-    try:
-        con = sqlite3.connect(uri, uri=True)
-    except sqlite3.Error as e:
-        sys.exit(f"cannot open the Plex database read-only ({db}): {e}\n"
-                 "Plex runs rootless here: run this as the container's owner, never "
-                 "with sudo — rootless storage is per-user, so root sees nothing.")
+    con = open_plex_ro(db)
     with open(out, "w", newline="") as fh:
         w = csv.writer(fh, delimiter="\t", lineterminator="\n")
         w.writerow(PLEX_COLS)
@@ -405,13 +419,7 @@ def audiobooks(root, db, out):
     at least one un-indexed chapter, so the relayout that reads this file must
     not renumber anything from it.
     """
-    uri = f"file:{db}?mode=ro&immutable=1"
-    try:
-        con = sqlite3.connect(uri, uri=True)
-    except sqlite3.Error as e:
-        sys.exit(f"cannot open the Plex database read-only ({db}): {e}\n"
-                 "Plex runs rootless here: run this as the container's owner, never "
-                 "with sudo — rootless storage is per-user, so root sees nothing.")
+    con = open_plex_ro(db)
     tables = {r[0] for r in con.execute(
         "select name from sqlite_master where type='table'")}
     missing = {"media_parts", "media_items", "metadata_items"} - tables
diff --git a/tests/media_audiobooks.bats b/tests/media_audiobooks.bats
index 6f50db0..3214065 100755
--- a/tests/media_audiobooks.bats
+++ b/tests/media_audiobooks.bats
@@ -228,6 +228,51 @@ PY
     [ "$(wc -l < "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/exp.tsv")" -eq 1 ]   # header only
 }
 
+# wal_fresh DB ROOT OUT — a row Plex matched during a scan and committed, but
+# has not checkpointed: the normal state of a library being walked. The holder
+# connection stops the WAL folding into the main file when the writer closes,
+# and the census runs as a real subprocess against those same files.
+wal_fresh() {
+    local db="$1" root="$2" out="$3"
+    python3 - "$db" "$root" "$out" "$CENSUS" <<'PY'
+import sqlite3, subprocess, sys
+db, root, out, census = sys.argv[1:5]
+w = sqlite3.connect(db)
+w.execute("pragma journal_mode=wal")
+w.execute("pragma wal_autocheckpoint=0")
+w.commit()
+w.execute("pragma wal_checkpoint(truncate)")     # the rows so far are on disk
+holder = sqlite3.connect(db)                     # last close would checkpoint
+ar = w.execute('insert into metadata_items (parent_id, metadata_type, title,'
+               ' year, "index", deleted_at) VALUES (NULL, 8, ?, NULL, NULL, NULL)',
+               ("Fresh Narrator",)).lastrowid
+al = w.execute('insert into metadata_items (parent_id, metadata_type, title,'
+               ' year, "index", deleted_at) VALUES (?, 9, ?, ?, NULL, NULL)',
+               (ar, "Fresh Book", 2026)).lastrowid
+mi = w.execute('insert into metadata_items (parent_id, metadata_type, title,'
+               ' year, "index", deleted_at) VALUES (?, 10, ?, NULL, ?, NULL)',
+               (al, "Fresh Chapter", 1)).lastrowid
+it = w.execute("insert into media_items (metadata_item_id, deleted_at)"
+               " VALUES (?, NULL)", (mi,)).lastrowid
+w.execute("insert into media_parts (media_item_id, file, deleted_at)"
+          " VALUES (?, ?, NULL)", (it, root + "/Fresh/01.mp3"))
+w.commit()
+sys.exit(subprocess.run([sys.executable, census, "audiobooks", "--root", root,
+                         "--db", db, "--out", out]).returncode)
+PY
+}
+
+@test "the census exports a row the scanner committed but has not checkpointed" {
+    DB="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/plex.db"
+    db_with_part "$DB" "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/Audiobooks/Old/01.mp3" \
+        "Old Narrator" "Old Book" 1990 1 "Old Chapter"
+    run wal_fresh "$DB" "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/Audiobooks" "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/exp.tsv"
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$(wc -l < "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/exp.tsv")" -eq 3 ]   # header + both rows
+    tail -1 "$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/exp.tsv" \
+        | grep -q "^$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/Audiobooks/Fresh/01\.mp3	Fresh Narrator	Fresh Book	2026	1	Fresh Chapter$"
+}
+
 # -------------------------------------------------------------------- the plan
 
 @test "a matched chapter files under its narrator and its book, name untouched" {