diff --git a/src/db/connection.ts b/src/db/connection.ts
index bc8ef827..cf797ff7 100644
--- a/src/db/connection.ts
+++ b/src/db/connection.ts
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ function isProcessAlive(pid: number): boolean {
   }
 }
 
-function acquireAdvisoryLock(dbPath: string): void {
+export function acquireAdvisoryLock(dbPath: string): void {
   const lockPath = `${dbPath}.lock`;
   try {
     if (fs.existsSync(lockPath)) {
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ function acquireAdvisoryLock(dbPath: string): void {
   }
 }
 
-function releaseAdvisoryLock(lockPath: string): void {
+export function releaseAdvisoryLock(lockPath: string): void {
   try {
     const content = fs.readFileSync(lockPath, 'utf-8').trim();
     if (Number(content) === process.pid) {
diff --git a/src/db/index.ts b/src/db/index.ts
index c65f89e5..f7438211 100644
--- a/src/db/index.ts
+++ b/src/db/index.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 export type { LockedDatabase, LockedDatabasePair } from './connection.js';
 export {
+  acquireAdvisoryLock,
   closeDb,
   closeDbDeferred,
   closeDbPair,
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ export {
   openReadonlyOrFail,
   openReadonlyWithNative,
   openRepo,
+  releaseAdvisoryLock,
 } from './connection.js';
 export { getBuildMeta, initSchema, MIGRATIONS, setBuildMeta } from './migrations.js';
 export {
diff --git a/src/domain/graph/builder/context.ts b/src/domain/graph/builder/context.ts
index d9f0c004..f1a0eb0a 100644
--- a/src/domain/graph/builder/context.ts
+++ b/src/domain/graph/builder/context.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ export class PipelineContext {
   nativeDb?: NativeDatabase;
   /** Whether native engine is available (deferred — DB opened only when needed). */
   nativeAvailable: boolean = false;
+  /** True when ctx.db is a NativeDbProxy — single rusqlite connection for the entire pipeline. */
+  nativeFirstProxy: boolean = false;
 
   // ── File collection (set by collectFiles stage) ────────────────────
   allFiles!: string[];
diff --git a/src/domain/graph/builder/native-db-proxy.ts b/src/domain/graph/builder/native-db-proxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..13b4295b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/domain/graph/builder/native-db-proxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/**
+ * NativeDbProxy — wraps a NativeDatabase (rusqlite via napi-rs) to satisfy the
+ * BetterSqlite3Database interface.  When the native addon is available, the
+ * build pipeline uses this proxy as `ctx.db` so that every stage operates on a
+ * single rusqlite connection — no dual-connection WAL corruption, no
+ * open/close/reopen dance.
+ *
+ * When native is unavailable, the pipeline falls back to real better-sqlite3.
+ */
+
+import type { BetterSqlite3Database, NativeDatabase, SqliteStatement } from '../../../types.js';
+
+/** Sanitize params for napi-rs: better-sqlite3 treats `undefined` as NULL,
+ *  but serde_json cannot represent `undefined`. Replace with `null`. */
+function sanitize(params: unknown[]): Array<string | number | null> {
+  return params.map((p) => (p === undefined ? null : p)) as Array<string | number | null>;
+}
+
+export class NativeDbProxy implements BetterSqlite3Database {
+  readonly #ndb: NativeDatabase;
+  /** Advisory lock path — set by the pipeline so closeDb() can release it. */
+  __lockPath?: string;
+
+  constructor(nativeDb: NativeDatabase) {
+    this.#ndb = nativeDb;
+  }
+
+  prepare<TRow = unknown>(sql: string): SqliteStatement<TRow> {
+    const ndb = this.#ndb;
+    const stmt: SqliteStatement<TRow> = {
+      all(...params: unknown[]): TRow[] {
+        return ndb.queryAll(sql, sanitize(params)) as TRow[];
+      },
+      get(...params: unknown[]): TRow | undefined {
+        return (ndb.queryGet(sql, sanitize(params)) ?? undefined) as TRow | undefined;
+      },
+      run(...params: unknown[]): { changes: number; lastInsertRowid: number | bigint } {
+        ndb.queryAll(sql, sanitize(params));
+        // Retrieve last_insert_rowid via SQLite scalar function so callers
+        // that depend on it (e.g. CFG block edge mapping) get correct values.
+        const row = ndb.queryGet('SELECT last_insert_rowid() AS rid', []) as { rid: number } | null;
+        return { changes: 0, lastInsertRowid: row?.rid ?? 0 };
+      },
+      iterate(): IterableIterator<TRow> {
+        throw new Error('iterate() is not supported via NativeDbProxy');
+      },
+      raw(): SqliteStatement<TRow> {
+        return stmt; // no-op — .raw() is not used in the build pipeline
+      },
+    };
+    return stmt;
+  }
+
+  exec(sql: string): this {
+    this.#ndb.exec(sql);
+    return this;
+  }
+
+  pragma(sql: string): unknown {
+    return this.#ndb.pragma(sql);
+  }
+
+  close(): void {
+    // No-op: the pipeline manages the NativeDatabase lifecycle directly.
+    // closeDbPair() calls nativeDb.close() separately.
+  }
+
+  get open(): boolean {
+    return this.#ndb.isOpen;
+  }
+
+  get name(): string {
+    return this.#ndb.dbPath;
+  }
+
+  transaction<F extends (...args: any[]) => any>(
+    fn: F,
+  ): (...args: F extends (...a: infer A) => unknown ? A : never) => ReturnType<F> {
+    const ndb = this.#ndb;
+    return ((...args: unknown[]) => {
+      // NOTE: nested transactions (savepoints) are not supported — ensure callers
+      // do not invoke a transaction() wrapper from within an existing transaction.
+      ndb.exec('BEGIN');
+      try {
+        const result = fn(...args);
+        ndb.exec('COMMIT');
+        return result;
+      } catch (e) {
+        try {
+          ndb.exec('ROLLBACK');
+        } catch {
+          // Ignore rollback errors — the original error is more important
+        }
+        throw e;
+      }
+    }) as any;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/domain/graph/builder/pipeline.ts b/src/domain/graph/builder/pipeline.ts
index e32b18e2..65cc17c9 100644
--- a/src/domain/graph/builder/pipeline.ts
+++ b/src/domain/graph/builder/pipeline.ts
@@ -4,14 +4,17 @@
  * This is the heart of the builder refactor (ROADMAP 3.9): the monolithic buildGraph()
  * is decomposed into independently testable stages that communicate via PipelineContext.
  */
+import fs from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import { performance } from 'node:perf_hooks';
 import {
+  acquireAdvisoryLock,
   closeDbPair,
   getBuildMeta,
   initSchema,
   MIGRATIONS,
   openDb,
+  releaseAdvisoryLock,
   setBuildMeta,
 } from '../../../db/index.js';
 import { detectWorkspaces, loadConfig } from '../../../infrastructure/config.js';
@@ -25,6 +28,7 @@ import { getActiveEngine } from '../../parser.js';
 import { setWorkspaces } from '../resolve.js';
 import { PipelineContext } from './context.js';
 import { loadPathAliases } from './helpers.js';
+import { NativeDbProxy } from './native-db-proxy.js';
 import { buildEdges } from './stages/build-edges.js';
 import { buildStructure } from './stages/build-structure.js';
 // Pipeline stages
@@ -110,14 +114,48 @@ function loadAliases(ctx: PipelineContext): void {
 function setupPipeline(ctx: PipelineContext): void {
   ctx.rootDir = path.resolve(ctx.rootDir);
   ctx.dbPath = path.join(ctx.rootDir, '.codegraph', 'graph.db');
-  ctx.db = openDb(ctx.dbPath);
-  initSchema(ctx.db);
 
-  // Detect whether native engine is available, but defer opening NativeDatabase.
-  // The native orchestrator opens it on demand; the JS pipeline defers until
-  // after change detection — avoiding ~5ms open+initSchema+close on no-op rebuilds.
+  // Detect whether native engine is available.
   const enginePref = ctx.opts.engine || 'auto';
-  ctx.nativeAvailable = enginePref !== 'wasm' && !!loadNative()?.NativeDatabase;
+  const native = enginePref !== 'wasm' ? loadNative() : null;
+  ctx.nativeAvailable = !!native?.NativeDatabase;
+
+  // Native-first: use only rusqlite for the entire pipeline (no better-sqlite3).
+  // This eliminates the dual-connection WAL corruption problem and enables all
+  // native fast-paths (bulkInsertNodes, classifyRolesFull, etc.).
+  // Fallback: if native is unavailable or FORCE_JS is set, use better-sqlite3.
+  if (
+    ctx.nativeAvailable &&
+    native?.NativeDatabase &&
+    process.env.CODEGRAPH_FORCE_JS_PIPELINE !== '1'
+  ) {
+    try {
+      const dir = path.dirname(ctx.dbPath);
+      if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+      acquireAdvisoryLock(ctx.dbPath);
+      ctx.nativeDb = native.NativeDatabase.openReadWrite(ctx.dbPath);
+      ctx.nativeDb.initSchema();
+      const proxy = new NativeDbProxy(ctx.nativeDb);
+      proxy.__lockPath = `${ctx.dbPath}.lock`;
+      ctx.db = proxy as unknown as typeof ctx.db;
+      ctx.nativeFirstProxy = true;
+    } catch (err) {
+      warn(`NativeDatabase setup failed, falling back to better-sqlite3: ${toErrorMessage(err)}`);
+      try {
+        ctx.nativeDb?.close();
+      } catch {
+        /* ignore */
+      }
+      ctx.nativeDb = undefined;
+      ctx.nativeFirstProxy = false;
+      releaseAdvisoryLock(`${ctx.dbPath}.lock`);
+      ctx.db = openDb(ctx.dbPath);
+      initSchema(ctx.db);
+    }
+  } else {
+    ctx.db = openDb(ctx.dbPath);
+    initSchema(ctx.db);
+  }
 
   ctx.config = loadConfig(ctx.rootDir);
   ctx.incremental =
@@ -434,16 +472,20 @@ async function runPostNativeAnalysis(
     analysisFileSymbols = allFileSymbols;
   }
 
-  // Reopen nativeDb for analysis features (suspend/resume WAL pattern).
-  const native = loadNative();
-  if (native?.NativeDatabase) {
-    try {
-      ctx.nativeDb = native.NativeDatabase.openReadWrite(ctx.dbPath);
-      if (ctx.engineOpts) ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = ctx.nativeDb;
-    } catch {
-      ctx.nativeDb = undefined;
-      if (ctx.engineOpts) ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = undefined;
+  // In native-first mode, nativeDb is already open — no reopen needed.
+  if (!ctx.nativeFirstProxy) {
+    const native = loadNative();
+    if (native?.NativeDatabase) {
+      try {
+        ctx.nativeDb = native.NativeDatabase.openReadWrite(ctx.dbPath);
+        if (ctx.engineOpts) ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = ctx.nativeDb;
+      } catch {
+        ctx.nativeDb = undefined;
+        if (ctx.engineOpts) ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = undefined;
+      }
     }
+  } else if (ctx.engineOpts) {
+    ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = ctx.nativeDb;
   }
 
   try {
@@ -463,8 +505,8 @@ async function runPostNativeAnalysis(
     warn(`Analysis phases failed after native build: ${toErrorMessage(err)}`);
   }
 
-  // Close nativeDb after analyses
-  if (ctx.nativeDb) {
+  // Close nativeDb after analyses (skip in native-first — single connection stays open)
+  if (ctx.nativeDb && !ctx.nativeFirstProxy) {
     try {
       ctx.nativeDb.exec('PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
     } catch {
@@ -516,8 +558,8 @@ async function tryNativeOrchestrator(
     return undefined;
   }
 
-  // Open NativeDatabase on demand for the orchestrator.
-  // Deferred from setupPipeline so no-op JS pipeline rebuilds skip the overhead.
+  // In native-first mode, nativeDb is already open from setupPipeline.
+  // Otherwise, open it on demand (deferred to skip overhead on no-op rebuilds).
   if (!ctx.nativeDb && ctx.nativeAvailable) {
     const native = loadNative();
     if (native?.NativeDatabase) {
@@ -591,7 +633,8 @@ async function tryNativeOrchestrator(
   const needsStructure = !result.structureHandled;
 
   if (needsAnalysis || needsStructure) {
-    if (!handoffWalAfterNativeBuild(ctx)) {
+    // In native-first mode the proxy is already wired — no WAL handoff needed.
+    if (!ctx.nativeFirstProxy && !handoffWalAfterNativeBuild(ctx)) {
       // DB reopen failed — return partial result
       return formatNativeTimingResult(p, 0, analysisTiming);
     }
@@ -623,6 +666,30 @@ async function tryNativeOrchestrator(
 // ── Pipeline stages execution ───────────────────────────────────────────
 
 async function runPipelineStages(ctx: PipelineContext): Promise<void> {
+  // ── Native-first mode ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  // When ctx.nativeFirstProxy is true, ctx.db is a NativeDbProxy backed by
+  // the single rusqlite connection (ctx.nativeDb). No dual-connection WAL
+  // dance is needed — every stage uses the same connection transparently.
+  if (ctx.nativeFirstProxy) {
+    // Ensure engineOpts.nativeDb is set so stages can use dedicated native methods.
+    if (ctx.engineOpts) {
+      ctx.engineOpts.nativeDb = ctx.nativeDb;
+    }
+
+    await collectFiles(ctx);
+    await detectChanges(ctx);
+    if (ctx.earlyExit) return;
+    await parseFiles(ctx);
+    await insertNodes(ctx);
+    await resolveImports(ctx);
+    await buildEdges(ctx);
+    await buildStructure(ctx);
+    await runAnalyses(ctx);
+    await finalize(ctx);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // ── Legacy dual-connection mode (WASM / fallback) ────────────────────
   // NativeDatabase is deferred — not opened during setup. collectFiles and
   // detectChanges only need better-sqlite3. If no files changed, we exit
   // early without ever opening the native connection, saving ~5ms.
diff --git a/src/domain/graph/builder/stages/insert-nodes.ts b/src/domain/graph/builder/stages/insert-nodes.ts
index 9d2cd031..f069411b 100644
--- a/src/domain/graph/builder/stages/insert-nodes.ts
+++ b/src/domain/graph/builder/stages/insert-nodes.ts
@@ -159,23 +159,26 @@ function tryNativeInsert(ctx: PipelineContext): boolean {
   }
   const fileHashes = buildFileHashes(allSymbols, precomputedData, metadataUpdates, rootDir);
 
-  // WAL guard: same suspendJsDb/resumeJsDb pattern used by feature modules
-  // (ast, cfg, complexity, dataflow). Checkpoint JS side before native write,
-  // then checkpoint native side after, so neither library reads WAL frames
-  // written by the other (#696, #709, #715, #717).
+  // In native-first mode (single rusqlite connection), no WAL dance is needed.
+  // In dual-connection mode, checkpoint JS side before native write, then
+  // checkpoint native side after (#696, #709, #715, #717).
   let result: boolean;
-  try {
-    if (ctx.db) {
-      ctx.db.pragma('wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
-    }
+  if (ctx.nativeFirstProxy) {
     result = ctx.nativeDb!.bulkInsertNodes(batches, fileHashes, removed);
-  } finally {
+  } else {
     try {
-      ctx.nativeDb?.exec('PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
-    } catch (e) {
-      debug(
-        `tryNativeInsert: WAL checkpoint failed (nativeDb may already be closed): ${toErrorMessage(e)}`,
-      );
+      if (ctx.db) {
+        ctx.db.pragma('wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
+      }
+      result = ctx.nativeDb!.bulkInsertNodes(batches, fileHashes, removed);
+    } finally {
+      try {
+        ctx.nativeDb?.exec('PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)');
+      } catch (e) {
+        debug(
+          `tryNativeInsert: WAL checkpoint failed (nativeDb may already be closed): ${toErrorMessage(e)}`,
+        );
+      }
     }
   }
   return result;