diff --git a/src/capnp_store.rs b/src/capnp_store.rs
index 6e16b8e..3761571 100644
--- a/src/capnp_store.rs
+++ b/src/capnp_store.rs
@@ -711,8 +711,16 @@ impl Store {
     pub fn categorize(&mut self, key: &str, cat_str: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
         let cat = Category::from_str(cat_str)
             .ok_or_else(|| format!("Unknown category '{}'. Use: core/tech/gen/obs/task", cat_str))?;
-        if let Some(node) = self.nodes.get_mut(key) {
+        let updated = if let Some(node) = self.nodes.get_mut(key) {
             node.category = cat;
+            node.version += 1;
+            Some(node.clone())
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
+        if let Some(node) = updated {
+            // Persist to capnp log so category survives cache rebuilds
+            self.append_nodes(&[node])?;
             Ok(())
         } else {
             Err(format!("No node '{}'", key))