diff --git a/core/storage/sqlite3_ondisk.rs b/core/storage/sqlite3_ondisk.rs
index 696d10d05..0d7fbcee9 100644
--- a/core/storage/sqlite3_ondisk.rs
+++ b/core/storage/sqlite3_ondisk.rs
@@ -1622,11 +1622,14 @@ pub fn write_varint_to_vec(value: u64, payload: &mut Vec<u8>) {
     payload.extend_from_slice(&varint[0..n]);
 }
 
-/// We need to read the WAL file on open to reconstruct the WAL frame cache.
-pub fn read_entire_wal_dumb(file: &Arc<dyn File>) -> Result<Arc<RwLock<WalFileShared>>> {
+/// Stream through frames in chunks, building frame_cache incrementally
+/// Track last valid commit frame for consistency
+pub fn build_shared_wal(
+    file: &Arc<dyn File>,
+    io: &Arc<dyn crate::IO>,
+) -> Result<Arc<RwLock<WalFileShared>>> {
     let size = file.size()?;
-    #[allow(clippy::arc_with_non_send_sync)]
-    let buf_for_pread = Arc::new(Buffer::new_temporary(size as usize));
+
     let header = Arc::new(SpinLock::new(WalHeader::default()));
     let read_locks = std::array::from_fn(|_| TursoRwLock::new());
     for (i, l) in read_locks.iter().enumerate() {
@@ -1634,8 +1637,8 @@ pub fn read_entire_wal_dumb(file: &Arc<dyn File>) -> Result<Arc<RwLock<WalFileSh
         l.set_value_exclusive(if i < 2 { 0 } else { READMARK_NOT_USED });
         l.unlock();
     }
-    #[allow(clippy::arc_with_non_send_sync)]
-    let wal_file_shared_ret = Arc::new(RwLock::new(WalFileShared {
+
+    let wal_file_shared = Arc::new(RwLock::new(WalFileShared {
         enabled: AtomicBool::new(true),
         wal_header: header.clone(),
         min_frame: AtomicU64::new(0),
@@ -1650,205 +1653,306 @@ pub fn read_entire_wal_dumb(file: &Arc<dyn File>) -> Result<Arc<RwLock<WalFileSh
         checkpoint_lock: TursoRwLock::new(),
         initialized: AtomicBool::new(false),
     }));
-    let wal_file_shared_for_completion = wal_file_shared_ret.clone();
-    let complete: Box<ReadComplete> = Box::new(move |res: Result<(Arc<Buffer>, i32), _>| {
+
+    if size < WAL_HEADER_SIZE as u64 {
+        wal_file_shared.write().loaded.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        return Ok(wal_file_shared);
+    }
+
+    let reader = Arc::new(StreamingWalReader::new(
+        file.clone(),
+        wal_file_shared.clone(),
+        header.clone(),
+        size,
+    ));
+
+    let h = reader.clone().read_header()?;
+    io.wait_for_completion(h)?;
+
+    loop {
+        if reader.done.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
+            break;
+        }
+        let offset = reader.off_atomic.load(Ordering::Acquire);
+        if offset >= size {
+            reader.finalize_loading();
+            break;
+        }
+
+        let (_read_size, c) = reader.clone().submit_one_chunk(offset)?;
+        io.wait_for_completion(c)?;
+
+        let new_off = reader.off_atomic.load(Ordering::Acquire);
+        if new_off <= offset {
+            reader.finalize_loading();
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(wal_file_shared)
+}
+
+pub(super) struct StreamingWalReader {
+    file: Arc<dyn File>,
+    wal_shared: Arc<RwLock<WalFileShared>>,
+    header: Arc<SpinLock<WalHeader>>,
+    file_size: u64,
+    state: RwLock<StreamingState>,
+    off_atomic: AtomicU64,
+    page_atomic: AtomicU64,
+    pub(super) done: AtomicBool,
+}
+
+/// Mutable state for streaming reader
+struct StreamingState {
+    frame_idx: u64,
+    cumulative_checksum: (u32, u32),
+    last_valid_frame: u64,
+    pending_frames: HashMap<u64, Vec<u64>>,
+    page_size: usize,
+    use_native_endian: bool,
+    header_valid: bool,
+}
+
+impl StreamingWalReader {
+    fn new(
+        file: Arc<dyn File>,
+        wal_shared: Arc<RwLock<WalFileShared>>,
+        header: Arc<SpinLock<WalHeader>>,
+        file_size: u64,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            file,
+            wal_shared,
+            header,
+            file_size,
+            off_atomic: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            page_atomic: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            done: AtomicBool::new(false),
+            state: RwLock::new(StreamingState {
+                frame_idx: 1,
+                cumulative_checksum: (0, 0),
+                last_valid_frame: 0,
+                pending_frames: HashMap::new(),
+                page_size: 0,
+                use_native_endian: false,
+                header_valid: false,
+            }),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn read_header(self: Arc<Self>) -> crate::Result<Completion> {
+        let header_buf = Arc::new(Buffer::new_temporary(WAL_HEADER_SIZE));
+        let reader = self.clone();
+        let completion: Box<ReadComplete> = Box::new(move |res| {
+            let _reader = reader.clone();
+            _reader.handle_header_read(res);
+        });
+        let c = Completion::new_read(header_buf, completion);
+        self.file.pread(0, c)
+    }
+
+    fn submit_one_chunk(self: Arc<Self>, offset: u64) -> crate::Result<(usize, Completion)> {
+        let page_size = self.page_atomic.load(Ordering::Acquire) as usize;
+        if page_size == 0 {
+            return Err(crate::LimboError::InternalError(
+                "page size not initialized".into(),
+            ));
+        }
+        let frame_size = WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE + page_size;
+        if frame_size == 0 {
+            return Err(crate::LimboError::InternalError(
+                "invalid frame size".into(),
+            ));
+        }
+        const BASE: usize = 16 * 1024 * 1024;
+        let aligned = (BASE / frame_size) * frame_size;
+        let read_size = aligned
+            .max(frame_size)
+            .min((self.file_size - offset) as usize);
+        if read_size == 0 {
+            // end-of-file; let caller finalize
+            return Ok((0, Completion::new_dummy()));
+        }
+
+        let buf = Arc::new(Buffer::new_temporary(read_size));
+        let me = self.clone();
+        let completion: Box<ReadComplete> = Box::new(move |res| {
+            tracing::debug!("WAL chunk read complete");
+            let reader = me.clone();
+            reader.handle_chunk_read(res);
+        });
+        let c = Completion::new_read(buf, completion);
+        let guard = self.file.pread(offset, c)?;
+        Ok((read_size, guard))
+    }
+
+    fn handle_header_read(self: Arc<Self>, res: Result<(Arc<Buffer>, i32), CompletionError>) {
         let Ok((buf, bytes_read)) = res else {
+            self.finalize_loading();
             return;
         };
-        let buf_slice = buf.as_slice();
-        turso_assert!(
-            bytes_read == buf_slice.len() as i32,
-            "read({bytes_read}) != expected({})",
-            buf_slice.len()
-        );
-        let mut header_locked = header.lock();
-        // Read header
-        header_locked.magic =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[0], buf_slice[1], buf_slice[2], buf_slice[3]]);
-        header_locked.file_format =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[4], buf_slice[5], buf_slice[6], buf_slice[7]]);
-        header_locked.page_size =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[8], buf_slice[9], buf_slice[10], buf_slice[11]]);
-        header_locked.checkpoint_seq =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[12], buf_slice[13], buf_slice[14], buf_slice[15]]);
-        header_locked.salt_1 =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[16], buf_slice[17], buf_slice[18], buf_slice[19]]);
-        header_locked.salt_2 =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[20], buf_slice[21], buf_slice[22], buf_slice[23]]);
-        header_locked.checksum_1 =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[24], buf_slice[25], buf_slice[26], buf_slice[27]]);
-        header_locked.checksum_2 =
-            u32::from_be_bytes([buf_slice[28], buf_slice[29], buf_slice[30], buf_slice[31]]);
-        tracing::debug!("read_entire_wal_dumb(header={:?})", *header_locked);
-
-        // Read frames into frame_cache and pages_in_frames
-        if buf_slice.len() < WAL_HEADER_SIZE {
-            panic!("WAL file too small for header");
+        if bytes_read != WAL_HEADER_SIZE as i32 {
+            self.finalize_loading();
+            return;
         }
 
-        let use_native_endian_checksum =
-            cfg!(target_endian = "big") == ((header_locked.magic & 1) != 0);
+        let (page_sz, c1, c2, use_native, ok) = {
+            let mut h = self.header.lock();
+            let s = buf.as_slice();
+            h.magic = u32::from_be_bytes(s[0..4].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.file_format = u32::from_be_bytes(s[4..8].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.page_size = u32::from_be_bytes(s[8..12].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.checkpoint_seq = u32::from_be_bytes(s[12..16].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.salt_1 = u32::from_be_bytes(s[16..20].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.salt_2 = u32::from_be_bytes(s[20..24].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.checksum_1 = u32::from_be_bytes(s[24..28].try_into().unwrap());
+            h.checksum_2 = u32::from_be_bytes(s[28..32].try_into().unwrap());
+            tracing::debug!("WAL header: {:?}", *h);
 
-        let calculated_header_checksum = checksum_wal(
-            &buf_slice[0..24],
-            &header_locked,
-            (0, 0),
-            use_native_endian_checksum,
-        );
-
-        let checksum_header_failed = if calculated_header_checksum
-            != (header_locked.checksum_1, header_locked.checksum_2)
+            let use_native = cfg!(target_endian = "big") == ((h.magic & 1) != 0);
+            let calc = checksum_wal(&s[0..24], &h, (0, 0), use_native);
+            (
+                h.page_size,
+                h.checksum_1,
+                h.checksum_2,
+                use_native,
+                calc == (h.checksum_1, h.checksum_2),
+            )
+        };
+        if PageSize::new(page_sz).is_none() || !ok {
+            self.finalize_loading();
+            return;
+        }
         {
-            tracing::error!(
-                "WAL header checksum mismatch. Expected ({}, {}), Got ({}, {}). Ignoring frames starting from frame {}",
-                header_locked.checksum_1,
-                header_locked.checksum_2,
-                calculated_header_checksum.0,
-                calculated_header_checksum.1,
-                0
+            let mut st = self.state.write();
+            st.page_size = page_sz as usize;
+            st.use_native_endian = use_native;
+            st.cumulative_checksum = (c1, c2);
+            st.header_valid = true;
+        }
+        self.off_atomic
+            .store(WAL_HEADER_SIZE as u64, Ordering::Release);
+        self.page_atomic.store(page_sz as u64, Ordering::Release);
+    }
 
-            );
-            true
-        } else {
-            false
+    fn handle_chunk_read(self: Arc<Self>, res: Result<(Arc<Buffer>, i32), CompletionError>) {
+        let Ok((buf, bytes_read)) = res else {
+            self.finalize_loading();
+            return;
+        };
+        let buf_slice = &buf.as_slice()[..bytes_read as usize];
+        // Snapshot salts/endianness once to avoid per-frame header locks
+        let (header_copy, use_native) = {
+            let st = self.state.read();
+            let h = self.header.lock();
+            (*h, st.use_native_endian)
         };
 
-        let mut cumulative_checksum = (header_locked.checksum_1, header_locked.checksum_2);
-        let page_size_u32 = header_locked.page_size;
-
-        if PageSize::new(page_size_u32).is_none() {
-            panic!("Invalid page size in WAL header: {page_size_u32}");
+        let consumed = self.process_frames(buf_slice, &header_copy, use_native);
+        self.off_atomic.fetch_add(consumed as u64, Ordering::AcqRel);
+        // If we didn’t consume the full chunk, we hit a stop condition
+        if consumed < buf_slice.len() || self.off_atomic.load(Ordering::Acquire) >= self.file_size {
+            self.finalize_loading();
         }
-        let page_size = page_size_u32 as usize;
+    }
 
-        let mut current_offset = WAL_HEADER_SIZE;
-        let mut frame_idx = 1_u64;
+    // Processes frames from a buffer, returns bytes processed
+    fn process_frames(&self, buf: &[u8], header: &WalHeader, use_native: bool) -> usize {
+        let mut st = self.state.write();
+        let page_size = st.page_size;
+        let frame_size = WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE + page_size;
+        let mut pos = 0;
 
-        let mut wfs_data = wal_file_shared_for_completion.write();
+        while pos + frame_size <= buf.len() {
+            let fh = &buf[pos..pos + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE];
+            let page = &buf[pos + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE..pos + frame_size];
 
-        if !checksum_header_failed {
-            while current_offset + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE + page_size <= buf_slice.len() {
-                let frame_header_slice =
-                    &buf_slice[current_offset..current_offset + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE];
-                let page_data_slice = &buf_slice[current_offset + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE
-                    ..current_offset + WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE + page_size];
+            let page_number = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[0..4].try_into().unwrap());
+            let db_size = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[4..8].try_into().unwrap());
+            let s1 = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[8..12].try_into().unwrap());
+            let s2 = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[12..16].try_into().unwrap());
+            let c1 = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[16..20].try_into().unwrap());
+            let c2 = u32::from_be_bytes(fh[20..24].try_into().unwrap());
 
-                let frame_h_page_number =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[0..4].try_into().unwrap());
-                let frame_h_db_size =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[4..8].try_into().unwrap());
-                let frame_h_salt_1 =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[8..12].try_into().unwrap());
-                let frame_h_salt_2 =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[12..16].try_into().unwrap());
-                let frame_h_checksum_1 =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[16..20].try_into().unwrap());
-                let frame_h_checksum_2 =
-                    u32::from_be_bytes(frame_header_slice[20..24].try_into().unwrap());
+            if page_number == 0 {
+                break;
+            }
+            if s1 != header.salt_1 || s2 != header.salt_2 {
+                break;
+            }
 
-                if frame_h_page_number == 0 {
-                    tracing::trace!(
-                        "WAL frame with page number 0. Ignoring frames starting from frame {}",
-                        frame_idx
-                    );
-                    break;
+            let seed = checksum_wal(&fh[0..8], header, st.cumulative_checksum, use_native);
+            let calc = checksum_wal(page, header, seed, use_native);
+            if calc != (c1, c2) {
+                break;
+            }
+
+            st.cumulative_checksum = calc;
+            let frame_idx = st.frame_idx;
+            st.pending_frames
+                .entry(page_number as u64)
+                .or_default()
+                .push(frame_idx);
+
+            if db_size > 0 {
+                st.last_valid_frame = st.frame_idx;
+                self.flush_pending_frames(&mut st);
+            }
+            st.frame_idx += 1;
+            pos += frame_size;
+        }
+        pos
+    }
+
+    fn flush_pending_frames(&self, state: &mut StreamingState) {
+        if state.pending_frames.is_empty() {
+            return;
+        }
+        let wfs = self.wal_shared.read();
+        {
+            let mut frame_cache = wfs.frame_cache.lock();
+            for (page, mut frames) in state.pending_frames.drain() {
+                // Only include frames up to last valid commit
+                frames.retain(|&f| f <= state.last_valid_frame);
+                if !frames.is_empty() {
+                    frame_cache.entry(page).or_default().extend(frames);
                 }
-                // It contains more frames with mismatched SALT values, which means they're leftovers from previous checkpoints
-                if frame_h_salt_1 != header_locked.salt_1 || frame_h_salt_2 != header_locked.salt_2
-                {
-                    tracing::trace!(
-                        "WAL frame salt mismatch: expected ({}, {}), got ({}, {}). Ignoring frames starting from frame {}",
-                        header_locked.salt_1,
-                        header_locked.salt_2,
-                        frame_h_salt_1,
-                        frame_h_salt_2,
-                        frame_idx
-                    );
-                    break;
-                }
-
-                let checksum_after_fh_meta = checksum_wal(
-                    &frame_header_slice[0..8],
-                    &header_locked,
-                    cumulative_checksum,
-                    use_native_endian_checksum,
-                );
-                let calculated_frame_checksum = checksum_wal(
-                    page_data_slice,
-                    &header_locked,
-                    checksum_after_fh_meta,
-                    use_native_endian_checksum,
-                );
-                tracing::debug!(
-                    "read_entire_wal_dumb(frame_h_checksum=({}, {}), calculated_frame_checksum=({}, {}))",
-                    frame_h_checksum_1,
-                    frame_h_checksum_2,
-                    calculated_frame_checksum.0,
-                    calculated_frame_checksum.1
-                );
-
-                if calculated_frame_checksum != (frame_h_checksum_1, frame_h_checksum_2) {
-                    tracing::error!(
-                        "WAL frame checksum mismatch. Expected ({}, {}), Got ({}, {}). Ignoring frames starting from frame {}",
-                        frame_h_checksum_1,
-                        frame_h_checksum_2,
-                        calculated_frame_checksum.0,
-                        calculated_frame_checksum.1,
-                        frame_idx
-                    );
-                    break;
-                }
-
-                cumulative_checksum = calculated_frame_checksum;
-
-                wfs_data
-                    .frame_cache
-                    .lock()
-                    .entry(frame_h_page_number as u64)
-                    .or_default()
-                    .push(frame_idx);
-
-                let is_commit_record = frame_h_db_size > 0;
-                if is_commit_record {
-                    wfs_data.max_frame.store(frame_idx, Ordering::SeqCst);
-                    wfs_data.last_checksum = cumulative_checksum;
-                }
-
-                frame_idx += 1;
-                current_offset += WAL_FRAME_HEADER_SIZE + page_size;
             }
         }
+        wfs.max_frame
+            .store(state.last_valid_frame, Ordering::Release);
+    }
 
-        let max_frame = wfs_data.max_frame.load(Ordering::SeqCst);
+    /// Finalizes the loading process
+    fn finalize_loading(&self) {
+        let mut wfs = self.wal_shared.write();
+        let st = self.state.read();
 
-        // cleanup in-memory index from tail frames which was written after the last committed frame
-        let mut frame_cache = wfs_data.frame_cache.lock();
-        for (page, frames) in frame_cache.iter_mut() {
-            // remove any frame IDs > max_frame
-            let original_len = frames.len();
-            frames.retain(|&frame_id| frame_id <= max_frame);
-            if frames.len() < original_len {
-                tracing::debug!(
-                    "removed {} frame(s) from page {} from the in-memory WAL index because they were written after the last committed frame {}",
-                    original_len - frames.len(),
-                    page,
-                    max_frame
-                );
+        let max_frame = st.last_valid_frame;
+        if max_frame > 0 {
+            let mut frame_cache = wfs.frame_cache.lock();
+            for frames in frame_cache.values_mut() {
+                frames.retain(|&f| f <= max_frame);
             }
+            frame_cache.retain(|_, frames| !frames.is_empty());
         }
-        // also remove any pages that now have no frames
-        frame_cache.retain(|_page, frames| !frames.is_empty());
 
-        wfs_data.nbackfills.store(0, Ordering::SeqCst);
-        wfs_data.loaded.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
-        if size >= WAL_HEADER_SIZE as u64 {
-            wfs_data.initialized.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        wfs.max_frame.store(max_frame, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        wfs.last_checksum = st.cumulative_checksum;
+        if st.header_valid {
+            wfs.initialized.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
         }
-    });
-    let c = Completion::new_read(buf_for_pread, complete);
-    let _c = file.pread(0, c)?;
+        wfs.nbackfills.store(0, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        wfs.loaded.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
 
-    Ok(wal_file_shared_ret)
+        self.done.store(true, Ordering::Release);
+        tracing::info!(
+            "WAL loading complete: {} frames processed, last commit at frame {}",
+            st.frame_idx - 1,
+            max_frame
+        );
+    }
 }
 
 pub fn begin_read_wal_frame_raw(
@@ -1859,7 +1963,6 @@ pub fn begin_read_wal_frame_raw(
 ) -> Result<Completion> {
     tracing::trace!("begin_read_wal_frame_raw(offset={})", offset);
     let buf = Arc::new(buffer_pool.get_wal_frame());
-    #[allow(clippy::arc_with_non_send_sync)]
     let c = Completion::new_read(buf, complete);
     let c = io.pread(offset, c)?;
     Ok(c)
diff --git a/core/storage/wal.rs b/core/storage/wal.rs
index f932964fb..d21267bbb 100644
--- a/core/storage/wal.rs
+++ b/core/storage/wal.rs
@@ -553,7 +553,6 @@ impl fmt::Debug for OngoingCheckpoint {
     }
 }
 
-#[allow(dead_code)]
 pub struct WalFile {
     io: Arc<dyn IO>,
     buffer_pool: Arc<BufferPool>,
@@ -660,7 +659,6 @@ impl fmt::Debug for WalFile {
 // TODO(pere): lock only important parts + pin WalFileShared
 /// WalFileShared is the part of a WAL that will be shared between threads. A wal has information
 /// that needs to be communicated between threads so this struct does the job.
-#[allow(dead_code)]
 pub struct WalFileShared {
     pub enabled: AtomicBool,
     pub wal_header: Arc<SpinLock<WalHeader>>,
@@ -676,7 +674,6 @@ pub struct WalFileShared {
     pub frame_cache: Arc<SpinLock<HashMap<u64, Vec<u64>>>>,
     pub last_checksum: (u32, u32), // Check of last frame in WAL, this is a cumulative checksum over all frames in the WAL
     pub file: Option<Arc<dyn File>>,
-
     /// Read locks advertise the maximum WAL frame a reader may access.
     /// Slot 0 is special, when it is held (shared) the reader bypasses the WAL and uses the main DB file.
     /// When checkpointing, we must acquire the exclusive read lock 0 to ensure that no readers read
@@ -2238,21 +2235,17 @@ impl WalFileShared {
         path: &str,
     ) -> Result<Arc<RwLock<WalFileShared>>> {
         let file = io.open_file(path, crate::io::OpenFlags::Create, false)?;
-        if file.size()? > 0 {
-            let wal_file_shared = sqlite3_ondisk::read_entire_wal_dumb(&file)?;
-            // TODO: Return a completion instead.
-            let mut max_loops = 100_000;
-            while !wal_file_shared.read().loaded.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
-                io.run_once()?;
-                max_loops -= 1;
-                if max_loops == 0 {
-                    panic!("WAL file not loaded");
-                }
-            }
-            Ok(wal_file_shared)
-        } else {
-            WalFileShared::new_noop()
+        if file.size()? == 0 {
+            return WalFileShared::new_noop();
         }
+        let wal_file_shared = sqlite3_ondisk::build_shared_wal(&file, io)?;
+        turso_assert!(
+            wal_file_shared
+                .try_read()
+                .is_some_and(|wfs| wfs.loaded.load(Ordering::Acquire)),
+            "Unable to read WAL shared state"
+        );
+        Ok(wal_file_shared)
     }
 
     pub fn is_initialized(&self) -> Result<bool> {