diff --git a/.changeset/fn-7706-qmd-unref.md b/.changeset/fn-7706-qmd-unref.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cdcd6cf84c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fn-7706-qmd-unref.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+summary: Background memory-index refresh no longer keeps short-lived CLI/Node processes alive.
+category: fix
+dev: The default qmd exec path in `packages/core/src/memory-backend.ts` now unrefs the spawned child + stdio (replacing `promisify(execFile)`, whose internal stream buffering silently re-refs the pipes on a deferred tick, with a hand-rolled `spawn()`-based executor) so a fire-and-forget `scheduleQmd*` refresh never blocks a caller's event loop from draining; long-lived callers (e.g. the dashboard server) still see the refresh resolve/reject normally.
diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/fixtures/qmd-refresh-fixture.mjs b/packages/core/src/__tests__/fixtures/qmd-refresh-fixture.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c2f1180c87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/fixtures/qmd-refresh-fixture.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * FNXC:ProjectMemory 2026-07-08-00:00:
+ * Symptom-verification fixture for FN-7706. Fires a background qmd project-memory
+ * refresh (scheduleQmdProjectMemoryRefresh, fire-and-forget) against whatever `qmd`
+ * resolves on PATH, then returns from main immediately. If the default exec path
+ * does not unref its spawned child + stdio, this process stays alive until the
+ * background `qmd` child exits (or is force-killed) instead of exiting on its own
+ * once this script's own work is done. Loaded via `tsx` so it can import the real
+ * TypeScript source directly (no separate build step required for the test).
+ */
+import { scheduleQmdProjectMemoryRefresh, scheduleQmdAgentMemoryRefresh } from "../../memory-backend.ts";
+
+const rootDir = process.argv[2];
+const mode = process.argv[3] ?? "project";
+if (!rootDir) {
+  throw new Error("qmd-refresh-fixture: missing rootDir argument");
+}
+
+if (mode === "agent") {
+  scheduleQmdAgentMemoryRefresh(rootDir, "fn-7706-fixture-agent");
+} else {
+  scheduleQmdProjectMemoryRefresh(rootDir);
+}
+
+// Print a marker so the test can confirm the fixture actually reached this point
+// (i.e. the schedule call itself did not throw synchronously) before exiting.
+console.log("qmd-refresh-fixture:scheduled");
diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/qmd-refresh-unref.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/qmd-refresh-unref.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1266c47fca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/qmd-refresh-unref.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+/**
+ * FNXC:ProjectMemory 2026-07-08-00:00:
+ * Regression coverage for FN-7706: the background qmd child spawned by the default
+ * (real) exec path in memory-backend.ts must be unref'd (child + stdio) so a
+ * short-lived caller can exit promptly, while a long-lived caller that stays alive
+ * anyway still sees the refresh complete. Two layers:
+ *  1. A fast unit test on the extracted `unrefQmdChildProcess` helper (no real spawn).
+ *  2. An end-to-end symptom test: a fixture Node process fires a background refresh
+ *     against a slow fake `qmd` stub on PATH and must exit well before the stub does.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, chmodSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+import { unrefQmdChildProcess } from "../memory-backend.js";
+
+const tsxPackageJsonPath = createRequire(import.meta.url).resolve("tsx/package.json");
+const tsxCliPath = join(tsxPackageJsonPath, "..", "dist", "cli.mjs");
+
+describe("unrefQmdChildProcess (unit)", () => {
+  it("unrefs the child process and its stdout/stderr/stdin pipes", () => {
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const fakeChild = {
+      unref: () => calls.push("child"),
+      stdout: { unref: () => calls.push("stdout") },
+      stderr: { unref: () => calls.push("stderr") },
+      stdin: { unref: () => calls.push("stdin") },
+    };
+
+    unrefQmdChildProcess(fakeChild);
+
+    expect(calls.sort()).toEqual(["child", "stderr", "stdin", "stdout"]);
+  });
+
+  it("tolerates a missing child or missing stdio streams without throwing", () => {
+    expect(() => unrefQmdChildProcess(undefined)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => unrefQmdChildProcess(null)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => unrefQmdChildProcess({})).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() =>
+      unrefQmdChildProcess({ unref: () => {}, stdout: null, stderr: null, stdin: null }),
+    ).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("qmd background refresh does not keep a short-lived caller alive (symptom)", () => {
+  const tempDirs: string[] = [];
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    for (const dir of tempDirs.splice(0)) {
+      rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  function writeSlowQmdStub(stubDir: string): void {
+    // Fake `qmd`: resolves instantly for "collection add", but sleeps well past our
+    // exit-bound assertion for "update"/"embed" — this models the real symptom
+    // (long-sleeping qmd child) without a real multi-second wait dominating the test
+    // budget on the assertion side; only the *stub* sleeps long, the *test* just
+    // measures how fast the fixture process exits.
+    const stubPath = join(stubDir, "qmd");
+    writeFileSync(
+      stubPath,
+      [
+        "#!/usr/bin/env bash",
+        'case "$1" in',
+        "  update|embed)",
+        "    sleep 8",
+        "    ;;",
+        "esac",
+        "exit 0",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    chmodSync(stubPath, 0o755);
+  }
+
+  async function runFixture(mode: "project" | "agent", rootDir: string, stubDir: string) {
+    const fixturePath = join(import.meta.dirname, "fixtures", "qmd-refresh-fixture.mjs");
+    const startedAt = Date.now();
+    return new Promise<{ code: number | null; elapsedMs: number; stdout: string }>((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+      let stdout = "";
+      const child = spawn(process.execPath, [tsxCliPath, fixturePath, rootDir, mode], {
+        env: {
+          ...process.env,
+          PATH: `${stubDir}${process.platform === "win32" ? ";" : ":"}${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+          FUSION_ENABLE_QMD_REFRESH_IN_TESTS: "1",
+        },
+        stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+      });
+
+      child.stdout.on("data", (chunk) => {
+        stdout += String(chunk);
+      });
+      child.on("error", reject);
+      child.on("exit", (code) => {
+        resolvePromise({ code, elapsedMs: Date.now() - startedAt, stdout });
+      });
+    });
+  }
+
+  it("project refresh: fixture process exits promptly even though the background qmd stub is still sleeping", async () => {
+    const stubDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fn-7706-qmd-stub-"));
+    tempDirs.push(stubDir);
+    const rootDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fn-7706-qmd-root-"));
+    tempDirs.push(rootDir);
+    writeSlowQmdStub(stubDir);
+
+    const exitInfo = await runFixture("project", rootDir, stubDir);
+
+    expect(exitInfo.stdout).toContain("qmd-refresh-fixture:scheduled");
+    expect(exitInfo.code).toBe(0);
+    // The fake qmd sleeps 8s on "update"/"embed"; the fixture process must exit
+    // well before that, proving the background child + stdio were unref'd rather
+    // than holding the fixture's event loop open for the qmd child's full runtime.
+    expect(exitInfo.elapsedMs).toBeLessThan(5_000);
+  }, 15_000);
+
+  it("agent refresh: fixture process exits promptly even though the background qmd stub is still sleeping", async () => {
+    const stubDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fn-7706-qmd-agent-stub-"));
+    tempDirs.push(stubDir);
+    const rootDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fn-7706-qmd-agent-root-"));
+    tempDirs.push(rootDir);
+    writeSlowQmdStub(stubDir);
+
+    const exitInfo = await runFixture("agent", rootDir, stubDir);
+
+    expect(exitInfo.stdout).toContain("qmd-refresh-fixture:scheduled");
+    expect(exitInfo.code).toBe(0);
+    // refreshQmdAgentMemoryIndex routes through the same default executor as the
+    // project path; this proves the agent surface inherits the unref fix too.
+    expect(exitInfo.elapsedMs).toBeLessThan(5_000);
+  }, 15_000);
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/memory-backend.ts b/packages/core/src/memory-backend.ts
index f7710991d7..49a60e9f45 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/memory-backend.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/memory-backend.ts
@@ -1048,10 +1048,127 @@ async function ensureQmdProjectMemoryCollection(
   return collectionName;
 }
 
+/**
+ * FNXC:ProjectMemory 2026-07-08-00:00:
+ * Fire-and-forget background qmd refresh (scheduleQmdProjectMemoryRefresh /
+ * scheduleQmdAgentMemoryRefresh / scheduleQmdInstallAndRefresh) must never hold a
+ * short-lived caller's event loop open. A repro showed 5 Socket + 1 ChildProcess
+ * (`spawnfile: qmd`) handles persisting for the child's full 15-30s runtime, keeping
+ * a short-lived Node process (e.g. `fn agent stop <id>`) alive well after its own
+ * work finished.
+ *
+ * `promisify(execFile)` looks like the obvious fix (its returned promise exposes a
+ * `.child` ChildProcess we can `.unref()`), but it does NOT stick: execFile's
+ * internal stdout/stderr accumulation calls `stream.resume()`, which defers the
+ * actual `readStart()` (and an internal re-ref of the pipe handle) to a later
+ * `process.nextTick` tick — AFTER our synchronous `unref()` call runs — so the
+ * handle silently becomes ref'd again and the process hangs for the child's full
+ * runtime regardless of calling `.unref()`. Verified via `process._getActiveHandles()`
+ * repro: unref immediately after spawn briefly shows zero active handles, yet the
+ * process still doesn't exit until the child does.
+ *
+ * The reliable fix is to bypass `execFile`'s internal buffering entirely and drive a
+ * plain `spawn()` child ourselves: unref the child + its stdio synchronously right
+ * after spawn (nothing internal to execFile re-refs them later), and accumulate
+ * stdout/stderr via our own `data` listeners. This preserves the `{stdout, stderr}`
+ * resolve shape and reject-on-nonzero-exit / reject-on-spawn-error behavior that
+ * callers (e.g. `ensureQmdProjectMemoryCollection`'s "already exists" stderr check)
+ * depend on, so a long-lived caller that stays alive anyway still sees the refresh
+ * resolve/reject normally and complete. This lives only in the DEFAULT real executor;
+ * injected mock `execFileAsync` implementations (used by tests) are untouched.
+ */
+export function unrefQmdChildProcess(childProcessLike: unknown): void {
+  if (!childProcessLike || typeof childProcessLike !== "object") {
+    return;
+  }
+  const child = childProcessLike as {
+    unref?: () => void;
+    stdout?: { unref?: () => void } | null;
+    stderr?: { unref?: () => void } | null;
+    stdin?: { unref?: () => void } | null;
+  };
+  child.unref?.();
+  child.stdout?.unref?.();
+  child.stderr?.unref?.();
+  child.stdin?.unref?.();
+}
+
+interface QmdExecError extends Error {
+  code?: number | null;
+  signal?: NodeJS.Signals | null;
+  stdout?: string;
+  stderr?: string;
+}
+
 async function getDefaultExecFileAsync(): Promise<ExecFileAsync> {
-  const { execFile } = await import("node:child_process");
-  const { promisify } = await import("node:util");
-  return promisify(execFile);
+  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
+
+  return (file, args, options) =>
+    new Promise<{ stdout: string; stderr: string }>((resolvePromise, reject) => {
+      const child = spawn(file, args as string[], {
+        cwd: options?.cwd,
+        stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+        windowsHide: true,
+      });
+      // FNXC:ProjectMemory 2026-07-08-00:00: unref synchronously right after spawn —
+      // see the doc comment above this function for why this must NOT go through
+      // promisify(execFile).
+      unrefQmdChildProcess(child);
+
+      let stdout = "";
+      let stderr = "";
+      let settled = false;
+      let killedForMaxBuffer = false;
+      const maxBuffer = options?.maxBuffer;
+
+      const timeoutHandle = options?.timeout
+        ? setTimeout(() => {
+            child.kill("SIGTERM");
+          }, options.timeout)
+        : undefined;
+      timeoutHandle?.unref?.();
+
+      const checkMaxBuffer = () => {
+        if (maxBuffer && !killedForMaxBuffer && (stdout.length > maxBuffer || stderr.length > maxBuffer)) {
+          killedForMaxBuffer = true;
+          child.kill();
+        }
+      };
+
+      child.stdout?.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+        stdout += chunk.toString("utf8");
+        checkMaxBuffer();
+      });
+      child.stderr?.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+        stderr += chunk.toString("utf8");
+        checkMaxBuffer();
+      });
+
+      child.on("error", (err) => {
+        if (settled) return;
+        settled = true;
+        if (timeoutHandle) clearTimeout(timeoutHandle);
+        reject(err);
+      });
+
+      child.on("close", (code, signal) => {
+        if (settled) return;
+        settled = true;
+        if (timeoutHandle) clearTimeout(timeoutHandle);
+        if (code === 0) {
+          resolvePromise({ stdout, stderr });
+          return;
+        }
+        const error: QmdExecError = new Error(
+          `Command failed: ${file} ${args.join(" ")}\n${stderr || stdout}`,
+        );
+        error.code = code;
+        error.signal = signal;
+        error.stdout = stdout;
+        error.stderr = stderr;
+        reject(error);
+      });
+    });
 }
 
 export async function refreshQmdProjectMemoryIndex(