diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
index 67e77318..08ec975e 100755
--- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   },
   "metadata": {
     "description": "Reflex-based memory system for AI agents with SurrealDB backend. Stores experiences as interconnected neurons, recalls through spreading activation — not search.",
-    "version": "3.11.0"
+    "version": "3.12.0"
   },
   "plugins": [
     {
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
         "repo": "acidkill/surreal-memory"
       },
       "description": "Reflex-based memory system for AI agents with SurrealDB backend — stores experiences as interconnected neurons and recalls them through spreading activation, mimicking how the human brain works.",
-      "version": "3.11.0",
+      "version": "3.12.0",
       "author": {
         "name": "Toni Nowak / AI-Flow NOWAK"
       },
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index c565cdfe..492a4c79 100755
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "surreal-memory",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "description": "Reflex-based memory system for AI agents with SurrealDB backend — stores experiences as interconnected neurons and recalls them through spreading activation, mimicking how the human brain works.",
   "author": {
     "name": "Toni Nowak / AI-Flow NOWAK"
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 371ce793..da001733 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,9 +7,65 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [3.12.0] — 2026-09-25 — consolidation can resume its committed work
+
+Large maintenance runs now make bounded progress and can continue from durable
+checkpoints after interruption. Semantic discovery also detects source changes
+that invalidate its saved work, while pruning, retention, compression, and
+fiber-wide operations avoid relying on unbounded in-memory scans.
+
+### Added
+
+- Durable consolidation progress tracks committed work across bounded strategy
+  steps. Runs can resume across process interruptions, with lease fencing and
+  replay-safe tool events preventing competing workers or duplicate effects.
+- Semantic-link discovery stores bounded staged state and source-revision
+  fences. It can resume discovery across checkpoints, detect stale work when
+  source records change, and recover safely when source drift repeats.
+- Keyset-paged fiber censuses, maturation reads, compression, and activity
+  scans keep large maintenance jobs from requiring whole collections in memory.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Consolidation strategies and pruning advance through durable, committed
+  substeps. Retention resumes from its last committed phase after an error
+  rather than restarting already-completed work.
+- Alias-pair checks use source indexes, unused connectivity queries are
+  removed from prune scans, and semantic-link candidate collection has a
+  bounded memory footprint.
+- Schema migration advances compatible unfinished v3.11 consolidation
+  checkpoint metadata to schema v12 while retaining its phase, cursor, and
+  counters. Checkpoints with a different engine or progress-format marker are
+  left untouched.
+
 ### Fixed
 
-- **Resumable semantic-link discovery** — discovery and similarity progress now checkpoint durably and resume from committed cursors/rows; changed source data invalidates stale progress.
+- Compression preserves backups and resumes fiber processing safely, including
+  compatibility with older stored compression state.
+- Context-overflow reranker requests split into smaller requests without
+  dropping or resetting candidate scores.
+- Embedding credentials for OpenAI-compatible providers are isolated from
+  unrelated provider requests.
+- Semantic discovery safely recovers unapplied legacy work, tolerates
+  unchanged changefeed metadata, handles barriers across changefeed cursors,
+  and safely restarts stale checkpoints.
+- Semantic-link apply checkpoints batch their updates, and keyset range scans
+  remain bounded at page boundaries.
+- Optional SDK-specific test fences no longer fail installations without that
+  optional package.
+
+### Compatibility and rollout
+
+- The database schema advances to v12 through the normal startup migration.
+  Take the usual database backup before deploying, particularly when a
+  consolidation may be in progress.
+- Compatible v3.11 progress records retain the `3.11.0:checkpoint-v1` engine
+  marker; the marker is a checkpoint-compatibility identifier, not a package
+  version field, and it remains stable across compatible package releases.
+  Migration advances schema metadata without rewriting a checkpoint phase,
+  cursor, or counters. v3.12 can resume a compatible v3.11 checkpoint when its
+  schema, progress format, run options, and requested strategies still match;
+  incompatible markers and formats remain fenced off and are not rewritten.
 
 ## [3.11.0] — 2026-09-23 — recall reaches the right memories and checks its work
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bde42c3e..808cb9ea 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -19,24 +19,27 @@ Restart your AI tool. Your agent now remembers.
 
 ---
 
-## What's new in 3.11.0
-
-- Recall can use BM25-ranked keyword anchors and indexed semantic anchors across
-  the whole brain. An optional fiber-vector retriever can also surface a fiber
-  whose neurons did not win an anchor search; existing fibers need a deliberate
-  vector backfill before enabling it.
-- Creation age and an explicitly requested priority now affect recall ranking.
-  Confidence is reduced when no embedding or fiber-vector anchor grounds a
-  match, even if keyword anchors are present.
-- Brain snapshots retain the persisted fiber fields and stored fiber vectors.
-  `smem brain recall-check` samples stored summaries through normal recall to
-  report self-recall separately from the health score.
-- `auto_capture_mode = "off"` now disables automatic writes. Auto-classified
-  decisions, errors, tools, and predictions no longer receive an implicit
-  expiry; explicit expiry settings still apply.
+## What's new in 3.12.0
+
+- Consolidation now advances through bounded, durable work units. Interrupted
+  runs can resume from committed checkpoints, including semantic-link
+  discovery, deduplication, fiber censuses, compression, and lifecycle work.
+- Semantic-link discovery limits candidate memory and records source revisions
+  so stale or repeatedly changing source data can be detected and recovered
+  safely instead of replaying unbounded work.
+- Pruning and retention resume between committed substeps after errors, and
+  indexed keyset scans keep large graph operations bounded.
+- The schema migration carries compatible unfinished v3.11 checkpoints
+  forward while preserving their phase data and `3.11.0:checkpoint-v1`
+  compatibility marker. Package-version bumps do not invalidate this v1
+  checkpoint epoch; incompatible formats, schema state, or run parameters
+  remain fenced off from resume.
+- Reranker requests that exceed context limits are split without losing
+  candidate scores, and OpenAI-compatible embedding credentials are isolated
+  from unrelated provider requests.
 
 See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for migration details and the complete list of
-changes.
+changes. For earlier releases, see the changelog.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package-lock.json b/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package-lock.json
index 4531cef1..e6f084bd 100644
--- a/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package-lock.json
+++ b/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@acidkill/surreal-memory-client",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@acidkill/surreal-memory-client",
-      "version": "3.11.0",
+      "version": "3.12.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "devDependencies": {
         "@types/node": "^20.0.0",
diff --git a/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package.json b/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package.json
index 4f8255bf..3e3544d6 100644
--- a/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package.json
+++ b/integrations/surreal-memory-client/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@acidkill/surreal-memory-client",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "description": "TypeScript client for the Surreal-Memory REST API \u2014 typed access to brains, neurons, synapses, fibers, recall, and sync.",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.cjs",
diff --git a/integrations/surrealmemory/openclaw.plugin.json b/integrations/surrealmemory/openclaw.plugin.json
index e70696db..3726122a 100755
--- a/integrations/surrealmemory/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/integrations/surrealmemory/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "kind": "memory",
   "name": "Surreal-Memory",
   "description": "Brain-inspired persistent memory for AI agents — neurons, synapses, and fibers. REQUIRED: set plugins.slots.memory = \"surrealmemory\" in openclaw.json to disable the default memory-core plugin and activate Surreal-Memory as the exclusive memory provider.",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "configSchema": {
     "jsonSchema": {
       "type": "object",
diff --git a/integrations/surrealmemory/package-lock.json b/integrations/surrealmemory/package-lock.json
index 0f372b12..ffcf3c10 100755
--- a/integrations/surrealmemory/package-lock.json
+++ b/integrations/surrealmemory/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "@surrealmemory/openclaw-plugin",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "@surrealmemory/openclaw-plugin",
-      "version": "3.11.0",
+      "version": "3.12.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "devDependencies": {
         "@types/node": "^25.2.2",
diff --git a/integrations/surrealmemory/package.json b/integrations/surrealmemory/package.json
index 833e104f..6c5c0ad2 100755
--- a/integrations/surrealmemory/package.json
+++ b/integrations/surrealmemory/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "surrealmemory",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "description": "Surreal-Memory plugin for OpenClaw \u2014 graph-based persistent memory for AI agents with SurrealDB backend",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 142f47fd..6fbaa5e5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "surreal-memory"
-version = "3.11.0"
+version = "3.12.0"
 description = "Reflex-based memory system for AI agents with SurrealDB backend — retrieval through activation, not search"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/src/surreal_memory/__init__.py b/src/surreal_memory/__init__.py
index 561b3dbb..116c680c 100755
--- a/src/surreal_memory/__init__.py
+++ b/src/surreal_memory/__init__.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 from surreal_memory.engine.reflex_activation import CoActivation, ReflexActivation
 from surreal_memory.engine.retrieval import DepthLevel, ReflexPipeline, RetrievalResult
 
-__version__ = "3.11.0"
+__version__ = "3.12.0"
 
 __all__ = [
     "__version__",
diff --git a/src/surreal_memory/engine/consolidation_progress.py b/src/surreal_memory/engine/consolidation_progress.py
index 2c8bfc5b..e5c38ab9 100644
--- a/src/surreal_memory/engine/consolidation_progress.py
+++ b/src/surreal_memory/engine/consolidation_progress.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 from typing import Any
 from uuid import uuid4
 
-from surreal_memory import __version__
 from surreal_memory.storage.base import NeuralStorage
 from surreal_memory.storage.surrealdb.schema import SCHEMA_VERSION
 from surreal_memory.utils.timeutils import ensure_naive_utc, utcnow
@@ -20,7 +19,9 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 PROGRESS_FORMAT_VERSION = 1
-CONSOLIDATION_ENGINE_VERSION = f"{__version__}:checkpoint-v1"
+# Keep this compatibility epoch stable across package releases; change it only
+# when checkpoint semantics become incompatible.
+CONSOLIDATION_ENGINE_VERSION = "3.11.0:checkpoint-v1"
 LEASE_SECONDS = 180
 INCOMPLETE_STATUSES = {"queued", "running", "paused", "failed"}
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_consolidation_progress.py b/tests/unit/test_consolidation_progress.py
index 1f09f418..7c059c31 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_consolidation_progress.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_consolidation_progress.py
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ async def test_new_run_persists_committed_checkpoints_and_completion() -> None:
     assert session.state["status"] == "running"
     assert session.state["schema_version"] > 0
     assert session.state["engine_version"] == progress_module.CONSOLIDATION_ENGINE_VERSION
+    assert session.state["engine_version"] == "3.11.0:checkpoint-v1"
     assert storage.started == 1
 
     await session.checkpoint(
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_health_fixes.py b/tests/unit/test_health_fixes.py
index 25e62acc..3585ff8f 100755
--- a/tests/unit/test_health_fixes.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_health_fixes.py
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ class TestVersionBump:
     def test_version_is_current(self) -> None:
         import surreal_memory
 
-        assert surreal_memory.__version__ == "3.11.0"
+        assert surreal_memory.__version__ == "3.12.0"
 
 
 class TestPackageIntegrity:
diff --git a/vscode-extension/package-lock.json b/vscode-extension/package-lock.json
index fac4fe20..fd39cdc6 100755
--- a/vscode-extension/package-lock.json
+++ b/vscode-extension/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "surrealmemory",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "surrealmemory",
-      "version": "3.11.0",
+      "version": "3.12.0",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "cytoscape": "^3.33.1",
diff --git a/vscode-extension/package.json b/vscode-extension/package.json
index 56b63d6f..d0a7f9cd 100755
--- a/vscode-extension/package.json
+++ b/vscode-extension/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "surrealmemory",
   "displayName": "Surreal-Memory",
   "description": "Visual brain explorer, inline recall, and memory management for Surreal-Memory",
-  "version": "3.11.0",
+  "version": "3.12.0",
   "publisher": "ai-flow-nowak",
   "license": "MIT",
   "preview": true,