diff --git a/cli/src/commands/__tests__/session-end.test.ts b/cli/src/commands/__tests__/session-end.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e0a7d284
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/commands/__tests__/session-end.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+
+// Mocks must be declared before the module under test is imported.
+vi.mock('child_process', () => ({ spawn: vi.fn(() => ({ unref: vi.fn() })) }));
+vi.mock('fs', () => ({
+  openSync: vi.fn(() => 3),
+  closeSync: vi.fn(),
+  mkdirSync: vi.fn(),
+  existsSync: vi.fn(() => true),
+}));
+vi.mock('url', () => ({ fileURLToPath: vi.fn(() => '/fake/path/session-end.js') }));
+vi.mock('path', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import('path')>('path');
+  return { ...actual, resolve: vi.fn(() => '/fake/index.js') };
+});
+
+const mockGetConfigDir = vi.fn(() => '/tmp/code-insights');
+vi.mock('../../utils/config.js', () => ({ getConfigDir: mockGetConfigDir }));
+
+const mockSyncSingleFile = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../sync.js', () => ({ syncSingleFile: mockSyncSingleFile }));
+
+const mockEnqueue = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../../db/queue.js', () => ({ enqueue: mockEnqueue }));
+
+const mockSessionExists = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../../db/read.js', () => ({ sessionExists: mockSessionExists }));
+
+const { sessionEndCommand } = await import('../session-end.js');
+
+// ── Helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function makeStdin(payload: Record<string, unknown>): void {
+  const data = JSON.stringify(payload);
+  Object.defineProperty(process, 'stdin', {
+    value: {
+      isTTY: false,
+      setEncoding: vi.fn(),
+      on: vi.fn((event: string, cb: (chunk?: string) => void) => {
+        if (event === 'data') cb(data);
+        if (event === 'end') cb();
+      }),
+    },
+    writable: true,
+  });
+}
+
+// ── Tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('sessionEndCommand — empty session guard', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    delete process.env.CODE_INSIGHTS_HOOK_ACTIVE;
+  });
+
+  it('does NOT call enqueue when session is absent from the DB', async () => {
+    mockSessionExists.mockReturnValue(false);
+    makeStdin({ session_id: 'ghost-session', transcript_path: null });
+
+    await sessionEndCommand({ quiet: true });
+
+    expect(mockSessionExists).toHaveBeenCalledWith('ghost-session');
+    expect(mockEnqueue).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('calls enqueue when session exists in the DB', async () => {
+    mockSessionExists.mockReturnValue(true);
+    makeStdin({ session_id: 'real-session', transcript_path: null });
+
+    await sessionEndCommand({ quiet: true, native: true });
+
+    expect(mockSessionExists).toHaveBeenCalledWith('real-session');
+    expect(mockEnqueue).toHaveBeenCalledWith('real-session', 'native');
+  });
+
+  it('returns early without calling sessionExists when session_id is missing', async () => {
+    makeStdin({});
+
+    await sessionEndCommand({ quiet: true });
+
+    expect(mockSessionExists).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockEnqueue).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('returns early without calling sessionExists when CODE_INSIGHTS_HOOK_ACTIVE is set', async () => {
+    process.env.CODE_INSIGHTS_HOOK_ACTIVE = '1';
+    makeStdin({ session_id: 'any-session' });
+
+    await sessionEndCommand({ quiet: true });
+
+    expect(mockSessionExists).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockEnqueue).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/session-end.ts b/cli/src/commands/session-end.ts
index 618441bb..eb5d1b39 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/session-end.ts
+++ b/cli/src/commands/session-end.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import { getConfigDir } from '../utils/config.js';
 import { syncSingleFile } from './sync.js';
 import { enqueue } from '../db/queue.js';
+import { sessionExists } from '../db/read.js';
 
 /** Resolve the CLI entry point for spawning child processes. */
 const CLI_ENTRY = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '../../index.js');
@@ -82,7 +83,11 @@ export async function sessionEndCommand(options: SessionEndOptions = {}): Promis
     }
   }
 
-  // Phase 2: Enqueue for async analysis
+  // Phase 2: Enqueue for async analysis — skip if session wasn't written to DB
+  // (e.g. user exited without sending any messages, like running /config then quitting)
+  if (!sessionExists(sessionId)) {
+    return;
+  }
   enqueue(sessionId, native ? 'native' : 'provider');
 
   // Phase 3: Spawn detached worker to process the queue