diff --git a/ops/preflight_sofiia_console.sh b/ops/preflight_sofiia_console.sh
index 056cab8d..6c17a78a 100755
--- a/ops/preflight_sofiia_console.sh
+++ b/ops/preflight_sofiia_console.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ FAIL=0
 _pass() { echo -e "${GREEN}PASS${NC}: $1"; PASS=$((PASS+1)); }
 _warn() { echo -e "${YELLOW}WARN${NC}: $1"; WARN=$((WARN+1)); }
 _fail() { echo -e "${RED}FAIL${NC}: $1"; FAIL=$((FAIL+1)); }
+_info() { echo "INFO: $1"; }
 _section() { echo -e "\n-- $1 --"; }
 
 for cmd in bash curl rg python3; do
@@ -100,7 +101,53 @@ else
   _fail "Cannot create SOFIIA_DATA_DIR (${DATA_DIR})"
 fi
 
-_section "5) Redis connectivity (if redis backend enabled)"
+_section "5) Audit DB checks"
+RETENTION_RAW="${SOFIIA_AUDIT_RETENTION_DAYS:-}"
+if [ -n "${RETENTION_RAW}" ]; then
+  if [[ "${RETENTION_RAW}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && [ "${RETENTION_RAW}" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null; then
+    _pass "SOFIIA_AUDIT_RETENTION_DAYS=${RETENTION_RAW} (valid)"
+  else
+    _warn "SOFIIA_AUDIT_RETENTION_DAYS must be integer > 0 (got: ${RETENTION_RAW})"
+  fi
+else
+  _info "SOFIIA_AUDIT_RETENTION_DAYS not set; default 90 will apply"
+fi
+
+DB_PATH="${DATA_DIR}/sofiia.db"
+if [ -f "${DB_PATH}" ]; then
+  db_size_bytes=""
+  if stat -f%z "${DB_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_size_bytes="$(stat -f%z "${DB_PATH}")"
+  elif stat -c%s "${DB_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_size_bytes="$(stat -c%s "${DB_PATH}")"
+  elif command -v du >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    db_size_bytes="$(du -k "${DB_PATH}" | awk '{print $1 * 1024}')"
+  fi
+  if [ -n "${db_size_bytes}" ] && [[ "${db_size_bytes}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    threshold_bytes="${SOFIIA_AUDIT_DB_WARN_BYTES:-1073741824}"  # 1GB default
+    if [[ "${threshold_bytes}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && [ "${db_size_bytes}" -gt "${threshold_bytes}" ]; then
+      _warn "sofiia.db size is high (${db_size_bytes} bytes > ${threshold_bytes} bytes)"
+    else
+      _pass "sofiia.db size check OK (${db_size_bytes} bytes)"
+    fi
+  else
+    _warn "Could not determine sofiia.db size (stat/du unavailable)"
+  fi
+
+  if command -v sqlite3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if sqlite3 "${DB_PATH}" "SELECT 1 FROM audit_events LIMIT 1;" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      _pass "audit_events table exists"
+    else
+      _warn "audit_events table check failed (table missing or DB not ready)"
+    fi
+  else
+    _warn "sqlite3 not installed; skipped audit_events table check"
+  fi
+else
+  _warn "DB file not found at ${DB_PATH} (fresh instance or path mismatch)"
+fi
+
+_section "6) Redis connectivity (if redis backend enabled)"
 if [ "${SOFIIA_IDEMPOTENCY_BACKEND:-inmemory}" = "redis" ] || [ "${SOFIIA_RATE_LIMIT_BACKEND:-inmemory}" = "redis" ]; then
   REDIS_URL="${SOFIIA_REDIS_URL:-}"
   if [ -z "${REDIS_URL}" ]; then