diff --git a/src/test/kotlin/kestrel/PersistenceTest.kt b/src/test/kotlin/kestrel/PersistenceTest.kt
index 7575dd7..acdc542 100644
--- a/src/test/kotlin/kestrel/PersistenceTest.kt
+++ b/src/test/kotlin/kestrel/PersistenceTest.kt
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 package kestrel
 
+import java.io.BufferedReader
 import java.io.File
+import java.io.IOException
+import java.io.Reader
+import java.io.StringReader
 import java.nio.file.Files
 import kestrel.cli.Repl
 import kestrel.persistence.Persistence
 import kotlin.test.Test
 import kotlin.test.assertContains
+import kotlin.test.assertEquals
+import kotlin.test.assertFailsWith
 import kotlin.test.assertTrue
 
 class PersistenceTest {
@@ -17,6 +23,34 @@ class PersistenceTest {
         return output.toString()
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Delivers [text] like a normal [StringReader], but throws instead of ever signalling EOF -
+     * simulating a process that vanished (killed, crashed, power loss) right after its last
+     * statement ran, never reaching either `.exit` or a graceful end of input. [Repl.run] only
+     * checkpoints (see [Repl.finish]) on one of those two paths, so this is the one way to drive it
+     * through every statement in [text] while proving NOTHING beyond the incremental WAL write each
+     * statement already triggered on its own (via [kestrel.cli.Repl.recordForPersistence]) ever
+     * makes it to disk - exactly the scenario a TEMP table's persistence exclusion must hold up
+     * under, not just the far more common clean-`.exit`-then-checkpoint path every other test here
+     * exercises.
+     */
+    private class CrashingReader(text: String) : Reader() {
+        private val delegate = StringReader(text)
+        override fun read(cbuf: CharArray, off: Int, len: Int): Int {
+            val read = delegate.read(cbuf, off, len)
+            if (read == -1) throw IOException("simulated crash: process died before EOF")
+            return read
+        }
+        override fun close() = delegate.close()
+    }
+
+    private fun runScriptThatCrashesBeforeItCanCheckpoint(dir: File, script: String) {
+        val output = StringBuilder()
+        assertFailsWith<IOException> {
+            Repl(output, output, Persistence(dir)).run(BufferedReader(CrashingReader(script)))
+        }
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun dataSurvivesReopenAfterCheckpoint() {
         val dir = tempDir()
@@ -74,6 +108,82 @@ class PersistenceTest {
         assertTrue(!reopened.contains("2"), "rolled back insert must not persist")
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun aMergeSurvivesReopenWithBothItsUpdateAndItsInsertIntact() {
+        val dir = tempDir()
+        runScript(
+            dir,
+            """
+            CREATE TABLE accounts (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, balance INTEGER);
+            CREATE TABLE staging (id INTEGER, amount INTEGER);
+            INSERT INTO accounts VALUES (1, 100);
+            INSERT INTO staging VALUES (1, 10), (2, 5);
+            MERGE INTO accounts USING staging ON accounts.id = staging.id
+                WHEN MATCHED THEN UPDATE SET balance = accounts.balance + staging.amount
+                WHEN NOT MATCHED THEN INSERT (id, balance) VALUES (staging.id, staging.amount);
+            .exit
+            """.trimIndent()
+        )
+        val reopened = runScript(dir, "SELECT id, balance FROM accounts ORDER BY id ASC;\n.exit\n")
+        assertContains(reopened, "110")
+        assertContains(reopened, "5")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun rollbackToSavepointInsideACommittedTransactionDoesNotPersistTheUndoneInsert() {
+        val dir = tempDir()
+        runScript(
+            dir,
+            """
+            CREATE TABLE t (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY);
+            BEGIN;
+            INSERT INTO t VALUES (111);
+            SAVEPOINT s1;
+            INSERT INTO t VALUES (222);
+            ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT s1;
+            INSERT INTO t VALUES (333);
+            COMMIT;
+            .exit
+            """.trimIndent()
+        )
+        val reopened = runScript(dir, "SELECT id FROM t ORDER BY id ASC;\n.exit\n")
+        assertContains(reopened, "111")
+        assertContains(reopened, "333")
+        assertTrue(!reopened.contains("222"), "insert undone by ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT must not persist")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun insertOnConflictDoUpdateSurvivesReopen() {
+        val dir = tempDir()
+        runScript(
+            dir,
+            """
+            CREATE TABLE accounts (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, balance INTEGER);
+            INSERT INTO accounts VALUES (1, 100);
+            INSERT INTO accounts VALUES (1, 50) ON CONFLICT (id) DO UPDATE SET balance = accounts.balance + excluded.balance;
+            .exit
+            """.trimIndent()
+        )
+        val reopened = runScript(dir, "SELECT balance FROM accounts WHERE id = 1;\n.exit\n")
+        assertContains(reopened, "150")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun walReplayReconstructsAnInsertOnConflictStatementCorrectly() {
+        val dir = tempDir()
+        val persistence = Persistence(dir)
+        persistence.appendWal(
+            listOf(
+                "CREATE TABLE accounts (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, balance INTEGER);",
+                "INSERT INTO accounts VALUES (1, 100);",
+                "INSERT INTO accounts VALUES (1, 50) ON CONFLICT (id) DO UPDATE SET balance = accounts.balance + excluded.balance;"
+            )
+        )
+        val output = StringBuilder()
+        Repl(output, output, Persistence(dir)).run("SELECT balance FROM accounts WHERE id = 1;\n.exit\n".reader().buffered())
+        assertContains(output.toString(), "150")
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun walReplayRecoversWithoutCheckpoint() {
         val dir = tempDir()