diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9fb1382e9ac..0f1b9621533 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Fixes
 
 - Agents/Compaction continuity: expand staged-summary merge instructions to preserve active task status, batch progress, latest user request, and follow-up commitments so compaction handoffs retain in-flight work context. (#8903) thanks @joetomasone.
+- Memory/QMD index isolation: set `QMD_CONFIG_DIR` alongside `XDG_CONFIG_HOME` so QMD config state stays per-agent despite upstream XDG handling bugs, preventing cross-agent collection indexing and excess disk/CPU usage. (#27028) thanks @HenryLoenwind.
 - LINE/auth boundary hardening synthesis: enforce strict LINE webhook authn/z boundary semantics across pairing-store account scoping, DM/group allowlist separation, fail-closed webhook auth/runtime behavior, and replay/duplication controls (including in-flight replay reservation and post-success dedupe marking). (from #26701, #26683, #25978, #17593, #16619, #31990, #26047, #30584, #18777) Thanks @bmendonca3, @davidahmann, @harshang03, @haosenwang1018, @liuxiaopai-ai, @coygeek, and @Takhoffman.
 - LINE/media download synthesis: fix file-media download handling and M4A audio classification across overlapping LINE regressions. (from #26386, #27761, #27787, #29509, #29755, #29776, #29785, #32240) Thanks @kevinWangSheng, @loiie45e, @carrotRakko, @Sid-Qin, @codeafridi, and @bmendonca3.
 - LINE/context and routing synthesis: fix group/room peer routing and command-authorization context propagation, and keep processing later events in mixed-success webhook batches. (from #21955, #24475, #27035, #28286) Thanks @lailoo, @mcaxtr, @jervyclaw, @Glucksberg, and @Takhoffman.
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
index a2d3accef83..789b88f6f6c 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.ts
@@ -239,6 +239,9 @@ export class QmdMemoryManager implements MemorySearchManager {
     this.env = {
       ...process.env,
       XDG_CONFIG_HOME: this.xdgConfigHome,
+      // workaround for upstream bug https://github.com/tobi/qmd/issues/132
+      // QMD doesn't respect XDG_CONFIG_HOME:
+      QMD_CONFIG_DIR: this.xdgConfigHome,
       XDG_CACHE_HOME: this.xdgCacheHome,
       NO_COLOR: "1",
     };