diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/client/__init__.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/client/__init__.py
index bb311af4..e8e989e1 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/client/__init__.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/client/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 import os
+from email.utils import parsedate_to_datetime
 
 from httpx import (
     AsyncBaseTransport,
@@ -46,6 +47,44 @@ async def log_response(response: Response):
     logger.debug("Response [%s] %s", response.status_code, response.text)
 
 
+def _normalise_search_result(item: dict) -> dict:
+    """Normalise a webdav.search_files item to the get_files_by_tag shape.
+
+    ``WebDAVClient.search_files`` and ``WebDAVClient.get_files_by_tag`` both
+    return per-file dicts but with subtly different keys (``file_id`` vs
+    ``id``) and path conventions (no leading slash vs leading slash). This
+    helper makes a search result interchangeable with a tagged-file result
+    so callers (notably the vector scanner) can consume both via one shape.
+    """
+    path = item.get("path", "")
+    if path and not path.startswith("/"):
+        path = "/" + path
+
+    last_modified_timestamp = item.get("last_modified_timestamp")
+    last_modified = item.get("last_modified")
+    if last_modified_timestamp is None and last_modified:
+        try:
+            last_modified_timestamp = int(
+                parsedate_to_datetime(last_modified).timestamp()
+            )
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            last_modified_timestamp = None
+
+    file_id = item.get("file_id") if item.get("file_id") is not None else item.get("id")
+
+    return {
+        "id": file_id,
+        "path": path,
+        "name": item.get("name") or (path.rsplit("/", 1)[-1] if path else ""),
+        "size": item.get("size", 0),
+        "content_type": item.get("content_type", ""),
+        "last_modified": last_modified,
+        "last_modified_timestamp": last_modified_timestamp,
+        "etag": item.get("etag"),
+        "is_directory": item.get("is_directory", False),
+    }
+
+
 class AsyncDisableCookieTransport(AsyncBaseTransport):
     """This Transport disable cookies from accumulating in the httpx AsyncClient
 
@@ -164,53 +203,123 @@ class NextcloudClient:
 
         This method coordinates tag lookup and file retrieval via WebDAV:
         1. Look up the tag ID by name
-        2. Get all files with that tag (via REPORT with full metadata)
-        3. Optionally filter by MIME type
+        2. Get all entries (files and directories) with that tag via REPORT
+        3. For each tagged directory, walk descendants matching ``mime_type_filter``
+           via WebDAV SEARCH (``Depth: infinity``) so a tag on a folder applies
+           to every matching file beneath it. Mirrors the directory semantics
+           of :mod:`nextcloud_mcp_server.server.tag_exclusion` (issue #710).
+        4. Dedupe by file id — a file directly tagged AND living under a
+           tagged ancestor is returned once.
+
+        Directory expansion only runs when ``mime_type_filter`` is set:
+        without it, expanding a tagged folder would dump the user's entire
+        tree into the caller, which is almost never what the operator
+        wanted.
 
         Args:
             tag_name: Name of the system tag to search for (e.g., "vector-index")
-            mime_type_filter: Optional MIME type filter (e.g., "application/pdf")
+            mime_type_filter: Optional MIME type filter (e.g., "application/pdf").
+                When set, also enables directory expansion.
 
         Returns:
             List of file dictionaries with WebDAV properties (path, size, content_type, etc.)
 
         Raises:
-            RuntimeError: If tag lookup or file query fails
+            RuntimeError: If tag lookup or the initial file query fails. A
+            failure walking one tagged directory is logged and skipped — other
+            directly-tagged files are still returned.
 
         Examples:
-            # Find all files with "vector-index" tag
+            # Find all files with "vector-index" tag (no directory expansion)
             files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag("vector-index")
 
-            # Find only PDFs with the tag
+            # Find only PDFs with the tag, including PDFs under any folder
+            # that carries the tag
             pdfs = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag("vector-index", "application/pdf")
         """
-        # Look up tag by name using WebDAV
         tag = await self.webdav.get_tag_by_name(tag_name)
         if not tag:
-            logger.debug(f"Tag '{tag_name}' not found, returning empty list")
+            logger.debug("Tag %r not found, returning empty list", tag_name)
             return []
 
-        # Get files with this tag (returns full file info from REPORT)
-        files = await self.webdav.get_files_by_tag(tag["id"])
-        if not files:
-            logger.debug(f"No files found with tag '{tag_name}'")
+        items = await self.webdav.get_files_by_tag(tag["id"])
+        if not items:
+            logger.debug("No items found with tag %r", tag_name)
             return []
 
-        logger.debug(f"Found {len(files)} files with tag '{tag_name}'")
+        logger.debug(
+            "Found %d directly-tagged item(s) with tag %r", len(items), tag_name
+        )
 
-        # Apply MIME type filter if specified
+        # Split into directly-tagged files vs tagged directories.
+        by_id: dict[int, dict] = {}
+        tagged_dirs: list[dict] = []
+        for item in items:
+            if item.get("is_directory"):
+                tagged_dirs.append(item)
+                continue
+            if mime_type_filter and not item.get("content_type", "").startswith(
+                mime_type_filter
+            ):
+                continue
+            file_id = item.get("id")
+            if file_id is None:
+                continue
+            by_id[file_id] = item
+
+        # Expand each tagged directory into its descendant files matching
+        # the MIME filter. Skip when no MIME filter is set — see docstring.
+        if mime_type_filter and tagged_dirs:
+            for dir_info in tagged_dirs:
+                dir_path = dir_info.get("path", "").strip("/")
+                try:
+                    descendants = await self.webdav.find_by_type(
+                        mime_type_filter, scope=dir_path
+                    )
+                except Exception as e:
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "Tag-based directory walk failed for %r (tag %r): %s; "
+                        "skipping descendants",
+                        dir_path,
+                        tag_name,
+                        e,
+                    )
+                    continue
+
+                added = 0
+                for d in descendants:
+                    if d.get("is_directory"):
+                        continue
+                    file_id = d.get("file_id") or d.get("id")
+                    if file_id is None:
+                        continue
+                    if file_id in by_id:
+                        # Directly-tagged entry already wins; keeps the
+                        # canonical shape from get_files_by_tag.
+                        continue
+                    by_id[file_id] = _normalise_search_result(d)
+                    added += 1
+
+                logger.debug(
+                    "Tag %r: directory %r expanded to %d descendant %s file(s)",
+                    tag_name,
+                    dir_path,
+                    added,
+                    mime_type_filter,
+                )
+
+        files = list(by_id.values())
         if mime_type_filter:
-            filtered_files = [
-                f
-                for f in files
-                if f.get("content_type", "").startswith(mime_type_filter)
-            ]
             logger.info(
-                f"Returning {len(filtered_files)} files with tag '{tag_name}' (filtered by {mime_type_filter})"
+                "Returning %d file(s) with tag %r (mime_type=%s, "
+                "%d directly-tagged folder(s) expanded)",
+                len(files),
+                tag_name,
+                mime_type_filter,
+                len(tagged_dirs),
             )
-            return filtered_files
-
-        logger.info(f"Returning {len(files)} files with tag '{tag_name}'")
+        else:
+            logger.info("Returning %d file(s) with tag %r", len(files), tag_name)
         return files
 
     def _get_webdav_base_path(self) -> str:
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/scanner.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/scanner.py
index 6973fb9f..4f4edf3f 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/scanner.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/scanner.py
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.client.news import NewsItemType
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.config import get_settings
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.observability.metrics import record_vector_sync_scan
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.observability.tracing import trace_operation
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.server.tag_exclusion import (
+    get_excluded_file_paths,
+    is_path_excluded,
+)
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.placeholder import (
     query_document_metadata,
     write_placeholder_point,
@@ -410,15 +414,45 @@ async def scan_user_documents(
         nextcloud_file_ids = set()
 
         try:
-            # Find files with vector-index tag using OCS Tags API
+            # Find files with vector-index tag using OCS Tags API.
+            # find_files_by_tag also expands tagged directories into their
+            # PDF descendants (Depth: infinity SEARCH), so a tag on a
+            # folder applies to every PDF beneath it.
             settings = get_settings()
             tag_name = os.getenv("VECTOR_SYNC_PDF_TAG", "vector-index")
-            # Use NextcloudClient.find_files_by_tag() which uses proper OCS API
-            # and filters by PDF MIME type
             tagged_files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag(
                 tag_name, mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
             )
 
+            # Apply EXCLUDED_TAGS as defense-in-depth: a folder marked
+            # off-limits via the exclusion tag must not be indexed even if
+            # it (or an ancestor) also carries the include tag. Mirrors the
+            # "exclusion wins" contract enforced by the MCP file tools.
+            try:
+                excluded_paths = await get_excluded_file_paths(nc_client.webdav)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "[SCAN-%s] EXCLUDED_TAGS lookup failed (%s); "
+                    "proceeding without exclusion filter",
+                    scan_id,
+                    e,
+                )
+                excluded_paths = set()
+            if excluded_paths:
+                before = len(tagged_files)
+                tagged_files = [
+                    f
+                    for f in tagged_files
+                    if not is_path_excluded(f.get("path", ""), excluded_paths)
+                ]
+                skipped = before - len(tagged_files)
+                if skipped:
+                    logger.info(
+                        "[SCAN-%s] Skipped %d tagged file(s) under EXCLUDED_TAGS paths",
+                        scan_id,
+                        skipped,
+                    )
+
             for file_info in tagged_files:
                 # Files are already filtered by MIME type in find_files_by_tag()
                 file_count += 1
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_tag_inclusion.py b/tests/integration/test_tag_inclusion.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6c8ab709
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_tag_inclusion.py
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+"""End-to-end integration tests for tag-based file inclusion in
+``NextcloudClient.find_files_by_tag``.
+
+The vector scanner relies on this helper to enumerate files under the
+``vector-index`` system tag (env: ``VECTOR_SYNC_PDF_TAG``). A user can
+tag either an individual file *or* a folder; in the folder case the
+tag should propagate to every matching descendant via a
+``Depth: infinity`` WebDAV SEARCH.
+
+Mirror of ``test_tag_exclusion.py`` but for the *inclusion* path.
+Catches integration-level issues that the unit tests in
+``tests/unit/client/test_nextcloud_client.py`` cannot, such as
+PROPFIND/REPORT/SEARCH semantics, Nextcloud's actual MIME-type
+reporting for the test fixtures, and the order in which directly-tagged
+files vs descendants are returned.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import uuid
+
+import pytest
+
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.client import NextcloudClient
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.integration
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+async def included_tag_environment(nc_client: NextcloudClient):
+    """Provision a tag, a directly-tagged file, a tagged directory with
+    a child file, and an untagged sibling — all in a unique per-run
+    namespace.
+
+    Yields a dict with the layout. Cleanup runs in reverse order: untag,
+    delete files. The tag itself is left behind (no public delete-tag
+    API on the client today; tags are cheap and unique-per-run).
+    """
+    suffix = uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]
+    tag_name = f"mcp-include-{suffix}"
+    test_dir = f"mcp_tag_incl_{suffix}"
+    tagged_file = f"{test_dir}/tagged.txt"
+    tagged_dir = f"{test_dir}/inside_dir"
+    tagged_dir_child = f"{tagged_dir}/child.txt"
+    nested_dir = f"{tagged_dir}/nested"
+    nested_dir_child = f"{nested_dir}/deep.txt"
+    untagged_file = f"{test_dir}/untagged.txt"
+
+    await nc_client.webdav.create_directory(test_dir)
+    await nc_client.webdav.create_directory(tagged_dir)
+    await nc_client.webdav.create_directory(nested_dir)
+    await nc_client.webdav.write_file(tagged_file, b"tagged file", "text/plain")
+    await nc_client.webdav.write_file(
+        tagged_dir_child, b"child of tagged dir", "text/plain"
+    )
+    await nc_client.webdav.write_file(
+        nested_dir_child, b"deep nested under tagged dir", "text/plain"
+    )
+    await nc_client.webdav.write_file(untagged_file, b"untagged sibling", "text/plain")
+
+    tag = await nc_client.webdav.get_or_create_tag(
+        name=tag_name, user_visible=True, user_assignable=True
+    )
+    assert tag["id"] is not None, "tag creation did not return an id"
+
+    tagged_file_info = await nc_client.webdav.get_file_info(tagged_file)
+    tagged_dir_info = await nc_client.webdav.get_file_info(tagged_dir)
+    assert tagged_file_info is not None and tagged_dir_info is not None
+
+    await nc_client.webdav.assign_tag_to_file(tagged_file_info["id"], tag["id"])
+    await nc_client.webdav.assign_tag_to_file(tagged_dir_info["id"], tag["id"])
+
+    yield {
+        "tag_name": tag_name,
+        "tag_id": tag["id"],
+        "test_dir": test_dir,
+        "tagged_file": tagged_file,
+        "tagged_file_id": tagged_file_info["id"],
+        "tagged_dir": tagged_dir,
+        "tagged_dir_id": tagged_dir_info["id"],
+        "tagged_dir_child": tagged_dir_child,
+        "nested_dir_child": nested_dir_child,
+        "untagged_file": untagged_file,
+    }
+
+    for file_id in (tagged_file_info["id"], tagged_dir_info["id"]):
+        try:
+            await nc_client.webdav.remove_tag_from_file(file_id, tag["id"])
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("failed to untag file %s: %s", file_id, e)
+    try:
+        await nc_client.webdav.delete_resource(test_dir)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning("failed to delete %s: %s", test_dir, e)
+
+
+def _basenames(files: list[dict]) -> set[str]:
+    """Return the basename of each file path for assertion convenience."""
+    return {f["path"].rstrip("/").rsplit("/", 1)[-1] for f in files}
+
+
+async def test_find_files_by_tag_includes_directly_tagged_file(
+    included_tag_environment, nc_client: NextcloudClient
+):
+    """A file with the tag directly applied is returned, regardless of the
+    folder-walk machinery."""
+    env = included_tag_environment
+
+    files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag(
+        env["tag_name"], mime_type_filter="text/plain"
+    )
+
+    names = _basenames(files)
+    assert "tagged.txt" in names
+    # untagged sibling outside any tagged directory must not appear
+    assert "untagged.txt" not in names
+
+
+async def test_find_files_by_tag_expands_tagged_directory(
+    included_tag_environment, nc_client: NextcloudClient
+):
+    """A tagged folder applies its tag to every matching descendant via
+    Depth: infinity SEARCH — including deeply nested files."""
+    env = included_tag_environment
+
+    files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag(
+        env["tag_name"], mime_type_filter="text/plain"
+    )
+
+    names = _basenames(files)
+    # Direct child of the tagged folder
+    assert "child.txt" in names
+    # Grandchild — proves the walk is recursive, not single-level
+    assert "deep.txt" in names
+
+
+async def test_find_files_by_tag_dedupes_directly_tagged_files_under_tagged_folder(
+    included_tag_environment, nc_client: NextcloudClient
+):
+    """When a file is *both* directly tagged and lives under a tagged
+    folder, it is returned exactly once. Verifies the dedup-by-id path."""
+    env = included_tag_environment
+
+    # Tag the deep child directly so it appears via two paths.
+    deep_info = await nc_client.webdav.get_file_info(env["nested_dir_child"])
+    assert deep_info is not None
+    await nc_client.webdav.assign_tag_to_file(deep_info["id"], env["tag_id"])
+
+    try:
+        files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag(
+            env["tag_name"], mime_type_filter="text/plain"
+        )
+    finally:
+        await nc_client.webdav.remove_tag_from_file(deep_info["id"], env["tag_id"])
+
+    ids = [f["id"] for f in files]
+    assert ids.count(deep_info["id"]) == 1, f"deep child returned more than once: {ids}"
+
+
+async def test_find_files_by_tag_excludes_unrelated_paths(
+    included_tag_environment, nc_client: NextcloudClient
+):
+    """A file in the same parent directory as the tagged folder, but not
+    under it, is not returned. Guards against an over-broad SEARCH scope."""
+    env = included_tag_environment
+
+    files = await nc_client.find_files_by_tag(
+        env["tag_name"], mime_type_filter="text/plain"
+    )
+
+    paths = {f["path"].lstrip("/") for f in files}
+    assert env["untagged_file"] not in paths
diff --git a/tests/unit/client/test_nextcloud_client.py b/tests/unit/client/test_nextcloud_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..04b95efe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/client/test_nextcloud_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,322 @@
+"""Unit tests for NextcloudClient orchestration logic.
+
+Currently covers ``find_files_by_tag``: the wrapper that combines
+``WebDAVClient.get_tag_by_name``, ``WebDAVClient.get_files_by_tag``, and
+``WebDAVClient.find_by_type`` to resolve a system tag (and any tagged
+folders) into a flat list of files.
+"""
+
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.client import NextcloudClient, _normalise_search_result
+
+
+def _make_client() -> NextcloudClient:
+    """Build a NextcloudClient with mocked sub-clients.
+
+    The client constructor opens an httpx session; we don't need it, just
+    a stub instance whose ``webdav`` attribute we can replace.
+    """
+    client = NextcloudClient.__new__(NextcloudClient)
+    client.username = "alice"
+    client.webdav = AsyncMock()
+    return client
+
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.unit
+
+
+class TestNormaliseSearchResult:
+    def test_adds_leading_slash_to_path(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {"path": "Documents/foo.pdf", "file_id": 1, "is_directory": False}
+        )
+        assert result["path"] == "/Documents/foo.pdf"
+
+    def test_preserves_leading_slash_when_present(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {"path": "/Documents/foo.pdf", "file_id": 1, "is_directory": False}
+        )
+        assert result["path"] == "/Documents/foo.pdf"
+
+    def test_maps_file_id_to_id(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {"path": "/foo.pdf", "file_id": 99, "is_directory": False}
+        )
+        assert result["id"] == 99
+
+    def test_falls_back_to_id_when_file_id_missing(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {"path": "/foo.pdf", "id": 7, "is_directory": False}
+        )
+        assert result["id"] == 7
+
+    def test_computes_last_modified_timestamp(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {
+                "path": "/foo.pdf",
+                "file_id": 1,
+                "last_modified": "Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT",
+            }
+        )
+        assert result["last_modified_timestamp"] == 1735689600
+
+    def test_preserves_existing_timestamp(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {
+                "path": "/foo.pdf",
+                "file_id": 1,
+                "last_modified_timestamp": 12345,
+                "last_modified": "Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT",
+            }
+        )
+        assert result["last_modified_timestamp"] == 12345
+
+    def test_handles_unparseable_last_modified(self):
+        result = _normalise_search_result(
+            {"path": "/foo.pdf", "file_id": 1, "last_modified": "not-a-date"}
+        )
+        assert result["last_modified_timestamp"] is None
+
+
+class TestFindFilesByTag:
+    async def test_returns_empty_when_tag_missing(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value=None)
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag("does-not-exist")
+
+        assert result == []
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag.assert_not_called()
+
+    async def test_returns_empty_when_no_tagged_items(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(return_value=[])
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag("vector-index")
+
+        assert result == []
+        client.webdav.find_by_type.assert_not_called()
+
+    async def test_directly_tagged_files_pass_through_with_mime_filter(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 1,
+                    "path": "/Documents/a.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+                {
+                    "id": 2,
+                    "path": "/Documents/notes.md",
+                    "content_type": "text/markdown",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag(
+            "vector-index", mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
+        )
+
+        assert {f["id"] for f in result} == {1}
+        # No tagged dirs → no SEARCH walk.
+        client.webdav.find_by_type.assert_not_called()
+
+    async def test_expands_tagged_directory_into_pdf_descendants(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        # One directly-tagged folder, no directly-tagged files.
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 100,
+                    "path": "/corpus",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                }
+            ]
+        )
+        # Search inside the folder returns two PDFs.
+        client.webdav.find_by_type = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "file_id": 11,
+                    "path": "corpus/arxiv/a.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                    "last_modified": "Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT",
+                },
+                {
+                    "file_id": 12,
+                    "path": "corpus/arxiv/b.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                    "last_modified": "Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT",
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag(
+            "vector-index", mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
+        )
+
+        assert {f["id"] for f in result} == {11, 12}
+        # Each result is normalised to the get_files_by_tag shape.
+        for f in result:
+            assert f["path"].startswith("/")
+            assert f["last_modified_timestamp"] is not None
+        # SEARCH was scoped to the tagged folder (no leading slash).
+        client.webdav.find_by_type.assert_awaited_once()
+        call_kwargs = client.webdav.find_by_type.await_args.kwargs
+        assert call_kwargs["scope"] == "corpus"
+
+    async def test_dedupes_when_file_directly_tagged_and_under_tagged_folder(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 11,
+                    "path": "/corpus/arxiv/a.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                    "name": "a.pdf",
+                },
+                {
+                    "id": 100,
+                    "path": "/corpus",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+        client.webdav.find_by_type = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "file_id": 11,
+                    "path": "corpus/arxiv/a.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+                {
+                    "file_id": 12,
+                    "path": "corpus/arxiv/b.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag(
+            "vector-index", mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
+        )
+
+        # File 11 is included exactly once and keeps the directly-tagged
+        # entry's metadata (name from get_files_by_tag, not search).
+        assert sorted(f["id"] for f in result) == [11, 12]
+        assert next(f for f in result if f["id"] == 11)["name"] == "a.pdf"
+
+    async def test_directory_walk_failure_skips_only_that_directory(self, caplog):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 7,
+                    "path": "/Documents/keep.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+                {
+                    "id": 100,
+                    "path": "/broken",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+        client.webdav.find_by_type = AsyncMock(side_effect=RuntimeError("REPORT 500"))
+
+        import logging
+
+        caplog.set_level(logging.WARNING, logger="nextcloud_mcp_server.client")
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag(
+            "vector-index", mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
+        )
+
+        # Directly-tagged file survives even though the dir walk blew up.
+        assert {f["id"] for f in result} == {7}
+        assert "Tag-based directory walk failed" in caplog.text
+
+    async def test_no_mime_filter_skips_directory_expansion(self):
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 7,
+                    "path": "/Documents/keep.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+                {
+                    "id": 100,
+                    "path": "/corpus",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag("vector-index")
+
+        # Without a MIME filter, directory expansion would fan out
+        # uncontrollably — the helper deliberately skips it.
+        assert {f["id"] for f in result} == {7}
+        client.webdav.find_by_type.assert_not_called()
+
+    async def test_skips_descendant_directories_in_search_results(self):
+        """find_by_type can return collections too (e.g. when the SEARCH
+        backend treats a folder's mime type as matching). Those must not
+        slip through and clobber file IDs."""
+        client = _make_client()
+        client.webdav.get_tag_by_name = AsyncMock(return_value={"id": 5})
+        client.webdav.get_files_by_tag = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "id": 100,
+                    "path": "/corpus",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                }
+            ]
+        )
+        client.webdav.find_by_type = AsyncMock(
+            return_value=[
+                {
+                    "file_id": 50,
+                    "path": "corpus/sub",
+                    "content_type": "httpd/unix-directory",
+                    "is_directory": True,
+                },
+                {
+                    "file_id": 51,
+                    "path": "corpus/sub/a.pdf",
+                    "content_type": "application/pdf",
+                    "is_directory": False,
+                },
+            ]
+        )
+
+        result = await client.find_files_by_tag(
+            "vector-index", mime_type_filter="application/pdf"
+        )
+
+        assert {f["id"] for f in result} == {51}