diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/app.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/app.py
index f5d0d8c2..2a92cafe 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/app.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/app.py
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.oauth_sync import (
     oauth_processor_task,
     user_manager_task,
 )
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.placeholder import sweep_orphan_placeholders
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.processor import processor_task
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.qdrant_client import get_qdrant_client
 from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.scanner import scanner_task
@@ -1437,6 +1438,34 @@ def get_app(transport: str = "streamable-http", enabled_apps: list[str] | None =
             await stack.enter_async_context(_maybe_login_flow_cleanup(app))
             yield
 
+    async def _sweep_orphan_placeholders_if_enabled() -> None:
+        """One-shot Pod-startup sweep of cross-restart placeholder orphans.
+
+        See ``vector.placeholder.sweep_orphan_placeholders`` and Deck
+        card #101. Both lifespan branches (single-user BasicAuth and
+        OAuth / multi-user BasicAuth) call this after the qdrant
+        client is initialised and before the scanner / user-manager
+        tasks spawn. Failures are non-fatal — the existing staleness
+        gate will eventually re-queue orphans on the slow ~5h path.
+        """
+        if not settings.vector_sync_orphan_sweep_enabled:
+            return
+        try:
+            qdrant_client = await get_qdrant_client()
+            swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(
+                qdrant_client, settings.qdrant_collection
+            )
+            logger.info(
+                "vector_sync.orphan_sweep",
+                extra={
+                    "swept": swept,
+                    "kept": kept,
+                    "collection": settings.qdrant_collection,
+                },
+            )
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("vector_sync.orphan_sweep_failed")
+
     @asynccontextmanager
     async def starlette_lifespan(app: Starlette):
         # Set OAuth context for OAuth login routes (ADR-004)
@@ -1612,6 +1641,9 @@ def get_app(transport: str = "streamable-http", enabled_apps: list[str] | None =
                     f"Cannot start vector sync - Qdrant initialization failed: {e}"
                 ) from e
 
+            # Orphan-sweep before scanner starts — card #101.
+            await _sweep_orphan_placeholders_if_enabled()
+
             # Initialize shared state
             send_stream, receive_stream = anyio.create_memory_object_stream(
                 max_buffer_size=settings.vector_sync_queue_max_size
@@ -1774,6 +1806,11 @@ def get_app(transport: str = "streamable-http", enabled_apps: list[str] | None =
                         f"Cannot start vector sync - Qdrant initialization failed: {e}"
                     ) from e
 
+                # Orphan-sweep before scanners spawn — card #101. Runs once
+                # across the shared (per-tenant) collection regardless of
+                # how many per-user scanners the user-manager later starts.
+                await _sweep_orphan_placeholders_if_enabled()
+
                 # Clean up stale app passwords at startup (BasicAuth mode only)
                 if not oauth_enabled:
                     try:
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/config.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/config.py
index ca841636..b37c19d4 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/config.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/config.py
@@ -87,6 +87,12 @@ _DEFAULTS: dict[str, Any] = {
     "vector_sync_processor_workers": 3,
     "vector_sync_queue_max_size": 10000,
     "vector_sync_user_poll_interval": 60,
+    # Orphan-sweep at Pod startup (card #101). When True, delete any
+    # placeholders carrying a different / absent ``instance_id`` before
+    # the scanner's first cycle, so a Pod restart mid-batch doesn't
+    # leave work stuck behind the 5x-scan-interval staleness gate.
+    # Escape hatch only — leave on by default.
+    "vector_sync_orphan_sweep_enabled": True,
     # Verify-on-read concurrency cap (ADR-019)
     "verification_concurrency": 20,
     # Qdrant
@@ -585,6 +591,7 @@ class Settings:
     vector_sync_processor_workers: int = 3
     vector_sync_queue_max_size: int = 10000
     vector_sync_user_poll_interval: int = 60  # seconds - OAuth mode user discovery
+    vector_sync_orphan_sweep_enabled: bool = True  # card #101
 
     # Verify-on-read concurrency (ADR-019). Cap on parallel Nextcloud
     # round-trips during search-result verification fan-out. Lower this if the
@@ -1076,6 +1083,7 @@ def get_settings() -> Settings:
         "vector_sync_processor_workers": "VECTOR_SYNC_PROCESSOR_WORKERS",
         "vector_sync_queue_max_size": "VECTOR_SYNC_QUEUE_MAX_SIZE",
         "vector_sync_user_poll_interval": "VECTOR_SYNC_USER_POLL_INTERVAL",
+        "vector_sync_orphan_sweep_enabled": "VECTOR_SYNC_ORPHAN_SWEEP_ENABLED",
         # Verify-on-read (ADR-019)
         "verification_concurrency": "VERIFICATION_CONCURRENCY",
         # Qdrant settings
diff --git a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/placeholder.py b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/placeholder.py
index 3b23bdd1..e31ae871 100644
--- a/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/placeholder.py
+++ b/nextcloud_mcp_server/vector/placeholder.py
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.qdrant_client import get_qdrant_client
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+# Stamped on every placeholder this Pod-process writes. A fresh UUID per
+# process means a restarted Pod sees its predecessor's placeholders as
+# "not mine" and deletes them in ``sweep_orphan_placeholders`` at startup,
+# instead of waiting out the ``5 × VECTOR_SYNC_SCAN_INTERVAL`` staleness
+# gate (~5h with the deployed 1h scan interval). Card #101.
+_INSTANCE_ID = str(uuid.uuid4())
+
 
 def _generate_placeholder_id(doc_type: str, doc_id: str) -> str:
     """Generate deterministic UUID for placeholder point.
@@ -98,6 +105,10 @@ async def write_placeholder_point(
             "modified_at": modified_at,
             "etag": etag,
             "queued_at": int(time.time()),
+            # Pod-process identity. ``sweep_orphan_placeholders`` uses
+            # the (placeholder.instance_id != _INSTANCE_ID) predicate to
+            # detect orphans from a crashed predecessor Pod.
+            "instance_id": _INSTANCE_ID,
         }
 
         # Add file_path for files
@@ -319,3 +330,88 @@ def get_placeholder_filter() -> FieldCondition:
         key="is_placeholder",
         match=MatchValue(value=False),
     )
+
+
+# Batch size for the orphan-sweep scroll + delete loop. Big enough to
+# keep round-trip count down, small enough that a single delete payload
+# isn't unreasonable. Matches the order of magnitude of a per-tenant
+# placeholder count (108 in the originating incident).
+_ORPHAN_SWEEP_BATCH_SIZE = 100
+
+
+async def sweep_orphan_placeholders(
+    qdrant_client,
+    collection_name: str,
+    *,
+    batch_size: int = _ORPHAN_SWEEP_BATCH_SIZE,
+) -> tuple[int, int]:
+    """Delete placeholder points written by a previous Pod-process.
+
+    Scrolls all ``is_placeholder=true`` points in the collection,
+    paginated. For each batch, partitions points by whether their
+    ``instance_id`` payload field matches the current Pod's
+    ``_INSTANCE_ID``. Orphans (different ``instance_id`` OR field
+    absent — back-compat for placeholders written by pre-fix Pod
+    versions) are deleted by point ID; own-Pod placeholders are
+    left alone for the scanner's staleness gate to handle normally.
+
+    Called once at Pod startup from ``app.starlette_lifespan`` —
+    NOT periodically. The own-Pod path relies on the existing
+    ``5 × VECTOR_SYNC_SCAN_INTERVAL`` gate; this helper only
+    addresses the cross-Pod-restart gap. Card #101.
+
+    Args:
+        qdrant_client: Async Qdrant client.
+        collection_name: Target collection.
+        batch_size: Scroll page size. Default 100 — small enough that
+            a single delete payload is reasonable, large enough that
+            round-trip count stays bounded for typical placeholder
+            counts (~hundreds per tenant).
+
+    Returns:
+        ``(swept, kept)`` — number of placeholders deleted as orphans,
+        and number left in place as belonging to the current Pod.
+    """
+    placeholder_filter = Filter(
+        must=[
+            FieldCondition(key="is_placeholder", match=MatchValue(value=True)),
+        ]
+    )
+    swept = 0
+    kept = 0
+    offset = None
+
+    while True:
+        points, offset = await qdrant_client.scroll(
+            collection_name=collection_name,
+            scroll_filter=placeholder_filter,
+            limit=batch_size,
+            offset=offset,
+            with_payload=True,
+            with_vectors=False,
+        )
+        if not points:
+            break
+
+        orphan_ids = []
+        for point in points:
+            payload = point.payload or {}
+            point_instance = payload.get("instance_id")
+            if point_instance == _INSTANCE_ID:
+                kept += 1
+            else:
+                orphan_ids.append(point.id)
+
+        if orphan_ids:
+            await qdrant_client.delete(
+                collection_name=collection_name,
+                points_selector=orphan_ids,
+            )
+            swept += len(orphan_ids)
+
+        # ``offset is None`` signals the scroll cursor has been
+        # exhausted — Qdrant's contract for paginated scroll.
+        if offset is None:
+            break
+
+    return swept, kept
diff --git a/tests/unit/vector/test_placeholder.py b/tests/unit/vector/test_placeholder.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e7212b2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/vector/test_placeholder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+"""Unit tests for placeholder orphan-sweep (card #101).
+
+When the per-tenant Pod OOMKills mid-batch the in-memory processor
+queue is lost. Placeholder points written to Qdrant survive, and the
+next Pod's scanner would skip them under the
+``5 × VECTOR_SYNC_SCAN_INTERVAL`` staleness gate (~5h with the deployed
+1h scan interval). ``sweep_orphan_placeholders`` runs once at Pod
+startup and deletes any placeholder whose ``instance_id`` payload
+doesn't match the current Pod-process, restoring throughput within
+one scan cycle.
+
+The sweep contract this file pins:
+
+* placeholder with ``instance_id != _INSTANCE_ID`` → deleted
+* placeholder with **absent** ``instance_id`` → deleted
+  (back-compat for placeholders written by pre-fix Pod versions)
+* placeholder with ``instance_id == _INSTANCE_ID`` → kept
+* empty / no-results scroll → no-op (no spurious delete call)
+* multi-page scroll → all pages visited, deletes batched per page
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector import placeholder as placeholder_module
+from nextcloud_mcp_server.vector.placeholder import sweep_orphan_placeholders
+
+
+def _scrolled_point(point_id, instance_id=...):
+    """Stand-in for a qdrant_client Record. Sweep reads only
+    ``id`` and ``payload``; passing ``instance_id=...`` (Ellipsis)
+    omits the field entirely (the back-compat case)."""
+    payload: dict = {"is_placeholder": True}
+    if instance_id is not ...:
+        payload["instance_id"] = instance_id
+    return SimpleNamespace(id=point_id, payload=payload)
+
+
+def _make_client(scroll_pages):
+    """Build an AsyncMock qdrant client whose ``scroll`` returns the
+    given ``(points, next_offset)`` pages in order, then mimics the
+    real client's exhausted-cursor return of ``([], None)``."""
+    client = AsyncMock()
+    pages = list(scroll_pages) + [([], None)]
+    client.scroll.side_effect = pages
+    return client
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_sweeps_orphan_with_different_instance_id(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-new")
+    client = _make_client(
+        [
+            ([_scrolled_point("p1", instance_id="pod-old")], None),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(client, "nextcloud_content")
+
+    assert (swept, kept) == (1, 0)
+    client.delete.assert_awaited_once()
+    # Selector is the orphan's point id — own-Pod placeholders never
+    # reach the delete call.
+    assert client.delete.await_args.kwargs["points_selector"] == ["p1"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_sweeps_placeholder_with_absent_instance_id(monkeypatch):
+    """Back-compat: placeholders written by pre-fix Pod versions have
+    no ``instance_id`` field. They MUST be treated as orphans so the
+    first deploy of this fix doesn't leave old placeholders behind."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-new")
+    client = _make_client(
+        [
+            ([_scrolled_point("legacy", instance_id=...)], None),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(client, "nextcloud_content")
+
+    assert (swept, kept) == (1, 0)
+    assert client.delete.await_args.kwargs["points_selector"] == ["legacy"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_keeps_own_pod_placeholders(monkeypatch):
+    """A surviving Pod's own placeholders must NOT be deleted —
+    that's what the staleness gate is for, and the processor may
+    still be working through them."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-current")
+    client = _make_client(
+        [
+            (
+                [
+                    _scrolled_point("mine-1", instance_id="pod-current"),
+                    _scrolled_point("mine-2", instance_id="pod-current"),
+                ],
+                None,
+            ),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(client, "nextcloud_content")
+
+    assert (swept, kept) == (0, 2)
+    client.delete.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_noop_when_no_placeholders_exist(monkeypatch):
+    """Cold-boot tenant with an empty collection — sweep does NOT
+    issue a delete request, so a trivially-empty batch can't trip
+    Qdrant validation on an empty selector list."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-fresh")
+    client = _make_client([([], None)])
+
+    swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(client, "nextcloud_content")
+
+    assert (swept, kept) == (0, 0)
+    client.delete.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_walks_multiple_scroll_pages(monkeypatch):
+    """Scroll cursor exhaustion is signalled by ``offset is None`` per
+    Qdrant's contract. Sweep must keep paging until the cursor is
+    exhausted, batching the delete per page."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-current")
+    client = _make_client(
+        [
+            (
+                [
+                    _scrolled_point("orphan-1", instance_id="pod-prev"),
+                    _scrolled_point("mine", instance_id="pod-current"),
+                ],
+                "next-cursor",
+            ),
+            (
+                [_scrolled_point("orphan-2", instance_id=...)],
+                None,
+            ),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    swept, kept = await sweep_orphan_placeholders(
+        client, "nextcloud_content", batch_size=2
+    )
+
+    assert (swept, kept) == (2, 1)
+    # One delete per page (each page had at least one orphan).
+    assert client.delete.await_count == 2
+    delete_selectors = [
+        call.kwargs["points_selector"] for call in client.delete.await_args_list
+    ]
+    assert delete_selectors == [["orphan-1"], ["orphan-2"]]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_write_placeholder_payload_includes_instance_id(monkeypatch):
+    """Pin the new payload contract: ``write_placeholder_point`` MUST
+    stamp the current Pod's ``_INSTANCE_ID`` onto the payload it
+    upserts, so the next Pod's sweep can identify these placeholders
+    as belonging to a different process."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "_INSTANCE_ID", "pod-pinned")
+
+    fake_qdrant = AsyncMock()
+    fake_settings = SimpleNamespace(get_collection_name=lambda: "nextcloud_content")
+    fake_embedding = SimpleNamespace(get_dimension=lambda: 4)
+
+    async def fake_get_qdrant_client():
+        return fake_qdrant
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "get_qdrant_client", fake_get_qdrant_client)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(placeholder_module, "get_settings", lambda: fake_settings)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        placeholder_module, "get_embedding_service", lambda: fake_embedding
+    )
+
+    await placeholder_module.write_placeholder_point(
+        doc_id="d-42",
+        doc_type="note",
+        user_id="alice",
+        modified_at=1700000000,
+        etag="abc",
+    )
+
+    fake_qdrant.upsert.assert_awaited_once()
+    upserted_point = fake_qdrant.upsert.await_args.kwargs["points"][0]
+    assert upserted_point.payload["instance_id"] == "pod-pinned"
+    # Sanity: the other contract-pinning fields are still emitted.
+    assert upserted_point.payload["is_placeholder"] is True
+    assert upserted_point.payload["status"] == "pending"