diff --git a/sync.sh b/sync.sh
index 24bb4ab..15cfe81 100755
--- a/sync.sh
+++ b/sync.sh
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ cd "$SYNC_DIR"
 
 echo "[$(date '+%H:%M:%S')] Sync from $HOSTNAME..."
 
+# ── Step 0: Clean local state_merged.db to avoid git pull conflicts ──────
+# The merged db is produced by this script, not tracked, and can conflict
+# with remote when pulling. Remove it before fetch+merge.
+rm -f "$SYNC_DIR/state_merged.db"
+
 # ── Step 1: Export local state.db (via temp dir to avoid lock) ────────────
 python3 << PYEOF
 import sqlite3, os, shutil, tempfile