diff --git a/apps/x/apps/main/src/ipc.ts b/apps/x/apps/main/src/ipc.ts
index 626f2d01..4d272275 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/main/src/ipc.ts
+++ b/apps/x/apps/main/src/ipc.ts
@@ -106,6 +106,18 @@ let watcher: FSWatcher | null = null;
 const changeQueue = new Set<string>();
 let debounceTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
 
+/**
+ * Emit knowledge commit event to all renderer windows
+ */
+function emitKnowledgeCommitEvent(): void {
+  const windows = BrowserWindow.getAllWindows();
+  for (const win of windows) {
+    if (!win.isDestroyed() && win.webContents) {
+      win.webContents.send('knowledge:didCommit', {});
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Emit workspace change event to all renderer windows
  */
@@ -284,6 +296,9 @@ export function stopServicesWatcher(): void {
  * Add new handlers here as you add channels to IPCChannels
  */
 export function setupIpcHandlers() {
+  // Forward knowledge commit events to renderer for panel refresh
+  versionHistory.onCommit(() => emitKnowledgeCommitEvent());
+
   registerIpcHandlers({
     'app:getVersions': async () => {
       // args is null for this channel (no request payload)
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/version-history-panel.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/version-history-panel.tsx
index 980448c8..2b942c90 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/version-history-panel.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/version-history-panel.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-import * as React from 'react'
 import { useEffect, useState, useCallback } from 'react'
-import { X, Lock } from 'lucide-react'
+import { X, Clock } from 'lucide-react'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 
@@ -57,6 +56,13 @@ export function VersionHistoryPanel({
     loadHistory()
   }, [loadHistory])
 
+  // Refresh when new commits land
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return window.ipc.on('knowledge:didCommit', () => {
+      loadHistory()
+    })
+  }, [loadHistory])
+
   const handleSelectCommit = useCallback(async (oid: string, isLatest: boolean) => {
     if (isLatest) {
       setSelectedOid(null)
@@ -135,7 +141,7 @@ export function VersionHistoryPanel({
                 >
                   <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
                     {!isLatest && (
-                      <Lock className="h-3 w-3 text-muted-foreground shrink-0" />
+                      <Clock className="h-3 w-3 text-muted-foreground shrink-0" />
                     )}
                     <span className="text-sm text-foreground">
                       {date} &middot; {time}
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/config/config.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
index 852d430c..4a91e101 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
@@ -96,4 +96,4 @@ ensureWelcomeFile();
 // Initialize version history repo (async, fire-and-forget on startup)
 import('../knowledge/version_history.js').then(m => m.initRepo()).catch(err => {
     console.error('[VersionHistory] Failed to init repo:', err);
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/index.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/index.ts
index c4611a78..0eab08e3 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/index.ts
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ export * as watcher from './workspace/watcher.js';
 export { initConfigs } from './config/initConfigs.js';
 
 // Knowledge version history
-export * as versionHistory from './knowledge/version_history.js';
\ No newline at end of file
+export * as versionHistory from './knowledge/version_history.js';
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/version_history.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/version_history.ts
index 79de5655..a6504f67 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/version_history.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/version_history.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,21 @@ import { WorkDir } from '../config/config.js';
 
 const KNOWLEDGE_DIR = path.join(WorkDir, 'knowledge');
 
+// Simple promise-based mutex to serialize commits
+let commitLock: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
+
+// Commit listeners for notifying other layers (e.g. renderer refresh)
+type CommitListener = () => void;
+const commitListeners: CommitListener[] = [];
+
+export function onCommit(listener: CommitListener): () => void {
+    commitListeners.push(listener);
+    return () => {
+        const idx = commitListeners.indexOf(listener);
+        if (idx >= 0) commitListeners.splice(idx, 1);
+    };
+}
+
 /**
  * Initialize a git repo in the knowledge directory if one doesn't exist.
  * Stages all existing .md files and makes an initial commit.
@@ -66,8 +81,22 @@ function getAllMdFiles(baseDir: string, relDir: string): string[] {
 
 /**
  * Stage all changes to .md files and commit. No-op if nothing changed.
+ * Serialized via a promise lock to prevent concurrent git index corruption.
  */
 export async function commitAll(message: string, authorName: string): Promise<void> {
+    const prev = commitLock;
+    let resolve: () => void;
+    commitLock = new Promise(r => { resolve = r; });
+
+    await prev;
+    try {
+        await commitAllInner(message, authorName);
+    } finally {
+        resolve!();
+    }
+}
+
+async function commitAllInner(message: string, authorName: string): Promise<void> {
     const matrix = await git.statusMatrix({ fs, dir: KNOWLEDGE_DIR });
 
     let hasChanges = false;
@@ -98,6 +127,10 @@ export async function commitAll(message: string, authorName: string): Promise<vo
         message,
         author: { name: authorName, email: 'local' },
     });
+
+    for (const listener of commitListeners) {
+        try { listener(); } catch { /* ignore */ }
+    }
 }
 
 export interface CommitInfo {
@@ -107,9 +140,12 @@ export interface CommitInfo {
     author: string;
 }
 
+const MAX_FILE_HISTORY = 50;
+
 /**
  * Get commit history for a specific file.
  * Returns commits where the file content changed, most recent first.
+ * Capped at MAX_FILE_HISTORY entries.
  */
 export async function getFileHistory(knowledgeRelPath: string): Promise<CommitInfo[]> {
     // Normalize path separators for git (always forward slashes)
@@ -128,6 +164,8 @@ export async function getFileHistory(knowledgeRelPath: string): Promise<CommitIn
 
     // Walk through commits and check if file changed between consecutive commits
     for (let i = 0; i < commits.length; i++) {
+        if (result.length >= MAX_FILE_HISTORY) break;
+
         const commit = commits[i]!;
         const parentCommit = commits[i + 1]; // undefined for the first (oldest) commit
 
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/shared/src/ipc.ts b/apps/x/packages/shared/src/ipc.ts
index 9a3f9aed..b5803ffc 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/shared/src/ipc.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/shared/src/ipc.ts
@@ -417,6 +417,10 @@ const ipcSchemas = {
     req: z.object({ path: RelPath, oid: z.string() }),
     res: z.object({ ok: z.literal(true) }),
   },
+  'knowledge:didCommit': {
+    req: z.object({}),
+    res: z.null(),
+  },
   // Search channels
   'search:query': {
     req: z.object({