diff --git a/core/__pycache__/database_update_worker.cpython-312.pyc b/core/__pycache__/database_update_worker.cpython-312.pyc
index fea64fd6..58e50de3 100644
Binary files a/core/__pycache__/database_update_worker.cpython-312.pyc and b/core/__pycache__/database_update_worker.cpython-312.pyc differ
diff --git a/core/database_update_worker.py b/core/database_update_worker.py
index d0012ab0..cba9428b 100644
--- a/core/database_update_worker.py
+++ b/core/database_update_worker.py
@@ -122,6 +122,25 @@ class DatabaseUpdateWorker(QThread):
                 logger.error("No music library found in Plex")
                 return []
             
+            # Check if database has enough content for incremental updates
+            try:
+                stats = self.database.get_database_info()
+                track_count = stats.get('tracks', 0)
+                
+                if track_count < 100:  # Minimum threshold for meaningful incremental updates
+                    logger.warning(f"Database has only {track_count} tracks - insufficient for incremental updates")
+                    logger.info("Switching to full refresh mode (incremental updates require established database)")
+                    # Switch to full refresh automatically
+                    self.full_refresh = True
+                    return self._get_all_artists()
+                    
+                logger.info(f"Database has {track_count} tracks - proceeding with incremental update")
+                
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning(f"Could not check database state: {e} - defaulting to full refresh")
+                self.full_refresh = True
+                return self._get_all_artists()
+            
             # Strategy: Get recently added albums and extract artists from them
             # Process artists in reverse chronological order until we hit one that's already current
             
diff --git a/database/music_library.db-shm b/database/music_library.db-shm
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a99b1a2..00000000
Binary files a/database/music_library.db-shm and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/database/music_library.db-wal b/database/music_library.db-wal
deleted file mode 100644
index b98a2f84..00000000
Binary files a/database/music_library.db-wal and /dev/null differ