diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index afaea86d..5e4a3157 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,31 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. See [standard-version](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/standard-version) for commit guidelines.
 
+## [6.0.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v6.0.0...v6.0.1) (2025-11-20)
+
+### 🐛 Critical Bug Fixes
+
+**Fixed infinite loop during storage initialization on fresh workspaces (v6.0.1)**
+
+**Symptom:** FileSystemStorage (and all storage adapters) entered infinite loop on fresh installation, printing "📁 New installation: using depth 1 sharding..." message hundreds of thousands of times.
+
+**Root Cause:** In v6.0.0, `BaseStorage.init()` sets `isInitialized = true` at the END of initialization (after creating GraphAdjacencyIndex). If any code path during initialization called `ensureInitialized()`, it would trigger `init()` recursively because the flag was still `false`.
+
+**Fix:** Set `isInitialized = true` at the START of `BaseStorage.init()` (before any initialization work) to prevent recursive calls. Flag is reset to `false` on error to allow retries.
+
+**Impact:**
+- ✅ Fixes production blocker reported by Workshop team
+- ✅ All 8 storage adapters fixed (FileSystem, Memory, S3, R2, GCS, Azure, OPFS, Historical)
+- ✅ Init completes in ~1 second on fresh installation (was hanging indefinitely)
+- ✅ No new test failures introduced (1178 tests passing)
+
+**Files Changed:**
+- `src/storage/baseStorage.ts:261-287` - Moved `isInitialized = true` to top of init() with try/catch
+
+**Migration:** No code changes required - drop-in replacement for v6.0.0.
+
+---
+
 ## [6.0.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v5.12.0...v6.0.0) (2025-11-19)
 
 ## 🚀 v6.0.0 - ID-First Storage Architecture
diff --git a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
index c76e64c4..5a098ff9 100644
--- a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
@@ -259,22 +259,31 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
    * IMPORTANT: If your adapter overrides init(), call await super.init() first!
    */
   public async init(): Promise<void> {
-    // Load type statistics from storage (if they exist)
-    await this.loadTypeStatistics()
+    // v6.0.1: CRITICAL FIX - Set flag FIRST to prevent infinite recursion
+    // If any code path during initialization calls ensureInitialized(), it would
+    // trigger init() again. Setting the flag immediately breaks the recursion cycle.
+    this.isInitialized = true
 
-    // v6.0.0: Create GraphAdjacencyIndex (lazy-loaded, no rebuild)
-    // LSM-trees are initialized on first use via ensureInitialized()
-    // Index is populated incrementally as verbs are added via addVerb()
     try {
-      prodLog.debug('[BaseStorage] Creating GraphAdjacencyIndex...')
-      this.graphIndex = new GraphAdjacencyIndex(this)
-      prodLog.debug(`[BaseStorage] GraphAdjacencyIndex instantiated (lazy-loaded), graphIndex=${!!this.graphIndex}`)
+      // Load type statistics from storage (if they exist)
+      await this.loadTypeStatistics()
+
+      // v6.0.0: Create GraphAdjacencyIndex (lazy-loaded, no rebuild)
+      // LSM-trees are initialized on first use via ensureInitialized()
+      // Index is populated incrementally as verbs are added via addVerb()
+      try {
+        prodLog.debug('[BaseStorage] Creating GraphAdjacencyIndex...')
+        this.graphIndex = new GraphAdjacencyIndex(this)
+        prodLog.debug(`[BaseStorage] GraphAdjacencyIndex instantiated (lazy-loaded), graphIndex=${!!this.graphIndex}`)
+      } catch (error) {
+        prodLog.error('[BaseStorage] Failed to create GraphAdjacencyIndex:', error)
+        throw error
+      }
     } catch (error) {
-      prodLog.error('[BaseStorage] Failed to create GraphAdjacencyIndex:', error)
+      // Reset flag on failure to allow retry
+      this.isInitialized = false
       throw error
     }
-
-    this.isInitialized = true
   }
 
   /**