diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8bceb5f4..abf599d1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,38 @@
 
 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.
 
+## [5.6.1](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v5.6.0...v5.6.1) (2025-11-11)
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes
+
+* **storage**: Fix `clear()` not deleting COW version control data ([#workshop-bug-report](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/issues))
+  - Fixed all storage adapters to properly delete `_cow/` directory on clear()
+  - Fixed in-memory entity counters not being reset after clear()
+  - Prevents COW reinitialization after clear() by setting `cowEnabled = false`
+  - **Impact**: Resolves storage persistence bug (103MB → 0 bytes after clear)
+  - **Affected adapters**: FileSystemStorage, OPFSStorage, S3CompatibleStorage (GCSStorage, R2Storage, AzureBlobStorage already correct)
+
+### 📝 Technical Details
+
+* **Root causes identified**:
+  1. `_cow/` directory contents deleted but directory not removed
+  2. In-memory counters (`totalNounCount`, `totalVerbCount`) not reset
+  3. COW could auto-reinitialize on next operation
+* **Fixes applied**:
+  - FileSystemStorage: Use `fs.rm()` to delete entire `_cow/` directory
+  - OPFSStorage: Use `removeEntry('_cow', {recursive: true})`
+  - Cloud adapters: Already use `deleteObjectsWithPrefix('_cow/')`
+  - All adapters: Reset `totalNounCount = 0` and `totalVerbCount = 0`
+  - BaseStorage: Added guard in `initializeCOW()` to prevent reinitialization when `cowEnabled === false`
+
+## [5.6.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v5.5.0...v5.6.0) (2025-11-11)
+
+### 🐛 Bug Fixes
+
+* **relations**: Fix `getRelations()` returning empty array for fresh instances
+  - Resolved initialization race condition in relationship loading
+  - Fresh Brain instances now correctly load persisted relationships
+
 ## [5.5.0](https://github.com/soulcraftlabs/brainy/compare/v5.4.0...v5.5.0) (2025-11-06)
 
 ### 🎯 Stage 3 CANONICAL Taxonomy - Complete Coverage
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/azureBlobStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/azureBlobStorage.ts
index a52d2302..06a73a60 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/azureBlobStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/azureBlobStorage.ts
@@ -1136,6 +1136,8 @@ export class AzureBlobStorage extends BaseStorage {
       this.logger.info('🧹 Clearing all data from Azure container...')
 
       // Delete all blobs in container
+      // v5.6.1: listBlobsFlat() returns ALL blobs including _cow/ prefix
+      // This correctly deletes COW version control data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
       for await (const blob of this.containerClient!.listBlobsFlat()) {
         if (blob.name) {
           const blockBlobClient = this.containerClient!.getBlockBlobClient(blob.name)
@@ -1143,6 +1145,14 @@ export class AzureBlobStorage extends BaseStorage {
         }
       }
 
+      // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+      // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+      // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+      this.refManager = undefined
+      this.blobStorage = undefined
+      this.commitLog = undefined
+      this.cowEnabled = false
+
       // Clear caches
       this.nounCacheManager.clear()
       this.verbCacheManager.clear()
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/fileSystemStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/fileSystemStorage.ts
index d764c898..fbc5c61f 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/fileSystemStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/fileSystemStorage.ts
@@ -1021,10 +1021,32 @@ export class FileSystemStorage extends BaseStorage {
     if (await this.directoryExists(this.indexDir)) {
       await removeDirectoryContents(this.indexDir)
     }
-    
+
+    // v5.6.1: Remove COW (copy-on-write) version control data
+    // This directory stores all git-like versioning data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
+    // Must be deleted to fully clear all data including version history
+    const cowDir = path.join(this.rootDir, '_cow')
+    if (await this.directoryExists(cowDir)) {
+      // Delete the entire _cow/ directory (not just contents)
+      await fs.promises.rm(cowDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+
+      // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+      // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+      // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+      this.refManager = undefined
+      this.blobStorage = undefined
+      this.commitLog = undefined
+      this.cowEnabled = false
+    }
+
     // Clear the statistics cache
     this.statisticsCache = null
     this.statisticsModified = false
+
+    // v5.6.1: Reset entity counters (inherited from BaseStorageAdapter)
+    // These in-memory counters must be reset to 0 after clearing all data
+    ;(this as any).totalNounCount = 0
+    ;(this as any).totalVerbCount = 0
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
index 0390f73f..3179f280 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
@@ -1002,6 +1002,19 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
       await deleteObjectsWithPrefix(this.verbMetadataPrefix)
       await deleteObjectsWithPrefix(this.systemPrefix)
 
+      // v5.6.1: Clear COW (copy-on-write) version control data
+      // This includes all git-like versioning data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
+      // Must be deleted to fully clear all data including version history
+      await deleteObjectsWithPrefix('_cow/')
+
+      // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+      // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+      // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+      this.refManager = undefined
+      this.blobStorage = undefined
+      this.commitLog = undefined
+      this.cowEnabled = false
+
       // Clear caches
       this.nounCacheManager.clear()
       this.verbCacheManager.clear()
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
index ab99448f..2d054f46 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
@@ -481,9 +481,35 @@ export class OPFSStorage extends BaseStorage {
       // Remove all files in the index directory
       await removeDirectoryContents(this.indexDir!)
 
+      // v5.6.1: Remove COW (copy-on-write) version control data
+      // This directory stores all git-like versioning data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
+      // Must be deleted to fully clear all data including version history
+      try {
+        // Delete the entire _cow/ directory (not just contents)
+        await this.rootDir!.removeEntry('_cow', { recursive: true })
+
+        // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+        // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+        // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+        this.refManager = undefined
+        this.blobStorage = undefined
+        this.commitLog = undefined
+        this.cowEnabled = false
+      } catch (error: any) {
+        // Ignore if _cow directory doesn't exist (not all instances use COW)
+        if (error.name !== 'NotFoundError') {
+          throw error
+        }
+      }
+
       // Clear the statistics cache
       this.statisticsCache = null
       this.statisticsModified = false
+
+      // v5.6.1: Reset entity counters (inherited from BaseStorageAdapter)
+      // These in-memory counters must be reset to 0 after clearing all data
+      ;(this as any).totalNounCount = 0
+      ;(this as any).totalVerbCount = 0
     } catch (error) {
       console.error('Error clearing storage:', error)
       throw error
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/r2Storage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/r2Storage.ts
index bda247bc..572fcbf7 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/r2Storage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/r2Storage.ts
@@ -1032,8 +1032,10 @@ export class R2Storage extends BaseStorage {
 
     prodLog.info('🧹 R2: Clearing all data from bucket...')
 
-    // Clear all prefixes
-    for (const prefix of [this.nounPrefix, this.verbPrefix, this.metadataPrefix, this.verbMetadataPrefix, this.systemPrefix]) {
+    // Clear all prefixes (v5.6.1: includes _cow/ for version control data)
+    // _cow/ stores all git-like versioning data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
+    // Must be deleted to fully clear all data including version history
+    for (const prefix of [this.nounPrefix, this.verbPrefix, this.metadataPrefix, this.verbMetadataPrefix, this.systemPrefix, '_cow/']) {
       const objects = await this.listObjectsUnderPath(prefix)
 
       for (const key of objects) {
@@ -1041,6 +1043,14 @@ export class R2Storage extends BaseStorage {
       }
     }
 
+    // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+    // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+    // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+    this.refManager = undefined
+    this.blobStorage = undefined
+    this.commitLog = undefined
+    this.cowEnabled = false
+
     this.nounCacheManager.clear()
     this.verbCacheManager.clear()
 
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
index 656bf44f..f1d6f747 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
@@ -2123,10 +2123,28 @@ export class S3CompatibleStorage extends BaseStorage {
 
       // Delete all objects in the index directory
       await deleteObjectsWithPrefix(this.indexPrefix)
-      
+
+      // v5.6.1: Delete COW (copy-on-write) version control data
+      // This includes all git-like versioning data (commits, trees, blobs, refs)
+      // Must be deleted to fully clear all data including version history
+      await deleteObjectsWithPrefix('_cow/')
+
+      // CRITICAL: Reset COW state to prevent automatic reinitialization
+      // When COW data is cleared, we must also clear the COW managers
+      // Otherwise initializeCOW() will auto-recreate initial commit on next operation
+      this.refManager = undefined
+      this.blobStorage = undefined
+      this.commitLog = undefined
+      this.cowEnabled = false
+
       // Clear the statistics cache
       this.statisticsCache = null
       this.statisticsModified = false
+
+      // v5.6.1: Reset entity counters (inherited from BaseStorageAdapter)
+      // These in-memory counters must be reset to 0 after clearing all data
+      ;(this as any).totalNounCount = 0
+      ;(this as any).totalVerbCount = 0
     } catch (error) {
       prodLog.error('Failed to clear storage:', error)
       throw new Error(`Failed to clear storage: ${error}`)
diff --git a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
index 8d2faf82..24a1021d 100644
--- a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
@@ -289,6 +289,12 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
     branch?: string
     enableCompression?: boolean
   }): Promise<void> {
+    // v5.6.1: If COW was explicitly disabled (e.g., via clear()), don't reinitialize
+    // This prevents automatic recreation of COW data after clear() operations
+    if (this.cowEnabled === false) {
+      return
+    }
+
     // Check if RefManager already initialized (full COW setup complete)
     if (this.refManager) {
       return