diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index aedd846..0bea5ae 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -5417,6 +5417,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "axum",
  "bytes",
+ "chrono",
  "object_store",
  "parquet",
  "serde",
diff --git a/crates/gateway/src/main.rs b/crates/gateway/src/main.rs
index c7a3d39..6df5f9b 100644
--- a/crates/gateway/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/gateway/src/main.rs
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ async fn main() {
         .nest("/vectors", vectord::service::router(vectord::service::VectorState {
             store: store.clone(),
             ai_client: ai_client.clone(),
+            job_tracker: vectord::jobs::JobTracker::new(),
         }))
         .nest("/workspaces", queryd::workspace_service::router(workspace_mgr));
 
diff --git a/crates/vectord/Cargo.toml b/crates/vectord/Cargo.toml
index 65f0860..d20a898 100644
--- a/crates/vectord/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/vectord/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ bytes = { workspace = true }
 object_store = { workspace = true }
 parquet = { workspace = true }
 arrow = { workspace = true }
+chrono = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/vectord/src/jobs.rs b/crates/vectord/src/jobs.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3417d96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vectord/src/jobs.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+/// Background job system for long-running embedding tasks.
+/// POST /vectors/index returns a job_id immediately.
+/// GET /vectors/jobs/{id} returns progress.
+/// Embedding runs in background via tokio::spawn.
+
+use serde::Serialize;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tokio::sync::RwLock;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
+pub enum JobStatus {
+    Running,
+    Completed,
+    Failed,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct Job {
+    pub id: String,
+    pub status: JobStatus,
+    pub index_name: String,
+    pub total_chunks: usize,
+    pub embedded_chunks: usize,
+    pub progress_pct: f32,
+    pub storage_key: Option<String>,
+    pub error: Option<String>,
+    pub started_at: String,
+    pub completed_at: Option<String>,
+    pub chunks_per_sec: f32,
+}
+
+/// Shared progress tracker that background tasks update.
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct JobTracker {
+    jobs: Arc<RwLock<HashMap<String, Job>>>,
+}
+
+impl JobTracker {
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            jobs: Arc::new(RwLock::new(HashMap::new())),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Register a new job. Returns the job ID.
+    pub async fn create(&self, index_name: &str, total_chunks: usize) -> String {
+        let id = format!("job-{}", chrono::Utc::now().timestamp_millis());
+        let job = Job {
+            id: id.clone(),
+            status: JobStatus::Running,
+            index_name: index_name.to_string(),
+            total_chunks,
+            embedded_chunks: 0,
+            progress_pct: 0.0,
+            storage_key: None,
+            error: None,
+            started_at: chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339(),
+            completed_at: None,
+            chunks_per_sec: 0.0,
+        };
+        self.jobs.write().await.insert(id.clone(), job);
+        id
+    }
+
+    /// Update progress.
+    pub async fn update_progress(&self, id: &str, embedded: usize, rate: f32) {
+        let mut jobs = self.jobs.write().await;
+        if let Some(job) = jobs.get_mut(id) {
+            job.embedded_chunks = embedded;
+            job.progress_pct = if job.total_chunks > 0 {
+                (embedded as f32 / job.total_chunks as f32) * 100.0
+            } else {
+                0.0
+            };
+            job.chunks_per_sec = rate;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Mark job as completed.
+    pub async fn complete(&self, id: &str, storage_key: String) {
+        let mut jobs = self.jobs.write().await;
+        if let Some(job) = jobs.get_mut(id) {
+            job.status = JobStatus::Completed;
+            job.embedded_chunks = job.total_chunks;
+            job.progress_pct = 100.0;
+            job.storage_key = Some(storage_key);
+            job.completed_at = Some(chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339());
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Mark job as failed.
+    pub async fn fail(&self, id: &str, error: String) {
+        let mut jobs = self.jobs.write().await;
+        if let Some(job) = jobs.get_mut(id) {
+            job.status = JobStatus::Failed;
+            job.error = Some(error);
+            job.completed_at = Some(chrono::Utc::now().to_rfc3339());
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Get job status.
+    pub async fn get(&self, id: &str) -> Option<Job> {
+        self.jobs.read().await.get(id).cloned()
+    }
+
+    /// List all jobs.
+    pub async fn list(&self) -> Vec<Job> {
+        self.jobs.read().await.values().cloned().collect()
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/vectord/src/lib.rs b/crates/vectord/src/lib.rs
index cd902f0..c2317e1 100644
--- a/crates/vectord/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/vectord/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 pub mod chunker;
+pub mod jobs;
 pub mod store;
 pub mod search;
 pub mod rag;
diff --git a/crates/vectord/src/service.rs b/crates/vectord/src/service.rs
index efe633e..a1df5a4 100644
--- a/crates/vectord/src/service.rs
+++ b/crates/vectord/src/service.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use axum::{
     Json, Router,
-    extract::State,
+    extract::{Path, State},
     http::StatusCode,
     response::IntoResponse,
     routing::{get, post},
@@ -10,18 +10,21 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use aibridge::client::{AiClient, EmbedRequest};
-use crate::{chunker, rag, search, store};
+use crate::{chunker, jobs, rag, search, store};
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct VectorState {
     pub store: Arc<dyn ObjectStore>,
     pub ai_client: AiClient,
+    pub job_tracker: jobs::JobTracker,
 }
 
 pub fn router(state: VectorState) -> Router {
     Router::new()
         .route("/health", get(health))
         .route("/index", post(create_index))
+        .route("/jobs", get(list_jobs))
+        .route("/jobs/{id}", get(get_job))
         .route("/search", post(search_index))
         .route("/rag", post(rag_query))
         .with_state(state)
@@ -31,19 +34,14 @@ async fn health() -> &'static str {
     "vectord ok"
 }
 
-// --- Index creation: chunk text → embed → store ---
+// --- Background Index Creation ---
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
 struct CreateIndexRequest {
-    /// Name for this vector index
     index_name: String,
-    /// Source identifier
     source: String,
-    /// List of documents to index
     documents: Vec<DocInput>,
-    /// Chunk size in characters (default 500)
     chunk_size: Option<usize>,
-    /// Overlap in characters (default 50)
     overlap: Option<usize>,
 }
 
@@ -55,10 +53,11 @@ struct DocInput {
 
 #[derive(Serialize)]
 struct CreateIndexResponse {
+    job_id: String,
     index_name: String,
     documents: usize,
     chunks: usize,
-    storage_key: String,
+    message: String,
 }
 
 async fn create_index(
@@ -68,9 +67,7 @@ async fn create_index(
     let chunk_size = req.chunk_size.unwrap_or(500);
     let overlap = req.overlap.unwrap_or(50);
 
-    tracing::info!("creating vector index '{}' from {} documents", req.index_name, req.documents.len());
-
-    // 1. Chunk all documents
+    // Chunk synchronously (fast)
     let doc_ids: Vec<String> = req.documents.iter().map(|d| d.id.clone()).collect();
     let texts: Vec<String> = req.documents.iter().map(|d| d.text.clone()).collect();
     let chunks = chunker::chunk_column(&req.source, &doc_ids, &texts, chunk_size, overlap);
@@ -79,32 +76,100 @@ async fn create_index(
         return Err((StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "no text to index".to_string()));
     }
 
-    tracing::info!("{} documents → {} chunks", req.documents.len(), chunks.len());
+    let n_docs = req.documents.len();
+    let n_chunks = chunks.len();
+    let index_name = req.index_name.clone();
 
-    // 2. Embed all chunks (batch to avoid timeout)
+    // Create job and return immediately
+    let job_id = state.job_tracker.create(&index_name, n_chunks).await;
+    tracing::info!("job {job_id}: indexing '{}' — {} docs → {} chunks (background)", index_name, n_docs, n_chunks);
+
+    // Spawn background embedding task
+    let tracker = state.job_tracker.clone();
+    let ai_client = state.ai_client.clone();
+    let obj_store = state.store.clone();
+    let jid = job_id.clone();
+
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        let result = run_embedding_job(&jid, &index_name, &chunks, &ai_client, &obj_store, &tracker).await;
+        match result {
+            Ok(key) => {
+                tracker.complete(&jid, key).await;
+                tracing::info!("job {jid}: completed");
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracker.fail(&jid, e.clone()).await;
+                tracing::error!("job {jid}: failed — {e}");
+            }
+        }
+    });
+
+    Ok((StatusCode::ACCEPTED, Json(CreateIndexResponse {
+        job_id,
+        index_name: req.index_name,
+        documents: n_docs,
+        chunks: n_chunks,
+        message: format!("embedding {} chunks in background — poll /vectors/jobs/{{id}} for progress", n_chunks),
+    })))
+}
+
+/// Run the actual embedding work in background.
+async fn run_embedding_job(
+    job_id: &str,
+    index_name: &str,
+    chunks: &[chunker::TextChunk],
+    ai_client: &AiClient,
+    store: &Arc<dyn ObjectStore>,
+    tracker: &jobs::JobTracker,
+) -> Result<String, String> {
     let batch_size = 32;
     let mut all_vectors: Vec<Vec<f64>> = Vec::new();
+    let start = std::time::Instant::now();
 
-    for batch in chunks.chunks(batch_size) {
+    for (i, batch) in chunks.chunks(batch_size).enumerate() {
         let texts: Vec<String> = batch.iter().map(|c| c.text.clone()).collect();
-        let embed_resp = state.ai_client.embed(EmbedRequest {
+
+        let embed_resp = ai_client.embed(EmbedRequest {
             texts,
             model: None,
-        }).await.map_err(|e| (StatusCode::BAD_GATEWAY, format!("embed error: {e}")))?;
+        }).await.map_err(|e| format!("embed batch {} error: {e}", i))?;
+
         all_vectors.extend(embed_resp.embeddings);
+
+        // Update progress
+        let elapsed = start.elapsed().as_secs_f32();
+        let rate = if elapsed > 0.0 { all_vectors.len() as f32 / elapsed } else { 0.0 };
+        tracker.update_progress(job_id, all_vectors.len(), rate).await;
+
+        // Log every 100 batches
+        if (i + 1) % 100 == 0 {
+            let pct = (all_vectors.len() as f32 / chunks.len() as f32) * 100.0;
+            let eta = if rate > 0.0 { (chunks.len() - all_vectors.len()) as f32 / rate } else { 0.0 };
+            tracing::info!("job {job_id}: {}/{} chunks ({pct:.0}%), {rate:.0}/sec, ETA {eta:.0}s",
+                all_vectors.len(), chunks.len());
+        }
     }
 
-    // 3. Store
-    let key = store::store_embeddings(&state.store, &req.index_name, &chunks, &all_vectors)
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| (StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, e))?;
+    // Store
+    let key = store::store_embeddings(store, index_name, chunks, &all_vectors).await?;
+    Ok(key)
+}
 
-    Ok((StatusCode::CREATED, Json(CreateIndexResponse {
-        index_name: req.index_name,
-        documents: req.documents.len(),
-        chunks: chunks.len(),
-        storage_key: key,
-    })))
+// --- Job Status ---
+
+async fn list_jobs(State(state): State<VectorState>) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    let jobs = state.job_tracker.list().await;
+    Json(jobs)
+}
+
+async fn get_job(
+    State(state): State<VectorState>,
+    Path(id): Path<String>,
+) -> impl IntoResponse {
+    match state.job_tracker.get(&id).await {
+        Some(job) => Ok(Json(job)),
+        None => Err((StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, format!("job not found: {id}"))),
+    }
 }
 
 // --- Search ---
@@ -128,7 +193,6 @@ async fn search_index(
 ) -> impl IntoResponse {
     let top_k = req.top_k.unwrap_or(5);
 
-    // Embed query
     let embed_resp = state.ai_client.embed(EmbedRequest {
         texts: vec![req.query.clone()],
         model: None,
@@ -140,7 +204,6 @@ async fn search_index(
 
     let query_vec: Vec<f32> = embed_resp.embeddings[0].iter().map(|&x| x as f32).collect();
 
-    // Load index and search
     let embeddings = store::load_embeddings(&state.store, &req.index_name)
         .await
         .map_err(|e| (StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, format!("index not found: {e}")))?;
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/03b65605-7cce-4a49-b338-4f19b0ff2ed5.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/03b65605-7cce-4a49-b338-4f19b0ff2ed5.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c429aae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/03b65605-7cce-4a49-b338-4f19b0ff2ed5.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "03b65605-7cce-4a49-b338-4f19b0ff2ed5",
+  "name": "call_log",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/call_log.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 35951077,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:44.377704982Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:44.377712082Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:44.377712082Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/0e4feb1a-1421-46ac-8222-ba0f0bd6e13e.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/0e4feb1a-1421-46ac-8222-ba0f0bd6e13e.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4697205
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/0e4feb1a-1421-46ac-8222-ba0f0bd6e13e.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "0e4feb1a-1421-46ac-8222-ba0f0bd6e13e",
+  "name": "email_log",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/email_log.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 16768671,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:46.272499334Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:46.272507485Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:46.272507485Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/142c4090-fd14-4065-8c06-d9721c14ec87.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/142c4090-fd14-4065-8c06-d9721c14ec87.json
deleted file mode 100644
index c42650e..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/142c4090-fd14-4065-8c06-d9721c14ec87.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "142c4090-fd14-4065-8c06-d9721c14ec87",
-  "name": "candidates",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/candidates.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 10592165,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.924470705Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.924477421Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.924477421Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/154cb8fe-5dcb-4d23-8ddb-c95b259757e9.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/154cb8fe-5dcb-4d23-8ddb-c95b259757e9.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36020c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/154cb8fe-5dcb-4d23-8ddb-c95b259757e9.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "154cb8fe-5dcb-4d23-8ddb-c95b259757e9",
+  "name": "timesheets",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/timesheets.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 17539932,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:40.845373500Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:40.845380446Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:40.845380446Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/1e7a1b8d-6211-46b5-b030-02ac76f92564.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/1e7a1b8d-6211-46b5-b030-02ac76f92564.json
deleted file mode 100644
index d159fa7..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/1e7a1b8d-6211-46b5-b030-02ac76f92564.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "1e7a1b8d-6211-46b5-b030-02ac76f92564",
-  "name": "email_log",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/email_log.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 16768671,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:32.341429856Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:32.341435388Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:32.341435388Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/29c177bd-3728-428a-ab0f-95169aae1106.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/29c177bd-3728-428a-ab0f-95169aae1106.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 0bc3fa4..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/29c177bd-3728-428a-ab0f-95169aae1106.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "29c177bd-3728-428a-ab0f-95169aae1106",
-  "name": "timesheets",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/timesheets.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 17539932,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:26.951181242Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:26.951188331Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:26.951188331Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/812e7d9a-0f50-49c0-b121-4cf758c304d9.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/812e7d9a-0f50-49c0-b121-4cf758c304d9.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a2c7fa..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/812e7d9a-0f50-49c0-b121-4cf758c304d9.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "812e7d9a-0f50-49c0-b121-4cf758c304d9",
-  "name": "placements",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/placements.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 1213820,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.173146233Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.173152301Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.173152301Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/91413428-b4b1-44b3-bb8d-5cb326019879.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/91413428-b4b1-44b3-bb8d-5cb326019879.json
deleted file mode 100644
index f38a50d..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/91413428-b4b1-44b3-bb8d-5cb326019879.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "91413428-b4b1-44b3-bb8d-5cb326019879",
-  "name": "job_orders",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/job_orders.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 905534,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.036039453Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.036045131Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:22.036045131Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/9bb57bf9-2c19-42ed-84f4-83fd3c52b94a.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/9bb57bf9-2c19-42ed-84f4-83fd3c52b94a.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 2505a5a..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/9bb57bf9-2c19-42ed-84f4-83fd3c52b94a.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "9bb57bf9-2c19-42ed-84f4-83fd3c52b94a",
-  "name": "clients",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/clients.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 21971,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.933347525Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.933351887Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:21.933351887Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/d2ce2995-9c60-49c9-9b41-197020cebaae.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/d2ce2995-9c60-49c9-9b41-197020cebaae.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce7d83c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/d2ce2995-9c60-49c9-9b41-197020cebaae.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "d2ce2995-9c60-49c9-9b41-197020cebaae",
+  "name": "placements",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/placements.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 1213820,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.885543632Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.885550623Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.885550623Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/d8170213-d6af-4478-ae23-59f06fda3165.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/d8170213-d6af-4478-ae23-59f06fda3165.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cc6c99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/d8170213-d6af-4478-ae23-59f06fda3165.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "d8170213-d6af-4478-ae23-59f06fda3165",
+  "name": "job_orders",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/job_orders.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 905534,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.780022147Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.780029168Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.780029168Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/e1607b56-a826-4826-845a-76918127c6bf.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/e1607b56-a826-4826-845a-76918127c6bf.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 0cc4c39..0000000
--- a/data/_catalog/manifests/e1607b56-a826-4826-845a-76918127c6bf.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "e1607b56-a826-4826-845a-76918127c6bf",
-  "name": "call_log",
-  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
-  "objects": [
-    {
-      "bucket": "data",
-      "key": "datasets/call_log.parquet",
-      "size_bytes": 35951077,
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:30.485776088Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:30.485783579Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:43:30.485783579Z"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/e26d3633-a341-4229-9819-f287d98b788a.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/e26d3633-a341-4229-9819-f287d98b788a.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e7695d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/e26d3633-a341-4229-9819-f287d98b788a.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "e26d3633-a341-4229-9819-f287d98b788a",
+  "name": "candidates",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/candidates.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 10592165,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.662150713Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.662162510Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.662162510Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/_catalog/manifests/e4b8441f-d729-4465-91fb-2ed5f481e65d.json b/data/_catalog/manifests/e4b8441f-d729-4465-91fb-2ed5f481e65d.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..beca83a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/_catalog/manifests/e4b8441f-d729-4465-91fb-2ed5f481e65d.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "id": "e4b8441f-d729-4465-91fb-2ed5f481e65d",
+  "name": "clients",
+  "schema_fingerprint": "auto",
+  "objects": [
+    {
+      "bucket": "data",
+      "key": "datasets/clients.parquet",
+      "size_bytes": 21971,
+      "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.670181596Z"
+    }
+  ],
+  "created_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.670184688Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T14:00:35.670184688Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/workspaces/ws-1774619041730.json b/data/workspaces/ws-1774619041730.json
deleted file mode 100644
index d882dfe..0000000
--- a/data/workspaces/ws-1774619041730.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "ws-1774619041730",
-  "name": "Apex Corp - .NET Developers Chicago",
-  "description": "Fill 5 .NET developer positions for Apex Corp, downtown Chicago, $65-85/hr bill rate",
-  "tier": "weekly",
-  "owner": "Sarah",
-  "previous_owners": [],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:01.730143708Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:08.530268827Z",
-  "saved_searches": [
-    {
-      "name": "Chicago .NET active candidates",
-      "sql": "SELECT candidate_id, first_name, last_name, phone, email, years_experience FROM candidates WHERE city = 'Chicago' AND skills LIKE '%.NET%' AND status = 'active' ORDER BY years_experience DESC",
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:01.731891844Z"
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "test",
-      "sql": "SELECT 1",
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:08.530262069Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "shortlist": [],
-  "activity": [
-    {
-      "action": "search",
-      "detail": "saved search: Chicago .NET active candidates",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:01.731898474Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "search",
-      "detail": "saved search: test",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:08.530268200Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    }
-  ],
-  "ingested_datasets": [],
-  "delta_keys": [],
-  "tags": []
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/workspaces/ws-1774619071313.json b/data/workspaces/ws-1774619071313.json
deleted file mode 100644
index d5c4097..0000000
--- a/data/workspaces/ws-1774619071313.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,130 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "id": "ws-1774619071313",
-  "name": "Apex Corp - .NET Developers Chicago",
-  "description": "Fill 5 .NET developer positions, downtown Chicago, $65-85/hr",
-  "tier": "weekly",
-  "owner": "Mike",
-  "previous_owners": [
-    {
-      "from_agent": "Sarah",
-      "to_agent": "Mike",
-      "reason": "Sarah on PTO, Mike covering Apex account",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.531544562Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.313179900Z",
-  "updated_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.534554639Z",
-  "saved_searches": [
-    {
-      "name": "Chicago .NET active",
-      "sql": "SELECT candidate_id, first_name, last_name, phone, years_experience FROM candidates WHERE city = 'Chicago' AND skills LIKE '%.NET%' AND status = 'active' ORDER BY years_experience DESC",
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.314740279Z"
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "High-bill .NET history",
-      "sql": "SELECT p.candidate_id, c.first_name, c.last_name, p.bill_rate FROM placements p JOIN candidates c ON p.candidate_id = c.candidate_id JOIN job_orders j ON p.job_order_id = j.job_order_id WHERE j.title LIKE '%.NET%' AND p.bill_rate > 60 ORDER BY p.bill_rate DESC LIMIT 20",
-      "created_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.315923201Z"
-    }
-  ],
-  "shortlist": [
-    {
-      "dataset": "candidates",
-      "record_id": "CAND-006645",
-      "notes": "Joseph Hill — 30yr .NET exp",
-      "added_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.524757463Z",
-      "added_by": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "dataset": "candidates",
-      "record_id": "CAND-020078",
-      "notes": "Jessica Jones — 30yr .NET exp",
-      "added_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.525965891Z",
-      "added_by": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "dataset": "candidates",
-      "record_id": "CAND-015656",
-      "notes": "Barbara Wright — 30yr .NET exp",
-      "added_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.527152483Z",
-      "added_by": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "dataset": "candidates",
-      "record_id": "CAND-00099",
-      "notes": "Mike found additional candidate via LinkedIn",
-      "added_at": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.534551709Z",
-      "added_by": "Mike"
-    }
-  ],
-  "activity": [
-    {
-      "action": "search",
-      "detail": "saved search: Chicago .NET active",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.314743876Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "search",
-      "detail": "saved search: High-bill .NET history",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.315925687Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "shortlist",
-      "detail": "added CAND-006645 from candidates",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.524762385Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "shortlist",
-      "detail": "added CAND-020078 from candidates",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.525968748Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "shortlist",
-      "detail": "added CAND-015656 from candidates",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.527155126Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "call",
-      "detail": "Called top 3 candidates, 2 interested",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.528254640Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "email",
-      "detail": "Sent job descriptions to shortlist",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.529452236Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "update",
-      "detail": "Candidate CAND-00025 confirmed for Thursday interview",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.530540919Z",
-      "agent": "Sarah"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "handoff",
-      "detail": "handed off to Mike — Sarah on PTO, Mike covering Apex account",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.531546876Z",
-      "agent": "Mike"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "call",
-      "detail": "Followed up with CAND-00025, interview confirmed",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.533529588Z",
-      "agent": "Mike"
-    },
-    {
-      "action": "shortlist",
-      "detail": "added CAND-00099 from candidates",
-      "timestamp": "2026-03-27T13:44:31.534554347Z",
-      "agent": "Mike"
-    }
-  ],
-  "ingested_datasets": [],
-  "delta_keys": [],
-  "tags": []
-}
\ No newline at end of file