diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 84b05306..df09933b 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -134,4 +134,7 @@ RETENTION_DRY_RUN=true                  # Dry-run: log but do not delete (defaul
 AUTO_MIGRATE_ON_STARTUP=true            # Run database migrations on startup (default: true)
 
 # === Worker Pool ===
-# PISCINA_MAX_THREADS=4                   # Worker thread pool size (optional, defaults to CPU cores)
+# Text and media AI-analysis batches run on separate Piscina pools so a slow
+# image/vision batch can never queue-block fast text-only batches.
+# PISCINA_MAX_THREADS=4                   # Text-analysis worker pool size (optional, defaults to CPU cores)
+# PISCINA_MEDIA_MAX_THREADS=2             # Media-analysis worker pool size (optional, default 2)
diff --git a/.hermes/plans/2026-08-31_video-receive-eager-selfbot-connection-spec.md b/.hermes/plans/2026-08-31_video-receive-eager-selfbot-connection-spec.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..864147b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.hermes/plans/2026-08-31_video-receive-eager-selfbot-connection-spec.md
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+# Spec: Fix Video Capture — Eagerly Establish the Selfbot Voice Connection at Join Time
+
+Status: PLANNED
+Date: 2026-08-31
+Author: Hermes
+Related: `.hermes/plans/2026-08-31_video-receive-phaseC-spec.md` (Phase C build, made Option A this fix)
+
+## Symptom (from live logs, 2026-08-31 ~12:34)
+A user was actively screen-sharing + on camera in the recorded voice channel.
+The gateway recorded MANY users' audio (.ogg) fine, but video capture produced
+nothing. The only video signal in `journalctl -u gmw-discord-gateway` was:
+
+```
+[VOICE (guild:2)]: Sending voice state update: {"self_mute":false,...,"flags":2}
+[VOICE] received voice state update: {member hunterz ...}   # OTHER user, not bot
+[VOICE] connection? true, guild session channel
+[VOICE (guild:2)]: Setting sessionId <S> (stored as "undefined")
+[VOICE (guild:2)]: Authenticated with sessionId <S>         # debug print only
+[VOICE (guild:2)]: Authenticate failed - VOICE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT   # +15s
+video-recorder: userId=..., "Connection not established within 15 seconds."
+```
+
+## Root cause (verified against discord.js-selfbot-v13 3.7.1 source)
+The gateway records audio via `@discordjs/voice` (`joinVoiceChannel` + adapter).
+Video receive lives on the SEPARATE selfbot `ClientVoiceManager.connection`
+(a singleton `VoiceConnection`). `videoRecorder.ts` currently calls
+`client.voice.joinChannel(channel)` LAZILY — only when a `voiceStateUpdate`
+shows `newState.streaming === true`.
+
+At that moment the bot is ALREADY connected to the channel via @discordjs/voice.
+A selfbot `joinChannel` then does `VoiceConnection.authenticate()` →
+`sendVoiceStateUpdate()`, and waits for a fresh `VOICE_SERVER_UPDATE`
+(`setTokenAndEndpoint`) + `VOICE_STATE_UPDATE` (`setSessionId`) to reach
+`checkAuthenticated()` (needs token+endpoint+sessionId). Because the bot is
+already in an established voice session, Discord does NOT emit a new
+`VOICE_SERVER_UPDATE` for the lazy selfbot re-join → token/endpoint never set →
+15s `VOICE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT`.
+
+This is fatal to video: `joinStreamConnection(userId)` (STREAM_WATCH op 20) and
+`receiver.createVideoStream(userId, out)` (Recorder/ffmpeg) BOTH live on the
+parent selfbot `VoiceConnection` and require it `CONNECTED` (its own voice
+WS+UDP socket feeds `PacketHandler.push`, authenticated with
+`authentication.secret_key`).
+
+## Fix — establish the selfbot connection eagerly, at voice-join time
+The selfbot `VoiceConnection` must exist and be `CONNECTED` before any streamer
+appears. Establish it once, synchronously alongside the @discordjs/voice join in
+`recorder.startRecording`, so it rides the bot's FRESH voice join — when Discord
+DOES emit VOICE_SERVER_UPDATE. Then cache it and let `videoRecorder` reuse it.
+
+Ordering: in `startRecording`, after the @discordjs/voice `joinVoiceChannel`
+returns (and retries) — fire `ensureSelfbotVoice(channel)` best-effort:
+1. `await client.voice.joinChannel(channel, { selfMute:false, selfDeaf:false,
+   selfVideo:false })` (rejects ~VOICE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT on failure → log +
+   return null; do NOT block audio).
+2. Cache the returned selfbot `VoiceConnection` keyed by guildId.
+3. Wire teardown: on `recorder` voice stop / destroyed → `untrackChannel` +
+   destroy the cached selfbot connection (`disconnect()`).
+
+`videoRecorder.startVideoRecording` then uses the cached selfbot connection:
+- If cached & `status === CONNECTED` → use it.
+- Else → fall back to a lazy `joinChannel` (still best-effort).
+
+## The two-connection coexistence risk (must verify live)
+@discordjs/voice (audio) and the selfbot `VoiceConnection` (video) each open
+their OWN low-level voice WS+UDP on the same session. The spec's original
+open-question flagged this. Mitigations:
+- Clear logging: `Selfbot voice connected (guild=...)`, plus a periodic
+  `djs/voice status` log so we can confirm audio stays `READY` while the selfbot
+  connection is up.
+- If Discord kicks/breaks the audio connection, logs will show
+  @discordjs/voice `Disconnected`/reconnect churn — we detect and pivot.
+
+## Files touched
+- `services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/videoRecorder.ts`:
+  add `ensureSelfbotVoice(channel)` (return cached/connected), use it in
+  `startVideoRecording`, add `destroyGuildSelfbotVoice(guildId)`,
+  richer status logging.
+- `services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/recorder.ts`: call
+  `ensureSelfbotVoice(channel)` after `joinVoiceChannel` (best-effort);
+  call `destroyGuildSelfbotVoice` on voice stop/destroy.
+- Tests: `tests/videoRecorder.test.ts` (update to assert eager-connection reuse
+  + status gating).
+
+## Verification
+1. `pnpm typecheck` + `pnpm build` + biome clean (discord-gateway).
+2. Tests green.
+3. Commit + push; CI `Build & Deploy (Nix)` green, service restarts.
+4. LIVE (deploy): join a channel with the bot → journal shows
+   `Selfbot voice connected` (parent CONNECTED). When a member streams →
+   `Sender signal screenshare` / `Video recorder ready` + a `.mkv` under
+   `<RECORDINGS_DIR>/<uid>/video-*.mkv`; playable via ffmpeg. Confirm audio
+   recording still flows (no djs/voice reconnect churn).
diff --git a/services/backend/src/shared/config/index.ts b/services/backend/src/shared/config/index.ts
index ee4f3c89..5254f7f8 100644
--- a/services/backend/src/shared/config/index.ts
+++ b/services/backend/src/shared/config/index.ts
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ export const configSchema = z
       .positive()
       .default(50),
     PISCINA_MAX_THREADS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().optional(),
+    PISCINA_MEDIA_MAX_THREADS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().optional(),
 
     // ── Voice Transcription ────────────────────────────────────────────────
     AI_VOICE_TRANSCRIPTION_ENABLED: z
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/ARCHITECTURE.md b/services/discord-gateway/ARCHITECTURE.md
index 3d3b5c79..22d4a51a 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -77,20 +77,26 @@ handles a whole batch (text + media split internally, parallel paths).
 
 - Main thread owns the LLM semaphore (`AI_LLM_MAX_CONCURRENT`, default 5) via
   `llmClient.withLlmConcurrency`.
-- Piscina pool (`PISCINA_MAX_THREADS`, default 4) runs the heavy LLM work off
-  the event loop; **each worker thread initializes its own pg Pool** (min 0,
-  grows to `POSTGRES_POOL_MAX`). See "Memory & connections" below.
+- Two Piscina pools run the heavy LLM work off the event loop: a text pool
+  (`PISCINA_MAX_THREADS`, default 4) and a dedicated media pool
+  (`PISCINA_MEDIA_MAX_THREADS`, default 2). A batch is routed to the media
+  pool if ANY of its messages carries an attachment/sticker/embed — this
+  keeps a slow image/vision batch from occupying every thread and blocking
+  unrelated text-only batches behind it. **Each worker thread (in either
+  pool) initializes its own pg Pool** (min 0, grows to `POSTGRES_POOL_MAX`).
+  See "Memory & connections" below.
 
 ## Memory & DB connections
 
 `MemoryMax=1G` (raised from 512M — live RSS sits at ~500 MiB, peak 508 MiB,
 so 512M left ~2% headroom and risked an OOM-kill restart). Host has 8 GB free.
 
-`POSTGRES_POOL_MIN=0` (default). The gateway = main process + up to 4 Piscina
-worker threads, each with its own pg Pool. With min:0 the pools stay empty
-until a query runs and drop idle clients afterward, instead of holding
-`(1 main + 4 workers) × 2 = 10` permanently-open idle connections against
-PgBouncer. The pool still grows on demand up to `POSTGRES_POOL_MAX`.
+`POSTGRES_POOL_MIN=0` (default). The gateway = main process + up to 4 text
+Piscina worker threads + up to 2 media Piscina worker threads, each with its
+own pg Pool. With min:0 the pools stay empty until a query runs and drop
+idle clients afterward, instead of holding `(1 main + 4 text + 2 media) × 2
+= 14` permanently-open idle connections against PgBouncer. The pool still
+grows on demand up to `POSTGRES_POOL_MAX`.
 
 ## Event channels (Redis pub/sub)
 
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/app/bootstrap.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/app/bootstrap.ts
index 55d8fced..b49e8f57 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/app/bootstrap.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/app/bootstrap.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ import {
   getAnalysisQueueStatus,
   startPendingAIAnalysisWorker,
 } from "../modules/ai-moderation/aiAnalyzer.js";
-import { workerPool } from "../modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.js";
+import {
+  mediaWorkerPool,
+  textWorkerPool,
+} from "../modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.js";
 import { registerChannelTopicCapture } from "../modules/channel-topic/index.js";
 import { CommandHandler } from "../modules/command-handler/commandHandler.js";
 import {
@@ -396,12 +399,25 @@ export async function initializeDiscordGateway() {
       if (typeof status.lastError === "string") {
         setGauge("ai_analysis_last_error_present", status.lastError ? 1 : 0);
       }
-      const pool = workerPool as unknown as {
-        _poolState?: { size: number; active: number };
-      };
-      if (pool._poolState) {
-        setGauge("ai_analysis_worker_threads", pool._poolState.size);
-        setGauge("ai_analysis_worker_threads_active", pool._poolState.active);
+      type PoolState = { _poolState?: { size: number; active: number } };
+      const textPool = textWorkerPool as unknown as PoolState;
+      const mediaPool = mediaWorkerPool as unknown as PoolState;
+      // Reported per queue (2026-08-31 text/media pool split) so the text
+      // and media backlogs are distinguishable in dashboards/alerts instead
+      // of one combined "worker threads" number.
+      if (textPool._poolState) {
+        setGauge("ai_analysis_worker_threads_text", textPool._poolState.size);
+        setGauge(
+          "ai_analysis_worker_threads_active_text",
+          textPool._poolState.active,
+        );
+      }
+      if (mediaPool._poolState) {
+        setGauge("ai_analysis_worker_threads_media", mediaPool._poolState.size);
+        setGauge(
+          "ai_analysis_worker_threads_active_media",
+          mediaPool._poolState.active,
+        );
       }
     } catch (err) {
       logger.warn({ error: String(err) }, "AI metrics collector failed");
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/batchProcessor.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/batchProcessor.ts
index 1feabd8f..50ca0204 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/batchProcessor.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/batchProcessor.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { messageStore } from "../message-capture/messageStore.js";
 import type { MessageRecord } from "../message-capture/types.js";
 import { pickBatchWithinBudget as pickBatchWithinBudgetPure } from "./batchBudget.js";
 import { partitionBatchOutcome } from "./batchOutcomeClassifier.js";
-import { workerPool } from "./circuitBreaker.js";
+import { mediaWorkerPool, textWorkerPool } from "./circuitBreaker.js";
 import { estimateTokens } from "./conversationContext.js";
 import {
   conversationErrorCooldown,
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
   resetConversationBatchFailures,
 } from "./conversationState.js";
 import { enqueueIndividualFallbacks } from "./individualFallbackProcessor.js";
+import { hasMediaContent } from "./mediaAnalysisClient.js";
 import {
   broadcastAnalysisCompleted,
   LAST_ERROR,
@@ -121,29 +122,31 @@ export async function skipAgeRestrictedMessages(
 // Batch pipeline
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-export async function processBatch(
+/**
+ * Runs one worker job (either the text-only or the media sub-batch of a
+ * conversation) end-to-end: dispatch → broadcast/save → fallback routing.
+ * Returns whether the *caller* should schedule the next debounce pass for
+ * this conversation (mirrors the old single-job semantics, now evaluated
+ * per queue).
+ *
+ * Broadcasting happens here, inside each queue's own call — NOT after
+ * waiting on the other queue. That's the actual fix for "text menunggu
+ * image": previously one mixed conversation batch made ONE worker call
+ * with both text and media targets, and `runModerationAnalysis` only
+ * resolves (so results only get saved/broadcast) once BOTH finish — so a
+ * fast text verdict sat unused until the slow vision/image verdict was
+ * ready too. Splitting into two independent jobs means the text queue
+ * saves+broadcasts its rows the moment IT finishes, regardless of how long
+ * the media queue takes.
+ */
+async function runQueueBatch(
+  pool: typeof textWorkerPool,
   conversationKey: string,
   messages: MessageRecord[],
-  processingStartedAt: number,
-): Promise<void> {
-  if (messages.length === 0) {
-    if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
-      conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
-    }
-    return;
-  }
-  const cooldownUntil = conversationErrorCooldown.get(conversationKey) ?? 0;
-  if (Date.now() < cooldownUntil) {
-    if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
-      conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
-    }
-    return;
-  }
-
+): Promise<boolean> {
   activeRequests++;
-  let shouldScheduleNext = false;
   try {
-    const result = (await workerPool.run({
+    const result = (await pool.run({
       type: "batch",
       conversationKey,
       messages,
@@ -191,7 +194,7 @@ export async function processBatch(
         },
         "Batch analysis failed, will retry after cooldown",
       );
-      return;
+      return false;
     }
 
     // Batch succeeded -- partition per-message outcome (2026-08-25).
@@ -281,20 +284,13 @@ export async function processBatch(
         conversationErrorCooldown.set(conversationKey, newCooldown);
       }
 
-      // Release the processing lock immediately so the cooldown timer controls retry
-      if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
-        conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
-      }
-
       // Do NOT schedule next -- let the cooldown gate it
-      shouldScheduleNext = false;
+      return false;
     }
 
-    if (apiFailedMessages.length === 0) {
-      resetConversationBatchFailures(conversationKey);
-      conversationErrorCooldown.delete(conversationKey);
-    }
-    shouldScheduleNext = true;
+    resetConversationBatchFailures(conversationKey);
+    conversationErrorCooldown.delete(conversationKey);
+    return true;
   } catch (error) {
     recordConversationBatchFailure(conversationKey);
 
@@ -326,18 +322,63 @@ export async function processBatch(
       },
       "Analysis worker failed, will retry after cooldown",
     );
+    return false;
   } finally {
     activeRequests--;
+  }
+}
+
+export async function processBatch(
+  conversationKey: string,
+  messages: MessageRecord[],
+  processingStartedAt: number,
+): Promise<void> {
+  if (messages.length === 0) {
     if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
       conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
     }
-    if (shouldScheduleNext) {
-      setImmediate(() => {
-        // Dynamic import to avoid circular dependency at module scope
-        import("./batchScheduler.js").then((m) =>
-          m.scheduleConversationAnalysis(conversationKey),
-        );
-      });
+    return;
+  }
+  const cooldownUntil = conversationErrorCooldown.get(conversationKey) ?? 0;
+  if (Date.now() < cooldownUntil) {
+    if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
+      conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
     }
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Split the batch itself — not just route it — so text and media never
+  // share one worker call. A conversation batch commonly mixes plain-text
+  // messages with an image/sticker from someone else; without this split,
+  // ALL of it (including the plain-text messages) would ride along on the
+  // media job and wait for vision analysis to finish. Each sub-batch is now
+  // dispatched to its own pool AND handled independently below, so the text
+  // queue's results land as soon as text analysis completes, full stop.
+  const textMessages = messages.filter((m) => !hasMediaContent(m));
+  const mediaMessages = messages.filter((m) => hasMediaContent(m));
+
+  const jobs: Promise<boolean>[] = [];
+  if (textMessages.length > 0) {
+    jobs.push(runQueueBatch(textWorkerPool, conversationKey, textMessages));
+  }
+  if (mediaMessages.length > 0) {
+    jobs.push(runQueueBatch(mediaWorkerPool, conversationKey, mediaMessages));
+  }
+
+  const outcomes = await Promise.allSettled(jobs);
+  const shouldScheduleNext = outcomes.every(
+    (o) => o.status === "fulfilled" && o.value,
+  );
+
+  if (conversationProcessing.get(conversationKey) === processingStartedAt) {
+    conversationProcessing.delete(conversationKey);
+  }
+  if (shouldScheduleNext) {
+    setImmediate(() => {
+      // Dynamic import to avoid circular dependency at module scope
+      import("./batchScheduler.js").then((m) =>
+        m.scheduleConversationAnalysis(conversationKey),
+      );
+    });
   }
 }
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.ts
index 7fe1ec12..4a2dc504 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/circuitBreaker.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,16 @@ import { config } from "../../shared/config/config.js";
 import type { MessageRecord } from "../message-capture/types.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Piscina worker pool (shared by batch + individual pipelines)
+// Piscina worker pools (2026-08-31: split text vs media)
+//
+// Both the batch and individual-fallback pipelines used to share ONE pool.
+// A conversation batch containing images/stickers/embeds routes through
+// runMediaBatch (download + vision + LLM — tens of seconds per batch), and
+// Piscina hands each worker thread exactly one task at a time. With a small
+// fixed thread count, a handful of slow media batches could occupy every
+// thread and leave fast text-only batches for OTHER conversations queued
+// behind them for the whole media duration. Text and media now get their
+// own dedicated pools so a media backlog can never starve text analysis.
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 function getAnalysisWorkerUrl(): URL {
@@ -25,12 +34,32 @@ function getAnalysisWorkerUrl(): URL {
   return candidates[2];
 }
 
-export const workerPool = new Piscina({
-  filename: fileURLToPath(getAnalysisWorkerUrl()),
+const analysisWorkerFilename = fileURLToPath(getAnalysisWorkerUrl());
+
+/** Dedicated pool for text-only batch/individual analysis jobs. */
+export const textWorkerPool = new Piscina({
+  filename: analysisWorkerFilename,
   execArgv: process.execArgv,
   maxThreads: config.PISCINA_MAX_THREADS ?? availableParallelism(),
 });
 
+/**
+ * Dedicated pool for jobs whose batch contains at least one message with
+ * media (attachments/stickers/embeds). Kept separate so slow image/vision
+ * analysis never blocks the text pool above.
+ */
+export const mediaWorkerPool = new Piscina({
+  filename: analysisWorkerFilename,
+  execArgv: process.execArgv,
+  maxThreads: config.PISCINA_MEDIA_MAX_THREADS ?? 2,
+});
+
+/**
+ * @deprecated Use `textWorkerPool` or `mediaWorkerPool` directly. Kept as an
+ * alias to the text pool only for anything not yet migrated.
+ */
+export const workerPool = textWorkerPool;
+
 /**
  * Gets the conversation key for a message (thread_id or channel_id).
  */
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/individualFallbackProcessor.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/individualFallbackProcessor.ts
index 8855c35a..4e6bc671 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/individualFallbackProcessor.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/ai-moderation/individualFallbackProcessor.ts
@@ -6,9 +6,14 @@ import type {
   AnalysisResult,
   MessageRecord,
 } from "../message-capture/types.js";
-import { getConversationKey, workerPool } from "./circuitBreaker.js";
+import {
+  getConversationKey,
+  mediaWorkerPool,
+  textWorkerPool,
+} from "./circuitBreaker.js";
 import { fireAlert } from "./conversationState.js";
 import { classifyIndividualWorkerResult } from "./fallbackResultClassifier.js";
+import { hasMediaContent } from "./mediaAnalysisClient.js";
 import {
   broadcastAnalysisCompleted,
   LAST_ERROR,
@@ -73,8 +78,12 @@ async function processIndividualFallback(
   let exhaustedOnIncomplete = false;
 
   try {
-    // Run the LLM-heavy work in the worker thread
-    const workerResult = (await workerPool.run({
+    // Run the LLM-heavy work in the worker thread — same text/media pool
+    // split as the batch pipeline (see circuitBreaker.ts), so a single
+    // media message falling back to individual analysis can't queue behind
+    // (or block) text-only fallbacks, and vice versa.
+    const pool = hasMediaContent(message) ? mediaWorkerPool : textWorkerPool;
+    const workerResult = (await pool.run({
       type: "individual",
       message,
       skipNormalAnalysis: false,
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/index.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/index.ts
index 9c9fde12..0e92e357 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/index.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/index.ts
@@ -319,11 +319,20 @@ export const configSchema = z
       .int()
       .positive()
       .default(50),
-    // Worker pool size. Default 4 (not availableParallelism) because each
-    // Piscina thread owns its own pLimit(5) semaphore — on big VPSes
-    // availableParallelism × 5 concurrent LLM calls would overwhelm the
-    // router. Keep threads modest; concurrency is capped per-thread anyway.
+    // Text-analysis worker pool size (2026-08-31: split from the media pool
+    // below so a slow image/vision batch can never occupy every thread and
+    // starve the far more common text-only batches). Default 4 (not
+    // availableParallelism) because each Piscina thread owns its own
+    // pLimit(5) semaphore — on big VPSes availableParallelism × 5 concurrent
+    // LLM calls would overwhelm the router. Keep threads modest; concurrency
+    // is capped per-thread anyway.
     PISCINA_MAX_THREADS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(4),
+    // Media-analysis worker pool size — dedicated threads for batches that
+    // contain images/stickers/embeds (download + vision + LLM, much slower
+    // than text). Kept small since media batches are less frequent and each
+    // one is long-running; sized independently from PISCINA_MAX_THREADS so
+    // tuning one never starves the other.
+    PISCINA_MEDIA_MAX_THREADS: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(2),
 
     // ── Voice Transcription ────────────────────────────────────────────────
     AI_VOICE_TRANSCRIPTION_ENABLED: z