diff --git a/lib/mu-indexer.cc b/lib/mu-indexer.cc
index 283a11b8..bfeac487 100644
--- a/lib/mu-indexer.cc
+++ b/lib/mu-indexer.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-** Copyright (C) 2020-2023 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+** Copyright (C) 2020-2024 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
 **
 ** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 ** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include <condition_variable>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <atomic>
+#include <string_view>
 #include <chrono>
 using namespace std::chrono_literals;
 
@@ -42,49 +43,28 @@ using namespace std::chrono_literals;
 
 using namespace Mu;
 
-struct IndexState {
-	enum State { Idle,
-		     Scanning,
-		     Finishing,
-		     Cleaning
-	};
-	static const char* name(State s) {
-		switch (s) {
-		case Idle:
-			return "idle";
-		case Scanning:
-			return "scanning";
-		case Finishing:
-			return "finishing";
-		case Cleaning:
-			return "cleaning";
-		default:
-			return "<error>";
-		}
-	}
+// states
 
-	bool operator==(State rhs) const {
-		return state_.load() == rhs;
+enum struct State { Idle, Scanning, Draining };
+constexpr std::string_view
+format_as(State s)
+{
+	switch (s) {
+	case State::Idle:     return "idle";
+	case State::Scanning: return "scanning";
+	case State::Draining: return "draining";
+	default: return "<error>";
 	}
-	bool operator!=(State rhs) const {
-		return state_.load() != rhs;
-	}
-	void change_to(State new_state) {
-		mu_debug("changing indexer state {}->{}", name((State)state_),
-			name((State)new_state));
-		state_.store(new_state);
-	}
-
-private:
-	std::atomic<State> state_{Idle};
-};
+}
 
 struct Indexer::Private {
 	Private(Mu::Store& store)
-	    : store_{store}, scanner_{store_.root_maildir(),
+	    : store_{store},
+	      store_worker_{store.store_worker()},
+	      scanner_{store_.root_maildir(),
 		[this](auto&& path,
 		       auto&& statbuf, auto&& info) {
-			return handler(path, statbuf, info);
+			return scan_handler(path, statbuf, info);
 		}},
 	      max_message_size_{store_.config().get<Mu::Config::Id::MaxMessageSize>()},
 	      was_empty_{store.empty()} {
@@ -97,27 +77,55 @@ struct Indexer::Private {
 			   store.config().get<Mu::Config::Id::SupportNgrams>());
 	}
 
-	~Private() {
-		stop();
+	~Private() { force_cleanup(); }
+
+	void force_cleanup() {
+		switch_state(State::Idle);
+		scanner_.stop();
+		if (scanner_worker_.joinable())
+			scanner_worker_.join();
+		msg_paths_.clear();
+		for (auto&& w : workers_)
+			if (w.joinable())
+				w.join();
+		store_worker_.clear();
 	}
 
 	bool dir_predicate(const std::string& path, const struct dirent* dirent) const;
-	bool handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf, Scanner::HandleType htype);
+	bool scan_handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
+			  Scanner::HandleType htype);
 
 	void maybe_start_worker();
 	void item_worker();
 	void scan_worker();
 
-	bool add_message(const std::string& path);
-
-	bool cleanup();
 	bool start(const Indexer::Config& conf, bool block);
 	bool stop();
 
-	bool is_running() const { return state_ != IndexState::Idle; }
+	bool is_running() const { return state_ != State::Idle; }
+	void switch_state(State new_state) {
+		mu_debug("changing indexer state {}->{}", state_, new_state);
+		state_ = new_state;
+	}
+
+	// pace a bit so scan_items queue doesn't get too big.
+	void pace_scan_worker() {
+		while (msg_paths_.size() > 8 * max_workers_) {
+			std::this_thread::sleep_for(25ms);
+			continue;
+		}
+	}
+	// pace a bit so store-worker queue doesn't get too big.
+	void pace_store_worker() {
+		while (store_worker_.size() > 8) {
+			std::this_thread::sleep_for(25ms);
+			continue;
+		}
+	}
 
 	Indexer::Config conf_;
-	Store&          store_;
+	const Store&    store_;
+	StoreWorker&    store_worker_;
 	Scanner         scanner_;
 	const size_t    max_message_size_;
 
@@ -126,27 +134,18 @@ struct Indexer::Private {
 	std::vector<std::thread> workers_;
 	std::thread              scanner_worker_;
 
-	struct WorkItem {
-		std::string full_path;
-		enum Type {
-			Dir,
-			File
-		};
-		Type type;
-	};
-
-	AsyncQueue<WorkItem> todos_;
+	AsyncQueue<std::string> msg_paths_;
 
 	Progress   progress_{};
-	IndexState state_{};
+	std::atomic<State> state_{State::Idle};
 	std::mutex lock_, w_lock_;
 	std::atomic<time_t> completed_{};
 	bool was_empty_{};
 };
 
 bool
-Indexer::Private::handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
-			  Scanner::HandleType htype)
+Indexer::Private::scan_handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
+			       Scanner::HandleType htype)
 {
 	switch (htype) {
 	case Scanner::HandleType::EnterDir:
@@ -160,7 +159,7 @@ Indexer::Private::handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		// in lazy-mode, we ignore this dir if its dirstamp suggest it
+		// in lazy-mode, we ignore this dir if its dirstamp suggests it
 		// is up-to-date (this is _not_ always true; hence we call it
 		// lazy-mode); only for actual message dirs, since the dir
 		// tstamps may not bubble up.U
@@ -193,14 +192,16 @@ Indexer::Private::handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
 		return true;
 	}
 	case Scanner::HandleType::LeaveDir: {
-		todos_.push({fullpath, WorkItem::Type::Dir});
+		// directly push to store worker, bypass scan-items queue
+		pace_store_worker();
+		store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::SetDirStamp{fullpath, ::time({})});
 		return true;
 	}
 
 	case Scanner::HandleType::File: {
 		++progress_.checked;
 
-		if ((size_t)statbuf->st_size > max_message_size_) {
+		if (static_cast<size_t>(statbuf->st_size) > max_message_size_) {
 			mu_debug("skip {} (too big: {} bytes)", fullpath, statbuf->st_size);
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -210,9 +211,10 @@ Indexer::Private::handler(const std::string& fullpath, struct stat* statbuf,
 		if (statbuf->st_ctime <= dirstamp_ && store_.contains_message(fullpath))
 			return false;
 
-		// push the remaining messages to our "todo" queue for
+		// push the remaining messages to our "scan-items" queue for
 		// (re)parsing and adding/updating to the database.
-		todos_.push({fullpath, WorkItem::Type::File});
+		pace_scan_worker();
+		msg_paths_.push(std::string{fullpath}); // move?
 		return true;
 	}
 	default:
@@ -226,158 +228,94 @@ Indexer::Private::maybe_start_worker()
 {
 	std::lock_guard lock{w_lock_};
 
-	if (todos_.size() > workers_.size() && workers_.size() < max_workers_) {
+	if (msg_paths_.size() > workers_.size() && workers_.size() < max_workers_) {
 		workers_.emplace_back(std::thread([this] { item_worker(); }));
 		mu_debug("added worker {}", workers_.size());
 	}
 }
 
-bool
-Indexer::Private::add_message(const std::string& path)
-{
-	/*
-	 * Having the lock here makes things a _lot_ slower.
-	 *
-	 * The reason for having the lock is some helgrind warnings;
-	 * but it believed those are _false alarms_
-	 * https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/glib/-/issues/2662
-	 */
-	//std::unique_lock lock{w_lock_};
-	auto msg{Message::make_from_path(path, store_.message_options())};
-	if (!msg) {
-		mu_warning("failed to create message from {}: {}", path, msg.error().what());
-		return false;
-	}
-	// if the store was empty, we know that the message is completely new
-	// and can use the fast path (Xapians 'add_document' rather than
-	// 'replace_document)
-	auto res = store_.consume_message(std::move(msg.value()), was_empty_);
-	if (!res) {
-		mu_warning("failed to add message @ {}: {}", path, res.error().what());
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
 void
 Indexer::Private::item_worker()
 {
-	WorkItem item;
-
 	mu_debug("started worker");
 
-	while (state_ == IndexState::Scanning) {
-		if (!todos_.pop(item, 250ms))
+	while (state_ == State::Scanning ||
+	       (state_ == State::Draining && !msg_paths_.empty())) {
+
+		std::string msgpath;
+		if (!msg_paths_.pop(msgpath, 250ms))
+			continue;
+
+		auto msg{Message::make_from_path(msgpath, store_.message_options())};
+		if (!msg) {
+			mu_warning("failed to create message from {}: {}",
+				   msgpath, msg.error().what());
 			continue;
-		try {
-			switch (item.type) {
-			case WorkItem::Type::File: {
-				if (G_LIKELY(add_message(item.full_path)))
-					++progress_.updated;
-			} break;
-			case WorkItem::Type::Dir:
-				store_.set_dirstamp(item.full_path, ::time(NULL));
-				break;
-			default:
-				g_warn_if_reached();
-				break;
-			}
-		} catch (const Mu::Error& er) {
-			mu_warning("error adding message @ {}: {}", item.full_path, er.what());
 		}
 
+		pace_store_worker(); /* slow down if store-worker q gets too big */
+
+		// if the store was empty, we know that the message is
+		// completely new and can use the fast path (Xapians
+		// 'add_document' rather than 'replace_document)
+		if (was_empty_)
+			store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::AddMessage{std::move(*msg)});
+		else
+			store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::UpdateMessage{std::move(*msg)});
+		++progress_.updated;
+
 		maybe_start_worker();
-		std::this_thread::yield();
 	}
 }
 
-bool
-Indexer::Private::cleanup()
-{
-	mu_debug("starting cleanup");
-
-	size_t                 n{};
-	std::vector<Store::Id> orphans; // store messages without files.
-	store_.for_each_message_path([&](Store::Id id, const std::string& path) {
-		++n;
-		if (::access(path.c_str(), R_OK) != 0) {
-			mu_debug("cannot read {} (id={}); queuing for removal from store",
-				 path, id);
-			orphans.emplace_back(id);
-		}
-
-		return state_ == IndexState::Cleaning;
-	});
-
-	if (orphans.empty())
-		mu_debug("nothing to clean up");
-	else {
-		mu_debug("removing {} stale message(s) from store", orphans.size());
-		store_.remove_messages(orphans);
-		progress_.removed += orphans.size();
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
 void
 Indexer::Private::scan_worker()
 {
-	progress_.reset();
 	if (conf_.scan) {
 		mu_debug("starting scanner");
 		if (!scanner_.start()) { // blocks.
 			mu_warning("failed to start scanner");
-			state_.change_to(IndexState::Idle);
+			switch_state(State::Idle);
 			return;
 		}
-		mu_debug("scanner finished with {} file(s) in queue", todos_.size());
+		mu_debug("scanner finished with {} file(s) in queue", msg_paths_.size());
 	}
 
-	// now there may still be messages in the work queue...
-	// finish those; this is a bit ugly; perhaps we should
-	// handle SIGTERM etc.
-
-	if (!todos_.empty()) {
-		const auto workers_size = std::invoke([this] {
-			std::lock_guard lock{w_lock_};
-			return workers_.size();
-		});
-		mu_debug("process {} remaining message(s) with {} worker(s)",
-			todos_.size(), workers_size);
-		while (!todos_.empty())
-			std::this_thread::sleep_for(100ms);
-	}
-	// and let the worker finish their work.
-	state_.change_to(IndexState::Finishing);
-	for (auto&& w : workers_)
-		if (w.joinable())
-			w.join();
-
 	if (conf_.cleanup) {
-		mu_debug("starting cleanup");
-		state_.change_to(IndexState::Cleaning);
-		cleanup();
-		mu_debug("cleanup finished");
+		mu_debug("starting cleanup with work-item(s) left: {}",
+			 store_worker_.size());
+
+		std::vector<Store::Id> orphans; // store messages without files.
+		store_.for_each_message_path([&](Store::Id id, const std::string& path) {
+			if (::access(path.c_str(), R_OK) != 0) {
+				mu_debug("orphan: cannot read {} (id={})", path, id);
+				orphans.emplace_back(id);
+			}
+			return true;
+		});
+		progress_.removed = orphans.size();
+		if (!orphans.empty()) {
+			mu_info("removing {} orphan message(s)", orphans.size());
+			store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::RemoveMessages{std::move(orphans)});
+		}
 	}
 
 	completed_ = ::time({});
-	store_.config().set<Mu::Config::Id::LastIndex>(completed_);
-	state_.change_to(IndexState::Idle);
+	store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::SetLastIndex{completed_});
+
+	stop();
 }
 
 bool
 Indexer::Private::start(const Indexer::Config& conf, bool block)
 {
-	stop();
+	force_cleanup();
 
 	conf_ = conf;
 	if (conf_.max_threads == 0) {
 		/* benchmarking suggests that ~4 threads is the fastest (the
 		 * real bottleneck is the database, so adding more threads just
-		 * slows things down)
-		 */
+		 * slows things down)  */
 		max_workers_ = std::min(4U, std::thread::hardware_concurrency());
 	} else
 		max_workers_ = conf.max_threads;
@@ -391,11 +329,14 @@ Indexer::Private::start(const Indexer::Config& conf, bool block)
 	mu_debug("indexing: {}; clean-up: {}", conf_.scan ? "yes" : "no",
 		 conf_.cleanup ? "yes" : "no");
 
-	state_.change_to(IndexState::Scanning);
+	progress_.reset();
+	switch_state(State::Scanning);
 	/* kick off the first worker, which will spawn more if needed. */
-	workers_.emplace_back(std::thread([this] { item_worker(); }));
-	/* kick the disk-scanner thread */
-	scanner_worker_ = std::thread([this] { scan_worker(); });
+	workers_.emplace_back(std::thread([this]{item_worker();}));
+	/* kick the file-system-scanner thread */
+	if (scanner_worker_.joinable())
+		scanner_worker_.join(); // kill old one
+	scanner_worker_ = std::thread([this]{scan_worker();});
 
 	mu_debug("started indexer in {}-mode", block ? "blocking" : "non-blocking");
 	if (block) {
@@ -411,18 +352,33 @@ Indexer::Private::start(const Indexer::Config& conf, bool block)
 bool
 Indexer::Private::stop()
 {
+	switch_state(State::Draining);
+
 	scanner_.stop();
+	// cannot join scanner_worker_ here since it may be our
+	// current thread.
 
-	todos_.clear();
-	if (scanner_worker_.joinable())
-		scanner_worker_.join();
+	// wait for completion.
+	while (!msg_paths_.empty()) {
+		mu_debug("scan-items left: {}", msg_paths_.size());
+		std::this_thread::sleep_for(250ms);
+	}
 
-	state_.change_to(IndexState::Idle);
 	for (auto&& w : workers_)
 		if (w.joinable())
 			w.join();
 	workers_.clear();
 
+	store_worker_.push(StoreWorker::EndTransaction());
+
+	// wait for completion.
+	while (!store_worker_.empty()) {
+		mu_debug("work-items left: {}", store_worker_.size());
+		std::this_thread::sleep_for(250ms);
+	}
+
+	switch_state(State::Idle);
+
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -469,7 +425,7 @@ Indexer::is_running() const
 const Indexer::Progress&
 Indexer::progress() const
 {
-	priv_->progress_.running = priv_->state_ == IndexState::Idle ? false : true;
+	priv_->progress_.running = priv_->state_ == State::Idle ? false : true;
 
 	return priv_->progress_;
 }