diff --git a/bin/vg-index b/bin/vg-index
index 1e321ce..796cae8 100755
--- a/bin/vg-index
+++ b/bin/vg-index
@@ -36,7 +36,10 @@ def open_db():
     LIB.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     THUMBS.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     db = sqlite3.connect(DB, timeout=60)
-    db.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")  # concurrent index jobs on one node
+    try:  # WAL is persistent once set; the switch itself needs an exclusive
+        db.execute("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL")  # lock, so tolerate losing the race
+    except sqlite3.OperationalError:
+        pass
     db.executescript("""
     CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS videos(
       id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, path TEXT UNIQUE, mtime REAL, duration REAL,