diff --git a/modules/rcal/mod.ts b/modules/rcal/mod.ts
index 4ca653d..25e9647 100644
--- a/modules/rcal/mod.ts
+++ b/modules/rcal/mod.ts
@@ -275,7 +275,10 @@ function seedDemoIfEmpty(space: string) {
 		if (d.meta) (d.meta as any).seeded = true;
 	});
 
-	console.log("[Cal] Demo data seeded: 2 sources, 7 events");
+	// Verify tags survived Automerge change
+	const verifyDoc = _syncServer!.getDoc<CalendarDoc>(docId);
+	const firstEv = verifyDoc ? Object.values(verifyDoc.events)[0] : null;
+	console.log(`[Cal] Demo data seeded: 2 sources, 7 events — tags: ${JSON.stringify(firstEv?.tags)}, has_key: ${'tags' in (firstEv || {})}`);
 }
 
 // ── API: Events ──
diff --git a/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts b/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
index 3cdd13a..6e9b350 100644
--- a/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
+++ b/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
@@ -186,6 +186,14 @@ async function scanDir(dir: string, syncServer: SyncServer): Promise<number> {
 
 				const doc = Automerge.load(bytes);
 				const docId = pathToDocId(fullPath);
+				// Debug: check cal doc tags during load
+				if (docId.includes(':cal:events')) {
+					const events = (doc as any).events;
+					if (events) {
+						const first = Object.values(events)[0] as any;
+						console.log(`[DocStore] Loading ${docId}: tags=${JSON.stringify(first?.tags)}, has_tags=${'tags' in (first || {})}, keys=${Object.keys(first || {}).filter((k: string) => k.startsWith('t'))}`);
+					}
+				}
 				syncServer.setDoc(docId, doc);
 				count++;
 			} catch (e) {