diff --git a/modules/rcal/mod.ts b/modules/rcal/mod.ts
index 25e9647..3080f2e 100644
--- a/modules/rcal/mod.ts
+++ b/modules/rcal/mod.ts
@@ -275,10 +275,7 @@ function seedDemoIfEmpty(space: string) {
 		if (d.meta) (d.meta as any).seeded = true;
 	});
 
-	// 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 || {})}`);
+	console.log("[Cal] Demo data seeded: 2 sources, 7 events");
 }
 
 // ── API: Events ──
@@ -340,25 +337,6 @@ routes.get("/api/events", async (c) => {
 	return c.json({ count: rows.length, results: rows });
 });
 
-// DEBUG: raw Automerge event data (temporary)
-routes.get("/api/events-debug", async (c) => {
-	const space = c.req.param("space") || "demo";
-	const dataSpace = c.get("effectiveSpace") || space;
-	const doc = ensureDoc(dataSpace);
-	const events = Object.values(doc.events).slice(0, 3);
-	const raw = events.map((e) => ({
-		title: e.title,
-		tags_value: e.tags,
-		tags_type: typeof e.tags,
-		tags_truthy: !!e.tags,
-		tags_isArray: Array.isArray(e.tags),
-		tags_json: JSON.stringify(e.tags),
-		tags_arrayFrom: e.tags ? Array.from(e.tags) : 'WAS_FALSY',
-		has_tags_key: 'tags' in e,
-		all_keys: Object.keys(e),
-	}));
-	return c.json(raw);
-});
 
 // POST /api/events — create event
 routes.post("/api/events", async (c) => {
@@ -1054,6 +1032,41 @@ export function getUpcomingEventsForMI(space: string, days = 14, limit = 5): MIC
 		}));
 }
 
+/**
+ * Migrate existing events: add `tags` field where missing.
+ * Automerge docs created before the tags schema update won't have the key.
+ * This runs on every startup — it's a no-op if tags already exist.
+ */
+function migrateTagsField(space: string) {
+	if (!_syncServer) return;
+	const docId = calendarDocId(space);
+	const doc = _syncServer.getDoc<CalendarDoc>(docId);
+	if (!doc) return;
+
+	const needsMigration = Object.values(doc.events).some((e) => !('tags' in e));
+	if (!needsMigration) return;
+
+	// Tag assignment for known demo events
+	const demoTags: Record<string, string[]> = {
+		"rSpace Launch Party": ["launch", "community"],
+		"Provider Onboarding Workshop": ["onboarding", "cosmolocal"],
+		"Weekly Community Standup": ["recurring", "community"],
+		"Sprint: Module Seeding & Polish": ["sprint", "dev"],
+		"rFlows Budget Review": ["governance", "finance"],
+		"Cosmolocal Design Sprint": ["sprint", "design", "travel"],
+		"Q1 Retrospective": ["recurring", "community", "retrospective"],
+	};
+
+	_syncServer.changeDoc<CalendarDoc>(docId, 'migrate: add tags field', (d) => {
+		for (const ev of Object.values(d.events)) {
+			if (!('tags' in ev)) {
+				(ev as any).tags = demoTags[ev.title] || null;
+			}
+		}
+	});
+	console.log(`[Cal] Migrated tags field for ${space}`);
+}
+
 export const calModule: RSpaceModule = {
 	id: "rcal",
 	name: "rCal",
@@ -1069,6 +1082,16 @@ export const calModule: RSpaceModule = {
 		_syncServer = ctx.syncServer;
 		// Seed demo data for the default space
 		seedDemoIfEmpty("demo");
+
+		// Migrate tags field for all spaces that have cal docs (runs after loadAllDocs via setTimeout)
+		setTimeout(() => {
+			for (const docId of _syncServer!.listDocs()) {
+				if (docId.endsWith(':cal:events')) {
+					const space = docId.split(':')[0];
+					migrateTagsField(space);
+				}
+			}
+		}, 5000); // Run after loadAllDocs completes
 	},
 	feeds: [
 		{
diff --git a/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts b/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
index 6e9b350..3cdd13a 100644
--- a/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
+++ b/server/local-first/doc-persistence.ts
@@ -186,14 +186,6 @@ 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) {