diff --git a/src/db.rs b/src/db.rs
index cbcea94..5cb7284 100644
--- a/src/db.rs
+++ b/src/db.rs
@@ -261,9 +261,9 @@ impl<H: NodeHasher> Database<H> {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Deletes all hash index sidecar files except those belonging to the given snapshots.
+    /// Keeps the `keep` most recent hash index files, deletes the rest.
     #[cfg(feature = "hash-idx")]
-    pub fn retain_hash_indexes(&self, keep: &[&ReadTransaction<H>]) {
+    pub fn prune_hash_indexes(&self, keep: usize) {
         let db_path = match &self.path {
             Some(p) => p,
             None => return,
@@ -277,10 +277,7 @@ impl<H: NodeHasher> Database<H> {
         let prefix = format!("{}.", stem);
         let suffix = ".hidx.sqlite";
 
-        let keep_offsets: std::collections::HashSet<u64> = keep.iter()
-            .map(|tx| tx.root_offset())
-            .collect();
-
+        let mut index_files: Vec<(u64, std::path::PathBuf)> = Vec::new();
         if let Ok(entries) = std::fs::read_dir(parent) {
             for entry in entries.flatten() {
                 let name = entry.file_name();
@@ -291,14 +288,20 @@ impl<H: NodeHasher> Database<H> {
                 if let Some(rest) = name_str.strip_prefix(&prefix) {
                     if let Some(offset_str) = rest.strip_suffix(suffix) {
                         if let Ok(offset) = offset_str.parse::<u64>() {
-                            if !keep_offsets.contains(&offset) {
-                                let _ = std::fs::remove_file(entry.path());
-                            }
+                            index_files.push((offset, entry.path()));
                         }
                     }
                 }
             }
         }
+
+        // Sort by offset descending (most recent first)
+        index_files.sort_by(|a, b| b.0.cmp(&a.0));
+
+        // Delete everything after the first `keep`
+        for (_, path) in index_files.into_iter().skip(keep) {
+            let _ = std::fs::remove_file(path);
+        }
     }
 
     pub fn begin_write(&self) -> Result<WriteTransaction<'_, H>> {
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index dfd649c..a86a78b 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ pub type Result<T> = core::result::Result<T, Error>;
 pub struct Configuration<Hasher: NodeHasher> {
     pub cache_size: usize,
     pub auto_hash_index: bool,
+    pub hash_index_pruning: Option<usize>,
     _marker: PhantomData<Hasher>,
 }
 
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ impl<Hasher: NodeHasher> Configuration<Hasher> {
         Self {
             cache_size: DEFAULT_CACHE_SIZE,
             auto_hash_index: false,
+            hash_index_pruning: Some(120),
             _marker: PhantomData,
         }
     }
@@ -115,6 +117,11 @@ impl<Hasher: NodeHasher> Configuration<Hasher> {
         self.auto_hash_index = enabled;
         self
     }
+
+    pub fn with_hash_index_pruning(mut self, keep: Option<usize>) -> Self {
+        self.hash_index_pruning = keep;
+        self
+    }
 }
 
 pub trait NodeHasher: Clone {
diff --git a/src/tx.rs b/src/tx.rs
index c354e0e..74393bf 100644
--- a/src/tx.rs
+++ b/src/tx.rs
@@ -193,6 +193,11 @@ impl<H: NodeHasher> ReadTransaction<H> {
         // Auto-load the index we just built
         let _ = self.load_hash_index();
 
+        // Auto-prune old indexes
+        if let Some(keep) = self.db.config.hash_index_pruning {
+            self.db.prune_hash_indexes(keep);
+        }
+
         Ok(())
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/integration_test.rs b/tests/integration_test.rs
index 1b76c2f..9ce9670 100644
--- a/tests/integration_test.rs
+++ b/tests/integration_test.rs
@@ -1574,6 +1574,49 @@ fn hash_index_reset_deletes_all_indexes() {
     let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&dir);
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "hash-idx")]
+#[test]
+fn hash_index_prune_keeps_n_most_recent() {
+    let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join("spacedb_hidx_test_prune");
+    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&dir);
+    let db_path = dir.to_str().unwrap();
+
+    let db = Database::open(db_path).unwrap();
+    let stem = std::path::Path::new(db_path).file_stem().unwrap().to_str().unwrap();
+    let parent = std::path::Path::new(db_path).parent().unwrap();
+
+    let count_indexes = || -> usize {
+        std::fs::read_dir(parent).unwrap()
+            .filter_map(|e| e.ok())
+            .filter(|e| {
+                let name = e.file_name().to_str().unwrap_or("").to_string();
+                name.starts_with(&format!("{}.", stem)) && name.ends_with(".hidx.sqlite")
+            })
+            .count()
+    };
+
+    // Create 4 snapshots, each with a hash index
+    for i in 0u8..4 {
+        let mut key = [0u8; 32];
+        key[0] = i;
+        db.begin_write().unwrap()
+            .insert(key, vec![i]).unwrap()
+            .commit().unwrap();
+        db.begin_read().unwrap().build_hash_index().unwrap();
+    }
+    assert_eq!(count_indexes(), 4, "should have 4 index files");
+
+    // Prune to keep 2 most recent
+    db.prune_hash_indexes(2);
+    assert_eq!(count_indexes(), 2, "should have 2 index files after prune");
+
+    // Prune to keep 0
+    db.prune_hash_indexes(0);
+    assert_eq!(count_indexes(), 0, "should have 0 index files after prune(0)");
+
+    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&dir);
+}
+
 #[cfg(feature = "hash-idx")]
 #[test]
 fn hash_index_fingerprint_mismatch_after_rollback_and_new_writes() {