diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f993aa6..5fc44d1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v2.7.3 — 2026-04-07
+
+### Fixed
+- **ContextEngine: `ownsCompaction: true`** — palaia now declares compaction ownership, preventing OpenClaw's built-in Pi auto-compaction from running in parallel with `palaia gc`. Without this flag, both compaction mechanisms could interfere with each other, leading to unpredictable context truncation.
+- **Doctor phantom stale-tasks warning** — `_check_stale_unassigned_tasks` now reads entries through `Store.all_entries_unfiltered()` instead of scanning `.md` files directly. The previous approach could report entries invisible to `palaia list` (e.g. entries with empty/invalid scope), causing the doctor to warn about tasks that the user cannot see or act on.
+- **Scope: empty/unknown scope no longer hides entries** — `can_access()` now treats empty or unrecognized scope values as `"team"` instead of returning `False`. Entries with missing or malformed scope are no longer silently invisible.
+
+---
+
 ## v2.7.2 — 2026-04-06
 
 ### New Features
diff --git a/SKILL.md b/SKILL.md
index 05a1c16..99c6824 100644
--- a/SKILL.md
+++ b/SKILL.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: palaia
-version: "2.7.2"
+version: "2.7.3"
 description: >
   Local, crash-safe persistent memory for OpenClaw agents.
   SQLite-backed by default. Semantic search, projects, scopes, auto-capture.
diff --git a/packages/openclaw-plugin/package.json b/packages/openclaw-plugin/package.json
index 24d8706..8524c88 100644
--- a/packages/openclaw-plugin/package.json
+++ b/packages/openclaw-plugin/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@byte5ai/palaia",
-  "version": "2.7.2",
+  "version": "2.7.3",
   "description": "palaia memory backend for OpenClaw",
   "main": "index.ts",
   "openclaw": {
diff --git a/packages/openclaw-plugin/skill/SKILL.md b/packages/openclaw-plugin/skill/SKILL.md
index 05a1c16..99c6824 100644
--- a/packages/openclaw-plugin/skill/SKILL.md
+++ b/packages/openclaw-plugin/skill/SKILL.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: palaia
-version: "2.7.2"
+version: "2.7.3"
 description: >
   Local, crash-safe persistent memory for OpenClaw agents.
   SQLite-backed by default. Semantic search, projects, scopes, auto-capture.
diff --git a/packages/openclaw-plugin/src/context-engine.ts b/packages/openclaw-plugin/src/context-engine.ts
index 481997e..b9d4c0a 100644
--- a/packages/openclaw-plugin/src/context-engine.ts
+++ b/packages/openclaw-plugin/src/context-engine.ts
@@ -394,6 +394,7 @@ export function createPalaiaContextEngine(
       id: "palaia",
       name: "palaia Memory",
       version: "2.3",
+      ownsCompaction: true,
     },
 
     /**
diff --git a/palaia/SKILL.md b/palaia/SKILL.md
index 05a1c16..99c6824 100644
--- a/palaia/SKILL.md
+++ b/palaia/SKILL.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: palaia
-version: "2.7.2"
+version: "2.7.3"
 description: >
   Local, crash-safe persistent memory for OpenClaw agents.
   SQLite-backed by default. Semantic search, projects, scopes, auto-capture.
diff --git a/palaia/__init__.py b/palaia/__init__.py
index 6c66de3..3b84a47 100644
--- a/palaia/__init__.py
+++ b/palaia/__init__.py
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-__version__ = "2.7.2"
+__version__ = "2.7.3"
 __author__ = "byte5 GmbH"
diff --git a/palaia/doctor/checks.py b/palaia/doctor/checks.py
index 697c187..efca47f 100644
--- a/palaia/doctor/checks.py
+++ b/palaia/doctor/checks.py
@@ -1862,7 +1862,12 @@ def _check_claude_code_config(palaia_root: Path | None) -> dict[str, Any]:
 
 
 def _check_stale_unassigned_tasks(palaia_root: Path | None) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    """Check for auto-captured tasks without assignee/due_date older than 7 days."""
+    """Check for auto-captured tasks without assignee/due_date older than 7 days.
+
+    Uses Store.all_entries_unfiltered() to ensure consistent entry discovery
+    with `palaia list`. Previous implementation scanned .md files directly,
+    which could report entries invisible to the user (scope filtering mismatch).
+    """
     if palaia_root is None:
         return {
             "name": "stale_unassigned_tasks",
@@ -1873,36 +1878,43 @@ def _check_stale_unassigned_tasks(palaia_root: Path | None) -> dict[str, Any]:
 
     from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
-    from palaia.entry import parse_entry
+    from palaia.store import Store
 
     now = datetime.now(tz=timezone.utc)
     stale_ids: list[str] = []
 
-    for tier in ("hot", "warm"):
-        tier_dir = palaia_root / tier
-        if not tier_dir.exists():
-            continue
-        for p in tier_dir.glob("*.md"):
-            try:
-                text = p.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-                meta, _body = parse_entry(text)
-                if meta.get("type") != "task":
-                    continue
-                if meta.get("assignee") or meta.get("due_date"):
-                    continue
-                raw_tags = meta.get("tags", [])
-                tags = raw_tags if isinstance(raw_tags, list) else str(raw_tags).split(",")
-                tags = [t.strip() for t in tags]
-                if "auto-capture" not in tags:
-                    continue
-                created = meta.get("created", "")
-                if not created:
-                    continue
-                created_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(created)
-                if (now - created_dt).days >= 7:
-                    stale_ids.append(p.stem)
-            except Exception:
+    try:
+        store = Store(palaia_root)
+        all_entries = store.all_entries_unfiltered(include_cold=False)
+    except Exception:
+        return {
+            "name": "stale_unassigned_tasks",
+            "label": "Stale unassigned tasks",
+            "status": "ok",
+            "message": "Could not read store",
+        }
+
+    for meta, _body, _tier in all_entries:
+        try:
+            if meta.get("type") != "task":
+                continue
+            if meta.get("assignee") or meta.get("due_date"):
+                continue
+            raw_tags = meta.get("tags", [])
+            tags = raw_tags if isinstance(raw_tags, list) else str(raw_tags).split(",")
+            tags = [t.strip() for t in tags]
+            if "auto-capture" not in tags:
                 continue
+            created = meta.get("created", "")
+            if not created:
+                continue
+            created_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(created)
+            if (now - created_dt).days >= 7:
+                entry_id = meta.get("id", "")
+                if entry_id:
+                    stale_ids.append(entry_id)
+        except Exception:
+            continue
 
     if not stale_ids:
         return {
diff --git a/palaia/scope.py b/palaia/scope.py
index 0df310d..631a975 100644
--- a/palaia/scope.py
+++ b/palaia/scope.py
@@ -74,6 +74,11 @@ def can_access(
             else:
                 return False
 
+    # Normalize empty/missing scope to "team" — entries must never become
+    # invisible just because scope was written as an empty string.
+    if not entry_scope:
+        entry_scope = "team"
+
     if entry_scope == "team":
         return True
     if entry_scope == "public":
@@ -87,7 +92,8 @@ def can_access(
     # Legacy shared:X entries are accessible like team entries
     if entry_scope.startswith(_LEGACY_SHARED_PREFIX):
         return True
-    return False
+    # Unknown scope: treat as team (safe default, never hide entries)
+    return True
 
 
 def is_exportable(scope: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 84ef84b..6ad96b9 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "palaia"
-version = "2.7.2"
+version = "2.7.3"
 description = "Local, cloud-free memory for OpenClaw agents."
 readme = "README.md"
 license = {text = "MIT"}
diff --git a/skills/palaia/SKILL.md b/skills/palaia/SKILL.md
index 05a1c16..99c6824 100644
--- a/skills/palaia/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/palaia/SKILL.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: palaia
-version: "2.7.2"
+version: "2.7.3"
 description: >
   Local, crash-safe persistent memory for OpenClaw agents.
   SQLite-backed by default. Semantic search, projects, scopes, auto-capture.