diff --git a/scripts/docker-prune.sh b/scripts/docker-prune.sh
index 18dc66f6..7e80930c 100644
--- a/scripts/docker-prune.sh
+++ b/scripts/docker-prune.sh
@@ -1,15 +1,21 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # Reclaim Docker's unused cache so host storage stays bounded.
 #
-# Safe scopes only, by design:
-#   - BuildKit cache older than 72h, hard-capped at 4 GB (Debian /pnpm store is
-#     shared across builds; everything newer than that speeds up rebuilds).
-#   - Images referenced by NO running/stopped container and older than 7 days
-#     (covers stale epicnext-cms sha tags, old mariadb/byparr pulls, etc.).
-#   - Containers stopped for more than 24h.
+# Modes:
+#   (default) — gentle, age-windowed (keeps rollback + rebuild speed):
+#     - BuildKit cache older than 72h, hard-capped at 4 GB (Debian /pnpm store
+#       is shared across builds; everything newer speeds up rebuilds).
+#     - Images referenced by NO container and older than 7 days.
+#     - Containers stopped for more than 24h.
+#   --force — emergency mode ("never let the disk max out"): drops every age
+#     window and reclaims all unused bytes Docker can free:
+#     - ALL unreferenced build cache,
+#     - ALL unreferenced images (no 7-day grace),
+#     - ALL stopped containers.
+#     Trade-off: waiting rebuilds re-fetch deps/images later.
 #
-# Volumes are NEVER pruned here: mariadb-turbo-data is a database. This script
-# is idempotent and exits 0 when Docker is unavailable.
+# Volumes are NEVER pruned in either mode: mariadb-turbo-data is a database.
+# Idempotent; exits 0 when Docker is unavailable.
 set -Eeuo pipefail
 DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 LOG_DIR="${LOG_DIR:-$DIR/logs}"
@@ -17,17 +23,28 @@ mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"
 LOG_FILE="$LOG_DIR/docker-prune.log"
 now() { date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'; }
 
+FORCE=0
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--force" ]]; then
+  FORCE=1
+fi
+
 command -v docker >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
   printf '[%s] docker CLI unavailable; nothing to prune\n' "$(now)" >>"$LOG_FILE"
   exit 0
 }
 
-printf '\n[%s] === docker prune start ===\n' "$(now)" >>"$LOG_FILE"
+printf '\n[%s] === docker prune start%s ===\n' "$(now)" "$( (( FORCE )) && printf ' (FORCE)' )" >>"$LOG_FILE"
 docker system df >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
 
-docker builder prune -af --filter "until=72h" --max-used-space=4g >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
-docker image prune -af --filter "until=168h" >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
-docker container prune -f --filter "until=24h" >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+if (( FORCE )); then
+  docker builder prune -af >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+  docker image prune -af >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+  docker container prune -f >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+else
+  docker builder prune -af --filter "until=72h" --max-used-space=4g >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+  docker image prune -af --filter "until=168h" >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+  docker container prune -f --filter "until=24h" >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
+fi
 
-printf '\n[%s] === docker prune complete ===\n' "$(now)" >>"$LOG_FILE"
+printf '\n[%s] === docker prune complete%s ===\n' "$(now)" "$( (( FORCE )) && printf ' (FORCE)' )" >>"$LOG_FILE"
 docker system df >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 || true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/jobs-worker.ts b/scripts/jobs-worker.ts
index c0df4f42..d82e4ff3 100644
--- a/scripts/jobs-worker.ts
+++ b/scripts/jobs-worker.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,11 @@ import {
 	healthDegraded,
 } from "../src/lib/services/alert";
 import { runCatalogExport } from "../src/lib/services/catalog-git-export";
-import { diskLevel, parseDfOutput } from "../src/lib/services/disk-usage";
+import {
+	DISK_THRESHOLDS,
+	diskLevel,
+	parseDfOutput,
+} from "../src/lib/services/disk-usage";
 import { invalidateNewsCache } from "../src/lib/services/news-cache";
 import { rcon } from "../src/lib/services/rcon";
 
@@ -133,6 +137,30 @@ async function checkDiskUsage(): Promise<void> {
 			});
 			await diskPressure(usage);
 		}
+
+		// Self-healing: never let a mount max out. Safe prune from the warning
+		// mark, forced prune (drop age windows) from the error mark. Cooldown is
+		// keyed separately so a stuck fill level does not re-prune every run
+		// while still escalating to the forced path on real pressure.
+		if (usage.percent >= DISK_THRESHOLDS.error) {
+			if (canAlert(`disk-prune-force-${usage.mount}`)) {
+				logger.warn("Disk near full — forcing Docker cache reclaim", {
+					module: "jobs",
+					mount: usage.mount,
+					percent: usage.percent,
+				});
+				await pruneDockerCache(true);
+			}
+		} else if (usage.percent >= DISK_THRESHOLDS.warning) {
+			if (canAlert(`disk-prune-${usage.mount}`)) {
+				logger.info("Disk at high water mark — running safe Docker prune", {
+					module: "jobs",
+					mount: usage.mount,
+					percent: usage.percent,
+				});
+				await pruneDockerCache(false);
+			}
+		}
 	}
 }
 
@@ -282,8 +310,10 @@ async function cleanupOldSessions(): Promise<void> {
 
 /** Host-side: reclaim Docker's unused cache (build cache, unreferenced images,
  * stopped containers). Volumes and in-use images are never touched. No-op when
- * docker or the prune script is unavailable. */
-async function pruneDockerCache(): Promise<void> {
+ * docker or the prune script is unavailable. With force=true the age windows
+ * are dropped (docker-prune.sh --force) so every unused byte is reclaimed —
+ * the emergency path for a nearly-full disk. */
+async function pruneDockerCache(force = false): Promise<void> {
 	const { access } = await import("node:fs/promises");
 	const { resolve } = await import("node:path");
 	const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
@@ -294,7 +324,9 @@ async function pruneDockerCache(): Promise<void> {
 		return;
 	}
 	await new Promise<void>((resolvePromise) => {
-		const child = spawn("bash", [script], { stdio: "ignore" });
+		const child = spawn("bash", [script, ...(force ? ["--force"] : [])], {
+			stdio: "ignore",
+		});
 		child.on("error", (err) =>
 			captureWorkerError(
 				err,
diff --git a/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts b/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
index bcf3a993..192e1532 100644
--- a/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ it("preserves production runtime configuration and recent cache", () => {
 	);
 	expect(prune).toContain('docker image prune -af --filter "until=168h"');
 	expect(prune).toContain('docker container prune -f --filter "until=24h"');
+	// Emergency `--force` mode drops every age window to reclaim unused bytes,
+	// but even then volumes are off-limits.
+	expect(prune).toContain('== "--force" ]]');
+	expect(prune).toContain("FORCE=1");
+	expect(prune).toContain("(( FORCE ))");
+	expect(deploy).not.toContain("--force");
 	expect(deploy).not.toContain("docker volume prune");
 	expect(prune).not.toContain("docker volume prune");
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/services/alert.ts b/src/lib/services/alert.ts
index 5361ce03..9c240844 100644
--- a/src/lib/services/alert.ts
+++ b/src/lib/services/alert.ts
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ export function diskPressure(usage: {
 			used: formatBytes(usage.usedBytes),
 			total: formatBytes(usage.totalBytes),
 			available: formatBytes(usage.availableBytes),
-			hint: "Docker prune runs nightly; run scripts/docker-prune.sh to reclaim cache sooner.",
+			hint: "Docker cache reclaim auto-fired with this alert; if the disk is still filling, the growth is outside Docker (check Gamedata/uploads/storage).",
 		},
 	});
 }