diff --git a/compiler/src/types.ml b/compiler/src/types.ml
index 4afc6cd..edfb08f 100644
--- a/compiler/src/types.ml
+++ b/compiler/src/types.ml
@@ -468,6 +468,14 @@ let private_name_code = Diag.types_prefix ^ "17"       (* WO-E217 *)
 let use_collision_code = Diag.types_prefix ^ "18"      (* WO-E218 *)
 let unused_use_code = Diag.warning_prefix ^ "202"      (* WO-W202 *)
 
+let dangling_ref_code = Diag.types_prefix ^ "24"
+(* WO-E224 (databasev2 2): a durable table holding a `ref` into a volatile one.
+   The referencing row survives a restart; the referenced row does not, so the
+   stored row id dangles and FK-restrict cannot help — restrict asks "does a
+   row reference this?", and after a restart the answer is a truthful no while
+   the id is still sitting in a durable slot. Provable from the class table, so
+   it fails at compile time rather than becoming a wrong query result. *)
+
 let unknown_type_name_code = Diag.types_prefix ^ "25"  (* WO-E225 *)
 
 (* iteration 36: a LITERAL shift count outside 0..63 — rejected here so
@@ -678,6 +686,19 @@ let rec scalar_name_of (ft : field_ty) : string option =
   | Nullable inner -> scalar_name_of inner
   | Ref _ | Multi _ | Map _ | Backlink _ | Actor _ -> None
 
+(* databasev2 2: the target class of a `ref` field, through any `?` wrapper.
+   Only `Ref` stores a row id, which is why this exists and why the
+   durable/volatile check below looks at nothing else — a `Backlink` is the
+   computed inverse of a ref and stores NO column (ast.ml), so after a restart
+   it resolves to an empty collection, which is a legal state indistinguishable
+   from "nothing references me". Checking backlinks would refuse correct
+   programs. *)
+let rec ref_name_of (ft : field_ty) : string option =
+  match ft with
+  | Ref name -> Some name
+  | Nullable inner -> ref_name_of inner
+  | Scalar _ | Multi _ | Map _ | Backlink _ | Actor _ -> None
+
 (* Checked once per field declaration (not at every access/use site), so
    the diagnostic lands at the field's own declaration position and
    never fires more than once for the same bad field. Runs over the raw
@@ -695,15 +716,42 @@ let check_field_types ~file (syms : symbols) (collector : Diag.Collector.t)
         name
     | _ -> Printf.sprintf "unknown type `%s`" name
   in
+  (* databasev2 2: is this class a table, and is it durable? A non-table
+     declaring class cannot dangle across a restart because it does not
+     survive one, so only a durable TABLE is checked. *)
+  let durable_table (t : Ast.table_cfg option) : bool =
+    match t with Some cfg -> cfg.Ast.durable | None -> false
+  in
+  let volatile_table (name : string) : bool =
+    match StringMap.find_opt name syms.classes with
+    | Some ci -> (match ci.table with Some cfg -> not cfg.Ast.durable | None -> false)
+    | None -> false
+  in
   List.iter (function
     | Ast.Class c ->
         List.iter (fun (f : Ast.field) ->
-          match scalar_name_of f.ty with
-          | Some name when not (is_known_type_name syms name) ->
+          (match scalar_name_of f.ty with
+           | Some name when not (is_known_type_name syms name) ->
+               Diag.Collector.add collector
+                 (Diag.error ~code:unknown_type_name_code ~file
+                    ~line:f.pos.line ~col:f.pos.col
+                    ~message:(unknown_type_msg name) ())
+           | _ -> ());
+          (* databasev2 2: WO-E224. Only the durable -> volatile direction is
+             refused; volatile -> durable is legal (the referencing row is the
+             one that disappears, so nothing is left holding a stale id). *)
+          match ref_name_of f.ty with
+          | Some target when durable_table c.table && volatile_table target ->
               Diag.Collector.add collector
-                (Diag.error ~code:unknown_type_name_code ~file
+                (Diag.error ~code:dangling_ref_code ~file
                    ~line:f.pos.line ~col:f.pos.col
-                   ~message:(unknown_type_msg name) ())
+                   ~message:
+                     (Printf.sprintf
+                        "durable table `%s` cannot hold `ref %s`: `%s` is declared \
+                         `durable: false`, so its rows are gone after a restart and \
+                         this stored row id would dangle — FK restrict cannot catch \
+                         it. Make `%s` durable, or declare `%s` `durable: false` too"
+                        c.name target target target c.name) ())
           | _ -> ()
         ) c.fields
     | Ast.Union u ->
diff --git a/docs/plan/oop-vm/01-error-catalog.md b/docs/plan/oop-vm/01-error-catalog.md
index 4e68f00..804192a 100644
--- a/docs/plan/oop-vm/01-error-catalog.md
+++ b/docs/plan/oop-vm/01-error-catalog.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Every `WO-E###`/`WO-W###` code the `woc` front end (`compiler/`) actually
 emits, as of plan 2 tasks 2–8, plan 3 tasks 1–2, and the iterations that
 added codes afterwards — 9b (WO-E250), 15/17 (WO-E106–E109), the
 language-surface-strictness branch (WO-E219/E220), the shard-fiber arc
-(WO-E221/E222), 24 (WO-E226) and 36 (WO-E223). Re-swept against the source
+(WO-E221/E222), 24 (WO-E226), 36 (WO-E223) and databasev2 2 (WO-E224). Re-swept against the source
 2026-08-26; the eight codes that sweep found missing are now in the tables
 below. Code ranges are reserved
 per stage (`compiler/src/diag.ml`): `WO-E0xx` lexing, `WO-E1xx` parsing,
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ half of the story ("moved here" / "borrowed here" / etc.).
 | WO-E221 | the shard-fiber arc (iteration 8+11). A `spawn C { ... }` whose target class declares no `fn receive(msg: M)`, or declares one whose `M` is not a class, record or union. `receive` is an ordinary identifier, not a keyword — declaring it is what makes a class an actor. | `` `spawn Worker { ... }`: no `fn receive` — an actor is a class with `fn receive(msg: M)` where M is a class, record, or union `` |
 | WO-E222 | the shard-fiber arc. A traced (inferred-GC) type, or a type containing one, used as an actor message or as actor state. Aliased object graphs cannot cross shard heaps, and `spawn` placement makes every actor potentially remote, so this is refused statically rather than trapped at the send. | `` message type `Graph` is traced (or contains a traced class) — aliased graphs cannot cross shard heaps; spawn placement makes every actor potentially remote `` |
 | WO-E223 | iteration 36 (operators). A literal shift count outside `0..63` on `<<` or `>>`. A non-literal count is not caught here — the VM traps it at run time (`WOP_SHL`/`WOP_SHR`). | ``shift count is out of range 0..63 for `<<` `` |
+| WO-E224 | databasev2 2 (2026-08-26). A **durable** table holds a `ref` into a **volatile** one (`durable: false`). The referencing row survives a restart and the referenced row does not, so the stored row id dangles — and FK restrict cannot catch it, because restrict asks "does a row reference this?" and after a restart the honest answer is no while the id is still sitting in a durable slot. Provable from the class table, so it fails at compile time instead of becoming a wrong query result. Reported once, at the field's own declaration. Only this direction is refused: **volatile → durable is legal** (the referencing row is the one that disappears, leaving nothing holding a stale id), and a `backlink` is never checked at all — it stores no column, so after a restart it resolves to an empty collection, a legal state indistinguishable from "nothing references me". Sees through a `?` wrapper. | `` durable table `Order` cannot hold `ref Session`: `Session` is declared `durable: false`, so its rows are gone after a restart and this stored row id would dangle — FK restrict cannot catch it `` |
 | WO-E226 | iteration 24 (`call`). `call`'s reply type has to survive actor-`M` erasure, so every `fn receive(msg: M)` program-wide must declare the SAME return type, and in v1 that type must be a copyable scalar. Fires when two `receive` declarations disagree, or when the agreed type is not scalar. | `` `call` on `actor Msg` needs one reply type, but `Room` and `Registry` declare different `receive` returns `` |
 | WO-E250 | iteration 9b (the query surface). Every diagnostic the language-integrated query grammar raises, one code: a `from v in C` whose `C` is not a declared table class, a navigation source that is not a `backlink`/`multi` of a table class, and the two not-yet-supported clauses — `group … by … into` on a table query and on a navigation query. The group-by rows are why the clause parses and still cannot run. | ``group-by aggregation is not supported yet`` |
 | WO-W202 *(warning)* | haxe-parity Task 1 (modules). A file's own `use` clause is never actually referenced — neither a bare name resolving through it nor a qualified `alias.name(...)` call — anywhere in that file's surviving parse tree. | `` unused `use fs` `` |
diff --git a/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.code b/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.code
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f10255
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.code
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+WO-E224
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.wo b/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.wo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4814898
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/compile-fail/table-durable-ref-volatile/fixture.wo
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+-- databasev2 2: a durable table may not hold a `ref` into a volatile one.
+-- The referencing row survives a restart; the referenced row does not, so
+-- the stored row id dangles. FK restrict cannot catch it — restrict asks
+-- "does a row reference this?", and after a restart the honest answer is no
+-- while the id is still sitting in a durable slot. WO-E224, at the field.
+
+@table(name: "sessions", durable: false)
+class Session {
+  token: Text
+}
+
+@table(name: "orders", index: [sess])
+class Order {
+  sess: ref Session
+  total: Int
+}
+
+fn main() -> Int {
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.out b/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.out
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..922a8f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.out
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+visit scratch
+audit kept
diff --git a/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.wo b/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.wo
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..413d4f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/run/table-residency-legal/fixture.wo
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+-- databasev2 2: the directions that are LEGAL, so WO-E224 cannot quietly
+-- grow over-broad. Three shapes must all compile and run:
+--   1. volatile -> durable ref: the referencing row is the one that
+--      disappears, so nothing is left holding a stale id.
+--   2. a backlink on a durable table whose referencer is volatile: a
+--      backlink stores NO column, so after a restart it resolves to an
+--      empty collection — a legal state, not a dangling id.
+--   3. durable -> durable, the ordinary case.
+
+@table(name: "users", index: [name])
+class User {
+  name: Text
+  visits: backlink Visit.who
+}
+
+@table(name: "visits", durable: false, index: [who])
+class Visit {
+  who: ref User
+  note: Text
+}
+
+@table(name: "audits", index: [who])
+class Audit {
+  who: ref User
+  what: Text
+}
+
+fn main() -> Int {
+  let u = insert User { name: "asha" };
+  insert Visit { who: u, note: "scratch" };
+  insert Audit { who: u, what: "kept" };
+  for v in from x in Visit select x {
+    print("visit ${v.note}");
+  }
+  for a in from x in Audit select x {
+    print("audit ${a.what}");
+  }
+  return 0;
+}