diff --git a/CODESMELL.md b/CODESMELL.md
index 1633c40..980fec8 100644
--- a/CODESMELL.md
+++ b/CODESMELL.md
@@ -129,11 +129,7 @@ _None._ All modules previously on the queue have been split; refresh the queue i
 
 ## 13. `BDS.Tasks` Memory Growth
 
-**Status:** open, bounded in practice.
-
-**Risk:** the `tasks` map grows for the lifetime of the BEAM unless the UI calls `clear_completed`/`clear_finished`. Long-running desktop sessions could accumulate thousands of finished tasks.
-
-**Plan:** TTL eviction in the `BDS.Tasks` GenServer (e.g., drop `:completed`/`:failed`/`:cancelled` older than 1 h); already partially mitigated by `recent_finished_limit` in `build_status_snapshot/1`.
+**Status:** ✅ done (2026-05-01). `BDS.Tasks` now evicts terminal tasks (`:completed`/`:failed`/`:cancelled`) after a configurable TTL (`:finished_task_ttl_ms`, default 1 h). Eviction is triggered by the GenServer after a task finishes and also pruned on read calls (`get_task`, `status_snapshot`, `list_tasks`, `list_running_tasks`), while pending/running tasks remain retained. The UI snapshot still separately limits recently finished entries with `recent_finished_limit`.
 
 ---
 
@@ -159,6 +155,8 @@ Most tests share the SQLite repo and named GenServers (`BDS.Tasks`, `BDS.Search`
 
 ### 2026-05-01
 
+- **`BDS.Tasks` memory growth**: added configurable TTL eviction for terminal tasks in the `BDS.Tasks` GenServer (`:finished_task_ttl_ms`, default 1 h). Finished tasks are pruned by delayed GenServer cleanup and on task read calls; active tasks are preserved. Added regression coverage that completes a task with a tiny TTL and verifies it disappears without `clear_finished/0` while a running task remains. Section 13 is closed.
+
 - **Atom/string key duality**: added `BDS.MapUtils.attr/3` and a regression test that scans `lib/**/*.ex` and `lib/**/*.heex` for same-name atom/string `Map.get` fallback reads. Replaced same-name atom/string boundary reads across AI attrs, rendering assigns, pagination/archive contexts, UI command/filter params, metadata category settings, metadata-diff repair payloads, CLI sync payloads, chat tool call normalization, and misc editor duplicate/metadata-diff payload rendering. Remaining mixed-key scan hits are intentionally different-key fallbacks (for example camelCase/snake_case JSON compatibility) or atom-only/string-only boundaries. Section 12 is closed.
 
 - **`Jason.decode!/1` on external HTTP responses**: replaced the 2 scoped OpenAI-compatible runtime response decodes with `Jason.decode/1` and tagged `{:error, %{kind: :invalid_json_response, reason: reason}}` propagation for malformed `/models` and `/chat/completions` bodies. Added regressions covering endpoint model listing through a fake HTTP client and generation through a local Bandit server. Section 9 is closed.
diff --git a/lib/bds/tasks.ex b/lib/bds/tasks.ex
index e289554..a1e4de6 100644
--- a/lib/bds/tasks.ex
+++ b/lib/bds/tasks.ex
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
   @default_max_concurrent 3
   @default_progress_throttle_ms 250
   @default_recent_finished_limit 10
+  @default_finished_task_ttl_ms :timer.hours(1)
 
   def start_link(_opts) do
     GenServer.start_link(__MODULE__, %{}, name: __MODULE__)
@@ -85,18 +86,22 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
   end
 
   def handle_call({:get_task, task_id}, _from, state) do
+    state = prune_expired_finished_tasks(state)
     {:reply, state.tasks[task_id] && public_task(state.tasks[task_id]), state}
   end
 
   def handle_call(:status_snapshot, _from, state) do
+    state = prune_expired_finished_tasks(state)
     {:reply, build_status_snapshot(state), state}
   end
 
   def handle_call(:list_tasks, _from, state) do
+    state = prune_expired_finished_tasks(state)
     {:reply, all_tasks(state) |> Enum.map(&public_task/1), state}
   end
 
   def handle_call(:list_running_tasks, _from, state) do
+    state = prune_expired_finished_tasks(state)
     {:reply, running_tasks(state) |> Enum.map(&public_task/1), state}
   end
 
@@ -129,6 +134,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
           |> update_task(task_id, %{status: :cancelled, finished_at: DateTime.utc_now()})
           |> remove_running(task_id, ref)
           |> start_queued_tasks()
+          |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
         {:reply, :ok, next_state}
 
@@ -140,6 +146,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
             Enum.reject(queue, fn {queued_id, _work} -> queued_id == task_id end)
           end)
           |> start_queued_tasks()
+          |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
         {:reply, :ok, next_state}
 
@@ -170,6 +177,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
         finished_at: DateTime.utc_now()
       })
       |> start_queued_tasks()
+      |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
     {:reply, :ok, next_state}
   end
@@ -183,6 +191,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
         finished_at: DateTime.utc_now()
       })
       |> start_queued_tasks()
+      |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
     {:reply, :ok, next_state}
   end
@@ -192,6 +201,10 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
     {:noreply, maybe_report_progress(state, task_id, value, message)}
   end
 
+  def handle_info(:evict_finished_tasks, state) do
+    {:noreply, prune_expired_finished_tasks(state)}
+  end
+
   def handle_info({ref, result}, state) do
     case state.ref_to_task[ref] do
       nil ->
@@ -225,6 +238,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
           end
           |> remove_running(task_id, ref)
           |> start_queued_tasks()
+          |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
         {:noreply, next_state}
     end
@@ -255,6 +269,7 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
           end
           |> remove_running(task_id, ref)
           |> start_queued_tasks()
+          |> schedule_finished_task_eviction()
 
         {:noreply, next_state}
     end
@@ -347,6 +362,29 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
     end)
   end
 
+  defp schedule_finished_task_eviction(state) do
+    Process.send_after(self(), :evict_finished_tasks, finished_task_ttl_ms())
+    state
+  end
+
+  defp prune_expired_finished_tasks(state) do
+    now = DateTime.utc_now()
+
+    tasks =
+      Map.reject(state.tasks, fn {_task_id, task} ->
+        expired_finished_task?(task, now)
+      end)
+
+    %{state | tasks: tasks}
+  end
+
+  defp expired_finished_task?(%{status: status, finished_at: %DateTime{} = finished_at}, now)
+       when status in [:completed, :failed, :cancelled] do
+    DateTime.diff(now, finished_at, :millisecond) >= finished_task_ttl_ms()
+  end
+
+  defp expired_finished_task?(_task, _now), do: false
+
   defp public_task(nil), do: nil
 
   defp public_task(task) do
@@ -460,6 +498,11 @@ defmodule BDS.Tasks do
     |> Keyword.get(:recent_finished_limit, @default_recent_finished_limit)
   end
 
+  defp finished_task_ttl_ms do
+    Application.get_env(:bds, :tasks, [])
+    |> Keyword.get(:finished_task_ttl_ms, @default_finished_task_ttl_ms)
+  end
+
   defp attr(attrs, key) do
     cond do
       Map.has_key?(attrs, key) -> Map.get(attrs, key)
diff --git a/test/bds/tasks_test.exs b/test/bds/tasks_test.exs
index 661b0f3..b9ba065 100644
--- a/test/bds/tasks_test.exs
+++ b/test/bds/tasks_test.exs
@@ -143,7 +143,10 @@ defmodule BDS.TasksTest do
     assert snapshot.running_task_overflow == 1
     assert snapshot.running_task_message == "preview build: halfway"
 
-    assert [%{id: first_id, status: :running, progress: 0.5, group_name: "Generation"}, %{id: second_id, status: :running}] =
+    assert [
+             %{id: first_id, status: :running, progress: 0.5, group_name: "Generation"},
+             %{id: second_id, status: :running}
+           ] =
              snapshot.tasks
 
     assert first_id == first.id
@@ -161,7 +164,8 @@ defmodule BDS.TasksTest do
                %{group_id: "maintenance", group_name: "Maintenance"}
              )
 
-    completed = wait_for_task(task.id, &(&1.status == :completed and &1.result == %{counts: %{posts: 2}}))
+    completed =
+      wait_for_task(task.id, &(&1.status == :completed and &1.result == %{counts: %{posts: 2}}))
 
     snapshot = BDS.Tasks.status_snapshot()
 
@@ -171,10 +175,34 @@ defmodule BDS.TasksTest do
     assert snapshot.running_task_message == nil
 
     assert Enum.any?(snapshot.tasks, fn item ->
-             item.id == completed.id and item.status == :completed and item.result == %{counts: %{posts: 2}}
+             item.id == completed.id and item.status == :completed and
+               item.result == %{counts: %{posts: 2}}
            end)
   end
 
+  test "finished tasks are evicted after the configured TTL" do
+    Application.put_env(:bds, :tasks,
+      max_concurrent: 3,
+      progress_throttle_ms: 250,
+      finished_task_ttl_ms: 1
+    )
+
+    assert {:ok, task} = BDS.Tasks.register_external_task("short lived")
+    assert {:ok, running} = BDS.Tasks.register_external_task("still running")
+
+    on_exit(fn -> _ = BDS.Tasks.complete_task(running.id) end)
+
+    assert :ok = BDS.Tasks.complete_task(task.id)
+    assert wait_for_task(task.id, &(&1.status == :completed)).status == :completed
+
+    Process.sleep(20)
+
+    task_ids = BDS.Tasks.list_tasks() |> Enum.map(& &1.id)
+
+    refute task.id in task_ids
+    assert running.id in task_ids
+  end
+
   defp receive_started do
     receive do
       {:started, name, pid} -> {name, pid}