diff --git a/core/playlists/parse_m3u.go b/core/playlists/parse_m3u.go
index a64c337c9..286f2e420 100644
--- a/core/playlists/parse_m3u.go
+++ b/core/playlists/parse_m3u.go
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ func (s *playlists) parseM3U(ctx context.Context, pls *model.Playlist, folder *m
 		return err
 	}
 	var mfs model.MediaFiles
-	// Chunk size of 100 lines, as each line can generate up to 4 lookup candidates
-	// (NFC/NFD × raw/lowercase), and SQLite has a max expression tree depth of 1000.
+	// Chunked so a huge playlist is not held in memory at once. Each line yields up to
+	// 4 lookup candidates (NFC/NFD × raw/lowercase), far below SQLite's 32766 variables.
 	for lines := range slice.CollectChunks(slice.LinesFrom(reader), 100) {
 		filteredLines := make([]string, 0, len(lines))
 		for _, line := range lines {
diff --git a/persistence/mediafile_repository.go b/persistence/mediafile_repository.go
index 320b95ef2..ed18333de 100644
--- a/persistence/mediafile_repository.go
+++ b/persistence/mediafile_repository.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"iter"
+	"maps"
 	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -355,7 +356,10 @@ func (r *mediaFileRepository) GetCursorWithArtwork(options ...model.QueryOptions
 // Library-qualified paths search within the specified library, while unqualified paths
 // search across all libraries for backward compatibility.
 func (r *mediaFileRepository) FindByPaths(paths []string) (model.MediaFiles, error) {
-	query := Or{}
+	// One IN list per library instead of one OR term per path: SQLite abandons the
+	// path index at just two OR-ed equality terms and scans the whole table.
+	byLibrary := map[int][]string{}
+	var unqualified []string
 
 	for _, path := range paths {
 		parts := strings.SplitN(path, ":", 2)
@@ -366,17 +370,24 @@ func (r *mediaFileRepository) FindByPaths(paths []string) (model.MediaFiles, err
 				// Invalid format, skip
 				continue
 			}
-			relativePath := parts[1]
-			query = append(query, And{
-				Eq{"path collate nocase": relativePath},
-				Eq{"library_id": libraryID},
-			})
+			byLibrary[libraryID] = append(byLibrary[libraryID], parts[1])
 		} else {
 			// Unqualified path: search across all libraries
-			query = append(query, Eq{"path collate nocase": path})
+			unqualified = append(unqualified, path)
 		}
 	}
 
+	query := Or{}
+	for _, libraryID := range slices.Sorted(maps.Keys(byLibrary)) {
+		query = append(query, And{
+			Eq{"path collate nocase": byLibrary[libraryID]},
+			Eq{"library_id": libraryID},
+		})
+	}
+	if len(unqualified) > 0 {
+		query = append(query, Eq{"path collate nocase": unqualified})
+	}
+
 	if len(query) == 0 {
 		return model.MediaFiles{}, nil
 	}
diff --git a/persistence/mediafile_repository_test.go b/persistence/mediafile_repository_test.go
index c1a91c5a5..8a492a813 100644
--- a/persistence/mediafile_repository_test.go
+++ b/persistence/mediafile_repository_test.go
@@ -1055,6 +1055,28 @@ var _ = Describe("MediaRepository", func() {
 				Expect(results).To(HaveLen(1))
 				Expect(results[0].ID).To(Equal("otherlib-track"))
 			})
+
+			It("resolves paths from multiple libraries in a single call", func() {
+				adminMr := NewMediaFileRepository(request.WithUser(GinkgoT().Context(), adminUser), GetDBXBuilder())
+				results, err := adminMr.FindByPaths([]string{
+					"1:artist/Album/track.mp3",
+					fmt.Sprintf("%d:hidden/test.mp3", otherLib.ID),
+				})
+				Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(results).To(HaveLen(2))
+				Expect([]string{results[0].ID, results[1].ID}).To(ConsistOf("findpath-1", "otherlib-track"))
+			})
+
+			It("keeps each path scoped to its own library when several are queried", func() {
+				adminMr := NewMediaFileRepository(request.WithUser(GinkgoT().Context(), adminUser), GetDBXBuilder())
+				// Each path exists, but under the other library's ID, so neither must match.
+				results, err := adminMr.FindByPaths([]string{
+					fmt.Sprintf("%d:artist/Album/track.mp3", otherLib.ID),
+					"1:hidden/test.mp3",
+				})
+				Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+				Expect(results).To(BeEmpty())
+			})
 		})
 	})