diff --git a/state.py b/state.py
index a321448..b9dd259 100644
--- a/state.py
+++ b/state.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ STAMP_MISSING='0'   # the stamp of a nonexistent file
 def _connect(dbfile):
     _db = sqlite3.connect(dbfile, timeout=TIMEOUT)
     _db.execute("pragma synchronous = off")
-    _db.execute("pragma journal_mode = PERSIST")
+    _db.execute("pragma journal_mode = WAL")
     _db.text_factory = str
     return _db