diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 0b4b356..fef2bb1 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "servicekit"
-version = "0.5.4"
+version = "0.6.0"
 description = "Async SQLAlchemy framework with FastAPI integration - reusable foundation for building data services"
 readme = "README.md"
 authors = [{ name = "Morten Hansen", email = "morten@winterop.com" }]
diff --git a/src/servicekit/database.py b/src/servicekit/database.py
index 1b115a2..2df6ee6 100644
--- a/src/servicekit/database.py
+++ b/src/servicekit/database.py
@@ -179,6 +179,16 @@ async def init(self) -> None:
             # For file-based databases, use Alembic migrations
             await super().init()
 
+    async def dispose(self) -> None:
+        """Dispose database with WAL checkpoint for file-based databases."""
+        if not self.is_in_memory():
+            try:
+                async with self.engine.begin() as conn:
+                    await conn.exec_driver_sql("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE);")
+            except Exception:
+                pass  # Don't fail dispose on checkpoint error
+        await super().dispose()
+
 
 class SqliteDatabaseBuilder:
     """Builder for SQLite database configuration with fluent API."""
diff --git a/tests/test_database.py b/tests/test_database.py
index 28f9aab..b55e112 100644
--- a/tests/test_database.py
+++ b/tests/test_database.py
@@ -346,3 +346,23 @@ def test_builder_without_url_raises_error(self) -> None:
         builder = SqliteDatabaseBuilder()
         with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Database URL not configured"):
             builder.build()
+
+    async def test_dispose_checkpoints_wal(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+        """Test that dispose checkpoints WAL for file-based databases."""
+        db_path = tmp_path / "test.db"
+        db = SqliteDatabaseBuilder.from_file(str(db_path)).build()
+        await db.init()
+
+        # Write some data to create WAL entries
+        async with db.session() as session:
+            await session.execute(text("CREATE TABLE test_wal (id INTEGER)"))
+            await session.execute(text("INSERT INTO test_wal VALUES (1)"))
+            await session.commit()
+
+        # WAL file path
+        wal_path = db_path.parent / f"{db_path.name}-wal"
+
+        await db.dispose()
+
+        # After dispose with TRUNCATE checkpoint, WAL should be empty or removed
+        assert not wal_path.exists() or wal_path.stat().st_size == 0
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index d8567f2..dd8de44 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "servicekit"
-version = "0.5.4"
+version = "0.6.0"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "aiosqlite" },