diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/index.ts b/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/index.ts
index d2c16a3d69..7e0be5e151 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/index.ts
@@ -88,7 +88,10 @@ export class DomainFacility {
    * (`facet-unsupported`); open the unit projected from the spec (backend
    * `version-mismatch`/`malformed-medium` pass through); load and validate
    * every stored record against the spec's zod schemas (`invalid-record`
-   * with the offending table and key); construct the domain.
+   * with the offending table and key — unless the spec declares
+   * `invalidRecords: 'backup-and-skip'` and the unit can move documents aside, in
+   * which case the failing record is backed up, logged, and skipped);
+   * construct the domain.
    *
    * Lifecycle: the CALLER owns the returned handle and closes it via
    * `Domain.close()` (typically as its own `ctx.effect` disposer) — the
@@ -118,7 +121,23 @@ export class DomainFacility {
         for (const [table, tableSpec] of Object.entries(spec.tables)) {
           const records = new Map<string, unknown>()
           for (const [key, raw] of Object.entries(snapshot.tables[table] ?? {})) {
-            records.set(key, parseRecord(spec.name, table, key, () => tableSpec.valueSchema.parse(raw)))
+            let parsed: unknown
+            try {
+              parsed = parseRecord(spec.name, table, key, () => tableSpec.valueSchema.parse(raw))
+            } catch (error) {
+              // Backup-and-skip policy (disposable derived data): move the record's
+              // document aside, log the concrete failure, and open without the
+              // record. Backends that cannot move a document keep the loud path.
+              if (spec.invalidRecords !== 'backup-and-skip' || unit.backupRecord === undefined) throw error
+              const moved = await unit.backupRecord(table, key)
+              // parseRecord always wraps the zod failure as the cause.
+              this.ctx.logger.error(
+                `domain '${spec.name}': stored record '${key}' in table '${table}' failed schema validation; `
+                + `moved to '${moved}' and treated as absent. Cause: ${String((error as DomainError).cause)}`,
+              )
+              continue
+            }
+            records.set(key, parsed)
           }
           tables.set(table, records)
         }
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/spec.ts b/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/spec.ts
index 74348918aa..f9267bcba5 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/spec.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-domain/src/spec.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,26 @@ export interface DomainSpec {
    * (a stale record document is discarded, never migrated).
    */
   readonly layout?: 'single' | 'per-record'
+  /**
+   * Older domain versions whose stored records the current record schemas
+   * also accept (the declaring owner vouches for that, typically by
+   * declaring the fields older records lack as optional). `per-record` backends
+   * read documents stamped with a listed version instead of discarding them,
+   * and accept a legacy whole-unit file so stamped for the one-time
+   * bootstrap; writes always stamp {@link version}.
+   */
+  readonly compatibleVersions?: readonly number[]
+  /**
+   * What `open` does with a stored table record that fails its zod schema.
+   * Absent (the default), the whole open rejects with `invalid-record` —
+   * right for authoritative data. `'backup-and-skip'` is for domains whose
+   * records are disposable derived data: the backend moves the record's
+   * document aside (`KvUnit.backupRecord`), the failure is logged with
+   * its cause, and the open continues with the record absent. A backend
+   * without `backupRecord` (no per-record document to move) falls back
+   * to the rejecting default. The global slot always rejects.
+   */
+  readonly invalidRecords?: 'backup-and-skip'
   /** Optional global singleton slot. */
   readonly global?: DomainGlobalSpec<unknown>
   /** Table declarations keyed by table name; each name must match `UNIT_NAME_RE`. */
@@ -91,6 +111,13 @@ export function defineDomain<S extends DomainSpec>(spec: S): S {
   if (!Number.isInteger(spec.version) || spec.version < 0) {
     throw new Error(`domain '${spec.name}' version must be a non-negative integer, got ${spec.version}`)
   }
+  for (const compat of spec.compatibleVersions ?? []) {
+    if (!Number.isInteger(compat) || compat < 0 || compat >= spec.version) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `domain '${spec.name}' compatibleVersions entries must be non-negative integers below version ${spec.version}, got ${compat}`,
+      )
+    }
+  }
   if (spec.layout !== undefined) {
     // Runtime boundary: the union type is compile-time only — a spec built
     // from config could carry any value, and a bad one must fail loud here.
@@ -99,6 +126,12 @@ export function defineDomain<S extends DomainSpec>(spec: S): S {
       throw new Error(`domain '${spec.name}' layout must be 'single' or 'per-record', got ${layout}`)
     }
   }
+  if (spec.invalidRecords !== undefined) {
+    const policy: string = spec.invalidRecords
+    if (policy !== 'backup-and-skip') {
+      throw new Error(`domain '${spec.name}' invalidRecords must be 'backup-and-skip' when present, got ${policy}`)
+    }
+  }
   for (const table of Object.keys(spec.tables)) {
     if (!UNIT_NAME_RE.test(table)) {
       throw new Error(`domain '${spec.name}' table name '${table}' must match ${UNIT_NAME_RE}`)
@@ -125,5 +158,6 @@ export function descriptorOf(spec: DomainSpec): KvUnitDescriptor {
     tables: Object.keys(spec.tables),
     hasGlobal: spec.global !== undefined,
     ...spec.layout === undefined ? {} : { layout: spec.layout },
+    ...spec.compatibleVersions === undefined ? {} : { compatibleVersions: spec.compatibleVersions },
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-domain/tests/domain.spec.ts b/packages/storage/storage-domain/tests/domain.spec.ts
index 3b3c8fa679..b21ec0faf8 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-domain/tests/domain.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-domain/tests/domain.spec.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,25 @@ describe('defineDomain', () => {
     })).toThrow(/must not accept null/)
   })
 
+  it('validates compatibleVersions entries and projects them onto the descriptor', () => {
+    expect(() => defineDomain({ name: 'ok', version: 2, compatibleVersions: [1.5], tables: {} }))
+      .toThrow(/compatibleVersions/)
+    expect(() => defineDomain({ name: 'ok', version: 2, compatibleVersions: [2], tables: {} }))
+      .toThrow(/below version/)
+    expect(() => defineDomain({ name: 'ok', version: 2, compatibleVersions: [-1], tables: {} }))
+      .toThrow(/compatibleVersions/)
+    expect(descriptorOf(defineDomain({ name: 'ok', version: 2, compatibleVersions: [0, 1], tables: {} })))
+      .toMatchObject({ compatibleVersions: [0, 1] })
+    // An undeclared set is absent from the descriptor.
+    expect(descriptorOf(spec)).not.toHaveProperty('compatibleVersions')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects an unknown invalidRecords policy', () => {
+    expect(() => defineDomain({
+      name: 'ok', version: 1, invalidRecords: 'zap' as 'backup-and-skip', tables: {},
+    })).toThrow(/invalidRecords/)
+  })
+
   it('rejects an invalid layout and projects the declared one onto the descriptor', () => {
     // A spec built from config can carry any value; the union type is
     // compile-time only, so the runtime boundary check must reject it.
@@ -139,6 +158,28 @@ describe('DomainFacility.open', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  it('keeps the rejecting default under backup-and-skip when the backend cannot move documents', async () => {
+    // The memory backend has no backupRecord, so the declared policy cannot
+    // apply and the open falls back to failing loud.
+    const salvageSpec = defineDomain({
+      name: 'salvage',
+      version: 1,
+      invalidRecords: 'backup-and-skip',
+      tables: { items: domainTable<string, Item>(itemSchema) },
+    })
+    const pool = new MemoryMediaPool()
+    {
+      const { facility } = await harness({ pool })
+      await (await facility.open(salvageSpec)).table('items').put('bad', { label: 'x', count: 2 })
+    }
+    pool.media.get('salvage')!.tables.get('items')!.set('bad', { label: 'x', count: 'NaN' })
+    const { facility } = await harness({ pool })
+    await expect(facility.open(salvageSpec)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      code: 'invalid-record',
+      detail: { table: 'items', key: 'bad' },
+    })
+  })
+
   it('rejects a stored global that fails its schema with the global marker', async () => {
     const pool = new MemoryMediaPool()
     pool.versions.set('demo', 1)
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-json/src/format.ts b/packages/storage/storage-json/src/format.ts
index 045485eaba..22cbe8f703 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-json/src/format.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-json/src/format.ts
@@ -100,16 +100,18 @@ export function serializeRecord(version: number, value: unknown): string {
 
 /**
  * Parse one per-record document, validating its version stamp. A document
- * that is malformed or stamped with a different version is FOREIGN and reads
- * as absent — the per-record contract: one bad or stale record file must not
- * brick the whole unit, and a version bump discards stale records instead of
- * migrating them (the whole-unit format rejects instead, because there is
- * exactly one document).
+ * that is malformed or stamped with an unaccepted version is FOREIGN and
+ * reads as absent — the per-record contract: one bad or stale record file
+ * must not brick the whole unit, and a version bump discards stale records
+ * instead of migrating them (the whole-unit format rejects instead, because
+ * there is exactly one document).
  * @param text - Raw per-record document content.
- * @param version - Expected unit version; a mismatch discards the document.
+ * @param versions - Accepted unit versions (the current one plus the
+ * descriptor's compatibleVersions); any other stamp discards the
+ * document.
  * @returns the record value, or `undefined` for a foreign document.
  */
-export function parseRecord(text: string, version: number): unknown {
+export function parseRecord(text: string, versions: readonly number[]): unknown {
   let document: unknown
   try {
     document = JSON.parse(text)
@@ -118,6 +120,6 @@ export function parseRecord(text: string, version: number): unknown {
   }
   if (typeof document !== 'object' || document === null) return undefined
   const { version: stamped, record } = document as Record<string, unknown>
-  if (stamped !== version) return undefined
+  if (typeof stamped !== 'number' || !versions.includes(stamped)) return undefined
   return record
 }
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-json/src/per-record-unit.ts b/packages/storage/storage-json/src/per-record-unit.ts
index b75f9f9452..346c7a0d6a 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-json/src/per-record-unit.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-json/src/per-record-unit.ts
@@ -10,20 +10,23 @@
  * memory unchanged.
  *
  * Per-record contract: a record document that is malformed or stamped with a
- * different version reads as an absent record — one bad or stale file never
- * bricks the whole unit, and a version bump discards stale records instead
- * of migrating them. Record keys become path segments, so they must be
- * path-safe (`[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+`); an unsafe key rejects at write.
+ * version outside the accepted set (the descriptor's current version plus
+ * its `compatibleVersions`) reads as an absent record — one bad or stale
+ * file never bricks the whole unit, and a version bump discards stale
+ * records instead of migrating them. Record keys become path segments, so
+ * they must be path-safe (`[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+`); an unsafe key rejects at write.
  *
  * Legacy bootstrap: when the new tree has no document path, a legacy
  * whole-unit file `<root>/<name>.json` (the pre-per-record layout) seeds
- * per-record documents. Any new document path, including one whose contents
- * are unreadable or stale, suppresses the bootstrap for the whole unit. The
+ * per-record documents, provided its stored unit version is in the accepted
+ * set — a legacy file stamped with any other version is left alone and reads
+ * as the empty unit. Any new document path, including one whose contents are
+ * unreadable or stale, suppresses the bootstrap for the whole unit. The
  * legacy file is never changed or deleted.
  * @module @deepseek-ai/dsh-storage-json/src/per-record-unit
  */
 
-import { mkdir, readFile, readdir, rm } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { mkdir, readFile, readdir, rename, rm } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
 import type { Dirent } from 'node:fs'
 import { StorageError } from '@deepseek-ai/dsh-storage'
@@ -64,6 +67,7 @@ export async function openPerRecordUnit(
  * @returns the authoritative state reconstructed from the tree.
  */
 async function loadPerRecordState(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor, dir: string): Promise<UnitState> {
+  const versions = acceptedStamps(descriptor)
   const state: UnitState = {
     version: descriptor.version,
     global: null,
@@ -83,11 +87,11 @@ async function loadPerRecordState(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor, dir: string): Pr
       if (entry.isDirectory()) {
         const records = state.tables.get(entry.name)
         if (records !== undefined) {
-          return loadTableRecords(records, descriptor.version, join(dir, entry.name))
+          return loadTableRecords(records, versions, join(dir, entry.name))
         }
       }
       if (entry.name === 'global.json' && descriptor.hasGlobal) {
-        const global = await readRecord(join(dir, entry.name), descriptor.version)
+        const global = await readRecord(join(dir, entry.name), versions)
         if (global !== undefined) state.global = global
         return true
       }
@@ -97,12 +101,21 @@ async function loadPerRecordState(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor, dir: string): Pr
   return state
 }
 
+/** The version stamps this unit reads as its own: current plus declared compatible versions. */
+function acceptedStamps(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor): readonly number[] {
+  return [descriptor.version, ...descriptor.compatibleVersions ?? []]
+}
+
 /**
  * Bootstrap an empty per-record tree from a legacy whole-unit file
  * (`<root>/<name>.json`, the pre-per-record layout). Every declared-table
  * record is copied into a current-version document, while the legacy file is
  * retained unchanged. A missing, foreign (another unit's name), malformed,
- * or non-unit legacy file is left alone; other read failures propagate.
+ * or non-unit legacy file is left alone, and so is one whose stored unit
+ * version is outside the accepted set — migrating records the owner never
+ * vouched for would stamp them with the current version and turn a
+ * discardable stale cache into schema failures at the domain layer. Other
+ * read failures propagate.
  * @param descriptor - Static identity and shape of the unit.
  * @param dir - The per-record unit directory (`<root>/<name>`).
  * @param state - The empty tree state; bootstrapped records are added.
@@ -116,16 +129,18 @@ async function bootstrapLegacyUnit(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor, dir: string, st
     if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== 'ENOENT') throw error
     return
   }
-  // The legacy document is runtime data: only `unit.name` and the tables map
-  // shape are checked here — the record values are migrated as-is and the
-  // domain layer's schemas judge them.
-  let document: { unit?: { name?: unknown }; tables?: unknown }
+  // The legacy document is runtime data: only `unit.name`, `unit.version`,
+  // and the tables map shape are checked here — the record values are
+  // migrated as-is and the domain layer's schemas judge them.
+  let document: { unit?: { name?: unknown; version?: unknown }; tables?: unknown }
   try {
-    document = JSON.parse(text) as { unit?: { name?: unknown }; tables?: unknown }
+    document = JSON.parse(text) as { unit?: { name?: unknown; version?: unknown }; tables?: unknown }
   } catch {
     return // Malformed legacy file: not ours to interpret or delete.
   }
   if (document.unit?.name !== descriptor.name) return
+  const stamped = document.unit.version
+  if (typeof stamped !== 'number' || !acceptedStamps(descriptor).includes(stamped)) return
   const tables = document.tables
   if (typeof tables !== 'object' || tables === null) return
   const recordsByTable = tables as Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>
@@ -146,14 +161,14 @@ async function bootstrapLegacyUnit(descriptor: KvUnitDescriptor, dir: string, st
  * @returns whether the directory contains any `.json` document path,
  * independently of key safety, readability, or stored version.
  */
-async function loadTableRecords(records: Map<string, unknown>, version: number, dir: string): Promise<boolean> {
+async function loadTableRecords(records: Map<string, unknown>, versions: readonly number[], dir: string): Promise<boolean> {
   const files = await readdir(dir, { withFileTypes: true })
   const hasDocuments = files.some(file => file.name.endsWith('.json'))
   const loaded = await Promise.all(files.map(async (file) => {
     if (!file.name.endsWith('.json')) return
     const key = file.name.slice(0, -'.json'.length)
     if (!SAFE_KEY_RE.test(key)) return
-    const record = await readRecord(join(dir, file.name), version)
+    const record = await readRecord(join(dir, file.name), versions)
     if (record !== undefined) return [key, record] as const
   }))
   for (const record of loaded) {
@@ -163,9 +178,9 @@ async function loadTableRecords(records: Map<string, unknown>, version: number,
 }
 
 /** Read one record document; a foreign (unreadable or stale) one reads as absent. */
-async function readRecord(path: string, version: number): Promise<unknown> {
+async function readRecord(path: string, versions: readonly number[]): Promise<unknown> {
   try {
-    return parseRecord(await readFile(path, 'utf8'), version)
+    return parseRecord(await readFile(path, 'utf8'), versions)
   } catch {
     return undefined
   }
@@ -213,6 +228,22 @@ export class PerRecordJsonUnit implements KvUnit {
     await this.tracked(rm(join(this.tableDir(table), `${key}.json`), { force: true }))
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Move one record's document aside as `<key>.json.bak.<YYYYMMDDHHmm>`. The
+   * moved file no longer ends in `.json`, so every later read ignores it; the
+   * bytes stay on disk for inspection. A same-minute backup of the same
+   * key overwrites the previous backup (the newer bytes are the ones worth
+   * keeping).
+   */
+  async backupRecord(table: string, key: string): Promise<string> {
+    this.assertOpen()
+    assertSafeKey(this.descriptor.name, key)
+    const path = join(this.tableDir(table), `${key}.json`)
+    const moved = `${path}.bak.${backupStamp(new Date())}`
+    await this.tracked(rename(path, moved))
+    return moved
+  }
+
   /** Durably replace the global singleton. Only valid when declared. */
   async setGlobal(value: unknown): Promise<void> {
     this.assertOpen()
@@ -267,6 +298,12 @@ export class PerRecordJsonUnit implements KvUnit {
   }
 }
 
+/** Local-time `YYYYMMDDHHmm` suffix for backed-up documents. */
+function backupStamp(now: Date): string {
+  const pad = (value: number): string => String(value).padStart(2, '0')
+  return `${String(now.getFullYear())}${pad(now.getMonth() + 1)}${pad(now.getDate())}${pad(now.getHours())}${pad(now.getMinutes())}`
+}
+
 /** Reject a record key that would be unsafe as a path segment. */
 function assertSafeKey(unit: string, key: string): void {
   if (!SAFE_KEY_RE.test(key)) {
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage-json/tests/json-backend.spec.ts b/packages/storage/storage-json/tests/json-backend.spec.ts
index bafbf92ef4..57ad9d7633 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage-json/tests/json-backend.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage-json/tests/json-backend.spec.ts
@@ -329,10 +329,10 @@ describe('per-record layout', () => {
 
   it('bootstraps an empty per-record tree from a legacy whole-unit file and preserves it', async () => {
     const root = await freshRoot()
-    // A legacy single-layout file for the same unit (any older version);
-    // the extra table is not declared and must be skipped.
+    // A legacy single-layout file for the same unit, stamped with the current
+    // version; the extra table is not declared and must be skipped.
     const legacy = JSON.stringify({
-      unit: { name: 'recs', version: 3 },
+      unit: { name: 'recs', version: 2 },
       global: null,
       tables: { t: { old1: { v: 1 }, old2: { v: 2 } }, undeclared: { k: { v: 0 } } },
     })
@@ -347,6 +347,75 @@ describe('per-record layout', () => {
     await backend.close()
   })
 
+  it('bootstraps from a legacy file only when its stored version is accepted', async () => {
+    // Version 3 is neither current (2) nor declared compat: the legacy file
+    // is left alone and the unit reads empty — migrating unvouched records
+    // would stamp them current and surface as schema failures at the domain
+    // layer instead of a discardable stale cache.
+    const root = await freshRoot()
+    const legacy = JSON.stringify({
+      unit: { name: 'recs', version: 3 },
+      global: null,
+      tables: { t: { old: { v: 1 } } },
+    })
+    await writeFile(join(root, 'recs.json'), legacy, 'utf8')
+    const backend = new JsonStorageBackend(root)
+    const unit = await backend.kv.open(descriptor)
+    expect(await unit.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: {} }, global: null })
+    await expect(readFile(join(root, 'recs.json'), 'utf8')).resolves.toBe(legacy)
+    await unit.close()
+    await backend.close()
+
+    // The same file bootstraps once version 3 is declared read-compatible…
+    const root2 = await freshRoot()
+    await writeFile(join(root2, 'recs.json'), legacy, 'utf8')
+    const backend2 = new JsonStorageBackend(root2)
+    const compat = { ...descriptor, version: 4, compatibleVersions: [3] }
+    const unit2 = await backend2.kv.open(compat)
+    expect(await unit2.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: { old: { v: 1 } } }, global: null })
+    // …and the migrated documents are stamped with the CURRENT version.
+    expect(JSON.parse(await readFile(join(root2, 'recs', 't', 'old.json'), 'utf8')))
+      .toEqual({ version: 4, record: { v: 1 } })
+    await unit2.close()
+    await backend2.close()
+  })
+
+  it('backupRecord moves the document aside; reads see it absent and a write recreates it', async () => {
+    const root = await freshRoot()
+    const backend = new JsonStorageBackend(root)
+    const unit = await backend.kv.open(descriptor)
+    await unit.putRecord('t', 'k', { v: 1 })
+    const moved = await unit.backupRecord!('t', 'k')
+    expect(moved).toMatch(/k\.json\.bak\.\d{12}$/)
+    expect(JSON.parse(await readFile(moved, 'utf8'))).toEqual({ version: 2, record: { v: 1 } })
+    await expect(readFile(recordPath(root, 'k'), 'utf8')).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: 'ENOENT' })
+    // The moved file no longer ends in .json, so it reads as absent…
+    expect(await unit.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: {} }, global: null })
+    // …and the key is free for a fresh write.
+    await unit.putRecord('t', 'k', { v: 2 })
+    expect(await unit.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: { k: { v: 2 } } }, global: null })
+    await expect(unit.backupRecord!('t', 'a/b')).rejects.toThrow(/not path-safe/)
+    await unit.close()
+    await expect(unit.backupRecord!('t', 'k')).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: 'closed' })
+    await backend.close()
+  })
+
+  it('reads per-record documents stamped with a declared compat version and stamps writes current', async () => {
+    const root = await freshRoot()
+    const backend = new JsonStorageBackend(root)
+    const compat = { ...descriptor, compatibleVersions: [1] }
+    await mkdir(join(root, 'recs', 't'), { recursive: true })
+    await writeFile(recordPath(root, 'oldrec'), JSON.stringify({ version: 1, record: { v: 'old' } }), 'utf8')
+    await writeFile(recordPath(root, 'ancient'), JSON.stringify({ version: 0, record: { v: 'no' } }), 'utf8')
+    const unit = await backend.kv.open(compat)
+    // Version 1 is declared compat and served; version 0 is not and discards.
+    expect(await unit.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: { oldrec: { v: 'old' } } }, global: null })
+    await unit.putRecord('t', 'oldrec', { v: 'new' })
+    expect(JSON.parse(await readFile(recordPath(root, 'oldrec'), 'utf8')))
+      .toEqual({ version: 2, record: { v: 'new' } })
+    await backend.close()
+  })
+
   it('ignores the legacy whole-unit file when any new document path exists', async () => {
     const root = await freshRoot()
     const legacy = JSON.stringify({
@@ -400,7 +469,8 @@ describe('per-record layout', () => {
     await backend4.close()
 
     const root5 = await freshRoot()
-    await writeFile(join(root5, 'recs.json'), JSON.stringify({ unit: { name: 'recs' }, tables: 'not an object' }), 'utf8')
+    // A current-version stamp so the shapeless `tables` is what stops the bootstrap.
+    await writeFile(join(root5, 'recs.json'), JSON.stringify({ unit: { name: 'recs', version: 2 }, tables: 'not an object' }), 'utf8')
     const backend5 = new JsonStorageBackend(root5)
     const unit5 = await backend5.kv.open(descriptor)
     expect(await unit5.loadAll()).toEqual({ tables: { t: {} }, global: null })
diff --git a/packages/storage/storage/src/backend.ts b/packages/storage/storage/src/backend.ts
index 9cba748655..4a8e0ac2d8 100644
--- a/packages/storage/storage/src/backend.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/storage/src/backend.ts
@@ -61,6 +61,16 @@ export interface KvUnitDescriptor {
    * foreign documents.
    */
   readonly layout?: 'single' | 'per-record'
+  /**
+   * Older unit versions whose stored records are also readable under the
+   * declaring owner's current record schemas (the owner vouches for that —
+   * typically by declaring the fields old records lack as optional). Reads of
+   * a `per-record` unit accept documents stamped with any listed version, and
+   * the legacy whole-unit bootstrap accepts a legacy file stamped with one;
+   * writes always stamp {@link version}. `single`-layout reads stay
+   * exact-version.
+   */
+  readonly compatibleVersions?: readonly number[]
 }
 
 /**
@@ -99,6 +109,19 @@ export interface KvUnit {
    */
   deleteRecord(table: string, key: string): Promise<void>
 
+  /**
+   * Move one record's stored document out of the unit's readable set,
+   * preserving its bytes for inspection instead of deleting them. Backends
+   * whose medium has no per-record document to move (the `single` layout, a
+   * row store) omit this member, and the caller falls back to its
+   * reject-loud path. Absent after the move: a later {@link loadAll} reads
+   * the key as missing and a later {@link putRecord} recreates it fresh.
+   * @param table - Declared table name.
+   * @param key - Record key.
+   * @returns the medium location the document was moved to (diagnostics).
+   */
+  backupRecord?(table: string, key: string): Promise<string>
+
   /**
    * Write the global singleton durably. Only valid when the descriptor
    * declared `hasGlobal`.