diff --git a/src/GameCult.Mesh/CultMesh.cs b/src/GameCult.Mesh/CultMesh.cs
index 458c7f58..8fe2dfb9 100644
--- a/src/GameCult.Mesh/CultMesh.cs
+++ b/src/GameCult.Mesh/CultMesh.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 using System;
+using System.IO;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using GameCult.Caching;
 using GameCult.Caching.MessagePack;
@@ -31,6 +32,16 @@ namespace GameCult.Mesh
         /// </summary>
         public CultNetDatabaseOptions? DatabaseOptions { get; set; }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets whether CultMesh should attach a file-backed authoritative shard-log store when none is supplied.
+        /// </summary>
+        public bool EnableDurableShardLogs { get; set; }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets the directory used for file-backed authoritative shard logs.
+        /// </summary>
+        public string? ShardLogPath { get; set; }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets or sets the database server bridge options used for shard routing and forwarding.
         /// </summary>
@@ -41,18 +52,54 @@ namespace GameCult.Mesh
         /// </summary>
         public Action<Server>? ConfigureServer { get; set; }
 
-        internal CultNetHostOptions ToCultNetOptions()
+        internal CultNetHostOptions ToCultNetOptions(string cachePath)
         {
             return new CultNetHostOptions
             {
                 CacheOptions = CacheOptions,
                 Security = Security,
                 StartServer = StartServer,
-                DatabaseOptions = DatabaseOptions,
+                DatabaseOptions = CreateDatabaseOptions(cachePath),
                 DatabaseServerOptions = DatabaseServerOptions,
                 ConfigureServer = ConfigureServer
             };
         }
+
+        private CultNetDatabaseOptions? CreateDatabaseOptions(string cachePath)
+        {
+            if (!EnableDurableShardLogs)
+            {
+                return DatabaseOptions;
+            }
+
+            var source = DatabaseOptions ?? new CultNetDatabaseOptions();
+            if (source.MutationLogStore != null)
+            {
+                return source;
+            }
+
+            return new CultNetDatabaseOptions
+            {
+                RuntimeId = source.RuntimeId,
+                Shards = source.Shards,
+                ClientAuthorityScopes = source.ClientAuthorityScopes,
+                DocumentRegistry = source.DocumentRegistry,
+                MutationLogStore = new CultNetFileShardMutationLogStore(ResolveShardLogPath(cachePath))
+            };
+        }
+
+        private string ResolveShardLogPath(string cachePath)
+        {
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(ShardLogPath))
+            {
+                return ShardLogPath!;
+            }
+
+            var fullPath = Path.GetFullPath(cachePath);
+            var directory = Path.GetDirectoryName(fullPath) ?? Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
+            var name = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fullPath);
+            return Path.Combine(directory, name + ".cultmesh", "shard-logs");
+        }
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -127,7 +174,7 @@ namespace GameCult.Mesh
         {
             var host = await CultNetLocal.CreateHostAsync(
                 cachePath,
-                (options ?? new CultMeshNodeOptions()).ToCultNetOptions()).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                (options ?? new CultMeshNodeOptions()).ToCultNetOptions(cachePath)).ConfigureAwait(false);
             return new CultMeshNode(host);
         }
 
diff --git a/src/GameCult.Mesh/README.md b/src/GameCult.Mesh/README.md
index a926c180..d9dc240b 100644
--- a/src/GameCult.Mesh/README.md
+++ b/src/GameCult.Mesh/README.md
@@ -26,6 +26,19 @@ var player = await node.Database.GetAsync<PlayerData>(playerKey);
 await node.Database.PutAsync(playerKey, player);
 ```
 
+Enable durable authoritative shard logs when a node should serve replica
+catch-up after restart:
+
+```csharp
+using var node = await CultMesh.StartNodeAsync("world.ccmp", new CultMeshNodeOptions
+{
+    EnableDurableShardLogs = true
+});
+```
+
+If `ShardLogPath` is omitted, CultMesh stores logs beside the cache under
+`world.cultmesh/shard-logs`.
+
 ## Verses
 
 A Verse is a rule-bearing consensus graph. Aetheria Main can be a
diff --git a/src/GameCult.Mesh/docs/public-api.md b/src/GameCult.Mesh/docs/public-api.md
index 1c4fff05..21e22ae3 100644
--- a/src/GameCult.Mesh/docs/public-api.md
+++ b/src/GameCult.Mesh/docs/public-api.md
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ Namespace: `GameCult.Mesh`
 - `Database`: the distributed realtime database facade
 - `DatabaseServer`: the schema-v0 database bridge
 
+`CultMeshNodeOptions.EnableDurableShardLogs` attaches a file-backed
+authoritative shard-log store when `DatabaseOptions.MutationLogStore` is not
+already supplied. `ShardLogPath` can override the location; otherwise CultMesh
+uses a `.cultmesh/shard-logs` directory beside the cache file.
+
 The package home and primary entrypoint are `GameCult.Mesh` / `CultMesh`.
 Some lower-level database and wire-contract types still retain `CultNet` names
 because they are shared with the transport package. Treat those as plumbing,
diff --git a/src/GameCult.Networking/Contracts/cultnet-distributed-database.md b/src/GameCult.Networking/Contracts/cultnet-distributed-database.md
index d620ca3d..c19a13ef 100644
--- a/src/GameCult.Networking/Contracts/cultnet-distributed-database.md
+++ b/src/GameCult.Networking/Contracts/cultnet-distributed-database.md
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ Implemented:
 - shard-bounded snapshots with shard id, epoch, and represented log sequence
 - replica snapshot recovery after compacted history, including local shard
   replacement and cursor advancement
+- CultMesh node option for file-backed authoritative shard logs with a default
+  `.cultmesh/shard-logs` path beside the cache file
 - client-authority scopes for locally predicted input documents
 - predicted and reconciled database change kinds for client-side prediction
 - simulation witness observations for mesh-side opinions about frame facts
@@ -119,7 +121,6 @@ Not implemented yet:
 
 Add discovery fanout and operational polish:
 
-- expose operator-facing defaults for durable shard-log paths in CultMesh nodes
 - add Verse discovery over the schema-v0 mesh lane
 - add snapshot throttling and size limits for public mesh edges
 - after that, add simulation-frame rollback/resimulation helpers around
diff --git a/tests/GameCult.Networking.Tests/NetworkingTests.cs b/tests/GameCult.Networking.Tests/NetworkingTests.cs
index 6c662033..668883ea 100644
--- a/tests/GameCult.Networking.Tests/NetworkingTests.cs
+++ b/tests/GameCult.Networking.Tests/NetworkingTests.cs
@@ -792,6 +792,64 @@ namespace GameCult.Networking.Tests
             Assert.That(incompatible.CanTransferFrom(aetheria), Is.False);
         }
 
+        [Test]
+        public async Task CultMeshNode_CanEnable_DurableShardLogs_WithDefaultPath()
+        {
+            var rootPath = Path.Combine(TestContext.CurrentContext.WorkDirectory, "cultmesh-node", Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(rootPath);
+            var cachePath = Path.Combine(rootPath, "world.ccmp");
+            var cache = new CultCache();
+            var schemaId = cache.Registry.GetRequired<PlayerData>().SchemaId;
+            var registry = new CultNetDocumentRegistry(cache.Registry)
+                .Register(CultNetDocumentBinding.ForDocument<PlayerData>(
+                    cache.Registry,
+                    payloadSerializer: SerializePlayerDataPayload,
+                    payloadDeserializer: DeserializePlayerDataPayload));
+            var options = new CultMeshNodeOptions
+            {
+                StartServer = false,
+                EnableDurableShardLogs = true,
+                DatabaseOptions = new CultNetDatabaseOptions
+                {
+                    DocumentRegistry = registry,
+                    Shards =
+                    [
+                        new CultNetShardDescriptor(
+                            "players-mesh-default-log",
+                            "mesh-runtime",
+                            epoch: 1,
+                            isPrimary: true,
+                            schemaIds: [schemaId],
+                            keyPrefix: "player:")
+                    ]
+                }
+            };
+            var key = new CultRecordKey("player:mesh-log");
+            var player = new PlayerData
+            {
+                PlayerId = Guid.NewGuid(),
+                Email = "mesh-log@example.test",
+                PasswordHash = "hash",
+                Username = "MeshLog"
+            };
+
+            using (var node = await CultMesh.CreateNodeAsync(cachePath, options))
+            {
+                await node.Database.PutAsync(key, player);
+            }
+
+            using var restarted = await CultMesh.CreateNodeAsync(cachePath, options);
+            var response = restarted.DatabaseServer.CreateShardLogResponse(new CultNetShardLogRequestMessage
+            {
+                ShardId = "players-mesh-default-log"
+            });
+
+            Assert.That(response.Entries, Has.Length.EqualTo(1));
+            Assert.That(response.Entries[0].Put, Is.Not.Null);
+            Assert.That(response.Entries[0].Put!.Document.RecordKey, Is.EqualTo(key.Value));
+            Assert.That(Directory.Exists(Path.Combine(rootPath, "world.cultmesh", "shard-logs")), Is.True);
+        }
+
         [Test]
         public async Task CultNetDatabase_Appends_PerShardMutationLog()
         {