diff --git a/docker/frontend/src/engine/session.ts b/docker/frontend/src/engine/session.ts
index 9adef23..696f07e 100644
--- a/docker/frontend/src/engine/session.ts
+++ b/docker/frontend/src/engine/session.ts
@@ -59,9 +59,14 @@ export function saveState(state: StudioState): void {
 }
 
 // --- the photo: IndexedDB, because a 12MP JPEG does not fit in localStorage ---
+// The version is not this file's to name: the frame store shares this database
+// and raises it (see `customFrame.ts`, which adds `custom_frames` and keeps this
+// store on the way). Asking for a number of our own is a gate we fail at the
+// moment the other store has gone past it — `VersionError`, on every read and
+// every write, and a session photo that silently never survives a reload.
 function openDb(): Promise<IDBDatabase> {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    const req = indexedDB.open(DB_NAME, 1);
+    const req = indexedDB.open(DB_NAME);
     req.onupgradeneeded = () => req.result.createObjectStore(STORE);
     req.onsuccess = () => resolve(req.result);
     req.onerror = () => reject(req.error);