diff --git a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/db.go b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/db.go
index b342cbfd76..df0fecfe57 100644
--- a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/db.go
+++ b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/db.go
@@ -169,6 +169,15 @@ func OpenDB(targetVersion int64, opts Options) (database *DB, _err error) {
 		err      error
 		fileLock FileLock
 	)
+	// A failed open hands back no DB, so nothing else can release the lock. The
+	// process usually exits either way, but a caller that recovers and retries
+	// would otherwise lock itself out.
+	defer func() {
+		if _err != nil && fileLock != nil {
+			_ = fileLock.Unlock()
+			_ = fileLock.Destroy()
+		}
+	}()
 	if err := opts.Validate(); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid commit store options: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -179,12 +188,14 @@ func OpenDB(targetVersion int64, opts Options) (database *DB, _err error) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	if !opts.ReadOnly {
+	if !opts.ReadOnly || opts.RequireExclusive {
 		fileLock, err = LockFile(filepath.Join(opts.Dir, LockFileName))
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("fail to lock db: %w", err)
 		}
+	}
 
+	if !opts.ReadOnly {
 		// cleanup any temporary directories left by interrupted snapshot rewrite
 		if err := removeTmpDirs(opts.Dir); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("fail to cleanup tmp directories: %w", err)
diff --git a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/filelock.go b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/filelock.go
index 6becb39b82..7ff49cabfd 100644
--- a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/filelock.go
+++ b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/filelock.go
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ type FileLock interface {
 	Destroy() error
 }
 
+// ErrLocked reports that another process holds the lock, which for a database
+// directory means a writer has it open.
+var ErrLocked = filelock.ErrLocked
+
 func LockFile(fname string) (FileLock, error) {
 	path, err := filepath.Abs(fname)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/opts.go b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/opts.go
index 9c4a6f5d31..27f7b92fb2 100644
--- a/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/opts.go
+++ b/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl/opts.go
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ type Options struct {
 	InitialVersion uint32
 	// ReadOnly opens the database in read-only mode
 	ReadOnly bool
+	// RequireExclusive takes the directory's lock even under ReadOnly, so the
+	// open fails with ErrLocked while a writer has it. A read-only tool that
+	// must not disturb the directory sets it, because the changelog opener
+	// mutates the directory whether or not the DB API can write.
+	RequireExclusive bool
 	// InitialStores are the initial store names when initializing an empty instance
 	InitialStores []string
 	// ZeroCopy if true, get and iterator methods return slices pointing to mmaped blob files
diff --git a/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/evm_logical_digest.go b/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/evm_logical_digest.go
index 79ecd140c6..ad0c930977 100644
--- a/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/evm_logical_digest.go
+++ b/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/evm_logical_digest.go
@@ -84,9 +84,11 @@ const (
 //   - replay (SLOW): opens a read-only DB, replays the changelog up to
 //     --height, then walks the in-memory/mmap tree. Roughly an order of
 //     magnitude slower than snapshot (changelog replay + per-leaf tree walk
-//     instead of a sequential file read). Use it only when no snapshot exists
-//     at the target height — e.g. nodes whose snapshot rewrite lags the tip, so
-//     an arbitrary comparison height has no snapshot-<height> on disk.
+//     instead of a sequential file read). It requires the node stopped, because
+//     opening a changelog its writer still holds lets the opener repair, and
+//     therefore damage, that changelog. Use it only when no snapshot exists at
+//     the target height — e.g. nodes whose snapshot rewrite lags the tip, so an
+//     arbitrary comparison height has no snapshot-<height> on disk.
 //
 // The flatkv side is always a pebble WAL-replay-to-height and is fast
 // regardless. So when comparing across nodes, pick a height that is an existing
@@ -1106,11 +1108,17 @@ func digestMemIAVL(dbDir string, height int64, findTarget []byte, normalization
 
 func openMemiAVLReplayReadOnly(dbDir string, height int64) (*memiavl.DB, error) {
 	db, err := memiavl.OpenDB(height, memiavl.Options{
-		Dir:      dbDir,
-		ReadOnly: true,
-		ZeroCopy: true,
+		Dir:              dbDir,
+		ReadOnly:         true,
+		ZeroCopy:         true,
+		RequireExclusive: true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, memiavl.ErrLocked) {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("another process has %s open, and replaying the changelog of a "+
+				"directory being written lets the changelog opener truncate a record that writer has "+
+				"committed; stop seid and rerun, or use --memiavl-open-mode snapshot: %w", dbDir, err)
+		}
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("open memiavl read-only replay: %w", err)
 	}
 	return db, nil
diff --git a/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/memiavl_open_test.go b/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/memiavl_open_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c87398e115
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sei-db/tools/cmd/seidb/operations/memiavl_open_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package operations
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/sei-protocol/sei-chain/sei-db/common/keys"
+	"github.com/sei-protocol/sei-chain/sei-db/common/utils"
+	"github.com/sei-protocol/sei-chain/sei-db/proto"
+	"github.com/sei-protocol/sei-chain/sei-db/state_db/sc/memiavl"
+)
+
+// TestOpenMemiAVLReplayReadOnlyRefusesADirectoryAWriterHasOpen covers what no
+// check of the directory can: the changelog opener repairs a torn tail and
+// completes an interrupted truncation, and both conditions occur transiently
+// while a writer appends or truncates. Replaying a directory a writer holds is
+// refused instead.
+func TestOpenMemiAVLReplayReadOnlyRefusesADirectoryAWriterHasOpen(t *testing.T) {
+	homeDir := t.TempDir()
+	store := newTestMemiavlStore(t, homeDir)
+	require.NoError(t, store.ApplyChangeSets([]*proto.NamedChangeSet{{
+		Name:      keys.EVMStoreKey,
+		Changeset: proto.ChangeSet{Pairs: []*proto.KVPair{noncePair(addrN(0xA1), 1)}},
+	}}))
+	_, err := store.Commit(store.Version() + 1)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// The store is still open, holding the lock the way a running seid does.
+	dbDir := utils.GetCosmosSCStorePath(homeDir)
+	db, err := openMemiAVLReplayReadOnly(dbDir, 0)
+	require.Nil(t, db)
+	require.ErrorIs(t, err, memiavl.ErrLocked)
+	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "stop seid and rerun")
+	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "--memiavl-open-mode snapshot")
+
+	// The same directory opens once that writer releases it, so the refusal
+	// tracks the writer rather than something the first open left behind.
+	require.NoError(t, store.Close())
+	db, err = openMemiAVLReplayReadOnly(dbDir, 0)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, db.Close())
+}
+
+// TestOpenMemiAVLReplayReadOnlyReplaysAStoppedNode is the positive control: the
+// lock is the only thing the refusal adds, so a released directory replays as
+// it did before.
+func TestOpenMemiAVLReplayReadOnlyReplaysAStoppedNode(t *testing.T) {
+	homeDir := t.TempDir()
+	store := newTestMemiavlStore(t, homeDir)
+	for nonce := uint64(1); nonce <= 3; nonce++ {
+		require.NoError(t, store.ApplyChangeSets([]*proto.NamedChangeSet{{
+			Name:      keys.EVMStoreKey,
+			Changeset: proto.ChangeSet{Pairs: []*proto.KVPair{noncePair(addrN(0xA1), nonce)}},
+		}}))
+		_, err := store.Commit(store.Version() + 1)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, store.Close())
+
+	db, err := openMemiAVLReplayReadOnly(utils.GetCosmosSCStorePath(homeDir), 3)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer func() { _ = db.Close() }()
+	require.Equal(t, int64(3), db.Version())
+}