diff --git a/frontend/src/contexts/FileContext.tsx b/frontend/src/contexts/FileContext.tsx
index f2f304b1e..921c88333 100644
--- a/frontend/src/contexts/FileContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/contexts/FileContext.tsx
@@ -22,13 +22,12 @@ import {
   FileId,
   StirlingFileStub,
   StirlingFile,
-  createStirlingFile
 } from '../types/fileContext';
 
 // Import modular components
 import { fileContextReducer, initialFileContextState } from './file/FileReducer';
 import { createFileSelectors } from './file/fileSelectors';
-import { AddedFile, addFiles, addStirlingFileStubs, consumeFiles, undoConsumeFiles, createFileActions } from './file/fileActions';
+import { addFiles, addStirlingFileStubs, consumeFiles, undoConsumeFiles, createFileActions } from './file/fileActions';
 import { FileLifecycleManager } from './file/lifecycle';
 import { FileStateContext, FileActionsContext } from './file/contexts';
 import { IndexedDBProvider, useIndexedDB } from './IndexedDBContext';
@@ -73,56 +72,23 @@ function FileContextInner({
     dispatch({ type: 'SET_UNSAVED_CHANGES', payload: { hasChanges } });
   }, []);
 
-  const selectFiles = (addedFilesWithIds: AddedFile[]) => {
+  const selectFiles = (stirlingFiles: StirlingFile[]) => {
     const currentSelection = stateRef.current.ui.selectedFileIds;
-    const newFileIds = addedFilesWithIds.map(({ id }) => id);
+    const newFileIds = stirlingFiles.map(stirlingFile => stirlingFile.fileId);
     dispatch({ type: 'SET_SELECTED_FILES', payload: { fileIds: [...currentSelection, ...newFileIds] } });
   }
 
   // File operations using unified addFiles helper with persistence
   const addRawFiles = useCallback(async (files: File[], options?: { insertAfterPageId?: string; selectFiles?: boolean }): Promise<StirlingFile[]> => {
-    const addedFilesWithIds = await addFiles({ files, ...options }, stateRef, filesRef, dispatch, lifecycleManager);
+    const stirlingFiles = await addFiles({ files, ...options }, stateRef, filesRef, dispatch, lifecycleManager, enablePersistence);
 
     // Auto-select the newly added files if requested
-    if (options?.selectFiles && addedFilesWithIds.length > 0) {
-      selectFiles(addedFilesWithIds);
+    if (options?.selectFiles && stirlingFiles.length > 0) {
+      selectFiles(stirlingFiles);
     }
 
-    // Persist to IndexedDB if enabled and update StirlingFileStub with version info
-    if (indexedDB && enablePersistence && addedFilesWithIds.length > 0) {
-      await Promise.all(addedFilesWithIds.map(async ({ file, id, thumbnail }) => {
-        try {
-          const metadata = await indexedDB.saveFile(file, id, thumbnail);
-
-          // Update StirlingFileStub with version information from IndexedDB
-          if (metadata.versionNumber || metadata.originalFileId) {
-            dispatch({
-              type: 'UPDATE_FILE_RECORD',
-              payload: {
-                id,
-                updates: {
-                  versionNumber: metadata.versionNumber,
-                  originalFileId: metadata.originalFileId,
-                  parentFileId: metadata.parentFileId,
-                  toolHistory: metadata.toolHistory
-                }
-              }
-            });
-
-            if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 FileContext: Updated raw file ${file.name} with IndexedDB history data:`, {
-              versionNumber: metadata.versionNumber,
-              originalFileId: metadata.originalFileId,
-              toolChainLength: metadata.toolHistory?.length || 0
-            });
-          }
-        } catch (error) {
-          console.error('Failed to persist file to IndexedDB:', file.name, error);
-        }
-      }));
-    }
-
-    return addedFilesWithIds.map(({ file, id }) => createStirlingFile(file, id));
-  }, [indexedDB, enablePersistence]);
+    return stirlingFiles;
+  }, [enablePersistence]);
 
   const addStirlingFileStubsAction = useCallback(async (stirlingFileStubs: StirlingFileStub[], options?: { insertAfterPageId?: string; selectFiles?: boolean }): Promise<StirlingFile[]> => {
     // StirlingFileStubs preserve all metadata - perfect for FileManager use case!
@@ -130,12 +96,7 @@ function FileContextInner({
 
     // Auto-select the newly added files if requested
     if (options?.selectFiles && result.length > 0) {
-      // Convert StirlingFile[] to AddedFile[] format for selectFiles
-      const addedFilesWithIds = result.map(stirlingFile => ({
-        file: stirlingFile,
-        id: stirlingFile.fileId
-      }));
-      selectFiles(addedFilesWithIds);
+      selectFiles(result);
     }
 
     return result;
diff --git a/frontend/src/contexts/IndexedDBContext.tsx b/frontend/src/contexts/IndexedDBContext.tsx
index e3659ac97..b916b247c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/contexts/IndexedDBContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/contexts/IndexedDBContext.tsx
@@ -64,7 +64,24 @@ export function IndexedDBProvider({ children }: IndexedDBProviderProps) {
 
     // Store in IndexedDB (no history data - that's handled by direct fileStorage calls now)
     const stirlingFile = createStirlingFile(file, fileId);
-    await fileStorage.storeStirlingFile(stirlingFile, thumbnail, true);
+    
+    // Create minimal stub for storage
+    const stub: StirlingFileStub = {
+      id: fileId,
+      name: file.name,
+      size: file.size,
+      type: file.type,
+      lastModified: file.lastModified,
+      quickKey: `${file.name}|${file.size}|${file.lastModified}`,
+      thumbnailUrl: thumbnail,
+      isLeaf: true,
+      createdAt: Date.now(),
+      versionNumber: 1,
+      originalFileId: fileId,
+      toolHistory: []
+    };
+    
+    await fileStorage.storeStirlingFile(stirlingFile, stub);
     const storedFile = await fileStorage.getStirlingFileStub(fileId);
 
     // Cache the file object for immediate reuse
diff --git a/frontend/src/contexts/file/fileActions.ts b/frontend/src/contexts/file/fileActions.ts
index cde32ee58..8ca04444e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/contexts/file/fileActions.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/contexts/file/fileActions.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import {
   FileContextState,
   toStirlingFileStub,
   createFileId,
-  createQuickKey
+  createQuickKey,
+  createStirlingFile,
 } from '../../types/fileContext';
 import { FileId } from '../../types/file';
 import { generateThumbnailWithMetadata } from '../../utils/thumbnailUtils';
@@ -16,7 +17,6 @@ import { FileLifecycleManager } from './lifecycle';
 import { buildQuickKeySet } from './fileSelectors';
 import { StirlingFile } from '../../types/fileContext';
 import { fileStorage } from '../../services/fileStorage';
-
 const DEBUG = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development';
 
 /**
@@ -120,13 +120,7 @@ export function createChildStub(
   };
 }
 
-/**
- * File addition types
- */
-type AddFileKind = 'raw' | 'processed';
-
 interface AddFileOptions {
-  // For 'raw' files
   files?: File[];
 
   // For 'processed' files
@@ -139,12 +133,6 @@ interface AddFileOptions {
   selectFiles?: boolean;
 }
 
-export interface AddedFile {
-  file: File;
-  id: FileId;
-  thumbnail?: string;
-}
-
 /**
  * Unified file addition helper - replaces addFiles
  */
@@ -153,95 +141,114 @@ export async function addFiles(
   stateRef: React.MutableRefObject<FileContextState>,
   filesRef: React.MutableRefObject<Map<FileId, File>>,
   dispatch: React.Dispatch<FileContextAction>,
-  lifecycleManager: FileLifecycleManager
-): Promise<AddedFile[]> {
+  lifecycleManager: FileLifecycleManager,
+  enablePersistence: boolean = false
+): Promise<StirlingFile[]> {
   // Acquire mutex to prevent race conditions
   await addFilesMutex.lock();
 
   try {
     const stirlingFileStubs: StirlingFileStub[] = [];
-    const addedFiles: AddedFile[] = [];
+    const stirlingFiles: StirlingFile[] = [];
 
   // Build quickKey lookup from existing files for deduplication
   const existingQuickKeys = buildQuickKeySet(stateRef.current.files.byId);
 
-      const { files = [] } = options;
-      if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 addFiles(raw): Adding ${files.length} files with immediate thumbnail generation`);
+  const { files = [] } = options;
+  if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 addFiles(raw): Adding ${files.length} files with immediate thumbnail generation`);
 
-      for (const file of files) {
-        const quickKey = createQuickKey(file);
+  for (const file of files) {
+    const quickKey = createQuickKey(file);
 
-        // Soft deduplication: Check if file already exists by metadata
-        if (existingQuickKeys.has(quickKey)) {
-          if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Skipping duplicate file: ${file.name} (quickKey: ${quickKey})`);
-          continue;
-        }
-        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Adding new file: ${file.name} (quickKey: ${quickKey})`);
+    // Soft deduplication: Check if file already exists by metadata
+    if (existingQuickKeys.has(quickKey)) {
+      if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Skipping duplicate file: ${file.name} (quickKey: ${quickKey})`);
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Adding new file: ${file.name} (quickKey: ${quickKey})`);
 
-        const fileId = createFileId();
-        filesRef.current.set(fileId, file);
+    const fileId = createFileId();
+    filesRef.current.set(fileId, file);
 
-        // Generate thumbnail and page count immediately
-        let thumbnail: string | undefined;
-        let pageCount: number = 1;
+    // Generate thumbnail and page count immediately
+    let thumbnail: string | undefined;
+    let pageCount: number = 1;
 
-        // Route based on file type - PDFs through full metadata pipeline, non-PDFs through simple path
-        if (file.type.startsWith('application/pdf')) {
-          try {
-            if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generating PDF metadata for ${file.name}`);
-            const result = await generateThumbnailWithMetadata(file);
-            thumbnail = result.thumbnail;
-            pageCount = result.pageCount;
-            if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generated PDF metadata for ${file.name}: ${pageCount} pages, thumbnail: SUCCESS`);
-          } catch (error) {
-            if (DEBUG) console.warn(`📄 Failed to generate PDF metadata for ${file.name}:`, error);
-          }
-        } else {
-          // Non-PDF files: simple thumbnail generation, no page count
-          try {
-            if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generating simple thumbnail for non-PDF file ${file.name}`);
-            const { generateThumbnailForFile } = await import('../../utils/thumbnailUtils');
-            thumbnail = await generateThumbnailForFile(file);
-            pageCount = 0; // Non-PDFs have no page count
-            if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generated simple thumbnail for ${file.name}: no page count, thumbnail: SUCCESS`);
-          } catch (error) {
-            if (DEBUG) console.warn(`📄 Failed to generate simple thumbnail for ${file.name}:`, error);
-          }
-        }
+    // Route based on file type - PDFs through full metadata pipeline, non-PDFs through simple path
+    if (file.type.startsWith('application/pdf')) {
+      try {
+        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generating PDF metadata for ${file.name}`);
+        const result = await generateThumbnailWithMetadata(file);
+        thumbnail = result.thumbnail;
+        pageCount = result.pageCount;
+        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generated PDF metadata for ${file.name}: ${pageCount} pages, thumbnail: SUCCESS`);
+      } catch (error) {
+        if (DEBUG) console.warn(`📄 Failed to generate PDF metadata for ${file.name}:`, error);
+      }
+    } else {
+      // Non-PDF files: simple thumbnail generation, no page count
+      try {
+        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generating simple thumbnail for non-PDF file ${file.name}`);
+        const { generateThumbnailForFile } = await import('../../utils/thumbnailUtils');
+        thumbnail = await generateThumbnailForFile(file);
+        pageCount = 0; // Non-PDFs have no page count
+        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Generated simple thumbnail for ${file.name}: no page count, thumbnail: SUCCESS`);
+      } catch (error) {
+        if (DEBUG) console.warn(`📄 Failed to generate simple thumbnail for ${file.name}:`, error);
+      }
+    }
 
-        // Create record with immediate thumbnail and page metadata
-        const record = toStirlingFileStub(file, fileId, thumbnail);
-        if (thumbnail) {
-          // Track blob URLs for cleanup (images return blob URLs that need revocation)
-          if (thumbnail.startsWith('blob:')) {
-            lifecycleManager.trackBlobUrl(thumbnail);
-          }
-        }
+    // Create record with immediate thumbnail and page metadata
+    const record = toStirlingFileStub(file, fileId, thumbnail);
+    if (thumbnail) {
+      // Track blob URLs for cleanup (images return blob URLs that need revocation)
+      if (thumbnail.startsWith('blob:')) {
+        lifecycleManager.trackBlobUrl(thumbnail);
+      }
+    }
 
-        // Store insertion position if provided
-        if (options.insertAfterPageId !== undefined) {
-          record.insertAfterPageId = options.insertAfterPageId;
-        }
+    // Store insertion position if provided
+    if (options.insertAfterPageId !== undefined) {
+      record.insertAfterPageId = options.insertAfterPageId;
+    }
 
-        // Create initial processedFile metadata with page count
-        if (pageCount > 0) {
-          record.processedFile = createProcessedFile(pageCount, thumbnail);
-          if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 addFiles(raw): Created initial processedFile metadata for ${file.name} with ${pageCount} pages`);
-        }
+    // Create initial processedFile metadata with page count
+    if (pageCount > 0) {
+      record.processedFile = createProcessedFile(pageCount, thumbnail);
+      if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 addFiles(raw): Created initial processedFile metadata for ${file.name} with ${pageCount} pages`);
+    }
 
-        // History metadata is now managed in IndexedDB, not in PDF metadata
+    existingQuickKeys.add(quickKey);
+    stirlingFileStubs.push(record);
 
-        existingQuickKeys.add(quickKey);
-        stirlingFileStubs.push(record);
-        addedFiles.push({ file, id: fileId, thumbnail });
-        }
+    // Create StirlingFile directly
+    const stirlingFile = createStirlingFile(file, fileId);
+    stirlingFiles.push(stirlingFile);
+  }
+
+  // Persist to storage if enabled using fileStorage service
+  if (enablePersistence && stirlingFiles.length > 0) {
+    await Promise.all(stirlingFiles.map(async (stirlingFile, index) => {
+      try {
+        // Get corresponding stub with all metadata
+        const fileStub = stirlingFileStubs[index];
+
+        // Store using the cleaner signature - pass StirlingFile + StirlingFileStub directly
+        await fileStorage.storeStirlingFile(stirlingFile, fileStub);
+
+        if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 addFiles: Stored file ${stirlingFile.name} with metadata:`, fileStub);
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Failed to persist file to storage:', stirlingFile.name, error);
+      }
+    }));
+  }
 
   // Dispatch ADD_FILES action if we have new files
   if (stirlingFileStubs.length > 0) {
     dispatch({ type: 'ADD_FILES', payload: { stirlingFileStubs } });
   }
 
-  return addedFiles;
+  return stirlingFiles;
   } finally {
     // Always release mutex even if error occurs
     addFilesMutex.unlock();
@@ -300,17 +307,7 @@ export async function consumeFiles(
 
     try {
       // Use fileStorage directly with complete metadata from stub
-      await fileStorage.storeStirlingFile(
-        stirlingFile,
-        stub.thumbnailUrl,
-        true, // isLeaf - new files are leaf nodes
-        {
-          versionNumber: stub.versionNumber || 1,
-          originalFileId: stub.originalFileId || stub.id,
-          parentFileId: stub.parentFileId,
-          toolHistory: stub.toolHistory || []
-        }
-      );
+      await fileStorage.storeStirlingFile(stirlingFile, stub);
 
       if (DEBUG) console.log(`📄 Saved StirlingFile ${stirlingFile.name} directly to storage with complete metadata:`, {
         fileId: stirlingFile.fileId,
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/fileStorage.ts b/frontend/src/services/fileStorage.ts
index 3b6e0e319..b4b128164 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/fileStorage.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/fileStorage.ts
@@ -39,22 +39,9 @@ class FileStorageService {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Store a StirlingFile with its metadata
+   * Store a StirlingFile with its metadata from StirlingFileStub
    */
-  async storeStirlingFile(
-    stirlingFile: StirlingFile,
-    thumbnail?: string,
-    isLeaf: boolean = true,
-    historyData?: {
-      versionNumber: number;
-      originalFileId: string;
-      parentFileId: FileId | undefined;
-      toolHistory: Array<{
-        toolName: string;
-        timestamp: number;
-      }>;
-    }
-  ): Promise<void> {
+  async storeStirlingFile(stirlingFile: StirlingFile, stub: StirlingFileStub): Promise<void> {
     const db = await this.getDatabase();
     const arrayBuffer = await stirlingFile.arrayBuffer();
 
@@ -67,14 +54,14 @@ class FileStorageService {
       size: stirlingFile.size,
       lastModified: stirlingFile.lastModified,
       data: arrayBuffer,
-      thumbnail,
-      isLeaf,
+      thumbnail: stub.thumbnailUrl,
+      isLeaf: stub.isLeaf ?? true,
 
-      // History data - use provided data or defaults for original files
-      versionNumber: historyData?.versionNumber ?? 1,
-      originalFileId: historyData?.originalFileId ?? stirlingFile.fileId,
-      parentFileId: historyData?.parentFileId ?? undefined,
-      toolHistory: historyData?.toolHistory ?? []
+      // History data from stub
+      versionNumber: stub.versionNumber ?? 1,
+      originalFileId: stub.originalFileId ?? stirlingFile.fileId,
+      parentFileId: stub.parentFileId ?? undefined,
+      toolHistory: stub.toolHistory ?? []
     };
 
     return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {