diff --git a/beads_test.go b/beads_test.go
index 54b9bd0d..5bae9828 100644
--- a/beads_test.go
+++ b/beads_test.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ func TestNewSQLiteStorage(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("NewSQLiteStorage failed: %v", err)
 	}
+	defer store.Close()
 
 	if store == nil {
 		t.Error("expected non-nil storage")
diff --git a/internal/beads/beads.go b/internal/beads/beads.go
index 5c6e555c..a5dd52e5 100644
--- a/internal/beads/beads.go
+++ b/internal/beads/beads.go
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ func findDatabaseInTree() string {
 // Returns a slice of DatabaseInfo for each database found, starting from the
 // closest to CWD (most relevant) to the furthest (least relevant).
 func FindAllDatabases() []DatabaseInfo {
-	var databases []DatabaseInfo
+	databases := []DatabaseInfo{} // Initialize to empty slice, never return nil
 	seen := make(map[string]bool) // Track canonical paths to avoid duplicates
 
 	dir, err := os.Getwd()