diff --git a/app/assets/lifecycle.py b/app/assets/lifecycle.py
index 3d51cdbb6..50468863e 100644
--- a/app/assets/lifecycle.py
+++ b/app/assets/lifecycle.py
@@ -124,6 +124,20 @@ def run_asset_startup() -> None:
     start_asset_seeder()
 
 
+def run_startup(*, enable_assets: bool) -> None:
+    """Startup temp maintenance entry point, owning the enabled/disabled policy.
+
+    Enabled: full asset startup (DB temp-row wipe -> filesystem sweep -> seeder), which
+    intentionally orders row deletion before filesystem deletion and skips the sweep when
+    the wipe fails. Disabled: filesystem sweep only (master parity -- master called
+    cleanup_temp() unconditionally); with assets off there are no asset rows to wipe.
+    """
+    if enable_assets:
+        run_asset_startup()
+    else:
+        cleanup_temp_filesystem()
+
+
 def run_asset_shutdown_cleanup() -> None:
     with create_session() as session:
         wipe_temp_db_rows(session)
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 11be6f2c2..3d6468a42 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -478,14 +478,13 @@ def hijack_progress(server_instance):
 
 def setup_database():
     from app.assets import mode
-    from app.assets.lifecycle import init_db_and_state, run_asset_startup
+    from app.assets.lifecycle import init_db_and_state, run_startup
 
     try:
         if dependencies_available():
             mode.init(args)
             init_db_and_state()
-            if args.enable_assets:
-                run_asset_startup()
+            run_startup(enable_assets=args.enable_assets)
     except Exception as e:
         if "database is locked" in str(e):
             logging.error(
diff --git a/tests-unit/assets_test/services/test_lifecycle.py b/tests-unit/assets_test/services/test_lifecycle.py
index cd37b6aa1..24bc5a861 100644
--- a/tests-unit/assets_test/services/test_lifecycle.py
+++ b/tests-unit/assets_test/services/test_lifecycle.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ from app.assets.lifecycle import (
     get_excluded_scan_roots,
     run_asset_shutdown_cleanup,
     run_asset_startup,
+    run_startup,
     wipe_temp_db_rows,
 )
 from app.assets.scanner import get_temp_prefixes, sync_temp_references_safely
@@ -103,6 +104,41 @@ def test_db_wipe_failure_skips_rmtree_and_continues(mock_create_session):
     seeder_mock.assert_called_once()
 
 
+def test_run_startup_disabled_sweeps_temp_filesystem_without_db_work(comfy_dirs):
+    """D9 — Given assets disabled and a stale temp file, When run_startup runs, Then the
+    filesystem sweep removes it and no DB-row wipe or seeder work happens (master parity:
+    master called cleanup_temp() unconditionally; with assets off there are no rows to wipe)."""
+    stale = comfy_dirs / "stale.png"
+    stale.write_bytes(b"\x00" * 10)
+    assert stale.exists()
+
+    with (
+        patch("app.assets.lifecycle.run_asset_startup") as asset_startup_mock,
+        patch("app.assets.lifecycle.wipe_temp_db_rows") as wipe_mock,
+        patch("app.assets.lifecycle.start_asset_seeder") as seeder_mock,
+    ):
+        run_startup(enable_assets=False)
+
+    assert not stale.exists()
+    asset_startup_mock.assert_not_called()
+    wipe_mock.assert_not_called()
+    seeder_mock.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_run_startup_enabled_delegates_to_asset_startup_not_bare_sweep():
+    """D9 — Given assets enabled, When run_startup runs, Then it delegates to the ordered
+    run_asset_startup (sole owner of DB-row-before-filesystem deletion) and never calls the
+    bare filesystem sweep directly, so S12's enabled-path ordering is preserved."""
+    with (
+        patch("app.assets.lifecycle.run_asset_startup") as asset_startup_mock,
+        patch("app.assets.lifecycle.cleanup_temp_filesystem") as cleanup_mock,
+    ):
+        run_startup(enable_assets=True)
+
+    asset_startup_mock.assert_called_once_with()
+    cleanup_mock.assert_not_called()
+
+
 def test_rmtree_failure_excludes_temp_from_scan(session, comfy_dirs, mock_create_session):
     record_id, content_id = _seed_temp_rows(session, comfy_dirs)