diff --git a/nora-registry/src/audit.rs b/nora-registry/src/audit.rs
index 597f29e..01452ec 100644
--- a/nora-registry/src/audit.rs
+++ b/nora-registry/src/audit.rs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use serde::Serialize;
 use std::fs::{self, OpenOptions};
 use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::sync::Arc;
 use tracing::{info, warn};
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ impl AuditEntry {
 
 pub struct AuditLog {
     path: PathBuf,
-    writer: Mutex<Option<fs::File>>,
+    writer: Arc<Mutex<Option<fs::File>>>,
 }
 
 impl AuditLog {
@@ -48,23 +49,26 @@ impl AuditLog {
         let writer = match OpenOptions::new().create(true).append(true).open(&path) {
             Ok(f) => {
                 info!(path = %path.display(), "Audit log initialized");
-                Mutex::new(Some(f))
+                Arc::new(Mutex::new(Some(f)))
             }
             Err(e) => {
                 warn!(path = %path.display(), error = %e, "Failed to open audit log, auditing disabled");
-                Mutex::new(None)
+                Arc::new(Mutex::new(None))
             }
         };
         Self { path, writer }
     }
 
     pub fn log(&self, entry: AuditEntry) {
-        if let Some(ref mut file) = *self.writer.lock() {
-            if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string(&entry) {
-                let _ = writeln!(file, "{}", json);
-                let _ = file.flush();
+        let writer = Arc::clone(&self.writer);
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            if let Some(ref mut file) = *writer.lock() {
+                if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string(&entry) {
+                    let _ = writeln!(file, "{}", json);
+                    let _ = file.flush();
+                }
             }
-        }
+        });
     }
 
     pub fn path(&self) -> &PathBuf {
@@ -100,23 +104,25 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(log.path().ends_with("audit.jsonl"));
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_audit_log_write_entry() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_audit_log_write_entry() {
         let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
         let log = AuditLog::new(tmp.path().to_str().unwrap());
 
         let entry = AuditEntry::new("pull", "user1", "lodash", "npm", "downloaded");
         log.log(entry);
 
-        // Verify file contains the entry
+        // spawn_blocking is fire-and-forget; give it time to flush
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(50)).await;
+
         let content = std::fs::read_to_string(log.path()).unwrap();
         assert!(content.contains(r#""action":"pull""#));
         assert!(content.contains(r#""actor":"user1""#));
         assert!(content.contains(r#""artifact":"lodash""#));
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_audit_log_multiple_entries() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_audit_log_multiple_entries() {
         let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
         let log = AuditLog::new(tmp.path().to_str().unwrap());
 
@@ -124,6 +130,8 @@ mod tests {
         log.log(AuditEntry::new("pull", "user", "b", "npm", ""));
         log.log(AuditEntry::new("delete", "admin", "c", "maven", ""));
 
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(50)).await;
+
         let content = std::fs::read_to_string(log.path()).unwrap();
         let lines: Vec<&str> = content.lines().collect();
         assert_eq!(lines.len(), 3);
diff --git a/nora-registry/src/dashboard_metrics.rs b/nora-registry/src/dashboard_metrics.rs
index 62d9cba..a9deb58 100644
--- a/nora-registry/src/dashboard_metrics.rs
+++ b/nora-registry/src/dashboard_metrics.rs
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ impl DashboardMetrics {
         metrics
     }
 
-    /// Save current metrics to disk
-    pub fn save(&self) {
+    /// Save current metrics to disk (async to avoid blocking the runtime)
+    pub async fn save(&self) {
         let Some(path) = &self.persist_path else {
             return;
         };
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ impl DashboardMetrics {
         // Atomic write: write to tmp then rename
         let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
         if let Ok(data) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&snap) {
-            if std::fs::write(&tmp, &data).is_ok() {
-                let _ = std::fs::rename(&tmp, path);
+            if tokio::fs::write(&tmp, &data).await.is_ok() {
+                let _ = tokio::fs::rename(&tmp, path).await;
             }
         }
     }
@@ -317,8 +317,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(m.get_registry_uploads("unknown"), 0);
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_persistence_save_and_load() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_persistence_save_and_load() {
         let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
         let path = tmp.path().to_str().unwrap();
 
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ mod tests {
             m.record_download("docker");
             m.record_upload("maven");
             m.record_cache_hit();
-            m.save();
+            m.save().await;
         }
 
         // Load in new instance
diff --git a/nora-registry/src/main.rs b/nora-registry/src/main.rs
index d75f8fa..e2bbb32 100644
--- a/nora-registry/src/main.rs
+++ b/nora-registry/src/main.rs
@@ -441,9 +441,9 @@ async fn run_server(config: Config, storage: Storage) {
         let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(std::time::Duration::from_secs(30));
         loop {
             interval.tick().await;
-            metrics_state.metrics.save();
+            metrics_state.metrics.save().await;
             if let Some(ref token_store) = metrics_state.tokens {
-                token_store.flush_last_used();
+                token_store.flush_last_used().await;
             }
             registry::docker::cleanup_expired_sessions(&metrics_state.upload_sessions);
         }
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ async fn run_server(config: Config, storage: Storage) {
     .expect("Server error");
 
     // Save metrics on shutdown
-    state.metrics.save();
+    state.metrics.save().await;
 
     info!(
         uptime_seconds = state.start_time.elapsed().as_secs(),
diff --git a/nora-registry/src/tokens.rs b/nora-registry/src/tokens.rs
index 80d0f6e..2f87bdf 100644
--- a/nora-registry/src/tokens.rs
+++ b/nora-registry/src/tokens.rs
@@ -270,9 +270,9 @@ impl TokenStore {
         tokens
     }
 
-    /// Flush pending last_used timestamps to disk.
+    /// Flush pending last_used timestamps to disk (async to avoid blocking runtime).
     /// Called periodically by background task (every 30s).
-    pub fn flush_last_used(&self) {
+    pub async fn flush_last_used(&self) {
         let pending: HashMap<String, u64> = {
             let mut map = self.pending_last_used.write();
             std::mem::take(&mut *map)
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ impl TokenStore {
 
         for (file_prefix, timestamp) in &pending {
             let file_path = self.storage_path.join(format!("{}.json", file_prefix));
-            let content = match fs::read_to_string(&file_path) {
+            let content = match tokio::fs::read_to_string(&file_path).await {
                 Ok(c) => c,
                 Err(_) => continue,
             };
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ impl TokenStore {
             };
             info.last_used = Some(*timestamp);
             if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&info) {
-                let _ = fs::write(&file_path, &json);
+                let _ = tokio::fs::write(&file_path, &json).await;
                 set_file_permissions_600(&file_path);
             }
         }
@@ -597,8 +597,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(store.list_tokens("user2").len(), 1);
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_token_updates_last_used() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_token_updates_last_used() {
         let temp_dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
         let store = TokenStore::new(temp_dir.path());
 
@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ mod tests {
         store.verify_token(&token).unwrap();
 
         // last_used is deferred — flush to persist
-        store.flush_last_used();
+        store.flush_last_used().await;
 
         let tokens = store.list_tokens("testuser");
         assert!(tokens[0].last_used.is_some());