diff --git a/sync-server/src/app_state/database.rs b/sync-server/src/app_state/database.rs
index 346fea38..3ca3cb64 100644
--- a/sync-server/src/app_state/database.rs
+++ b/sync-server/src/app_state/database.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use core::time::Duration;
 use std::{collections::HashMap, sync::Arc};
 
 use anyhow::{Context as _, Result};
+use log::info;
 use models::{
     DocumentId, DocumentVersionWithoutContent, StoredDocumentVersion, VaultId, VaultUpdateId,
 };
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ use sqlx::{sqlite::SqliteConnectOptions, types::chrono::Utc};
 pub mod models;
 use sqlx::{Pool, Sqlite, sqlite::SqlitePoolOptions};
 use tokio::sync::Mutex;
+use tokio::time::Instant;
 use uuid::fmt::Hyphenated;
 
 use super::websocket::{
@@ -18,11 +20,26 @@ use super::websocket::{
 };
 use crate::config::database_config::DatabaseConfig;
 
+#[derive(Clone)]
+struct PoolWithTimestamp {
+    pool: Pool<Sqlite>,
+    last_accessed: Instant,
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Debug for PoolWithTimestamp {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        f.debug_struct("PoolWithTimestamp")
+            .field("pool", &"Pool<Sqlite>")
+            .field("last_accessed", &self.last_accessed)
+            .finish()
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
 pub struct Database {
     config: DatabaseConfig,
     broadcasts: Broadcasts,
-    connection_pools: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<VaultId, Pool<Sqlite>>>>,
+    connection_pools: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<VaultId, PoolWithTimestamp>>>,
 }
 
 pub type Transaction<'a> = sqlx::Transaction<'a, Sqlite>;
@@ -52,17 +69,26 @@ impl Database {
                 .trim_end_matches(".sqlite")
                 .to_owned();
 
+            let pool = Self::create_vault_database(config, &vault).await?;
             connection_pools.insert(
                 vault.clone(),
-                Self::create_vault_database(config, &vault).await?,
+                PoolWithTimestamp {
+                    pool,
+                    last_accessed: Instant::now(),
+                },
             );
         }
 
-        Ok(Self {
+        let database = Self {
             config: config.clone(),
             connection_pools: Arc::new(Mutex::new(connection_pools)),
             broadcasts: broadcasts.clone(),
-        })
+        };
+
+        // Start background task to cleanup idle connection pools
+        database.start_idle_pool_cleanup();
+
+        Ok(database)
     }
 
     async fn create_vault_database(
@@ -100,16 +126,26 @@ impl Database {
 
     async fn get_connection_pool(&self, vault: &VaultId) -> Result<Pool<Sqlite>> {
         let mut pools = self.connection_pools.lock().await;
+
         if !pools.contains_key(vault) {
             let pool = Self::create_vault_database(&self.config, vault).await?;
-            pools.insert(vault.clone(), pool);
+            pools.insert(
+                vault.clone(),
+                PoolWithTimestamp {
+                    pool,
+                    last_accessed: Instant::now(),
+                },
+            );
         }
 
-        let pool = pools
-            .get(vault)
+        let pool_with_timestamp = pools
+            .get_mut(vault)
             .expect("Pool was just inserted or already exists");
 
-        Ok(pool.clone())
+        // Update last accessed time
+        pool_with_timestamp.last_accessed = Instant::now();
+
+        Ok(pool_with_timestamp.pool.clone())
     }
 
     /// Attempting to write from this transaction might result in a
@@ -434,4 +470,45 @@ impl Database {
 
         Ok(())
     }
+
+    /// Cleanup idle connection pools that haven't been accessed in more than 5 minutes
+    async fn cleanup_idle_pools(&self) {
+        let mut pools = self.connection_pools.lock().await;
+        let now = Instant::now();
+        let idle_timeout = Duration::from_secs(5 * 60); // 5 minutes
+
+        // Collect vaults to remove
+        let vaults_to_remove: Vec<VaultId> = pools
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|(_, pool_with_timestamp)| {
+                now.duration_since(pool_with_timestamp.last_accessed) > idle_timeout
+            })
+            .map(|(vault_id, _)| vault_id.clone())
+            .collect();
+
+        // Close and remove idle pools
+        for vault_id in &vaults_to_remove {
+            if let Some(pool_with_timestamp) = pools.remove(vault_id) {
+                info!(
+                    "Closing idle database connection pool for vault {}",
+                    vault_id
+                );
+                pool_with_timestamp.pool.close().await;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Start a background task that periodically cleans up idle connection pools
+    fn start_idle_pool_cleanup(&self) {
+        let database = self.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(Duration::from_secs(60)); // Check every minute
+            interval.set_missed_tick_behavior(tokio::time::MissedTickBehavior::Skip);
+
+            loop {
+                interval.tick().await;
+                database.cleanup_idle_pools().await;
+            }
+        });
+    }
 }