diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
index dd1b466..2b16977 100644
--- a/.jules/bolt.md
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -21,3 +21,7 @@
 ## 2026-03-19 - FileManager Enumerator Pre-fetching
 **Learning:** Any property requested via `resourceValues(forKeys:)` inside a `FileManager.enumerator` loop must also be in `includingPropertiesForKeys` — otherwise `URL.resourceValues` falls back to a synchronous `stat()` per file, turning bulk reads into O(N) disk I/O.
 **Action:** Keep the keys array passed to `resourceValues(forKeys:)` a subset of the prefetch list passed to `FileManager.enumerator(at:includingPropertiesForKeys:)`.
+
+## 2024-05-30 - DispatchQueue.concurrentPerform Thread Starvation
+**Learning:** Do not use `DispatchQueue.concurrentPerform` inside an `actor` or `async` context in Swift. It is a synchronous, blocking call that will lock a thread in the limited cooperative thread pool until all iterations finish, causing system-wide thread starvation. Furthermore, do not wrap large numbers of blocking I/O calls in `Task.detached` within a loop, as this allocates excessive tasks and causes overhead.
+**Action:** To parallelize bulk I/O operations (e.g., `FileManager.removeItem` loops) inside an actor, mark the method as `nonisolated async throws` and use a `withThrowingTaskGroup`. Implement a sliding window iterator (e.g., `maxConcurrency` of 8) and inject `FileManager` to safely parallelize the blocking calls without overloading the thread pool.
diff --git a/Sources/Cacheout/Cleaner/CacheCleaner.swift b/Sources/Cacheout/Cleaner/CacheCleaner.swift
index 5e1c18f..1f3e214 100644
--- a/Sources/Cacheout/Cleaner/CacheCleaner.swift
+++ b/Sources/Cacheout/Cleaner/CacheCleaner.swift
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ actor CacheCleaner {
                         if moveToTrash {
                             try await trashDirectory(url)
                         } else {
-                            try removeContents(of: url)
+                            try await removeContents(of: url, fileManager: fileManager)
                         }
                         categoryFreed += result.sizeBytes
                     } catch {
@@ -133,12 +133,33 @@ actor CacheCleaner {
         }
     }
 
-    private func removeContents(of url: URL) throws {
+    nonisolated private func removeContents(of url: URL, fileManager: FileManager) async throws {
         let contents = try fileManager.contentsOfDirectory(
             at: url, includingPropertiesForKeys: nil
         )
-        for item in contents {
-            try fileManager.removeItem(at: item)
+
+        try await withThrowingTaskGroup(of: Void.self) { group in
+            // Limit concurrency to avoid overloading the system and cooperative thread pool
+            let maxConcurrency = 8
+            var iterator = contents.makeIterator()
+
+            for _ in 0..<maxConcurrency {
+                if let item = iterator.next() {
+                    group.addTask {
+                        try fileManager.removeItem(at: item)
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            // As each task completes, add a new one, keeping the active task count at maxConcurrency.
+            // If any task throws an error, the for-await loop will rethrow it, implicitly cancelling remaining tasks (fail-fast behavior).
+            for try await _ in group {
+                if let item = iterator.next() {
+                    group.addTask {
+                        try fileManager.removeItem(at: item)
+                    }
+                }
+            }
         }
     }