diff --git a/src/barabadb/core/server.nim b/src/barabadb/core/server.nim
index cc6f848..458718d 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/core/server.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/core/server.nim
@@ -306,10 +306,12 @@ proc waitRaftCommit(node: RaftNode, lastIdx: uint64, timeoutMs: int): Future[(bo
     node.metrics.commitWaitMsTotal += waitedMs
   return (true, "")
 
-proc appendWriteToRaft*(node: RaftNode, kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])],
+proc appendWriteToRaft*(node: RaftNode,
+                        kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]],
                         timeoutMs: int): Future[(bool, string)] {.async.} =
   ## C3b leader write path: append each written KV pair to the Raft log and
-  ## wait for majority commit. An empty value encodes a delete; the entry
+  ## wait for majority commit. The `deleted` flag encodes a delete — an empty
+  ## value alone is a put (PK-only tables store an empty LSM value); the entry
   ## format matches applyCommand ("put": key \x00 value, "delete": key).
   ##
   ## MUST be called from the async event-loop thread that owns `node` and
@@ -317,11 +319,11 @@ proc appendWriteToRaft*(node: RaftNode, kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])],
   ## handleAppendReply on the same loop, and applyCommand re-enters the
   ## (non-reentrant) gate — waiting under the gate would deadlock the loop.
   var lastIdx = 0'u64
-  for (key, value) in kvPairs:
-    let entry = if value.len > 0:
-        node.appendLog("put", cast[seq[byte]](key & "\x00" & cast[string](value)))
+  for pair in kvPairs:
+    let entry = if pair.deleted:
+        node.appendLog("delete", cast[seq[byte]](pair.key))
       else:
-        node.appendLog("delete", cast[seq[byte]](key))
+        node.appendLog("put", cast[seq[byte]](pair.key & "\x00" & cast[string](pair.value)))
     if entry.index == 0:
       if node.metrics != nil:
         inc node.metrics.lostLeadershipTotal
@@ -353,7 +355,7 @@ proc executeQuery(db: LSMTree, ctx: ExecutionContext, query: string, params: seq
   var ok = false
   var qr = QueryResult()
   var msg = ""
-  var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
+  var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]
   var needsRaftDdl = false
   var needsForward = false
   var forwardHost = ""
@@ -397,11 +399,14 @@ proc executeQuery(db: LSMTree, ctx: ExecutionContext, query: string, params: seq
           # Ship written key-value pairs to replicas (legacy path; skipped when
           # the raft path below handles the statement).
           if raftNode == nil and replication != nil and res.keyValuePairs.len > 0:
-            for (key, value) in res.keyValuePairs:
-              var data = newSeq[byte](key.len + 1 + value.len)
-              for i, c in key: data[i] = byte(c)
-              data[key.len] = byte(0)
-              for i, c in value: data[key.len + 1 + i] = c
+            for pair in res.keyValuePairs:
+              # Legacy REP wire format: key \x00 value, empty value = delete
+              # on the receiver. Deletes ship an empty value as before.
+              let value = if pair.deleted: @[] else: pair.value
+              var data = newSeq[byte](pair.key.len + 1 + value.len)
+              for i, c in pair.key: data[i] = byte(c)
+              data[pair.key.len] = byte(0)
+              for i, c in value: data[pair.key.len + 1 + i] = c
               discard replication.writeLsn(data)
           qr = QueryResult(affectedRows: res.affectedRows, rowCount: res.rows.len)
           qr.columns = res.columns
diff --git a/src/barabadb/query/exec/dml.nim b/src/barabadb/query/exec/dml.nim
index c465c3e..7fcd5ac 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/query/exec/dml.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/query/exec/dml.nim
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ proc violatesUniqueIndex*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, fields: seq[stri
   return ""
 
 proc execInsert*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, fields: seq[string], values: seq[seq[string]],
-                  kvPairs: var seq[(string, seq[byte])]): int =
+                  kvPairs: var seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]): int =
   if not hasPrivilege(ctx, table, "INSERT"):
     return 0
   let tblDef = if table in ctx.tables: ctx.tables[table] else: TableDef()
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ proc execInsert*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, fields: seq[string], valu
       discard ctx.txnManager.write(ctx.pendingTxn, fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](valStr))
     else:
       ctx.db.put(fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](valStr))
-      kvPairs.add((fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](valStr)))
+      kvPairs.add((fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](valStr), false))
 
     for colName in ctx.btrees.keys.toSeq():
       if colName.startsWith(table & "."):
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ proc execInsert*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, fields: seq[string], valu
   return count
 
 proc execDelete*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, key: string,
-                  kvPairs: var seq[(string, seq[byte])]): int =
+                  kvPairs: var seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]): int =
   if not hasPrivilege(ctx, table, "DELETE"):
     return 0
   let fullKey = table & "." & key
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ proc execDelete*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, key: string,
       discard ctx.txnManager.delete(ctx.pendingTxn, fullKey)
     else:
       ctx.db.delete(fullKey)
-      kvPairs.add((fullKey, @[]))
+      kvPairs.add((fullKey, @[], true))
     # Update BTree indexes
     for colName in ctx.btrees.keys.toSeq():
       if colName.startsWith(table & "."):
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ proc execDelete*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, key: string,
   return 0
 
 proc execUpdateRow*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, key: string, sets: Table[string, string],
-                     kvPairs: var seq[(string, seq[byte])]): int =
+                     kvPairs: var seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]): int =
   if not hasPrivilege(ctx, table, "UPDATE"):
     return 0
   let fullKey = table & "." & key
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ proc execUpdateRow*(ctx: ExecutionContext, table: string, key: string, sets: Tab
     discard ctx.txnManager.write(ctx.pendingTxn, fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](newVal))
   else:
     ctx.db.put(fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](newVal))
-    kvPairs.add((fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](newVal)))
+    kvPairs.add((fullKey, cast[seq[byte]](newVal), false))
   # Update FTS indexes: remove old doc, add new
   for ftsKey, ftsIdx in ctx.ftsIndexes:
     if ftsKey.startsWith(table & "."):
diff --git a/src/barabadb/query/exec/eval.nim b/src/barabadb/query/exec/eval.nim
index a948371..4f15125 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/query/exec/eval.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/query/exec/eval.nim
@@ -923,7 +923,6 @@ proc evalExprOld*(expr: IRExpr, row: Table[string, string], ctx: ExecutionContex
         ddl.add("\n")
 
       # Sample data
-      var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
       let rows = requireExecScanHook()(ctx, table)
       let sampleLimit = min(5, rows.len)
       if sampleLimit > 0:
diff --git a/src/barabadb/query/exec/fk.nim b/src/barabadb/query/exec/fk.nim
index 7b2d9d3..a4a3f4b 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/query/exec/fk.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/query/exec/fk.nim
@@ -30,14 +30,14 @@ proc enforceFkOnDelete*(ctx: ExecutionContext, parentTable: string, parentCol: s
           of "CASCADE":
             for refRow in refs:
               if "$key" in refRow:
-                var dummy: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
+                var dummy: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]
                 discard execDelete(ctx, childTblName, valueToString(refRow["$key"]), dummy)
           of "SET NULL":
             for refRow in refs:
               if "$key" in refRow:
                 var sets = initTable[string, string]()
                 sets[col.name] = "\\N"
-                var dummy: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
+                var dummy: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]
                 discard execUpdateRow(ctx, childTblName, valueToString(refRow["$key"]), sets, dummy)
           of "RESTRICT", "NO ACTION":
             return (false, "FOREIGN KEY violation: row is referenced by " & childTblName & "." & col.name)
@@ -56,14 +56,14 @@ proc enforceFkOnUpdate*(ctx: ExecutionContext, parentTable: string, parentCol: s
               if "$key" in refRow:
                 var sets = initTable[string, string]()
                 sets[col.name] = newVal
-                var dummy: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
+                var dummy: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]
                 discard execUpdateRow(ctx, childTblName, valueToString(refRow["$key"]), sets, dummy)
           of "SET NULL":
             for refRow in refs:
               if "$key" in refRow:
                 var sets = initTable[string, string]()
                 sets[col.name] = "\\N"
-                var dummy: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]
+                var dummy: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]
                 discard execUpdateRow(ctx, childTblName, valueToString(refRow["$key"]), sets, dummy)
           of "RESTRICT", "NO ACTION":
             return (false, "FOREIGN KEY violation: row is referenced by " & childTblName & "." & col.name)
diff --git a/src/barabadb/query/exec/types.nim b/src/barabadb/query/exec/types.nim
index 61de048..f02c039 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/query/exec/types.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/query/exec/types.nim
@@ -136,13 +136,13 @@ type
     rows*: seq[Row]
     affectedRows*: int
     message*: string
-    keyValuePairs*: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+    keyValuePairs*: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
 
 proc `==`*(a, b: IndexEntry): bool =
   a.lsmKey == b.lsmKey and a.rowValue == b.rowValue
 
 proc okResult*(rows: seq[Row] = @[], cols: seq[string] = @[], affected: int = 0, msg: string = "",
-               kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])] = @[]): ExecResult =
+               kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]] = @[]): ExecResult =
   ExecResult(success: true, columns: cols, rows: rows, affectedRows: affected, message: msg,
              keyValuePairs: kvPairs)
 
diff --git a/src/barabadb/query/executor.nim b/src/barabadb/query/executor.nim
index 43dca17..4f1dcdb 100644
--- a/src/barabadb/query/executor.nim
+++ b/src/barabadb/query/executor.nim
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
           row[f] = mutableValues[0][i]
     fireTriggers(ctx, stmt.insTarget, "before", "insert", row)
 
-    var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+    var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
     let count = execInsert(ctx, stmt.insTarget, mutableFields, mutableValues, kvPairs)
 
     # Fire AFTER INSERT triggers
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
     # Scan and apply
     let rows = execScan(ctx, stmt.updTarget)
     var count = 0
-    var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+    var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
     for row in rows:
       # Compute sets for this row (expressions may reference columns)
       var sets = initTable[string, string]()
@@ -701,7 +701,7 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
     # Delete all rows matching WHERE
     let rows = execScan(ctx, stmt.delTarget)
     var count = 0
-    var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+    var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
     for row in rows:
       if stmt.delWhere != nil and stmt.delWhere.whereExpr != nil:
         let whereExpr = lowerExpr(stmt.delWhere.whereExpr)
@@ -744,7 +744,7 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
 
     let targetRows = execScan(ctx, stmt.mergeTarget)
     var count = 0
-    var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+    var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
 
     for srcRow in sourceRows:
       var matched = false
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
           for i, f in fields:
             if i < values.len: row[f] = Value(kind: vkString, strVal: values[i])
           fireTriggers(ctx, stmt.mergeTarget, "before", "insert", row)
-          var insKvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+          var insKvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
           count += execInsert(ctx, stmt.mergeTarget, fields, @[values], insKvPairs)
           for kv in insKvPairs: kvPairs.add(kv)
           fireTriggers(ctx, stmt.mergeTarget, "after", "insert", row)
@@ -982,16 +982,17 @@ proc executeQueryImpl(ctx: ExecutionContext, astNode: Node, params: seq[WireValu
 
   of nkCommitTxn:
     if ctx.pendingTxn != nil and ctx.pendingTxn.state == tsActive:
-      var kvPairs: seq[(string, seq[byte])]
+      var kvPairs: seq[tuple[key: string, value: seq[byte], deleted: bool]]
       for key, version in ctx.pendingTxn.writeSet:
         if version.isDelete:
           ctx.db.delete(key)
-          # Empty value is the raft/replication "delete" convention — never
-          # ship a non-empty body for isDelete or followers will resurrect.
-          kvPairs.add((key, @[]))
+          # Empty value + deleted=true is the raft/replication "delete"
+          # convention — never ship a non-empty body for isDelete or
+          # followers will resurrect.
+          kvPairs.add((key, @[], true))
         else:
           ctx.db.put(key, version.value)
-          kvPairs.add((key, version.value))
+          kvPairs.add((key, version.value, false))
       discard ctx.txnManager.commit(ctx.pendingTxn)
       ctx.pendingTxn = nil
       return okResult(msg="Transaction committed", kvPairs=kvPairs)
diff --git a/tests/bugfix_test.nim b/tests/bugfix_test.nim
index b8df821..3cfb2a0 100644
--- a/tests/bugfix_test.nim
+++ b/tests/bugfix_test.nim
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import std/os
 import std/tables
 import ../src/barabadb/query/[parser, executor, lexer, ast]
 import ../src/barabadb/query/exec/params
+import ../src/barabadb/query/exec/dml
 import ../src/barabadb/core/types
 import ../src/barabadb/core/config
 import ../src/barabadb/storage/lsm
@@ -417,6 +418,78 @@ suite "Raft peer address parsing":
       check msg.len > 0
       check bad in msg
 
+suite "Raft put/delete encoding — empty value is not a delete":
+
+  test "PK-only INSERT yields a put pair (deleted == false, empty value)":
+    var ctx = setupCtx()
+    defer: teardown(ctx)
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("CREATE TABLE pkonly (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)"))
+    let r = executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO pkonly (id) VALUES (1)"))
+    check r.success
+    check r.keyValuePairs.len == 1
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].value.len == 0
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].deleted == false
+
+  test "DELETE yields a delete pair (deleted == true)":
+    var ctx = setupCtx()
+    defer: teardown(ctx)
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO users (id, name) VALUES (1, 'alice')"))
+    let r = executeQuery(ctx, parse("DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1"))
+    check r.success
+    check r.keyValuePairs.len == 1
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].deleted == true
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].value.len == 0
+
+  test "UPDATE yields a put pair (deleted == false)":
+    var ctx = setupCtx()
+    defer: teardown(ctx)
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO users (id, name) VALUES (1, 'alice')"))
+    let r = executeQuery(ctx, parse("UPDATE users SET name = 'bob' WHERE id = 1"))
+    check r.success
+    check r.keyValuePairs.len == 1
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].deleted == false
+    check r.keyValuePairs[0].value.len > 0
+
+  test "txn COMMIT pairs carry deleted flag for buffered writes":
+    var ctx = setupCtx()
+    defer: teardown(ctx)
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("CREATE TABLE pkonly (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)"))
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO users (id, name) VALUES (1, 'alice')"))
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("BEGIN"))
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO pkonly (id) VALUES (7)"))
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1"))
+    let r = executeQuery(ctx, parse("COMMIT"))
+    check r.success
+    check r.keyValuePairs.len == 2
+    var sawPut = false
+    var sawDelete = false
+    for pair in r.keyValuePairs:
+      if pair.deleted:
+        sawDelete = true
+        check pair.value.len == 0
+      else:
+        sawPut = true
+        check pair.key == "pkonly.id=7"
+        check pair.value.len == 0  # empty value must still be a put
+    check sawPut and sawDelete
+
+  test "apply of a put with empty value keeps the PK-only row":
+    var ctx = setupCtx()
+    defer: teardown(ctx)
+    discard executeQuery(ctx, parse("CREATE TABLE pkonly (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)"))
+    let r = executeQuery(ctx, parse("INSERT INTO pkonly (id) VALUES (3)"))
+    check r.success
+    check r.keyValuePairs.len == 1
+    let pair = r.keyValuePairs[0]
+    # Same decode as applyCommand in src/baradadb.nim for a "put" entry.
+    let encoded = pair.key & "\x00" & cast[string](pair.value)
+    let parts = encoded.split("\x00")
+    check parts.len >= 2
+    applyReplicatedPut(ctx, parts[0], cast[seq[byte]](parts[1]))
+    let sel = executeQuery(ctx, parse("SELECT * FROM pkonly WHERE id = 3"))
+    check sel.success
+    check sel.rows.len == 1
+
 suite "Raft write classification":
 
   test "isWrite classifies DML and COMMIT":
diff --git a/tests/raft_failover_load_e2e_test.nim b/tests/raft_failover_load_e2e_test.nim
index fc19299..fab8a7f 100644
--- a/tests/raft_failover_load_e2e_test.nim
+++ b/tests/raft_failover_load_e2e_test.nim
@@ -7,16 +7,6 @@
 ##                     follower has caught up.
 ## Process-management conventions follow tests/raft_writes_e2e_test.nim;
 ## client access follows tests/nimforum_smoke_test.nim.
-##
-## NOTE: load_test deliberately has a non-PK column. A table whose only
-## column is the PK stores an EMPTY LSM value per row (execInsert drops PK
-## columns from the value), and the raft write path (appendWriteToRaft in
-## src/barabadb/core/server.nim) encodes empty values as "delete" entries —
-## so on commit every node applies a delete over the just-inserted row and
-## it vanishes everywhere. That is a v1.2.0 product bug in the raft entry
-## encoding (put/delete must not be inferred from value emptiness); until it
-## is fixed in src/, this test exercises the two-column row shape that the
-## current encoding handles correctly.
 import std/unittest
 import std/osproc
 import std/os
@@ -176,7 +166,7 @@ proc writerLoop(args: WriterArgs) {.thread.} =
         sleep(50)
         continue
     try:
-      db.exec(sql("INSERT INTO load_test (id, n) VALUES (" & $n & ", " & $n & ")"))
+      db.exec(sql("INSERT INTO load_test (id) VALUES (" & $n & ")"))
       withLock args.lock[]:
         args.acked[].add n
       inc n
@@ -290,7 +280,7 @@ proc runFailoverLoadScenario() =
     block:
       let db = openClient(nodes[leaderIdx].clientPort)
       try:
-        db.exec(sql"CREATE TABLE load_test (id INT PRIMARY KEY, n INT)")
+        db.exec(sql"CREATE TABLE load_test (id INT PRIMARY KEY)")
       except CatchableError as e:
         echo "leader CREATE TABLE failed: ", e.msg
         dumpAll(nodes)
@@ -343,7 +333,7 @@ proc runFailoverLoadScenario() =
         try:
           let db = openClient(nodes[i].clientPort)
           try:
-            db.exec(sql("INSERT INTO load_test (id, n) VALUES (" & $probeId & ", " & $probeId & ")"))
+            db.exec(sql("INSERT INTO load_test (id) VALUES (" & $probeId & ")"))
             writerSurvivor = i
           finally:
             db.close()
diff --git a/tests/test_all.nim b/tests/test_all.nim
index 161eb90..b32e3eb 100644
--- a/tests/test_all.nim
+++ b/tests/test_all.nim
@@ -2670,7 +2670,7 @@ suite "Raft SQL Write Path":
 
         # Server-side leader write path: append + wait for majority commit
         let (ok, errMsg) = waitFor appendWriteToRaft(leader,
-          @[("users.1", cast[seq[byte]]("alice"))], timeoutMs = 3000)
+          @[("users.1", cast[seq[byte]]("alice"), false)], timeoutMs = 3000)
         check ok
         if not ok: echo "appendWriteToRaft failed: ", errMsg
 
@@ -2782,7 +2782,7 @@ suite "Raft SQL Write Path":
     var n = newRaftNode("n1", @["n2"], raftPort = 29111)
     # Still a follower — appendLog returns index 0.
     let (ok, err) = waitFor appendWriteToRaft(n,
-      @[("k", cast[seq[byte]]("v"))], timeoutMs = 200)
+      @[("k", cast[seq[byte]]("v"), false)], timeoutMs = 200)
     check not ok
     check "lost leadership" in err
 
@@ -2791,7 +2791,7 @@ suite "Raft SQL Write Path":
     var n = newRaftNode("n1", @["n2", "n3"], raftPort = 29112)
     n.becomeLeader()
     let (ok, err) = waitFor appendWriteToRaft(n,
-      @[("k", cast[seq[byte]]("v"))], timeoutMs = 300)
+      @[("k", cast[seq[byte]]("v"), false)], timeoutMs = 300)
     check not ok
     check "raft commit timeout" in err