diff --git a/stacks/litellm/.env.example b/stacks/litellm/.env.example
index 0c2fde8..b26f72e 100644
--- a/stacks/litellm/.env.example
+++ b/stacks/litellm/.env.example
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 # Image tag. main-stable is the rolling stable; pin to a dated/SHA tag
 # (e.g. main-v1.74.0-stable) once a known-good build is confirmed.
-LITELLM_TAG=main-stable
+LITELLM_TAG=v1.97.0
 
 # Publish. Bind to all interfaces on the LAN; 4000 is the LiteLLM default
 # (proxy API + admin/Logs UI at /ui).
diff --git a/stacks/litellm/conf/config.yaml b/stacks/litellm/conf/config.yaml
index 3ef7fe5..0b5f8b7 100644
--- a/stacks/litellm/conf/config.yaml
+++ b/stacks/litellm/conf/config.yaml
@@ -537,7 +537,20 @@ general_settings:
   # THE log switch: persists full request messages + response bodies into
   # SpendLogs so they render in the Logs UI. Without this you get metadata
   # (tokens, latency, model) but not the prompt/completion text.
-  store_prompts_in_spend_logs: true
+  #
+  # ⚠️ TURNED OFF 2026-08-16 (operator: "I don't need any of that information").
+  # With this TRUE the SpendLogs table stored every prompt+completion body and
+  # grew to 6.0 GB (of a 6.08 GB DB). Off = lightweight cost/usage rows only
+  # (tokens, latency, model, cost) — the cross-project spend tracking survives,
+  # the bulky bodies do not. Re-enable ONLY for a bounded debugging window, not
+  # standing.
+  store_prompts_in_spend_logs: false
+  # HARD CAP on SpendLogs growth (operator: "if there's a way to cap it, CAP
+  # it"). The retention job deletes rows older than the period on the interval
+  # cadence, so the table is bounded by ~7 days of lightweight rows rather than
+  # unbounded. Names verified against LiteLLM docs (proxy/spend_logs_deletion).
+  maximum_spend_logs_retention_period: "7d"
+  maximum_spend_logs_retention_interval: "1d"
   # scalar-judge → Skywork-Reward-V2 (scalar reward model; vLLM pooling on
   #   ana-ml2:8003). LiteLLM has no reward/pooling MODE, so this is a passthrough,
   #   not a model_list alias. Gateway-key-gated. Consumers POST the reward body to