diff --git a/nostrdb/NdbNote.swift b/nostrdb/NdbNote.swift
index e06ba913..d489ecbe 100644
--- a/nostrdb/NdbNote.swift
+++ b/nostrdb/NdbNote.swift
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ enum NdbData {
 
 class NdbNote: Encodable, Equatable, Hashable {
     // we can have owned notes, but we can also have lmdb virtual-memory mapped notes so its optional
-    private let owned: Bool
+    let owned: Bool
     let count: Int
     let key: NoteKey?
     let note: UnsafeMutablePointer<ndb_note>
diff --git a/nostrdb/NdbTxn.swift b/nostrdb/NdbTxn.swift
index 876fa80a..06d7fdce 100644
--- a/nostrdb/NdbTxn.swift
+++ b/nostrdb/NdbTxn.swift
@@ -16,22 +16,32 @@ class NdbTxn<T> {
     var txn: ndb_txn
     private var val: T!
     var moved: Bool
+    var inherited: Bool
 
     init(ndb: Ndb, with: (NdbTxn<T>) -> T = { _ in () }) {
-        self.txn = ndb_txn()
         #if TXNDEBUG
         txn_count += 1
         print("opening transaction \(txn_count)")
         #endif
-        let _ = ndb_begin_query(ndb.ndb.ndb, &self.txn)
+        if let active_txn = Thread.current.threadDictionary["ndb_txn"] as? ndb_txn {
+            // some parent thread is active, use that instead
+            self.txn = active_txn
+            self.inherited = true
+        } else {
+            self.txn = ndb_txn()
+            let _ = ndb_begin_query(ndb.ndb.ndb, &self.txn)
+            Thread.current.threadDictionary["ndb_txn"] = self.txn
+            self.inherited = false
+        }
         self.moved = false
         self.val = with(self)
     }
 
-    init(txn: ndb_txn, val: T) {
+    private init(txn: ndb_txn, val: T) {
         self.txn = txn
         self.val = val
         self.moved = false
+        self.inherited = false
     }
 
     /// Only access temporarily! Do not store database references for longterm use. If it's a primitive type you
@@ -42,13 +52,16 @@ class NdbTxn<T> {
     }
 
     deinit {
-        if !moved {
-            #if TXNDEBUG
-            txn_count -= 1;
-            print("closing transaction \(txn_count)")
-            #endif
-            ndb_end_query(&self.txn)
+        if moved || inherited {
+            return
         }
+
+        #if TXNDEBUG
+        txn_count -= 1;
+        print("closing transaction \(txn_count)")
+        #endif
+        ndb_end_query(&self.txn)
+        Thread.current.threadDictionary.removeObject(forKey: "ndb_txn")
     }
 
     // functor
diff --git a/nostrdb/Test/NdbTests.swift b/nostrdb/Test/NdbTests.swift
index 855b605b..c1d8bd5a 100644
--- a/nostrdb/Test/NdbTests.swift
+++ b/nostrdb/Test/NdbTests.swift
@@ -155,6 +155,25 @@ final class NdbTests: XCTestCase {
         let testNote = NdbNote.owned_from_json(json: testJSONWithEscapedSlashes)!
         XCTAssertEqual(testNote.content, "https://cdn.nostr.build/i/5c1d3296f66c2630131bf123106486aeaf051ed8466031c0e0532d70b33cddb2.jpg")
     }
+    
+    func test_inherited_transactions() throws {
+        let ndb = Ndb(path: db_dir)!
+        do {
+            let txn1 = NdbTxn(ndb: ndb)
+            
+            let ntxn = (Thread.current.threadDictionary.value(forKey: "ndb_txn") as? ndb_txn)!
+            XCTAssertEqual(txn1.txn.lmdb, ntxn.lmdb)
+            XCTAssertEqual(txn1.txn.mdb_txn, ntxn.mdb_txn)
+
+            let txn2 = NdbTxn(ndb: ndb)
+
+            XCTAssertEqual(txn1.inherited, false)
+            XCTAssertEqual(txn2.inherited, true)
+        }
+
+        let ndb_txn = Thread.current.threadDictionary.value(forKey: "ndb_txn")
+        XCTAssertNil(ndb_txn)
+    }
 
     func test_decode_perf() throws {
         // This is an example of a performance test case.