diff --git a/store/cafs/src/index.ts b/store/cafs/src/index.ts
index 9683df798c..1540f58086 100644
--- a/store/cafs/src/index.ts
+++ b/store/cafs/src/index.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ export { normalizeBundledManifest }
 export {
   buildFileMapsFromIndex,
   checkPkgFilesIntegrity,
+  contentPathFromHex,
   type FilesIndex,
   type FileType,
   getFilePathByModeInCafs,
diff --git a/worker/src/start.ts b/worker/src/start.ts
index 8e604d34ab..989ec13f04 100644
--- a/worker/src/start.ts
+++ b/worker/src/start.ts
@@ -505,11 +505,6 @@ async function fetchAndWriteCafs (message: FetchAndWriteCafsMessage): Promise<{
   const https = await import('node:https')
   const { URL } = await import('node:url')
 
-  if (!cafsCache.has(message.storeDir)) {
-    cafsCache.set(message.storeDir, createCafs(message.storeDir, { cafsLocker }))
-  }
-  const cafs = cafsCache.get(message.storeDir)!
-
   // Send HTTP request to /v1/files
   const url = new URL('/v1/files', message.registryUrl)
   const requestFn = url.protocol === 'https:' ? https.request : http.request
@@ -540,16 +535,20 @@ async function fetchAndWriteCafs (message: FetchAndWriteCafsMessage): Promise<{
   const jsonLen = responseBuffer.readUInt32BE(offset)
   offset += 4 + jsonLen
 
-  // Read file entries
+  // Read file entries and write directly to CAFS using known digests.
+  // Unlike addFile(), this skips SHA-512 hashing (server already computed it)
+  // and uses a simple exclusive-create write (no stat check, no temp+rename).
   const END_MARKER = Buffer.alloc(64, 0)
   let filesWritten = 0
+  const { contentPathFromHex } = await import('@pnpm/store.cafs')
 
   while (offset < responseBuffer.length) {
     const possibleEnd = responseBuffer.subarray(offset, offset + 64)
     if (possibleEnd.length === 64 && possibleEnd.equals(END_MARKER)) break
 
-    // Digest: 64 bytes → hex
-    offset += 64 // skip digest (we don't need it — addFile computes its own)
+    // Digest: 64 bytes raw binary → hex
+    const digest = responseBuffer.subarray(offset, offset + 64).toString('hex')
+    offset += 64
 
     // Size: 4 bytes
     const size = responseBuffer.readUInt32BE(offset)
@@ -563,7 +562,20 @@ async function fetchAndWriteCafs (message: FetchAndWriteCafsMessage): Promise<{
     const content = responseBuffer.subarray(offset, offset + size)
     offset += size
 
-    cafs.addFile(Buffer.from(content), executable ? 0o755 : 0o644)
+    // Write directly using pre-computed digest — no rehashing
+    const fileType = executable ? 'exec' : 'nonexec'
+    const relPath = contentPathFromHex(fileType, digest)
+    const fullPath = path.join(message.storeDir, relPath)
+    const dir = path.dirname(fullPath)
+    try {
+      fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true })
+      fs.writeFileSync(fullPath, content, { flag: 'wx', mode: executable ? 0o755 : 0o644 })
+    } catch (err: unknown) {
+      // EEXIST = file already exists (from dedup or concurrent write) — fine
+      if (!(err instanceof Error && 'code' in err && (err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'EEXIST')) {
+        throw err
+      }
+    }
     filesWritten++
   }