diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
index 3447c6f..c54efbb 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout: _onLogout, initialPostId, onBack
     publishToGhost,
     refreshPreview,
     toggleGenImage,
+    triggerAutoSave,
+    triggerImmediateAutoSave,
   } = usePostEditor(initialPostId);
 
   // Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd+S to save
@@ -128,6 +130,7 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout: _onLogout, initialPostId, onBack
                 onSetFeature={(url: string) => setMeta(m => ({ ...m, featureImage: url }))}
                 selectedKeys={genImageKeys}
                 onToggleSelect={toggleGenImage}
+                onAudioRemoved={triggerImmediateAutoSave}
               />
             </StepContainer>
           )}
@@ -169,13 +172,18 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout: _onLogout, initialPostId, onBack
                 generatedDraft={generatedDraft}
                 imagePlaceholders={imagePlaceholders}
                 selectedImageKeys={genImageKeys}
+                onAutoSave={triggerImmediateAutoSave}
               />
             </StepContainer>
           )}
 
           {activeStep === 4 && (
             <StepContainer>
-              <StepMetadata value={meta} onChange={setMeta} />
+              <StepMetadata 
+                value={meta} 
+                onChange={setMeta} 
+                onAutoSave={triggerImmediateAutoSave}
+              />
             </StepContainer>
           )}
 
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepAssets.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepAssets.tsx
index 940f0ab..8f5bdfb 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepAssets.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepAssets.tsx
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ export default function StepAssets({
   onSetFeature,
   selectedKeys,
   onToggleSelect,
+  onAudioRemoved,
 }: {
   postId?: string | null;
   postClips: Clip[];
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ export default function StepAssets({
   onSetFeature: (url: string) => void;
   selectedKeys?: string[];
   onToggleSelect?: (key: string) => void;
+  onAudioRemoved?: () => void;
 }) {
   return (
     <Box sx={{ display: 'grid', gap: 2 }}>
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@ export default function StepAssets({
             postId={postId ?? undefined}
             onInsertAtCursor={onInsertAtCursor}
             initialClips={postClips}
+            onAudioRemoved={onAudioRemoved}
           />
         </CollapsibleSection>
         <CollapsibleSection title="Media Library">
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepEdit.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepEdit.tsx
index 1a3dba2..a317d5e 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepEdit.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepEdit.tsx
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export default function StepEdit({
   generatedDraft,
   imagePlaceholders,
   selectedImageKeys,
+  onAutoSave,
 }: {
   editorRef: ForwardedRef<RichEditorHandle> | any;
   draftHtml: string;
@@ -18,9 +19,11 @@ export default function StepEdit({
   generatedDraft?: string;
   imagePlaceholders?: string[];
   selectedImageKeys?: string[];
+  onAutoSave?: () => void;
 }) {
   const [showImagePicker, setShowImagePicker] = useState(false);
   const [currentPlaceholder, setCurrentPlaceholder] = useState<string>('');
+
   const loadGeneratedDraft = () => {
     if (!generatedDraft) return;
     if (draftHtml && draftHtml !== '<p></p>' && !confirm('Replace current content with generated draft?')) {
@@ -36,6 +39,10 @@ export default function StepEdit({
     const newHtml = draftHtml.replace(placeholderPattern, replacement);
     onChangeDraft(newHtml);
     setShowImagePicker(false);
+    // Trigger auto-save after replacing placeholder
+    if (onAutoSave) {
+      setTimeout(() => onAutoSave(), 0);
+    }
   };
 
   const detectPlaceholders = () => {
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepMetadata.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepMetadata.tsx
index 4318fef..61f2a94 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepMetadata.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/steps/StepMetadata.tsx
@@ -2,14 +2,30 @@ import { Box } from '@mui/material';
 import MetadataPanel, { type Metadata } from '../MetadataPanel';
 import StepHeader from './StepHeader';
 
-export default function StepMetadata({ value, onChange }: { value: Metadata; onChange: (v: Metadata) => void }) {
+export default function StepMetadata({ 
+  value, 
+  onChange, 
+  onAutoSave 
+}: { 
+  value: Metadata; 
+  onChange: (v: Metadata) => void;
+  onAutoSave?: () => void;
+}) {
+  const handleChange = (v: Metadata) => {
+    onChange(v);
+    // Trigger auto-save after metadata change
+    if (onAutoSave) {
+      setTimeout(() => onAutoSave(), 0);
+    }
+  };
+
   return (
     <Box>
       <StepHeader 
         title="Metadata" 
         description="Configure post metadata including tags, canonical URL, and feature image."
       />
-      <MetadataPanel value={value} onChange={onChange} />
+      <MetadataPanel value={value} onChange={handleChange} />
     </Box>
   );
 }
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/features/recorder/Recorder.tsx b/apps/admin/src/features/recorder/Recorder.tsx
index ac9c9c7..02bcc34 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/features/recorder/Recorder.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/features/recorder/Recorder.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { Box, Button, Stack, Typography, Paper } from '@mui/material';
 
-export default function Recorder({ postId, initialClips, onInsertAtCursor, onTranscript }: { postId?: string; initialClips?: Array<{ id: string; bucket: string; key: string; mime: string; transcript?: string }>; onInsertAtCursor?: (html: string) => void; onTranscript?: (t: string) => void }) {
+export default function Recorder({ postId, initialClips, onInsertAtCursor, onTranscript, onAudioRemoved }: { postId?: string; initialClips?: Array<{ id: string; bucket: string; key: string; mime: string; transcript?: string }>; onInsertAtCursor?: (html: string) => void; onTranscript?: (t: string) => void; onAudioRemoved?: () => void }) {
   const mediaRecorderRef = useRef<MediaRecorder | null>(null);
   const chunksRef = useRef<Blob[]>([]);
   const mimeRef = useRef<string>('audio/webm');
@@ -200,6 +200,11 @@ export default function Recorder({ postId, initialClips, onInsertAtCursor, onTra
       if (item?.url) URL.revokeObjectURL(item.url);
       return arr;
     });
+    
+    // Notify parent that audio was removed (triggers auto-save)
+    if (onAudioRemoved) {
+      setTimeout(() => onAudioRemoved(), 0);
+    }
   };
 
   const applyTranscriptsToDraft = () => {
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/hooks/usePostEditor.ts b/apps/admin/src/hooks/usePostEditor.ts
index f5c60c3..2ad8ace 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/hooks/usePostEditor.ts
+++ b/apps/admin/src/hooks/usePostEditor.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import { useEffect, useState, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import { getPost, savePost as savePostApi, deletePost as deletePostApi, type SavePostPayload } from '../services/posts';
 import { ghostPreview as ghostPreviewApi, ghostPublish as ghostPublishApi, type GhostPostStatus } from '../services/ghost';
 import type { Metadata } from '../components/MetadataPanel';
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ export function usePostEditor(initialPostId?: string | null) {
   const [genImageKeys, setGenImageKeys] = useState<string[]>([]);
   const [generatedDraft, setGeneratedDraft] = useState<string>('');
   const [imagePlaceholders, setImagePlaceholders] = useState<string[]>([]);
+  const autoSaveTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const savedId = initialPostId || localStorage.getItem('voxblog_post_id');
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ export function usePostEditor(initialPostId?: string | null) {
     }
   }, [initialPostId]);
 
-  const savePost = async (overrides?: Partial<SavePostPayload>) => {
+  const savePost = useCallback(async (overrides?: Partial<SavePostPayload>, silent = false) => {
     localStorage.setItem('voxblog_draft', draft);
     const payload: SavePostPayload = {
       id: postId ?? undefined,
@@ -70,9 +71,11 @@ export function usePostEditor(initialPostId?: string | null) {
       setPostId(data.id);
       localStorage.setItem('voxblog_post_id', data.id);
     }
-    setToast({ open: true, message: 'Post saved', severity: 'success' });
+    if (!silent) {
+      setToast({ open: true, message: 'Post saved', severity: 'success' });
+    }
     return data;
-  };
+  }, [postId, draft, meta, postStatus, promptText, genImageKeys, generatedDraft, imagePlaceholders]);
 
   const deletePost = async () => {
     if (!postId) return;
@@ -118,9 +121,44 @@ export function usePostEditor(initialPostId?: string | null) {
     if (activeStep === 5) refreshPreview();
   }, [activeStep]);
 
-  const toggleGenImage = (key: string) => {
-    setGenImageKeys(prev => prev.includes(key) ? prev.filter(k => k !== key) : [...prev, key]);
-  };
+  // Auto-save with debouncing (silent save)
+  const triggerAutoSave = useCallback((delay = 500) => {
+    if (autoSaveTimeoutRef.current) {
+      clearTimeout(autoSaveTimeoutRef.current);
+    }
+    autoSaveTimeoutRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+      savePost({}, true).catch(err => {
+        console.error('Auto-save failed:', err);
+      });
+    }, delay);
+  }, [savePost]);
+
+  // Immediate auto-save (no debounce, silent)
+  const triggerImmediateAutoSave = useCallback(async () => {
+    try {
+      await savePost({}, true);
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error('Immediate auto-save failed:', err);
+    }
+  }, [savePost]);
+
+  const toggleGenImage = useCallback((key: string) => {
+    setGenImageKeys(prev => {
+      const newKeys = prev.includes(key) ? prev.filter(k => k !== key) : [...prev, key];
+      // Trigger immediate auto-save after state update
+      setTimeout(() => triggerImmediateAutoSave(), 0);
+      return newKeys;
+    });
+  }, [triggerImmediateAutoSave]);
+
+  // Cleanup timeout on unmount
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return () => {
+      if (autoSaveTimeoutRef.current) {
+        clearTimeout(autoSaveTimeoutRef.current);
+      }
+    };
+  }, []);
 
   return {
     // state
@@ -154,5 +192,7 @@ export function usePostEditor(initialPostId?: string | null) {
     publishToGhost,
     refreshPreview,
     toggleGenImage,
+    triggerAutoSave,
+    triggerImmediateAutoSave,
   } as const;
 }