diff --git a/core/downloads/cancel.py b/core/downloads/cancel.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6adecbc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/downloads/cancel.py
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+"""Download cancellation + clear helpers.
+
+Four discrete operations lifted from web_server.py:
+
+- `cancel_single_download(client, run_async, download_id, username)` — cancel
+  one slskd transfer.
+- `cancel_all_active(client, run_async, sweep_callback)` — cancel every
+  active slskd transfer, then clear the now-cancelled ones, then sweep
+  empty download directories.
+- `clear_finished_active(client, run_async, sweep_callback)` — clear all
+  terminal transfers from slskd (no cancel step), sweep dirs.
+- `clear_completed_local()` — prune terminal-status tasks from the
+  local `download_tasks` tracker, drop empty batches, drop their locks.
+  Pure local mutation, doesn't touch slskd.
+
+The slskd-touching helpers take the soulseek client and run_async callback
+explicitly; the local helper imports its globals directly from
+`core.runtime_state` since those are module-level shared state and every
+caller sees the same dict.
+
+Out of scope for this PR (deferred to the batch-lifecycle lift):
+- `cancel_download_task` (calls _on_download_completed)
+- `cancel_task_v2` + `_atomic_cancel_task` (manipulate batch active_count)
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from typing import Callable
+
+from core.runtime_state import (
+    batch_locks,
+    download_batches,
+    download_tasks,
+    tasks_lock,
+)
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_TERMINAL_STATUSES = {
+    'completed', 'failed', 'not_found', 'cancelled', 'skipped', 'already_owned',
+}
+
+
+def cancel_single_download(soulseek_client, run_async: Callable,
+                            download_id: str, username: str) -> bool:
+    """Cancel one specific slskd download (with `remove=True`)."""
+    return run_async(soulseek_client.cancel_download(download_id, username, remove=True))
+
+
+def cancel_all_active(soulseek_client, run_async: Callable,
+                       sweep_callback: Callable[[], None]) -> tuple[bool, str]:
+    """Cancel every active slskd download, clear the resulting ones, sweep dirs.
+
+    Returns `(success, message)` so the route can map to the right HTTP shape.
+    """
+    cancel_success = run_async(soulseek_client.cancel_all_downloads())
+    if not cancel_success:
+        return False, "Failed to cancel active downloads."
+
+    run_async(soulseek_client.clear_all_completed_downloads())
+    sweep_callback()
+    return True, "All downloads cancelled and cleared."
+
+
+def clear_finished_active(soulseek_client, run_async: Callable,
+                           sweep_callback: Callable[[], None]) -> bool:
+    """Clear all terminal transfers from slskd, sweep dirs on success."""
+    success = run_async(soulseek_client.clear_all_completed_downloads())
+    if success:
+        sweep_callback()
+    return success
+
+
+def clear_completed_local() -> int:
+    """Remove completed/failed/cancelled tasks from the local tracker.
+
+    Also prunes batches whose queues are now empty, and removes the matching
+    `batch_locks` entry. Returns the number of cleared tasks.
+    """
+    cleared = 0
+    with tasks_lock:
+        task_ids_to_remove = [
+            tid for tid, task in download_tasks.items()
+            if task.get('status') in _TERMINAL_STATUSES
+        ]
+        for tid in task_ids_to_remove:
+            del download_tasks[tid]
+            cleared += 1
+
+        empty_batches = []
+        for bid, batch in download_batches.items():
+            remaining = [t for t in batch.get('queue', []) if t in download_tasks]
+            if not remaining:
+                empty_batches.append(bid)
+            else:
+                batch['queue'] = remaining
+        for bid in empty_batches:
+            del download_batches[bid]
+            if bid in batch_locks:
+                del batch_locks[bid]
+
+    return cleared
diff --git a/core/runtime_state.py b/core/runtime_state.py
index f562ad5f..f952aee1 100644
--- a/core/runtime_state.py
+++ b/core/runtime_state.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ matched_downloads_context: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]] = {}
 tasks_lock = threading.Lock()
 download_tasks: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]] = {}
 download_batches: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]] = {}
+batch_locks: Dict[str, threading.Lock] = {}
 processed_download_ids = set()
 post_process_locks: Dict[str, threading.Lock] = {}
 post_process_locks_lock = threading.Lock()
diff --git a/tests/downloads/test_downloads_cancel.py b/tests/downloads/test_downloads_cancel.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d90f0ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/downloads/test_downloads_cancel.py
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+"""Tests for core/downloads/cancel.py — slskd cancel + clear + local task pruning."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+
+from core.downloads import cancel
+from core.runtime_state import (
+    batch_locks,
+    download_batches,
+    download_tasks,
+)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def reset_state():
+    """Each test gets clean download_tasks / download_batches / batch_locks."""
+    download_tasks.clear()
+    download_batches.clear()
+    batch_locks.clear()
+    yield
+    download_tasks.clear()
+    download_batches.clear()
+    batch_locks.clear()
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Fakes
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class _FakeSoulseek:
+    def __init__(self, cancel_result=True, cancel_all_result=True, clear_result=True):
+        self._cancel_result = cancel_result
+        self._cancel_all_result = cancel_all_result
+        self._clear_result = clear_result
+        self.cancel_calls = []
+        self.cancel_all_calls = 0
+        self.clear_calls = 0
+
+    async def cancel_download(self, download_id, username, remove=False):
+        self.cancel_calls.append((download_id, username, remove))
+        return self._cancel_result
+
+    async def cancel_all_downloads(self):
+        self.cancel_all_calls += 1
+        return self._cancel_all_result
+
+    async def clear_all_completed_downloads(self):
+        self.clear_calls += 1
+        return self._clear_result
+
+
+def _sync_run_async(coro):
+    """Drain a coroutine on a fresh loop."""
+    import asyncio
+    loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+    try:
+        return loop.run_until_complete(coro)
+    finally:
+        loop.close()
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# cancel_single_download
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_cancel_single_passes_args_with_remove_true():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek()
+    result = cancel.cancel_single_download(sk, _sync_run_async, 'dl-123', 'user-x')
+    assert result is True
+    assert sk.cancel_calls == [('dl-123', 'user-x', True)]
+
+
+def test_cancel_single_propagates_failure():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek(cancel_result=False)
+    result = cancel.cancel_single_download(sk, _sync_run_async, 'dl', 'u')
+    assert result is False
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# cancel_all_active
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_cancel_all_happy_path():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek()
+    sweeps = []
+    success, msg = cancel.cancel_all_active(sk, _sync_run_async, lambda: sweeps.append(1))
+    assert success is True
+    assert msg == "All downloads cancelled and cleared."
+    assert sk.cancel_all_calls == 1
+    assert sk.clear_calls == 1
+    assert sweeps == [1]
+
+
+def test_cancel_all_returns_failure_if_cancel_step_fails():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek(cancel_all_result=False)
+    sweeps = []
+    success, msg = cancel.cancel_all_active(sk, _sync_run_async, lambda: sweeps.append(1))
+    assert success is False
+    assert msg == "Failed to cancel active downloads."
+    # Clear/sweep should NOT run when cancel fails
+    assert sk.clear_calls == 0
+    assert sweeps == []
+
+
+def test_cancel_all_runs_sweep_even_if_clear_returns_false():
+    """Clear returning False is not a hard error — sweep still runs (matches original)."""
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek(clear_result=False)
+    sweeps = []
+    success, msg = cancel.cancel_all_active(sk, _sync_run_async, lambda: sweeps.append(1))
+    assert success is True
+    assert sweeps == [1]
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# clear_finished_active
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_clear_finished_happy_path_calls_sweep():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek()
+    sweeps = []
+    success = cancel.clear_finished_active(sk, _sync_run_async, lambda: sweeps.append(1))
+    assert success is True
+    assert sk.clear_calls == 1
+    assert sweeps == [1]
+
+
+def test_clear_finished_failure_skips_sweep():
+    sk = _FakeSoulseek(clear_result=False)
+    sweeps = []
+    success = cancel.clear_finished_active(sk, _sync_run_async, lambda: sweeps.append(1))
+    assert success is False
+    assert sweeps == []
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# clear_completed_local
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_clear_completed_removes_terminal_tasks():
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'completed'}
+    download_tasks['t2'] = {'status': 'failed'}
+    download_tasks['t3'] = {'status': 'downloading'}  # still active
+    download_tasks['t4'] = {'status': 'cancelled'}
+    download_tasks['t5'] = {'status': 'not_found'}
+    download_tasks['t6'] = {'status': 'skipped'}
+    download_tasks['t7'] = {'status': 'already_owned'}
+
+    cleared = cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert cleared == 6
+    assert set(download_tasks.keys()) == {'t3'}
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_keeps_searching_and_queued():
+    """Active states ('searching', 'queued', 'downloading', 'pending') stay."""
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'searching'}
+    download_tasks['t2'] = {'status': 'queued'}
+    download_tasks['t3'] = {'status': 'downloading'}
+    download_tasks['t4'] = {'status': 'pending'}
+    cleared = cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert cleared == 0
+    assert set(download_tasks.keys()) == {'t1', 't2', 't3', 't4'}
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_drops_empty_batches():
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'completed'}
+    download_batches['b1'] = {'queue': ['t1']}  # all tasks will be cleared
+    download_batches['b2'] = {'queue': ['t2']}  # t2 doesn't exist either
+    download_tasks['t3'] = {'status': 'downloading'}
+    download_batches['b3'] = {'queue': ['t3']}  # t3 stays
+
+    cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert 'b1' not in download_batches
+    assert 'b2' not in download_batches
+    assert 'b3' in download_batches
+    assert download_batches['b3']['queue'] == ['t3']
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_prunes_terminal_task_ids_from_batch_queues():
+    """Batch with mix of terminal + active tasks gets queue trimmed, not deleted."""
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'completed'}
+    download_tasks['t2'] = {'status': 'downloading'}
+    download_batches['b1'] = {'queue': ['t1', 't2']}
+
+    cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert 'b1' in download_batches
+    assert download_batches['b1']['queue'] == ['t2']
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_drops_batch_locks_for_deleted_batches():
+    import threading
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'completed'}
+    download_batches['b1'] = {'queue': ['t1']}
+    batch_locks['b1'] = threading.Lock()
+
+    cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert 'b1' not in batch_locks
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_keeps_batch_locks_for_surviving_batches():
+    import threading
+    download_tasks['t1'] = {'status': 'downloading'}
+    download_batches['b1'] = {'queue': ['t1']}
+    batch_locks['b1'] = threading.Lock()
+
+    cancel.clear_completed_local()
+    assert 'b1' in batch_locks
+
+
+def test_clear_completed_returns_zero_on_empty_state():
+    assert cancel.clear_completed_local() == 0
diff --git a/web_server.py b/web_server.py
index 42e7db91..3c5f89e0 100644
--- a/web_server.py
+++ b/web_server.py
@@ -794,7 +794,9 @@ transfer_data_cache = {
 session_completed_downloads = 0
 session_stats_lock = threading.Lock()
 
-batch_locks = {}
+# `batch_locks` lives in core/runtime_state.py (re-exported here so the existing
+# call sites resolve without modification). All download globals share that home.
+from core.runtime_state import batch_locks
 _orphaned_download_keys = set()
 
 _enrichment_activity_log = {}
@@ -9353,15 +9355,17 @@ def get_download_status():
 
 
 
+# Cancel + clear logic lives in core/downloads/cancel.py — these routes are thin handlers.
+from core.downloads import cancel as _downloads_cancel
+
+
 @app.route('/api/downloads/cancel', methods=['POST'])
 def cancel_download():
-    """
-    Cancel a specific download transfer, matching GUI functionality.
-    """
+    """Cancel a specific download transfer, matching GUI functionality."""
     data = request.get_json()
     if not data:
         return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "No data provided."}), 400
-    
+
     download_id = data.get('download_id')
     username = data.get('username')
 
@@ -9369,52 +9373,40 @@ def cancel_download():
         return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Missing download_id or username."}), 400
 
     try:
-        # Call the same client method the GUI uses
-        success = run_async(soulseek_client.cancel_download(download_id, username, remove=True))
+        success = _downloads_cancel.cancel_single_download(soulseek_client, run_async, download_id, username)
         if success:
             return jsonify({"success": True, "message": "Download cancelled."})
-        else:
-            return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Failed to cancel download via slskd."}), 500
+        return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Failed to cancel download via slskd."}), 500
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Error cancelling download: {e}")
         return jsonify({"success": False, "error": str(e)}), 500
 
+
 @app.route('/api/downloads/cancel-all', methods=['POST'])
 def cancel_all_downloads():
-    """
-    Cancel all active downloads from slskd, then clear completed ones.
-    """
+    """Cancel all active downloads from slskd, then clear completed ones."""
     try:
-        # First cancel all active downloads
-        cancel_success = run_async(soulseek_client.cancel_all_downloads())
-        if not cancel_success:
-            return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Failed to cancel active downloads."}), 500
-
-        # Then clear the now-cancelled/completed downloads
-        clear_success = run_async(soulseek_client.clear_all_completed_downloads())
-
-        # Sweep empty directories
-        _sweep_empty_download_directories()
-
-        return jsonify({"success": True, "message": "All downloads cancelled and cleared."})
+        success, msg = _downloads_cancel.cancel_all_active(
+            soulseek_client, run_async, _sweep_empty_download_directories,
+        )
+        if success:
+            return jsonify({"success": True, "message": msg})
+        return jsonify({"success": False, "error": msg}), 500
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Error cancelling all downloads: {e}")
         return jsonify({"success": False, "error": str(e)}), 500
 
+
 @app.route('/api/downloads/clear-finished', methods=['POST'])
 def clear_finished_downloads():
-    """
-    Clear all terminal (completed, cancelled, failed) downloads from slskd.
-    """
+    """Clear all terminal (completed, cancelled, failed) downloads from slskd."""
     try:
-        # This single client call handles clearing everything that is no longer active
-        success = run_async(soulseek_client.clear_all_completed_downloads())
+        success = _downloads_cancel.clear_finished_active(
+            soulseek_client, run_async, _sweep_empty_download_directories,
+        )
         if success:
-            # Also sweep empty directories left behind by completed downloads
-            _sweep_empty_download_directories()
             return jsonify({"success": True, "message": "Finished downloads cleared."})
-        else:
-            return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Backend failed to clear downloads."}), 500
+        return jsonify({"success": False, "error": "Backend failed to clear downloads."}), 500
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Error clearing finished downloads: {e}")
         return jsonify({"success": False, "error": str(e)}), 500
@@ -24646,29 +24638,7 @@ def get_batch_history():
 def clear_completed_downloads():
     """Remove completed/failed/cancelled tasks from the download tracker."""
     try:
-        terminal_statuses = {'completed', 'failed', 'not_found', 'cancelled', 'skipped', 'already_owned'}
-        cleared = 0
-        with tasks_lock:
-            task_ids_to_remove = [
-                tid for tid, task in download_tasks.items()
-                if task.get('status') in terminal_statuses
-            ]
-            for tid in task_ids_to_remove:
-                del download_tasks[tid]
-                cleared += 1
-            # Also clean up empty batches
-            empty_batches = []
-            for bid, batch in download_batches.items():
-                remaining = [t for t in batch.get('queue', []) if t in download_tasks]
-                if not remaining:
-                    empty_batches.append(bid)
-                else:
-                    batch['queue'] = remaining
-            for bid in empty_batches:
-                del download_batches[bid]
-                if bid in batch_locks:
-                    del batch_locks[bid]
-
+        cleared = _downloads_cancel.clear_completed_local()
         return jsonify({'success': True, 'cleared': cleared})
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"Error clearing completed downloads: {e}")