diff --git a/src/store/persistMiddleware.ts b/src/store/persistMiddleware.ts
index ad7d8037..a803aff0 100644
--- a/src/store/persistMiddleware.ts
+++ b/src/store/persistMiddleware.ts
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ export function resetPersistedPanesCacheForTests() {
 
 import { migrateV2ToV3 } from './persistedState.js'
 
-let cachedPersistedLayout: { tabs: any; panes: any; tombstones: any } | null | undefined
+let cachedPersistedLayout: { tabs: any; panes: any; tombstones: any; persistedAt?: number } | null | undefined
 
 /**
  * Load the combined layout from v3 key, or migrate from v2 keys.
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export function loadPersistedLayout(): typeof cachedPersistedLayout {
           tabs: { tabs: layoutParsed.tabs },
           panes: layoutParsed.panes,
           tombstones: layoutParsed.tombstones,
+          persistedAt: typeof layoutParsed.persistedAt === 'number' ? layoutParsed.persistedAt : undefined,
         }
         return cachedPersistedLayout
       }
@@ -370,6 +371,7 @@ export const persistMiddleware: Middleware<{}, PersistState> = (store) => {
   let tabsDirty = false
   let panesDirty = false
   let flushTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
+  const sessionPersistedAt = Date.now()
 
   const canUseStorage = () => typeof localStorage !== 'undefined'
 
@@ -413,6 +415,7 @@ export const persistMiddleware: Middleware<{}, PersistState> = (store) => {
       }
 
       const layoutPayload = {
+        persistedAt: sessionPersistedAt,
         version: LAYOUT_SCHEMA_VERSION,
         tabs: {
           activeTabId: state.tabs.activeTabId,
diff --git a/src/store/persistedState.ts b/src/store/persistedState.ts
index 60bada0a..c57cf058 100644
--- a/src/store/persistedState.ts
+++ b/src/store/persistedState.ts
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ export type ParsedPersistedLayout = {
   tabs: z.infer<typeof zPersistedTabsState>
   panes: ParsedPersistedPanes
   tombstones: Array<{ id: string; deletedAt: number }>
+  persistedAt?: number
 }
 
 export function parsePersistedLayoutRaw(raw: string): ParsedPersistedLayout | null {
@@ -158,6 +159,7 @@ export function parsePersistedLayoutRaw(raw: string): ParsedPersistedLayout | nu
       paneTitleSetByUser: (panes.paneTitleSetByUser || {}) as Record<string, Record<string, boolean>>,
     },
     tombstones: res.data.tombstones || [],
+    persistedAt: typeof (res.data as any).persistedAt === 'number' ? (res.data as any).persistedAt : undefined,
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/store/sessionsSlice.ts b/src/store/sessionsSlice.ts
index cf38c5ea..a846ae2d 100644
--- a/src/store/sessionsSlice.ts
+++ b/src/store/sessionsSlice.ts
@@ -263,6 +263,10 @@ export const sessionsSlice = createSlice({
       if (!state.activeSurface || state.activeSurface === action.payload.surface) {
         syncTopLevelFromWindow(state, action.payload.surface)
       }
+      // A successful HTTP fetch establishes a valid baseline for WS patches.
+      if (!state.wsSnapshotReceived) {
+        state.wsSnapshotReceived = true
+      }
     },
     markWsSnapshotReceived: (state) => {
       state.wsSnapshotReceived = true
diff --git a/src/store/sessionsThunks.ts b/src/store/sessionsThunks.ts
index 101be949..d006868d 100644
--- a/src/store/sessionsThunks.ts
+++ b/src/store/sessionsThunks.ts
@@ -580,8 +580,8 @@ export function fetchSessionWindow(args: FetchSessionWindowArgs) {
 
 export function refreshActiveSessionWindow() {
   return async (dispatch: AppDispatch, getState: () => RootState) => {
-    const surface = getState().sessions.activeSurface as SessionSurface | undefined
-    if (!surface) return
+    const active = getState().sessions.activeSurface as SessionSurface | undefined
+    const surface: SessionSurface = active ?? 'sidebar'
     const windowState = getState().sessions.windows[surface]
     if (!hasCommittedWindowData(windowState)) {
       const requestedSearchContext = getRequestedWindowSearchContext(windowState)
@@ -608,9 +608,11 @@ export function refreshActiveSessionWindow() {
 export function queueActiveSessionWindowRefresh() {
   return async (dispatch: AppDispatch, getState: () => RootState) => {
     const activeSurface = getState().sessions.activeSurface
-    if (!isSessionSurface(activeSurface)) return
+    // Default to 'sidebar' if activeSurface hasn't been initialized yet —
+    // sessions.changed can arrive before bootstrap sets the active surface.
+    const surface: SessionSurface = isSessionSurface(activeSurface) ? activeSurface : 'sidebar'
 
-    const existing = invalidationRefreshState.get(activeSurface)
+    const existing = invalidationRefreshState.get(surface)
     if (existing?.inFlight) {
       existing.queued = true
       return existing.inFlight
@@ -621,13 +623,13 @@ export function queueActiveSessionWindowRefresh() {
       inFlight: null as Promise<void> | null,
       queued: true,
     }
-    invalidationRefreshState.set(activeSurface, state)
+    invalidationRefreshState.set(surface, state)
 
     const run = (async () => {
       try {
         while (generation === sessionWindowThunkGeneration) {
-          const activeRequest = inFlightRequests.get(activeSurface) ?? null
-          const windowState = getState().sessions.windows[activeSurface]
+          const activeRequest = inFlightRequests.get(surface) ?? null
+          const windowState = getState().sessions.windows[surface]
           const hasCommittedWindow = hasCommittedWindowData(windowState)
 
           if (!hasCommittedWindow) {
@@ -643,7 +645,7 @@ export function queueActiveSessionWindowRefresh() {
             state.queued = false
             const requestedSearchContext = getRequestedWindowSearchContext(windowState)
             await dispatch(fetchSessionWindow({
-              surface: activeSurface,
+              surface,
               priority: 'background',
               query: requestedSearchContext.query,
               searchTier: requestedSearchContext.searchTier,
@@ -663,7 +665,7 @@ export function queueActiveSessionWindowRefresh() {
             await refreshVisibleSessionWindowSilently({
               dispatch,
               getState,
-              surface: activeSurface,
+              surface,
               generation,
               identity: getVisibleResultIdentity(windowState),
               preserveLoadingState: activeRequest !== null,
@@ -683,15 +685,15 @@ export function queueActiveSessionWindowRefresh() {
           await refreshVisibleSessionWindowSilently({
             dispatch,
             getState,
-            surface: activeSurface,
+            surface,
             generation,
             identity: getVisibleResultIdentity(windowState),
             preserveLoadingState: false,
           })
         }
       } finally {
-        if (invalidationRefreshState.get(activeSurface) === state) {
-          invalidationRefreshState.delete(activeSurface)
+        if (invalidationRefreshState.get(surface) === state) {
+          invalidationRefreshState.delete(surface)
         }
       }
     })()
diff --git a/src/store/tabsSlice.ts b/src/store/tabsSlice.ts
index c4ea3f2b..681b3a1b 100644
--- a/src/store/tabsSlice.ts
+++ b/src/store/tabsSlice.ts
@@ -71,7 +71,13 @@ function loadInitialTabsState(): TabsState {
     const tabsState = layout.tabs?.tabs as Partial<TabsState> | undefined
     if (!Array.isArray(tabsState?.tabs)) return defaultState
 
-    log.debug('Loaded initial state from localStorage:', tabsState.tabs.map((t: Tab) => t.id))
+    const persistedAt = typeof layout.persistedAt === 'number' ? layout.persistedAt : undefined
+    const ageMs = persistedAt ? Date.now() - persistedAt : undefined
+    const ageHours = ageMs ? Math.round(ageMs / 3600000) : undefined
+    if (ageHours !== undefined && ageHours > 24) {
+      log.warn(`Restoring tab state from ${ageHours}h ago — may be stale (persistedAt: ${new Date(persistedAt!).toISOString()})`)
+    }
+    log.debug('Loaded initial state from localStorage:', tabsState.tabs.map((t: Tab) => t.id), persistedAt ? `(${ageHours}h old)` : '(no timestamp)')
 
     const mappedTabs = tabsState.tabs.map(migrateTabFields)
     const desired = tabsState.activeTabId