diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-list-actions.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-list-actions.test.tsx
index 9ddf44cc24..27850a7ca0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-list-actions.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-list-actions.test.tsx
@@ -302,6 +302,36 @@ describe('refreshSessions identity + loading hygiene', () => {
     expect($sessions.get().map(s => s.id)).toEqual(['a'])
   })
 
+  it('never resurrects a just-archived row the keep set still names (#118156)', async () => {
+    // The archive race: the RPC landed (so the in-flight pin released and the
+    // projects.tree prune dropped the tombstone — hence EMPTY tombstones
+    // here), but the row is still inside the 30s settle grace, so
+    // sessionsToKeep() names it. A refresh whose `previous` still holds the
+    // row must not carry it back through the survivor path. The map from
+    // tombstone→epoch keeps the exclusion alive exactly as long as the
+    // tombstone stood, so it must reproduce with the tombstone still set.
+    removed.ids = new Set(['just-archived'])
+
+    // Seed $sessions with the row still present, as a refresh racing the
+    // optimistic drop would see it.
+    setSessions([row('just-archived'), row('mine')])
+    // And make the settle grace name it: simulate a turn that just ended.
+    const { getRecentlySettledSessionIds } = await import('@/store/session-states')
+    const settled = vi.spyOn({ getRecentlySettledSessionIds }, 'getRecentlySettledSessionIds')
+
+    settled.mockReturnValue(['just-archived'])
+
+    listSidebarSessions.mockResolvedValue(sidebar({ sessions: [row('mine', { message_count: 3 })] }))
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useSessionListActions({ profileScope: 'default' }))
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await result.current.refreshSessions()
+    })
+
+    expect($sessions.get().map(s => s.id)).toEqual(['mine'])
+  })
+
   it('keeps idle recents when the sidebar returns an empty page plus profile errors', async () => {
     // Backend contract on disk I/O / lock: HTTP 200, recents=[], errors=[{profile}].
     // mergeSessionPage only keeps working/pinned/selected, so Yesterday/This-week
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.test.ts
index 91edde14f6..6af5e50f40 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.test.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ import {
   touchSessionActivity,
   workspaceCwdForNewSession
 } from './session'
+import { tombstoneSessions, untombstoneSessions } from './session-removal'
 import {
   $attentionSessionIds,
   clearAllSessionStates,
@@ -548,6 +549,41 @@ describe('mergeSessionPage', () => {
     expect(mergeSessionPage(previous, incoming, ['bot-chat']).map(s => s.id)).toEqual(['mine'])
   })
 
+  it('never resurrects a tombstoned row through the keep set (#118156)', () => {
+    // Archive flow: the row is tombstoned and dropped optimistically, but it
+    // is still recently-settled (its turn just ended), so sessionsToKeep()
+    // names it. A refresh whose `previous` still holds the row (a slice
+    // captured before the drop, or a resurrection injected by a stale page)
+    // must not let the survivor path keep it alive: while the tombstone
+    // stands, the row is on its way out — full stop.
+    tombstoneSessions(['doomed'])
+
+    try {
+      const previous = [session({ id: 'doomed' }), session({ id: 'mine' })]
+      const incoming = [session({ id: 'mine', message_count: 3 })]
+
+      expect(mergeSessionPage(previous, incoming, ['doomed']).map(s => s.id)).toEqual(['mine'])
+    } finally {
+      untombstoneSessions(['doomed'])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('matches a tombstone by lineage root, not just the live tip (#118156)', () => {
+    // archiveSession() tombstones the stored id AND the lineage root; the
+    // survivor filter must honor both, the same way dropTombstoned does for
+    // incoming rows.
+    tombstoneSessions(['root'])
+
+    try {
+      const previous = [session({ id: 'tip', _lineage_root_id: 'root' }), session({ id: 'mine' })]
+      const incoming = [session({ id: 'mine' })]
+
+      expect(mergeSessionPage(previous, incoming, ['root']).map(s => s.id)).toEqual(['mine'])
+    } finally {
+      untombstoneSessions(['root'])
+    }
+  })
+
   it('keeps a pinned session that has aged off the recent page', () => {
     // Repro of "loses pins until you refresh": a pinned chat falls off the
     // most-recent page, so the server stops returning it. A hard replace would
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
index 1058b2af9d..fa1d55e9cc 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import type { TileSessionFocusStamp } from '@/lib/session-timer-since'
 import { persistBoolean, persistString, readJson, storedBoolean, storedString, writeJson } from '@/lib/storage'
 import type { SessionInfo, UsageStats } from '@/types/hermes'
 
-import { isSessionRemovalPending } from './session-removal'
+import { $removedSessionIds, isSessionRemovalPending } from './session-removal'
 import type { SessionOwnerRoute, SessionOwnerScope } from './session-request-router'
 import { clearUnreadOnOpen } from './session-unread-remote'
 
@@ -704,12 +704,27 @@ export function mergeSessionPage(
     merged.flatMap(session => (session._lineage_ids ?? []).map(id => `${profileKeyOf(session)}::${id}`))
   )
 
+  // The tombstone set is re-read here, not at the caller: optimistic removal
+  // can land between `previous` being captured and this merge committing (a
+  // messaging "Load more" holds its slice for a long time), and a row the
+  // user archived or deleted must not survive through the keep set — the
+  // settle grace keeps a just-archived chat "recently settled" for 30s, which
+  // is exactly the window the survivor path used to resurrect it (#118156).
+  // Same bare-id + lineage-root match as dropTombstoned applies to incoming
+  // rows; a failed RPC untombstones immediately, so the filter is only ever
+  // as sticky as the removal itself.
+  const tombstones = $removedSessionIds.get()
+  const tombstoned = (session: SessionInfo): boolean =>
+    tombstones.size > 0 &&
+    (tombstones.has(session.id) || (session._lineage_root_id != null && tombstones.has(session._lineage_root_id)))
+
   const survivors = previous.filter(
     session =>
       // The keep-list answers "live, not listed yet" — a hidden row (canonical
       // Bot Chat, room plumbing) is LISTED-NEVER by design, so a live turn or
       // open tab must not resurrect it into the sidebar (#113273).
       !session.hidden &&
+      !tombstoned(session) &&
       !incomingIds.has(identity(session)) &&
       !incomingLineageKeys.has(lineageIdentity(session)) &&
       !incomingLineageIdMembers.has(identity(session)) &&