diff --git a/tests/tui_gateway/test_project_tree.py b/tests/tui_gateway/test_project_tree.py
index 69fc2b0176..067316740b 100644
--- a/tests/tui_gateway/test_project_tree.py
+++ b/tests/tui_gateway/test_project_tree.py
@@ -125,6 +125,42 @@ def test_linked_worktrees_fold_under_their_common_repo_root():
     assert linked["path"] == "/elsewhere/wt"
 
 
+def test_overview_orders_lanes_by_recency_not_alphabetically():
+    # Two linked-worktree lanes under one common repo root whose ALPHABETICAL
+    # order (wt-aaa, wt-zzz) is the OPPOSITE of their activity order (wt-zzz is
+    # the more recently active). The overview (hydrate=False) empties lane
+    # session arrays for payload slimness — but the lane sort must still run on
+    # real recency, matching the drill-in (hydrate=True) order, not collapse to
+    # alphabetical because the rows were dropped before sorting.
+    resolve = _resolver(
+        {
+            "/repo": ("/repo", "/repo"),
+            "/wt-aaa": ("/repo", "/wt-aaa"),
+            "/wt-zzz": ("/repo", "/wt-zzz"),
+        }
+    )
+    sessions = [
+        _session("/repo", branch="main", last_active=5000),
+        _session("/wt-aaa", last_active=1000),  # alphabetically first, older
+        _session("/wt-zzz", last_active=9000),  # alphabetically last, newer
+    ]
+
+    def _non_trunk_labels(hydrate):
+        tree = pt.build_tree([], sessions, [], resolve, hydrate=hydrate)
+        project = tree["projects"][0]
+        return [
+            g["label"]
+            for repo in project["repos"]
+            for g in repo["groups"]
+            if not g["isMain"]
+        ]
+
+    # Overview path: recency order (newer first), NOT alphabetical.
+    assert _non_trunk_labels(hydrate=False) == ["wt-zzz", "wt-aaa"]
+    # Drill-in path already sorts by recency — the two paths must agree.
+    assert _non_trunk_labels(hydrate=True) == ["wt-zzz", "wt-aaa"]
+
+
 def test_kanban_task_worktrees_collapse_into_one_bucket():
     resolve = _resolver(
         {
diff --git a/tui_gateway/project_tree.py b/tui_gateway/project_tree.py
index 5a92b38c97..4f2d1eaaae 100644
--- a/tui_gateway/project_tree.py
+++ b/tui_gateway/project_tree.py
@@ -376,8 +376,6 @@ def _build_repos(sessions: list[dict], resolve: Optional[Resolve], hydrate: bool
         group = entry["group"]
         group["sessions"].sort(key=_session_time, reverse=True)
         count = len(group["sessions"])
-        if not hydrate:
-            group["sessions"] = []
 
         repo_identity = _path_key(entry["repo_key"])
         repo = repos.get(repo_identity)
@@ -397,6 +395,15 @@ def _build_repos(sessions: list[dict], resolve: Optional[Resolve], hydrate: bool
     for repo in repo_list:
         repo["groups"] = _sort_lanes(repo["groups"])
         _disambiguate_labels(repo["groups"])
+        # Drop per-lane session rows only AFTER sorting: _lane_sort_key ranks
+        # non-trunk lanes by most-recent activity, which it derives from the
+        # session rows. Clearing them earlier makes every lane look inactive on
+        # the overview (hydrate=False) path and collapses the sort to
+        # alphabetical. Counts were already captured above, so the payload stays
+        # slim without losing the recency order.
+        if not hydrate:
+            for group in repo["groups"]:
+                group["sessions"] = []
     _disambiguate_labels(repo_list)
     return repo_list