diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/workspace-session.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/workspace-session.ts
index 4bf57f6d82f..6fb3509d138 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/workspace-session.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/workspace-session.ts
@@ -208,9 +208,15 @@ export function buildSanitizedTabsByWorktree(
     Object.entries(tabsByWorktree).map(([worktreeId, tabs]) => [
       worktreeId,
       tabs.map((tab) => {
-        const { pendingActivationSpawn: _unused, recovery: _recovery, ...rest } = tab
+        const {
+          pendingActivationSpawn: _unused,
+          recovery: _recovery,
+          restoredFromSession: _restored,
+          ...rest
+        } = tab
         void _unused
         void _recovery
+        void _restored
         return rest
       })
     ])
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-restored-placeholder-identity.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-restored-placeholder-identity.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..82d2308c8ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-restored-placeholder-identity.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import type { TerminalTab } from '../../../shared/terminal-tab-types'
+import { applyWebSessionTabsSnapshot } from './web-session-tabs-sync/snapshot-api'
+import type { WebSessionTabsSyncState } from './web-session-tabs-sync/state'
+import {
+  ENV,
+  HOST_SURFACE_ID,
+  LEAF_ID,
+  NOW,
+  SECOND_LEAF_ID,
+  THIRD_LEAF_ID,
+  WT,
+  makeSnapshot,
+  makeState,
+  resetWebSessionTabsSyncTestState
+} from './web-session-tabs-sync-test-harness'
+
+vi.mock('../store', () => ({ useAppStore: { setState: vi.fn() } }))
+
+/**
+ * #25339: rows restored from the saved session carry `pendingActivationSpawn` until their pane
+ * mounts. Any ready host terminal used to retire every one of them, unrelated or not.
+ */
+function restoredRow(id: string, sortOrder: number): TerminalTab {
+  return {
+    id,
+    ptyId: null,
+    worktreeId: WT,
+    title: `Restored ${id}`,
+    customTitle: null,
+    color: null,
+    sortOrder,
+    createdAt: NOW - 10,
+    pendingActivationSpawn: true,
+    restoredFromSession: true
+  }
+}
+
+function restoredLayout(leafId: string, ptyId: string) {
+  return {
+    root: { type: 'leaf' as const, leafId },
+    activeLeafId: leafId,
+    expandedLeafId: null,
+    ptyIdsByLeafId: { [leafId]: ptyId }
+  }
+}
+
+const unrelatedReadySurface = {
+  type: 'terminal' as const,
+  id: HOST_SURFACE_ID,
+  title: 'host shell',
+  parentTabId: 'host-tab-1',
+  leafId: LEAF_ID,
+  isActive: true,
+  status: 'ready' as const,
+  terminal: 'terminal-1'
+}
+
+describe('restored placeholders retire only by their own identity', () => {
+  beforeEach(resetWebSessionTabsSyncTestState)
+
+  it('keeps two restored rows when the host publishes an unrelated terminal', () => {
+    const first = restoredRow('restored-a', 0)
+    const second = restoredRow('restored-b', 1)
+
+    const patch: Partial<WebSessionTabsSyncState> = applyWebSessionTabsSnapshot(
+      makeState({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [first, second] },
+        terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+          [first.id]: restoredLayout(SECOND_LEAF_ID, 'remote:web-env-1@@gone-a'),
+          [second.id]: restoredLayout(THIRD_LEAF_ID, 'remote:web-env-1@@gone-b')
+        }
+      }),
+      makeSnapshot([unrelatedReadySurface]),
+      ENV,
+      NOW
+    )
+
+    const ids = patch.tabsByWorktree?.[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id) ?? []
+    expect(ids).toContain(first.id)
+    expect(ids).toContain(second.id)
+    expect(ids).toHaveLength(3)
+  })
+
+  it('retires a restored row once the host publishes the PTY it was bound to', () => {
+    const restored = restoredRow('restored-a', 0)
+
+    const patch: Partial<WebSessionTabsSyncState> = applyWebSessionTabsSnapshot(
+      makeState({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [restored] },
+        terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+          [restored.id]: restoredLayout(SECOND_LEAF_ID, 'remote:web-env-1@@terminal-1')
+        }
+      }),
+      makeSnapshot([unrelatedReadySurface]),
+      ENV,
+      NOW
+    )
+
+    expect(patch.tabsByWorktree?.[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).not.toContain(restored.id)
+    expect(patch.tabsByWorktree?.[WT]).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/apply-preparation-base.ts b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/apply-preparation-base.ts
index 40638148759..1f4c88bd445 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/apply-preparation-base.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/apply-preparation-base.ts
@@ -145,7 +145,8 @@ export function prepareWebSessionTabsSnapshotBase(
             environmentId,
             nextRemotePtyIds,
             nextMirroredTerminalIds,
-            exactProvisionalHandoffs
+            exactProvisionalHandoffs,
+            state.terminalLayoutsByTabId[tab.id]?.ptyIdsByLeafId
           )
       )
     : currentTerminalTabs
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/terminal-surfaces.ts b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/terminal-surfaces.ts
index 65e01f513b7..fd796a455b8 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/terminal-surfaces.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/runtime/web-session-tabs-sync/terminal-surfaces.ts
@@ -230,7 +230,8 @@ export function shouldReplaceTerminalTab(
   environmentId: string,
   nextRemotePtyIds: ReadonlySet<string>,
   nextMirroredTerminalIds: ReadonlySet<string>,
-  exactProvisionalHandoffs: ReadonlySet<string>
+  exactProvisionalHandoffs: ReadonlySet<string>,
+  persistedLeafPtyIds: Readonly<Record<string, string>> | undefined
 ): boolean {
   if (exactProvisionalHandoffs.has(tab.id)) {
     // Why: agent kind is not session identity; retire only the provisional tab
@@ -242,7 +243,13 @@ export function shouldReplaceTerminalTab(
     return true
   }
   if (tab.pendingActivationSpawn && tab.ptyId === null && nextRemotePtyIds.size > 0) {
-    return true
+    // Why: a fresh placeholder has no identity, so the host's first terminal takes it over. A
+    // restored row names its own PTYs, and only those may retire it (#25339).
+    return (
+      !tab.restoredFromSession ||
+      nextMirroredTerminalIds.has(toWebTerminalSurfaceTabId(tab.id)) ||
+      Object.values(persistedLeafPtyIds ?? {}).some((ptyId) => nextRemotePtyIds.has(ptyId))
+    )
   }
   if (!isRuntimeTerminalTabForEnvironment(tab, environmentId)) {
     return false
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/terminal-session-row-hydration.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/terminal-session-row-hydration.ts
index eda4f369725..ea61dfe8ae5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/terminal-session-row-hydration.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/terminal-session-row-hydration.ts
@@ -209,7 +209,8 @@ function restoreCanonicalMetadata(
     ...(aiVaultTitle ? { aiVaultTitle } : {}),
     sortOrder: index,
     // Why: suppress restored mounts so only real activity updates Recent.
-    pendingActivationSpawn: true
+    pendingActivationSpawn: true,
+    restoredFromSession: true
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/terminals/terminal-pty-bindings.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/terminals/terminal-pty-bindings.ts
index f78c8019e74..d7f39c70ac5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/terminals/terminal-pty-bindings.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/terminals/terminal-pty-bindings.ts
@@ -100,8 +100,9 @@ export function createTerminalPtyBindingActions(
             wasActivationSpawn = true
           }
           // Why: consume one suppression per split-pane activation callback.
-          const { pendingActivationSpawn: _unused, ...rest } = tab
+          const { pendingActivationSpawn: _unused, restoredFromSession: _restored, ...rest } = tab
           void _unused
+          void _restored
           // Why: tab.ptyId is the single-pane fallback for legacy attach; later split-pane spawns must not steal it or remount/close reattaches the tab to the wrong PTY.
           const currentTabPtyId = tab.ptyId === replacementPtyId ? ptyId : tab.ptyId
           const nextTabPtyId = currentTabPtyId ?? nextPtyIds[0] ?? null
diff --git a/src/shared/terminal-tab-types.ts b/src/shared/terminal-tab-types.ts
index 689aee49546..bcfcb2f7a16 100644
--- a/src/shared/terminal-tab-types.ts
+++ b/src/shared/terminal-tab-types.ts
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ export type TerminalTab = {
    *  `sortEpoch` increments. Split layouts use a numeric count because one tab
    *  can remount several panes. Never persisted — it is a transient handoff. */
   pendingActivationSpawn?: boolean | number
+  /** Hydrated from the saved session, so its own persisted PTY bindings identify it; a host
+   *  surface may retire it only by that identity. Never persisted; dropped once a PTY binds. */
+  restoredFromSession?: true
   /** Transient recovery ledger for this tab. Never persisted — it describes a
    *  mounted pane's in-flight heal, and a stale one would refuse the first
    *  legitimate recovery after restart. Stripped exactly like
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-layout/workspace-layout-disk-fields.ts b/src/shared/workspace-layout/workspace-layout-disk-fields.ts
index 30f47612c39..ece0eab9ef7 100644
--- a/src/shared/workspace-layout/workspace-layout-disk-fields.ts
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-layout/workspace-layout-disk-fields.ts
@@ -126,7 +126,8 @@ const ROW = {
   // Transient handoffs, never restored; the window strips them, but main's minimal row mint
   // stores `pendingActivationSpawn`, so the Loader drops it.
   pendingActivationSpawn: 'unwritten',
-  recovery: 'unwritten'
+  recovery: 'unwritten',
+  restoredFromSession: 'unwritten'
 } as const satisfies Record<keyof TerminalTab, DiskFieldWritten>
 
 const ENTRY_FIELDS = {