diff --git a/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store-file.ts b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store-file.ts
index 3f4f8dc4f06..626559328e4 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store-file.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store-file.ts
@@ -198,6 +198,38 @@ function parseState(
   return { state, needsRewrite }
 }
 
+/** A record the primary retained as unreadable may still have a valid copy in the previous
+ *  committed state. Adopting it keeps the session reachable — the lease is re-adjudicated
+ *  like any other — while the unreadable bytes stay quarantined verbatim. */
+async function salvageUnreadableRecordsFromBackup(
+  state: AgentSessionStoreState,
+  backupFilePath: string,
+  hostId: string
+): Promise<void> {
+  const missing = [...state.unreadableRecords.keys()].filter(
+    (sessionId) => !state.records.has(sessionId)
+  )
+  if (missing.length === 0) {
+    return
+  }
+  let raw: string
+  try {
+    raw = await readFile(backupFilePath, 'utf-8')
+  } catch {
+    return
+  }
+  const backup = parseState(raw, hostId)
+  if (!backup) {
+    return
+  }
+  for (const sessionId of missing) {
+    const record = backup.state.records.get(sessionId)
+    if (record) {
+      state.records.set(sessionId, record)
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 export async function loadAgentSessionStore(
   filePath: string,
   hostId: string
@@ -221,6 +253,9 @@ export async function loadAgentSessionStore(
       unusableStoreFound = true
       continue
     }
+    if (!recoveredFromBackup) {
+      await salvageUnreadableRecordsFromBackup(parsed.state, backupPath(filePath), hostId)
+    }
     return {
       state: parsed.state,
       storeFound: true,
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store.test.ts
index 5794e8945fd..d85694dd3fc 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-record-store.test.ts
@@ -773,30 +773,6 @@ describe('orphans, claim keys, checkpoints, and unreadable rows', () => {
     ).rejects.toThrow('agent_session_operation_conflict')
   })
 
-  it('quarantines a record it cannot validate and refuses to own that session id', async () => {
-    const first = await open()
-    await establishOwner(first)
-    const filePath = agentSessionStorePath(directory)
-    const raw = JSON.parse(await readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'))
-    raw.records['session-alpha'].lease.runtimeFence = 'not-a-number'
-    await writeFile(filePath, JSON.stringify(raw))
-
-    const reopened = await open()
-    expect(reopened.getRecord('session-alpha')).toBeNull()
-    expect(reopened.isSessionUnreadable('session-alpha')).toBe(true)
-    await expect(reopened.reserveOwner(reserveRequest())).rejects.toThrow(
-      'execution_owner_reconciling'
-    )
-    // The row stays verbatim inside an explicit unusable envelope.
-    await reopened.retireClaimKey('key-2', NOW)
-    const persisted = JSON.parse(await readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'))
-    expect(persisted.records).not.toHaveProperty('session-alpha')
-    expect(persisted.unusableRecords['session-alpha']).toMatchObject({
-      reason: 'current_shape_invalid',
-      raw: { lease: { runtimeFence: 'not-a-number' } }
-    })
-  })
-
   it.each([
     [
       'invalid checkpoint',
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/agent-session-unreadable-record-salvage.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-unreadable-record-salvage.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0d44d88d82b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/agent-session-unreadable-record-salvage.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+// Unreadable session records: quarantine when nothing can vouch for the session, salvage
+// when the previous committed state can.
+
+import { mkdtemp, readFile, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import type { AgentSessionRecord } from '../../shared/agent-session-record'
+import { AgentSessionRecordStore } from './agent-session-record-store'
+import { agentSessionStorePath } from './agent-session-record-store-file'
+import type { AgentSessionReserveRequest } from './agent-session-reservation-admission'
+
+const NOW = 1_800_000_000_000
+let directory: string
+let counter = 0
+
+function operationId(): string {
+  counter += 1
+  return `${NOW}-${String(counter)
+    .padStart(32, '0')
+    .replaceAll(/[^0-9a-f]/g, '0')}`
+}
+
+function reserveRequest(
+  overrides: Partial<AgentSessionReserveRequest> = {}
+): AgentSessionReserveRequest {
+  return {
+    sessionId: 'session-alpha',
+    location: {
+      executionHostId: 'local',
+      wslDistro: null,
+      workspaceId: 'workspace-1',
+      workspaceKind: 'git-worktree'
+    },
+    provider: 'claude',
+    accountHome: { variable: 'CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR', path: '/home/dev/.claude-work' },
+    runtimeKind: 'native',
+    expectedFence: null,
+    spawnToken: 'spawn-a',
+    claimKeyId: 'key-1',
+    handoffOperationId: null,
+    probe: { outcome: 'indeterminate', reason: 'no answer' },
+    operation: { callerKey: 'client-1', operationId: operationId(), fingerprint: 'fp-1' },
+    now: NOW,
+    ...overrides
+  }
+}
+
+async function open(): Promise<AgentSessionRecordStore> {
+  return AgentSessionRecordStore.open({ directory, hostId: 'local' })
+}
+
+/** Reserve, observe the spawn, prove the handle — the full path to an admitted writer. */
+async function establishOwner(store: AgentSessionRecordStore): Promise<AgentSessionRecord> {
+  const reserved = await store.reserveOwner(reserveRequest())
+  const fence = reserved.record.lease.runtimeFence
+  await store.commitProcessIdentity({
+    sessionId: 'session-alpha',
+    fence,
+    process: {
+      hostId: 'local',
+      pid: 4242,
+      processStartTimeMs: 1_700_000_000_000,
+      spawnToken: reserved.record.lease.reservedSpawnToken ?? 'spawn-a'
+    },
+    now: NOW
+  })
+  return store.proveOwner({
+    sessionId: 'session-alpha',
+    fence,
+    link: {
+      linkId: 'link-1',
+      handle: { provider: 'claude', sessionId: 'provider-session-1', leafUuid: 'leaf-1' },
+      origin: 'created',
+      mintedAtFence: fence,
+      observedAt: NOW
+    },
+    now: NOW
+  })
+}
+
+async function corruptPrimaryRecord(): Promise<string> {
+  const filePath = agentSessionStorePath(directory)
+  const raw = JSON.parse(await readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'))
+  raw.records['session-alpha'].lease.runtimeFence = 'not-a-number'
+  await writeFile(filePath, JSON.stringify(raw))
+  return filePath
+}
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  directory = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-agent-session-salvage-'))
+})
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true })
+})
+
+describe('unreadable session records', () => {
+  it('quarantines an unreadable record with no committed copy and refuses to own it', async () => {
+    const first = await open()
+    await establishOwner(first)
+    const filePath = await corruptPrimaryRecord()
+    // No previous committed state survives, so nothing can vouch for the session.
+    await rm(`${filePath}.bak`, { force: true })
+
+    const reopened = await open()
+    expect(reopened.getRecord('session-alpha')).toBeNull()
+    expect(reopened.isSessionUnreadable('session-alpha')).toBe(true)
+    await expect(reopened.reserveOwner(reserveRequest())).rejects.toThrow(
+      'execution_owner_reconciling'
+    )
+    // The row stays verbatim inside an explicit unusable envelope.
+    await reopened.retireClaimKey('key-2', NOW)
+    const persisted = JSON.parse(await readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'))
+    expect(persisted.records).not.toHaveProperty('session-alpha')
+    expect(persisted.unusableRecords['session-alpha']).toMatchObject({
+      reason: 'current_shape_invalid',
+      raw: { lease: { runtimeFence: 'not-a-number' } }
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('salvages the last committed copy of a record the primary retains as unreadable', async () => {
+    const first = await open()
+    await establishOwner(first)
+    // One more commit leaves the proven-owner record in the backup file.
+    await first.setJournalCheckpoint({
+      sessionId: 'session-alpha',
+      fence: 1,
+      checkpoint: { epoch: 1, sequence: 1 },
+      now: NOW
+    })
+    const filePath = await corruptPrimaryRecord()
+
+    const reopened = await open()
+    // The previous committed state vouches for the session; its lease is re-adjudicated
+    // like any other, and the unreadable bytes stay quarantined verbatim.
+    expect(reopened.getRecord('session-alpha')?.lease).toMatchObject({
+      runtimeFence: 1,
+      claimStatus: 'live'
+    })
+    expect(reopened.recoveredFromBackup).toBe(false)
+    expect(reopened.isSessionUnreadable('session-alpha')).toBe(true)
+    await reopened.reconcileOnRestart({
+      probe: async () => ({ outcome: 'pid-absent' }),
+      now: NOW + 1
+    })
+    expect(reopened.getRecord('session-alpha')?.lease.claimStatus).toBe('released')
+
+    // Ownership is reachable again instead of refused with execution_owner_reconciling.
+    const reserved = await reopened.reserveOwner(
+      reserveRequest({ expectedFence: 2, spawnToken: 'spawn-b' })
+    )
+    expect(reserved.record.lease.claimStatus).toBe('reserved')
+    const persisted = JSON.parse(await readFile(filePath, 'utf-8'))
+    expect(persisted.records['session-alpha'].lease.claimStatus).toBe('reserved')
+    expect(persisted.unusableRecords['session-alpha']).toMatchObject({
+      reason: 'current_shape_invalid'
+    })
+
+    // Salvage only fills gaps: with the live record readable again, a reload must never
+    // let the stale backup copy clobber it.
+    const reloaded = await open()
+    expect(reloaded.getRecord('session-alpha')?.lease).toMatchObject({
+      claimStatus: 'reserved',
+      runtimeFence: 3
+    })
+  })
+})