diff --git a/src/main/persistence.test.ts b/src/main/persistence.test.ts
index b59ca6f5986..0e507090c1f 100644
--- a/src/main/persistence.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/persistence.test.ts
@@ -12142,21 +12142,177 @@ describe('Store host-partitioned workspace sessions', () => {
     expect(session.terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId?.['repo-gone']).toBeUndefined()
   })
 
-  it('drops a corrupt host partition to defaults without failing the others', async () => {
+  it('resets only the corrupt required field of a host partition, not the partition', async () => {
+    const worktreeId = 'repo-1::/worktree'
     writeDataFile({
       schemaVersion: 1,
       workspaceSessionsByHostId: {
         'runtime:good': makeHostSession('good-repo'),
         // activeRepoId must be string|null; a number fails the zod parse.
-        'runtime:bad': { ...makeHostSession('x'), activeRepoId: 123 }
+        'runtime:bad': {
+          ...makeHostSession('x'),
+          activeRepoId: 123,
+          tabsByWorktree: { [worktreeId]: [makeTerminalTab({ id: 'bad-host-tab', worktreeId })] }
+        }
       }
     })
 
     const store = await createStore()
 
     expect(store.getWorkspaceSession('runtime:good').activeRepoId).toBe('good-repo')
-    // Bad partition collapses to defaults rather than poisoning the map.
+    // The unsalvageable field falls back to its default; the partition's tabs survive.
     expect(store.getWorkspaceSession('runtime:bad').activeRepoId).toBeNull()
+    expect(
+      store.getWorkspaceSession('runtime:bad').tabsByWorktree[worktreeId]?.map((tab) => tab.id)
+    ).toEqual(['bad-host-tab'])
+  })
+
+  it('keeps every other worktree when the local session has a corrupt required field', async () => {
+    const worktreeId = 'repo-1::/worktree'
+    writeDataFile({
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      workspaceSession: {
+        ...makeHostSession('local-repo'),
+        // A projected/truncated write can leave a top-level field the wrong type;
+        // that must not cost every worktree's tabs the way a full reset did.
+        activeTabId: 42,
+        tabsByWorktree: {
+          [worktreeId]: [makeTerminalTab({ id: 'local-keep', worktreeId })]
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    const store = await createStore()
+
+    const session = store.getWorkspaceSession('local')
+    expect(session.activeTabId).toBeNull()
+    expect(session.tabsByWorktree[worktreeId]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(['local-keep'])
+  })
+
+  type PersistedSessionsFile = {
+    workspaceSession?: {
+      tabsByWorktree?: Record<string, { id: string }[]>
+      sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey?: Record<string, unknown>
+    }
+    workspaceSessionsByHostId?: Record<
+      string,
+      { tabsByWorktree?: Record<string, { id: string }[]> }
+    >
+  }
+
+  // Why: flush() writes whatever the state hash says is dirty, so it passes even
+  // when nothing scheduled a save — it cannot see the repair write at all. Loading
+  // once first canonicalizes the profile (a second load of a canonical file
+  // schedules nothing), so a later rewrite proves the salvage scheduled it.
+  async function loadAndAwaitScheduledSave(): Promise<void> {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    try {
+      const store = await createStore()
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(10_000)
+      await store.waitForPendingWrite()
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  }
+
+  async function canonicalize(fixture: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<PersistedSessionsFile> {
+    writeDataFile(fixture)
+    await loadAndAwaitScheduledSave()
+    const canonical = readFileSync(dataFile(), 'utf-8')
+    // Why: the save assertions below are only meaningful if a clean load schedules
+    // nothing. Prove that here rather than assume it — a future migration that
+    // dirtied every load would otherwise leave those tests silently vacuous.
+    await loadAndAwaitScheduledSave()
+    expect(readFileSync(dataFile(), 'utf-8')).toBe(canonical)
+    return JSON.parse(canonical) as PersistedSessionsFile
+  }
+
+  it('schedules a save for a salvaged local session instead of re-salvaging every launch', async () => {
+    const worktreeId = 'repo-1::/worktree'
+    const profile = await canonicalize({
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      workspaceSession: {
+        ...makeHostSession('local-repo'),
+        tabsByWorktree: { [worktreeId]: [makeTerminalTab({ id: 'tab-keep', worktreeId })] }
+      }
+    })
+    const tabs = profile.workspaceSession?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]
+    expect(tabs).toBeDefined()
+    tabs!.push({ id: 'tab-corrupt' })
+    writeDataFile(profile)
+
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {})
+    try {
+      await loadAndAwaitScheduledSave()
+      expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        '[persistence] Salvaged workspace session; dropped corrupt entries:',
+        { count: 1, fields: ['tabsByWorktree'], detailsTruncated: false }
+      )
+      expect(JSON.stringify(warn.mock.calls)).not.toContain(worktreeId)
+    } finally {
+      warn.mockRestore()
+    }
+
+    const persisted = readDataFile() as PersistedSessionsFile
+    expect(persisted.workspaceSession?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual([
+      'tab-keep'
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('schedules a save for salvaged host partitions', async () => {
+    const worktreeId = 'repo-1::/worktree'
+    const profile = await canonicalize({
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      workspaceSessionsByHostId: {
+        'runtime:env-a': {
+          ...makeHostSession('runtime-repo'),
+          tabsByWorktree: { [worktreeId]: [makeTerminalTab({ id: 'runtime-keep', worktreeId })] }
+        },
+        'ssh:target-b': {
+          ...makeHostSession('ssh-repo'),
+          tabsByWorktree: { [worktreeId]: [makeTerminalTab({ id: 'ssh-keep', worktreeId })] }
+        }
+      }
+    })
+    const partitions = profile.workspaceSessionsByHostId
+    const runtimeTabs = partitions?.['runtime:env-a']?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]
+    const sshTabs = partitions?.['ssh:target-b']?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]
+    expect(runtimeTabs).toBeDefined()
+    expect(sshTabs).toBeDefined()
+    runtimeTabs!.push({ id: 'runtime-corrupt' })
+    sshTabs!.push({ id: 'ssh-corrupt' })
+    const mutablePartitions = partitions as Record<string, unknown>
+    mutablePartitions['runtime:broken'] = 'not a session'
+    writeDataFile(profile)
+    await loadAndAwaitScheduledSave()
+
+    const persisted = (readDataFile() as PersistedSessionsFile).workspaceSessionsByHostId
+    expect(
+      persisted?.['runtime:env-a']?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]?.map((tab) => tab.id)
+    ).toEqual(['runtime-keep'])
+    expect(persisted?.['ssh:target-b']?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(
+      ['ssh-keep']
+    )
+    expect(persisted).not.toHaveProperty('runtime:broken')
+  })
+
+  it('writes back sleeping-agent records dropped during salvage', async () => {
+    const profile = await canonicalize({
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      workspaceSession: {
+        ...makeHostSession('local-repo'),
+        sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey: {}
+      }
+    })
+    profile.workspaceSession!.sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey = {
+      'tab-bad:leaf': { paneKey: 'different:leaf' }
+    }
+    writeDataFile(profile)
+
+    await loadAndAwaitScheduledSave()
+
+    const persisted = readDataFile() as PersistedSessionsFile
+    expect(persisted.workspaceSession?.sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey).toBeUndefined()
   })
 })
 
diff --git a/src/main/persistence.ts b/src/main/persistence.ts
index 12856638d29..c2e36d3ce9d 100644
--- a/src/main/persistence.ts
+++ b/src/main/persistence.ts
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ import {
   ONBOARDING_FLOW_VERSION,
   ONBOARDING_FINAL_STEP
 } from '../shared/constants'
-import { parseWorkspaceSession } from '../shared/workspace-session-schema'
+import { parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging } from '../shared/workspace-session-salvage'
 import { normalizeUsagePercentageDisplay } from '../shared/usage-percentage-display'
 import { normalizeStatusBarUsageMode } from '../shared/status-bar-usage-mode'
 import { isExistingPersistedProfile } from '../shared/project-order-manual-default-notice'
@@ -555,15 +555,27 @@ function workspaceSessionPatchNeedsFullNormalization(patch: WorkspaceSessionPatc
   )
 }
 
+function workspaceSessionSalvageLogDetails(result: {
+  droppedCount: number
+  droppedPaths: string[]
+}): { count: number; fields: string[]; detailsTruncated: boolean } {
+  return {
+    count: result.droppedCount,
+    fields: [...new Set(result.droppedPaths.map((path) => path.split('.', 1)[0]))],
+    detailsTruncated: result.droppedCount > result.droppedPaths.length
+  }
+}
+
 /** Normalize non-'local' host partitions; 'local' (the legacy workspaceSession blob) is dropped so the two surfaces never diverge.
  *  Each partition is zod-validated independently, so one corrupt host drops to defaults without taking out the others. Idempotent. */
 function parseWorkspaceSessionsByHostId(
   raw: unknown,
   defaults: WorkspaceSessionState
-): Partial<Record<ExecutionHostId, WorkspaceSessionState>> {
+): { partitions: Partial<Record<ExecutionHostId, WorkspaceSessionState>>; repaired: boolean } {
   if (!raw || typeof raw !== 'object' || Array.isArray(raw)) {
-    return {}
+    return { partitions: {}, repaired: raw !== undefined }
   }
+  let repaired = false
   const partitions: Partial<Record<ExecutionHostId, WorkspaceSessionState>> = {}
   for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(raw as Record<string, unknown>)) {
     const hostId = normalizeExecutionHostId(key)
@@ -571,17 +583,25 @@ function parseWorkspaceSessionsByHostId(
     if (!hostId || hostId === LOCAL_EXECUTION_HOST_ID) {
       continue
     }
-    const result = parseWorkspaceSession(value)
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(value)
     if (!result.ok) {
+      repaired = true
       console.error(
         `[persistence] Corrupt workspace session for host ${hostId}, using defaults:`,
         result.error
       )
       continue
     }
+    if (result.droppedCount > 0) {
+      console.warn(
+        `[persistence] Salvaged workspace session for host ${hostId}; dropped corrupt entries:`,
+        workspaceSessionSalvageLogDetails(result)
+      )
+      repaired = true
+    }
     partitions[hostId] = { ...defaults, ...result.value }
   }
-  return partitions
+  return { partitions, repaired }
 }
 
 function backupPath(dataFile: string, index: number): string {
@@ -3651,7 +3671,7 @@ export class Store {
             if (parsed.workspaceSession === undefined) {
               return defaults.workspaceSession
             }
-            const result = parseWorkspaceSession(parsed.workspaceSession)
+            const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(parsed.workspaceSession)
             if (!result.ok) {
               console.error(
                 '[persistence] Corrupt workspace session, using defaults:',
@@ -3659,13 +3679,28 @@ export class Store {
               )
               return defaults.workspaceSession
             }
+            if (result.droppedCount > 0) {
+              console.warn(
+                '[persistence] Salvaged workspace session; dropped corrupt entries:',
+                workspaceSessionSalvageLogDetails(result)
+              )
+              // Why: salvage repairs only the in-memory session; without a save the corrupt entries stay on disk and get re-dropped every launch.
+              this.loadNeedsSave = true
+            }
             return { ...defaults.workspaceSession, ...result.value }
           })(),
           // Why: per-host session partitions, validated independently; 'local' stays in workspaceSession for downgrade compat.
-          workspaceSessionsByHostId: parseWorkspaceSessionsByHostId(
-            parsed.workspaceSessionsByHostId,
-            defaults.workspaceSession
-          ),
+          workspaceSessionsByHostId: (() => {
+            const { partitions, repaired } = parseWorkspaceSessionsByHostId(
+              parsed.workspaceSessionsByHostId,
+              defaults.workspaceSession
+            )
+            if (repaired) {
+              // Why: salvage repairs only the in-memory partitions; without a save the corrupt entries stay on disk and get re-dropped every launch.
+              this.loadNeedsSave = true
+            }
+            return partitions
+          })(),
           sshTargets: (parsed.sshTargets ?? []).map(normalizeSshTarget),
           deletedSshConfigAliases: Array.isArray(parsed.deletedSshConfigAliases)
             ? parsed.deletedSshConfigAliases.filter(
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/browser.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/browser.ts
index 787fd320920..78a7a31b358 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/browser.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/browser.ts
@@ -1651,21 +1651,25 @@ export const createBrowserSlice: StateCreator<AppState, [], [], BrowserSlice> =
         }
         const hydratedTabs: BrowserWorkspace[] = []
         for (const tab of tabs) {
-          const persistedPages = persistedPagesByWorkspace[tab.id] ?? [
-            {
-              id: createBrowserUuid(),
-              workspaceId: tab.id,
-              worktreeId,
-              url: normalizeUrl(tab.url),
-              title: tab.title,
-              loading: false,
-              faviconUrl: tab.faviconUrl ?? null,
-              canGoBack: tab.canGoBack,
-              canGoForward: tab.canGoForward,
-              loadError: tab.loadError ?? null,
-              createdAt: tab.createdAt
-            } satisfies BrowserPage
-          ]
+          // Salvage can leave an empty page array; hydrate it like a missing array.
+          const storedPages = persistedPagesByWorkspace[tab.id]
+          const persistedPages = storedPages?.length
+            ? storedPages
+            : [
+                {
+                  id: createBrowserUuid(),
+                  workspaceId: tab.id,
+                  worktreeId,
+                  url: normalizeUrl(tab.url),
+                  title: tab.title,
+                  loading: false,
+                  faviconUrl: tab.faviconUrl ?? null,
+                  canGoBack: tab.canGoBack,
+                  canGoForward: tab.canGoForward,
+                  loadError: tab.loadError ?? null,
+                  createdAt: tab.createdAt
+                } satisfies BrowserPage
+              ]
           const nextPages = persistedPages.map((page) => {
             // Why: in-memory hydration callers can bypass the persistence schema's unknown-key stripping.
             const { allowWindowClose: _legacyAllowWindowClose, ...persistedPage } =
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/store-session-cascades.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/store-session-cascades.test.ts
index 3d9a759e1d2..06cfa17bfc8 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/store-session-cascades.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/store-session-cascades.test.ts
@@ -724,6 +724,45 @@ describe('hydrateBrowserSession', () => {
     expect(s.activeBrowserTabId).toBe('browser-1')
   })
 
+  it('synthesizes a page for a browser workspace whose persisted page list is empty', () => {
+    // Why: session salvage drops a corrupt page by rebuilding the array, so the
+    // key survives holding []. Treating that as "has pages" restores a workspace
+    // with no page at all — a dead about:blank tab nothing prunes or reloads.
+    const store = createTestStore()
+    const validWt = 'repo1::/path/wt1'
+
+    store.setState({
+      repos: [
+        { id: 'repo1', path: '/repo1', displayName: 'Repo 1', badgeColor: '#000', addedAt: 0 }
+      ],
+      worktreesByRepo: {
+        repo1: [makeWorktree({ id: validWt, repoId: 'repo1', path: '/path/wt1' })]
+      },
+      activeWorktreeId: validWt
+    })
+
+    store.getState().hydrateBrowserSession({
+      activeRepoId: 'repo1',
+      activeWorktreeId: validWt,
+      activeTabId: null,
+      tabsByWorktree: {},
+      terminalLayoutsByTabId: {},
+      browserTabsByWorktree: {
+        [validWt]: [
+          makeBrowserTab({ id: 'browser-1', worktreeId: validWt, url: 'https://example.com' })
+        ]
+      },
+      browserPagesByWorkspace: { 'browser-1': [] }
+    })
+
+    const s = store.getState()
+    expect(s.browserPagesByWorkspace['browser-1']).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(s.browserPagesByWorkspace['browser-1'][0].url).toBe('https://example.com')
+    expect(s.browserTabsByWorktree[validWt][0].activePageId).toBe(
+      s.browserPagesByWorkspace['browser-1'][0].id
+    )
+  })
+
   it('drops legacy window close bypass state during hydration', () => {
     const store = createTestStore()
     const validWt = 'repo1::/path/wt1'
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tab-group-reference-repair.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tab-group-reference-repair.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..42a742cc724
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tab-group-reference-repair.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import type { Tab, TabGroup, TabGroupLayoutNode } from '../../../../shared/types'
+import { createBrowserUuid } from '@/lib/browser-uuid'
+
+function collectLayoutGroupIds(node: TabGroupLayoutNode, groupIds: Set<string>): void {
+  if (node.type === 'leaf') {
+    groupIds.add(node.groupId)
+    return
+  }
+  collectLayoutGroupIds(node.first, groupIds)
+  collectLayoutGroupIds(node.second, groupIds)
+}
+
+export function layoutSpanningGroups(
+  groups: readonly TabGroup[],
+  existing?: TabGroupLayoutNode | null
+): TabGroupLayoutNode {
+  const first = existing ?? { type: 'leaf', groupId: groups[0].id }
+  const laidOutGroupIds = new Set<string>()
+  collectLayoutGroupIds(first, laidOutGroupIds)
+  return groups
+    .filter((group) => !laidOutGroupIds.has(group.id))
+    .reduce<TabGroupLayoutNode>(
+      (first, group) => ({
+        type: 'split',
+        direction: 'horizontal',
+        first,
+        second: { type: 'leaf', groupId: group.id }
+      }),
+      first
+    )
+}
+
+/** Re-home tabs stranded by a dropped group so hydration cannot render a blank workspace. */
+export function adoptGrouplessTabs(
+  tabsByWorktree: Record<string, Tab[]>,
+  groupsByWorktree: Record<string, TabGroup[]>,
+  activeGroupIdByWorktree: Record<string, string>,
+  layoutByWorktree: Record<string, TabGroupLayoutNode>
+): void {
+  for (const [worktreeId, tabs] of Object.entries(tabsByWorktree)) {
+    const groups = groupsByWorktree[worktreeId] ?? []
+    const owningGroupIdByTabId = new Map<string, string>()
+    for (const group of groups) {
+      for (const tabId of group.tabOrder) {
+        owningGroupIdByTabId.set(tabId, owningGroupIdByTabId.get(tabId) ?? group.id)
+      }
+    }
+    const orphanIds = tabs.filter((tab) => !owningGroupIdByTabId.has(tab.id)).map((tab) => tab.id)
+    const host: TabGroup = groups[0] ?? {
+      id: createBrowserUuid(),
+      worktreeId,
+      activeTabId: null,
+      tabOrder: [],
+      recentTabIds: []
+    }
+    const adopted = orphanIds.length
+      ? {
+          ...host,
+          tabOrder: [...host.tabOrder, ...orphanIds],
+          activeTabId: host.activeTabId ?? orphanIds[0]
+        }
+      : host
+    for (const tabId of orphanIds) {
+      owningGroupIdByTabId.set(tabId, adopted.id)
+    }
+    tabsByWorktree[worktreeId] = tabs.map((tab) => {
+      const owningGroupId = owningGroupIdByTabId.get(tab.id)
+      return owningGroupId && tab.groupId !== owningGroupId
+        ? { ...tab, groupId: owningGroupId }
+        : tab
+    })
+    if (orphanIds.length) {
+      groupsByWorktree[worktreeId] = [adopted, ...groups.slice(1)]
+      activeGroupIdByWorktree[worktreeId] ??= adopted.id
+      layoutByWorktree[worktreeId] ??= { type: 'leaf', groupId: adopted.id }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration-group-validation.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration-group-validation.test.ts
index f927db73b8d..dca253f4733 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration-group-validation.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration-group-validation.test.ts
@@ -96,3 +96,121 @@ describe('buildHydratedTabState group validation', () => {
     expect(group.tabOrder).toEqual(['t1'])
   })
 })
+
+describe('buildHydratedTabState referential repair', () => {
+  const tab = (id: string, groupId: string, sortOrder: number) => ({
+    id,
+    entityId: id,
+    groupId,
+    worktreeId: 'w1',
+    contentType: 'terminal' as const,
+    label: id,
+    customLabel: null,
+    color: null,
+    sortOrder,
+    createdAt: 1
+  })
+
+  function leafGroupIds(node: unknown): string[] {
+    const layout = node as
+      | { type: 'leaf'; groupId: string }
+      | { type: 'split'; first: unknown; second: unknown }
+    return layout.type === 'leaf'
+      ? [layout.groupId]
+      : [...leafGroupIds(layout.first), ...leafGroupIds(layout.second)]
+  }
+
+  it('keeps tabs reachable when a worktree lost every tab group', () => {
+    // Why: session salvage drops a corrupt group record and leaves its tabs
+    // behind. Groupless tabs render nowhere yet still count as renderable, so the
+    // auto-create rescue never fires and the worktree body comes back blank.
+    const result = buildHydratedTabState(
+      {
+        ...makeBaseSession(),
+        unifiedTabs: { w1: [tab('t1', 'g1', 0), tab('t2', 'g1', 1)] },
+        tabGroups: { w1: [] }
+      },
+      new Set(['w1'])
+    )
+
+    const groups = result.groupsByWorktree.w1
+    expect(groups).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(groups[0].tabOrder).toEqual(['t1', 't2'])
+    expect(groups[0].activeTabId).toBe('t1')
+    expect(result.activeGroupIdByWorktree.w1).toBe(groups[0].id)
+    expect(leafGroupIds(result.layoutByWorktree.w1)).toEqual([groups[0].id])
+    expect(result.unifiedTabsByWorktree.w1.map((t) => t.groupId)).toEqual([
+      groups[0].id,
+      groups[0].id
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('adopts tabs stranded by one dropped group into a surviving group', () => {
+    const result = buildHydratedTabState(
+      {
+        ...makeBaseSession(),
+        unifiedTabs: { w1: [tab('t1', 'g1', 0), tab('t2', 'g2', 1)] },
+        tabGroups: { w1: [{ id: 'g1', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't1', tabOrder: ['t1'] }] }
+      },
+      new Set(['w1'])
+    )
+
+    expect(result.groupsByWorktree.w1.map((group) => group.id)).toEqual(['g1'])
+    expect(result.groupsByWorktree.w1[0].tabOrder).toEqual(['t1', 't2'])
+    expect(result.unifiedTabsByWorktree.w1.map((t) => t.groupId)).toEqual(['g1', 'g1'])
+  })
+
+  it('repairs a tab groupId when a surviving group already owns the tab', () => {
+    const result = buildHydratedTabState(
+      {
+        ...makeBaseSession(),
+        unifiedTabs: { w1: [tab('t1', 'g-dropped', 0)] },
+        tabGroups: { w1: [{ id: 'g1', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't1', tabOrder: ['t1'] }] }
+      },
+      new Set(['w1'])
+    )
+
+    expect(result.groupsByWorktree.w1[0].tabOrder).toEqual(['t1'])
+    expect(result.unifiedTabsByWorktree.w1[0].groupId).toBe('g1')
+  })
+
+  it('spans every surviving group when the persisted layout is gone', () => {
+    // Why: salvage can drop a corrupt tabGroupLayouts entry while both groups
+    // survive; a fallback leaf naming only the first hides the second group and
+    // every tab in it, with nothing downstream to notice.
+    const result = buildHydratedTabState(
+      {
+        ...makeBaseSession(),
+        unifiedTabs: { w1: [tab('t1', 'g1', 0), tab('t2', 'g2', 1)] },
+        tabGroups: {
+          w1: [
+            { id: 'g1', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't1', tabOrder: ['t1'] },
+            { id: 'g2', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't2', tabOrder: ['t2'] }
+          ]
+        }
+      },
+      new Set(['w1'])
+    )
+
+    expect(leafGroupIds(result.layoutByWorktree.w1)).toEqual(['g1', 'g2'])
+  })
+
+  it('adds surviving groups omitted by a partial persisted layout', () => {
+    const result = buildHydratedTabState(
+      {
+        ...makeBaseSession(),
+        unifiedTabs: { w1: [tab('t1', 'g1', 0), tab('t2', 'g2', 1)] },
+        tabGroups: {
+          w1: [
+            { id: 'g1', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't1', tabOrder: ['t1'] },
+            { id: 'g2', worktreeId: 'w1', activeTabId: 't2', tabOrder: ['t2'] }
+          ]
+        },
+        tabGroupLayouts: { w1: { type: 'leaf', groupId: 'g1' } }
+      },
+      new Set(['w1'])
+    )
+
+    expect(leafGroupIds(result.layoutByWorktree.w1)).toEqual(['g1', 'g2'])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration.ts b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration.ts
index e6b1ae2474e..2fb85ab3808 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/store/slices/tabs-hydration.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import type {
 } from '../../../../shared/types'
 import { isValidTerminalTabId } from '../../../../shared/terminal-tab-id'
 import { createBrowserUuid } from '@/lib/browser-uuid'
+import { adoptGrouplessTabs, layoutSpanningGroups } from './tab-group-reference-repair'
 import {
   dedupeTabOrder,
   getPersistedEditFileIdsByWorktree,
@@ -176,15 +177,12 @@ function hydrateUnifiedFormat(
     const hydratedLayout = session.tabGroupLayouts?.[worktreeId]
       ? pruneTabGroupLayoutForGroups(session.tabGroupLayouts[worktreeId], hydratedGroupIds)
       : null
-    layoutByWorktree[worktreeId] = hydratedLayout ?? {
-      type: 'leaf',
-      // Why: if transient-only groups were removed during hydration, the
-      // persisted split tree can collapse to a single surviving group. The
-      // fallback leaf keeps restore aligned with the remaining real tabs.
-      groupId: hydratedGroups[0].id
-    }
+    // A partial layout must still render every surviving group.
+    layoutByWorktree[worktreeId] = layoutSpanningGroups(hydratedGroups, hydratedLayout)
   }
 
+  adoptGrouplessTabs(tabsByWorktree, groupsByWorktree, activeGroupIdByWorktree, layoutByWorktree)
+
   return {
     unifiedTabsByWorktree: tabsByWorktree,
     groupsByWorktree,
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-browser-schema.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-browser-schema.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..19aaeb0ae82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-browser-schema.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/* Why: the browser slice of the persisted workspace session. Split out of
+ * workspace-session-schema.ts to keep that file inside its line budget; the
+ * schemas themselves are unchanged apart from the per-entry tolerance the
+ * session schema now declares everywhere. */
+import { z } from 'zod'
+import type { BrowserWorkspace } from './types'
+import { normalizeBrowserHistoryEntries } from './workspace-session-browser-history'
+import { salvagingArray } from './zod-salvage'
+
+const browserLoadErrorSchema = z.object({
+  code: z.number(),
+  description: z.string(),
+  validatedUrl: z.string()
+})
+
+const browserViewportPresetIdSchema = z.enum([
+  'mobile-s',
+  'mobile-m',
+  'mobile-l',
+  'tablet',
+  'laptop',
+  'laptop-l',
+  'desktop'
+])
+
+// Why: the z.ZodType<BrowserWorkspace> cast only aligns the static type — it
+// does NOT let new fields survive parsing. z.object strips unknown keys, so
+// every additive field must be listed below (optional+nullable) or it is
+// dropped on restore.
+export const browserWorkspaceSchema: z.ZodType<BrowserWorkspace> = z.object({
+  id: z.string(),
+  worktreeId: z.string(),
+  label: z.string().optional(),
+  sessionProfileId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
+  // Why: optional+nullable so pre-field sessions still validate; without this
+  // zod strips the persisted partition on restore, and an isolated tab whose
+  // profile mirror is stale at startup would silently fall back to the shared
+  // default partition — reopening the storage leak (#6923) across restarts.
+  sessionPartition: z.string().nullable().optional(),
+  activePageId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
+  pageIds: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
+  url: z.string(),
+  title: z.string(),
+  loading: z.boolean(),
+  faviconUrl: z.string().nullable(),
+  canGoBack: z.boolean(),
+  canGoForward: z.boolean(),
+  loadError: browserLoadErrorSchema.nullable(),
+  createdAt: z.number()
+})
+
+export const browserPageSchema = z.object({
+  id: z.string(),
+  workspaceId: z.string(),
+  worktreeId: z.string(),
+  url: z.string(),
+  title: z.string(),
+  loading: z.boolean(),
+  faviconUrl: z.string().nullable(),
+  canGoBack: z.boolean(),
+  canGoForward: z.boolean(),
+  loadError: browserLoadErrorSchema.nullable(),
+  createdAt: z.number(),
+  // Why: explicit null marks a browser page as client-local even when its
+  // worktree is remote-owned; older sessions omit it and keep inferred runtime.
+  browserRuntimeEnvironmentId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
+  // Why: optional+nullable so sessions persisted before viewport presets were
+  // added still validate; without this, zod would strip the field during
+  // restore and reset the user's chosen preset on every app restart.
+  viewportPresetId: browserViewportPresetIdSchema.nullable().optional()
+})
+
+const browserHistoryEntrySchema = z.object({
+  url: z.string(),
+  normalizedUrl: z.string(),
+  title: z.string(),
+  lastVisitedAt: z.number(),
+  visitCount: z.number()
+})
+
+export const browserHistoryEntriesSchema = salvagingArray(browserHistoryEntrySchema).transform(
+  (entries) => normalizeBrowserHistoryEntries(entries)
+)
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.test.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..876f8bb7305
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,427 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { z } from 'zod'
+import { parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging } from './workspace-session-salvage'
+import { collectSalvageDrops, salvagingArray } from './zod-salvage'
+
+const WT = 'repo-1::/home/user/project'
+
+function terminalTab(id: string, overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return {
+    id,
+    ptyId: null,
+    worktreeId: WT,
+    title: 'Terminal',
+    defaultTitle: 'Terminal',
+    customTitle: null,
+    color: null,
+    sortOrder: 0,
+    createdAt: 1_700_000_000_000,
+    ...overrides
+  }
+}
+
+function baseSession(overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {}): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return {
+    activeRepoId: null,
+    activeWorktreeId: null,
+    activeTabId: null,
+    tabsByWorktree: {},
+    terminalLayoutsByTabId: {},
+    ...overrides
+  }
+}
+
+describe('parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging', () => {
+  it('restores outer diagnostics after a nested collection', () => {
+    const schema = salvagingArray(z.string())
+    const outer = collectSalvageDrops(() => {
+      schema.parse([1])
+      const inner = collectSalvageDrops(() => schema.parse([2]))
+      schema.parse([3])
+      return inner
+    })
+
+    expect(outer.droppedCount).toBe(2)
+    expect(outer.value.droppedCount).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('returns a valid session unchanged with nothing dropped', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({ tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-1')] } })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual([])
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree[WT]).toHaveLength(1)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops a tab record missing required fields and keeps the rest of the session', () => {
+    const truncated = {
+      id: 'tab-bad',
+      ptyId: null,
+      worktreeId: WT,
+      title: 'Terminal',
+      sortOrder: 0,
+      generation: 3,
+      startupCwd: '/home/user/project'
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-1'), terminalTab('tab-2'), truncated] },
+        sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey: {}
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual([`tabsByWorktree.${WT}.2`])
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(['tab-1', 'tab-2'])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('reports sleeping-agent records removed during normalization', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey: {
+          'tab-bad:leaf': { paneKey: 'different:leaf' }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey.tab-bad:leaf'])
+      expect(result.value.sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey).toBeUndefined()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops only the corrupt leaf pty mapping and keeps the rest of the tab layout', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-1')] },
+        terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+          'tab-1': {
+            root: { type: 'leaf', leafId: 'leaf-1' },
+            activeLeafId: 'leaf-1',
+            expandedLeafId: null,
+            ptyIdsByLeafId: { 'leaf-1': 'pty-1', 'leaf-2': 42 }
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalLayoutsByTabId.tab-1.ptyIdsByLeafId.leaf-2'])
+      const layout = result.value.terminalLayoutsByTabId['tab-1']
+      expect(layout?.ptyIdsByLeafId).toEqual({ 'leaf-1': 'pty-1' })
+      expect(layout?.root).toEqual({ type: 'leaf', leafId: 'leaf-1' })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops the containing entry when the corruption sits in one of its required fields', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+          'tab-bad': {
+            root: { type: 'leaf', leafId: 42 },
+            activeLeafId: null,
+            expandedLeafId: null
+          },
+          'tab-good': {
+            root: { type: 'leaf', leafId: 'leaf-1' },
+            activeLeafId: 'leaf-1',
+            expandedLeafId: null
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      // Why: the entry is the smallest self-contained unit, so dropped counts
+      // reflect distinct corrupt records rather than symptoms.
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalLayoutsByTabId.tab-bad'])
+      expect(result.value.terminalLayoutsByTabId['tab-bad']).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(result.value.terminalLayoutsByTabId['tab-good']?.root).toEqual({
+        type: 'leaf',
+        leafId: 'leaf-1'
+      })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('salvages systemic single-field corruption without inflating the dropped count', () => {
+    const layouts: Record<string, unknown> = {}
+    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i += 1) {
+      layouts[`tab-${i}`] = {
+        root: { type: 'leaf', leafId: i },
+        activeLeafId: null,
+        expandedLeafId: null
+      }
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(baseSession({ terminalLayoutsByTabId: layouts }))
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.value.terminalLayoutsByTabId).toEqual({})
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toHaveLength(20)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('reports one drop when a record raises both a bad-field and a missing-field issue', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({ terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:leaf-1': { worktreeId: 42 } } })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey.tab-1:leaf-1'])
+      expect(result.value.terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey).toEqual({})
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('reports one drop when two fields of the same record are corrupt', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey: {
+          'tab-1:leaf-1': {
+            worktreeId: WT,
+            parentTabId: 'tab-1',
+            leafId: 'leaf-1',
+            ptyId: 'pty-1',
+            incarnationId: '',
+            retiredAt: -5
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey.tab-1:leaf-1'])
+      expect(result.value.terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey).toEqual({})
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('reports a dotted map key and its same-named nested path independently', () => {
+    // Why: map keys are user data, so 'a.root' and the nested path a → root are
+    // different entries that read alike once joined.
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        terminalLayoutsByTabId: {
+          'a.root': 'not-an-object',
+          a: { root: 42, activeLeafId: null, expandedLeafId: null }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths.toSorted()).toEqual([
+        'terminalLayoutsByTabId.a',
+        'terminalLayoutsByTabId.a.root'
+      ])
+      expect(result.value.terminalLayoutsByTabId).toEqual({})
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops an invalid unified tab entry without touching sibling worktrees', () => {
+    const goodUnified = {
+      id: 'tab-1',
+      entityId: 'tab-1',
+      groupId: 'group-1',
+      worktreeId: WT,
+      contentType: 'terminal',
+      label: 'Terminal',
+      customLabel: null,
+      color: null,
+      sortOrder: 0,
+      createdAt: 1_700_000_000_000
+    }
+    const missingCustomLabel = { ...goodUnified, id: 'tab-2', entityId: 'tab-2' } as Record<
+      string,
+      unknown
+    >
+    delete missingCustomLabel.customLabel
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-1')] },
+        unifiedTabs: { [WT]: [goodUnified, missingCustomLabel], 'repo-2::/other': [] }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual([`unifiedTabs.${WT}.1`])
+      expect(result.value.unifiedTabs?.[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(['tab-1'])
+      expect(result.value.unifiedTabs?.['repo-2::/other']).toEqual([])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops a corrupt map value by its key', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:leaf-1': 'inc-1', 'tab-2:leaf-2': 123 }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey.tab-2:leaf-2'])
+      expect(result.value.terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey).toEqual({ 'tab-1:leaf-1': 'inc-1' })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('salvages multiple corrupt entries across different maps in one load', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-1'), { id: 'tab-bad' }] },
+        terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:leaf-1': 42 }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toHaveLength(2)
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(['tab-1'])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('salvages rather than throwing on a payload large enough to overflow the validator', () => {
+    // Why: this parse runs in the Store constructor, so an escaping RangeError is
+    // an unrecoverable launch failure. Per-entry validation never accumulates the
+    // issue list that used to overflow.
+    const worktreeId = 'repo-1::/huge'
+    const tabs = Array.from({ length: 200_000 }, (_, i) => ({ id: `bad-${i}` }))
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({ tabsByWorktree: { [worktreeId]: tabs } })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedCount).toBe(200_000)
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toHaveLength(100)
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree[worktreeId]).toEqual([])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('fails for a payload that is not an object', () => {
+    expect(parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging('not a session').ok).toBe(false)
+    expect(parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(null).ok).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('drops an optional top-level field whose value is the wrong type', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({ terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId: 'nope' })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual(['terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId'])
+      expect(result.value.terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId).toBeUndefined()
+      // Why: an explicit undefined key would shadow the caller's default in the
+      // `{ ...defaults, ...value }` spread both call sites do.
+      expect(Object.hasOwn(result.value, 'terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId')).toBe(false)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('salvages systemic corruption far larger than any single-entry budget', () => {
+    // Why: the reported failure was one bad record, but a bad writer projects the
+    // same wrong shape across every entry it touches. The dropped count is
+    // unbounded so that case stays a salvage instead of a full-session reset.
+    const incarnations: Record<string, unknown> = {}
+    for (let i = 0; i < 400; i += 1) {
+      incarnations[`tab-${i}:leaf-${i}`] = i % 2 === 0 ? i : `inc-${i}`
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({ terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: incarnations })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedCount).toBe(200)
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toHaveLength(100)
+      expect(Object.keys(result.value.terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey ?? {})).toHaveLength(200)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops many corrupt tab records across worktrees in a single session load', () => {
+    const tabsByWorktree: Record<string, unknown> = {}
+    for (let w = 0; w < 20; w += 1) {
+      const worktreeId = `repo-1::/w${w}`
+      tabsByWorktree[worktreeId] = [
+        terminalTab(`good-${w}`, { worktreeId }),
+        { id: `bad-a-${w}`, worktreeId },
+        terminalTab(`good2-${w}`, { worktreeId }),
+        { id: `bad-b-${w}`, worktreeId }
+      ]
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(baseSession({ tabsByWorktree }))
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toHaveLength(40)
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree['repo-1::/w7']?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual([
+        'good-7',
+        'good2-7'
+      ])
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the rest of the session when a required top-level field is unsalvageable', () => {
+    // Why: without a fallback, one bad legacy `tabsByWorktree` would still cost
+    // every worktree's unified tabs, groups and layouts.
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: 'nope',
+        activeRepoId: 42,
+        terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: { 'tab-1:leaf-1': 'inc-1' }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths.toSorted()).toEqual(['activeRepoId', 'tabsByWorktree'])
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree).toEqual({})
+      expect(result.value.activeRepoId).toBeNull()
+      expect(result.value.terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey).toEqual({ 'tab-1:leaf-1': 'inc-1' })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('still rejects a foreign object payload rather than posing as a repaired session', () => {
+    // Why: a fallback repairs a field we could not read, it must never manufacture
+    // a session out of an unrelated JSON blob that simply lacks every field.
+    expect(parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging({ unrelated: 'payload', count: 3 }).ok).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('drops a whole layout entry when the corruption sits inside a recursive union', () => {
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabGroupLayouts: {
+          [WT]: {
+            type: 'split',
+            direction: 'row',
+            first: { type: 'split', direction: 'column', first: { type: 'leaf', groupId: 42 } }
+          },
+          'repo-2::/other': { type: 'leaf', groupId: 'group-ok' }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual([`tabGroupLayouts.${WT}`])
+      expect(result.value.tabGroupLayouts?.[WT]).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(result.value.tabGroupLayouts?.['repo-2::/other']).toBeDefined()
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('drops a recursive entry whose validator overflows instead of resetting the session', () => {
+    let layout: Record<string, unknown> = { type: 'leaf', groupId: 'group-deep' }
+    for (let depth = 0; depth < 3_000; depth += 1) {
+      layout = {
+        type: 'split',
+        direction: 'horizontal',
+        first: layout,
+        second: { type: 'leaf', groupId: `group-${depth}` }
+      }
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(
+      baseSession({
+        tabsByWorktree: { [WT]: [terminalTab('tab-keep')] },
+        tabGroupLayouts: { [WT]: layout }
+      })
+    )
+
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.droppedPaths).toEqual([`tabGroupLayouts.${WT}`])
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree[WT]?.map((tab) => tab.id)).toEqual(['tab-keep'])
+      expect(result.value.tabGroupLayouts).toEqual({})
+    }
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..66b6a6374e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-salvage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import type { WorkspaceSessionState } from './types'
+import {
+  describeWorkspaceSessionError,
+  safeParseWorkspaceSession,
+  WORKSPACE_SESSION_UNVALIDATABLE
+} from './workspace-session-schema'
+import { collectSalvageDrops } from './zod-salvage'
+
+export type SalvagedWorkspaceSession =
+  | { ok: true; value: WorkspaceSessionState; droppedPaths: string[]; droppedCount: number }
+  | { ok: false; error: string }
+
+/** Remove undefined keys that would shadow caller defaults during object spread. */
+function withoutSalvagedAwayFields(session: WorkspaceSessionState): WorkspaceSessionState {
+  return Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.entries(session).filter(([, value]) => value !== undefined)
+  ) as WorkspaceSessionState
+}
+
+/** Validate a session, preserving valid entries and reporting bounded repair diagnostics. */
+export function parseWorkspaceSessionSalvaging(raw: unknown): SalvagedWorkspaceSession {
+  const {
+    value: result,
+    droppedPaths,
+    droppedCount
+  } = collectSalvageDrops(() => safeParseWorkspaceSession(raw))
+  if (!result) {
+    return { ok: false, error: WORKSPACE_SESSION_UNVALIDATABLE }
+  }
+  if (!result.success) {
+    return { ok: false, error: describeWorkspaceSessionError(result.error) }
+  }
+  return { ok: true, value: withoutSalvagedAwayFields(result.data), droppedPaths, droppedCount }
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.test.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.test.ts
index 72c7f40d2a5..9a1291a9d67 100644
--- a/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.test.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession', () => {
     }
   })
 
-  it('rejects blank external SSH file ownership', () => {
+  it('drops an open file with blank external SSH ownership, keeping the session', () => {
     const result = parseWorkspaceSession({
       activeRepoId: null,
       activeWorktreeId: 'wt',
@@ -60,7 +60,10 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession', () => {
       }
     })
 
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false)
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.value.openFilesByWorktree?.wt).toEqual([])
+    }
   })
 
   it('accepts a fully populated session with optional fields', () => {
@@ -194,7 +197,7 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession', () => {
     }
   })
 
-  it('rejects a session where ptyId is a number (schema drift)', () => {
+  it('drops a tab where ptyId is a number (schema drift) without failing the session', () => {
     const result = parseWorkspaceSession({
       activeRepoId: null,
       activeWorktreeId: null,
@@ -215,9 +218,9 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession', () => {
       },
       terminalLayoutsByTabId: {}
     })
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false)
-    if (!result.ok) {
-      expect(result.error).toContain('ptyId')
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree.wt).toEqual([])
     }
   })
 
@@ -406,6 +409,47 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession', () => {
     expect(parseWorkspaceSession(42).ok).toBe(false)
   })
 
+  it('drops one truncated tab without discarding other persisted worktrees', () => {
+    const validTab = {
+      id: 'tab-good',
+      ptyId: null,
+      worktreeId: 'worktree-good',
+      title: 'Terminal',
+      customTitle: null,
+      color: null,
+      sortOrder: 0,
+      createdAt: 1_700_000_000_000
+    }
+    const result = parseWorkspaceSession({
+      activeRepoId: null,
+      activeWorktreeId: 'worktree-good',
+      activeTabId: 'tab-good',
+      tabsByWorktree: {
+        'worktree-good': [validTab],
+        'worktree-corrupt': [
+          {
+            id: 'tab-truncated',
+            ptyId: null,
+            worktreeId: 'worktree-corrupt',
+            title: 'Terminal',
+            sortOrder: 0,
+            generation: 3,
+            startupCwd: '/workspace'
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      terminalLayoutsByTabId: {}
+    })
+
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree).toEqual({
+        'worktree-good': [validTab],
+        'worktree-corrupt': []
+      })
+    }
+  })
+
   it('drops bad lastVisitedAtByWorktreeId entries rather than failing the session', () => {
     const result = parseWorkspaceSession({
       activeRepoId: null,
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.ts
index 7a24ad57505..446e19270da 100644
--- a/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.ts
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-schema.ts
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@
  * "reject and fall back to defaults" point so garbage never reaches React.
  *
  * Policy: be tolerant of extra fields (future builds may add more) but strict
- * about the types of fields we actually read. Unknown enum values, wrong types,
- * and wrong shapes all collapse to "use defaults" — never throw into main.
+ * about the types of fields we actually read. Where a field holds a collection
+ * of independent records, tolerance is declared on the field itself (see
+ * ./zod-salvage): a corrupt entry is dropped and the rest of the session
+ * survives, because one bad tab record must not cost every worktree its state.
+ * Only a payload that is not a session at all falls back to defaults.
  */
 import { z } from 'zod'
 import type {
-  BrowserWorkspace,
   TabGroupLayoutNode,
   TerminalPaneLayoutNode,
   TuiAgent,
@@ -20,9 +22,14 @@ import type {
 import { isValidTerminalTabId } from './terminal-tab-id'
 import { parseExecutionHostId, type ExecutionHostId } from './execution-host'
 import { isTuiAgent } from './tui-agent-config'
-import { normalizeBrowserHistoryEntries } from './workspace-session-browser-history'
 import { isWorkspaceKey } from './workspace-scope'
+import {
+  browserHistoryEntriesSchema,
+  browserPageSchema,
+  browserWorkspaceSchema
+} from './workspace-session-browser-schema'
 import { sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKeySchema } from './workspace-session-sleeping-agents'
+import { salvagedField, salvagedOptional, salvagingArray, salvagingRecord } from './zod-salvage'
 
 // ─── Terminal pane layout (recursive) ───────────────────────────────
 
@@ -53,14 +60,16 @@ const terminalPaneLayoutNodeSchema: z.ZodType<TerminalPaneLayoutNode> = z.lazy((
   ])
 )
 
+const leafStringsSchema = salvagingRecord(z.string(), z.string())
+
 const terminalLayoutSnapshotSchema = z.object({
   root: terminalPaneLayoutNodeSchema.nullable(),
   activeLeafId: z.string().nullable(),
   expandedLeafId: z.string().nullable(),
-  ptyIdsByLeafId: z.record(z.string(), z.string()).optional(),
-  buffersByLeafId: z.record(z.string(), z.string()).optional(),
-  scrollbackRefsByLeafId: z.record(z.string(), z.string()).optional(),
-  titlesByLeafId: z.record(z.string(), z.string()).optional()
+  ptyIdsByLeafId: salvagedOptional('ptyIdsByLeafId', leafStringsSchema),
+  buffersByLeafId: salvagedOptional('buffersByLeafId', leafStringsSchema),
+  scrollbackRefsByLeafId: salvagedOptional('scrollbackRefsByLeafId', leafStringsSchema),
+  titlesByLeafId: salvagedOptional('titlesByLeafId', leafStringsSchema)
 })
 
 // ─── Terminal tab (legacy) ──────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -187,172 +196,170 @@ const persistedOpenFileSchema = z.object({
   liveTail: z.boolean().optional()
 })
 
-// ─── Browser ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-const browserLoadErrorSchema = z.object({
-  code: z.number(),
-  description: z.string(),
-  validatedUrl: z.string()
-})
-
-const browserViewportPresetIdSchema = z.enum([
-  'mobile-s',
-  'mobile-m',
-  'mobile-l',
-  'tablet',
-  'laptop',
-  'laptop-l',
-  'desktop'
-])
-
-// Why: the z.ZodType<BrowserWorkspace> cast only aligns the static type — it
-// does NOT let new fields survive parsing. z.object strips unknown keys, so
-// every additive field must be listed below (optional+nullable) or it is
-// dropped on restore.
-const browserWorkspaceSchema: z.ZodType<BrowserWorkspace> = z.object({
-  id: z.string(),
-  worktreeId: z.string(),
-  label: z.string().optional(),
-  sessionProfileId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
-  // Why: optional+nullable so pre-field sessions still validate; without this
-  // zod strips the persisted partition on restore, and an isolated tab whose
-  // profile mirror is stale at startup would silently fall back to the shared
-  // default partition — reopening the storage leak (#6923) across restarts.
-  sessionPartition: z.string().nullable().optional(),
-  activePageId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
-  pageIds: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
-  url: z.string(),
-  title: z.string(),
-  loading: z.boolean(),
-  faviconUrl: z.string().nullable(),
-  canGoBack: z.boolean(),
-  canGoForward: z.boolean(),
-  loadError: browserLoadErrorSchema.nullable(),
-  createdAt: z.number()
-})
-
-const browserPageSchema = z.object({
-  id: z.string(),
-  workspaceId: z.string(),
-  worktreeId: z.string(),
-  url: z.string(),
-  title: z.string(),
-  loading: z.boolean(),
-  faviconUrl: z.string().nullable(),
-  canGoBack: z.boolean(),
-  canGoForward: z.boolean(),
-  loadError: browserLoadErrorSchema.nullable(),
-  createdAt: z.number(),
-  // Why: explicit null marks a browser page as client-local even when its
-  // worktree is remote-owned; older sessions omit it and keep inferred runtime.
-  browserRuntimeEnvironmentId: z.string().nullable().optional(),
-  // Why: optional+nullable so sessions persisted before viewport presets were
-  // added still validate; without this, zod would strip the field during
-  // restore and reset the user's chosen preset on every app restart.
-  viewportPresetId: browserViewportPresetIdSchema.nullable().optional()
-})
-
-const browserHistoryEntrySchema = z.object({
-  url: z.string(),
-  normalizedUrl: z.string(),
-  title: z.string(),
-  lastVisitedAt: z.number(),
-  visitCount: z.number()
-})
-
-const browserHistoryEntriesSchema = z
-  .array(browserHistoryEntrySchema)
-  .transform((entries) => normalizeBrowserHistoryEntries(entries))
-
 // ─── Workspace session ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+const terminalSurfaceTombstoneSchema = z.object({
+  worktreeId: z.string(),
+  parentTabId: terminalTabIdSchema,
+  leafId: z.string(),
+  ptyId: z.string(),
+  incarnationId: z.string().min(1).max(128),
+  retiredAt: z.number().finite().nonnegative()
+})
+
+const worktreeIdSchema = z.string()
+
 export const workspaceSessionStateSchema: z.ZodType<WorkspaceSessionState> = z.object({
-  activeRepoId: z.string().nullable(),
-  activeWorkspaceKey: workspaceKeySchema.nullable().optional(),
-  activeWorkspaceExecutionHostId: z
-    .custom<ExecutionHostId>(
-      (value) => typeof value === 'string' && Boolean(parseExecutionHostId(value))
-    )
-    .nullable()
-    .optional(),
-  activeWorktreeId: z.string().nullable(),
-  activeTabId: z.string().nullable(),
-  tabsByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.array(terminalTabSchema)),
-  terminalLayoutsByTabId: z.record(terminalTabIdSchema, terminalLayoutSnapshotSchema),
-  activeWorktreeIdsOnShutdown: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
-  openFilesByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.array(persistedOpenFileSchema)).optional(),
-  activeFileIdByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.string().nullable()).optional(),
-  markdownFrontmatterVisible: z.record(z.string(), z.boolean()).optional(),
-  browserTabsByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.array(browserWorkspaceSchema)).optional(),
-  browserPagesByWorkspace: z.record(z.string(), z.array(browserPageSchema)).optional(),
-  activeBrowserTabIdByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.string().nullable()).optional(),
-  activeTabTypeByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), workspaceVisibleTabTypeSchema).optional(),
-  browserUrlHistory: browserHistoryEntriesSchema.optional(),
-  activeTabIdByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.string().nullable()).optional(),
-  unifiedTabs: z.record(z.string(), z.array(tabSchema)).optional(),
-  tabGroups: z.record(z.string(), z.array(tabGroupSchema)).optional(),
-  tabGroupLayouts: z.record(z.string(), tabGroupLayoutNodeSchema).optional(),
-  activeGroupIdByWorktree: z.record(z.string(), z.string()).optional(),
-  activeConnectionIdsAtShutdown: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
-  remoteSessionIdsByTabId: z.record(terminalTabIdSchema, z.string()).optional(),
-  // Why: the sort comparator in order-empty-query-worktrees.ts would produce
-  // NaN (undefined sort order) if a corrupted session file carried NaN or
-  // Infinity here. Parse leniently: drop individual bad entries rather than
-  // failing the entire session. A strict record() rejection here would cause
-  // parseWorkspaceSession to fall back to defaults for the ENTIRE session
-  // (terminals, editors, browsers, layouts) on a single corrupted timestamp
-  // — a blast radius far larger than "Cmd+J falls back to activity recency",
-  // which is all this field gates.
-  lastVisitedAtByWorktreeId: z
-    .preprocess(
-      (raw) => {
-        if (raw == null || typeof raw !== 'object') {
-          return raw
-        }
-        const cleaned: Record<string, number> = {}
-        for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(raw as Record<string, unknown>)) {
-          if (typeof v === 'number' && Number.isFinite(v) && v >= 0) {
-            cleaned[k] = v
-          }
-        }
-        return cleaned
-      },
-      z.record(z.string(), z.number().finite().nonnegative())
-    )
-    .optional(),
-  defaultTerminalTabsAppliedByWorktreeId: z.record(z.string(), z.literal(true)).optional(),
-  sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey: sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKeySchema,
-  terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: z.record(z.string(), z.string().min(1).max(128)).optional(),
-  terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId: z.record(z.string(), z.number().int().nonnegative()).optional(),
-  terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey: z
-    .record(
-      z.string(),
-      z.object({
-        worktreeId: z.string(),
-        parentTabId: terminalTabIdSchema,
-        leafId: z.string(),
-        ptyId: z.string(),
-        incarnationId: z.string().min(1).max(128),
-        retiredAt: z.number().finite().nonnegative()
-      })
-    )
-    .optional()
+  activeRepoId: salvagedField('activeRepoId', z.string().nullable(), () => null),
+  activeWorkspaceKey: salvagedOptional('activeWorkspaceKey', workspaceKeySchema.nullable()),
+  activeWorkspaceExecutionHostId: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeWorkspaceExecutionHostId',
+    z
+      .custom<ExecutionHostId>(
+        (value) => typeof value === 'string' && Boolean(parseExecutionHostId(value))
+      )
+      .nullable()
+  ),
+  activeWorktreeId: salvagedField('activeWorktreeId', z.string().nullable(), () => null),
+  activeTabId: salvagedField('activeTabId', z.string().nullable(), () => null),
+  tabsByWorktree: salvagedField(
+    'tabsByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, salvagingArray(terminalTabSchema)),
+    () => ({})
+  ),
+  terminalLayoutsByTabId: salvagedField(
+    'terminalLayoutsByTabId',
+    salvagingRecord(terminalTabIdSchema, terminalLayoutSnapshotSchema),
+    () => ({})
+  ),
+  activeWorktreeIdsOnShutdown: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeWorktreeIdsOnShutdown',
+    salvagingArray(worktreeIdSchema)
+  ),
+  openFilesByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'openFilesByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, salvagingArray(persistedOpenFileSchema))
+  ),
+  activeFileIdByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeFileIdByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.string().nullable())
+  ),
+  markdownFrontmatterVisible: salvagedOptional(
+    'markdownFrontmatterVisible',
+    salvagingRecord(z.string(), z.boolean())
+  ),
+  browserTabsByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'browserTabsByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, salvagingArray(browserWorkspaceSchema))
+  ),
+  browserPagesByWorkspace: salvagedOptional(
+    'browserPagesByWorkspace',
+    salvagingRecord(z.string(), salvagingArray(browserPageSchema))
+  ),
+  activeBrowserTabIdByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeBrowserTabIdByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.string().nullable())
+  ),
+  activeTabTypeByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeTabTypeByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, workspaceVisibleTabTypeSchema)
+  ),
+  browserUrlHistory: salvagedOptional('browserUrlHistory', browserHistoryEntriesSchema),
+  activeTabIdByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeTabIdByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.string().nullable())
+  ),
+  unifiedTabs: salvagedOptional(
+    'unifiedTabs',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, salvagingArray(tabSchema))
+  ),
+  tabGroups: salvagedOptional(
+    'tabGroups',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, salvagingArray(tabGroupSchema))
+  ),
+  tabGroupLayouts: salvagedOptional(
+    'tabGroupLayouts',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, tabGroupLayoutNodeSchema)
+  ),
+  activeGroupIdByWorktree: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeGroupIdByWorktree',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.string())
+  ),
+  activeConnectionIdsAtShutdown: salvagedOptional(
+    'activeConnectionIdsAtShutdown',
+    salvagingArray(z.string())
+  ),
+  remoteSessionIdsByTabId: salvagedOptional(
+    'remoteSessionIdsByTabId',
+    salvagingRecord(terminalTabIdSchema, z.string())
+  ),
+  // Why: the sort comparator in order-empty-query-worktrees.ts would produce NaN
+  // (undefined sort order) from a NaN or Infinity persisted here.
+  lastVisitedAtByWorktreeId: salvagedOptional(
+    'lastVisitedAtByWorktreeId',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.number().finite().nonnegative())
+  ),
+  defaultTerminalTabsAppliedByWorktreeId: salvagedOptional(
+    'defaultTerminalTabsAppliedByWorktreeId',
+    salvagingRecord(worktreeIdSchema, z.literal(true))
+  ),
+  sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey: salvagedOptional(
+    'sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKey',
+    sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKeySchema
+  ),
+  terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey: salvagedOptional(
+    'terminalPtyIncarnationsByPaneKey',
+    salvagingRecord(z.string(), z.string().min(1).max(128))
+  ),
+  terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId: salvagedOptional(
+    'terminalTopologyRevisionByRepoId',
+    salvagingRecord(z.string(), z.number().int().nonnegative())
+  ),
+  terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey: salvagedOptional(
+    'terminalSurfaceTombstonesByPaneKey',
+    salvagingRecord(z.string(), terminalSurfaceTombstoneSchema)
+  )
 })
 
 export type ParsedWorkspaceSession =
   | { ok: true; value: WorkspaceSessionState }
   | { ok: false; error: string }
 
+/** Why: keep the error compact — a zod issue dump is noisy and most of the time
+ *  only the first divergent field is actionable for debugging. */
+export function describeWorkspaceSessionError(error: z.ZodError): string {
+  const firstIssue = error.issues[0]
+  const path = firstIssue?.path.join('.') || '<root>'
+  return `${path}: ${firstIssue?.message ?? 'invalid session'}`
+}
+
+export const WORKSPACE_SESSION_UNVALIDATABLE = '<root>: session could not be validated'
+
+/** safeParse, or null when the validator itself could not run.
+ *  Why: safeParse is documented not to throw, but a payload holding hundreds of
+ *  thousands of bad records overflows the stack while zod materializes an issue
+ *  per field. This parse runs in the Store constructor, so an escaping RangeError
+ *  is a launch failure the user cannot recover from without deleting their
+ *  profile — exactly the "never throw into main" contract at the top of this file. */
+export function safeParseWorkspaceSession(
+  raw: unknown
+): ReturnType<typeof workspaceSessionStateSchema.safeParse> | null {
+  try {
+    return workspaceSessionStateSchema.safeParse(raw)
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
+}
+
 /** Validate raw JSON as a WorkspaceSessionState. Returns a discriminated union
  *  so callers can fall back to defaults on failure without a try/catch. */
 export function parseWorkspaceSession(raw: unknown): ParsedWorkspaceSession {
-  const result = workspaceSessionStateSchema.safeParse(raw)
+  const result = safeParseWorkspaceSession(raw)
+  if (!result) {
+    return { ok: false, error: WORKSPACE_SESSION_UNVALIDATABLE }
+  }
   if (result.success) {
     return { ok: true, value: result.data }
   }
-  // Why: keep the error compact — a zod issue dump is noisy and most of the
-  // time only the first divergent field is actionable for debugging.
-  const firstIssue = result.error.issues[0]
-  const path = firstIssue?.path.join('.') || '<root>'
-  return { ok: false, error: `${path}: ${firstIssue?.message ?? 'invalid session'}` }
+  return { ok: false, error: describeWorkspaceSessionError(result.error) }
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-sleeping-agents.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-sleeping-agents.ts
index eb48de31e4b..4ee620efa82 100644
--- a/src/shared/workspace-session-sleeping-agents.ts
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-sleeping-agents.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   RESUMABLE_TUI_AGENTS
 } from './agent-session-resume'
 import { isValidTerminalTabId } from './terminal-tab-id'
+import { salvagingRecord } from './zod-salvage'
 
 const terminalTabIdSchema = z
   .string()
@@ -108,23 +109,8 @@ const sleepingAgentSessionRecordSchema = z
     { message: 'provider session is not resumable for this agent', path: ['providerSession'] }
   )
 
-export const sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKeySchema = z.preprocess((raw) => {
-  if (raw == null || typeof raw !== 'object' || Array.isArray(raw)) {
-    return undefined
-  }
-
-  const cleaned: Record<string, z.infer<typeof sleepingAgentSessionRecordSchema>> = Object.create(
-    null
-  )
-  for (const [paneKey, value] of Object.entries(raw as Record<string, unknown>)) {
-    if (isUnsafeObjectKey(paneKey)) {
-      continue
-    }
-    const parsed = sleepingAgentSessionRecordSchema.safeParse(value)
-    if (parsed.success && parsed.data.paneKey === paneKey) {
-      cleaned[paneKey] = parsed.data
-    }
-  }
-
-  return Object.keys(cleaned).length > 0 ? { ...cleaned } : undefined
-}, z.record(z.string(), sleepingAgentSessionRecordSchema).optional())
+export const sleepingAgentSessionsByPaneKeySchema = salvagingRecord(
+  z.string().refine((paneKey) => !isUnsafeObjectKey(paneKey)),
+  sleepingAgentSessionRecordSchema,
+  (paneKey, record) => record.paneKey === paneKey
+).transform((records) => (Object.keys(records).length > 0 ? records : undefined))
diff --git a/src/shared/workspace-session-terminal-schema.test.ts b/src/shared/workspace-session-terminal-schema.test.ts
index 367ee953f78..5878b70a1b9 100644
--- a/src/shared/workspace-session-terminal-schema.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/workspace-session-terminal-schema.test.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession terminal fields', () => {
     }
   })
 
-  it('rejects empty terminal startup cwd values', () => {
+  it('drops a tab with an empty startup cwd instead of failing the session', () => {
     const result = parseWorkspaceSession({
       activeRepoId: null,
       activeWorktreeId: 'wt',
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ describe('parseWorkspaceSession terminal fields', () => {
       terminalLayoutsByTabId: {}
     })
 
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false)
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true)
+    if (result.ok) {
+      expect(result.value.tabsByWorktree.wt).toEqual([])
+    }
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/shared/zod-salvage.ts b/src/shared/zod-salvage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..64860eab10a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/zod-salvage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+// Zod transforms lack paths, so salvage combinators track bounded diagnostics during parsing.
+import { z } from 'zod'
+
+const MAX_REPORTED_SALVAGE_PATHS = 100
+
+type DropCollector = { paths: string[]; count: number }
+
+let dropCollector: DropCollector | null = null
+const dropPath: (string | number)[] = []
+
+/** Run a synchronous parse while collecting its salvage count and example paths. */
+export function collectSalvageDrops<T>(parse: () => T): {
+  value: T
+  droppedPaths: string[]
+  droppedCount: number
+} {
+  const previousCollector = dropCollector
+  const previousPath = [...dropPath]
+  const collector: DropCollector = { paths: [], count: 0 }
+  dropCollector = collector
+  dropPath.length = 0
+  try {
+    const value = parse()
+    return { value, droppedPaths: collector.paths, droppedCount: collector.count }
+  } finally {
+    dropCollector = previousCollector
+    dropPath.splice(0, dropPath.length, ...previousPath)
+  }
+}
+
+function reportDrop(segment: string | number): void {
+  if (!dropCollector) {
+    return
+  }
+  dropCollector.count += 1
+  if (dropCollector.paths.length < MAX_REPORTED_SALVAGE_PATHS) {
+    dropCollector.paths.push([...dropPath, segment].join('.'))
+  }
+}
+
+function inEntry<T>(segment: string | number, parse: () => T): T {
+  dropPath.push(segment)
+  try {
+    return parse()
+  } finally {
+    dropPath.pop()
+  }
+}
+
+function parseEntry<T extends z.ZodType>(
+  schema: T,
+  raw: unknown
+): { success: true; data: z.output<T> } | { success: false } {
+  try {
+    const parsed = schema.safeParse(raw)
+    return parsed.success ? { success: true, data: parsed.data as z.output<T> } : { success: false }
+  } catch {
+    return { success: false }
+  }
+}
+
+/** Array that drops the elements it cannot parse instead of failing. */
+export function salvagingArray<T extends z.ZodType>(item: T): z.ZodType<z.output<T>[], unknown> {
+  return z.array(z.unknown()).transform((values) =>
+    values.flatMap((value, index) => {
+      const parsed = inEntry(index, () => parseEntry(item, value))
+      if (parsed.success) {
+        return [parsed.data]
+      }
+      reportDrop(index)
+      return []
+    })
+  )
+}
+
+/** Record that drops entries with invalid keys or values instead of failing. */
+export function salvagingRecord<K extends z.ZodType<string>, V extends z.ZodType>(
+  key: K,
+  value: V,
+  accepts?: (key: string, value: z.output<V>) => boolean
+): z.ZodType<Record<string, z.output<V>>, unknown> {
+  return z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).transform((entries) => {
+    // Why: null prototype so a persisted '__proto__' key cannot poison the result.
+    const kept: Record<string, z.output<V>> = Object.create(null)
+    for (const [entryKey, entryValue] of Object.entries(entries)) {
+      const parsed = parseEntry(key, entryKey).success
+        ? inEntry(entryKey, () => parseEntry(value, entryValue))
+        : null
+      if (parsed?.success && (!accepts || accepts(entryKey, parsed.data))) {
+        kept[entryKey] = parsed.data
+        continue
+      }
+      reportDrop(entryKey)
+    }
+    return { ...kept }
+  })
+}
+
+function salvaged(name: string, schema: z.ZodType, fallback: () => unknown): z.ZodType {
+  return z.unknown().transform((raw, ctx) => {
+    if (raw === undefined) {
+      ctx.addIssue({ code: 'custom', message: 'required', input: raw })
+      return z.NEVER
+    }
+    const parsed = inEntry(name, () => parseEntry(schema, raw))
+    if (parsed.success) {
+      return parsed.data
+    }
+    reportDrop(name)
+    return fallback()
+  })
+}
+
+/** Fall back for an invalid required field; absence stays fatal for foreign payloads. */
+export function salvagedField<T extends z.ZodType>(
+  name: string,
+  schema: T,
+  fallback: () => z.output<T>
+): z.ZodType<z.output<T>, unknown> {
+  return salvaged(name, schema, fallback) as z.ZodType<z.output<T>, unknown>
+}
+
+/** Drop an invalid optional field without reporting legitimate absence. */
+export function salvagedOptional<T extends z.ZodType>(
+  name: string,
+  schema: T
+): z.ZodType<z.output<T> | undefined, unknown> {
+  return salvaged(name, schema, () => undefined).optional() as z.ZodType<
+    z.output<T> | undefined,
+    unknown
+  >
+}
diff --git a/tests/e2e/workspace-session-corrupt-tab-salvage.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/workspace-session-corrupt-tab-salvage.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..50c3d153101
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/workspace-session-corrupt-tab-salvage.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import path from 'node:path'
+import type { ElectronApplication, Page } from '@stablyai/playwright-test'
+import { DEFAULT_LOCAL_ORCA_PROFILE_ID } from '../../src/shared/orca-profiles'
+import { test, expect } from './helpers/orca-app'
+import { attachRepoAndOpenTerminal, createRestartSession } from './helpers/orca-restart'
+import { ensureTerminalVisible, getActiveWorktreeId, waitForSessionReady } from './helpers/store'
+import { TEST_REPO_PATH_FILE } from './global-setup'
+
+const FIRST_SURVIVOR_TITLE = 'STA-3604 survivor one'
+const SECOND_SURVIVOR_TITLE = 'STA-3604 survivor two'
+const CORRUPT_TAB_ID = 'sta-3604-corrupt-tab'
+
+type PersistedData = {
+  workspaceSession?: {
+    tabsByWorktree?: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>[]>
+    unifiedTabs?: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>[]>
+  }
+}
+
+function persistedDataPath(userDataDir: string): string {
+  return path.join(userDataDir, 'profiles', DEFAULT_LOCAL_ORCA_PROFILE_ID, 'orca-data.json')
+}
+
+function injectTruncatedTab(userDataDir: string, worktreeId: string, startupCwd: string): void {
+  const dataPath = persistedDataPath(userDataDir)
+  const data = JSON.parse(readFileSync(dataPath, 'utf8')) as PersistedData
+  const tabs = data.workspaceSession?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId]
+  if (!tabs) {
+    throw new Error('Persisted terminal tabs were unavailable for corruption seeding')
+  }
+  tabs.push({
+    id: CORRUPT_TAB_ID,
+    ptyId: null,
+    worktreeId,
+    title: 'Truncated terminal',
+    sortOrder: 999,
+    generation: 3,
+    startupCwd
+  })
+  writeFileSync(dataPath, `${JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}\n`)
+}
+
+function persistedSessionEvidence(
+  userDataDir: string,
+  worktreeId: string
+): { corruptLegacyTabPresent: boolean; unifiedTabIds: string[] } {
+  const data = JSON.parse(readFileSync(persistedDataPath(userDataDir), 'utf8')) as PersistedData
+  const legacyTabs = data.workspaceSession?.tabsByWorktree?.[worktreeId] ?? []
+  const unifiedTabs = data.workspaceSession?.unifiedTabs?.[worktreeId] ?? []
+  return {
+    corruptLegacyTabPresent: legacyTabs.some((tab) => tab.id === CORRUPT_TAB_ID),
+    unifiedTabIds: unifiedTabs
+      .map((tab) => tab.id)
+      .filter((id): id is string => typeof id === 'string')
+  }
+}
+
+async function expectSurvivingTabsVisible(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  for (const title of [FIRST_SURVIVOR_TITLE, SECOND_SURVIVOR_TITLE]) {
+    await expect(
+      page.locator('[data-testid="sortable-tab"]').filter({ hasText: title })
+    ).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 })
+  }
+}
+
+test('keeps valid terminal tabs visible after a corrupt sibling record on restart', async (// oxlint-disable-next-line no-empty-pattern -- this restart test owns its Electron launches.
+{}, testInfo) => {
+  test.setTimeout(300_000)
+  const repoPath = existsSync(TEST_REPO_PATH_FILE)
+    ? readFileSync(TEST_REPO_PATH_FILE, 'utf8').trim()
+    : ''
+  test.skip(!repoPath || !existsSync(repoPath), 'Seeded E2E repository is unavailable')
+
+  const session = createRestartSession(testInfo)
+  let firstApp: ElectronApplication | null = null
+  let secondApp: ElectronApplication | null = null
+
+  try {
+    const first = await session.launch()
+    firstApp = first.app
+    const worktreeId = await attachRepoAndOpenTerminal(first.page, repoPath)
+    await waitForSessionReady(first.page)
+    await ensureTerminalVisible(first.page)
+
+    const survivorIds = await first.page.evaluate(
+      ({ worktreeId, firstTitle, secondTitle }) => {
+        const store = window.__store
+        if (!store) {
+          throw new Error('Renderer store unavailable')
+        }
+        const state = store.getState()
+        const firstTab = state.tabsByWorktree[worktreeId]?.[0]
+        if (!firstTab) {
+          throw new Error('Initial terminal tab unavailable')
+        }
+        state.setTabCustomTitle(firstTab.id, firstTitle)
+        const secondTab = state.createTab(worktreeId, undefined, undefined, { activate: false })
+        state.setTabCustomTitle(secondTab.id, secondTitle)
+        return [firstTab.id, secondTab.id]
+      },
+      { worktreeId, firstTitle: FIRST_SURVIVOR_TITLE, secondTitle: SECOND_SURVIVOR_TITLE }
+    )
+    await expectSurvivingTabsVisible(first.page)
+
+    await session.close(firstApp)
+    firstApp = null
+    injectTruncatedTab(session.userDataDir, worktreeId, repoPath)
+
+    const second = await session.launch()
+    secondApp = second.app
+    await waitForSessionReady(second.page)
+    await expect.poll(() => getActiveWorktreeId(second.page), { timeout: 15_000 }).toBe(worktreeId)
+    await ensureTerminalVisible(second.page)
+
+    await expectSurvivingTabsVisible(second.page)
+    await expect(second.page.locator('.xterm').first()).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 })
+    await expect
+      .poll(() => persistedSessionEvidence(session.userDataDir, worktreeId), {
+        timeout: 30_000
+      })
+      .toEqual({ corruptLegacyTabPresent: false, unifiedTabIds: survivorIds })
+
+    await testInfo.attach('sta-3604-valid-tabs-after-corrupt-session-restart.png', {
+      body: await second.page.screenshot(),
+      contentType: 'image/png'
+    })
+    await expectSurvivingTabsVisible(second.page)
+  } finally {
+    for (const app of [secondApp, firstApp]) {
+      if (app) {
+        await session.close(app).catch(() => {})
+      }
+    }
+    await session.dispose()
+  }
+})