diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.test.tsx
index 662f195a30..0e5710aecd 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.test.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
 import { act, cleanup, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
+import { $sidebarShowArchived } from '@/store/layout'
 import { $changeEventsAvailable, $cronChangeTick, $sessionsChangeTick } from '@/store/live-sync'
 import { $activeSessionId } from '@/store/session'
+import { loadArchivedSessions } from '@/store/sidebar-archive'
 
 import { useBackgroundSync } from './use-background-sync'
 
+vi.mock('@/store/sidebar-archive', () => ({
+  loadArchivedSessions: vi.fn()
+}))
+
 const noop = () => undefined
 const requestGateway = async () => ({ sessions: [] })
 
@@ -45,6 +51,8 @@ describe('useBackgroundSync profile-scoped session refresh', () => {
     $changeEventsAvailable.set(false)
     $cronChangeTick.set(0)
     $sessionsChangeTick.set(0)
+    $sidebarShowArchived.set(false)
+    vi.mocked(loadArchivedSessions).mockReset()
   })
 
   afterEach(() => {
@@ -103,4 +111,27 @@ describe('useBackgroundSync profile-scoped session refresh', () => {
     await act(async () => undefined)
     expect(refreshSessions).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
   })
+
+  it('reloads archived sessions after an external session change while the Archived view is open', async () => {
+    $changeEventsAvailable.set(true)
+    $sidebarShowArchived.set(true)
+    render('default', 'local', async () => undefined)
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      $sessionsChangeTick.set(1)
+    })
+
+    expect(loadArchivedSessions).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it('does not reload archived sessions when the Archived view is closed', async () => {
+    $changeEventsAvailable.set(true)
+    render('default', 'local', async () => undefined)
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      $sessionsChangeTick.set(1)
+    })
+
+    expect(loadArchivedSessions).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
index 06dd870a9e..d2ef0bc56a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/hooks/use-background-sync.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { getLatestSessionMessages, type ProfileScope } from '@/hermes'
 import { preserveLocalAssistantErrors, sealOpenToolParts, toChatMessages } from '@/lib/chat-messages'
 import { createClientSessionState } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
 import { sessionMessagesSignature } from '@/lib/session-signatures'
+import { $sidebarShowArchived } from '@/store/layout'
 import { $changeEventsAvailable, $cronChangeTick, $sessionsChangeTick } from '@/store/live-sync'
 import { $onBattery, batteryPollInterval } from '@/store/power'
 import { refreshActiveProfile } from '@/store/profile'
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ import {
   SESSION_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_MS,
   setSessionStalled
 } from '@/store/session-states'
+import { loadArchivedSessions } from '@/store/sidebar-archive'
 
 import type { ClientSessionState } from '../../types'
 import type { GatewayRequester } from '../types'
@@ -753,11 +755,19 @@ export function useBackgroundSync({
       lastRunAt = Date.now()
       void refreshSessions()
       void refreshMessagingSessions()
+
+      // Archived sessions use their own capped query. Reload it only while the
+      // sidebar is showing that view, matching the on-demand fetch contract.
+      if ($sidebarShowArchived.get()) {
+        void loadArchivedSessions()
+      }
+
       // The project tree is a grouping of the same stored rows, so a session
       // created/deleted/renamed/re-homed outside this window goes stale in the
       // Projects sidebar without this (#100354). refreshProjectTree() keeps the
       // cached tree on failure, so a not-yet-ready backend costs nothing.
       void refreshProjectTree()
+
       requestActiveTranscriptRefresh(true)
       // Bot canonical chats live in workspace tiles, never in the main-pane
       // selection — without this they never see background deliveries
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e7e14985ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { listAllProfileSessions, type SessionInfo } from '@/hermes'
+
+import { $archivedSessions, loadArchivedSessions } from './sidebar-archive'
+
+vi.mock('@/hermes', () => ({
+  listAllProfileSessions: vi.fn()
+}))
+
+describe('loadArchivedSessions', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    $archivedSessions.set([])
+    vi.mocked(listAllProfileSessions).mockReset()
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the last successful result when a refresh fails', async () => {
+    const existing = { id: 'archived-1', title: 'Keep me' } as SessionInfo
+    $archivedSessions.set([existing])
+    vi.mocked(listAllProfileSessions).mockRejectedValue(new Error('offline'))
+
+    await loadArchivedSessions()
+
+    expect($archivedSessions.get()).toEqual([existing])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.ts
index 52652b9c46..549a9f57b8 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/sidebar-archive.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ export async function loadArchivedSessions(): Promise<void> {
 
     $archivedSessions.set(result.sessions)
   } catch {
-    $archivedSessions.set([])
+    // A background refresh must not turn a usable Archived view into an empty
+    // one when the backend is temporarily unavailable. Keep the last good set.
   } finally {
     $archivedSessionsLoading.set(false)
   }