diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/profile-switcher.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/profile-switcher.tsx
index 24cec7297c..5074df3ce5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/profile-switcher.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/profile-switcher.tsx
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ import { RenameProfileDialog } from '../../profiles/rename-profile-dialog'
 import { PROFILES_ROUTE, SETTINGS_ROUTE } from '../../routes'
 
 import { useProfilePrewarm } from './use-profile-prewarm'
+import { useProfileRailRefreshOnActive } from './use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active'
 
 const RAIL_GAP = 4 // px — matches gap-1 between squares.
 
@@ -207,30 +208,10 @@ export function ProfileRail() {
   // Re-pull the running profile + list on mount, and again whenever the window
   // regains focus/visibility -- a profile created, deleted, or renamed by
   // another surface (Manage Profiles, another window, the CLI) leaves this
-  // rail's cached $profiles stale until something re-fetches it. Without this,
-  // a deleted profile's square lingered in the rail until the user happened to
-  // open Manage Profiles (whose own refresh() call was the only other reader).
-  // Cheap and best-effort, matching the focus/visibilitychange refresh pattern
-  // used elsewhere in the sidebar (see refreshProjects/refreshProjectTree).
-  useEffect(() => {
-    void refreshActiveProfile()
-
-    const onActive = () => {
-      if (document.visibilityState === 'hidden') {
-        return
-      }
-
-      void refreshActiveProfile()
-    }
-
-    window.addEventListener('focus', onActive)
-    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', onActive)
-
-    return () => {
-      window.removeEventListener('focus', onActive)
-      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', onActive)
-    }
-  }, [])
+  // rail's cached $profiles stale until something re-fetches it. See
+  // use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.ts for the extracted (and tested)
+  // wiring.
+  useProfileRailRefreshOnActive()
 
   // Open the create dialog when the `profile.create` hotkey fires (the dialog
   // state lives here, so the global keybind bumps a request atom we watch).
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9f15a2ab9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import { act, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+const { refreshActiveProfile } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  refreshActiveProfile: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+}))
+
+vi.mock('@/store/profile', () => ({ refreshActiveProfile }))
+
+import { useProfileRailRefreshOnActive } from './use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active'
+
+describe('useProfileRailRefreshOnActive', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+    vi.restoreAllMocks()
+  })
+
+  it('refreshes once on mount', () => {
+    renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it('refreshes again when the window regains focus', async () => {
+    renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      window.dispatchEvent(new Event('focus'))
+    })
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it('refreshes when visibilitychange fires while the document is visible', async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(document, 'visibilityState', 'get').mockReturnValue('visible')
+    renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new Event('visibilitychange'))
+    })
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+
+  it('does NOT refresh when visibilitychange fires while the document is hidden', async () => {
+    // Backgrounding/tab-switching away must not trigger a redundant refresh
+    // -- only becoming visible/focused again should.
+    vi.spyOn(document, 'visibilityState', 'get').mockReturnValue('hidden')
+    renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new Event('visibilitychange'))
+    })
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('removes both listeners on unmount, so a later focus/visibilitychange event does not refresh', async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(document, 'visibilityState', 'get').mockReturnValue('visible')
+    const { unmount } = renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+
+    unmount()
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      window.dispatchEvent(new Event('focus'))
+      document.dispatchEvent(new Event('visibilitychange'))
+    })
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('does not accumulate listeners across repeated mount/unmount cycles', async () => {
+    // A leaked listener from a prior mount would double- (or N-times-)
+    // refresh on a single focus event after remounting.
+    const first = renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    first.unmount()
+
+    renderHook(() => useProfileRailRefreshOnActive())
+    refreshActiveProfile.mockClear()
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      window.dispatchEvent(new Event('focus'))
+    })
+
+    expect(refreshActiveProfile).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..685ba3deee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/use-profile-rail-refresh-on-active.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { useEffect } from 'react'
+
+import { refreshActiveProfile } from '@/store/profile'
+
+/**
+ * Re-pull the running profile + list on mount, and again whenever the window
+ * regains focus/visibility -- a profile created, deleted, or renamed by
+ * another surface (Manage Profiles, another window, the CLI) leaves the
+ * rail's cached $profiles stale until something re-fetches it. Without this,
+ * a deleted profile's square lingers in the rail until the user happens to
+ * open Manage Profiles (whose own refresh() call was the only other reader).
+ *
+ * Cheap and best-effort, matching the focus/visibilitychange refresh pattern
+ * used elsewhere in the sidebar (see refreshProjects/refreshProjectTree).
+ * Extracted into its own hook (rather than left inline in ProfileRail) so the
+ * focus/visibility wiring is unit-testable without rendering the whole rail.
+ */
+export function useProfileRailRefreshOnActive(): void {
+  useEffect(() => {
+    void refreshActiveProfile()
+
+    const onActive = () => {
+      if (document.visibilityState === 'hidden') {
+        return
+      }
+
+      void refreshActiveProfile()
+    }
+
+    window.addEventListener('focus', onActive)
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', onActive)
+
+    return () => {
+      window.removeEventListener('focus', onActive)
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', onActive)
+    }
+  }, [])
+}