diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/src/kilo-provider-utils.ts b/packages/kilo-vscode/src/kilo-provider-utils.ts
index 1b5d5812a5..1f9bf18fd3 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/src/kilo-provider-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/src/kilo-provider-utils.ts
@@ -195,10 +195,12 @@ export async function loadSessions(ctx: SessionRefreshContext): Promise<string |
   const sessions = await list(ctx.workspaceDirectory)
   const projectID = sessions[0]?.projectID
   const worktreeDirs = new Set(ctx.sessionDirectories.values())
+  const failed = new Set<string>()
   const extra = await Promise.all(
     [...worktreeDirs].map((dir) =>
       list(dir).catch((err: unknown) => {
         console.error(`[Kilo] Failed to list sessions for ${dir}:`, err)
+        failed.add(dir)
         return [] as Session[]
       }),
     ),
@@ -212,9 +214,19 @@ export async function loadSessions(ctx: SessionRefreshContext): Promise<string |
     }
   }
 
+  // Sessions whose worktree directories failed to list — the webview must
+  // not delete these during reconciliation since the absence is transient.
+  const preserve: string[] = []
+  if (failed.size) {
+    for (const [sid, dir] of ctx.sessionDirectories) {
+      if (failed.has(dir)) preserve.push(sid)
+    }
+  }
+
   ctx.postMessage({
     type: "sessionsLoaded",
     sessions: sessions.map((s) => sessionToWebview(s)),
+    ...(preserve.length ? { preserveSessionIds: preserve } : {}),
   })
 
   return projectID
diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/kilo-provider-session-refresh.test.ts b/packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/kilo-provider-session-refresh.test.ts
index 7747f980ad..2dd31cf7b9 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/kilo-provider-session-refresh.test.ts
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/tests/unit/kilo-provider-session-refresh.test.ts
@@ -157,6 +157,86 @@ describe("KiloProvider pending session refresh", () => {
     expect((sent[0] as { sessions: { id: string }[] }).sessions.map((s) => s.id)).toEqual(["ses_worktree"])
   })
 
+  it("preserves session ids when worktree directory listing fails", async () => {
+    const sent: unknown[] = []
+    const ctx = createContext({
+      connectionState: "connected",
+      sessionDirectories: new Map([
+        ["ses_wt1", "/worktree1"],
+        ["ses_wt2", "/worktree2"],
+      ]),
+      listSessions: async (dir) => {
+        if (dir === "/repo") {
+          return [
+            {
+              id: "ses_root",
+              projectID: "project",
+              title: "root",
+              directory: "/repo",
+              time: { created: 1, updated: 1 },
+            },
+          ] as never
+        }
+        if (dir === "/worktree1") throw new Error("backend not ready")
+        return [
+          {
+            id: "ses_wt2",
+            projectID: "project",
+            title: "wt2",
+            directory: "/worktree2",
+            time: { created: 2, updated: 2 },
+          },
+        ] as never
+      },
+      postMessage: (msg) => sent.push(msg),
+    })
+
+    await loadSessions(ctx)
+
+    expect(sent).toHaveLength(1)
+    const msg = sent[0] as { sessions: { id: string }[]; preserveSessionIds?: string[] }
+    expect(msg.sessions.map((s) => s.id)).toEqual(["ses_root", "ses_wt2"])
+    expect(msg.preserveSessionIds).toEqual(["ses_wt1"])
+  })
+
+  it("omits preserveSessionIds when all directories succeed", async () => {
+    const sent: unknown[] = []
+    const ctx = createContext({
+      connectionState: "connected",
+      sessionDirectories: new Map([["ses_wt", "/worktree"]]),
+      listSessions: async (dir) => {
+        if (dir === "/repo") {
+          return [
+            {
+              id: "ses_root",
+              projectID: "project",
+              title: "root",
+              directory: "/repo",
+              time: { created: 1, updated: 1 },
+            },
+          ] as never
+        }
+        return [
+          {
+            id: "ses_wt",
+            projectID: "project",
+            title: "wt",
+            directory: "/worktree",
+            time: { created: 2, updated: 2 },
+          },
+        ] as never
+      },
+      postMessage: (msg) => sent.push(msg),
+    })
+
+    await loadSessions(ctx)
+
+    expect(sent).toHaveLength(1)
+    const msg = sent[0] as { sessions: { id: string }[]; preserveSessionIds?: string[] }
+    expect(msg.sessions.map((s) => s.id)).toEqual(["ses_root", "ses_wt"])
+    expect(msg.preserveSessionIds).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
   it("flushes deferred refresh via flushPendingSessionRefresh", async () => {
     const { calls, fn } = createListSessions()
     const ctx = createContext()
diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/context/session.tsx b/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/context/session.tsx
index 323cd50959..ed1c38b7ef 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/context/session.tsx
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/context/session.tsx
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ export const SessionProvider: ParentComponent = (props) => {
           break
 
         case "sessionsLoaded":
-          handleSessionsLoaded(message.sessions)
+          handleSessionsLoaded(message.sessions, message.preserveSessionIds)
           break
 
         case "sessionUpdated":
@@ -1120,16 +1120,20 @@ export const SessionProvider: ParentComponent = (props) => {
     setStore("todos", sessionID, items)
   }
 
-  function handleSessionsLoaded(loaded: SessionInfo[]) {
+  function handleSessionsLoaded(loaded: SessionInfo[], preserve?: string[]) {
+    const kept = preserve?.length ? new Set(preserve) : undefined
     batch(() => {
       // Reconcile: remove sessions not in the loaded list to prevent stale
       // entries from other projects accumulating in the store.
+      // Sessions whose worktree directories failed to list are preserved —
+      // their absence is transient, not a real deletion.
       const ids = new Set(loaded.map((s) => s.id))
       setStore(
         "sessions",
         produce((sessions) => {
           for (const id of Object.keys(sessions)) {
             if (id.startsWith("cloud:")) continue
+            if (kept?.has(id)) continue
             if (!ids.has(id)) delete sessions[id]
           }
         }),
diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/types/messages.ts b/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/types/messages.ts
index e14f5c0184..e2b194a4a0 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/types/messages.ts
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/webview-ui/src/types/messages.ts
@@ -580,6 +580,7 @@ export interface MessageCreatedMessage {
 export interface SessionsLoadedMessage {
   type: "sessionsLoaded"
   sessions: SessionInfo[]
+  preserveSessionIds?: string[]
 }
 
 export interface CloudSessionsLoadedMessage {