diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.test.mjs
index 491ddbb7f2..4b9c619778 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.test.mjs
@@ -636,3 +636,197 @@ test("live remote during debounce is adopted at pre-publish, not overwritten", a
     mock.reset();
   }
 });
+
+// 8. Serialized generations (fix round 3, pass-3 finding 1): an older in-flight
+//    publish that completes after a newer edit is queued must NOT be mistaken
+//    for a remote that advanced past the newer edit's baseline. A blocks in
+//    publishEvent; B is queued; A succeeds; B's pre-publish fetch returns A's
+//    accepted head. Because the baseline is frozen at B's own cycle start —
+//    after A's completion recorded its head — B publishes above A instead of
+//    adopting it. Mutation: freezing the baseline at publishSections (before the
+//    prior cycle completes) makes B see A as a post-baseline remote and adopt it.
+test("serialized generations: older completion does not make the newer edit adopt it", async () => {
+  let releaseFirst = null;
+  let publishCalls = 0;
+  let storedHead = [];
+  mock.method(relayClient, "fetchEvents", () => Promise.resolve(storedHead));
+  mock.method(relayClient, "publishEvent", (event) => {
+    publishCalls++;
+    if (publishCalls === 1) {
+      // A's publish blocks; when it resolves, its event becomes the stored head
+      // the next pre-publish fetch will return.
+      return new Promise((res) => {
+        releaseFirst = () => {
+          storedHead = [
+            {
+              id: "event-a",
+              pubkey: "pk-serial",
+              content: "good-cipher",
+              created_at: event.created_at,
+              kind: 30078,
+              tags: [["d", "channel-sections"]],
+              sig: "s",
+            },
+          ];
+          res();
+        };
+      });
+    }
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+  const storage = new Map();
+  const timers = new Map();
+  let nextId = 1;
+  const fakeWindow = {
+    localStorage: {
+      getItem: (k) => storage.get(k) ?? null,
+      setItem: (k, v) => storage.set(k, v),
+      removeItem: (k) => storage.delete(k),
+    },
+    setTimeout: (fn, ms) => {
+      const id = nextId++;
+      timers.set(id, { fn, ms });
+      return id;
+    },
+    clearTimeout: (id) => timers.delete(id),
+  };
+  const fireDelay = async (ms) => {
+    const entry = [...timers.entries()].find(([, v]) => v.ms === ms);
+    assert.ok(entry, `expected a timer scheduled at ${ms}ms`);
+    timers.delete(entry[0]);
+    entry[1].fn();
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+  };
+  const restore = installFakeWindow(fakeWindow);
+  // A's decrypted head must parse; the pre-publish check reads its created_at/id.
+  const tauri = installTauriMock(
+    JSON.stringify({
+      version: 1,
+      sections: [{ id: "a", name: "A", order: 0 }],
+      assignments: {},
+    }),
+  );
+  try {
+    const manager = new ChannelSectionSyncManager("pk-serial", RELAY);
+    const adopted = [];
+    manager.setOnRemoteAdopted((remote) => adopted.push(remote.eventId));
+
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeSectionsStore([{ id: "a", name: "A", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+    await fireDelay(2000); // A's cycle → publishEvent(A) blocks
+    while (releaseFirst === null) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // B is queued while A is still in flight; its cycle must defer.
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeSectionsStore([{ id: "b", name: "B", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      manager.getPendingStore()?.sections.map((s) => s.id),
+      ["b"],
+      "B is the pending edit while A is in flight",
+    );
+
+    releaseFirst(); // A completes, recording its head; the freed lane drives B
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    // If B's cycle did not auto-drive on the freed lane, its debounce timer is
+    // still pending — fire it.
+    if ([...timers.values()].some((t) => t.ms === 2000)) await fireDelay(2000);
+
+    assert.deepEqual(adopted, [], "B must not adopt the older generation A");
+    assert.equal(
+      publishCalls,
+      2,
+      "B publishes above A rather than adopting A's accepted head",
+    );
+    assert.equal(
+      manager.getPendingStore(),
+      null,
+      "B's pending clears via its own successful publish, not A's completion",
+    );
+    manager.destroy();
+  } finally {
+    tauri.restore();
+    restore();
+    mock.reset();
+  }
+});
+
+// 9. Serialized generations (fix round 3, pass-3 finding 1): a stale generation
+//    must never sign/publish after a newer edit is queued. A blocks in the
+//    pre-publish fetch; B is queued during that await; A must abort before
+//    signing. Mutation: dropping the post-fetch generation re-check in doPublish
+//    lets the stale A continue to publishEvent.
+test("serialized generations: a stale generation aborts before publishing", async () => {
+  let releaseFetch = null;
+  const publishCalls = [];
+  mock.method(
+    relayClient,
+    "fetchEvents",
+    () =>
+      new Promise((res) => {
+        releaseFetch = () => res([]);
+      }),
+  );
+  mock.method(relayClient, "publishEvent", (...args) => {
+    publishCalls.push(args);
+    return Promise.resolve();
+  });
+  const storage = new Map();
+  const timers = new Map();
+  let nextId = 1;
+  const fakeWindow = {
+    localStorage: {
+      getItem: (k) => storage.get(k) ?? null,
+      setItem: (k, v) => storage.set(k, v),
+      removeItem: (k) => storage.delete(k),
+    },
+    setTimeout: (fn, ms) => {
+      const id = nextId++;
+      timers.set(id, { fn, ms });
+      return id;
+    },
+    clearTimeout: (id) => timers.delete(id),
+  };
+  const fireDelay = async (ms) => {
+    const entry = [...timers.entries()].find(([, v]) => v.ms === ms);
+    assert.ok(entry, `expected a timer scheduled at ${ms}ms`);
+    timers.delete(entry[0]);
+    entry[1].fn();
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+  };
+  const restore = installFakeWindow(fakeWindow);
+  const tauri = installTauriMock("{}");
+  try {
+    const manager = new ChannelSectionSyncManager("pk-stale", RELAY);
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeSectionsStore([{ id: "a", name: "A", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+    await fireDelay(2000); // A's cycle → doPublish(A) awaits fetchEvents
+    while (releaseFetch === null) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // B is queued while A is blocked in its pre-publish fetch.
+    manager.publishSections(
+      makeSectionsStore([{ id: "b", name: "B", order: 0 }]),
+    );
+
+    releaseFetch(); // A's fetch resolves; A must see gen moved and abort
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+
+    assert.equal(
+      publishCalls.length,
+      0,
+      "stale generation A must not sign/publish after B was queued",
+    );
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      manager.getPendingStore()?.sections.map((s) => s.id),
+      ["b"],
+      "B remains the pending edit, owning convergence",
+    );
+    manager.destroy();
+  } finally {
+    tauri.restore();
+    restore();
+    mock.reset();
+  }
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.ts b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.ts
index b0fe7b3664..fdf1e4453e 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/channelSectionsSync.ts
@@ -85,6 +85,22 @@ function remoteAdvancedSince(
   );
 }
 
+/**
+ * True when tuple `a` is the canonical winner over `b` (`created_at DESC,
+ * id ASC`). An empty id means "no head seen yet" and always loses.
+ */
+function canonicalGreater(a: PublishBaseline, b: PublishBaseline): boolean {
+  if (a.eventId === "") return false;
+  if (b.eventId === "") return true;
+  if (a.createdAt !== b.createdAt) return a.createdAt > b.createdAt;
+  return a.eventId < b.eventId;
+}
+
+/** The canonical-greater of two head tuples (`created_at DESC, id ASC`). */
+function canonicalMax(a: PublishBaseline, b: PublishBaseline): PublishBaseline {
+  return canonicalGreater(a, b) ? a : b;
+}
+
 async function decryptAndParse(
   event: RelayEvent,
 ): Promise<RemoteSections | null> {
@@ -110,6 +126,14 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
   // whether the head advanced *since the edit was queued*, independent of the
   // mutable watermark that a live event during the debounce window may advance.
   private lastRemoteHead: PublishBaseline = { createdAt: 0, eventId: "" };
+  // The canonical head this pending edit is racing against, frozen when the
+  // edit was queued (publishSections) and advanced ONLY by our own successful
+  // publishes. Freezing at queue time is what makes a genuine remote observed
+  // during the debounce window still adopt-worthy (pass-2): the mutable
+  // watermark advanced to that remote, but the baseline did not. Folding our
+  // own published head forward is what stops a newer edit from adopting an
+  // older generation's own accepted write (pass-3): our prior publish is our
+  // baseline, not a competing remote.
   private publishBaseline: PublishBaseline = { createdAt: 0, eventId: "" };
   private pendingStore: ChannelSectionStore | null = null;
   // Monotonic id for the current pending edit. Every publishSections() bumps
@@ -118,6 +142,13 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
   // compare-and-swap on this generation, so an older in-flight publish can
   // never erase a newer edit that arrived while it was in flight.
   private pendingGeneration = 0;
+  // Publish cycles are serialized: at most one runs at a time. A newer edit
+  // queued while a cycle is in flight does NOT start its own concurrent cycle;
+  // it defers, and the in-flight cycle's completion schedules it. Serialization
+  // guarantees there is never more than one baseline/fetch/publish sequence
+  // touching shared manager state, so a stale generation can never sign or
+  // publish after a newer edit exists.
+  private publishInFlight = false;
   private lastPublishedStore: ChannelSectionStore | null = null;
   private destroyed = false;
   // Set by the hook so an adopted remote head (local edit lost LWW, or a relay
@@ -244,13 +275,16 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
 
   publishSections(store: ChannelSectionStore): void {
     this.pendingStore = store;
-    const gen = ++this.pendingGeneration;
-    // Freeze the canonical head this edit is racing against. The pre-publish
-    // check compares the fetched head against this baseline, not the mutable
-    // watermark — a live event applied during the debounce window advances the
-    // watermark to the new head, which would otherwise make the pre-publish
-    // comparison see equality and fall through to a publish that overwrites a
-    // remote that became head *after* this edit was queued.
+    ++this.pendingGeneration;
+    // Freeze the canonical head this edit is racing against at queue time. The
+    // pre-publish check compares the fetched head against this baseline, not the
+    // mutable watermark — a live event applied during the debounce window
+    // advances the watermark to a new remote head, which would otherwise make
+    // the pre-publish comparison see equality and fall through to a publish that
+    // overwrites a remote that became head *after* this edit was queued. The
+    // baseline only advances via our own successful publishes (see doPublish),
+    // so a prior generation's own accepted write is folded in rather than
+    // mistaken for a competing remote.
     this.publishBaseline = { ...this.lastRemoteHead };
     // Persist synchronously so an edit made <2s before quit/community-switch
     // survives teardown and resumes on next mount (fix-3 durable outbox).
@@ -266,10 +300,40 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
     this.retryDelayMs = RETRY_BASE_MS;
     this.debounceTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
       this.debounceTimer = null;
-      void this.doPublish(store, gen);
+      this.startCycle();
     }, DEBOUNCE_MS);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Serialize publish cycles: at most one runs at a time. A debounce/retry
+   * timer that fires while a cycle is in flight defers — the in-flight cycle's
+   * completion re-drives if a pending edit still needs publishing. This kills
+   * the cross-generation race class by construction: a newer edit queued during
+   * a cycle cannot start its own concurrent cycle, so there is never more than
+   * one baseline/fetch/publish sequence competing over shared manager state.
+   */
+  private startCycle(): void {
+    if (this.destroyed || this.pendingStore === null) return;
+    if (this.publishInFlight) return;
+    const store = this.pendingStore;
+    const gen = this.pendingGeneration;
+    this.publishInFlight = true;
+    void this.doPublish(store, gen).finally(() => {
+      this.publishInFlight = false;
+      // A newer edit queued during the cycle (or a cycle that ended without
+      // clearing its pending edit) still needs publishing and has no timer
+      // pending to drive it — drive the next cycle now that the lane is free.
+      if (
+        !this.destroyed &&
+        this.pendingStore !== null &&
+        this.debounceTimer === null &&
+        this.retryTimer === null
+      ) {
+        this.startCycle();
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
   private async fetchOwnBlobBeforePublish(
     store: ChannelSectionStore,
   ): Promise<PublishDecision> {
@@ -335,12 +399,11 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
     // A newer edit has superseded this one; its own timer owns the retry.
     if (gen !== this.pendingGeneration) return;
     if (this.retryTimer !== null) return;
-    const store = this.pendingStore;
     const delay = this.retryDelayMs;
     this.retryDelayMs = Math.min(this.retryDelayMs * 2, RETRY_MAX_MS);
     this.retryTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
       this.retryTimer = null;
-      void this.doPublish(store, gen);
+      this.startCycle();
     }, delay);
   }
 
@@ -357,6 +420,11 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
       // was awaited (community switch during in-flight fetch). If so, abort
       // before touching the relay.
       if (this.destroyed) return;
+      // A newer edit was queued while we awaited the pre-publish fetch. It owns
+      // convergence now; abort so we neither publish this stale store nor adopt
+      // over the newer pending edit. The serialized cycle re-drives for the
+      // newer generation once this one unwinds.
+      if (gen !== this.pendingGeneration) return;
       if (decision.kind === "adopt") {
         this.adoptRemote(decision.remote, gen);
         return;
@@ -392,14 +460,29 @@ export class ChannelSectionSyncManager {
       });
       // Final guard immediately before the network call — sign/encrypt are
       // synchronous-ish but cheap; the relay socket may have moved to a
-      // different community by the time we reach this point.
-      if (this.destroyed) return;
+      // different community by the time we reach this point, or a newer edit
+      // may have been queued during the encrypt/sign await (invariant: a stale
+      // generation never signs/publishes after a newer edit exists).
+      if (this.destroyed || gen !== this.pendingGeneration) return;
       await relayClient.publishEvent(
         event,
         "Timed out publishing channel sections.",
         "Failed to publish channel sections.",
       );
       this.recordRemoteHead(event.created_at, event.id);
+      // Fold our own accepted head into the pending edit's baseline. This is
+      // unconditional across generations: even a stale generation's own write,
+      // completing after a newer edit was queued, must advance the current
+      // pending baseline so the newer edit's pre-publish check does not mistake
+      // OUR prior publish for a competing remote and adopt it away (pass-3).
+      // Genuine remotes never fold in here — they only advance the watermark —
+      // so a remote that became head during the debounce window still adopts
+      // (pass-2). canonicalMax keeps the advance monotonic (`created_at DESC,
+      // id ASC`).
+      this.publishBaseline = canonicalMax(this.publishBaseline, {
+        createdAt: event.created_at,
+        eventId: event.id,
+      });
       // Only claim this store as the published head if it is still the current
       // edit; a newer edit queued mid-flight owns lastPublishedStore now.
       if (gen === this.pendingGeneration) {
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.test.mjs
index 99b36789bb..5691f4b41b 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.test.mjs
@@ -249,3 +249,107 @@ test("canonical lower-id unmute replaces a stale larger-id mute at equal entry t
     window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = origTauri;
   }
 });
+
+// Fix round 3 (pass-3 finding 2): the remote-wins entry-tie merge and the
+// pending-publish cancel apply ONLY to a canonical supersession (a lower id at
+// the same event timestamp correcting an already-applied larger id). A plain
+// live/bootstrap remote must NOT clobber a later same-second local click or
+// cancel its pending publish. Entry `updatedAt` is whole seconds, so a click at
+// 100.9s and an older remote entry at 100.1s both carry `updatedAt:100`; the
+// later local intent must win and keep publishing. Mutation: applying
+// mergeApplyingRemote + cancel unconditionally lets the delayed remote overwrite
+// the click and drop its publish.
+test("delayed same-second remote does not clobber a later local mute or cancel its publish", async () => {
+  const { act, cleanup, renderHook } = await import("@testing-library/react");
+  const { relayClient } = await import("@/shared/api/relayClient");
+  const { useChannelMutes } = await import("./useChannelMutes.ts");
+
+  const origFetch = relayClient.fetchEvents;
+  const origLive = relayClient.subscribeLive;
+  const origReconnect = relayClient.subscribeToReconnects;
+  const origTauri = window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__;
+  const origSetTimeout = window.setTimeout;
+  const origClearTimeout = window.clearTimeout;
+  const origDateNow = Date.now;
+
+  const timers = new Map();
+  let nextTimer = 1;
+  window.setTimeout = (fn, ms) => {
+    const id = nextTimer++;
+    timers.set(id, { fn, ms });
+    return id;
+  };
+  window.clearTimeout = (id) => timers.delete(id);
+  // The local click happens later within second 100.
+  Date.now = () => 100_900;
+
+  let live = null;
+  relayClient.fetchEvents = async () => [];
+  relayClient.subscribeLive = async (_f, cb) => {
+    live = cb;
+    return async () => {};
+  };
+  relayClient.subscribeToReconnects = () => () => {};
+  // The delayed remote entry sits earlier in the same second and says unmuted.
+  window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = {
+    invoke: (cmd) => {
+      if (cmd === "nip44_decrypt_from_self")
+        return Promise.resolve(
+          JSON.stringify({
+            version: 1,
+            channels: { shared: { muted: false, updatedAt: 100 } },
+          }),
+        );
+      return Promise.reject(new Error(`unmocked ${cmd}`));
+    },
+  };
+
+  const pubkey = "pk-mute-same-second";
+  const relayUrl = "wss://r.same";
+  let hook = null;
+  try {
+    await act(async () => {
+      hook = renderHook(() => useChannelMutes(pubkey, relayUrl));
+      for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+    assert.ok(live, "live subscription installed");
+
+    // Local optimistic click: muted=true at updatedAt=100 (Date.now=100.9s).
+    await act(async () => {
+      hook.result.current.muteChannel("shared");
+    });
+    // An older remote entry from the same second decrypts and applies late.
+    await act(async () => {
+      live({
+        id: "remote-before-click",
+        pubkey,
+        created_at: 100,
+        content: "remote",
+        kind: 30078,
+        tags: [["d", "channel-mutes"]],
+        sig: "s",
+      });
+      for (let i = 0; i < 40; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+
+    assert.equal(
+      hook.result.current.mutedChannelIds.has("shared"),
+      true,
+      "a later same-second local click must survive a delayed older remote",
+    );
+    assert.ok(
+      [...timers.values()].some((t) => t.ms === 2000),
+      "the local pending publish must remain scheduled",
+    );
+    hook.unmount();
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+    relayClient.fetchEvents = origFetch;
+    relayClient.subscribeLive = origLive;
+    relayClient.subscribeToReconnects = origReconnect;
+    window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = origTauri;
+    window.setTimeout = origSetTimeout;
+    window.clearTimeout = origClearTimeout;
+    Date.now = origDateNow;
+  }
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.ts b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.ts
index 75712b0dbb..6f87a77b49 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelMutes.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   boundMuteStore,
   DEFAULT_STORE,
   mergeApplyingRemote,
+  mergeStores,
   mutedChannelIdsFromStore,
   readChannelMutesStore,
   storageKey,
@@ -82,10 +83,27 @@ export function useChannelMutes(
           remote.eventId >= lastAppliedEventId.current
         )
           return prev;
+        // A canonical supersession corrects an already-applied same-timestamp
+        // LARGER-id head with the true winner: only here may the incoming blob's
+        // per-entry values win an equal-`updatedAt` tie, and only here does the
+        // pending publish (which reflected the superseded head) get cancelled.
+        // Any other application (bootstrap / live / newer timestamp) merges over
+        // optimistic local state with local-wins `mergeStores` and must NOT
+        // cancel a pending local publish — otherwise a later same-second local
+        // click (integer-second `updatedAt`) loses to an older remote entry that
+        // decrypts late, and its publish is silently dropped.
+        const isCanonicalSupersession =
+          remote.createdAt === lastAppliedRemoteTs.current &&
+          lastAppliedEventId.current !== "" &&
+          remote.eventId < lastAppliedEventId.current;
         lastAppliedRemoteTs.current = remote.createdAt;
         lastAppliedEventId.current = remote.eventId;
-        managerRef.current?.cancelPendingMutePublish();
-        const merged = mergeApplyingRemote(prev, remote.store);
+        const merged = isCanonicalSupersession
+          ? mergeApplyingRemote(prev, remote.store)
+          : mergeStores(prev, remote.store);
+        if (isCanonicalSupersession) {
+          managerRef.current?.cancelPendingMutePublish();
+        }
         if (!writeChannelMutesStore(pubkey, merged)) return prev;
         return merged;
       };
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.test.mjs b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.test.mjs
index b2b2b4f0b8..e2dcf8349b 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.test.mjs
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.test.mjs
@@ -251,3 +251,107 @@ test("canonical lower-id unstar replaces a stale larger-id star at equal entry t
     window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = origTauri;
   }
 });
+
+// Fix round 3 (pass-3 finding 2): the remote-wins entry-tie merge and the
+// pending-publish cancel apply ONLY to a canonical supersession (a lower id at
+// the same event timestamp correcting an already-applied larger id). A plain
+// live/bootstrap remote must NOT clobber a later same-second local click or
+// cancel its pending publish. Entry `updatedAt` is whole seconds, so a click at
+// 100.9s and an older remote entry at 100.1s both carry `updatedAt:100`; the
+// later local intent must win and keep publishing. Mutation: applying
+// mergeApplyingRemote + cancel unconditionally lets the delayed remote overwrite
+// the click and drop its publish.
+test("delayed same-second remote does not clobber a later local star or cancel its publish", async () => {
+  const { act, cleanup, renderHook } = await import("@testing-library/react");
+  const { relayClient } = await import("@/shared/api/relayClient");
+  const { useChannelStars } = await import("./useChannelStars.ts");
+
+  const origFetch = relayClient.fetchEvents;
+  const origLive = relayClient.subscribeLive;
+  const origReconnect = relayClient.subscribeToReconnects;
+  const origTauri = window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__;
+  const origSetTimeout = window.setTimeout;
+  const origClearTimeout = window.clearTimeout;
+  const origDateNow = Date.now;
+
+  const timers = new Map();
+  let nextTimer = 1;
+  window.setTimeout = (fn, ms) => {
+    const id = nextTimer++;
+    timers.set(id, { fn, ms });
+    return id;
+  };
+  window.clearTimeout = (id) => timers.delete(id);
+  // The local click happens later within second 100.
+  Date.now = () => 100_900;
+
+  let live = null;
+  relayClient.fetchEvents = async () => [];
+  relayClient.subscribeLive = async (_f, cb) => {
+    live = cb;
+    return async () => {};
+  };
+  relayClient.subscribeToReconnects = () => () => {};
+  // The delayed remote entry sits earlier in the same second and says unstarred.
+  window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = {
+    invoke: (cmd) => {
+      if (cmd === "nip44_decrypt_from_self")
+        return Promise.resolve(
+          JSON.stringify({
+            version: 1,
+            channels: { shared: { starred: false, updatedAt: 100 } },
+          }),
+        );
+      return Promise.reject(new Error(`unmocked ${cmd}`));
+    },
+  };
+
+  const pubkey = "pk-star-same-second";
+  const relayUrl = "wss://r.same";
+  let hook = null;
+  try {
+    await act(async () => {
+      hook = renderHook(() => useChannelStars(pubkey, relayUrl));
+      for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+    assert.ok(live, "live subscription installed");
+
+    // Local optimistic click: starred=true at updatedAt=100 (Date.now=100.9s).
+    await act(async () => {
+      hook.result.current.starChannel("shared");
+    });
+    // An older remote entry from the same second decrypts and applies late.
+    await act(async () => {
+      live({
+        id: "remote-before-click",
+        pubkey,
+        created_at: 100,
+        content: "remote",
+        kind: 30078,
+        tags: [["d", "channel-stars"]],
+        sig: "s",
+      });
+      for (let i = 0; i < 40; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+
+    assert.equal(
+      hook.result.current.starredChannelIds.has("shared"),
+      true,
+      "a later same-second local click must survive a delayed older remote",
+    );
+    assert.ok(
+      [...timers.values()].some((t) => t.ms === 2000),
+      "the local pending publish must remain scheduled",
+    );
+    hook.unmount();
+  } finally {
+    cleanup();
+    relayClient.fetchEvents = origFetch;
+    relayClient.subscribeLive = origLive;
+    relayClient.subscribeToReconnects = origReconnect;
+    window.__TAURI_INTERNALS__ = origTauri;
+    window.setTimeout = origSetTimeout;
+    window.clearTimeout = origClearTimeout;
+    Date.now = origDateNow;
+  }
+});
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.ts b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.ts
index 5ff44d3ccc..a3da782c60 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/features/sidebar/lib/useChannelStars.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   boundStarStore,
   DEFAULT_STORE,
   mergeApplyingRemote,
+  mergeStores,
   readChannelStarsStore,
   starredChannelIdsFromStore,
   storageKey,
@@ -82,10 +83,27 @@ export function useChannelStars(
           remote.eventId >= lastAppliedEventId.current
         )
           return prev;
+        // A canonical supersession corrects an already-applied same-timestamp
+        // LARGER-id head with the true winner: only here may the incoming blob's
+        // per-entry values win an equal-`updatedAt` tie, and only here does the
+        // pending publish (which reflected the superseded head) get cancelled.
+        // Any other application (bootstrap / live / newer timestamp) merges over
+        // optimistic local state with local-wins `mergeStores` and must NOT
+        // cancel a pending local publish — otherwise a later same-second local
+        // click (integer-second `updatedAt`) loses to an older remote entry that
+        // decrypts late, and its publish is silently dropped.
+        const isCanonicalSupersession =
+          remote.createdAt === lastAppliedRemoteTs.current &&
+          lastAppliedEventId.current !== "" &&
+          remote.eventId < lastAppliedEventId.current;
         lastAppliedRemoteTs.current = remote.createdAt;
         lastAppliedEventId.current = remote.eventId;
-        managerRef.current?.cancelPendingStarPublish();
-        const merged = mergeApplyingRemote(prev, remote.store);
+        const merged = isCanonicalSupersession
+          ? mergeApplyingRemote(prev, remote.store)
+          : mergeStores(prev, remote.store);
+        if (isCanonicalSupersession) {
+          managerRef.current?.cancelPendingStarPublish();
+        }
         if (!writeChannelStarsStore(pubkey, merged)) return prev;
         return merged;
       };