diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.test.ts
index c47951192f7b7..5d065e1bb9ba5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.test.ts
@@ -629,3 +629,60 @@ describe('reconnect-seam zombie optimistic rows (severed message.complete stamp)
   })
 })
 
+describe('role-aware tail-first stamping (stale zombie + fresh turn, live 2026-07-15)', () => {
+  function textMessage2(id: string, role: ChatMessage['role'], text: string, pending = false): ChatMessage {
+    return { id, role, pending, parts: [{ type: 'text', text }] }
+  }
+
+  it('does NOT stamp a stale assistant zombie with the USER id (the mis-stamp that defeated the sweep)', () => {
+    // Transcript: [stale assistant zombie from a severed earlier turn,
+    // fresh user row, fresh completed assistant row]. Frame carries the fresh
+    // turn's [user_id, assistant_id]. The old top-down role-blind walk gave
+    // user_id -> zombie and assistant_id -> fresh user row: the zombie wore a
+    // committed id (unsweepable) and painted as a permanent duplicate.
+    const stale = textMessage2('assistant-stream-100', 'assistant', 'old severed reply')
+    const freshUser = textMessage2('user-200-abc', 'user', 'hi')
+    const freshAssistant = textMessage2('assistant-201', 'assistant', 'hello!')
+
+    const stamped = stampOptimisticTranscriptRows([stale, freshUser, freshAssistant], ['500', '501'])
+
+    // fresh rows get the ids; the stale zombie keeps its optimistic id
+    expect(stamped.messages.map(row => row.id)).toEqual(['assistant-stream-100', '500', '501'])
+    expect(stamped.messages[1].role).toBe('user')
+    expect(stamped.messages[2].role).toBe('assistant')
+  })
+
+  it('stale zombie left optimistic is then swept by the poll (end-to-end: no double paint)', () => {
+    const stale = textMessage2('assistant-stream-100', 'assistant', 'old severed reply')
+    const freshUser = textMessage2('user-200-abc', 'user', 'hi')
+    const freshAssistant = textMessage2('assistant-201', 'assistant', 'hello!')
+
+    const stamped = stampOptimisticTranscriptRows([stale, freshUser, freshAssistant], ['500', '501'])
+    // poll returns the stale turn's committed rows + the fresh ones
+    const result = appendFetchedMessages(stamped.messages, [
+      { id: 400, role: 'assistant', content: 'old severed reply' },
+      { id: 500, role: 'user', content: 'hi' },
+      { id: 501, role: 'assistant', content: 'hello!' }
+    ])
+
+    const texts = result.messages.map(row => row.parts.map(p => (p as { text?: string }).text ?? '').join(''))
+    expect(texts.filter(t => t === 'old severed reply')).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(result.messages.map(row => row.id).sort()).toEqual(['400', '500', '501'])
+  })
+
+  it('normal send path unchanged: [user, assistant] stamps its own rows in order', () => {
+    const stamped = stampOptimisticTranscriptRows(
+      [textMessage2('user-1-x', 'user', 'q'), { ...textMessage2('assistant-2', 'assistant', 'a'), pending: false }],
+      ['100', '101']
+    )
+    expect(stamped.messages.map(row => row.id)).toEqual(['100', '101'])
+  })
+
+  it('lone id prefers the assistant streamed row over an older user leftover', () => {
+    const leftoverUser = textMessage2('user-9-z', 'user', 'unsent leftover')
+    const freshAssistant = textMessage2('assistant-10', 'assistant', 'reply')
+    const stamped = stampOptimisticTranscriptRows([leftoverUser, freshAssistant], ['700'])
+
+    expect(stamped.messages.map(row => row.id)).toEqual(['user-9-z', '700'])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.ts
index 63547e3f21ae7..933022cbba66e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/hooks/use-session-changes.ts
@@ -357,28 +357,72 @@ export function stampOptimisticTranscriptRows(messages: readonly ChatMessage[],
     }
   }
 
-  const stampedIds = new Set<string>()
-  let nextIdIndex = 0
-  const next = messages.map(message => {
-    if (Number.isInteger(Number(message.id)) || nextIdIndex >= committedIds.length) {
-      return message
+  // Stampable = any non-committed-id row: optimistic id (`user-`/`assistant-`
+  // prefix) OR still-pending. The streamed assistant row is finalized by
+  // completeAssistantMessage() (pending:false, id `assistant-<ts>`) BEFORE
+  // markTurnComplete() runs this stamp — so a `pending`-only predicate would
+  // skip it (#352).
+  const stampable: number[] = []
+  messages.forEach((message, index) => {
+    if (Number.isInteger(Number(message.id))) {
+      return
     }
+    const isOptimisticId = message.id.startsWith('user-') || message.id.startsWith('assistant-')
+    if (isOptimisticId || message.pending) {
+      stampable.push(index)
+    }
+  })
+
+  // ROLE-AWARE, TAIL-FIRST assignment. The frame's contract is
+  // [user_id, assistant_id] for the turn that JUST finished — but the list can
+  // also hold STALE optimistic rows from an earlier turn whose completion
+  // frame was severed by a backend restart (this session's live incident,
+  // 2026-07-15). The old top-down, role-blind walk stamped the USER id onto
+  // that stale ASSISTANT zombie and the ASSISTANT id onto the real user row —
+  // the zombie then wore a committed id (invisible to the #361 sweep) and
+  // painted its stale text as a permanent duplicate, while the current turn's
+  // rows stayed un-stamped. Assign each id to the LAST unclaimed stampable row
+  // of the matching role instead (a lone id keeps last-row-any-role), so stale
+  // zombies stay optimistic — and therefore sweepable.
+  const assignment = new Map<number, string>()
+  const claimed = new Set<number>()
+  const claim = (id: string, wantRole: 'user' | 'assistant' | null): boolean => {
+    for (let j = stampable.length - 1; j >= 0; j--) {
+      const index = stampable[j]
+      if (claimed.has(index)) {
+        continue
+      }
+      if (wantRole && messages[index].role !== wantRole) {
+        continue
+      }
+      assignment.set(index, id)
+      claimed.add(index)
+      return true
+    }
+    return false
+  }
+  if (committedIds.length === 2) {
+    claim(committedIds[0], 'user')
+    claim(committedIds[1], 'assistant')
+  } else {
+    // Lone id: the [user, assistant] positional contract can't disambiguate a
+    // single survivor. Prefer the streamed assistant row (the dup-prone one —
+    // the poll always re-fetches the final text bubble), fall back to any.
+    for (const id of committedIds) {
+      if (!claim(id, 'assistant')) {
+        claim(id, null)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  const stampedIds = new Set<string>()
+  const next = messages.map((message, index) => {
+    const id = assignment.get(index)
 
-    // An optimistic row still needs stamping whether or not it is still
-    // `pending`. The streamed assistant row is finalized by
-    // completeAssistantMessage() (pending:false, id `assistant-<ts>`) BEFORE
-    // markTurnComplete() runs this stamp — so a `pending`-only predicate skips
-    // it, it keeps its optimistic id, and the post-completion poll re-appends
-    // the committed integer row as a DUPLICATE. Recognize any non-committed
-    // optimistic id (`user-`/`assistant-` prefix) OR a still-pending row.
-    const isOptimisticId =
-      message.id.startsWith('user-') || message.id.startsWith('assistant-')
-    if (!isOptimisticId && !message.pending) {
+    if (id === undefined) {
       return message
     }
 
-    const id = committedIds[nextIdIndex]
-    nextIdIndex += 1
     stampedIds.add(id)
 
     return { ...message, id, pending: false }