diff --git a/apps/ade-cli/src/cli.ts b/apps/ade-cli/src/cli.ts
index 3ef33ec55..e0c713bfb 100644
--- a/apps/ade-cli/src/cli.ts
+++ b/apps/ade-cli/src/cli.ts
@@ -12950,12 +12950,14 @@ async function runServe(
     { ProjectScopeRegistry },
     { createMultiProjectRpcRequestHandler },
     { createSharedSyncListener },
+    { resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl },
   ] = await Promise.all([
     import("./services/projects/machineLayout"),
     import("./services/projects/projectRegistry"),
     import("./services/projects/projectScope"),
     import("./multiProjectRpcServer"),
     import("./services/sync/sharedSyncListener"),
+    import("../../desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconThumbnail"),
   ]);
 
   const layout = resolveMachineAdeLayout();
@@ -12999,6 +13001,7 @@ async function runServe(
       record.lastOpenedAt > 0
         ? new Date(record.lastOpenedAt).toISOString()
         : null,
+    iconDataUrl: resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(record.rootPath),
     laneCount: 0,
     isAvailable: true,
     isCached: true,
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts b/apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts
index 86e6d8a20..1828f85d2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ import {
   upsertProjectRow,
 } from "./services/projects/projectService";
 import { inspectRecentProject, type RecentProjectInspection } from "./services/projects/recentProjectSummary";
-import { resolveProjectIcon } from "./services/projects/projectIconResolver";
+import { resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl } from "./services/projects/projectIconThumbnail";
 import { normalizeStartupProjectState, resolveStartupProject } from "./services/projects/startupProjectResolver";
 import { createAdeProjectService } from "./services/projects/adeProjectService";
 import { createConfigReloadService } from "./services/projects/configReloadService";
@@ -4903,15 +4903,7 @@ app.whenReady().then(async () => {
 
   function mobileProjectIconDataUrl(projectRoot: string): string | null {
     try {
-      const icon = resolveProjectIcon(projectRoot);
-      if (!icon.sourcePath) return null;
-
-      const image = nativeImage.createFromPath(icon.sourcePath);
-      if (!image.isEmpty()) {
-        return image.resize({ width: 64, height: 64, quality: "best" }).toDataURL();
-      }
-
-      return icon.mimeType === "image/png" ? icon.dataUrl : null;
+      return resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(projectRoot, { nativeImage });
     } catch {
       return null;
     }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconResolver.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconResolver.test.ts
index 8ec00db32..ecb1d8267 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconResolver.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconResolver.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import fs from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
 import {
   removeProjectIconOverride,
@@ -10,8 +10,13 @@ import {
   setProjectIconOverride,
   setProjectIconOverrideFromSelection,
 } from "./projectIconResolver";
+import { resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl } from "./projectIconThumbnail";
 
 const OVER_ICON_LIMIT_BYTES = 10 * 1024 * 1024 + 1;
+const PNG_DATA = Buffer.from(
+  "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/x8AAwMCAO+/p9sAAAAASUVORK5CYII=",
+  "base64",
+);
 
 function makeProjectRoot(): string {
   // Resolve through realpath so the assertions still hold on platforms
@@ -179,4 +184,93 @@ describe("projectIconResolver", () => {
     expect(icon.sourcePath).toContain("favicon.svg");
     expect(icon.dataUrl).toMatch(/^data:image\/svg\+xml;base64,/);
   });
+
+  it("uses an Electron nativeImage thumbnail for mobile when one can be decoded", () => {
+    const root = makeProjectRoot();
+    writeFile(root, "icon.png", PNG_DATA);
+    const rasterizeWithSips = vi.fn();
+
+    const dataUrl = resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(root, {
+      nativeImage: {
+        createFromPath: () => ({
+          isEmpty: () => false,
+          resize: () => ({
+            toDataURL: () => "data:image/png;base64,native-thumbnail",
+          }),
+        }),
+      },
+      rasterizeWithSips,
+    });
+
+    expect(dataUrl).toBe("data:image/png;base64,native-thumbnail");
+    expect(rasterizeWithSips).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("rasterizes SVG icons to a PNG data URL for mobile", () => {
+    const root = makeProjectRoot();
+    const iconPath = writeFile(
+      root,
+      "favicon.svg",
+      '<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><rect width="64" height="64"/></svg>',
+    );
+    const rasterizeWithSips = vi.fn((_sourcePath: string, outputPath: string) => {
+      fs.writeFileSync(outputPath, PNG_DATA);
+    });
+
+    const dataUrl = resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(root, {
+      nativeImage: {
+        createFromPath: () => ({
+          isEmpty: () => true,
+          resize: () => ({
+            toDataURL: () => "data:image/png;base64,unused",
+          }),
+        }),
+      },
+      rasterizeWithSips,
+    });
+
+    expect(dataUrl).toBe(`data:image/png;base64,${PNG_DATA.toString("base64")}`);
+    expect(rasterizeWithSips).toHaveBeenCalledWith(iconPath, expect.stringMatching(/icon\.png$/), 64);
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to raw PNG data for mobile when thumbnailing is unavailable", () => {
+    const root = makeProjectRoot();
+    writeFile(root, "icon.png", PNG_DATA);
+
+    const dataUrl = resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(root, {
+      rasterizeWithSips: () => {
+        throw new Error("sips unavailable");
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(dataUrl).toBe(`data:image/png;base64,${PNG_DATA.toString("base64")}`);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps native and headless mobile thumbnail cache entries separate", () => {
+    const root = makeProjectRoot();
+    writeFile(
+      root,
+      "favicon.svg",
+      '<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"><circle cx="32" cy="32" r="32"/></svg>',
+    );
+
+    const headlessMiss = resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(root, {
+      rasterizeWithSips: () => {
+        throw new Error("sips unavailable");
+      },
+    });
+    const nativeHit = resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(root, {
+      nativeImage: {
+        createFromPath: () => ({
+          isEmpty: () => false,
+          resize: () => ({
+            toDataURL: () => "data:image/png;base64,native-after-headless",
+          }),
+        }),
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(headlessMiss).toBeNull();
+    expect(nativeHit).toBe("data:image/png;base64,native-after-headless");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconThumbnail.ts b/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconThumbnail.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0b41bc808
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconThumbnail.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+import { resolveProjectIcon } from "./projectIconResolver";
+
+const MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_EDGE = 64;
+const MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_THUMBNAIL_CACHE_MAX = 64;
+const SIPS_PATH = "/usr/bin/sips";
+
+type NativeImageInstanceLike = {
+  isEmpty(): boolean;
+  resize(options: { width: number; height: number; quality: "best" }): {
+    toDataURL(): string;
+  };
+};
+
+type NativeImageModuleLike = {
+  createFromPath(filePath: string): NativeImageInstanceLike;
+};
+
+type SipsRasterizer = (sourcePath: string, outputPath: string, edge: number) => void;
+
+type ThumbnailCacheEntry = {
+  mtimeMs: number;
+  size: number;
+  value: string | null;
+};
+
+type ResolveMobileProjectIconDataUrlOptions = {
+  nativeImage?: NativeImageModuleLike;
+  rasterizeWithSips?: SipsRasterizer;
+  tmpRoot?: string;
+};
+
+const thumbnailCache = new Map<string, ThumbnailCacheEntry>();
+
+function fileSignature(filePath: string): { mtimeMs: number; size: number } {
+  try {
+    const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
+    return stat.isFile()
+      ? { mtimeMs: stat.mtimeMs, size: stat.size }
+      : { mtimeMs: -1, size: -1 };
+  } catch {
+    return { mtimeMs: -1, size: -1 };
+  }
+}
+
+function setThumbnailCache(key: string, entry: ThumbnailCacheEntry): void {
+  if (thumbnailCache.has(key)) {
+    thumbnailCache.delete(key);
+  } else if (thumbnailCache.size >= MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_THUMBNAIL_CACHE_MAX) {
+    const oldestKey = thumbnailCache.keys().next().value;
+    if (oldestKey !== undefined) thumbnailCache.delete(oldestKey);
+  }
+  thumbnailCache.set(key, entry);
+}
+
+function thumbnailCacheKey(
+  sourcePath: string,
+  options: ResolveMobileProjectIconDataUrlOptions,
+): string {
+  const context = options.nativeImage ? "native" : "headless";
+  return `${context}:${sourcePath}`;
+}
+
+function defaultSipsRasterizer(sourcePath: string, outputPath: string, edge: number): void {
+  execFileSync(SIPS_PATH, [
+    "-Z",
+    String(edge),
+    "-s",
+    "format",
+    "png",
+    sourcePath,
+    "--out",
+    outputPath,
+  ], {
+    stdio: "ignore",
+    timeout: 5_000,
+  });
+}
+
+function nativeImagePngDataUrl(
+  sourcePath: string,
+  nativeImage: NativeImageModuleLike | undefined,
+): string | null {
+  if (!nativeImage) return null;
+  try {
+    const image = nativeImage.createFromPath(sourcePath);
+    if (image.isEmpty()) return null;
+    return image.resize({
+      width: MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_EDGE,
+      height: MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_EDGE,
+      quality: "best",
+    }).toDataURL();
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function sipsPngDataUrl(
+  sourcePath: string,
+  rasterizeWithSips: SipsRasterizer,
+  tmpRoot: string,
+): string | null {
+  let dir: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    dir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpRoot, "ade-project-icon-"));
+    const outputPath = path.join(dir, "icon.png");
+    rasterizeWithSips(sourcePath, outputPath, MOBILE_PROJECT_ICON_EDGE);
+    const data = fs.readFileSync(outputPath);
+    return data.length > 0
+      ? `data:image/png;base64,${data.toString("base64")}`
+      : null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      if (dir) fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    } catch {
+      // Best-effort cleanup.
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl(
+  projectRoot: string,
+  options: ResolveMobileProjectIconDataUrlOptions = {},
+): string | null {
+  let icon: ReturnType<typeof resolveProjectIcon>;
+  try {
+    icon = resolveProjectIcon(projectRoot);
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+  if (!icon.sourcePath) return null;
+
+  const signature = fileSignature(icon.sourcePath);
+  const cacheKey = thumbnailCacheKey(icon.sourcePath, options);
+  const cached = thumbnailCache.get(cacheKey);
+  if (
+    cached
+    && cached.mtimeMs === signature.mtimeMs
+    && cached.size === signature.size
+  ) {
+    thumbnailCache.delete(cacheKey);
+    thumbnailCache.set(cacheKey, cached);
+    return cached.value;
+  }
+
+  const value =
+    nativeImagePngDataUrl(icon.sourcePath, options.nativeImage)
+    ?? sipsPngDataUrl(
+      icon.sourcePath,
+      options.rasterizeWithSips ?? defaultSipsRasterizer,
+      options.tmpRoot ?? os.tmpdir(),
+    )
+    ?? (icon.mimeType === "image/png" ? icon.dataUrl : null);
+
+  setThumbnailCache(cacheKey, { ...signature, value });
+  return value;
+}
diff --git a/docs/features/project-home/README.md b/docs/features/project-home/README.md
index b9c7dead3..f41d00fd8 100644
--- a/docs/features/project-home/README.md
+++ b/docs/features/project-home/README.md
@@ -199,11 +199,20 @@ main process because they execute before a runtime binding exists.
   root is blocked end-to-end (probe paths run through
   `resolvePathWithinRoot`, so symlinks pointing outside the worktree
   silently fail to match instead of leaking files).
+- `apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconThumbnail.ts` —
+  phone-facing thumbnail resolver for the mobile project catalog. It
+  reuses `resolveProjectIcon(rootPath)`, asks Electron `nativeImage` to
+  produce a 64px PNG when running in the desktop host, falls back to
+  macOS `/usr/bin/sips` for SVG / ICO / WebP sources that Electron does
+  not decode, and falls back to raw PNG data only when thumbnailing is
+  unavailable. Results are cached by source path + file signature and
+  temporary conversion files are removed after each attempt.
 - `apps/desktop/src/main/services/projects/projectIconResolver.test.ts`
   — vitest coverage: direct file matches, HTML link scrapes,
   escape-attempt rejection, base64 data-URL emission, scoring
-  preferences, and round-tripping `setProjectIconOverride` /
-  `removeProjectIconOverride` against `.ade/ade.yaml`.
+  preferences, mobile PNG thumbnail generation, and round-tripping
+  `setProjectIconOverride` / `removeProjectIconOverride` against
+  `.ade/ade.yaml`.
 
 Shared types:
 
@@ -444,11 +453,13 @@ scaffold so the actual bytes travel with the override.
 
 The mobile companion gets the icon through a dedicated path: the host's
 `mobileProjectSummaryForContext` / `mobileProjectSummaryForRecent` in
-`apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts` runs `resolveProjectIcon` on every
-project entry, downsamples it to 64×64 via Electron's
-`nativeImage.createFromPath(...).resize(...)` (PNG fallback for SVG /
-ICO sources that `nativeImage` can't read), and ships the resulting
-data URL to iOS as `MobileProjectSummary.iconDataUrl`. The iOS
+`apps/desktop/src/main/main.ts` runs `resolveMobileProjectIconDataUrl`
+on every project entry, which reuses `resolveProjectIcon`, downsamples
+the source image to a 64px PNG via Electron `nativeImage` when possible,
+and uses macOS `sips` as the conversion fallback for SVG / ICO / WebP
+sources that `nativeImage` cannot decode. The ADE CLI brain uses the
+same helper for its headless mobile project catalog. The resulting
+PNG data URL is sent to iOS as `MobileProjectSummary.iconDataUrl`; the iOS
 `ProjectHomeView` renders that string as the project tile artwork.
 
 ## Data model