diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/00-sessions-empty.spec.ts b/packages/app/e2e/00-sessions-empty.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d08e6d55b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/00-sessions-empty.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+// "00-" prefix is intentional: this file must sort before every other spec.
+// Sessions history is daemon-global — any agent created by a prior spec hides the empty state.
+// If the beforeAll probe below fails, a spec sorted before this file is creating agents.
+import { test } from "./fixtures";
+import {
+  connectArchiveTabDaemonClient,
+  expectSessionsEmptyState,
+  openSessions,
+} from "./helpers/archive-tab";
+
+test.describe("Sessions screen empty state", () => {
+  test.beforeAll(async () => {
+    const client = await connectArchiveTabDaemonClient();
+    try {
+      const history = await client.fetchAgentHistory({ page: { limit: 1 } });
+      if (history.entries.length > 0) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Sessions empty-state precondition failed: daemon already has ${history.entries.length} agent(s). ` +
+            `Either a spec that sorts before 00-sessions-empty.spec.ts created agents, ` +
+            `or the daemon has stale history from a previous run.`,
+        );
+      }
+    } finally {
+      await client.close().catch(() => undefined);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("shows empty placeholder when there is no session history", async ({
+    page,
+    withWorkspace,
+  }) => {
+    const workspace = await withWorkspace({ prefix: "sessions-empty-" });
+    await workspace.navigateTo();
+    await openSessions(page);
+    await expectSessionsEmptyState(page);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/helpers/archive-tab.ts b/packages/app/e2e/helpers/archive-tab.ts
index b3f4de8bc..3c901b2d1 100644
--- a/packages/app/e2e/helpers/archive-tab.ts
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/helpers/archive-tab.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ interface ArchiveTabDaemonClient {
     predicate: (snapshot: { status: string }) => boolean,
     timeout?: number,
   ): Promise<{ status: string }>;
+  fetchAgentHistory(options?: {
+    page?: { limit: number };
+  }): Promise<{ entries: Array<{ id: string }> }>;
 }
 
 function getDaemonPort(): string {
@@ -265,8 +268,10 @@ export async function openSessions(page: Page): Promise<void> {
   });
 }
 
+const AGENT_ROW_SELECTOR = '[data-testid^="agent-row-"]';
+
 function getSessionRowByTitle(page: Page, title: string) {
-  return page.locator('[data-testid^="agent-row-"]').filter({ hasText: title }).first();
+  return page.locator(AGENT_ROW_SELECTOR).filter({ hasText: title }).first();
 }
 
 export async function expectSessionRowVisible(page: Page, title: string): Promise<void> {
@@ -283,6 +288,12 @@ export async function clickSessionRow(page: Page, title: string): Promise<void>
   await row.click();
 }
 
+export async function expectSessionsEmptyState(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  // Guard: if session rows appear, a prior spec polluted the shared daemon — see 00-sessions-empty.spec.ts.
+  await expect(page.locator(AGENT_ROW_SELECTOR)).toHaveCount(0, { timeout: 5_000 });
+  await expect(page.getByText("No sessions yet")).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30_000 });
+}
+
 export async function archiveAgentFromSessions(
   page: Page,
   input: { agentId: string; title: string },