diff --git a/src-tauri/src/workspace_state/mod.rs b/src-tauri/src/workspace_state/mod.rs
index b6ce74b..815cbc2 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/workspace_state/mod.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/workspace_state/mod.rs
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ pub struct WorkspaceDeltaEnvelope {
     pub kind: String,
     pub payload: Vec<WorkspaceDelta>,
     pub requires_resync: bool,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub changed_paths: Vec<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
@@ -58,6 +60,8 @@ pub struct WorkspaceStateEvent {
     pub kind: String,
     pub payload: Vec<WorkspaceDelta>,
     pub requires_resync: bool,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub changed_paths: Vec<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
@@ -108,6 +112,7 @@ impl WorkspaceStateCore {
         kind: String,
         payload: Vec<WorkspaceDelta>,
         requires_resync: bool,
+        changed_paths: Vec<String>,
     ) -> WorkspaceStateEvent {
         self.seq += 1;
 
@@ -120,6 +125,7 @@ impl WorkspaceStateCore {
             kind: kind.clone(),
             payload: payload.clone(),
             requires_resync,
+            changed_paths: changed_paths.clone(),
         };
         self.push_recent_event(envelope);
 
@@ -130,6 +136,7 @@ impl WorkspaceStateCore {
             kind,
             payload,
             requires_resync,
+            changed_paths,
         }
     }
 
@@ -713,6 +720,17 @@ async fn flush_watch_batch(
             });
         }
 
+        // Surface FS activity that doesn't otherwise change tree/git snapshots
+        // (e.g. files added/removed in a directory beyond WORKSPACE_TREE_MAX_DEPTH,
+        // or gitignored / non-git-repo changes). The envelope's `changed_paths`
+        // lets the frontend invalidate its lazy-loaded overrides for deep
+        // directories without waiting for a manual reload.
+        if payload.is_empty() && !changed_paths.is_empty() {
+            payload.push(WorkspaceDelta::Meta {
+                reason: "fs_events".to_string(),
+            });
+        }
+
         if payload.is_empty() {
             return;
         }
@@ -731,7 +749,7 @@ async fn flush_watch_batch(
             "meta".to_string()
         };
 
-        guard.append_event(kind, payload, git_presence_changed)
+        guard.append_event(kind, payload, git_presence_changed, changed_paths)
     };
 
     emit_event(emitter, "folder://workspace-state-event", event);
@@ -1072,6 +1090,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "boot".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
 
         let e2 = core.append_event(
@@ -1080,6 +1099,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "tick".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
 
         assert!(e2.seq > e1.seq);
@@ -1095,6 +1115,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "a".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
 
         core.append_event(
@@ -1103,6 +1124,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "b".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
 
         let snapshot = core.snapshot(Some(e1.seq));
@@ -1123,6 +1145,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "a".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
         core.append_event(
             "meta".to_string(),
@@ -1130,6 +1153,7 @@ mod tests {
                 reason: "b".to_string(),
             }],
             false,
+            Vec::new(),
         );
 
         let snapshot = core.snapshot(Some(0));
diff --git a/src/components/layout/aux-panel-file-tree-tab.tsx b/src/components/layout/aux-panel-file-tree-tab.tsx
index a35ed1e..beb5b1f 100644
--- a/src/components/layout/aux-panel-file-tree-tab.tsx
+++ b/src/components/layout/aux-panel-file-tree-tab.tsx
@@ -888,6 +888,11 @@ export function FileTreeTab() {
     new Map()
   )
   const lazyLoadingDirPathsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set())
+  const loadDirectoryChildrenRef = useRef<
+    ((dirPath: string) => Promise<void>) | null
+  >(null)
+  const expandedPathsRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set([FILE_TREE_ROOT_PATH]))
+  const workspaceTreeRef = useRef<FileTreeNode[]>([])
   const externalConflictSignatureByPathRef = useRef<Map<string, string>>(
     new Map()
   )
@@ -967,36 +972,58 @@ export function FileTreeTab() {
         return
       }
 
+      // Drop the lazy-load override cache so the fresh snapshot is not
+      // masked by stale children (e.g. after deletes / renames / rollbacks
+      // or files the agent just created). Reading expanded paths via a ref
+      // keeps fetchTree's identity stable across expand/collapse so
+      // downstream memoization is not invalidated on every tree interaction.
+      const pathsToReload = Array.from(expandedPathsRef.current).filter(
+        (path) => path !== FILE_TREE_ROOT_PATH
+      )
+      lazyLoadedChildrenByPathRef.current.clear()
       await workspaceState.requestResync("manual_refresh")
+      // Re-hydrate children for directories beyond WORKSPACE_TREE_MAX_DEPTH
+      // that are still expanded — the backend snapshot does not include them.
+      const loader = loadDirectoryChildrenRef.current
+      if (loader) {
+        for (const path of pathsToReload) {
+          void loader(path)
+        }
+      }
     },
     [folder?.path, workspaceState]
   )
 
+  // Tree updates are the only source that should cause a full setNodes.
+  // applyLazyTreeOverrides rebuilds every directory node object, which forces
+  // React to re-render the entire tree. Keeping this effect narrow avoids
+  // wasted work on health / seq / error / git transitions that don't touch
+  // the tree shape (e.g. the intermediate "resyncing" patch during a refresh).
   useEffect(() => {
+    workspaceTreeRef.current = workspaceState.tree
     setNodes(
       applyLazyTreeOverrides(
         workspaceState.tree,
         lazyLoadedChildrenByPathRef.current
       )
     )
+  }, [folder?.path, workspaceState.tree])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
     const nextStatusByPath = new Map<string, string>()
     for (const entry of workspaceState.git) {
       nextStatusByPath.set(entry.path, entry.status)
     }
     setGitStatusByPath(nextStatusByPath)
     setGitEnabled(true)
+  }, [workspaceState.git])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
     setLoading(
       workspaceState.health === "resyncing" && workspaceState.seq === 0
     )
     setError(workspaceState.health === "degraded" ? workspaceState.error : null)
-  }, [
-    folder?.path,
-    workspaceState.error,
-    workspaceState.git,
-    workspaceState.health,
-    workspaceState.seq,
-    workspaceState.tree,
-  ])
+  }, [workspaceState.error, workspaceState.health, workspaceState.seq])
 
   const loadDirectoryChildren = useCallback(
     async (dirPath: string) => {
@@ -1007,12 +1034,19 @@ export function FileTreeTab() {
       if (lazyLoadedChildrenByPathRef.current.has(normalizedDirPath)) return
       if (lazyLoadingDirPathsRef.current.has(normalizedDirPath)) return
 
-      const existingChildren = findDirectoryChildren(nodes, normalizedDirPath)
+      // Check the backend tree (source of truth), not the rendered `nodes`.
+      // `nodes` carries stale lazy-cache overrides that don't invalidate
+      // until a tree_replace delta arrives — but for directories beyond
+      // WORKSPACE_TREE_MAX_DEPTH the backend never emits tree_replace for
+      // changes inside them (their children are not in tree_snapshot, so
+      // the refreshed tree compares equal to the old one). Checking
+      // `nodes` would cause fetchTree's forced reload to short-circuit on
+      // the stale override and miss deletions / creations in deep dirs.
+      const existingChildren = findDirectoryChildren(
+        workspaceTreeRef.current,
+        normalizedDirPath
+      )
       if (existingChildren && existingChildren.length > 0) {
-        lazyLoadedChildrenByPathRef.current.set(
-          normalizedDirPath,
-          existingChildren
-        )
         return
       }
 
@@ -1033,9 +1067,90 @@ export function FileTreeTab() {
         lazyLoadingDirPathsRef.current.delete(normalizedDirPath)
       }
     },
-    [folder?.path, nodes]
+    [folder?.path]
   )
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    loadDirectoryChildrenRef.current = loadDirectoryChildren
+  }, [loadDirectoryChildren])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    expandedPathsRef.current = expandedPaths
+  }, [expandedPaths])
+
+  // Subscribe to workspace envelopes to invalidate lazy-loaded overrides for
+  // directories beyond WORKSPACE_TREE_MAX_DEPTH. Those directories are never
+  // reflected in the backend's depth-2 tree_snapshot, so changes inside them
+  // don't emit a tree_replace delta — the frontend has to target invalidation
+  // by matching each `changed_paths` entry against its cached ancestors.
+  // The backend already debounces raw FS events (1s / 3s max), so we only
+  // need a microtask hop here to merge paths that hit the same cached
+  // ancestor within one envelope (or any synchronous burst of envelopes).
+  const subscribeWorkspaceEnvelopes = workspaceState.subscribeEnvelopes
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!subscribeWorkspaceEnvelopes) return
+
+    const pendingPaths = new Set<string>()
+    let flushScheduled = false
+    let disposed = false
+
+    const flushPending = () => {
+      flushScheduled = false
+      if (disposed || pendingPaths.size === 0) return
+      const paths = Array.from(pendingPaths)
+      pendingPaths.clear()
+
+      const loader = loadDirectoryChildrenRef.current
+      const cache = lazyLoadedChildrenByPathRef.current
+      const invalidated = new Set<string>()
+
+      for (const changed of paths) {
+        const normalized = normalizeComparePath(changed)
+        if (!normalized) continue
+        // Walk from the changed path up to the root, invalidating the
+        // nearest cached ancestor (or the path itself if a directory of
+        // that name is in the cache). Checking the path itself covers
+        // FS events that report the directory path directly.
+        let cursor = normalized
+        while (cursor.length > 0) {
+          if (cache.has(cursor)) {
+            invalidated.add(cursor)
+            break
+          }
+          const slash = cursor.lastIndexOf("/")
+          const parent = slash === -1 ? "" : cursor.slice(0, slash)
+          if (parent.length === 0) break
+          cursor = parent
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (invalidated.size === 0) return
+      for (const path of invalidated) {
+        cache.delete(path)
+      }
+      if (!loader) return
+      for (const path of invalidated) {
+        void loader(path)
+      }
+    }
+
+    const unsubscribe = subscribeWorkspaceEnvelopes(({ changed_paths }) => {
+      if (!changed_paths || changed_paths.length === 0) return
+      for (const path of changed_paths) {
+        pendingPaths.add(path)
+      }
+      if (flushScheduled) return
+      flushScheduled = true
+      queueMicrotask(flushPending)
+    })
+
+    return () => {
+      disposed = true
+      unsubscribe()
+      pendingPaths.clear()
+    }
+  }, [subscribeWorkspaceEnvelopes])
+
   useEffect(() => {
     const previousExpanded = previousExpandedPathsRef.current
     for (const path of expandedPaths) {
diff --git a/src/hooks/use-workspace-state-store.ts b/src/hooks/use-workspace-state-store.ts
index 718293a..156e096 100644
--- a/src/hooks/use-workspace-state-store.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/use-workspace-state-store.ts
@@ -30,9 +30,16 @@ export interface WorkspaceStateView {
   isGitRepo: boolean
 }
 
+export type WorkspaceEnvelopeListener = (envelope: {
+  seq: number
+  kind: string
+  changed_paths: string[]
+}) => void
+
 export interface WorkspaceStateResult extends WorkspaceStateView {
   requestResync: (reason?: string) => Promise<void>
   restart: () => Promise<void>
+  subscribeEnvelopes: (listener: WorkspaceEnvelopeListener) => () => void
 }
 
 const WORKSPACE_PROTOCOL_VERSION = 1
@@ -140,6 +147,7 @@ class WorkspaceStateStore {
   private readonly rootPath: string
   private readonly normalizedRootPath: string
   private listeners = new Set<() => void>()
+  private envelopeListeners = new Set<WorkspaceEnvelopeListener>()
   private state: WorkspaceStateView
   private refCount = 0
   private started = false
@@ -171,6 +179,13 @@ class WorkspaceStateStore {
     }
   }
 
+  subscribeEnvelopes = (listener: WorkspaceEnvelopeListener): (() => void) => {
+    this.envelopeListeners.add(listener)
+    return () => {
+      this.envelopeListeners.delete(listener)
+    }
+  }
+
   acquire = () => {
     this.cancelPendingShutdown()
     this.cancelEviction()
@@ -212,6 +227,16 @@ class WorkspaceStateStore {
         this.patchState((prev) => applySnapshot(prev, snapshot))
         if (snapshot.full) {
           this.hasBaselineSnapshot = true
+        } else {
+          // Forward replayed envelopes so downstream cache-invalidation
+          // hooks catch up on FS activity that happened while disconnected.
+          for (const envelope of snapshot.deltas) {
+            this.notifyEnvelope({
+              seq: envelope.seq,
+              kind: envelope.kind,
+              changed_paths: envelope.changed_paths ?? [],
+            })
+          }
         }
       } catch (error) {
         this.patchState((prev) => ({
@@ -315,6 +340,15 @@ class WorkspaceStateStore {
         )
         if (!this.isLifecycleActive(lifecycleId)) return
         this.patchState((prev) => applySnapshot(prev, catchUpSnapshot))
+        if (!catchUpSnapshot.full) {
+          for (const envelope of catchUpSnapshot.deltas) {
+            this.notifyEnvelope({
+              seq: envelope.seq,
+              kind: envelope.kind,
+              changed_paths: envelope.changed_paths ?? [],
+            })
+          }
+        }
       } catch (error) {
         this.patchState((prev) => ({
           ...prev,
@@ -418,6 +452,26 @@ class WorkspaceStateStore {
       health: "healthy",
       error: null,
     }))
+
+    this.notifyEnvelope({
+      seq: event.seq,
+      kind: event.kind,
+      changed_paths: event.changed_paths ?? [],
+    })
+  }
+
+  private notifyEnvelope = (envelope: {
+    seq: number
+    kind: string
+    changed_paths: string[]
+  }) => {
+    for (const listener of this.envelopeListeners) {
+      try {
+        listener(envelope)
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error("[workspace-state] envelope listener failed", error)
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   private patchState = (
@@ -509,11 +563,20 @@ export function useWorkspaceStateStore(
     await store.restart()
   }, [store])
 
+  const subscribeEnvelopes = useCallback(
+    (listener: WorkspaceEnvelopeListener) => {
+      if (!store) return () => {}
+      return store.subscribeEnvelopes(listener)
+    },
+    [store]
+  )
+
   if (!rootPath) {
     return {
       ...EMPTY_STATE,
       requestResync,
       restart,
+      subscribeEnvelopes,
     }
   }
 
@@ -521,5 +584,6 @@ export function useWorkspaceStateStore(
     ...snapshot,
     requestResync,
     restart,
+    subscribeEnvelopes,
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/types.ts b/src/lib/types.ts
index c127533..4f78fc0 100644
--- a/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -879,6 +879,7 @@ export interface WorkspaceDeltaEnvelope {
   kind: "fs_delta" | "git_delta" | "meta" | "resync_hint" | string
   payload: WorkspaceDelta[]
   requires_resync: boolean
+  changed_paths?: string[]
 }
 
 export interface WorkspaceStateEvent {
@@ -888,6 +889,7 @@ export interface WorkspaceStateEvent {
   kind: "fs_delta" | "git_delta" | "meta" | "resync_hint" | string
   payload: WorkspaceDelta[]
   requires_resync: boolean
+  changed_paths?: string[]
 }
 
 export interface WorkspaceSnapshotResponse {