diff --git a/src/config/sessions/combined-store-gateway.ts b/src/config/sessions/combined-store-gateway.ts
index 47c48b6a614..7840b5944a6 100644
--- a/src/config/sessions/combined-store-gateway.ts
+++ b/src/config/sessions/combined-store-gateway.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ import { normalizeAgentId } from "../../routing/session-key.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../types.openclaw.js";
 import { resolveStorePath } from "./paths.js";
 import { loadSessionStore } from "./store-load.js";
-import { resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync } from "./targets.js";
+import {
+  resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync,
+  resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync,
+} from "./targets.js";
 import type { SessionEntry } from "./types.js";
 
 function isStorePathTemplate(store?: string): boolean {
@@ -25,20 +28,31 @@ function mergeSessionEntryIntoCombined(params: {
   const existing = combined[canonicalKey];
 
   if (existing && (existing.updatedAt ?? 0) > (entry.updatedAt ?? 0)) {
+    const spawnedBy = canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent(
+      cfg,
+      agentId,
+      existing.spawnedBy ?? entry.spawnedBy,
+    );
     combined[canonicalKey] = {
       ...entry,
       ...existing,
-      spawnedBy: canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent(cfg, agentId, existing.spawnedBy ?? entry.spawnedBy),
+      spawnedBy,
     };
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const spawnedBy = canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent(
+    cfg,
+    agentId,
+    entry.spawnedBy ?? existing?.spawnedBy,
+  );
+  if (!existing && entry.spawnedBy === spawnedBy) {
+    combined[canonicalKey] = entry;
   } else {
     combined[canonicalKey] = {
       ...existing,
       ...entry,
-      spawnedBy: canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent(
-        cfg,
-        agentId,
-        entry.spawnedBy ?? existing?.spawnedBy,
-      ),
+      spawnedBy,
     };
   }
 }
@@ -77,9 +91,9 @@ export function loadCombinedSessionStoreForGateway(
     typeof opts.agentId === "string" && opts.agentId.trim()
       ? normalizeAgentId(opts.agentId)
       : undefined;
-  const targets = resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(cfg).filter(
-    (target) => !requestedAgentId || normalizeAgentId(target.agentId) === requestedAgentId,
-  );
+  const targets = requestedAgentId
+    ? resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(cfg, requestedAgentId)
+    : resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(cfg);
   const combined: Record<string, SessionEntry> = {};
   for (const target of targets) {
     const agentId = target.agentId;
diff --git a/src/config/sessions/targets.test.ts b/src/config/sessions/targets.test.ts
index b6f3b91308d..5f7c6d77bb7 100644
--- a/src/config/sessions/targets.test.ts
+++ b/src/config/sessions/targets.test.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config.js";
 import { resolveStorePath } from "./paths.js";
 import {
+  resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync,
   resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargets,
   resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync,
   resolveSessionStoreTargets,
@@ -138,6 +139,38 @@ describe("resolveSessionStoreTargets", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync", () => {
+  it("resolves one requested agent store from the direct path", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const customRoot = path.join(home, "custom-state");
+      const storePaths = await createAgentSessionStores(customRoot, ["main", "codex"]);
+      const cfg = createCustomRootCfg(customRoot, "main");
+
+      expect(resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(cfg, "codex", { env: process.env })).toEqual([
+        {
+          agentId: "codex",
+          storePath: storePaths.codex,
+        },
+      ]);
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("finds discovered directories whose names normalize to the requested agent", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const customRoot = path.join(home, "custom-state");
+      const storePaths = await createAgentSessionStores(customRoot, ["main", "Retired Agent"]);
+      const cfg = createCustomRootCfg(customRoot, "main");
+
+      expect(
+        resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(cfg, "retired-agent", { env: process.env }),
+      ).toContainEqual({
+        agentId: "retired-agent",
+        storePath: storePaths["Retired Agent"],
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
+
 describe("resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargets", () => {
   it("includes discovered on-disk agent stores alongside configured targets", async () => {
     await withTempHome(async (home) => {
diff --git a/src/config/sessions/targets.ts b/src/config/sessions/targets.ts
index 1c41f574a28..1ca75d0f048 100644
--- a/src/config/sessions/targets.ts
+++ b/src/config/sessions/targets.ts
@@ -209,6 +209,91 @@ export function resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(
   return dedupeTargetsByStorePath([...validatedConfiguredTargets, ...discoveredTargets]);
 }
 
+export function resolveAgentSessionStoreTargetsSync(
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig,
+  agentId: string,
+  params: { env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv } = {},
+): SessionStoreTarget[] {
+  const env = params.env ?? process.env;
+  const requested = normalizeAgentId(agentId);
+  const storePaths = new Set<string>([
+    resolveStorePath(cfg.session?.store, { agentId: requested, env }),
+    resolveStorePath(undefined, { agentId: requested, env }),
+  ]);
+  const targets: SessionStoreTarget[] = [];
+  const realAgentsRoots = new Map<string, string | undefined>();
+  const getRealAgentsRoot = (agentsRoot: string): string | undefined => {
+    if (realAgentsRoots.has(agentsRoot)) {
+      return realAgentsRoots.get(agentsRoot);
+    }
+    try {
+      const realAgentsRoot = fsSync.realpathSync.native(agentsRoot);
+      realAgentsRoots.set(agentsRoot, realAgentsRoot);
+      return realAgentsRoot;
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (shouldSkipDiscoveryError(err)) {
+        realAgentsRoots.set(agentsRoot, undefined);
+        return undefined;
+      }
+      throw err;
+    }
+  };
+
+  for (const storePath of storePaths) {
+    const agentsRoot = resolveAgentsDirFromSessionStorePath(storePath);
+    if (!agentsRoot) {
+      targets.push({ agentId: requested, storePath });
+      continue;
+    }
+    const realAgentsRoot = getRealAgentsRoot(agentsRoot);
+    if (!realAgentsRoot) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const validatedStorePath = resolveValidatedDiscoveredStorePathSync({
+      sessionsDir: path.dirname(storePath),
+      agentsRoot,
+      realAgentsRoot,
+    });
+    if (validatedStorePath) {
+      targets.push({ agentId: requested, storePath: validatedStorePath });
+    }
+  }
+
+  const { agentsRoots } = resolveSessionStoreDiscoveryState(cfg, env);
+  for (const agentsDir of agentsRoots) {
+    try {
+      const realAgentsRoot = getRealAgentsRoot(agentsDir);
+      if (!realAgentsRoot) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      for (const sessionsDir of resolveAgentSessionDirsFromAgentsDirSync(agentsDir)) {
+        const target = toDiscoveredSessionStoreTarget(
+          sessionsDir,
+          path.join(sessionsDir, "sessions.json"),
+        );
+        if (!target || normalizeAgentId(target.agentId) !== requested) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        const validatedStorePath = resolveValidatedDiscoveredStorePathSync({
+          sessionsDir,
+          agentsRoot: agentsDir,
+          realAgentsRoot,
+        });
+        if (validatedStorePath) {
+          targets.push({ ...target, storePath: validatedStorePath });
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (shouldSkipDiscoveryError(err)) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return dedupeTargetsByStorePath(targets);
+}
+
 export async function resolveAllAgentSessionStoreTargets(
   cfg: OpenClawConfig,
   params: { env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv } = {},
diff --git a/src/gateway/session-utils.subagent.test.ts b/src/gateway/session-utils.subagent.test.ts
index 092926f1292..c7ce3b9dfe4 100644
--- a/src/gateway/session-utils.subagent.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/session-utils.subagent.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
   resetSubagentRegistryForTests,
 } from "../agents/subagent-registry.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
-import type { SessionEntry } from "../config/sessions.js";
+import { loadSessionStore, type SessionEntry } from "../config/sessions.js";
 import { registerAgentRunContext, resetAgentRunContextForTest } from "../infra/agent-events.js";
 import { withStateDirEnv } from "../test-helpers/state-dir-env.js";
 import { withEnv } from "../test-utils/env.js";
@@ -1208,4 +1208,42 @@ describe("loadCombinedSessionStoreForGateway includes disk-only agents (#32804)"
       readSpy.mockRestore();
     });
   });
+
+  test("keeps canonical single-target entries by reference", async () => {
+    await withStateDirEnv("openclaw-acp-canonical-", async ({ stateDir }) => {
+      const customRoot = path.join(stateDir, "custom-state");
+      const codexDir = path.join(customRoot, "agents", "codex", "sessions");
+      fs.mkdirSync(codexDir, { recursive: true });
+
+      const codexStorePath = path.join(codexDir, "sessions.json");
+      fs.writeFileSync(
+        codexStorePath,
+        JSON.stringify({
+          "agent:codex:acp-task": {
+            sessionId: "s-codex",
+            updatedAt: 200,
+            spawnedBy: "agent:codex:main",
+          },
+        }),
+        "utf8",
+      );
+
+      const cfg = {
+        session: {
+          mainKey: "main",
+          store: path.join(customRoot, "agents", "{agentId}", "sessions", "sessions.json"),
+        },
+        agents: {
+          list: [{ id: "codex", default: true }],
+        },
+      } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+      const cachedStore = loadSessionStore(fs.realpathSync.native(codexStorePath), {
+        clone: false,
+      });
+      const { store } = loadCombinedSessionStoreForGateway(cfg, { agentId: "codex" });
+
+      expect(store["agent:codex:acp-task"]).toBe(cachedStore["agent:codex:acp-task"]);
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/gateway/session-utils.test.ts b/src/gateway/session-utils.test.ts
index ec9b3f1d5e0..5f364086e8a 100644
--- a/src/gateway/session-utils.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/session-utils.test.ts
@@ -1217,6 +1217,30 @@ describe("listSessionsFromStore selected model display", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("uses bounded top-N selection for small limited lists", () => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const store: Record<string, SessionEntry> = {
+      "agent:main:old": { sessionId: "old", updatedAt: now - 10_000 } as SessionEntry,
+      "agent:main:newest": { sessionId: "newest", updatedAt: now } as SessionEntry,
+      "agent:main:middle-a": { sessionId: "middle-a", updatedAt: now - 5_000 } as SessionEntry,
+      "agent:main:middle-b": { sessionId: "middle-b", updatedAt: now - 5_000 } as SessionEntry,
+      "agent:main:newer": { sessionId: "newer", updatedAt: now - 1_000 } as SessionEntry,
+    };
+    const result = listSessionsFromStore({
+      cfg: createModelDefaultsConfig({ primary: "openai/gpt-5.4" }),
+      storePath: "/tmp/sessions.json",
+      store,
+      opts: { limit: 4 },
+    });
+
+    expect(result.sessions.map((session) => session.key)).toEqual([
+      "agent:main:newest",
+      "agent:main:newer",
+      "agent:main:middle-a",
+      "agent:main:middle-b",
+    ]);
+  });
+
   test("shows the selected override model even when a fallback runtime model exists", () => {
     const cfg = createModelDefaultsConfig({
       primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
diff --git a/src/gateway/session-utils.ts b/src/gateway/session-utils.ts
index ba1b500d86e..8bde5ee269b 100644
--- a/src/gateway/session-utils.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/session-utils.ts
@@ -1758,6 +1758,54 @@ export function loadGatewaySessionRow(
  * avoiding excessive yielding overhead for small stores.
  */
 const SESSIONS_LIST_YIELD_BATCH_SIZE = 10;
+const SESSIONS_LIST_TOP_N_LIMIT = 200;
+
+type SessionEntryPair = [string, SessionEntry];
+
+function compareSessionEntryPairsByUpdatedAt(a: SessionEntryPair, b: SessionEntryPair): number {
+  return (b[1]?.updatedAt ?? 0) - (a[1]?.updatedAt ?? 0);
+}
+
+function resolveSessionsListLimit(
+  opts: import("./protocol/index.js").SessionsListParams,
+): number | undefined {
+  if (typeof opts.limit !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(opts.limit)) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return Math.max(1, Math.floor(opts.limit));
+}
+
+function selectNewestLimitedEntries(
+  entries: SessionEntryPair[],
+  limit: number,
+): SessionEntryPair[] {
+  const selected: SessionEntryPair[] = [];
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    const insertAt = selected.findIndex(
+      (candidate) => compareSessionEntryPairsByUpdatedAt(entry, candidate) < 0,
+    );
+    if (insertAt >= 0) {
+      selected.splice(insertAt, 0, entry);
+      if (selected.length > limit) {
+        selected.pop();
+      }
+    } else if (selected.length < limit) {
+      selected.push(entry);
+    }
+  }
+  return selected;
+}
+
+function sortAndLimitSessionEntries(
+  entries: SessionEntryPair[],
+  limit: number | undefined,
+): SessionEntryPair[] {
+  if (limit !== undefined && limit <= SESSIONS_LIST_TOP_N_LIMIT) {
+    return selectNewestLimitedEntries(entries, limit);
+  }
+  const sorted = entries.toSorted(compareSessionEntryPairsByUpdatedAt);
+  return limit === undefined ? sorted : sorted.slice(0, limit);
+}
 
 export function filterAndSortSessionEntries(params: {
   store: Record<string, SessionEntry>;
@@ -1829,8 +1877,7 @@ export function filterAndSortSessionEntries(params: {
         return true;
       }
       return entry?.label === label;
-    })
-    .toSorted((a, b) => (b[1]?.updatedAt ?? 0) - (a[1]?.updatedAt ?? 0));
+    });
 
   if (search) {
     entries = entries.filter(([key, entry]) => {
@@ -1852,12 +1899,7 @@ export function filterAndSortSessionEntries(params: {
     entries = entries.filter(([, entry]) => (entry?.updatedAt ?? 0) >= cutoff);
   }
 
-  if (typeof opts.limit === "number" && Number.isFinite(opts.limit)) {
-    const limit = Math.max(1, Math.floor(opts.limit));
-    entries = entries.slice(0, limit);
-  }
-
-  return entries;
+  return sortAndLimitSessionEntries(entries, resolveSessionsListLimit(opts));
 }
 
 export function listSessionsFromStore(params: {