[BUG] Cowork: Recents list sorts on a stale timestamp, not last activity — row labels and row order disagree

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Summary

In Cowork mode on macOS, the Recents list inside a project is not ordered by last activity. Chats used minutes ago are placed a month down the list, while the timestamp label rendered on those same rows correctly reads "Just now" / "30 minutes ago".

The result is rows that visibly contradict their own neighbors: a row labeled "Just now" sitting between rows labeled "Aug 3" and "Jul 29".

The displayed timestamp and the sort key are clearly two different values. The label tracks real activity; the ordering does not.

Environment
Client: Claude desktop app, Cowork mode
OS: macOS
App version: Claude 1.40609.0 (f65e38)
Project: a Cowork project with a connected local folder
History size: several months, dozens of chats
Date observed: 2026-09-01, has been happening for at least two weeks now

Steps to reproduce
Open a Cowork project with a substantial chat history.
Work in a chat that was created weeks ago, or start a new chat.
Open the Recents list for that project.
Compare each row's displayed timestamp against its position in the list.

Expected behavior
Recents is ordered by last activity, descending. A chat active "Just now" appears at the top.

Actual behavior
Ordering is mostly descending but contains hard violations, and they are not subtle.

What Should Happen?

Expected behavior
Recents is ordered by last activity, descending. A chat active "Just now" appears at the top.

Actual behavior
Ordering is mostly descending but contains hard violations, and they are not subtle.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce
Open a Cowork project with a substantial chat history.
Work in a chat that was created weeks ago, or start a new chat.
Open the Recents list for that project.
Compare each row's displayed timestamp against its position in the list.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.40609.0 (f65e38)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_