diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/connection.ts b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/connection.ts
index 2f180e7fa53..8b0d646ee73 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/connection.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/connection.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ export function setupConnectionHandlers(socket: AuthenticatedSocket, roomManager
   // evicted or TTL-expired (which would leave the manager's stored rooms empty).
   socket.on('disconnecting', async (reason) => {
     try {
+      // Snapshot the live Socket.IO room membership SYNCHRONOUSLY, before any
+      // await: Socket.IO clears `socket.rooms` via leaveAll() as soon as the
+      // synchronous portion of this `disconnecting` handler returns (i.e. at the
+      // first await below), so reading it afterwards would see an empty set and
+      // the eviction fallback would be dead.
+      const liveRoomNames = [...socket.rooms]
+
       // Clean up pending debounce entries for this socket to prevent memory leaks
       cleanupPendingSubblocksForSocket(socket.id)
       cleanupPendingVariablesForSocket(socket.id)
@@ -29,13 +36,13 @@ export function setupConnectionHandlers(socket: AuthenticatedSocket, roomManager
       // room the manager knows about.
       const removedRooms = await roomManager.removeSocketFromAllRooms(socket.id)
 
-      // Union with the live Socket.IO membership (authoritative here, and it
+      // Union with the snapshotted Socket.IO membership (authoritative, and it
       // survives a Redis eviction/TTL lapse that would leave the manager's tracked
       // rooms empty). Attempt removal for any room the manager didn't already
       // remove — best-effort, since a transient Redis error can't be recovered here.
       const wasInRooms = new Map<string, RoomRef>()
       for (const room of removedRooms) wasInRooms.set(roomName(room), room)
-      for (const name of socket.rooms) {
+      for (const name of liveRoomNames) {
         // `wasInRooms.has(name)` already excludes every room the manager removed
         // (same room-name key via the roomName/parseRoomName bijection), so any
         // room reaching here was NOT in `removedRooms` and needs a removal attempt.
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workflow.test.ts b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workflow.test.ts
index 89ae5521e2f..417960c6e5d 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workflow.test.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workflow.test.ts
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ function createRoomManager(overrides?: Partial<IRoomManager>): IRoomManager {
     broadcastPresenceUpdate: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     getRoomUsers: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
     hasRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false),
+    deleteRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     addUserToRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     getUserSession: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
     updateUserActivity: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.test.ts b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.test.ts
index 9ecc943c8bb..76f20d9a7e5 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.test.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.test.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ function createRoomManager(overrides?: Partial<IRoomManager>): IRoomManager {
     broadcastPresenceUpdate: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     getRoomUsers: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
     hasRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false),
+    deleteRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     addUserToRoom: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
     getUserSession: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
     updateUserActivity: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.ts b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.ts
index c88d403e44e..964857e0633 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/handlers/workspace-files.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { ROOM_TYPES, type RoomRef, roomName } from '@sim/realtime-protocol/rooms
 import { eq } from 'drizzle-orm'
 import type { AuthenticatedSocket } from '@/middleware/auth'
 import type { IRoomManager, UserPresence } from '@/rooms'
+import { filterVisiblePresence, sweepStalePresence } from '@/rooms/presence-visibility'
 
 const logger = createLogger('WorkspaceFilesHandlers')
 
@@ -77,6 +78,19 @@ export function setupWorkspaceFilesHandlers(
           return
         }
 
+        // Validate the client-supplied id before it reaches the DB query (matches
+        // the /api/workspace-files-changed guard; join payloads are otherwise raw
+        // client input).
+        if (typeof workspaceId !== 'string' || workspaceId.length === 0) {
+          socket.emit('join-workspace-files-error', {
+            workspaceId: typeof workspaceId === 'string' ? workspaceId : '',
+            error: 'Invalid workspace id',
+            code: 'INVALID_PAYLOAD',
+            retryable: false,
+          })
+          return
+        }
+
         const room = filesRoom(workspaceId)
 
         let authorized: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof authorizeRoom>>
@@ -130,6 +144,10 @@ export function setupWorkspaceFilesHandlers(
           }
         }
 
+        // Reclaim any presence orphaned by an ungraceful disconnect (pod crash
+        // fires no `disconnecting` event; the room hashes have no TTL).
+        await sweepStalePresence(roomManager, room)
+
         socket.join(roomName(room))
 
         const presence: UserPresence = {
@@ -147,7 +165,13 @@ export function setupWorkspaceFilesHandlers(
 
         await roomManager.addUserToRoom(room, socket.id, presence)
 
-        const presenceUsers = await roomManager.getRoomUsers(room)
+        // Filter the join ack to live members so a new joiner never briefly sees a
+        // ghost from an entry the sweep hasn't reclaimed yet.
+        const presenceUsers = await filterVisiblePresence(
+          roomManager.io,
+          room,
+          await roomManager.getRoomUsers(room)
+        )
         socket.emit('join-workspace-files-success', {
           workspaceId,
           socketId: socket.id,
@@ -159,6 +183,14 @@ export function setupWorkspaceFilesHandlers(
         logger.info(`User ${userId} (${userName}) joined files room for workspace ${workspaceId}`)
       } catch (error) {
         logger.error('Error joining workspace files room:', error)
+        // Roll back any partial join so a failed attempt can't leave the socket in
+        // the Socket.IO room or a stale presence entry behind (mirrors the workflow
+        // join's rollback), before signalling a retryable failure.
+        try {
+          const room = filesRoom(workspaceId)
+          socket.leave(roomName(room))
+          await roomManager.removeUserFromRoom(room, socket.id)
+        } catch {}
         socket.emit('join-workspace-files-error', {
           workspaceId,
           error: 'Failed to join workspace files',
@@ -169,14 +201,18 @@ export function setupWorkspaceFilesHandlers(
     }
   )
 
-  socket.on('leave-workspace-files', async () => {
+  socket.on('leave-workspace-files', async (payload?: { workspaceId?: string }) => {
     try {
       if (!roomManager.isReady()) return
       const room = await roomManager.getRoomForSocket(socket.id, ROOM_TYPES.WORKSPACE_FILES)
       if (!room) return
+      // Scope the leave to a specific workspace when the client provides one: a
+      // deferred leave from a prior page must not evict the socket from a room it
+      // has since switched into (workspace A→B leaves A's leave targeting B).
+      if (payload?.workspaceId && payload.workspaceId !== room.id) return
       socket.leave(roomName(room))
       await roomManager.removeUserFromRoom(room, socket.id)
-      await roomManager.broadcastPresenceUpdate(room)
+      await roomManager.broadcastPresenceUpdate(room, socket.id)
     } catch (error) {
       logger.error('Error leaving workspace files room:', error)
     }
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.test.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.test.ts
index d5d2512a2d8..af98414f540 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.test.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 import { ROOM_TYPES, type RoomRef } from '@sim/realtime-protocol/rooms'
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { MemoryRoomManager } from '@/rooms/memory-manager'
+import { sweepStalePresence } from '@/rooms/presence-visibility'
 import type { UserPresence } from '@/rooms/types'
 
 function fakeIo(liveSocketIds: string[] = []) {
@@ -120,6 +121,39 @@ describe('MemoryRoomManager multi-room', () => {
     expect(await manager.getUserSession('socket-2')).not.toBeNull()
   })
 
+  it('sweepStalePresence reclaims not-live stale entries but keeps live and fresh ones', async () => {
+    const { io } = fakeIo(['socket-live'])
+    const m = new MemoryRoomManager(io)
+    await m.initialize()
+
+    const staleMs = 76 * 60 * 1000
+    await m.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-live', presence(FILES, 'socket-live', 'u1'))
+    await m.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-dead', {
+      ...presence(FILES, 'socket-dead', 'u2'),
+      joinedAt: Date.now() - staleMs,
+      lastActivity: Date.now() - staleMs,
+    })
+    await m.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-recent', presence(FILES, 'socket-recent', 'u3'))
+
+    await sweepStalePresence(m, FILES)
+
+    const remaining = (await m.getRoomUsers(FILES)).map((u) => u.socketId).sort()
+    // socket-dead: not live + stale → removed. socket-live: live → kept.
+    // socket-recent: not live but fresh (transient) → kept.
+    expect(remaining).toEqual(['socket-live', 'socket-recent'])
+  })
+
+  it('deleteRoom unconditionally drops all room state', async () => {
+    await manager.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-1', presence(FILES, 'socket-1', 'user-1'))
+    await manager.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-2', presence(FILES, 'socket-2', 'user-2'))
+    expect(await manager.hasRoom(FILES)).toBe(true)
+
+    await manager.deleteRoom(FILES)
+
+    expect(await manager.hasRoom(FILES)).toBe(false)
+    expect(await manager.getRoomUsers(FILES)).toHaveLength(0)
+  })
+
   it('ignores removal of a room the socket is not in (id-guarded)', async () => {
     await manager.addUserToRoom(FILES, 'socket-1', presence(FILES, 'socket-1', 'user-1'))
 
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.ts
index 0e25921a47e..90001f53b53 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/memory-manager.ts
@@ -149,6 +149,10 @@ export class MemoryRoomManager implements IRoomManager {
     return this.rooms.has(roomKey(room))
   }
 
+  async deleteRoom(room: RoomRef): Promise<void> {
+    this.rooms.delete(roomKey(room))
+  }
+
   async updateUserActivity(
     room: RoomRef,
     socketId: string,
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/presence-visibility.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/presence-visibility.ts
index 4680a581964..7e43b9fde29 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/presence-visibility.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/presence-visibility.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 import { type RoomRef, roomName } from '@sim/realtime-protocol/rooms'
 import type { Server } from 'socket.io'
+import type { IRoomManager } from '@/rooms/types'
+
+/**
+ * How stale a not-live presence entry must be before a join-time sweep reclaims
+ * it. Kept above the 1h socket-key TTL so a normally-idle collaborator is never
+ * evicted; only genuinely-orphaned entries (e.g. a crashed pod that never fired
+ * `disconnecting`) are cleared. Matches the workflow join sweep.
+ */
+const STALE_PRESENCE_THRESHOLD_MS = 75 * 60 * 1000
 
 /**
  * Filters a room's stored presence down to what should actually be broadcast:
@@ -34,3 +43,32 @@ export async function filterVisiblePresence<T extends { socketId: string }>(
     return candidates
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Reclaims orphaned presence entries in a room: any stored socket that is no
+ * longer a live Socket.IO member AND has been idle past
+ * {@link STALE_PRESENCE_THRESHOLD_MS} is removed. This is how a room-users hash
+ * (which has no TTL) is bounded against ungraceful disconnects — a pod crash
+ * fires no `disconnecting` event, so its entries would otherwise persist forever.
+ * Run on join, like the workflow room does. No-op when the liveness lookup fails
+ * (so a transient adapter blip can't evict live collaborators).
+ */
+export async function sweepStalePresence(manager: IRoomManager, room: RoomRef): Promise<void> {
+  let liveIds: Set<string>
+  try {
+    const liveSockets = await manager.io.in(roomName(room)).fetchSockets()
+    liveIds = new Set(liveSockets.map((socket) => socket.id))
+  } catch {
+    return
+  }
+
+  const now = Date.now()
+  const users = await manager.getRoomUsers(room)
+  for (const user of users) {
+    if (liveIds.has(user.socketId)) continue
+    const lastSeen = user.lastActivity || user.joinedAt || 0
+    if (now - lastSeen > STALE_PRESENCE_THRESHOLD_MS) {
+      await manager.removeUserFromRoom(room, user.socketId)
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/redis-manager.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/redis-manager.ts
index 2de65bc14c5..945d03d539c 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/redis-manager.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/redis-manager.ts
@@ -311,6 +311,17 @@ export class RedisRoomManager implements IRoomManager {
     return exists > 0
   }
 
+  async deleteRoom(room: RoomRef): Promise<void> {
+    // Log AND rethrow (like addUserToRoom): a failed wipe must not be reported as a
+    // clean deletion by the caller — the request surfaces it (and can be retried).
+    try {
+      await this.redis.del([KEYS.roomUsers(room), KEYS.roomMeta(room)])
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.error(`Failed to delete room ${room.type}:${room.id}:`, error)
+      throw error
+    }
+  }
+
   async updateUserActivity(
     room: RoomRef,
     socketId: string,
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/types.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/types.ts
index 80525195ef8..c9c8ee18704 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/types.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/types.ts
@@ -101,6 +101,13 @@ export interface IRoomManager {
   /** Whether a room currently has any presence. */
   hasRoom(room: RoomRef): Promise<boolean>
 
+  /**
+   * Unconditionally drop all state for a room (presence + metadata). Used when a
+   * room's underlying resource is destroyed (e.g. a deleted workflow) to guarantee
+   * no state lingers even if per-socket removals failed or a socket joined mid-teardown.
+   */
+  deleteRoom(room: RoomRef): Promise<void>
+
   /** Update a socket's activity (cursor, selection, lastActivity) within a room. */
   updateUserActivity(
     room: RoomRef,
diff --git a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/workflow-room-service.ts b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/workflow-room-service.ts
index 4623647a7da..f12a6c337d4 100644
--- a/apps/realtime/src/rooms/workflow-room-service.ts
+++ b/apps/realtime/src/rooms/workflow-room-service.ts
@@ -22,29 +22,44 @@ export class WorkflowRoomService {
     logger.info(`Handling workflow deletion notification for ${workflowId}`)
     const room = workflowRoom(workflowId)
 
-    const users = await this.manager.getRoomUsers(room)
-    if (users.length === 0) {
-      logger.debug(`No active users found for deleted workflow ${workflowId}`)
-      return
-    }
+    const name = roomName(room)
 
+    // Always notify — reach every socket still in the Socket.IO room so the client
+    // clears the deleted workflow, even if that socket's Redis presence was evicted
+    // (in which case it would be missing from getRoomUsers). Emitting to an empty
+    // room is a harmless no-op.
     this.manager.emitToRoom(room, 'workflow-deleted', {
       workflowId,
       message: 'This workflow has been deleted',
       timestamp: Date.now(),
     })
 
+    // Clean per-socket state for every socket that is either a live Socket.IO member
+    // OR still has presence — so an evicted/late-joined socket's room mapping and
+    // session are dropped too, not just the presence-tracked ones.
+    const socketIds = new Set<string>()
+    try {
+      const liveSockets = await this.manager.io.in(name).fetchSockets()
+      for (const s of liveSockets) socketIds.add(s.id)
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.warn(`Could not enumerate sockets for deleted workflow ${workflowId}`, error)
+    }
+    for (const user of await this.manager.getRoomUsers(room)) socketIds.add(user.socketId)
+
     // Remove every socket from the Socket.IO room (cross-pod via the Redis adapter).
-    const name = roomName(room)
     await this.manager.io.in(name).socketsLeave(name)
 
-    // Drop presence state for each socket; empty-room cleanup is handled by the manager.
-    for (const user of users) {
-      await this.manager.removeUserFromRoom(room, user.socketId)
+    for (const socketId of socketIds) {
+      await this.manager.removeUserFromRoom(room, socketId)
     }
 
+    // Final unconditional wipe — the workflow is gone, so no room state may linger
+    // even if a per-socket removal failed (matches the pre-refactor managers, which
+    // ended deletion with an unconditional room drop).
+    await this.manager.deleteRoom(room)
+
     logger.info(
-      `Cleaned up workflow room ${workflowId} after deletion (${users.length} users disconnected)`
+      `Cleaned up workflow room ${workflowId} after deletion (${socketIds.size} sockets removed)`
     )
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/files/hooks/use-workspace-files-room.ts b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/files/hooks/use-workspace-files-room.ts
index e2c4a61befc..795d233f4e0 100644
--- a/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/files/hooks/use-workspace-files-room.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/files/hooks/use-workspace-files-room.ts
@@ -77,6 +77,12 @@ export function useWorkspaceFilesRoom(
     }) => {
       if (data.workspaceId !== workspaceId) return
       retries = 0
+      // Cancel any retry scheduled by a prior retryable error so it can't fire an
+      // extra join after we're already in.
+      if (retryTimer) {
+        clearTimeout(retryTimer)
+        retryTimer = null
+      }
       setPresenceUsers(data.presenceUsers ?? [])
     }
     const handleJoinError = (data: JoinErrorPayload) => {
@@ -103,13 +109,18 @@ export function useWorkspaceFilesRoom(
 
     return () => {
       if (retryTimer) clearTimeout(retryTimer)
-      socket.emit('leave-workspace-files')
       socket.off('connect', join)
       socket.off('join-workspace-files-success', handleJoinSuccess)
       socket.off('join-workspace-files-error', handleJoinError)
       socket.off('workspace-files:presence-update', handlePresence)
       socket.off('workspace-files-changed', handleChanged)
       setPresenceUsers([])
+
+      // Leave the room, scoped to THIS workspace: the server no-ops if the socket
+      // has already switched to another workspace's files room (so a workspace
+      // A→B switch, where B's join runs first and auto-leaves A, can't have A's
+      // leave evict the fresh B membership).
+      socket.emit('leave-workspace-files', { workspaceId })
     }
   }, [socket, workspaceId, queryClient])
 
diff --git a/apps/sim/lib/realtime/notify.ts b/apps/sim/lib/realtime/notify.ts
index e738130b6de..71ef65c1ced 100644
--- a/apps/sim/lib/realtime/notify.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/lib/realtime/notify.ts
@@ -11,9 +11,14 @@ const NOTIFY_TIMEOUT_MS = 2000
 /**
  * Best-effort fan-out to the realtime server that a workspace's file tree changed,
  * so every browser currently viewing that workspace's files refetches. File
- * mutations happen over the HTTP API (not the socket); this is the lossy liveness
- * signal — a dropped notification only degrades to stale-until-refetch, so it must
- * never throw or block the originating mutation.
+ * mutations happen over the HTTP API (not the socket); this is a lossy liveness
+ * signal — a dropped notification only degrades to stale-until-refetch.
+ *
+ * Never throws. Callers `await` it (rather than fire-and-forget) so the fetch is
+ * guaranteed to dispatch before a Node route handler returns — a floating promise
+ * can be dropped after the response is sent. It is a normally-sub-millisecond
+ * local call and is hard-bounded to {@link NOTIFY_TIMEOUT_MS}, so it adds that
+ * latency only when the socket pod is unreachable.
  */
 export async function notifyWorkspaceFilesChanged(workspaceId: string): Promise<void> {
   try {
diff --git a/apps/sim/lib/uploads/contexts/workspace/workspace-file-manager.ts b/apps/sim/lib/uploads/contexts/workspace/workspace-file-manager.ts
index 6967a7d313f..662885c2ec5 100644
--- a/apps/sim/lib/uploads/contexts/workspace/workspace-file-manager.ts
+++ b/apps/sim/lib/uploads/contexts/workspace/workspace-file-manager.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { resolveWorkflowAliasForWorkspace } from '@/lib/copilot/vfs/workflow-ali
 import { isReservedWorkflowAliasBackingDisplayPath } from '@/lib/copilot/vfs/workflow-aliases'
 import { generateRestoreName } from '@/lib/core/utils/restore-name'
 import type { DbOrTx } from '@/lib/db/types'
+import { notifyWorkspaceFilesChanged } from '@/lib/realtime/notify'
 import { getServePathPrefix } from '@/lib/uploads'
 import {
   deleteFile,
@@ -380,6 +381,11 @@ export async function uploadWorkspaceFile(
       const pathPrefix = getServePathPrefix()
       const serveUrl = `${pathPrefix}${encodeURIComponent(uploadResult.key)}?context=workspace`
 
+      // Fan out the live-tree signal for the direct-upload paths (multipart
+      // fallback, copilot create, /api/files/upload, v1 files) — the presigned
+      // path already notifies from its register route.
+      await notifyWorkspaceFilesChanged(workspaceId)
+
       return {
         id: fileId,
         name: uniqueName,