diff --git a/src/commands/list.ts b/src/commands/list.ts
index d0bb12f..1970c84 100644
--- a/src/commands/list.ts
+++ b/src/commands/list.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { basename } from "path"
 import { homedir } from "os"
+import { exists } from "fs/promises"
 import * as git from "../git.ts"
 import * as vm from "../vm.ts"
 import * as state from "../state.ts"
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ async function resolveStatus(
   s: { branch: string; worktree: string; in_review?: boolean },
   vmRunning: boolean,
 ): Promise<string> {
+  if (!(await exists(s.worktree))) return "idle"
   if (vmRunning) {
     const active = await vm.isClaudeActive(s.worktree, s.branch)
     if (active && s.in_review) return "review"
diff --git a/src/state.ts b/src/state.ts
index 15f051b..63f491a 100644
--- a/src/state.ts
+++ b/src/state.ts
@@ -66,12 +66,14 @@ const GLOBAL_STATE_PATH = join(GLOBAL_DIR, "registry.json")
 async function withGlobalLock<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
   const lockPath = join(GLOBAL_DIR, "registry.lock")
   await mkdir(GLOBAL_DIR, { recursive: true })
+  let acquired = false
   for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
     try {
       await mkdir(lockPath)
+      acquired = true
       break
     } catch {
-      // If the lock is older than 30 seconds, assume it's stale (crashed process)
+      // If the lock is older than 5 minutes, assume it's stale (crashed process)
       try {
         const info = await stat(lockPath)
         if (Date.now() - info.mtimeMs > 300_000) {
@@ -83,6 +85,7 @@ async function withGlobalLock<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
       await Bun.sleep(50)
     }
   }
+  if (!acquired) throw new Error("Could not acquire registry lock")
   try {
     return await fn()
   } finally {
@@ -161,7 +164,7 @@ export async function scanAndRegister(dir: string, maxDepth = 5): Promise<string
       }
     }
 
-    const children = entries.filter(e => e.isDirectory() && !e.name.startsWith(".") && e.name !== "node_modules")
+    const children = entries.filter(e => e.isDirectory() && !e.isSymbolicLink() && !e.name.startsWith(".") && e.name !== "node_modules")
     await Promise.all(children.map(entry => walk(join(d, entry.name), depth + 1)))
   }
 
@@ -190,19 +193,36 @@ export interface GlobalSession extends Session {
   repoRoot: string
 }
 
-/** Load all sessions across all registered projects. */
+/** Load all sessions across all registered projects. Prunes stale entries. */
 export async function loadAll(): Promise<GlobalSession[]> {
   const gs = await loadGlobal()
   const all: GlobalSession[] = []
+  const stale: string[] = []
 
   for (const project of gs.projects) {
     try {
-      const st = await load(project)
+      const file = Bun.file(join(project, ".sandlot", "state.json"))
+      if (!(await file.exists())) {
+        stale.push(project)
+        continue
+      }
+      const st: State = await file.json()
       const repo = basename(project)
       for (const session of Object.values(st.sessions)) {
         all.push({ ...session, repo, repoRoot: project })
       }
-    } catch {}
+    } catch {
+      stale.push(project)
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Prune projects whose state files no longer exist
+  if (stale.length > 0) {
+    withGlobalLock(async () => {
+      const fresh = await loadGlobal()
+      fresh.projects = fresh.projects.filter(p => !stale.includes(p))
+      await saveGlobal(fresh)
+    }).catch(() => {})
   }
 
   return all