diff --git a/src/commands/list.ts b/src/commands/list.ts
index 1970c84..a89b466 100644
--- a/src/commands/list.ts
+++ b/src/commands/list.ts
@@ -59,18 +59,6 @@ async function resolveStatus(
   return commits ? "saved" : "idle"
 }
 
-async function clearStaleReviews(staleReviews: { repoRoot: string; branch: string }[]) {
-  if (staleReviews.length === 0) return
-  const byRepo = Map.groupBy(staleReviews, r => r.repoRoot)
-  for (const [repoRoot, reviews] of byRepo) {
-    const fresh = await state.load(repoRoot)
-    for (const { branch } of reviews) {
-      if (fresh.sessions[branch]) fresh.sessions[branch].in_review = false
-    }
-    await state.save(repoRoot, fresh).catch(() => {})
-  }
-}
-
 async function resolveAllStatuses<T extends { branch: string; worktree: string; in_review?: boolean; repoRoot: string }>(
   sessions: T[],
   vmRunning: boolean,
@@ -80,14 +68,24 @@ async function resolveAllStatuses<T extends { branch: string; worktree: string;
   const statuses = Object.fromEntries(sessions.map((s, i) => [keyFn(s), results[i]]))
 
   // Clear stale reviews: in_review is set but Claude isn't actually active
-  const staleReviews: { repoRoot: string; branch: string }[] = []
+  // Re-load state before saving to narrow the race window with concurrent writers
+  const staleByRepo = new Map<string, string[]>()
   for (let i = 0; i < sessions.length; i++) {
     if (sessions[i].in_review && results[i] !== "review") {
       sessions[i].in_review = false
-      staleReviews.push({ repoRoot: sessions[i].repoRoot, branch: sessions[i].branch })
+      const arr = staleByRepo.get(sessions[i].repoRoot) ?? []
+      arr.push(sessions[i].branch)
+      staleByRepo.set(sessions[i].repoRoot, arr)
     }
   }
-  await clearStaleReviews(staleReviews)
+  for (const [repoRoot, branches] of staleByRepo) {
+    const fresh = await state.load(repoRoot)
+    for (const branch of branches) {
+      if (fresh.sessions[branch]) fresh.sessions[branch].in_review = false
+    }
+    await state.save(repoRoot, fresh).catch(() => {})
+  }
+
   return statuses
 }
 
diff --git a/src/state.ts b/src/state.ts
index 63f491a..59db416 100644
--- a/src/state.ts
+++ b/src/state.ts
@@ -85,7 +85,6 @@ 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 {
@@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ async function loadGlobal(): Promise<GlobalState> {
 }
 
 async function saveGlobal(gs: GlobalState): Promise<void> {
-  await mkdir(GLOBAL_DIR, { recursive: true })
   const tmpPath = GLOBAL_STATE_PATH + ".tmp"
   await Bun.write(tmpPath, JSON.stringify(gs, null, 2) + "\n")
   await rename(tmpPath, GLOBAL_STATE_PATH)
@@ -175,9 +173,8 @@ export async function scanAndRegister(dir: string, maxDepth = 5): Promise<string
       const gs = await loadGlobal()
       let changed = false
       for (const p of found) {
-        const normalized = normalizePath(p)
-        if (!gs.projects.includes(normalized)) {
-          gs.projects.push(normalized)
+        if (!gs.projects.includes(p)) {
+          gs.projects.push(p)
           changed = true
         }
       }
@@ -200,25 +197,24 @@ export async function loadAll(): Promise<GlobalSession[]> {
   const stale: string[] = []
 
   for (const project of gs.projects) {
-    try {
+    const st = await load(project)
+    if (Object.keys(st.sessions).length === 0) {
+      // Check if the state file actually exists — if not, this project is stale
       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 {
-      stale.push(project)
+    }
+    const repo = basename(project)
+    for (const session of Object.values(st.sessions)) {
+      all.push({ ...session, repo, repoRoot: project })
     }
   }
 
   // Prune projects whose state files no longer exist
   if (stale.length > 0) {
-    withGlobalLock(async () => {
+    await withGlobalLock(async () => {
       const fresh = await loadGlobal()
       fresh.projects = fresh.projects.filter(p => !stale.includes(p))
       await saveGlobal(fresh)