diff --git a/packages/core/src/database/path.ts b/packages/core/src/database/path.ts
index 379d5f8aa76d..0b2d61e174db 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/database/path.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/database/path.ts
@@ -11,12 +11,14 @@ function isWindowsStoragePath(input: string) {
   return /^[A-Za-z]:\//.test(input) || input.startsWith("//")
 }
 
-function absolute(input: string) {
+function isAbsoluteStoragePath(input: string) {
   const result = storagePath(input)
-  if (!nodePath.posix.isAbsolute(result) && !(process.platform === "win32" && isWindowsStoragePath(result))) {
-    throw new Error(`Path is not absolute: ${input}`)
-  }
-  return result
+  return nodePath.posix.isAbsolute(result) || (process.platform === "win32" && isWindowsStoragePath(result))
+}
+
+function absolute(input: string) {
+  if (!isAbsoluteStoragePath(input)) throw new Error(`Path is not absolute: ${input}`)
+  return storagePath(input)
 }
 
 function toPlatform(input: string) {
@@ -40,8 +42,17 @@ export const absoluteColumn = customType<{
   },
 })
 
-// Legacy sessions may persist an empty directory. Keep that existing value
-// readable while normalizing and validating every real directory.
+// Legacy sessions may persist an empty directory or a value that is not a filesystem path at all —
+// older web clients stored the session's own URL. Decoding runs per row, so one such value would
+// abort the whole statement (a session list of any size would fail on that row). Keep those values
+// readable as they are, while every real directory is still normalized and validated. Writes stay
+// strict, so a value like this can no longer be stored.
+function legacyDirectory(input: string) {
+  if (!input) return input
+  if (!isAbsoluteStoragePath(input)) return storagePath(input)
+  return toPlatform(absolute(input))
+}
+
 export const directoryColumn = customType<{
   data: string
   driverData: string
@@ -54,7 +65,7 @@ export const directoryColumn = customType<{
     return input ? absolute(input) : input
   },
   fromDriver(input) {
-    return input ? toPlatform(absolute(input)) : input
+    return legacyDirectory(input)
   },
 })
 
diff --git a/packages/core/test/session-list.test.ts b/packages/core/test/session-list.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..2c634c108842
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/test/session-list.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import { describe, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { sql } from "drizzle-orm"
+import { Effect, Layer } from "effect"
+import { Database } from "@opencode-ai/core/database/database"
+import { AppNodeBuilder } from "@opencode-ai/core/effect/app-node-builder"
+import { LayerNode } from "@opencode-ai/core/effect/layer-node"
+import { EventV2 } from "@opencode-ai/core/event"
+import { Location } from "@opencode-ai/core/location"
+import { ProjectV2 } from "@opencode-ai/core/project"
+import { AbsolutePath } from "@opencode-ai/core/schema"
+import { SessionV2 } from "@opencode-ai/core/session"
+import { SessionExecution } from "@opencode-ai/core/session/execution"
+import { SessionProjector } from "@opencode-ai/core/session/projector"
+import { SessionStore } from "@opencode-ai/core/session/store"
+import { testEffect } from "./lib/effect"
+
+const projects = Layer.succeed(
+  ProjectV2.Service,
+  ProjectV2.Service.of({
+    resolve: (directory) => Effect.succeed({ id: ProjectV2.ID.global, directory }),
+    directories: () => Effect.succeed([]),
+    commit: () => Effect.void,
+  }),
+)
+const it = testEffect(
+  AppNodeBuilder.build(
+    LayerNode.group([Database.node, EventV2.node, SessionProjector.node, SessionStore.node, SessionV2.node]),
+    [
+      [ProjectV2.node, projects],
+      [SessionExecution.node, SessionExecution.noopLayer],
+    ],
+  ),
+)
+const location = Location.Ref.make({ directory: AbsolutePath.make("/project") })
+const legacyDirectory =
+  "http://localhost:3333/L2hvbWUvamFuL3Byb2plY3RzL2hpcHBvY2FjdHVz/session/ses_13416c6c1ffeuwjo0B1mxirCjT"
+
+describe("SessionV2.list", () => {
+  it.effect("lists a legacy session whose stored directory is not a filesystem path", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const session = yield* SessionV2.Service
+      const created = yield* session.create({ location })
+
+      // Older web builds stored the session's own URL in `directory`, which the column's write
+      // path rejects now, so the value is planted directly.
+      const { db } = yield* Database.Service
+      yield* db.run(sql`UPDATE session SET directory = ${legacyDirectory} WHERE id = ${created.id}`)
+
+      const listed = yield* session.list()
+      expect(listed).toHaveLength(1)
+      expect(listed[0].id).toBe(created.id)
+      expect(listed[0].location.directory).toBe(AbsolutePath.make(legacyDirectory))
+    }),
+  )
+
+  it.effect("rejects a directory that is not a filesystem path", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const session = yield* SessionV2.Service
+      const exit = yield* session
+        .create({ location: Location.Ref.make({ directory: AbsolutePath.make(legacyDirectory) }) })
+        .pipe(Effect.exit)
+
+      expect(String(exit)).toContain(`Path is not absolute: ${legacyDirectory}`)
+    }),
+  )
+})