diff --git a/sources/components/MainView.tsx b/sources/components/MainView.tsx
index bc66dd4f2..f84fbe26d 100644
--- a/sources/components/MainView.tsx
+++ b/sources/components/MainView.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import { useRouter } from 'expo-router';
 import { EmptySessionsTablet } from './EmptySessionsTablet';
 import { SessionsList } from './SessionsList';
 import { FABWide } from './FABWide';
-import { TabBar, TabType } from './TabBar';
+import { TabBar } from './TabBar';
+import { useTabState, TabType } from '@/hooks/useTabState';
 import { InboxView } from './InboxView';
 import { SettingsViewWrapper } from './SettingsViewWrapper';
 import { SessionsListWrapper } from './SessionsListWrapper';
@@ -231,9 +232,9 @@ export const MainView = React.memo(({ variant }: MainViewProps) => {
     const friendRequests = useFriendRequests();
     const realtimeStatus = useRealtimeStatus();
 
-    // Tab state management
+    // Tab state management - persisted to server via KV API
     // NOTE: Zen tab removed - the feature never got to a useful state
-    const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = React.useState<TabType>('sessions');
+    const { activeTab, setActiveTab, isLoading: isTabLoading } = useTabState();
 
     const handleNewSession = React.useCallback(() => {
         router.push('/new');
@@ -241,7 +242,7 @@ export const MainView = React.memo(({ variant }: MainViewProps) => {
 
     const handleTabPress = React.useCallback((tab: TabType) => {
         setActiveTab(tab);
-    }, []);
+    }, [setActiveTab]);
 
     // Regular phone mode with tabs - define this before any conditional returns
     const renderTabContent = React.useCallback(() => {
diff --git a/sources/components/TabBar.tsx b/sources/components/TabBar.tsx
index 73c70f6d0..c13ede9e1 100644
--- a/sources/components/TabBar.tsx
+++ b/sources/components/TabBar.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import { Typography } from '@/constants/Typography';
 import { layout } from '@/components/layout';
 import { useInboxHasContent } from '@/hooks/useInboxHasContent';
 
-export type TabType = 'zen' | 'inbox' | 'sessions' | 'settings';
+// Import and re-export TabType from the hook for backward compatibility
+import type { TabType } from '@/hooks/useTabState';
+export type { TabType };
 
 interface TabBarProps {
     activeTab: TabType;
diff --git a/sources/hooks/useTabState.ts b/sources/hooks/useTabState.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..376fa34e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sources/hooks/useTabState.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import React from 'react';
+import { useAuth } from '@/auth/AuthContext';
+import { kvGet, kvSet, KvItem } from '@/sync/apiKv';
+
+/**
+ * Tab types for the main navigation
+ * Note: 'zen' is included for TabBar compatibility but not actively used
+ */
+export type TabType = 'zen' | 'inbox' | 'sessions' | 'settings';
+
+const TAB_STATE_KEY = 'ui:active-tab';
+const DEFAULT_TAB: TabType = 'sessions';
+
+interface TabState {
+    activeTab: TabType;
+    version: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Hook for persistent tab state that syncs to the server.
+ *
+ * Features:
+ * - Loads tab state from server on mount
+ * - Saves tab changes to server with optimistic updates
+ * - Handles version conflicts gracefully
+ * - Falls back to 'sessions' if no saved state
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   const { activeTab, setActiveTab, isLoading } = useTabState();
+ */
+export function useTabState() {
+    const { credentials } = useAuth();
+    const [state, setState] = React.useState<TabState>({
+        activeTab: DEFAULT_TAB,
+        version: -1
+    });
+    const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = React.useState(true);
+
+    // Load initial state from server
+    React.useEffect(() => {
+        if (!credentials) {
+            setIsLoading(false);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        let mounted = true;
+
+        async function loadTabState() {
+            try {
+                const item = await kvGet(credentials!, TAB_STATE_KEY);
+
+                if (!mounted) return;
+
+                if (item) {
+                    const tab = item.value as TabType;
+                    // Validate the tab value (zen is excluded as it's not active)
+                    if (tab === 'sessions' || tab === 'inbox' || tab === 'settings') {
+                        setState({
+                            activeTab: tab,
+                            version: item.version
+                        });
+                    }
+                }
+            } catch (error) {
+                console.warn('[TabState] Failed to load tab state:', error);
+            } finally {
+                if (mounted) {
+                    setIsLoading(false);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        loadTabState();
+
+        return () => {
+            mounted = false;
+        };
+    }, [credentials]);
+
+    // Set active tab with server sync
+    const setActiveTab = React.useCallback(async (tab: TabType) => {
+        // Optimistic update
+        setState(prev => ({
+            activeTab: tab,
+            version: prev.version
+        }));
+
+        if (!credentials) return;
+
+        try {
+            const newVersion = await kvSet(
+                credentials,
+                TAB_STATE_KEY,
+                tab,
+                state.version
+            );
+
+            setState(prev => ({
+                ...prev,
+                version: newVersion
+            }));
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.warn('[TabState] Failed to save tab state:', error);
+            // On conflict, reload the current state from server
+            if (String(error).includes('version-mismatch')) {
+                try {
+                    const item = await kvGet(credentials, TAB_STATE_KEY);
+                    if (item) {
+                        const serverTab = item.value as TabType;
+                        if (serverTab === 'sessions' || serverTab === 'inbox' || serverTab === 'settings' || serverTab === 'zen') {
+                            setState({
+                                activeTab: serverTab,
+                                version: item.version
+                            });
+                        }
+                    }
+                } catch {
+                    // Ignore reload errors
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }, [credentials, state.version]);
+
+    return {
+        activeTab: state.activeTab,
+        setActiveTab,
+        isLoading
+    };
+}