diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
index 8033e7f7e005..a2841a1bbe85 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/hooks/use-statusbar-items.tsx
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import { Activity, AlertCircle, Clock, Command, FolderOpen, Globe, Hash, Loader2, Terminal } from '@/lib/icons'
 import type { RuntimeReadinessResult } from '@/lib/runtime-readiness'
 import { contextBarLabel, LiveDuration, usageContextLabel } from '@/lib/statusbar'
+import { useStoreSelector } from '@/lib/use-session-slice'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { copyFilePath, revealFile } from '@/store/file-actions'
 import { revealFileInTree } from '@/store/layout'
@@ -117,19 +118,30 @@ export function useStatusbarItems({
   // tile makes the statusbar describe THAT session.
   const focusedStoredSessionId = useStore($focusedStoredSessionId)
   const focusedRuntimeId = useStore($focusedRuntimeId)
-  const focusedState = useStore($focusedSessionState)
+  // `$focusedSessionState` is a projection of `$sessionStates`, which is
+  // republished on EVERY message delta — tens of times a second during a turn.
+  // Only three fields are read off it here, so subscribing to the whole object
+  // re-ran this hook (and re-created all ~9 statusbar items) per token. Select
+  // each field individually so an unchanged readout bails out instead.
+  const focusedBusy = useStoreSelector($focusedSessionState, state => Boolean(state?.busy))
+  const focusedTurnStartedAt = useStoreSelector($focusedSessionState, state => state?.turnStartedAt ?? null)
+  // `usage` is an object, so it can't be compared as a scalar. It IS however
+  // replaced wholesale rather than mutated, and only changes when the backend
+  // reports new usage — far rarer than a delta — so its reference is a valid
+  // bail-out key on its own.
+  const focusedUsage = useStoreSelector($focusedSessionState, state => state?.usage ?? null)
   const sessions = useStore($sessions)
   const selectedStoredSessionId = useStore($selectedStoredSessionId)
   const primaryFocused = !focusedStoredSessionId || focusedStoredSessionId === selectedStoredSessionId
 
   const activeSessionId = primaryFocused ? primaryActiveSessionId : (focusedRuntimeId ?? null)
-  const busy = primaryFocused ? primaryBusy : Boolean(focusedState?.busy)
+  const busy = primaryFocused ? primaryBusy : focusedBusy
 
   // EMPTY_USAGE (module constant) keeps the fallback referentially stable —
   // a fresh `{...}` each render would bust the usage-label memos below.
-  const currentUsage = primaryFocused ? primaryUsage : (focusedState?.usage ?? EMPTY_USAGE)
+  const currentUsage = primaryFocused ? primaryUsage : (focusedUsage ?? EMPTY_USAGE)
 
-  const turnStartedAt = primaryFocused ? primaryTurnStartedAt : (focusedState?.turnStartedAt ?? null)
+  const turnStartedAt = primaryFocused ? primaryTurnStartedAt : focusedTurnStartedAt
 
   // A tile's session-start comes from its stored row (the cache only knows
   // runtime state); seconds → ms.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/statusbar-controls.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/statusbar-controls.tsx
index 0b265bb3d3cf..58376559ce09 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/statusbar-controls.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/statusbar-controls.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { type ComponentProps, type ReactNode, useState } from 'react'
+import { type ComponentProps, memo, type ReactNode, useState } from 'react'
 import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom'
 
 import { DropdownMenu, DropdownMenuContent, DropdownMenuItem, DropdownMenuTrigger } from '@/components/ui/dropdown-menu'
@@ -95,7 +95,19 @@ export function StatusbarControls({ className, leftItems = [], items = [], ...pr
   )
 }
 
-function StatusbarItemView({ item, navigate }: { item: StatusbarItem; navigate: ReturnType<typeof useNavigate> }) {
+/** Memoized: `useStatusbarItems` rebuilds the item array whenever ANY of its
+ *  inputs change, but each individual item object is usually identical across
+ *  those rebuilds. Without this, one changed item (the running timer, say)
+ *  re-rendered every other item in the bar — measured at 1,446 wasted renders
+ *  of 2,174 during a five-tab streaming run. `navigate` is stable for the
+ *  router's lifetime, so item identity is the only real input. */
+const StatusbarItemView = memo(function StatusbarItemView({
+  item,
+  navigate
+}: {
+  item: StatusbarItem
+  navigate: ReturnType<typeof useNavigate>
+}) {
   const [menuOpen, setMenuOpen] = useState(false)
 
   // Render escape hatch: the contribution owns its own chrome/state/tooltip.
@@ -230,4 +242,4 @@ function StatusbarItemView({ item, navigate }: { item: StatusbarItem; navigate:
       </button>
     </Tip>
   )
-}
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/use-session-slice.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/use-session-slice.ts
index 78ab03913379..f96d0017420f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/use-session-slice.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/use-session-slice.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useSyncExternalStore } from 'react'
+import { useCallback, useRef, useSyncExternalStore } from 'react'
 
 interface SliceStore<T> {
   get(): Record<string, T[] | undefined>
@@ -29,3 +29,35 @@ export function useSessionSlice<T>(store: SliceStore<T>, key: string | null): T[
     () => (key ? (store.get()[key] ?? (EMPTY as unknown as T[])) : (EMPTY as unknown as T[]))
   )
 }
+
+interface ReadableStore<T> {
+  get(): T
+  listen(listener: () => void): () => void
+}
+
+/**
+ * Subscribe to a SCALAR derived from a hot store, re-rendering only when that
+ * scalar changes by `Object.is` — not on every write to the store it came from.
+ *
+ * `useStore($someHotStore)` bails out on reference equality alone, so a store
+ * republished per streaming token re-renders every consumer even when the two
+ * or three fields they actually read are identical. `$sessionStates` is the
+ * canonical case: it is republished on every message delta, so a component
+ * reading only `busy` or `turnStartedAt` off it pays for the whole transcript's
+ * churn.
+ *
+ * `select` must return a PRIMITIVE (or a referentially stable value). Returning
+ * a fresh object or array defeats the bail-out and reintroduces the churn this
+ * exists to remove — derive one scalar per call instead.
+ */
+export function useStoreSelector<T, S>(store: ReadableStore<T>, select: (value: T) => S): S {
+  // `select` is read through a ref so an inline arrow at the call site doesn't
+  // resubscribe on every render; useSyncExternalStore re-reads the snapshot on
+  // each render anyway, so the latest selector is always applied.
+  const selectRef = useRef(select)
+  selectRef.current = select
+
+  const subscribe = useCallback((onChange: () => void) => store.listen(onChange), [store])
+
+  return useSyncExternalStore(subscribe, () => selectRef.current(store.get()))
+}