diff --git a/src/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/sources/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.ts b/src/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/sources/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.ts
index 3e8e7c7d..466a6598 100644
--- a/src/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/sources/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.ts
+++ b/src/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/sources/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.ts
@@ -643,7 +643,9 @@ export class CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter implements RecentProjec
       .sort((left, right) => right.lastActivityAt - left.lastActivityAt)
       .slice(0, CODEX_PROJECT_CANDIDATE_LIMIT);
     const durationMs = Date.now() - startedAt;
-    if (degraded) {
+    // Large Codex histories often hit scan budgets while still producing useful candidates.
+    // Keep the detailed partial warning for user-visible empty results only.
+    if (degraded && snapshots.length === 0) {
       this.deps.logger.warn('codex session-file recent-projects source partial', {
         files: candidateFiles.length,
         visitedFiles,
diff --git a/test/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.test.ts b/test/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.test.ts
index 3f34660e..ee4efee0 100644
--- a/test/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.test.ts
+++ b/test/features/recent-projects/main/adapters/output/CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter.test.ts
@@ -550,10 +550,65 @@ describe('CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter', () => {
     expect(result.candidates.map((candidate) => candidate.primaryPath)).toEqual([
       '/Users/test/projects/fast',
     ]);
+    expect(logger.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'codex session-file recent-projects source loaded',
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        degraded: true,
+        files: 2,
+        timedOutReads: 1,
+      })
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('keeps a partial warning when no recent project candidates are available', async () => {
+    const codexHome = path.join(tempDir, '.codex');
+    const appDataPath = path.join(tempDir, 'app-data');
+    const logger = createLogger();
+    const identityResolver = {
+      resolve: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+    } as unknown as RecentProjectIdentityResolver;
+    const slowSessionPath = path.join(
+      codexHome,
+      'sessions',
+      '2026',
+      '04',
+      '14',
+      'rollout-slow.jsonl'
+    );
+    await writeRollout(
+      slowSessionPath,
+      {
+        cwd: '/Users/test/projects/slow',
+      },
+      new Date('2026-04-14T12:00:00.000Z')
+    );
+    const originalOpen = fs.open.bind(fs);
+    vi.spyOn(fs, 'open').mockImplementation(async (...args) => {
+      if (String(args[0]) === slowSessionPath) {
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 2500));
+      }
+      return originalOpen(...args);
+    });
+
+    const adapter = new CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter({
+      getActiveContext: () => ({ type: 'local', id: 'local-1' }) as never,
+      getLocalContext: () => ({ type: 'local', id: 'local-1' }) as never,
+      identityResolver,
+      logger,
+      codexHome,
+      appDataPath,
+    });
+    const result = await adapter.list();
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      candidates: [],
+      degraded: true,
+    });
     expect(logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       'codex session-file recent-projects source partial',
       expect.objectContaining({
-        files: 2,
+        candidates: 0,
+        files: 1,
         timedOutReads: 1,
       })
     );
@@ -695,9 +750,10 @@ describe('CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter', () => {
     expect(firstResult.candidates.map((candidate) => candidate.primaryPath)).toEqual([
       '/Users/test/projects/alpha',
     ]);
-    expect(logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      'codex session-file recent-projects source partial',
+    expect(logger.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'codex session-file recent-projects source loaded',
       expect.objectContaining({
+        degraded: true,
         files: 171,
         uncachedReads: 160,
         skippedUncached: 11,
@@ -758,9 +814,10 @@ describe('CodexSessionFileRecentProjectsSourceAdapter', () => {
     expect(result.candidates.map((candidate) => candidate.primaryPath)).toEqual([
       '/Users/test/projects/alpha',
     ]);
-    expect(logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      'codex session-file recent-projects source partial',
+    expect(logger.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'codex session-file recent-projects source loaded',
       expect.objectContaining({
+        degraded: true,
         files: 500,
         visitedFiles: 505,
         droppedOlderFiles: 5,