diff --git a/src/renderer/src/state.ts b/src/renderer/src/state.ts
index 0a04937..42d3bab 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/state.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/state.ts
@@ -207,9 +207,10 @@ export function sessionSnapshot(state: AppState, genResults: string[]): unknown
   }
   return {
     version: SESSION_VERSION,
-    category: state.category,
-    operation: state.operation,
-    lastOperation: state.lastOperation,
+    // The category and its operation are deliberately NOT persisted as such:
+    // the app always launches into the first category, and each category's
+    // sub-page rides in lastOperation (kept current by setOperation).
+    lastOperation: { ...state.lastOperation, [state.category]: state.operation },
     options: state.options,
     queues,
     genResults: genResults.slice(0, MAX_GEN)
@@ -231,8 +232,6 @@ function isValidItem(i: unknown): i is QueueItem {
 }
 
 interface PersistedSession {
-  category: CategoryId
-  operation: string
   lastOperation: Partial<Record<CategoryId, string>>
   options: Record<WorkspaceKey, JobOptions>
   queues: AppState['queues']
@@ -254,12 +253,14 @@ export function parseSession(raw: unknown): { state: AppState; genResults: strin
         return false
       }
     }
-    // Two independent checks: a renamed OPERATION must not also discard the
-    // persisted category.
-    const category = validCat(p.category) ? p.category : FIRST_CATEGORY
-    const operation = findOperation(category, p.operation)
-      ? p.operation
-      : defaultOperation(category)
+    // Always launch into the FIRST category (owner decision: coming back to
+    // the remembered one felt wrong). What IS remembered is each category's
+    // last sub-page: Images still opens on Generate if that is where it was,
+    // and switching to Video lands on its own remembered operation.
+    const category = FIRST_CATEGORY
+    const remembered = (p.lastOperation ?? {})[category]
+    const operation =
+      remembered && findOperation(category, remembered) ? remembered : defaultOperation(category)
     // Drop queues for categories no longer in the catalog (a removed/renamed tool).
     const queues: AppState['queues'] = {}
     for (const [cat, q] of Object.entries(p.queues ?? {})) {
diff --git a/test/session-persist.test.ts b/test/session-persist.test.ts
index 7c0e9f7..a933588 100644
--- a/test/session-persist.test.ts
+++ b/test/session-persist.test.ts
@@ -105,10 +105,33 @@ describe('session persistence round-trip', () => {
     expect(pruned.state.queues.images!.selected).toEqual([])
   })
 
-  it('falls back to a valid category/operation when the persisted one is invalid', () => {
-    const snap = sessionSnapshot(initialState, []) as Record<string, unknown>
-    const parsed = parseSession({ ...snap, category: 'nonsense', operation: 'nope' })
+  it('always launches into the first category, whatever was open at close', () => {
+    // The category itself is not restored - only each category's sub-page is.
+    const state: AppState = { ...initialState, category: 'video', operation: 'compress' }
+    const parsed = parseSession(sessionSnapshot(state, []))
     expect(parsed).not.toBeNull()
     expect(parsed!.state.category).toBe('images')
   })
+
+  it("remembers each category's last sub-page, including the one open at close", () => {
+    const state: AppState = {
+      ...initialState,
+      category: 'video',
+      operation: 'compress',
+      lastOperation: { images: 'generate', video: 'compress' }
+    }
+    const parsed = parseSession(sessionSnapshot(state, []))
+    // Launches into Images ON its remembered sub-page...
+    expect(parsed!.state.category).toBe('images')
+    expect(parsed!.state.operation).toBe('generate')
+    // ...and Video's sub-page survives for when the user switches to it.
+    expect(parsed!.state.lastOperation.video).toBe('compress')
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to the default operation when the remembered one is gone', () => {
+    const state: AppState = { ...initialState, lastOperation: { images: 'renamed-away' } }
+    const parsed = parseSession(sessionSnapshot(state, []))
+    expect(parsed!.state.category).toBe('images')
+    expect(parsed!.state.operation).toBe('convert')
+  })
 })