diff --git a/packages/core/src/context/contextManager.ts b/packages/core/src/context/contextManager.ts
index b26aff77a9..26256980a0 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/context/contextManager.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/context/contextManager.ts
@@ -411,12 +411,23 @@ export class ContextManager {
       sentinels: this.sidecar.sentinels,
     });
 
+    const firstPendingId = pendingHistory[0]?.id;
+    let splitIndex = renderedHistory.length;
+    if (firstPendingId) {
+      const foundIndex = hardenedAllHistory.findIndex(
+        (h) => h.id === firstPendingId,
+      );
+      if (foundIndex !== -1) {
+        splitIndex = foundIndex;
+      }
+    }
+
     const apiHistory = hardenedAllHistory
-      .slice(0, renderedHistory.length)
+      .slice(0, splitIndex)
       .map((h) => h.content);
 
     const pendingApiHistory = hardenedAllHistory
-      .slice(renderedHistory.length)
+      .slice(splitIndex)
       .map((h) => h.content);
 
     if (header) {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/core/client.ts b/packages/core/src/core/client.ts
index a495cdf25f..22a6680803 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/core/client.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/core/client.ts
@@ -644,11 +644,7 @@ export class GeminiClient {
       if (this.contextManager) {
         const rawPendingRequest = createUserContent(request);
         const pendingRequest = {
-          id:
-            this.getChatRecordingService()?.recordSyntheticMessage(
-              'user',
-              rawPendingRequest.parts || [],
-            ) || randomUUID(),
+          id: randomUUID(),
           content: rawPendingRequest,
         };
         const {
@@ -676,8 +672,9 @@ export class GeminiClient {
 
         this.getChat().setHistory(newHistory, { silent: true });
 
-        // Update the request for turn.run so that the final history record
-        // matches the processed/cleaned content sent to the API.
+        // Use the original request for display/recording,
+        // but the processed one for the API and durable history.
+        displayContent = rawPendingRequest.parts || [];
         request = finalPendingContent.parts || [];
       } else {
         const newHistory = await this.agentHistoryProvider.manageHistory(
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/sessionUtils.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/sessionUtils.ts
index 5c50f13ed4..cef35650c9 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/sessionUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/sessionUtils.ts
@@ -126,34 +126,42 @@ export function convertSessionToClientHistory(
     } else if (msg.type === 'gemini') {
       const modelParts: Part[] = [];
 
-      // 1. Add thoughts from metadata if present
-      if (msg.thoughts && msg.thoughts.length > 0) {
-        for (const thought of msg.thoughts) {
-          const thoughtText = thought.subject
-            ? `**${thought.subject}** ${thought.description}`
-            : thought.description;
-          modelParts.push({
-            text: thoughtText,
-            thought: true,
-          } as Part);
+      const contentParts = msg.content ? ensurePartArray(msg.content) : [];
+      const hasCallsInContent = contentParts.some((p) => !!p.functionCall);
+      const hasThoughtsInContent = contentParts.some((p) => p.thought);
+
+      if (hasCallsInContent || hasThoughtsInContent) {
+        // Modern session: content is the source of truth for all parts
+        modelParts.push(...contentParts);
+      } else {
+        // Legacy session: rebuild from components
+        // 1. Add thoughts from metadata if present
+        if (msg.thoughts && msg.thoughts.length > 0) {
+          for (const thought of msg.thoughts) {
+            const thoughtText = thought.subject
+              ? `**${thought.subject}** ${thought.description}`
+              : thought.description;
+            modelParts.push({
+              text: thoughtText,
+              thought: true,
+            } as Part);
+          }
         }
-      }
 
-      // 2. Add original parts from content (preserving multimodal integrity and synthetic thoughts)
-      if (msg.content) {
-        modelParts.push(...ensurePartArray(msg.content));
-      }
+        // 2. Add content (usually just text in legacy)
+        modelParts.push(...contentParts);
 
-      // 3. Add tool calls if present
-      if (msg.toolCalls && msg.toolCalls.length > 0) {
-        for (const toolCall of msg.toolCalls) {
-          modelParts.push({
-            functionCall: {
-              id: toolCall.id,
-              name: toolCall.name,
-              args: toolCall.args,
-            },
-          });
+        // 3. Add tool calls from metadata
+        if (msg.toolCalls && msg.toolCalls.length > 0) {
+          for (const toolCall of msg.toolCalls) {
+            modelParts.push({
+              functionCall: {
+                id: toolCall.id,
+                name: toolCall.name,
+                args: toolCall.args,
+              },
+            });
+          }
         }
       }