diff --git a/src/remote-hosts.ts b/src/remote-hosts.ts
index e57c150e..7eeb3b6c 100644
--- a/src/remote-hosts.ts
+++ b/src/remote-hosts.ts
@@ -540,6 +540,32 @@ export function remoteDisplayPath(
   return `${remote.username}@${remote.host}:${path}`;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Refresh HOST-level config on a RESTORED `SessionRemote`.
+ *
+ * A session's `remote` block is persisted at launch time (mux-sessions.json /
+ * state.json) and recovery uses that snapshot, so a field ADDED to the host config
+ * later never reaches an already-running session — not even across a Codeman
+ * restart. That is exactly how a `wakeCommand` added to `remote-hosts.json` would
+ * silently do nothing until the session is relaunched (which for an owned remote
+ * session means killing the remote tmux).
+ *
+ * Deliberately narrow: ONLY `wakeCommand` is taken from the host config, and the
+ * host is authoritative for it (removing it in the config turns the feature off
+ * again). The other host-level fields (`commands`, ssh options) stay as persisted
+ * so this cannot silently change how an existing pane connects.
+ */
+export function rehydrateRemoteHostFields(
+  remote: SessionRemote | undefined,
+  hostsById: ReadonlyMap<string, RemoteHost>
+): SessionRemote | undefined {
+  if (!remote) return remote;
+  const host = hostsById.get(remote.hostId);
+  if (!host) return remote;
+  if (remote.wakeCommand === host.wakeCommand) return remote;
+  return { ...remote, wakeCommand: host.wakeCommand };
+}
+
 export function toSessionRemote(host: RemoteHost, remoteCase: RemoteCase): SessionRemote {
   return {
     hostId: host.id,
diff --git a/src/web/server.ts b/src/web/server.ts
index a863cb37..ffc13acd 100644
--- a/src/web/server.ts
+++ b/src/web/server.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { hostname as getHostname } from 'node:os';
 import { dataPath, getDataDir, CODEMAN_INSTANCE } from '../config/instance.js';
+import { readRemoteHosts, rehydrateRemoteHostFields } from '../remote-hosts.js';
 import { normalizeBasePath, stripBasePath, joinBasePath } from '../config/base-path.js';
 import { GLYPH, palette } from '../cli-style.js';
 import { getHookSecret } from '../config/hook-secret.js';
@@ -2867,6 +2868,9 @@ export class WebServer extends EventEmitter {
 
         // For each alive mux session, create a Session object if it doesn't exist
         const muxSessions = this.mux.getSessions();
+        // Host-level config lives in remote-hosts.json, not in the persisted session
+        // snapshot, so refresh the fields that only exist there (see the helper).
+        const remoteHostsById = new Map((await readRemoteHosts(getDataDir())).map((host) => [host.id, host]));
         for (const muxSession of muxSessions) {
           if (!this.sessions.has(muxSession.sessionId)) {
             // Restore session settings from state.json (single source of truth)
@@ -2943,7 +2947,9 @@ export class WebServer extends EventEmitter {
               // respawn rebuilds a LOCAL command, breaking the pane and silently
               // erasing `remote` from state.json on the next persist. mux-sessions.json
               // round-trips MuxSession.remote; state.json carries SessionState.remote.
-              remote: muxSession.remote ?? savedState?.remote,
+              // Host-level fields are refreshed from remote-hosts.json on top, or a
+              // field added to the host config after launch would never arrive.
+              remote: rehydrateRemoteHostFields(muxSession.remote ?? savedState?.remote, remoteHostsById),
               // Docker metadata round-trips the same way (mux-sessions.json carries
               // MuxSession.docker; state.json carries SessionState.docker), so recovery
               // rebuilds the `docker exec` launch instead of a broken local command.
diff --git a/test/remote-hosts.test.ts b/test/remote-hosts.test.ts
index 6883cd65..1395283c 100644
--- a/test/remote-hosts.test.ts
+++ b/test/remote-hosts.test.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   defaultRemoteCommandForMode,
   readRemoteCases,
   readRemoteHosts,
+  rehydrateRemoteHostFields,
   remoteDisplayPath,
   remoteSshTarget,
   toSessionRemote,
@@ -115,4 +116,53 @@ describe('remote-hosts domain', () => {
       expect(RemoteHostSchema.safeParse({ ...host, wakeCommand: '/bin/`id`' }).success).toBe(false);
     });
   });
+
+  describe('rehydrateRemoteHostFields', () => {
+    const persisted = {
+      hostId: 'hufflepuff',
+      label: 'Hufflepuff',
+      host: '192.168.50.137',
+      username: 'j',
+      remotePath: '/home/j/work',
+    };
+    const hosts = (wakeCommand?: string) =>
+      new Map([
+        [
+          'hufflepuff',
+          {
+            id: 'hufflepuff',
+            label: 'Hufflepuff',
+            host: '192.168.50.137',
+            username: 'j',
+            ...(wakeCommand ? { wakeCommand } : {}),
+          },
+        ],
+      ]);
+
+    it('adds a wake command that only exists in the host config', () => {
+      // The pre-existing-session case: the field was added to remote-hosts.json after
+      // this session was persisted, so recovery is the only place it can arrive.
+      expect(rehydrateRemoteHostFields(persisted, hosts('/home/joe/bin/whuff'))?.wakeCommand).toBe(
+        '/home/joe/bin/whuff'
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('treats the host config as authoritative (removing it turns the feature off)', () => {
+      const remote = { ...persisted, wakeCommand: '/home/joe/bin/whuff' };
+      expect(rehydrateRemoteHostFields(remote, hosts())?.wakeCommand).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('leaves the block untouched when the host is gone or the session is local', () => {
+      expect(rehydrateRemoteHostFields(persisted, new Map())).toBe(persisted);
+      expect(rehydrateRemoteHostFields(undefined, hosts('/x'))).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('keeps the other host-level fields as persisted', () => {
+      // Only wakeCommand is refreshed: silently re-pointing an existing pane's ssh
+      // options would be a behavior change nobody asked for.
+      const remote = { ...persisted, identityFile: '~/.ssh/pinned_key' };
+      const rehydrated = rehydrateRemoteHostFields(remote, hosts('/home/joe/bin/whuff'));
+      expect(rehydrated?.identityFile).toBe('~/.ssh/pinned_key');
+    });
+  });
 });