diff --git a/server/index.js b/server/index.js
index 7dd1e314..4ff5e598 100755
--- a/server/index.js
+++ b/server/index.js
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import { getConnectableHost } from '../shared/networkHosts.js';
 import { findAppRoot, getModuleDir } from './utils/runtime-paths.js';
 import {
     deleteSessionById,
-    deleteProjectById,
     getProjectPathById,
     searchConversations,
 } from './projects.js';
@@ -343,21 +342,6 @@ app.put('/api/sessions/:sessionId/rename', authenticateToken, async (req, res) =
 });
 
 // Delete project endpoint
-// force=true to allow removal even when sessions exist
-// deleteData=true to also delete session/memory files on disk (destructive)
-// `projectId` is resolved to an absolute path through the DB before cleanup.
-app.delete('/api/projects/:projectId', authenticateToken, async (req, res) => {
-    try {
-        const { projectId } = req.params;
-        const force = req.query.force === 'true';
-        const deleteData = req.query.deleteData === 'true';
-        await deleteProjectById(projectId, force, deleteData);
-        res.json({ success: true });
-    } catch (error) {
-        res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
-    }
-});
-
 // Search conversations content (SSE streaming)
 app.get('/api/search/conversations', authenticateToken, async (req, res) => {
     const query = typeof req.query.q === 'string' ? req.query.q.trim() : '';
diff --git a/server/modules/database/repositories/sessions.db.ts b/server/modules/database/repositories/sessions.db.ts
index 2cf3a83c..41b821bf 100644
--- a/server/modules/database/repositories/sessions.db.ts
+++ b/server/modules/database/repositories/sessions.db.ts
@@ -161,6 +161,11 @@ export const sessionsDb = {
       .all(projectPath) as SessionRow[];
   },
 
+  deleteSessionsByProjectPath(projectPath: string): void {
+    const db = getConnection();
+    db.prepare(`DELETE FROM sessions WHERE project_path = ?`).run(projectPath);
+  },
+
   getSessionName(sessionId: string, provider: string): string | null {
     const db = getConnection();
     const row = db
diff --git a/server/modules/projects/index.ts b/server/modules/projects/index.ts
index a0a48a17..8a3188de 100644
--- a/server/modules/projects/index.ts
+++ b/server/modules/projects/index.ts
@@ -4,3 +4,5 @@ export {
   getProjectsWithSessions,
   writeSnapshot,
 } from './services/projects-with-sessions-fetch.service.js';
+export { updateProjectDisplayName } from './services/project-management.service.js';
+export { deleteOrArchiveProject, deleteSessionJsonlFilesForProjectPath } from './services/project-delete.service.js';
diff --git a/server/modules/projects/projects.routes.ts b/server/modules/projects/projects.routes.ts
index b593f60c..1586811a 100644
--- a/server/modules/projects/projects.routes.ts
+++ b/server/modules/projects/projects.routes.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import { startCloneProject } from '@/modules/projects/services/project-clone.ser
 import { getProjectTaskMaster } from '@/modules/projects/services/projects-has-taskmaster.service.js';
 import { AppError, asyncHandler } from '@/shared/utils.js';
 import { getProjectsWithSessions } from '@/modules/projects/services/projects-with-sessions-fetch.service.js';
+import { deleteOrArchiveProject } from '@/modules/projects/services/project-delete.service.js';
+import { applyLegacyStarredProjectIds, toggleProjectStar } from '@/modules/projects/services/project-star.service.js';
 
 const router = express.Router();
 
@@ -92,6 +94,20 @@ router.post(
   }),
 );
 
+/**
+ * One-time (or idempotent) migration: apply legacy `localStorage` starred projectIds to the DB, then clear client storage.
+ */
+router.post(
+  '/migrate-legacy-stars',
+  asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    const projectIds = Array.isArray((req.body as { projectIds?: unknown })?.projectIds)
+      ? ((req.body as { projectIds: unknown[] }).projectIds as unknown[]).map((x) => String(x))
+      : [];
+    const { updated } = applyLegacyStarredProjectIds(projectIds);
+    res.json({ success: true, updated });
+  }),
+);
+
 router.get('/clone-progress', async (req, res) => {
   res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/event-stream');
   res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'no-cache');
@@ -177,4 +193,27 @@ router.put('/:projectId/rename', (req, res) => {
   }
 });
 
+router.post(
+  '/:projectId/toggle-star',
+  asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    const projectId = typeof req.params.projectId === 'string' ? req.params.projectId : '';
+    const { isStarred } = toggleProjectStar(projectId);
+    res.json({ success: true, isStarred });
+  }),
+);
+
+/**
+ * - `force` not set / false: archive project in DB only (`isArchived` = 1; hidden from active list).
+ * - `force=true`: remove DB row, delete session rows for that path, remove all `*.jsonl` under the Claude project dir.
+ */
+router.delete(
+  '/:projectId',
+  asyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    const projectId = typeof req.params.projectId === 'string' ? req.params.projectId : '';
+    const force = req.query.force === 'true';
+    await deleteOrArchiveProject(projectId, force);
+    res.json({ success: true });
+  }),
+);
+
 export default router;
diff --git a/server/modules/projects/services/project-delete.service.ts b/server/modules/projects/services/project-delete.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a743b4b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/modules/projects/services/project-delete.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import { promises as fs } from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+
+import { projectsDb, sessionsDb } from '@/modules/database/index.js';
+import { AppError } from '@/shared/utils.js';
+
+function uniqueJsonlPathsFromSessions(
+  sessions: Array<{ jsonl_path: string | null }>,
+): string[] {
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const result: string[] = [];
+
+  for (const row of sessions) {
+    const raw = row.jsonl_path?.trim();
+    if (!raw) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const absolute = path.isAbsolute(raw) ? path.normalize(raw) : path.resolve(raw);
+    if (seen.has(absolute)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    seen.add(absolute);
+    result.push(absolute);
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function unlinkJsonlIfExists(filePath: string): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    await fs.unlink(filePath);
+  } catch (error) {
+    const code = (error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code;
+    if (code === 'ENOENT') {
+      return;
+    }
+    console.warn(`[project-delete] Failed to remove ${filePath}:`, (error as Error).message);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Loads all session rows for the project path and removes each distinct `jsonl_path` file on disk.
+ */
+export async function deleteSessionJsonlFilesForProjectPath(projectPath: string): Promise<void> {
+  const sessions = sessionsDb.getSessionsByProjectPath(projectPath);
+  const paths = uniqueJsonlPathsFromSessions(sessions);
+
+  for (const filePath of paths) {
+    await unlinkJsonlIfExists(filePath);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * - **Soft delete** (`force` false): set `isArchived` on the `projects` row (hide from the active list; DB only).
+ * - **Force** (`force` true): for each session row for that `project_path`, delete the file at `jsonl_path`
+ *   (when set), then remove session rows and the `projects` row.
+ */
+export async function deleteOrArchiveProject(projectId: string, force: boolean): Promise<void> {
+  const row = projectsDb.getProjectById(projectId);
+  if (!row) {
+    throw new AppError(`Unknown projectId: ${projectId}`, {
+      code: 'PROJECT_NOT_FOUND',
+      statusCode: 404,
+    });
+  }
+
+  if (!force) {
+    projectsDb.updateProjectIsArchivedById(projectId, true);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  await deleteSessionJsonlFilesForProjectPath(row.project_path);
+  sessionsDb.deleteSessionsByProjectPath(row.project_path);
+  projectsDb.deleteProjectById(projectId);
+}
diff --git a/server/projects.js b/server/projects.js
index 332696b6..a09dfd43 100755
--- a/server/projects.js
+++ b/server/projects.js
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
  *   - Session message reads for each provider (Claude/Codex/Gemini) for
  *     `GET /api/sessions/:sessionId/messages`.
  *   - Conversation search (`searchConversations`) which scans JSONL history.
- *   - Destructive project cleanup (`deleteProjectById` -> `deleteProject`)
- *     which removes Claude/Cursor/Codex artifacts on disk.
+ *   - (Project row removal / JSONL cleanup is handled in
+ *     `modules/projects/services/project-delete.service.ts`.)
  *   - Manual project registration (`addProjectManually`) which syncs to
  *     ~/.claude/project-config.json for backwards compatibility.
  */
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 import fsSync, { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import readline from 'readline';
-import crypto from 'crypto';
 import os from 'os';
 
 import { generateDisplayName } from '@/modules/projects';
@@ -735,106 +734,6 @@ async function deleteSession(projectName, sessionId) {
   }
 }
 
-// Check if a project is empty (has no sessions)
-async function isProjectEmpty(projectName) {
-  try {
-    const sessionsResult = await getSessions(projectName, 1, 0);
-    return sessionsResult.total === 0;
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error checking if project ${projectName} is empty:`, error);
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
-// Remove a project from the UI.
-// When deleteData=true, also delete session/memory files on disk (destructive).
-async function deleteProject(projectName, force = false, deleteData = false) {
-  const projectDir = path.join(os.homedir(), '.claude', 'projects', projectName);
-
-  try {
-    const isEmpty = await isProjectEmpty(projectName);
-    if (!isEmpty && !force) {
-      throw new Error('Cannot delete project with existing sessions');
-    }
-
-    const config = await loadProjectConfig();
-
-    // Destructive path: delete underlying data when explicitly requested
-    if (deleteData) {
-      let projectPath = config[projectName]?.path || config[projectName]?.originalPath;
-      if (!projectPath) {
-        projectPath = await extractProjectDirectory(projectName);
-      }
-
-      // Remove the Claude project directory (session logs, memory, subagent data)
-      await fs.rm(projectDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-
-      // Delete Codex sessions associated with this project
-      if (projectPath) {
-        try {
-          const codexSessions = await getCodexSessions(projectPath, { limit: 0 });
-          for (const session of codexSessions) {
-            try {
-              await deleteCodexSession(session.id);
-            } catch (err) {
-              console.warn(`Failed to delete Codex session ${session.id}:`, err.message);
-            }
-          }
-        } catch (err) {
-          console.warn('Failed to delete Codex sessions:', err.message);
-        }
-
-        // Delete Cursor sessions directory if it exists
-        try {
-          const hash = crypto.createHash('md5').update(projectPath).digest('hex');
-          const cursorProjectDir = path.join(os.homedir(), '.cursor', 'chats', hash);
-          await fs.rm(cursorProjectDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-        } catch (err) {
-          // Cursor dir may not exist, ignore
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
-    // Always remove from project config
-    delete config[projectName];
-    await saveProjectConfig(config);
-
-    return true;
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error removing project ${projectName}:`, error);
-    throw error;
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * ID-based wrapper around `deleteProject`.
- *
- * Resolves the project path via the DB, defers destructive filesystem cleanup
- * to `deleteProject`, then removes the row from the `projects` table so the
- * DB-driven GET /api/projects response no longer lists it.
- */
-async function deleteProjectById(projectId, force = false, deleteData = false) {
-  const projectPath = await getProjectPathById(projectId);
-  if (!projectPath) {
-    throw new Error(`Unknown projectId: ${projectId}`);
-  }
-
-  const claudeFolderName = claudeFolderNameFromPath(projectPath);
-  try {
-    await deleteProject(claudeFolderName, force, deleteData);
-  } catch (error) {
-    // If the legacy Claude folder doesn't exist anymore we still want to drop
-    // the DB row; rethrow otherwise so callers can surface the failure.
-    if (error.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-      throw error;
-    }
-  }
-
-  // Drop the DB row so the DB-driven GET /api/projects stops listing it.
-  projectsDb.deleteProjectById(projectId);
-  return true;
-}
-
 // Add a project manually to the config (without creating folders)
 async function addProjectManually(projectPath, displayName = null) {
   const absolutePath = path.resolve(projectPath);
@@ -1984,7 +1883,6 @@ async function getGeminiCliSessionMessages(sessionId) {
 export {
   getSessionMessages,
   deleteSessionById,
-  deleteProjectById,
   addProjectManually,
   getProjectPathById,
   claudeFolderNameFromPath,
diff --git a/src/components/sidebar/hooks/useSidebarController.ts b/src/components/sidebar/hooks/useSidebarController.ts
index bdf3fe02..16141622 100644
--- a/src/components/sidebar/hooks/useSidebarController.ts
+++ b/src/components/sidebar/hooks/useSidebarController.ts
@@ -448,8 +448,7 @@ export function useSidebarController({
       return;
     }
 
-    const { project, sessionCount } = deleteConfirmation;
-    const isEmpty = sessionCount === 0;
+    const { project } = deleteConfirmation;
 
     setDeleteConfirmation(null);
     // Track in-flight deletes by projectId so the UI can disable actions
@@ -457,13 +456,16 @@ export function useSidebarController({
     setDeletingProjects((prev) => new Set([...prev, project.projectId]));
 
     try {
-      const response = await api.deleteProject(project.projectId, !isEmpty, deleteData);
+      const response = await api.deleteProject(project.projectId, deleteData);
 
       if (response.ok) {
         onProjectDelete?.(project.projectId);
       } else {
-        const error = (await response.json()) as { error?: string };
-        alert(error.error || t('messages.deleteProjectFailed'));
+        const data = (await response.json()) as { error?: string | { message?: string } };
+        const err = data.error;
+        const message =
+          typeof err === 'string' ? err : err && typeof err === 'object' && err.message ? err.message : t('messages.deleteProjectFailed');
+        alert(message);
       }
     } catch (error) {
       console.error('Error deleting project:', error);
diff --git a/src/utils/api.js b/src/utils/api.js
index 2152c373..27571fd9 100644
--- a/src/utils/api.js
+++ b/src/utils/api.js
@@ -93,10 +93,10 @@ export const api = {
     authenticatedFetch(`/api/gemini/sessions/${sessionId}`, {
       method: 'DELETE',
     }),
-  deleteProject: (projectId, force = false, deleteData = false) => {
+  // `hardDelete` => server `?force=true` (remove DB row + Claude *.jsonl + sessions rows for path).
+  deleteProject: (projectId, hardDelete = false) => {
     const params = new URLSearchParams();
-    if (force) params.set('force', 'true');
-    if (deleteData) params.set('deleteData', 'true');
+    if (hardDelete) params.set('force', 'true');
     const qs = params.toString();
     return authenticatedFetch(`/api/projects/${projectId}${qs ? `?${qs}` : ''}`, {
       method: 'DELETE',