diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dashboard.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dashboard.ts
index a1a072dc3..e59e34146 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dashboard.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto-dashboard.ts
@@ -585,10 +585,11 @@ export function updateProgressWidget(
         lines.push(rightAlign(headerLeft, headerRight, width));
 
         // Worktree/branch right-aligned below header
-        if (worktreeName && cachedBranch) {
-          lines.push(rightAlign("", theme.fg("dim", `${worktreeName} (${cachedBranch})`), width));
-        } else if (cachedBranch) {
-          lines.push(rightAlign("", theme.fg("dim", cachedBranch), width));
+        const branchLabel = worktreeName && cachedBranch
+          ? `${worktreeName} (${cachedBranch})`
+          : cachedBranch ?? "";
+        if (branchLabel) {
+          lines.push(rightAlign("", theme.fg("dim", branchLabel), width));
         }
 
         // Show health signal details when degraded (yellow/red)
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
index e7558e57c..f21f6330d 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
@@ -895,6 +895,7 @@ export async function pauseAuto(
       sessionFile: s.pausedSessionFile,
       activeEngineId: s.activeEngineId,
       activeRunDir: s.activeRunDir,
+      autoStartTime: s.autoStartTime,
     };
     const runtimeDir = join(gsdRoot(s.originalBasePath || s.basePath), "runtime");
     mkdirSync(runtimeDir, { recursive: true });
@@ -1137,6 +1138,7 @@ export async function startAuto(
           s.activeRunDir = meta.activeRunDir ?? null;
           s.originalBasePath = meta.originalBasePath || base;
           s.stepMode = meta.stepMode ?? requestedStepMode;
+          s.autoStartTime = meta.autoStartTime || Date.now();
           s.paused = true;
           try { unlinkSync(pausedPath); } catch (err) { /* non-fatal */
             logWarning("session", `pause file cleanup failed: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`, { file: "auto.ts" });
@@ -1162,6 +1164,7 @@ export async function startAuto(
             s.currentMilestoneId = meta.milestoneId;
             s.originalBasePath = meta.originalBasePath || base;
             s.stepMode = meta.stepMode ?? requestedStepMode;
+            s.autoStartTime = meta.autoStartTime || Date.now();
             s.paused = true;
             // Clean up the persisted file — we're consuming it
             try { unlinkSync(pausedPath); } catch (err) { /* non-fatal */
@@ -1194,6 +1197,7 @@ export async function startAuto(
     s.cmdCtx = ctx;
     s.basePath = base;
     setLogBasePath(base);
+    if (!s.autoStartTime || s.autoStartTime <= 0) s.autoStartTime = Date.now();
     s.unitDispatchCount.clear();
     s.unitLifetimeDispatches.clear();
     if (!getLedger()) initMetrics(base);
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/auto-start-time-persistence.test.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/auto-start-time-persistence.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..174a9b651
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/auto-start-time-persistence.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+// GSD2 — Verify autoStartTime is persisted in paused-session.json and restored on resume
+// Copyright (c) 2026 Jeremy McSpadden <jeremy@fluxlabs.net>
+
+/**
+ * auto-start-time-persistence.test.ts — Ensures autoStartTime survives
+ * cross-session resume via paused-session.json (#3585).
+ *
+ * Source-code regression guards: verify auto.ts saves and restores
+ * autoStartTime so the elapsed timer doesn't vanish after /exit + resume.
+ */
+
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join, dirname } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const AUTO_TS_PATH = join(__dirname, "..", "auto.ts");
+
+const source = readFileSync(AUTO_TS_PATH, "utf-8");
+
+test("pauseAuto persists autoStartTime in paused-session.json (#3585)", () => {
+  assert.ok(
+    source.includes("autoStartTime: s.autoStartTime"),
+    "pausedMeta must include autoStartTime so the timer survives /exit",
+  );
+});
+
+test("cross-session resume restores autoStartTime from paused-session.json (#3585)", () => {
+  const matches = source.match(/s\.autoStartTime\s*=\s*meta\.autoStartTime/g);
+  assert.ok(
+    matches && matches.length >= 2,
+    "both resume paths (custom workflow + milestone) must restore autoStartTime from meta",
+  );
+});
+
+test("resume path falls back to Date.now() when autoStartTime is missing (#3585)", () => {
+  assert.ok(
+    source.includes("meta.autoStartTime || Date.now()"),
+    "restore should fall back to Date.now() for old paused-session files without autoStartTime",
+  );
+});
+
+test("resume path guards against zero autoStartTime (#3585)", () => {
+  assert.ok(
+    source.includes("if (!s.autoStartTime || s.autoStartTime <= 0) s.autoStartTime = Date.now()"),
+    "resume path must set autoStartTime to Date.now() if still zero after restore",
+  );
+});