diff --git a/db/queries.ts b/db/queries.ts
index 92074a1..32a4918 100644
--- a/db/queries.ts
+++ b/db/queries.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { eq, and } from 'drizzle-orm';
+import { eq, and, inArray } from 'drizzle-orm';
 import { db } from 'officerdb/db';
 import { encryptSecret, decryptSecret } from 'officerdb/crypto';
 import { emailAccounts } from './schema';
@@ -71,6 +71,24 @@ export async function getAllSyncedAccounts(): Promise<EmailAccount[]> {
   return rows.map(open);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Clear a `syncing` or `queued` status left behind by a process that died mid-sync.
+ *
+ * `getAllSyncedAccounts` only picks up `status = 'synced'`, so an account stranded at either — the
+ * resync route sets `syncing` before awaiting and only clears it after; a first sync sets `queued`
+ * before handing off to the in-process job runner — silently drops out of both the cron and the IDLE
+ * watcher forever. A fresh process can't have either genuinely in flight (the job runner is in-memory,
+ * not persisted), so on startup that state only ever means "orphaned by the last restart." `performResync`
+ * — what the cron and IDLE watcher call — already handles an account with no prior sync state by doing a
+ * full fetch, so resetting to `synced` rather than replaying the dedicated first-sync job is safe.
+ */
+export async function resetStuckSyncingAccounts(): Promise<void> {
+  await db
+    .update(emailAccounts)
+    .set({ status: 'synced' })
+    .where(inArray(emailAccounts.status, ['syncing', 'queued']));
+}
+
 /** Replace an account's stored secret — used when an OAuth token is refreshed. */
 export async function updateEmailAccountCredentials(id: number, credentials: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<void> {
   await db.update(emailAccounts).set({ credentials: seal(credentials) }).where(eq(emailAccounts.id, id));
diff --git a/sidecar/email-cron.ts b/sidecar/email-cron.ts
index b20f6b6..c933e1b 100644
--- a/sidecar/email-cron.ts
+++ b/sidecar/email-cron.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { getUserById } from 'officerdb';
-import { getAllSyncedAccounts } from '../db/queries';
+import { getAllSyncedAccounts, resetStuckSyncingAccounts } from '../db/queries';
 import { performResync } from './resync';
 
 const INTERVAL_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000; // 10 minutes
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ async function tick() {
 
 export function initEmailCron() {
   if (timer) return;
+  resetStuckSyncingAccounts().catch((err) => {
+    console.error('[email-cron] Failed to reset stuck accounts:', err instanceof Error ? err.message : err);
+  });
   console.log(`[email-cron] Starting email sync cron (every ${INTERVAL_MS / 60_000} min)`);
   timer = setInterval(tick, INTERVAL_MS);
   setTimeout(tick, 30_000);