diff --git a/electron/ipc/recording/prune.test.ts b/electron/ipc/recording/prune.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d546be62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/ipc/recording/prune.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+describe("pruneAutoRecordings", () => {
+	let tempRoot: string;
+	let appDataPath: string;
+	let userDataPath: string;
+	let tempPath: string;
+	let appPath: string;
+
+	beforeEach(async () => {
+		tempRoot = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "recordly-prune-"));
+		appDataPath = path.join(tempRoot, "AppData");
+		userDataPath = path.join(tempRoot, "UserData");
+		tempPath = path.join(tempRoot, "Temp");
+		appPath = path.join(tempRoot, "App");
+
+		await Promise.all(
+			[appDataPath, userDataPath, tempPath, appPath].map((dirPath) =>
+				fs.mkdir(dirPath, { recursive: true }),
+			),
+		);
+
+		vi.resetModules();
+		vi.doMock("electron", () => ({
+			app: {
+				isPackaged: false,
+				getAppPath: () => appPath,
+				getPath: (name: string) => {
+					if (name === "appData") return appDataPath;
+					if (name === "userData") return userDataPath;
+					if (name === "temp") return tempPath;
+					return tempRoot;
+				},
+				setPath: () => undefined,
+			},
+		}));
+	});
+
+	afterEach(async () => {
+		vi.resetModules();
+		vi.doUnmock("electron");
+		if (tempRoot) {
+			await fs.rm(tempRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+		}
+	});
+
+	it("preserves recordings referenced by saved projects in the Projects directory", async () => {
+		const { getRecordingsDir } = await import("../utils");
+		const { PROJECTS_DIRECTORY_NAME, PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSION } = await import("../constants");
+		const { pruneAutoRecordings } = await import("./prune");
+
+		const recordingsDir = await getRecordingsDir();
+		const projectsDir = path.join(recordingsDir, PROJECTS_DIRECTORY_NAME);
+		await fs.mkdir(projectsDir, { recursive: true });
+
+		const recordingPaths: string[] = [];
+		for (let index = 0; index < 22; index += 1) {
+			const recordingPath = path.join(recordingsDir, `recording-${index}.mp4`);
+			recordingPaths.push(recordingPath);
+			await fs.writeFile(recordingPath, `video-${index}`);
+			const timestamp = new Date(Date.now() - index * 60_000);
+			await fs.utimes(recordingPath, timestamp, timestamp);
+		}
+
+		const protectedRecordingPath = recordingPaths.at(-2);
+		const prunableRecordingPath = recordingPaths.at(-1);
+
+		await fs.writeFile(
+			path.join(projectsDir, `saved-project.${PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSION}`),
+			JSON.stringify(
+				{
+					videoPath: protectedRecordingPath,
+				},
+				null,
+				2,
+			),
+			"utf-8",
+		);
+
+		await pruneAutoRecordings();
+
+		await expect(fs.access(protectedRecordingPath!)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+		await expect(fs.access(prunableRecordingPath!)).rejects.toThrow();
+	});
+});
diff --git a/electron/ipc/recording/prune.ts b/electron/ipc/recording/prune.ts
index 1f1bda14..29023dff 100644
--- a/electron/ipc/recording/prune.ts
+++ b/electron/ipc/recording/prune.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,21 @@
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import {
-	AUTO_RECORDING_RETENTION_COUNT,
 	AUTO_RECORDING_MAX_AGE_MS,
-	PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSION,
-	LEGACY_PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSIONS,
+	AUTO_RECORDING_RETENTION_COUNT,
 	COMPANION_AUDIO_LAYOUTS,
+	LEGACY_PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSIONS,
+	PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSION,
+	PROJECTS_DIRECTORY_NAME,
 } from "../constants";
 import { currentVideoPath } from "../state";
-import { normalizePath, getTelemetryPathForVideo, isAutoRecordingPath, getRecordingsDir } from "../utils";
+import {
+	getRecordingsDir,
+	getTelemetryPathForVideo,
+	isAutoRecordingPath,
+	normalizePath,
+	normalizeVideoSourcePath,
+} from "../utils";
 
 export async function hasSiblingProjectFile(videoPath: string) {
 	const baseName = path.basename(videoPath, path.extname(videoPath));
@@ -30,9 +37,71 @@ export async function hasSiblingProjectFile(videoPath: string) {
 
 export { isAutoRecordingPath };
 
+async function loadSavedProjectMediaPaths() {
+	const recordingsDir = await getRecordingsDir();
+	const projectsDir = path.join(recordingsDir, PROJECTS_DIRECTORY_NAME);
+	const protectedPaths = new Set<string>();
+	const candidateExtensions = new Set([
+		PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSION,
+		...LEGACY_PROJECT_FILE_EXTENSIONS,
+	]);
+
+	const projectEntries = await fs.readdir(projectsDir, { withFileTypes: true }).catch(() => []);
+
+	await Promise.all(
+		projectEntries
+			.filter((entry) => {
+				if (!entry.isFile()) {
+					return false;
+				}
+
+				const extension = path.extname(entry.name).replace(/^\./, "").toLowerCase();
+				return candidateExtensions.has(extension);
+			})
+			.map(async (entry) => {
+				const projectPath = path.join(projectsDir, entry.name);
+
+				try {
+					const rawProject = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(projectPath, "utf-8")) as {
+						videoPath?: unknown;
+						editor?: { webcam?: { sourcePath?: unknown } };
+					};
+					const candidatePaths = [
+						rawProject.videoPath,
+						rawProject.editor?.webcam?.sourcePath,
+					];
+
+					for (const candidatePath of candidatePaths) {
+						if (
+							typeof candidatePath !== "string" ||
+							candidatePath.trim().length === 0
+						) {
+							continue;
+						}
+
+						const normalizedCandidatePath = normalizePath(
+							normalizeVideoSourcePath(candidatePath) ?? candidatePath,
+						);
+						protectedPaths.add(normalizedCandidatePath);
+						try {
+							protectedPaths.add(await fs.realpath(normalizedCandidatePath));
+						} catch {
+							// Ignore missing project media; project loading already surfaces that error.
+						}
+					}
+				} catch {
+					// Ignore malformed project files during retention pruning.
+				}
+			}),
+	);
+
+	return protectedPaths;
+}
+
 export async function pruneAutoRecordings(exemptPaths: string[] = []) {
 	const recordingsDir = await getRecordingsDir();
 	await fs.mkdir(recordingsDir, { recursive: true });
+	const protectedProjectMediaPaths = await loadSavedProjectMediaPaths();
 	const exempt = new Set(
 		[currentVideoPath, ...exemptPaths]
 			.filter((value): value is string => Boolean(value))
@@ -65,6 +134,14 @@ export async function pruneAutoRecordings(exemptPaths: string[] = []) {
 			continue;
 		}
 
+		const resolvedFilePath = await fs.realpath(entry.filePath).catch(() => normalizedFilePath);
+		if (
+			protectedProjectMediaPaths.has(normalizedFilePath) ||
+			protectedProjectMediaPaths.has(resolvedFilePath)
+		) {
+			continue;
+		}
+
 		const tooOld = now - entry.stats.mtimeMs > AUTO_RECORDING_MAX_AGE_MS;
 		const overLimit = index >= AUTO_RECORDING_RETENTION_COUNT;
 		if (!tooOld && !overLimit) {
@@ -78,7 +155,10 @@ export async function pruneAutoRecordings(exemptPaths: string[] = []) {
 			const base = entry.filePath.replace(/\.(mp4|mov|webm)$/i, "");
 			const companionSuffixes = Array.from(
 				new Set(
-					COMPANION_AUDIO_LAYOUTS.flatMap((layout) => [layout.systemSuffix, layout.micSuffix]),
+					COMPANION_AUDIO_LAYOUTS.flatMap((layout) => [
+						layout.systemSuffix,
+						layout.micSuffix,
+					]),
 				),
 			);
 			for (const suffix of companionSuffixes) {