diff --git a/frontend/src/DesktopWorkspace.jsx b/frontend/src/DesktopWorkspace.jsx
index 4afc6fa..6c50014 100644
--- a/frontend/src/DesktopWorkspace.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/DesktopWorkspace.jsx
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   parseTagTransferPayload,
   writeTagTransferData,
 } from './documents/tagTransfer';
+import { fetchLayoutRecords, upsertLayoutRecords } from './desk/db';
 import './DesktopWorkspace.css';
 
 const CANVAS_PADDING = 24;
@@ -628,58 +629,7 @@ const DesktopWorkspace = ({
     documentLookupRef.current = documentLookup;
   }, [documentLookup]);
 
-  const storageKey = useMemo(() => {
-    if (!tenantId || !viewId) {
-      return null;
-    }
-    const normalizedViewId = encodeURIComponent(String(viewId));
-    return `papercrate.desk-layout.${tenantId}.${normalizedViewId}`;
-  }, [tenantId, viewId]);
-
-  const initialPersistedLayout = useMemo(() => {
-    if (!storageKey || typeof window === 'undefined') {
-      return new Map();
-    }
-    try {
-      const raw = window.localStorage.getItem(storageKey);
-      if (!raw) {
-        return new Map();
-      }
-      const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
-      if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object') {
-        return new Map();
-      }
-      const map = new Map();
-      Object.entries(parsed).forEach(([docId, value]) => {
-        if (!value || typeof value !== 'object') {
-          return;
-        }
-        const centerX = Number(value.centerX);
-        const centerY = Number(value.centerY);
-        if (!Number.isFinite(centerX) || !Number.isFinite(centerY)) {
-          return;
-        }
-        const rotation = Number.isFinite(Number(value.rotation)) ? Number(value.rotation) : 0;
-        const z = Number.isFinite(Number(value.z)) ? Number(value.z) : undefined;
-        map.set(String(docId), {
-          centerX,
-          centerY,
-          rotation,
-          z,
-        });
-      });
-      return map;
-    } catch (error) {
-      console.warn('[desk] Failed to parse persisted layout', error);
-      return new Map();
-    }
-  }, [storageKey]);
-
-  const persistedLayoutRef = useRef(initialPersistedLayout);
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    persistedLayoutRef.current = initialPersistedLayout;
-  }, [initialPersistedLayout]);
+  const persistedLayoutRef = useRef(new Map());
 
   const markLayoutDirty = useCallback(() => {
     layoutDirtyRef.current = true;
@@ -1167,8 +1117,8 @@ const recalcVisibleDocIds = useCallback(() => {
   ]);
 
   const persistLayoutSnapshot = useCallback(
-    (snapshot, force = false) => {
-      if (!storageKey || typeof window === 'undefined') {
+    async (snapshot, force = false) => {
+      if (!tenantId || !viewId) {
         return;
       }
       if (!force && !layoutDirtyRef.current) {
@@ -1190,21 +1140,25 @@ const recalcVisibleDocIds = useCallback(() => {
         merged.set(docId, { centerX, centerY, rotation, z });
       });
 
-      const payload = {};
+      persistedLayoutRef.current = merged;
+
+      const records = [];
       merged.forEach((entry, docId) => {
         if (!docId || !entry) {
           return;
         }
-        payload[docId] = entry;
+        records.push({
+          documentId: docId,
+          centerX: entry.centerX,
+          centerY: entry.centerY,
+          rotation: entry.rotation ?? 0,
+          zIndex: entry.z ?? 0,
+        });
       });
-      try {
-        window.localStorage.setItem(storageKey, JSON.stringify(payload));
-        persistedLayoutRef.current = merged;
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.warn('[desk] Failed to persist desk layout', error);
-      }
+
+      await upsertLayoutRecords({ tenantId, viewId, entries: records });
     },
-    [storageKey],
+    [tenantId, viewId],
   );
 
   const syncLayoutSnapshot = useCallback((force = false) => {
@@ -1250,6 +1204,47 @@ const recalcVisibleDocIds = useCallback(() => {
     observer.observe(container);
     return () => observer.disconnect();
   }, []);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!tenantId || !viewId) {
+      return;
+    }
+    let cancelled = false;
+
+    const loadLayouts = async () => {
+      const records = await fetchLayoutRecords({ tenantId, viewId });
+      if (cancelled) {
+        return;
+      }
+      const map = new Map();
+      records.forEach((record) => {
+        if (!record || !record.documentId) {
+          return;
+        }
+        map.set(String(record.documentId), {
+          centerX: Number(record.centerX) || 0,
+          centerY: Number(record.centerY) || 0,
+          rotation: Number(record.rotation) || 0,
+          z: Number(record.zIndex) || 0,
+        });
+      });
+      persistedLayoutRef.current = map;
+      layoutDirtyRef.current = false;
+      if (records.length) {
+        zCounterRef.current = Math.max(
+          zCounterRef.current,
+          ...records.map((r) => Number(r.zIndex) || 0),
+        );
+      }
+      setDocSizeVersion((value) => value + 1);
+    };
+
+    loadLayouts();
+
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
+  }, [tenantId, viewId]);
+
   useLayoutEffect(() => {
     if (!containerRef.current || !canvasSize.width || !canvasSize.height) {
       return;
@@ -1291,9 +1286,7 @@ const recalcVisibleDocIds = useCallback(() => {
       const persisted = docKey ? persistedLayoutRef.current.get(docKey) : null;
       let existing = previous.get(doc.id) || null;
       if (persisted) {
-        existing = existing
-          ? { ...existing, ...persisted }
-          : { ...persisted };
+        existing = existing ? { ...existing, ...persisted } : { ...persisted };
       }
       if (existing) {
         const defaultCenterX = (minCenterX + maxCenterX) / 2;
@@ -1349,7 +1342,6 @@ const recalcVisibleDocIds = useCallback(() => {
     syncLayoutSnapshot,
     recalcVisibleDocIds,
   ]);
-
   useEffect(() => {
     recalcVisibleDocIds();
   }, [recalcVisibleDocIds, items.length, canvasSize.width, canvasSize.height, docSizeVersion]);