diff --git a/src/commands/import.ts b/src/commands/import.ts
index 3f6b4c4ca..c20e14828 100644
--- a/src/commands/import.ts
+++ b/src/commands/import.ts
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ export async function runImport(
     : strategy === 'auto' ? 'syncable' : 'markdown';
   console.log(`Found ${allFiles.length} ${fileTypeLabel} files`);
 
+  // v0.33.1: sort newest-first so recent pages get processed before older ones.
+  // Brain paths are typically date-prefixed (meetings/2026-05-13-*, daily/2026-05-13.md)
+  // so a descending lexicographic sort naturally prioritizes recent content.
+  allFiles.sort((a, b) => b.localeCompare(a));
+
   // Resume from checkpoint if available
   const checkpointPath = gbrainPath('import-checkpoint.json');
   let files = allFiles;
diff --git a/src/commands/sync.ts b/src/commands/sync.ts
index 0cc80e646..9147bb05e 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync.ts
@@ -700,6 +700,13 @@ async function performSyncInner(engine: BrainEngine, opts: SyncOpts): Promise<Sy
   const failedFiles: Array<{ path: string; error: string; line?: number }> = [];
   const addsAndMods = [...filtered.added, ...filtered.modified];
 
+  // v0.33.1: sort newest-first so recent pages get embedded before older ones.
+  // Brain paths are typically date-prefixed (meetings/2026-05-13-*, daily/2026-05-13.md)
+  // so a descending lexicographic sort naturally prioritizes recent content.
+  // This ensures that after a burst of writes, the most relevant pages become
+  // searchable first instead of waiting behind alphabetically-earlier backlog.
+  addsAndMods.sort((a, b) => b.localeCompare(a));
+
   // v0.22.13 (PR #490 Q5): one source of truth for the concurrency decision.
   // engine.kind === 'pglite' → forced 1; explicit opts.concurrency wins;
   // auto path returns DEFAULT_PARALLEL_WORKERS only when fileCount > 100.