diff --git a/.idea/modules.xml b/.idea/modules.xml
index 8f018c48fbd9..4066899c77f4 100644
--- a/.idea/modules.xml
+++ b/.idea/modules.xml
@@ -1614,6 +1614,7 @@
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/backend/intellij.platform.recentFiles.backend.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/backend/intellij.platform.recentFiles.backend.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/frontend/intellij.platform.recentFiles.frontend.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/frontend/intellij.platform.recentFiles.frontend.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/plugin/intellij.platform.recentFiles.plugin.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/plugin/intellij.platform.recentFiles.plugin.iml" />
+      <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/tests/intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/recentFiles/tests/intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/refactoring/intellij.platform.refactoring.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/refactoring/intellij.platform.refactoring.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/remote-core/intellij.platform.remote.core.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/remote-core/intellij.platform.remote.core.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/remote-servers/api/intellij.platform.remoteServers.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/platform/remote-servers/api/intellij.platform.remoteServers.iml" />
diff --git a/BUILD.bazel b/BUILD.bazel
index f542074caf0d..47ce414952e5 100644
--- a/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/BUILD.bazel
@@ -628,6 +628,8 @@ jvm_library(
         "//xml/dom-tests:dom-tests_test_lib",
         "//plugins/IntelliLang/tests",
         "//plugins/IntelliLang/tests:tests_test_lib",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/tests",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/tests:tests_test_lib",
         "//xml/tests",
         "//xml/tests:tests_test_lib",
         "//jps/model-serialization:model-serialization-tests",
diff --git a/build/bazel-generated-file-list.txt b/build/bazel-generated-file-list.txt
index 106f23b8dcf5..44fb8e4c795b 100644
--- a/build/bazel-generated-file-list.txt
+++ b/build/bazel-generated-file-list.txt
@@ -819,6 +819,7 @@ platform/recentFiles/backend
 platform/recentFiles/frontend
 platform/recentFiles/plugin
 platform/recentFiles/shared
+platform/recentFiles/tests
 platform/refactoring
 platform/remote-core
 platform/remote-driver/client
diff --git a/intellij.idea.community.main.tests.iml b/intellij.idea.community.main.tests.iml
index 4a05cabe74a6..dfd86a0cbbf3 100644
--- a/intellij.idea.community.main.tests.iml
+++ b/intellij.idea.community.main.tests.iml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.tasks.tests" scope="TEST" />
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.xml.dom.tests" scope="TEST" />
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.langInjection.tests" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests" scope="TEST" />
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.xml.tests" scope="TEST" />
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.jps.model.serialization.tests" scope="TEST" />
     <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.java.guiForms.jps" scope="TEST" />
diff --git a/platform/recentFiles/tests/BUILD.bazel b/platform/recentFiles/tests/BUILD.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4e863f6044e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/recentFiles/tests/BUILD.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+load("@community//build:tests-options.bzl", "jps_test")
+load("@rules_jvm//:jvm.bzl", "jvm_library")
+
+### auto-generated section `build intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` start
+
+jvm_library(
+    name = "tests",
+    srcs = glob(
+        [],
+        allow_empty = True,
+    ),
+    module_name = "intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    runtime_deps = [
+        # do not sort,
+        "@lib//:kotlin-stdlib",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/plugin",
+    ],
+)
+
+jvm_library(
+    name = "tests_test_lib",
+    testonly = True,
+    srcs = glob(
+        [
+            "testSrc/**/*.kt",
+            "testSrc/**/*.java",
+            "testSrc/**/*.form",
+        ],
+        allow_empty = True,
+    ),
+    associates = [
+        "//platform/recentFiles/backend",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/backend:backend_test_lib",
+    ],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    runtime_deps = [
+        # do not sort,
+        ":tests",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/plugin:plugin_test_lib",
+        "//platform/platform-impl:ide-impl_test_lib",
+        "//platform/platform-impl/rpc:rpc_test_lib",
+    ],
+    deps = [
+        # do not sort,
+        "@lib//:kotlin-stdlib",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/frontend",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/frontend:frontend_test_lib",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/shared:recentFiles",
+        "//platform/recentFiles/shared:recentFiles_test_lib",
+        "//platform/testFramework/junit5",
+        "//platform/testFramework/junit5:junit5_test_lib",
+        "//platform/testFramework",
+        "//platform/testFramework:testFramework_test_lib",
+        "//libraries/junit5",
+        "//libraries/junit5:junit5_test_lib",
+        "//libraries/kotlinx/coroutines/core",
+        "//libraries/kotlinx/coroutines/core:core_test_lib",
+        "//platform/core-api:core",
+        "//platform/core-api:core_test_lib",
+        "//platform/util/concurrency",
+        "//platform/util/concurrency:concurrency_test_lib",
+        "//platform/platform-impl:ide-impl",
+        "//platform/platform-impl/rpc",
+        "//platform/kernel/rpc.backend",
+        "//platform/kernel/rpc.backend:rpc.backend_test_lib",
+        "//platform/util:util-ui",
+        "//platform/util:util-ui_test_lib",
+    ],
+)
+### auto-generated section `build intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` end
+
+### auto-generated section `iml intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` start
+exports_files(
+    [
+        "intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml",
+    ],
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
+### auto-generated section `iml intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` end
+
+### auto-generated section `test intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` start
+
+jps_test(
+    name = "tests_test",
+    runtime_deps = [":tests_test_lib"],
+)
+### auto-generated section `test intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests` end
diff --git a/platform/recentFiles/tests/intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml b/platform/recentFiles/tests/intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4ad9565d0363
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/recentFiles/tests/intellij.platform.recentFiles.tests.iml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<module type="JAVA_MODULE" version="4">
+  <component name="NewModuleRootManager" inherit-compiler-output="true">
+    <exclude-output />
+    <content url="file://$MODULE_DIR$">
+      <sourceFolder url="file://$MODULE_DIR$/testSrc" isTestSource="true" />
+    </content>
+    <orderEntry type="inheritedJdk" />
+    <orderEntry type="sourceFolder" forTests="false" />
+    <orderEntry type="library" name="kotlin-stdlib" level="project" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.recentFiles.backend" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.recentFiles.frontend" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.recentFiles" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.recentFiles.plugin" scope="RUNTIME" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.testFramework.junit5" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.testFramework" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.libraries.junit5" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.libraries.kotlinx.coroutines.core" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.core" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.concurrency" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.ide.impl" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.ide.rpc" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.rpc.backend" scope="TEST" />
+    <orderEntry type="module" module-name="intellij.platform.util.ui" scope="TEST" />
+  </component>
+  <component name="TestModuleProperties" production-module="intellij.platform.recentFiles.backend" />
+</module>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/recentFiles/tests/testSrc/com/intellij/platform/recentFiles/backend/RecentFilesDistributedModelTest.kt b/platform/recentFiles/tests/testSrc/com/intellij/platform/recentFiles/backend/RecentFilesDistributedModelTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..05388e01f0f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/recentFiles/tests/testSrc/com/intellij/platform/recentFiles/backend/RecentFilesDistributedModelTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+// Copyright 2000-2026 JetBrains s.r.o. and contributors. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license.
+package com.intellij.platform.recentFiles.backend
+
+import com.intellij.openapi.Disposable
+import com.intellij.openapi.application.EDT
+import com.intellij.openapi.fileEditor.impl.IdeDocumentHistoryImpl
+import com.intellij.openapi.project.Project
+import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile
+import com.intellij.platform.recentFiles.frontend.RecentFilesExcluder
+import com.intellij.platform.recentFiles.frontend.model.FrontendRecentFilesModel
+import com.intellij.platform.recentFiles.shared.FileChangeKind
+import com.intellij.platform.recentFiles.shared.RecentFileKind
+import com.intellij.testFramework.LightVirtualFile
+import com.intellij.testFramework.junit5.TestApplication
+import com.intellij.testFramework.junit5.TestDisposable
+import com.intellij.testFramework.junit5.fixture.projectFixture
+import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
+import kotlinx.coroutines.Job
+import kotlinx.coroutines.TimeoutCancellationException
+import kotlinx.coroutines.coroutineScope
+import kotlinx.coroutines.delay
+import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
+import kotlinx.coroutines.runBlocking
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withContext
+import kotlinx.coroutines.withTimeout
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.fail
+import kotlin.time.Duration.Companion.milliseconds
+import kotlin.time.Duration.Companion.seconds
+
+@TestApplication
+class RecentFilesDistributedModelTest {
+  private val projectFixture = projectFixture()
+  private val project by projectFixture
+
+  @TestDisposable
+  lateinit var disposable: Disposable
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  fun setUp() {
+    RecentFilesExcluder.EP_NAME.point.registerExtension(TestDiffRecentFilesExcluder(), disposable)
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `regular file open and close are synchronized between frontend and backend models`() = runBlocking {
+    withModelSynchronization {
+      val file = LightVirtualFile("regular.txt", "content")
+      val anchorFile1 = LightVirtualFile("anchor1.txt", "content")
+      val anchorFile2 = LightVirtualFile("anchor2.txt", "content")
+      val openedFiles = listOf(file, anchorFile1, anchorFile2)
+      val frontendModel = FrontendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project)
+
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED, openedFiles, FileChangeKind.ADDED)
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED, openedFiles, FileChangeKind.ADDED)
+
+      waitUntilFileIsPresent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED)
+      waitUntilFileIsPresent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED)
+
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED, listOf(file), FileChangeKind.REMOVED)
+
+      waitUntilFileIsAbsent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED)
+      assertBothModelsContain(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED)
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `diff file open and close are synchronized between frontend and backend models`() = runBlocking {
+    withModelSynchronization {
+      val file = TestDiffVirtualFile("diff.txt")
+      val frontendModel = FrontendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project)
+
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED, listOf(file), FileChangeKind.ADDED)
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED, listOf(file), FileChangeKind.ADDED)
+
+      waitUntilFileIsPresent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED)
+      waitUntilFileIsPresent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED)
+
+      file.isIncludedInHistory = false
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED, listOf(file), FileChangeKind.REMOVED)
+      frontendModel.applyFrontendChanges(RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED, listOf(file), FileChangeKind.REMOVED)
+
+      waitUntilFileIsAbsent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED)
+      waitUntilFileIsAbsent(file, RecentFileKind.RECENTLY_OPENED_UNPINNED)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun withModelSynchronization(action: suspend CoroutineScope.() -> Unit) = coroutineScope {
+    val subscriptions = startModelSynchronization()
+    try {
+      action()
+    }
+    finally {
+      subscriptions.forEach(Job::cancel)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private fun CoroutineScope.startModelSynchronization(): List<Job> {
+    val backendModel = BackendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project)
+    val frontendModel = FrontendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project)
+    return RecentFileKind.entries.flatMap { kind ->
+      listOf(
+        launch { backendModel.subscribeToBackendRecentFilesUpdates(kind) },
+        launch { frontendModel.subscribeToBackendRecentFilesUpdates(kind) }
+      )
+    }
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun waitUntilFileIsPresent(file: VirtualFile, kind: RecentFileKind) {
+    waitUntil("Expected ${file.name} to appear in $kind") {
+      frontendFiles(kind).contains(file) && backendFiles(kind).contains(file)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun waitUntilFileIsAbsent(file: VirtualFile, kind: RecentFileKind) {
+    var frontendFiles = emptyList<VirtualFile>()
+    var backendFiles = emptyList<VirtualFile>()
+    waitUntil({ "Expected ${file.name} to disappear from $kind, frontend=${frontendFiles.map { it.name }}, backend=${backendFiles.map { it.name }}" }) {
+      frontendFiles = frontendFiles(kind)
+      backendFiles = backendFiles(kind)
+      !frontendFiles.contains(file) && !backendFiles.contains(file)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun assertBothModelsContain(file: VirtualFile, kind: RecentFileKind) {
+    val frontendFiles = frontendFiles(kind)
+    val backendFiles = backendFiles(kind)
+    assertTrue(frontendFiles.contains(file), "Expected frontend $kind to contain ${file.name}, got ${frontendFiles.map { it.name }}")
+    assertTrue(backendFiles.contains(file), "Expected backend $kind to contain ${file.name}, got ${backendFiles.map { it.name }}")
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun waitUntil(message: String, condition: suspend () -> Boolean) {
+    waitUntil({ message }, condition)
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun waitUntil(message: () -> String, condition: suspend () -> Boolean) {
+    try {
+      withTimeout(5.seconds) {
+        while (!condition()) {
+          delay(50.milliseconds)
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    catch (_: TimeoutCancellationException) {
+      fail(message())
+    }
+  }
+
+  private suspend fun frontendFiles(kind: RecentFileKind): List<VirtualFile> {
+    return withContext(Dispatchers.EDT) {
+      FrontendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project).getRecentFiles(kind).mapNotNull { it.virtualFile }
+    }
+  }
+
+  private fun backendFiles(kind: RecentFileKind): List<VirtualFile> {
+    return BackendRecentFilesModel.getInstance(project).getFilesByKind(kind)
+  }
+
+  private class TestDiffVirtualFile(name: String) : LightVirtualFile(name, "diff"), IdeDocumentHistoryImpl.OptionallyIncluded {
+    var isIncludedInHistory: Boolean = true
+
+    override fun isIncludedInDocumentHistory(project: Project): Boolean {
+      return isIncludedInHistory
+    }
+  }
+
+  private class TestDiffRecentFilesExcluder : RecentFilesExcluder {
+    override fun isExcludedFromRecentlyOpened(project: Project, file: VirtualFile): Boolean {
+      return file is TestDiffVirtualFile && !file.isIncludedInDocumentHistory(project)
+    }
+  }
+}