diff --git a/src/main/download-manager.ts b/src/main/download-manager.ts
index 558e413..42fe9f2 100644
--- a/src/main/download-manager.ts
+++ b/src/main/download-manager.ts
@@ -1110,7 +1110,7 @@ export function buildAutoRenameBaseNameFromFoldersWithOptions(
 
 export function resolveArchiveItemsFromList(archiveName: string, items: DownloadItem[]): DownloadItem[] {
   const normalizeArchiveMatchName = (value: string): string =>
-    path.basename(String(value || "")).replace(/ \(\d+\)(?=\.[^.]+$)/, "");
+    stripDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(path.basename(String(value || "")));
   const entryLower = normalizeArchiveMatchName(archiveName).toLowerCase();
 
   // Helper: get item basename (try targetPath first, then fileName)
@@ -1192,6 +1192,54 @@ export function resolveArchiveItemsFromList(archiveName: string, items: Download
   return [];
 }
 
+function stripDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(fileName: string): string {
+  return String(fileName || "").replace(/ \(\d+\)(?=\.[^.]+$)/, "");
+}
+
+function hasDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(fileName: string): boolean {
+  const normalized = stripDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(fileName);
+  return normalized !== String(fileName || "");
+}
+
+function startupDuplicateStateRank(item: DownloadItem, diskExists: boolean): number {
+  let rank = diskExists ? 40 : 0;
+  switch (item.status) {
+    case "completed":
+      rank += 40;
+      break;
+    case "downloading":
+    case "validating":
+    case "integrity_check":
+      rank += 25;
+      break;
+    case "queued":
+    case "reconnect_wait":
+    case "paused":
+      rank += 10;
+      break;
+    case "failed":
+      rank += 5;
+      break;
+    default:
+      break;
+  }
+  const fullStatus = String(item.fullStatus || "").trim();
+  if (isExtractedLabel(fullStatus)) {
+    rank += 65;
+  } else if (/^fertig\b/i.test(fullStatus)) {
+    rank += 30;
+  } else if (isTransientExtractStatus(fullStatus)) {
+    rank += 20;
+  } else if (isExtractErrorLabel(fullStatus)) {
+    rank += 5;
+  }
+  rank += Math.max(0, Math.min(9, Math.floor(Number(item.progressPercent || 0) / 12)));
+  if (Number(item.downloadedBytes || 0) > 0) {
+    rank += 1;
+  }
+  return rank;
+}
+
 export function extractArchiveNameFromExtractorLogMessage(message: string): string | null {
   const text = String(message || "").trim();
   if (!text) {
@@ -1375,11 +1423,11 @@ export class DownloadManager extends EventEmitter {
     }
     this.applyOnStartCleanupPolicy();
     this.normalizeSessionStatuses();
+    this.restoreTargetPathReservations();
+    this.resolveExistingQueuedOpaqueFilenames();
+    this.revalidateCompletedItems();
     void this.recoverRetryableItems("startup").catch((err) => logger.warn(`recoverRetryableItems Fehler (startup): ${compactErrorText(err)}`));
     this.recoverPostProcessingOnStartup();
-    this.resolveExistingQueuedOpaqueFilenames();
-    this.restoreTargetPathReservations();
-    this.revalidateCompletedItems();
     this.checkExistingRapidgatorLinks();
     void this.cleanupExistingExtractedArchives().catch((err) => logger.warn(`cleanupExistingExtractedArchives Fehler (constructor): ${compactErrorText(err)}`));
   }
@@ -4928,10 +4976,137 @@ export class DownloadManager extends EventEmitter {
     if (restored > 0) {
       logger.info(`restoreTargetPathReservations: ${restored} Pfade aus Session wiederhergestellt`);
     }
+    this.reconcileDuplicateSuffixSessionItems();
     // Fix legacy (N) suffix files: rename back to original if original path is free
     this.fixDuplicateSuffixFiles();
   }
 
+  private reconcileDuplicateSuffixSessionItems(): void {
+    let merged = 0;
+    const touchedPackageIds = new Set<string>();
+
+    for (const packageId of this.session.packageOrder) {
+      const pkg = this.session.packages[packageId];
+      if (!pkg) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      for (const itemId of [...pkg.itemIds]) {
+        const duplicateItem = this.session.items[itemId];
+        if (!duplicateItem) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        const duplicateTargetPath = String(duplicateItem.targetPath || "").trim();
+        if (!duplicateTargetPath) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        const duplicateBaseName = path.basename(duplicateTargetPath);
+        if (!hasDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(duplicateBaseName)) {
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        const canonicalBaseName = stripDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(duplicateBaseName);
+        const canonicalPath = path.join(path.dirname(duplicateTargetPath), canonicalBaseName);
+        const canonicalKey = pathKey(canonicalPath);
+        let primaryItem = Object.values(this.session.items).find((candidate) =>
+          candidate.packageId === packageId
+          && candidate.id !== duplicateItem.id
+          && (
+            pathKey(String(candidate.targetPath || "")) === canonicalKey
+            || (
+              !candidate.targetPath
+              && stripDuplicateSuffixBeforeExtension(candidate.fileName || "") === canonicalBaseName
+            )
+          )
+        );
+        if (!primaryItem) {
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        const duplicateExists = fs.existsSync(duplicateTargetPath);
+        let canonicalExists = fs.existsSync(canonicalPath);
+        const primaryWins = startupDuplicateStateRank(primaryItem, canonicalExists) >= startupDuplicateStateRank(duplicateItem, duplicateExists);
+
+        if (duplicateExists && !canonicalExists) {
+          try {
+            fs.renameSync(duplicateTargetPath, canonicalPath);
+            canonicalExists = true;
+            logger.info(`startupDuplicateMerge: ${path.basename(duplicateTargetPath)} → ${canonicalBaseName}`);
+          } catch (err) {
+            logger.warn(`startupDuplicateMerge: Umbenennung fehlgeschlagen ${duplicateTargetPath}: ${compactErrorText(err)}`);
+          }
+        } else if (duplicateExists && canonicalExists && primaryWins) {
+          try {
+            fs.rmSync(duplicateTargetPath, { force: true });
+          } catch {
+            // ignore, stale duplicate can remain on disk if Windows still holds a handle
+          }
+        } else if (duplicateExists && canonicalExists && !primaryWins && primaryItem.status !== "completed") {
+          try {
+            fs.rmSync(canonicalPath, { force: true });
+            fs.renameSync(duplicateTargetPath, canonicalPath);
+            canonicalExists = true;
+            logger.info(`startupDuplicateMerge: ersetze verwaisten Originalpfad ${canonicalBaseName} durch ${path.basename(duplicateTargetPath)}`);
+          } catch (err) {
+            logger.warn(`startupDuplicateMerge: Austausch fehlgeschlagen ${canonicalPath}: ${compactErrorText(err)}`);
+          }
+        }
+
+        const duplicateShouldWin = !primaryWins || (duplicateItem.status === "completed" && primaryItem.status !== "completed");
+        if (duplicateShouldWin) {
+          primaryItem.status = duplicateItem.status;
+          primaryItem.fullStatus = duplicateItem.fullStatus;
+          primaryItem.lastError = duplicateItem.lastError;
+          primaryItem.downloadedBytes = Math.max(Number(primaryItem.downloadedBytes || 0), Number(duplicateItem.downloadedBytes || 0));
+          primaryItem.totalBytes = Math.max(Number(primaryItem.totalBytes || 0), Number(duplicateItem.totalBytes || 0)) || primaryItem.totalBytes;
+          primaryItem.progressPercent = Math.max(Number(primaryItem.progressPercent || 0), Number(duplicateItem.progressPercent || 0));
+        }
+
+        if (canonicalExists) {
+          try {
+            const stat = fs.statSync(canonicalPath);
+            primaryItem.downloadedBytes = Math.max(Number(primaryItem.downloadedBytes || 0), stat.size);
+            if (!primaryItem.totalBytes || primaryItem.totalBytes < stat.size) {
+              primaryItem.totalBytes = stat.size;
+            }
+            if (primaryItem.status === "completed") {
+              primaryItem.progressPercent = 100;
+            }
+          } catch {
+            // ignore stat failures; persisted metadata remains as-is
+          }
+        }
+
+        primaryItem.fileName = canonicalBaseName;
+        primaryItem.targetPath = canonicalPath;
+        primaryItem.updatedAt = Math.max(Number(primaryItem.updatedAt || 0), Number(duplicateItem.updatedAt || 0), nowMs());
+        this.claimedTargetPathByItem.set(primaryItem.id, canonicalPath);
+        this.reservedTargetPaths.set(canonicalKey, primaryItem.id);
+
+        this.retryAfterByItem.delete(duplicateItem.id);
+        this.retryStateByItem.delete(duplicateItem.id);
+        this.releaseTargetPath(duplicateItem.id);
+        this.dropItemContribution(duplicateItem.id);
+        delete this.session.items[duplicateItem.id];
+        pkg.itemIds = pkg.itemIds.filter((candidateId) => candidateId !== duplicateItem.id);
+        this.itemCount = Math.max(0, this.itemCount - 1);
+        merged += 1;
+        touchedPackageIds.add(packageId);
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (merged > 0) {
+      for (const packageId of touchedPackageIds) {
+        const pkg = this.session.packages[packageId];
+        if (pkg) {
+          this.refreshPackageStatus(pkg);
+        }
+      }
+      logger.info(`reconcileDuplicateSuffixSessionItems: ${merged} Duplikat-Items zusammengeführt`);
+      this.persistSoon();
+    }
+  }
+
   /** Re-validate "completed" items on startup: if the file on disk is significantly
    *  smaller than expected, the item was incorrectly marked completed (e.g. by the
    *  old 50% recovery threshold). Reset to "queued" so it gets re-downloaded. */
diff --git a/tests/download-manager.test.ts b/tests/download-manager.test.ts
index 92c581e..cd5bc9a 100644
--- a/tests/download-manager.test.ts
+++ b/tests/download-manager.test.ts
@@ -319,6 +319,196 @@ describe("download manager", () => {
     expect((manager as any).session.packages[packageId].status).toBe("queued");
   });
 
+  it("merges duplicate-suffixed completed startup items back into the canonical queued item", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "rd-startup-dup-merge-"));
+    tempDirs.push(root);
+
+    const session = emptySession();
+    const packageId = "startup-dup-pkg";
+    const originalItemId = "startup-dup-original";
+    const duplicateItemId = "startup-dup-copy";
+    const createdAt = Date.now() - 20_000;
+    const outputDir = path.join(root, "downloads", "Startup Duplicate Merge");
+    const extractDir = path.join(root, "extract", "Startup Duplicate Merge");
+    fs.mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(extractDir, { recursive: true });
+
+    const canonicalPath = path.join(outputDir, "episode.part1.rar");
+    const duplicatePath = path.join(outputDir, "episode.part1 (1).rar");
+    fs.writeFileSync(duplicatePath, Buffer.alloc(128, 7));
+
+    session.packageOrder = [packageId];
+    session.packages[packageId] = {
+      id: packageId,
+      name: "Startup Duplicate Merge",
+      outputDir,
+      extractDir,
+      status: "failed",
+      itemIds: [originalItemId, duplicateItemId],
+      cancelled: false,
+      enabled: true,
+      priority: "normal",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt
+    };
+    session.items[originalItemId] = {
+      id: originalItemId,
+      packageId,
+      url: "https://example.com/episode.part1.rar",
+      provider: "realdebrid",
+      status: "queued",
+      retries: 0,
+      speedBps: 0,
+      downloadedBytes: 0,
+      totalBytes: 128,
+      progressPercent: 0,
+      fileName: "episode.part1.rar",
+      targetPath: canonicalPath,
+      resumable: true,
+      attempts: 0,
+      lastError: "",
+      fullStatus: "Wartet",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt
+    };
+    session.items[duplicateItemId] = {
+      id: duplicateItemId,
+      packageId,
+      url: "https://example.com/episode.part1.rar",
+      provider: "realdebrid",
+      status: "completed",
+      retries: 0,
+      speedBps: 0,
+      downloadedBytes: 128,
+      totalBytes: 128,
+      progressPercent: 100,
+      fileName: "episode.part1.rar",
+      targetPath: duplicatePath,
+      resumable: true,
+      attempts: 1,
+      lastError: "",
+      fullStatus: "Fertig (128 B)",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt + 5_000
+    };
+
+    const manager = new DownloadManager(
+      {
+        ...defaultSettings(),
+        token: "rd-token",
+        outputDir: path.join(root, "downloads"),
+        extractDir: path.join(root, "extract"),
+        autoExtract: false
+      },
+      session,
+      createStoragePaths(path.join(root, "state"))
+    );
+
+    const current = (manager as any).session;
+    expect(current.packages[packageId].itemIds).toEqual([originalItemId]);
+    expect(current.items[duplicateItemId]).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].status).toBe("completed");
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].fullStatus).toBe("Fertig (128 B)");
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].targetPath).toBe(canonicalPath);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(canonicalPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(duplicatePath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps a stronger extracted canonical startup state when removing stale duplicate copies", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "rd-startup-dup-keep-"));
+    tempDirs.push(root);
+
+    const session = emptySession();
+    const packageId = "startup-dup-keep-pkg";
+    const originalItemId = "startup-dup-keep-original";
+    const duplicateItemId = "startup-dup-keep-copy";
+    const createdAt = Date.now() - 20_000;
+    const outputDir = path.join(root, "downloads", "Startup Duplicate Keep");
+    const extractDir = path.join(root, "extract", "Startup Duplicate Keep");
+    fs.mkdirSync(outputDir, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(extractDir, { recursive: true });
+
+    const canonicalPath = path.join(outputDir, "episode.part1.rar");
+    const duplicatePath = path.join(outputDir, "episode.part1 (1).rar");
+    fs.writeFileSync(duplicatePath, Buffer.alloc(256, 9));
+
+    session.packageOrder = [packageId];
+    session.packages[packageId] = {
+      id: packageId,
+      name: "Startup Duplicate Keep",
+      outputDir,
+      extractDir,
+      status: "completed",
+      itemIds: [originalItemId, duplicateItemId],
+      cancelled: false,
+      enabled: true,
+      priority: "normal",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt
+    };
+    session.items[originalItemId] = {
+      id: originalItemId,
+      packageId,
+      url: "https://example.com/episode.part1.rar",
+      provider: "realdebrid",
+      status: "completed",
+      retries: 0,
+      speedBps: 0,
+      downloadedBytes: 256,
+      totalBytes: 256,
+      progressPercent: 100,
+      fileName: "episode.part1.rar",
+      targetPath: canonicalPath,
+      resumable: true,
+      attempts: 1,
+      lastError: "",
+      fullStatus: "Entpackt - Done (1.0s)",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt + 10_000
+    };
+    session.items[duplicateItemId] = {
+      id: duplicateItemId,
+      packageId,
+      url: "https://example.com/episode.part1.rar",
+      provider: "realdebrid",
+      status: "completed",
+      retries: 0,
+      speedBps: 0,
+      downloadedBytes: 256,
+      totalBytes: 256,
+      progressPercent: 100,
+      fileName: "episode.part1.rar",
+      targetPath: duplicatePath,
+      resumable: true,
+      attempts: 1,
+      lastError: "Checksum error",
+      fullStatus: "Entpack-Fehler: Checksum error",
+      createdAt,
+      updatedAt: createdAt + 5_000
+    };
+
+    const manager = new DownloadManager(
+      {
+        ...defaultSettings(),
+        token: "rd-token",
+        outputDir: path.join(root, "downloads"),
+        extractDir: path.join(root, "extract"),
+        autoExtract: false
+      },
+      session,
+      createStoragePaths(path.join(root, "state"))
+    );
+
+    const current = (manager as any).session;
+    expect(current.packages[packageId].itemIds).toEqual([originalItemId]);
+    expect(current.items[duplicateItemId]).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].status).toBe("completed");
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].fullStatus).toBe("Entpackt - Done (1.0s)");
+    expect(current.items[originalItemId].targetPath).toBe(canonicalPath);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(canonicalPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(duplicatePath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   function createCompletedArchiveSession(root: string, packageName: string, extractedFileName: string): {
     session: ReturnType<typeof emptySession>;
     packageId: string;