diff --git a/clawmetry/sync.py b/clawmetry/sync.py
index 7fe5470..dd08cc3 100644
--- a/clawmetry/sync.py
+++ b/clawmetry/sync.py
@@ -950,12 +950,16 @@ def sync_sessions_recent(
 
     # Build subagent map (same logic as sync_sessions)
     # Cache sessions.json for 60 seconds to avoid re-parsing every call
+    global _sessions_json_cache
     file_to_subagent_id: dict[str, str] = {}
     index_path = os.path.join(sessions_dir, "sessions.json")
     if os.path.isfile(index_path):
         try:
             current_mtime = os.path.getmtime(index_path)
-            if _sessions_json_cache["data"] is not None and _sessions_json_cache["mtime"] == current_mtime:
+            if (
+                _sessions_json_cache["data"] is not None
+                and _sessions_json_cache["mtime"] == current_mtime
+            ):
                 file_to_subagent_id = _sessions_json_cache["data"]
             else:
                 with open(index_path) as _fi:
@@ -964,8 +968,14 @@ def sync_sessions_recent(
                     if ":subagent:" in _k and isinstance(_meta, dict):
                         _sf = _meta.get("sessionFile", "")
                         if _sf:
-                            file_to_subagent_id[os.path.basename(_sf)] = _k.split(":")[-1]
-                _sessions_json_cache = {"ts": time.time(), "data": file_to_subagent_id.copy(), "mtime": current_mtime}
+                            file_to_subagent_id[os.path.basename(_sf)] = _k.split(":")[
+                                -1
+                            ]
+                _sessions_json_cache = {
+                    "ts": time.time(),
+                    "data": file_to_subagent_id.copy(),
+                    "mtime": current_mtime,
+                }
         except Exception:
             pass
 
@@ -2976,8 +2986,6 @@ def _build_gateway_data(paths: dict = None) -> dict:
             time.sleep(15)
 
 
-
-
 def run_daemon() -> None:
     """Run the sync daemon - main loop for continuous synchronization."""
     config = load_config()
diff --git a/tests/test_sync_sessions_recent.py b/tests/test_sync_sessions_recent.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fb7da3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_sync_sessions_recent.py
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+"""
+Tests for sync_sessions_recent function - GH #007
+
+Validates:
+- sync_sessions_recent properly declares _sessions_json_cache as global
+- Cache works correctly across multiple calls
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import ast
+import json
+import os
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+
+
+os.environ["CLAWMETRY_NO_INTERCEPT"] = "1"
+
+
+class TestSyncSessionsRecentCache(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_sync_sessions_recent_has_global_declaration(self):
+        """sync_sessions_recent should declare _sessions_json_cache as global."""
+        from clawmetry import sync
+
+        source = open(sync.__file__).read()
+        tree = ast.parse(source)
+
+        func_name = "sync_sessions_recent"
+        has_global = False
+        for node in ast.walk(tree):
+            if isinstance(node, ast.FunctionDef) and node.name == func_name:
+                for stmt in ast.walk(node):
+                    if isinstance(stmt, ast.Global):
+                        if "_sessions_json_cache" in stmt.names:
+                            has_global = True
+                break
+
+        self.assertTrue(
+            has_global,
+            "sync_sessions_recent is missing 'global _sessions_json_cache' declaration",
+        )
+
+    def test_sync_sessions_recent_cache_functional(self):
+        """sync_sessions_recent should work with sessions.json cache."""
+        from clawmetry.sync import sync_sessions_recent
+
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            sessions_dir = os.path.join(tmpdir, "sessions")
+            os.makedirs(sessions_dir)
+
+            sessions_json = os.path.join(sessions_dir, "sessions.json")
+            with open(sessions_json, "w") as f:
+                json.dump({}, f)
+
+            config = {
+                "api_key": "test-key",
+                "node_id": "test-node",
+            }
+            state = {}
+            paths = {
+                "sessions_dir": sessions_dir,
+            }
+
+            result = sync_sessions_recent(config, state, paths, minutes=60)
+            self.assertIsInstance(result, int)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()