diff --git a/src/lib/pinnedItems.ts b/src/lib/pinnedItems.ts
index 62f7ab2ae6..f5d687e682 100644
--- a/src/lib/pinnedItems.ts
+++ b/src/lib/pinnedItems.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import type { TreeNode } from "@/types/database";
+
 export function orderPinnedFirst<T>(items: T[], isPinned: (item: T) => boolean): T[] {
   const pinned: T[] = [];
   const unpinned: T[] = [];
@@ -9,3 +11,14 @@ export function orderPinnedFirst<T>(items: T[], isPinned: (item: T) => boolean):
 
   return [...pinned, ...unpinned];
 }
+
+export function applyPinnedTreeNodeState(nodes: TreeNode[], pinnedIds: Set<string>): TreeNode[] {
+  return orderPinnedFirst(
+    nodes.map((node) => ({
+      ...node,
+      pinned: pinnedIds.has(node.id),
+      children: node.children ? applyPinnedTreeNodeState(node.children, pinnedIds) : node.children,
+    })),
+    (node) => !!node.pinned,
+  );
+}
diff --git a/src/stores/connectionStore.ts b/src/stores/connectionStore.ts
index fdbdf4d1ea..96337a8533 100644
--- a/src/stores/connectionStore.ts
+++ b/src/stores/connectionStore.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { defineStore } from "pinia";
 import { uuid } from "@/lib/utils";
 import { ref, computed, watch } from "vue";
 import type { ColumnInfo, ConnectionConfig, SidebarLayout, TreeNode } from "@/types/database";
-import { orderPinnedFirst } from "@/lib/pinnedItems";
+import { applyPinnedTreeNodeState, orderPinnedFirst } from "@/lib/pinnedItems";
 import {
   reconcileLayout,
   buildTreeNodesFromLayout,
@@ -232,13 +232,8 @@ export const useConnectionStore = defineStore("connection", () => {
     return pinnedTreeNodeIds.value.has(id);
   }
 
-  function pinTreeNode(node: TreeNode): TreeNode {
-    node.pinned = isTreeNodePinned(node.id);
-    return node;
-  }
-
   function setChildren(parent: TreeNode, children: TreeNode[]) {
-    parent.children = orderPinnedFirst(children.map(pinTreeNode), (node) => !!node.pinned);
+    parent.children = applyPinnedTreeNodeState(children, pinnedTreeNodeIds.value);
     loadedTreeNodeChildrenIds.value.add(parent.id);
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/pinnedItems.test.ts b/tests/pinnedItems.test.ts
index 68f834f577..1ab334883c 100644
--- a/tests/pinnedItems.test.ts
+++ b/tests/pinnedItems.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { strict as assert } from "node:assert";
 import test from "node:test";
-import { orderPinnedFirst } from "../src/lib/pinnedItems.ts";
+import { applyPinnedTreeNodeState, orderPinnedFirst } from "../src/lib/pinnedItems.ts";
+import type { TreeNode } from "../src/types/database.ts";
 
 test("orders pinned items before unpinned items without changing relative order", () => {
   const items = [
@@ -16,3 +17,24 @@ test("orders pinned items before unpinned items without changing relative order"
   assert.deepEqual(ordered.map((item) => item.id), ["b", "d", "a", "c", "e"]);
   assert.deepEqual(items.map((item) => item.id), ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]);
 });
+
+test("applies pinned state recursively to grouped tree nodes", () => {
+  const nodes: TreeNode[] = [
+    {
+      id: "conn:db:__tables",
+      label: "tree.tables",
+      type: "group-tables",
+      children: [
+        { id: "conn:db:orders", label: "orders", type: "table" },
+        { id: "conn:db:users", label: "users", type: "table" },
+      ],
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const result = applyPinnedTreeNodeState(nodes, new Set(["conn:db:users"]));
+
+  assert.equal(result[0].children?.[0].id, "conn:db:users");
+  assert.equal(result[0].children?.[0].pinned, true);
+  assert.equal(result[0].children?.[1].id, "conn:db:orders");
+  assert.equal(result[0].children?.[1].pinned, false);
+});