diff --git a/src/modes/server/pages.rs b/src/modes/server/pages.rs
index ade85af..84ab692 100644
--- a/src/modes/server/pages.rs
+++ b/src/modes/server/pages.rs
@@ -101,21 +101,36 @@ fn build_item_list(conn: &Connection, params: &ListQueryParams, columns: &[Colum
     html.push_str("<h1>Items</h1>");
     html.push_str("<p><a href=\"/swagger\">API Documentation</a></p>");
     
-    // Add recent tags section
+    // Add recent tags section using the items we already have
     html.push_str("<h2>Recent Tags</h2>");
-    let recent_tags_query = "
-        SELECT DISTINCT t.name 
-        FROM tags t 
-        JOIN item_tags it ON t.id = it.tag_id 
-        ORDER BY it.id DESC 
-        LIMIT 20
-    ";
-    let mut stmt = conn.prepare(recent_tags_query)?;
-    let tag_iter = stmt.query_map([], |row| {
-        Ok(row.get::<_, String>(0)?)
-    })?;
     
-    let recent_tags: Vec<String> = tag_iter.collect::<Result<Vec<_>, _>>()?;
+    // Collect all tags from the items, keeping track of their timestamps
+    let mut all_tags_with_time: Vec<(String, chrono::DateTime<chrono::Utc>)> = Vec::new();
+    for item in &sorted_items {
+        if let Some(item_id) = item.id {
+            if let Some(tags) = tags_map.get(&item_id) {
+                for tag in tags {
+                    all_tags_with_time.push((tag.name.clone(), item.ts));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    // Sort by timestamp descending and deduplicate
+    all_tags_with_time.sort_by(|a, b| b.1.cmp(&a.1));
+    
+    // Get unique tags in order of most recent appearance
+    let mut seen = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+    let mut recent_tags = Vec::new();
+    for (tag, _) in all_tags_with_time {
+        if !seen.contains(&tag) {
+            seen.insert(tag.clone());
+            recent_tags.push(tag);
+            if recent_tags.len() >= 20 {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
     
     if recent_tags.is_empty() {
         html.push_str("<p>No tags found</p>");