diff --git a/knotclient/events.go b/knotclient/events.go
--- a/knotclient/events.go
+++ b/knotclient/events.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ "fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"math/rand"
 	"net/url"
+	"strconv"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
@@ -62,8 +63,8 @@ mu sync.RWMutex
 }
 
 type CursorStore interface {
-	Set(knot, cursor string)
-	Get(knot string) (cursor string)
+	Set(knot string, cursor int64)
+	Get(knot string) (cursor int64)
 }
 
 type RedisCursorStore struct {
@@ -80,40 +81,45 @@ const (
 	cursorKey = "cursor:%s"
 )
 
-func (r *RedisCursorStore) Set(knot, cursor string) {
+func (r *RedisCursorStore) Set(knot string, cursor int64) {
 	key := fmt.Sprintf(cursorKey, knot)
 	r.rdb.Set(context.Background(), key, cursor, 0)
 }
 
-func (r *RedisCursorStore) Get(knot string) (cursor string) {
+func (r *RedisCursorStore) Get(knot string) (cursor int64) {
 	key := fmt.Sprintf(cursorKey, knot)
 	val, err := r.rdb.Get(context.Background(), key).Result()
 	if err != nil {
-		return ""
+		return 0
 	}
 
-	return val
+	cursor, err = strconv.ParseInt(val, 10, 64)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0 // optionally log parsing error
+	}
+
+	return cursor
 }
 
 type MemoryCursorStore struct {
 	store sync.Map
 }
 
-func (m *MemoryCursorStore) Set(knot, cursor string) {
+func (m *MemoryCursorStore) Set(knot string, cursor int64) {
 	m.store.Store(knot, cursor)
 }
 
-func (m *MemoryCursorStore) Get(knot string) (cursor string) {
+func (m *MemoryCursorStore) Get(knot string) (cursor int64) {
 	if result, ok := m.store.Load(knot); ok {
-		if val, ok := result.(string); ok {
+		if val, ok := result.(int64); ok {
 			return val
 		}
 	}
 
-	return ""
+	return 0
 }
 
-func (e *EventConsumer) buildUrl(s EventSource, cursor string) (*url.URL, error) {
+func (e *EventConsumer) buildUrl(s EventSource, cursor int64) (*url.URL, error) {
 	scheme := "wss"
 	if e.cfg.Dev {
 		scheme = "ws"
@@ -124,9 +130,9 @@ if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if cursor != "" {
+	if cursor != 0 {
 		query := url.Values{}
-		query.Add("cursor", cursor)
+		query.Add("cursor", fmt.Sprintf("%d", cursor))
 		u.RawQuery = query.Encode()
 	}
 	return u, nil
@@ -222,7 +228,7 @@ return
 			}
 
 			// update cursor
-			c.cfg.CursorStore.Set(j.source.Knot, msg.Rkey)
+			c.cfg.CursorStore.Set(j.source.Knot, time.Now().Unix())
 
 			if err := c.cfg.ProcessFunc(j.source, msg); err != nil {
 				c.logger.Error("error processing message", "source", j.source, "err", err)
diff --git a/knotserver/db/events.go b/knotserver/db/events.go
--- a/knotserver/db/events.go
+++ b/knotserver/db/events.go
@@ -10,9 +10,11 @@ type Event struct {
 	Rkey      string `json:"rkey"`
 	Nsid      string `json:"nsid"`
 	EventJson string `json:"event"`
+	Created   int64  `json:"created"`
 }
 
 func (d *DB) InsertEvent(event Event, notifier *notifier.Notifier) error {
+
 	_, err := d.db.Exec(
 		`insert into events (rkey, nsid, event) values (?, ?, ?)`,
 		event.Rkey,
@@ -25,19 +27,19 @@
 	return err
 }
 
-func (d *DB) GetEvents(cursor string) ([]Event, error) {
+func (d *DB) GetEvents(cursor int64) ([]Event, error) {
 	whereClause := ""
 	args := []any{}
-	if cursor != "" {
-		whereClause = "where rkey > ?"
+	if cursor > 0 {
+		whereClause = "where created > ?"
 		args = append(args, cursor)
 	}
 
 	query := fmt.Sprintf(`
-		select rkey, nsid, event
+		select rkey, nsid, event, created
 		from events
 		%s
-		order by rkey asc
+		order by created asc
 		limit 100
 	`, whereClause)
 
@@ -50,7 +52,9 @@
 	var evts []Event
 	for rows.Next() {
 		var ev Event
-		rows.Scan(&ev.Rkey, &ev.Nsid, &ev.EventJson)
+		if err := rows.Scan(&ev.Rkey, &ev.Nsid, &ev.EventJson, &ev.Created); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
 		evts = append(evts, ev)
 	}
 
diff --git a/knotserver/db/init.go b/knotserver/db/init.go
--- a/knotserver/db/init.go
+++ b/knotserver/db/init.go
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ create table if not exists events (
 			rkey text not null,
 			nsid text not null,
 			event text not null, -- json
+			created integer not null default (strftime('%s', 'now')),
 			primary key (rkey, nsid)
 		);
 	`)
diff --git a/knotserver/events.go b/knotserver/events.go
--- a/knotserver/events.go
+++ b/knotserver/events.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"net/http"
+	"strconv"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gorilla/websocket"
@@ -42,7 +43,11 @@ }
 		}
 	}()
 
-	cursor := r.URL.Query().Get("cursor")
+	cursorStr := r.URL.Query().Get("cursor")
+	cursor, err := strconv.ParseInt(cursorStr, 10, 64)
+	if err != nil {
+		l.Error("empty or invalid cursor, defaulting to zero", "invalidCursor", cursorStr)
+	}
 
 	// complete backfill first before going to live data
 	l.Debug("going through backfill", "cursor", cursor)
@@ -74,7 +79,7 @@ }
 	}
 }
 
-func (h *Handle) streamOps(conn *websocket.Conn, cursor *string) error {
+func (h *Handle) streamOps(conn *websocket.Conn, cursor *int64) error {
 	events, err := h.db.GetEvents(*cursor)
 	if err != nil {
 		h.l.Error("failed to fetch events from db", "err", err, "cursor", cursor)
@@ -105,7 +110,7 @@ if err := conn.WriteMessage(websocket.TextMessage, jsonMsg); err != nil {
 			h.l.Debug("err", "err", err)
 			return err
 		}
-		*cursor = event.Rkey
+		*cursor = event.Created
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/nix/vm.nix b/nix/vm.nix
--- a/nix/vm.nix
+++ b/nix/vm.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ u = config.services.tangled-knot.gitUser;
         g = config.services.tangled-knot.gitUser;
       in [
         "d /var/lib/knot 0770 ${u} ${g} - -" # Create the directory first
-        "f+ /var/lib/knot/secret 0660 ${u} ${g} - KNOT_SERVER_SECRET=40b4db20544e37a12ba3ed7353d4d4421a30e0593385068d2ef85263495794d8"
+        "f+ /var/lib/knot/secret 0660 ${u} ${g} - KNOT_SERVER_SECRET=16154910ef55fe48121082c0b51fc0e360a8b15eb7bda7991d88dc9f7684427a"
       ];
       services.tangled-knot = {
         enable = true;