diff --git a/commands/history/export.go b/commands/history/export.go
index 35114450d..4869056c5 100644
--- a/commands/history/export.go
+++ b/commands/history/export.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"io"
 	"os"
-	"slices"
 
 	"github.com/containerd/console"
 	"github.com/containerd/platforms"
@@ -53,37 +52,52 @@ func runExport(ctx context.Context, dockerCli command.Cli, opts exportOptions) e
 			return errors.Errorf("no record found for ref %q", ref)
 		}
 
-		if opts.finalize {
-			var finalized bool
+		toExport := recs
+		if !opts.all && ref == "" {
+			latestRef := recs[0].Ref
+			recCount := 0
 			for _, rec := range recs {
-				if rec.Trace == nil {
-					finalized = true
-					if err := finalizeRecord(ctx, rec.Ref, nodes); err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
+				if rec.Ref != latestRef {
+					break
+				}
+				recCount++
+			}
+			toExport = recs[:recCount]
+		}
+		if opts.finalize {
+			seen := make(map[string]struct{}, len(toExport))
+			var finalized bool
+			for _, rec := range toExport {
+				if rec.node == nil || rec.Trace != nil {
+					continue
+				}
+				key := rec.node.Builder + "\x00" + rec.node.Name + "\x00" + rec.Ref
+				if _, ok := seen[key]; ok {
+					continue
+				}
+				seen[key] = struct{}{}
+				finalized = true
+				if err := finalizeRecord(ctx, rec.Ref, *rec.node); err != nil {
+					return err
 				}
 			}
 			if finalized {
-				recs, err = queryRecords(ctx, ref, nodes, &queryOptions{
+				queryRef := ref
+				if !opts.all {
+					queryRef = toExport[0].Ref
+				}
+				recs, err = queryRecords(ctx, queryRef, nodes, &queryOptions{
 					CompletedOnly: true,
 				})
 				if err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
+				toExport = recs
 			}
 		}
-
-		if ref == "" {
-			slices.SortFunc(recs, func(a, b historyRecord) int {
-				return b.CreatedAt.AsTime().Compare(a.CreatedAt.AsTime())
-			})
-		}
-
+		res = append(res, toExport...)
 		if opts.all {
-			res = append(res, recs...)
 			break
-		} else {
-			res = append(res, recs[0])
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/commands/history/trace.go b/commands/history/trace.go
index 1b2145dd8..dd806b649 100644
--- a/commands/history/trace.go
+++ b/commands/history/trace.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func loadTrace(ctx context.Context, ref string, nodes []builder.Node) (string, [
 		// build is complete but no trace yet. try to finalize the trace
 		time.Sleep(1 * time.Second) // give some extra time for last parts of trace to be written
 
-		err := finalizeRecord(ctx, rec.Ref, []builder.Node{*rec.node})
+		err := finalizeRecord(ctx, rec.Ref, *rec.node)
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", nil, err
 		}
diff --git a/commands/history/utils.go b/commands/history/utils.go
index beab15a22..f79260254 100644
--- a/commands/history/utils.go
+++ b/commands/history/utils.go
@@ -257,25 +257,19 @@ func queryRecords(ctx context.Context, ref string, nodes []builder.Node, opts *q
 	return out, nil
 }
 
-func finalizeRecord(ctx context.Context, ref string, nodes []builder.Node) error {
-	eg, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
-	for _, node := range nodes {
-		eg.Go(func() error {
-			if node.Driver == nil {
-				return nil
-			}
-			c, err := node.Driver.Client(ctx)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			_, err = c.ControlClient().UpdateBuildHistory(ctx, &controlapi.UpdateBuildHistoryRequest{
-				Ref:      ref,
-				Finalize: true,
-			})
-			return err
-		})
+func finalizeRecord(ctx context.Context, ref string, node builder.Node) error {
+	if node.Driver == nil {
+		return nil
 	}
-	return eg.Wait()
+	c, err := node.Driver.Client(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, err = c.ControlClient().UpdateBuildHistory(ctx, &controlapi.UpdateBuildHistoryRequest{
+		Ref:      ref,
+		Finalize: true,
+	})
+	return err
 }
 
 func formatDuration(d time.Duration) string {