diff --git a/web/src/app.css b/web/src/app.css
index e3627b7..4756740 100644
--- a/web/src/app.css
+++ b/web/src/app.css
@@ -254,7 +254,12 @@
   flex-direction: column;
   box-sizing: border-box;
   pointer-events: auto;
-  background: var(--card);
+  /* Frosted glass — same recipe as the desktop's "What should Nomos do?"
+     launcher card (bg-card/70 backdrop-blur), so floating windows read as
+     part of the same surface language instead of opaque panels. */
+  background: color-mix(in oklab, var(--card) 70%, transparent);
+  backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
+  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(8px);
   color: var(--card-foreground);
   border: 1px solid var(--border);
   border-radius: var(--radius-lg);
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/ChatThread.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/ChatThread.svelte
index 0ecdb85..142a790 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/ChatThread.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/ChatThread.svelte
@@ -100,13 +100,15 @@
   })
   const inputMinSize = $derived(threadHeight > 0 ? (oneLinePx / threadHeight) * 100 : 12)
 
+  // Keep the input pinned to inputMinSize (one line) until the user actually
+  // drags the splitter — not just on the first measurement. A floating
+  // window's threadHeight is 0/wrong for a frame or two while it animates
+  // open, and locking the percentage to that first reading left the input
+  // several lines tall once the window reached full size (fixed 2026-07-21).
   let inputSize = $state(12)
-  let inputSizeDefaulted = false
+  let userResizedInput = false
   $effect(() => {
-    if (!inputSizeDefaulted && threadHeight > 0) {
-      inputSize = inputMinSize
-      inputSizeDefaulted = true
-    }
+    if (!userResizedInput) inputSize = inputMinSize
   })
 
   function isNearBottom(): boolean {
@@ -172,12 +174,12 @@
 </script>
 
 <div class="flex h-full min-h-0 min-w-0 flex-col" bind:clientHeight={threadHeight}>
-  <Splitpanes horizontal theme="oikos-theme" dblClickSplitter={false} class="min-h-0 flex-1">
+  <Splitpanes horizontal theme="oikos-theme" dblClickSplitter={false} class="min-h-0 flex-1" on:resize={() => (userResizedInput = true)}>
     <Pane class="flex flex-col">
   <div class="min-h-0 flex-1 overflow-y-auto" bind:this={container} onscroll={onScroll}>
-    <div class="mx-auto flex max-w-3xl flex-col gap-5 p-4">
+    <div class="mx-auto flex min-h-full max-w-3xl flex-col gap-5 p-4">
       {#if messages.length === 0}
-        <div class="flex flex-col items-center gap-6 pt-24 text-center">
+        <div class="flex flex-1 flex-col items-center justify-center gap-6 text-center">
           <div>
             <h2 class="text-xl font-semibold">Nomos</h2>
             <p class="mt-1 text-sm text-muted-foreground">Your resident operator. Ask about the fleet, or tell it to act.</p>
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/SessionChatWindow.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/SessionChatWindow.svelte
index 143ccc2..b8bfb6d 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/SessionChatWindow.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/SessionChatWindow.svelte
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
   import { Pane, Splitpanes } from 'svelte-splitpanes'
   import { chatFor, loadSessionChat, sendSessionMessage, cancelSessionStream, stopSessionPolling, dismissError, chatErrors } from '$lib/stores/chat'
   import { activityLogFor } from '$lib/stores/activity'
+  import { workspaceFor, startSessionWorkspace } from '$lib/stores/workspace'
   import ChatThread from '$lib/components/ChatThread.svelte'
   import TaskContextPanel from '$lib/components/TaskContextPanel.svelte'
 
@@ -26,14 +27,46 @@
   const chatNotFound = chat.notFound
   // eslint-disable-next-line svelte/valid-compile
   const sessionActivityLog = activityLogFor(sessionId)
+  // Started here (rather than left to TaskContextPanel's own onMount) so the
+  // workspace is already tracking touched entities/plan/questions before the
+  // context rail ever mounts — it needs that live even while the rail stays
+  // hidden (see hasContext below).
+  // eslint-disable-next-line svelte/valid-compile
+  const workspace = workspaceFor(sessionId)
+  // eslint-disable-next-line svelte/valid-compile
+  const touchedEntities = workspace.touched
+  // eslint-disable-next-line svelte/valid-compile
+  const openQuestion = workspace.openQuestion
   let loading = $state(true)
 
+  // The context rail (Scope/Activity) is only worth its screen space once
+  // there's something in it — a brand-new task otherwise opens to an empty
+  // "entities appear here" placeholder next to an equally empty activity
+  // list. Show it the moment any of the three has real content, and keep it
+  // shown from then on (no flicker back to hidden if e.g. touched entities
+  // later expire).
+  let hasContext = $state(false)
+  $effect(() => {
+    if (!hasContext && ($sessionActivityLog.length > 0 || $touchedEntities.length > 0 || $openQuestion !== null)) {
+      hasContext = true
+    }
+  })
+
+  // startSessionWorkspace's cleanup is registered via onDestroy below rather
+  // than returned from this callback — onMount ignores a returned function
+  // once the callback is async (its return value is a Promise, not the
+  // cleanup itself).
+  const stopWorkspace = startSessionWorkspace(sessionId)
+
   onMount(async () => {
     await loadSessionChat(sessionId)
     loading = false
   })
 
-  onDestroy(() => stopSessionPolling(sessionId))
+  onDestroy(() => {
+    stopSessionPolling(sessionId)
+    stopWorkspace()
+  })
 
   // Resizable right rail — sized smaller by default since task windows open
   // narrower than the full page.
@@ -48,7 +81,7 @@
       <p class="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Task not found.</p>
       <p class="text-xs text-muted-foreground/70">It may have been deleted.</p>
     </div>
-  {:else}
+  {:else if hasContext}
     <Splitpanes theme="oikos-theme" dblClickSplitter={false}>
       <Pane>
         <ChatThread
@@ -68,5 +101,18 @@
         <TaskContextPanel {sessionId} />
       </Pane>
     </Splitpanes>
+  {:else}
+    <ChatThread
+      messages={$chatMessages}
+      streaming={$chatStreaming}
+      connectionState={$chatConnectionState}
+      error={$chatError}
+      chatErrors={$chatErrors}
+      activityLog={sessionActivityLog}
+      onSend={(text) => sendSessionMessage(sessionId, text)}
+      onCancel={() => cancelSessionStream(sessionId)}
+      onReconnect={() => loadSessionChat(sessionId)}
+      onDismissError={dismissError}
+    />
   {/if}
 </div>
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/TaskContextPanel.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/TaskContextPanel.svelte
index 9fc1d27..72faece 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/TaskContextPanel.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/TaskContextPanel.svelte
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <script lang="ts">
   import { onMount } from 'svelte'
   import { Pane, Splitpanes } from 'svelte-splitpanes'
-  import { startWorkspace, startSessionWorkspace, planSteps, currentTask, openQuestion, touched, healthDiffs, workspaceFor, taskFor } from '$lib/stores/workspace'
+  import { startWorkspace, planSteps, currentTask, openQuestion, touched, healthDiffs, workspaceFor, taskFor } from '$lib/stores/workspace'
   import { streaming, messages, currentSession, chatFor } from '$lib/stores/chat'
   import { activityLog, activityLogFor } from '$lib/stores/activity'
   import OperatorQuestion from './OperatorQuestion.svelte'
@@ -16,10 +16,13 @@
   // SessionChatWindow): this panel switches entirely to that session's own
   // store bundle (workspaceFor/chatFor/activityLogFor), so several windows'
   // panels can be open and live at once instead of all showing whatever
-  // happens to be the single global "current session".
+  // happens to be the single global "current session". Per-session workspace
+  // tracking (startSessionWorkspace) is started by SessionChatWindow itself,
+  // not here — it has to run even while this panel stays unmounted (see its
+  // hasContext gate), so only the global fallback path starts its own here.
   let { sessionId = null }: { sessionId?: string | null } = $props()
 
-  onMount(() => (sessionId ? startSessionWorkspace(sessionId) : startWorkspace()))
+  onMount(() => (sessionId ? undefined : startWorkspace()))
 
   const ws = $derived(sessionId ? workspaceFor(sessionId) : null)
   const planStepsStore = $derived(ws ? ws.planSteps : planSteps)
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/NewTaskChat.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/NewTaskChat.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e78a7ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/NewTaskChat.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+  // Content for the "new-task" window slot (windows.ts openNewTaskWindow) —
+  // a real ChatThread in its empty state rather than a separate compose
+  // screen, so starting a task looks and feels exactly like the task chat
+  // it becomes. Submitting the first message starts the task via
+  // startTask() and hands off to the real session window (see windows.ts's
+  // openTaskWindow) the moment the backend assigns an id.
+  import { startTask } from '$lib/stores/chat'
+  import { openTaskWindow, wm, NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID } from '$lib/stores/windows'
+  import { truncateMiddle } from '$lib/utils'
+  import ChatThread from '$lib/components/ChatThread.svelte'
+
+  function onSend(text: string) {
+    startTask(text, (sessionId) => {
+      openTaskWindow(sessionId, truncateMiddle(text, 60))
+      wm.close(NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID)
+    })
+  }
+</script>
+
+<ChatThread
+  messages={[]}
+  streaming={false}
+  connectionState="connected"
+  onSend={onSend}
+  onCancel={() => {}}
+  onReconnect={() => {}}
+  onDismissError={() => {}}
+/>
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/WindowLayer.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/WindowLayer.svelte
index cb611ce..650508b 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/WindowLayer.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/desktop-shell/WindowLayer.svelte
@@ -7,13 +7,13 @@
   // wmPersist in windows.ts) need no extra bookkeeping to know what to render:
   //   app:<id>      -> registry component (windows.ts openAppWindow)
   //   session:<id>  -> SessionChatWindow (windows.ts openTaskWindow)
-  //   new-task      -> TaskLauncher (windows.ts openNewTaskWindow)
+  //   new-task      -> NewTaskChat (windows.ts openNewTaskWindow)
   //   anything else -> entity slug -> EntityDetailContent
   import { wm, dk, wmState, openEntityWindow, NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID } from '$lib/stores/windows'
   import { appById, appIdFromWindowId } from '$lib/apps'
   import EntityDetailContent from '../EntityDetailContent.svelte'
   import SessionChatWindow from '../SessionChatWindow.svelte'
-  import TaskLauncher from './TaskLauncher.svelte'
+  import NewTaskChat from './NewTaskChat.svelte'
   import XIcon from '@lucide/svelte/icons/x'
   import MinusIcon from '@lucide/svelte/icons/minus'
   import Maximize2Icon from '@lucide/svelte/icons/maximize-2'
@@ -73,9 +73,7 @@
             {#if id.startsWith(SESSION_PREFIX)}
               <SessionChatWindow sessionId={id.slice(SESSION_PREFIX.length)} />
             {:else if id === NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID}
-              <div class="flex h-full items-center justify-center p-6">
-                <TaskLauncher onStarted={() => wm.close(NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID)} />
-              </div>
+              <NewTaskChat />
             {:else if app}
               <app.component />
             {:else}
diff --git a/web/src/lib/stores/windows.ts b/web/src/lib/stores/windows.ts
index 6c28c24..149eafa 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/stores/windows.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/stores/windows.ts
@@ -94,9 +94,10 @@ export function openEntityWindow(slug: string | null): void {
 
 // Singleton "compose a new task" window — the Tasks app's New Task button
 // opens this rather than a dialog, since everything else in the desktop is
-// already a window; TaskLauncher closes it itself (via its onStarted
-// callback, wired up in WindowLayer.svelte) once the task's session window
-// takes over.
+// already a window. It renders as an empty chat (NewTaskChat, in
+// WindowLayer.svelte) sized like a real task window rather than a separate
+// compose screen, and closes itself once the task's session window takes
+// over.
 export const NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID = 'new-task'
 
 export function openNewTaskWindow(): void {
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ export function openNewTaskWindow(): void {
     wm.focus(NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID)
     return
   }
-  wm.open({ id: NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID, title: 'New task', width: 480, height: 340, minWidth: 360, minHeight: 280 })
+  wm.open({ id: NEW_TASK_WINDOW_ID, title: 'New task', width: 900, height: 640, minWidth: 600, minHeight: 400 })
 }
 
 // Same dedupe/restore/focus pattern as openEntityWindow, for a task/session's