## Why A new user needed clearer guidance around the first repository choice, and a user whose GitHub App sees no repositories hit a dead end with only a small footer link. An empty Chat gave no hint about `@chopin` or `#`.

## What changed - The Add project palette opens automatically on first run when there are no projects. The underlying empty workspace says "No document open" and offers **Add project** to reopen it. - The palette shows an empty state with a primary **Install the GitHub App for Chopin** button (`/auth/github/install`) when no repositories are installed. - After the first add, a project with no documents stays on the empty workspace with a primary **New document**. - Empty Chat shows a quiet centred hint (icon plus text, visible) teaching `@chopin` and `#`. It fades out with the first entry (opacity, `--duration-fast`, no transition under reduced motion) and is hidden for read-only and archived viewers. Copy adapts when the Planner or references are unavailable. - E2E specs cover the first-run auto-open and the explicit Add project action in later empty states.

Note: the redirect from `/` to the last or first accessible document is intentional landing behaviour (`landingDocument`, unit-tested), so I kept it. Adding a project that already has documents still lands in one; a project with none stays on the empty workspace.

## Screenshots

Before:   After add:  Empty Chat (Planner off in the fake server, so the `@chopin` sentence is omitted):  

## Verification

- Seven commits retain the first-run behavior and #382 focus integration; the last two renew reviewed source hashes after excluding unrelated non-author PRs. - Focused navigation and Chat tests: 43 passed. `bun run fix`, `bun run ci`, `bun run types`, and `bun run build` passed. - The reviewed design hashes are renewed. Fresh GitHub CI must run after the prepared head is published. - Initial JavaScript: 251,414 B raw / 79,339 B gzip, within budget.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

@copilot "Removed the auto-open of the Add project palette. The empty workspace now reads "Start with a repository" with a primary Add project and a ghost "Manage repository access" link." undo this change. Now, with this change the user has to do an extra click. They have to click "Add project" to pick a repo to begin, versus just having the repositories there to pick from. So that's a much worse change. But sure—I like the empty chat having a placeholder saying it's where they can talk with their collaborators. You can keep that piece.

> @copilot "Removed the auto-open of the Add project palette. The empty workspace now reads "Start with a repository" with a primary Add project and a ghost "Manage repository access" link." undo this c...

Restored the automatic repository picker and original empty workspace in f84a6a4, so first-time users can select a repository without an extra click. Kept the empty Chat placeholder. Type checks, CI checks, 529 web unit tests, and 33 targeted browser tests passed.