diff --git a/crates/giskard-server/static/app.js b/crates/giskard-server/static/app.js
index 0b31d15..0862f7f 100644
--- a/crates/giskard-server/static/app.js
+++ b/crates/giskard-server/static/app.js
@@ -1899,9 +1899,14 @@ $("pmCreate").onclick = async () => {
     ? { provider: opt.dataset.provider, model: opt.dataset.model, reasoning_effort:null }
     : { provider:"openai", model:"gpt-5.5", reasoning_effort:null };
   try {
-    await api("POST","/api/projects",{ name, dir, default_model:model });
+    const { id } = await api("POST","/api/projects",{ name, dir, default_model:model });
     closeProjectModal();
     await loadProjects();
+    // Land on the new project's draft view rather than leaving the previously
+    // selected thread on screen. `newThread` opens the draft synchronously and
+    // resolves the project's default model in the background (LT6–LT9), the same
+    // path the per-project "+" button uses.
+    newThread(id);
   } catch (e) { $("pmErr").textContent = "Create project failed: "+apiFailureMessage(e); }
 };
 
diff --git a/tests/e2e/tests/new-project.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/tests/new-project.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e0790c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/tests/new-project.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+import { test, expect, type Page } from "@playwright/test";
+import { SCRIPTED_REPLY, login } from "./helpers";
+
+// Creating a project from the new-project modal (the sidebar "+" under "Projects") must land on
+// that project's draft view, not leave the previously selected thread on screen. This drives the
+// real modal — folder picker, name field, Create button — rather than creating the project
+// server-side, so it guards the `newThread(id)` call in `$("pmCreate").onclick`.
+//
+// The replay server seeds one "Demo" project and configures no `browse.roots`, so the picker can
+// reach the whole filesystem and `/tmp` is a valid project directory (the server-side create
+// helpers in other specs use `dir: "/tmp"` for the same reason).
+test.describe("new-project modal", () => {
+  test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
+    await login(page);
+  });
+
+  // Remove a project created during a test so it does not leak into the shared server state for
+  // the rest of the serial suite. Best-effort: the project is gone from the assertions' perspective
+  // once the draft landed, so a failed cleanup should not fail the test.
+  async function cleanupProject(page: Page, id: string): Promise<void> {
+    // Swallow failures: this runs in a `finally`, so an unhandled rejection here would mask the
+    // real assertion error. A delete against a valid id does not normally fail, but the test's
+    // own result is what matters.
+    try {
+      await page.evaluate(async (projectId) => {
+        await fetch(`/api/projects/${projectId}`, { method: "DELETE" });
+      }, id);
+    } catch {
+      // Best-effort cleanup; nothing to act on here.
+    }
+  }
+
+  test("creating a project opens its draft view", async ({ page }) => {
+    const projectCountBefore = await page.locator(".proj").count();
+
+    // Open the new-project modal from the sidebar header.
+    await page.locator("#newProj").click();
+    await expect(page.locator("#projectModal")).toHaveClass(/open/);
+
+    // The replay server has exactly one configured model ("Replay Model"), so the modal's default
+    // model dropdown has one selectable option. Wait for it so the Create button submits a real
+    // model rather than the "(no models configured)" placeholder.
+    const modelSelect = page.locator("#pmModel");
+    await expect(modelSelect).toContainText("Replay Model");
+
+    // Browse the picker to /tmp. The modal reopens where the browser last browsed (persisted in
+    // localStorage), so the start is not fixed; `browseTo` walks up to "/" then down into the
+    // target, which works from any starting directory.
+    await browseTo(page, "/tmp");
+    await expect(page.locator("#pmPath")).toHaveText("/tmp");
+
+    // Give the project a unique name so we can locate its row after the sidebar reloads.
+    const projectName = `Modal project ${Date.now()}`;
+    await page.locator("#pmName").fill(projectName);
+
+    // The POST creates the project and returns its id; `newThread(id)` then opens the draft.
+    const created = page.waitForResponse(
+      (r) => r.request().method() === "POST" && new URL(r.url()).pathname === "/api/projects",
+    );
+    await page.locator("#pmCreate").click();
+    const createdJson = (await (await created).json()) as { id: string };
+    const projectId = createdJson.id;
+
+    try {
+      // The modal closes and the sidebar reloads with the new project.
+      await expect(page.locator("#projectModal")).not.toHaveClass(/open/);
+      await expect(page.locator(".proj")).toHaveCount(projectCountBefore + 1);
+
+      // The new project's row is present and is the active selection (a draft in that project is
+      // open, so the project name is highlighted, not any thread row).
+      const projectRow = page.locator(".proj", { hasText: projectName });
+      await expect(projectRow).toBeVisible();
+      const projectNameBtn = projectRow.locator(".project-name");
+      await expect(projectNameBtn).toHaveClass(/\bactive\b/);
+      await expect(projectNameBtn).toHaveAttribute("aria-current", "true");
+      await expect(page.locator(".thread.active")).toHaveCount(0);
+
+      // The view is the new project's draft: the transcript shows the draft explainer and the
+      // composer is visible, focused, and ready. The title bar names the new project.
+      await expect(page.locator("#composer")).toBeVisible();
+      await expect(page.locator("#input")).toBeVisible();
+      await expect(page.locator("#input")).toBeFocused();
+      await expect(page.locator("#transcript .draft-empty")).toBeVisible();
+      await expect(page.locator("#transcript")).toContainText("Start a new thread");
+      await expect(page.locator("#mbTitle")).toContainText(projectName);
+
+      // The draft's default model resolves from the new project's record, so the picker shows the
+      // configured model and Send becomes available — the same end state as the per-project "+".
+      await expect(page.locator("#modelPickerBtn")).toContainText("Replay Model");
+      await expect(page.locator("#sendBtn")).toBeEnabled();
+
+      // A message can actually be sent from this draft, proving the composer is live and the
+      // project is usable, not just drawn.
+      const message = "First message in the modal-created project";
+      await page.locator("#input").fill(message);
+      await page.locator("#sendBtn").click();
+      await expect(
+        page.locator("#transcript .msg.user", { hasText: message }),
+      ).toBeVisible();
+      await expect(
+        page.locator("#transcript .msg.agent", { hasText: SCRIPTED_REPLY }),
+      ).toBeVisible();
+      // Sending created a real thread, so a thread row now exists and takes the active highlight.
+      await expect(page.locator(".thread.active")).toHaveCount(1);
+      await expect(projectNameBtn).not.toHaveClass(/\bactive\b/);
+    } finally {
+      await cleanupProject(page, projectId);
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+/**
+ * Navigate the new-project folder picker to an absolute path by walking up to "/" then down into
+ * the target. The picker remembers the last browsed dir in localStorage and reopens there, so the
+ * starting point is not fixed; walking via ".." to the root and then into the target works from any
+ * start. Directories are selected by clicking their ".direntry" row.
+ */
+async function browseTo(page: Page, target: string): Promise<void> {
+  // Walk up to the filesystem root. Each ".." row carries data-nav="up". The modal reopens where
+  // the browser last browsed (persisted in localStorage), but each Playwright test gets a fresh
+  // browser context with empty localStorage, so the start is "/" anyway; the walk-up handles any
+  // in-test navigation that left the picker elsewhere and makes the descent deterministic.
+  while (await page.locator("#pmList .direntry[data-nav='up']").count()) {
+    await page.locator("#pmList .direntry[data-nav='up']").click();
+  }
+  await expect(page.locator("#pmPath")).toHaveText("/");
+
+  // Descend into each component of the target path.
+  const parts = target.split("/").filter(Boolean);
+  for (const part of parts) {
+    await page
+      .locator("#pmList .direntry", { hasText: part })
+      .first()
+      .click();
+  }
+  await expect(page.locator("#pmPath")).toHaveText(target);
+}