diff --git a/apps/web/src/bench/pending-opening-message.tsx b/apps/web/src/bench/pending-opening-message.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2850368b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/bench/pending-opening-message.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+// The first message of a new workbench, shown as a pending own bubble until
+// the agent is live and the send lands. Past the cap it stays here with a
+// retry; it is only cleared once the send succeeds.
+
+import { Button } from "@corbits/react-ui";
+import { useMutation, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+
+import { sendToWorkbench, type WorkbenchParticipant } from "@/chat/threads-api";
+import { workbenchKeys } from "../chat-path";
+import { clearOpeningMessage, readOpeningMessage } from "../opening-message";
+
+const CAP_MS = 60_000;
+
+export function PendingOpeningMessage({
+  workbenchTenantId,
+  participants,
+}: {
+  readonly workbenchTenantId: string;
+  readonly participants: readonly WorkbenchParticipant[];
+}) {
+  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
+  const [text, setText] = useState(() => readOpeningMessage(workbenchTenantId));
+  const [timedOut, setTimedOut] = useState(false);
+  const attempted = useRef(false);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => setTimedOut(true), CAP_MS);
+    return () => clearTimeout(timer);
+  }, []);
+
+  const send = useMutation({
+    mutationFn: (content: string) => sendToWorkbench({ workbenchTenantId, participants, content }),
+    onSuccess: () => {
+      clearOpeningMessage(workbenchTenantId);
+      setText(null);
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: workbenchKeys.scope(workbenchTenantId) });
+    },
+  });
+
+  if (text === null) return null;
+
+  const live = participants.some((p) => p.kind === "agent" && p.address.includes("@"));
+  if (live && !attempted.current && !send.isPending) {
+    attempted.current = true;
+    send.mutate(text);
+  }
+  const failed = send.isError || (timedOut && !live);
+
+  return (
+    <div className="chat-thread-message" data-author="me" data-pending="true">
+      <div className="chat-thread-body">
+        <div className="chat-thread-own-bubble">{text}</div>
+        {failed ? (
+          <p className="chat-thread-error">
+            This message hasn&apos;t been sent yet.{" "}
+            <Button
+              type="button"
+              variant="ghost"
+              size="sm"
+              onClick={() => {
+                if (live) send.mutate(text);
+                else
+                  void queryClient.invalidateQueries({
+                    queryKey: workbenchKeys.participants(workbenchTenantId),
+                  });
+                setTimedOut(false);
+              }}
+            >
+              Retry
+            </Button>
+          </p>
+        ) : (
+          <p className="chat-thread-status">Sending once the agent is ready…</p>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/opening-message.ts b/apps/web/src/opening-message.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ccccba353
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/opening-message.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+// A new workbench's first message outlives the /new page: it is parked here
+// until the workbench's agent is live and the send lands, so it is never lost.
+
+import { reportError } from "@corbits/error-sink";
+
+const key = (tenantId: string): string => `workbench-opening-message:${tenantId}`;
+
+export function parkOpeningMessage(tenantId: string, text: string): void {
+  try {
+    sessionStorage.setItem(key(tenantId), text);
+  } catch (cause) {
+    reportError(cause, { operation: "opening_message_park", tenantId });
+  }
+}
+
+export function readOpeningMessage(tenantId: string): string | null {
+  try {
+    return sessionStorage.getItem(key(tenantId));
+  } catch (cause) {
+    reportError(cause, { operation: "opening_message_read", tenantId });
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+export function clearOpeningMessage(tenantId: string): void {
+  try {
+    sessionStorage.removeItem(key(tenantId));
+  } catch (cause) {
+    reportError(cause, { operation: "opening_message_clear", tenantId });
+  }
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
index 5a70f3e4f..cb12b07a4 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
@@ -26,11 +26,9 @@ const GENERIC_CREATE_FAILURE = "Something went wrong creating this workbench. Tr
 export function describeWorkbenchCreateFailure(cause: unknown, refId?: string): string {
   if (!(cause instanceof WorkbenchCreateError)) return GENERIC_CREATE_FAILURE;
   const message =
-    cause.stage === "opening-message"
-      ? "Workbench created, but we couldn't send the opening message. Try again from the workbench."
-      : cause.stage === "deploy"
-        ? "Workbench created, but its agent couldn't be deployed into it. Try again from the workbench."
-        : GENERIC_CREATE_FAILURE;
+    cause.stage === "deploy"
+      ? "Workbench created, but its agent couldn't be deployed into it. Try again from the workbench."
+      : GENERIC_CREATE_FAILURE;
   return refId === undefined ? message : `${message} Reference: ${refId}`;
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
index 6b47b8736..ee7a71c13 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/workbench-page.tsx
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import {
 import { VoiceOverlay } from "../voice/voice-overlay";
 import { BenchDrawer } from "../bench/bench-drawer";
 import { BenchPill } from "../bench/bench-pill";
+import { PendingOpeningMessage } from "../bench/pending-opening-message";
 import { ArtifactsTab } from "../bench/artifacts-tab";
 import { useWorkerStatus } from "../worker-status";
 import { GrantsTab } from "../bench/grants-tab";
@@ -283,6 +284,10 @@ function Workbench({ workbenchTenantId }: { readonly workbenchTenantId: string }
                       onReply={(target) => setOpenThread(target.messageId)}
                     />
                   ))}
+                  <PendingOpeningMessage
+                    workbenchTenantId={workbenchTenantId}
+                    participants={participants.data ?? []}
+                  />
                 </div>
                 {send.error === null ? null : (
                   <p className="chat-thread-error">{errorText(send.error)}</p>
diff --git a/apps/web/src/workbench-create.ts b/apps/web/src/workbench-create.ts
index e5ef35c0f..9c2c49875 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/workbench-create.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/workbench-create.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
 // An agent joins a workbench by being deployed into the child tenant
 // itself — its deploy route rejects the parent's inherited asset.
 
-import { isMyraAgent, listWorkbenchParticipants, sendToWorkbench } from "@/chat/threads-api";
+import { isMyraAgent } from "@/chat/threads-api";
 import { agentSlugFromSourceAssetName, deployAgentSource } from "./agent-deploy";
 import { readAgentSource } from "./agent-source-read";
 import { deployMyraSource } from "./myra-deploy";
+import { parkOpeningMessage } from "./opening-message";
 import { createFetchStockHub } from "./needs-converge";
 import { resolveExistingOffering } from "./onboarding/provider-connect-step";
 
 export class WorkbenchCreateError extends Error {
   constructor(
     message: string,
-    readonly stage: "create" | "deploy" | "opening-message",
+    readonly stage: "create" | "deploy",
     /** Set once the workbench tenant exists, so a later-stage failure can
      * still land the person in the workbench it created. */
     readonly tenantId?: string,
@@ -71,6 +72,11 @@ export async function createWorkbench(input: CreateWorkbenchInput): Promise<stri
     });
     tenantId = created.id;
     domain = created.domain;
+    // The agent surfaces only after the deploy settles, so the workbench page
+    // sends this once it is live rather than /new waiting on it.
+    if (input.openingMessage !== undefined && input.openingMessage !== "") {
+      parkOpeningMessage(tenantId, input.openingMessage);
+    }
   } catch (cause) {
     throw failure(cause, "create");
   }
@@ -107,25 +113,6 @@ export async function createWorkbench(input: CreateWorkbenchInput): Promise<stri
     throw failure(cause, "deploy", tenantId);
   }
 
-  if (input.openingMessage !== undefined && input.openingMessage !== "") {
-    try {
-      const participants = await listWorkbenchParticipants(tenantId, domain);
-      const agents = participants.filter((participant) => participant.kind === "agent");
-      // A deployment's run address exists only once the deploy settles; a
-      // workbench whose agent has not surfaced yet keeps the opening message
-      // for the person to send from the workbench itself.
-      if (agents.length > 0) {
-        await sendToWorkbench({
-          workbenchTenantId: tenantId,
-          participants,
-          content: input.openingMessage,
-        });
-      }
-    } catch (cause) {
-      throw failure(cause, "opening-message", tenantId);
-    }
-  }
-
   return tenantId;
 }