diff --git a/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.test.ts b/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.test.ts
index e37aaedc0..ba7bdc737 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.test.ts
@@ -73,8 +73,10 @@ describe("ACTION_COMMANDS", () => {
   test("new-workbench and new-agent speak consumer language, not mint", () => {
     const workbench = ACTION_COMMANDS.find((c) => c.id === "new-workbench");
     const agent = ACTION_COMMANDS.find((c) => c.id === "new-agent");
-    expect(workbench?.subtitle).toBe("Start a new workbench with Myra");
-    expect(agent?.subtitle).toBe("Start a new workbench with Myra");
+    expect(workbench?.title).toBe("New room");
+    expect(agent?.title).toBe("New room");
+    expect(workbench?.subtitle).toBe("Start a new room");
+    expect(agent?.subtitle).toBe("Start a new room");
     expect(workbench?.subtitle.toLowerCase()).not.toContain("mint");
     expect(agent?.subtitle.toLowerCase()).not.toContain("mint");
   });
diff --git a/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.ts b/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.ts
index cd7577c85..e5d88ccb1 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/command-palette-actions.ts
@@ -95,13 +95,13 @@ export type ActionCommand = {
 export const ACTION_COMMANDS: readonly ActionCommand[] = [
   {
     id: "new-workbench",
-    title: "New workbench",
-    subtitle: "Start a new workbench with Myra",
+    title: "New room",
+    subtitle: "Start a new room",
   },
   {
     id: "new-agent",
-    title: "New workbench",
-    subtitle: "Start a new workbench with Myra",
+    title: "New room",
+    subtitle: "Start a new room",
   },
   {
     id: "new-routine",
diff --git a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
index a6616da04..ebcb31540 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
@@ -104,6 +104,47 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
     expect(body.name).toBe(NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE);
   });
 
+  // CL-6982: the + / picker create path mints a `kind: "workbench"` room,
+  // never a Myra DM clone (`kind: "chat"` + `definitionId`).
+  test("blank create POSTs kind=workbench — a room, not a Myra DM clone (CL-6982)", async () => {
+    const calls = stubFetch((path) => {
+      if (path.includes("/workflows/definitions")) {
+        return json({ data: [assistantDefinitionWire], nextCursor: null });
+      }
+      if (path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches")) {
+        return json({
+          id: "chan-1",
+          title: NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE,
+          kind: "workbench",
+          pinned: true,
+          participants: [],
+        });
+      }
+      throw new Error(`unexpected fetch: ${path}`);
+    });
+
+    await createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
+      "tnt_1",
+      "blank",
+      () => {},
+      newQueryClient(),
+    );
+
+    const createCall = calls.find((call) =>
+      call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches"),
+    );
+    const body = JSON.parse(String(createCall?.init?.body)) as {
+      readonly kind?: string;
+      readonly definitionId?: string;
+      readonly reuseExisting?: boolean;
+      readonly name?: string;
+    };
+    expect(body.kind).toBe("workbench");
+    expect(body.definitionId).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(body.reuseExisting).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(body.name).toBe(NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE);
+  });
+
   // CL-6387 follow-up: picking a named template threw its own name away
   // and left the reviewer roster its greeting promises out of the room
   // (every bench looked like every other "New Workbench", and Myra's
diff --git a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
index 538880f8f..cbcd5d34d 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,14 @@
-// Every "create a workbench" affordance — the sidebar's "+", the command
-// palette's "New workbench", and the zero-workbench land-hop on `/`
+// Every "create a room" affordance — the sidebar's "+", the command
+// palette's "New room", and the zero-workbench land-hop on `/`
 // (CL-6486, superseding CL-6138's silent auto-mint) — opens the template
 // picker (`pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx`, CL-6342) and calls
 // `createWorkbenchFromTemplate` below once a row is chosen. It mints a
-// fresh workbench against the account's default setup template (the same
-// seeded `assistant` definition backing the home Myra workbench, which
-// already opens with the setup greeting: "what do you want me around
-// for?"). The conversation itself is what specializes the agent into
-// whatever the person wants; the drafting and capability machinery already
-// listens for that in-chat, so no definition is drafted or created up
-// front here. Explicitly defining a brand-new agent template, with its own
-// name/purpose/model/skills chosen up front, stays `CreateAgentPanel`'s job
-// (Settings → Agents), unchanged.
+// fresh `kind: "workbench"` room (CL-6982), not a Myra DM clone
+// (`kind: "chat"` + `definitionId`). Named templates still instantiate
+// their participant roster after the room exists. Explicitly defining a
+// brand-new agent template, with its own name/purpose/model/skills
+// chosen up front, stays `CreateAgentPanel`'s job (Settings → Agents),
+// unchanged.
 
 import { getLogger } from "@corbits/client-log";
 import type { QueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
@@ -44,7 +41,7 @@ import { workbenchPath } from "./workbench-path";
 const log = getLogger("web.instant-agent-create");
 import type { WorkbenchTemplateId } from "./workbench-templates";
 
-export const NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE = "New Workbench";
+export const NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE = "New room";
 
 /**
  * Marks the two precondition failures below as intentionally
@@ -98,18 +95,15 @@ export type PickGithubRepos = (args: {
 }) => Promise<readonly string[] | null>;
 
 /**
- * The template picker's "Create workbench" action (CL-6344): mints a
- * fresh chat, named after the picked template, against the account's
- * default setup template (the seeded `assistant`/Myra definition),
- * passing the picked row's id through as `templateId` so the room opens
- * with that template's own intro (`packages/chat/src/routes.ts`'s
- * `POST /workbenches` resolves it into the canned greeting). When the id
- * names a real manifest (`workbenchTemplate`), this also creates its
- * participant agent definitions, invites each into the room so the
- * roster the greeting promises is the roster actually there (see
+ * The template picker's create action (CL-6344, CL-6982): mints a fresh
+ * `kind: "workbench"` room, named after the picked template, with no
+ * `definitionId` — a room, not a Myra DM clone. When the id names a real
+ * manifest (`workbenchTemplate`), this also creates its participant agent
+ * definitions, invites each into the room so the roster the greeting
+ * promises is the roster actually there (see
  * `instantiateWorkbenchTemplate`'s own doc), and records its required
  * connections as pending. A template id with no manifest yet (`blank`,
- * "Just start talking") mints a plain untagged chat under the generic
+ * "Just start talking") mints a plain untagged room under the generic
  * `NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE`, exactly like before templates existed — there
  * is no better name to give it. When `pickGithubRepos` is supplied and
  * GitHub is already connected for this tenant, this also drives
@@ -141,8 +135,7 @@ export async function createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
   firstMessage?: string,
 ): Promise<void> {
   const definitions = await listAgentDefinitions(tenantId);
-  const setupTemplate = findMyraDefinition(definitions);
-  if (setupTemplate === undefined) {
+  if (findMyraDefinition(definitions) === undefined) {
     throw new WorkbenchPreconditionError(
       SETUP_AGENT_MISSING_MESSAGE,
       "setup-agent-missing",
@@ -183,13 +176,8 @@ export async function createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
       : false;
 
   const workbench = await createWorkbench(tenantId, {
-    kind: "chat",
-    definitionId: setupTemplate.id,
+    kind: "workbench",
     name: manifest?.title ?? NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE,
-    ...(manifest !== undefined ? { templatePromise: manifest.promise } : {}),
-    ...(requiresGithub && !githubAlreadyConnected
-      ? { connectGithubRequiredFor: manifest?.title ?? "" }
-      : {}),
   });
 
   if (githubAlreadyConnected && pickGithubRepos !== undefined) {
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
index 608be6706..658607079 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/new-workbench-picker.tsx
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ export function NewWorkbenchPickerRoute() {
   return (
     <div className="flex h-full min-h-0 flex-col">
       <StageTopBar
-        crumbs={[{ label: "New workbench" }]}
+        crumbs={[{ label: "New room" }]}
         actions={
           <Button
             type="button"
diff --git a/apps/web/src/routes.tsx b/apps/web/src/routes.tsx
index 37678acd0..8cc2c0b53 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/routes.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/routes.tsx
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ export const SETTINGS_PATH = "/settings";
  * view. */
 export const MISSION_CONTROL_PATH = "/mission-control";
 
-/** The template picker (CL-6342) — every "+ New workbench" affordance
+/** The template picker (CL-6342) — every "+ New room" affordance
  * (sidebar, command palette) hops here first; picking a row is what
  * actually mints the workbench. Not in `NAV_ROUTES`: it has no sidebar
  * row of its own, only the "+" control and the palette reach it. */
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ function InboxRedirect({
 export const APP_ROUTES: readonly AppRoute[] = [
   {
     path: "/",
-    label: "New Workbench",
+    label: "New room",
     icon: <ChatCircle />,
     render: () => <HomeRoute />,
     hasStageTopBar: false,
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ export const APP_ROUTES: readonly AppRoute[] = [
   },
   {
     path: NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH,
-    label: "New workbench",
+    label: "New room",
     icon: <ChatCircle />,
     render: () => <NewWorkbenchPickerRoute />,
   },
diff --git a/apps/web/src/shell/sidebar.tsx b/apps/web/src/shell/sidebar.tsx
index befd02d45..8560a1750 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/shell/sidebar.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/shell/sidebar.tsx
@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@ export function Sidebar({
         <Button
           variant="ghost"
           size="sm"
-          aria-label="New workbench"
-          title="New workbench"
+          aria-label="New room"
+          title="New room"
           onClick={() => onNavigate(NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH)}
         >
           <Plus />
diff --git a/apps/web/src/shell/workbench-list.tsx b/apps/web/src/shell/workbench-list.tsx
index 9c86ea1e9..72e5202c6 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/shell/workbench-list.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/shell/workbench-list.tsx
@@ -56,36 +56,6 @@ function NeedsYouSignal({ tenantId }: { readonly tenantId: string | null }) {
   );
 }
 
-/**
- * The always-active, no-op row naming the current screen as "where the
- * person already is" (CL-6124) while a brand-new bench's zero-workbench
- * `/` land is auto-minting its first Myra workbench (CL-6138) — a
- * transient state, but one that still deserves an honest sidebar row
- * rather than an empty list. Styled as the already-active row per house
- * rule (grey structure, orange edge for "here"); selecting it is a no-op
- * since it names the current screen, not a destination.
- */
-function NewWorkbenchStubRow() {
-  return (
-    <button
-      type="button"
-      className="shell-ch-row"
-      data-active="true"
-      aria-current="true"
-    >
-      <span className="shell-ch-stack" aria-hidden="true">
-        <span>N</span>
-      </span>
-      <span className="shell-ch-meta">
-        <span className="shell-ch-name-row">
-          <span className="shell-ch-name">New Workbench</span>
-        </span>
-      </span>
-      <span className="shell-ch-right" />
-    </button>
-  );
-}
-
 /**
  * The ellipsis-menu item labels for a workbench row: rename and the
  * pin/unpin toggle — a strict subset of the conversation's own settings.
@@ -404,10 +374,11 @@ export function WorkbenchList({
     return (
       <div className="panel-stack" aria-label="Workbenches">
         <NeedsYouSignal tenantId={selectedTenantId} />
-        <h2 className="shell-panel-list-label">Workbenches</h2>
-        <div className="panel-stack-group">
-          <NewWorkbenchStubRow />
-        </div>
+        <EmptyState
+          icon={<Hash />}
+          title="No workbenches yet"
+          description="Start a new one with the + above."
+        />
       </div>
     );
   }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/workbench-templates.ts b/apps/web/src/workbench-templates.ts
index be3d1f8c0..b144c2093 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/workbench-templates.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/workbench-templates.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ export const WORKBENCH_TEMPLATES: readonly WorkbenchTemplate[] = [
   {
     id: "blank",
     title: "Just start talking",
-    promise:
-      "An empty room with Myra in it. Bring your own work, connect things as you go.",
+    promise: "An empty room. Bring your own work, connect things as you go.",
   },
 ];
diff --git a/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx b/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
index 7d9c00910..3e45d4a9b 100644
--- a/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
@@ -346,9 +346,11 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches") && call.init?.method === "POST",
     );
     expect(JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body))).toMatchObject({
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_assistant",
+      kind: "workbench",
     });
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)).definitionId,
+    ).toBeUndefined();
 
     const sendMessageCall = calls.find((call) =>
       call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches/chan_new/messages"),
@@ -543,11 +545,14 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches") && call.init?.method === "POST",
     );
     expect(JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body))).toMatchObject({
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_assistant",
-      templatePromise:
-        "Three reviewers read every pull request and post what they'd change.",
+      kind: "workbench",
     });
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)).definitionId,
+    ).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)).templatePromise,
+    ).toBeUndefined();
 
     expect(createdAgentHandles).toEqual([
       "correctness-reviewer",
diff --git a/apps/web/test/routes.test.tsx b/apps/web/test/routes.test.tsx
index 2a30bcd42..c2d1121dc 100644
--- a/apps/web/test/routes.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/test/routes.test.tsx
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ describe("routes render", () => {
       const markup = await renderApp(route.path);
       expect(markup).toContain('data-testid="shell-sidebar"');
       if (route.path === "/") {
-        expect(stagePageTitle(markup)).toBe("New Workbench");
+        expect(stagePageTitle(markup)).toBe("New room");
         return;
       }
       if (route.path === "/w") {
diff --git a/apps/web/test/sidebar.test.tsx b/apps/web/test/sidebar.test.tsx
index b86abb03d..7927ff57e 100644
--- a/apps/web/test/sidebar.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/test/sidebar.test.tsx
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ async function mountSidebar(
 describe("Sidebar", () => {
   test("header offers create + search; there is no collapse affordance", () => {
     const markup = renderSidebar("/w");
-    expect(markup).toContain('aria-label="New workbench"');
+    expect(markup).toContain('aria-label="New room"');
     // Search is the box inside the list (below the brand row), never a
     // header icon — the box itself is covered by the workbench-list tests.
     expect(markup).not.toContain('aria-label="Search"');
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ describe("Sidebar", () => {
     });
 
     const newButton = container.querySelector<HTMLButtonElement>(
-      '[aria-label="New workbench"]',
+      '[aria-label="New room"]',
     );
     await act(async () => {
       newButton?.dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent("click", { bubbles: true }));
@@ -576,11 +576,10 @@ describe("Sidebar", () => {
     container.remove();
   });
 
-  // CL-6124: a bench with zero workbenches lands on the first-run chat
-  // (`/`), and the sidebar names it as a single active row — never the
-  // icon "No workbenches yet" empty state, since the create-a-workbench
-  // surface IS this screen now.
-  test("zero workbenches: a single New Workbench row, styled active, not an icon empty state", async () => {
+  // CL-6982: a bench with zero workbenches shows the honest empty state —
+  // never a fake "New Workbench" row that looked like a clone already
+  // existed. The + above is the mint verb ("New room").
+  test("zero workbenches: honest empty state, no stub New Workbench row", async () => {
     stubFetch();
     const container = document.createElement("div");
     document.body.appendChild(container);
@@ -598,12 +597,13 @@ describe("Sidebar", () => {
       await act(async () => {
         await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
       });
-      if (container.innerHTML.includes("shell-ch-row")) break;
+      if (container.innerHTML.includes("No workbenches yet")) break;
     }
-    const row = container.querySelector('.shell-ch-row[data-active="true"]');
-    expect(row).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(row?.textContent).toContain("New Workbench");
-    expect(container.innerHTML).not.toContain("No workbenches yet");
+    expect(container.innerHTML).toContain("No workbenches yet");
+    expect(container.innerHTML).not.toContain("New Workbench");
+    expect(
+      container.querySelector('.shell-ch-row[data-active="true"]'),
+    ).toBeNull();
     act(() => root.unmount());
     container.remove();
   });
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts b/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
index a037bf9ab..74eea6b2d 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
@@ -339,7 +339,17 @@ export function listAllWorkbenches(
 // find-or-create caller: the home-workbench land-hop
 // (`default-agent-workbench.ts`'s `ensure`).
 export type CreateWorkbenchInput =
-  | { readonly kind: "workbench"; readonly name: string }
+  | {
+      readonly kind: "workbench";
+      readonly name: string;
+      /** The template's own display name, present exactly when the
+       * template needs a GitHub connection before it can run — posts one
+       * `connect-github` block on the empty room
+       * (`packages/chat/src/routes.ts`'s `POST /workbenches`). Omitted
+       * for a template with no such requirement, or when GitHub is
+       * already connected and the create flow picks repos inline. */
+      readonly connectGithubRequiredFor?: string;
+    }
   | {
       readonly kind: "chat";
       readonly definitionId: string;
diff --git a/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts b/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts
index 68d6d8ca1..500c7e28a 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts
+++ b/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts
@@ -76,8 +76,9 @@ export interface WorkbenchTemplateInstantiationPorts {
    * `@corbits/chat-ui`'s `inviteAgent`), or a fake of it in tests. This
    * is what makes a template's roster actually present in the room
    * rather than merely registered in the agent directory. Never called
-   * for Myra: she joins the room at workbench creation as its own
-   * `definitionId`. */
+   * for Myra: rooms do not auto-host her (CL-6982), and a template that
+   * lists her handle is skipped rather than inviting her into an empty
+   * room. */
   inviteParticipantAgent(id: string): Promise<void>;
   /** Persists the room's still-needed connections — the workbench
    * settings `template/pendingConnections` key today; see
@@ -127,11 +128,11 @@ function webhookTriggerTodo(
 
 /**
  * Resolves `manifest` against the bench: creates the participant agent
- * definitions that don't already exist (Myra is never re-created — she
- * is the bench's seeded default setup agent, reused as-is), and
- * records the manifest's required connections as still pending. Never
- * registers a live webhook trigger — see `webhookTriggerTodos` and
- * `./connect-github-setup.ts`, which is what actually creates one, once
+ * definitions that don't already exist (Myra is never created or invited —
+ * rooms do not auto-host her; templates that list other agents still invite
+ * those agents), and records the manifest's required connections as still
+ * pending. Never registers a live webhook trigger — see `webhookTriggerTodos`
+ * and `./connect-github-setup.ts`, which is what actually creates one, once
  * the person has picked repos.
  */
 export async function instantiateWorkbenchTemplate(
diff --git a/packages/workflow-catalog/test/instantiate.test.ts b/packages/workflow-catalog/test/instantiate.test.ts
index e1cf21282..ce61238f4 100644
--- a/packages/workflow-catalog/test/instantiate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/workflow-catalog/test/instantiate.test.ts
@@ -112,7 +112,10 @@ test("instantiating the code-review template invites every reviewer into the roo
   expect(ports.invited).toHaveLength(3);
 });
 
-test("instantiating the code-review template never invites Myra — she is already the room's own agent", async () => {
+// Rooms do not auto-host Myra (CL-6982). Instantiation skips her handle
+// rather than inviting her into an empty room; other template agents
+// still get invited.
+test("instantiating the code-review template never invites Myra — rooms do not auto-host her", async () => {
   const ports = fakePorts();
   await instantiateWorkbenchTemplate(CODE_REVIEW_TEMPLATE, ports);
   expect(ports.invited).not.toContain("def-myra");