diff --git a/PRODUCT.md b/PRODUCT.md
index cfefc00e2..2cb746677 100644
--- a/PRODUCT.md
+++ b/PRODUCT.md
@@ -36,15 +36,15 @@ column at a time:
   bench, flat, most-recently-active first. There is no separate "channels"
   vs. "chats" grouping the sidebar exposes to a person — every row is a
   workbench.
-- **"+ New Workbench" always creates.** It opens `/new` — the shipped
-  prompt-primary picker — never a picker of existing things to join.
-  Starting a new workbench is the one way in, whether the result is a
-  one-on-one conversation with an agent or a group conversation
-  with people and agents together.
-- **Agents are templates.** Starting a new agent conversation means picking
-  an agent definition (a named, reusable capability) as the starting point
-  — the same definition can be launched into any number of separate
-  conversations, each with its own history and its own tenant.
+- **"+ New Workbench" always creates a room.** It opens `/new` — the shipped
+  prompt-primary picker — never a picker of existing things to join, and
+  never reopens an agent's one conversation. Starting a new workbench mints
+  a fresh room; opening an agent (from Agents, Talk to Myra, and so on)
+  find-or-reopens that agent's existing conversation.
+- **Agents are templates.** An agent definition is a named, reusable
+  capability. Opening an agent always find-or-reopens its one conversation
+  for this bench; "+" creates a separate room and invites participants into
+  it — including Myra — rather than minting another agent DM.
 - The active workbench occupies the main column; a contextual panel beside
   it carries account-wide surfaces (approvals, recent activity) that stay
   visible regardless of which workbench is open.
diff --git a/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.test.ts b/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.test.ts
index 96f801af0..f55c81e98 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.test.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ describe("launchAgentChat", () => {
       headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
     });
 
-  test("creates a chat for the given definitionId with no reuseExisting flag, and navigates to it", async () => {
+  test("opens a chat for the given definitionId and navigates to it", async () => {
     const navigated: string[] = [];
     const calls = stubFetch((path) => {
       if (path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches")) {
diff --git a/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.ts b/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.ts
index cafb0ebef..d54e06965 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/agent-chat-launch.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 // The one path from "an agent's definitionId" to "the person is in a
-// fresh chat with it" — the same `POST /workbenches` call this app's every
-// create path uses. `CreateAgentPanel`'s Settings → Agents entry point
-// calls this on success so an explicitly-defined new agent never ends
-// nowhere, and `instant-agent-create.ts` — THE one creation verb
-// (CL-6138) — calls it against the account's default setup template.
-// Always creates (CL-6089) — never the `reuseExisting` land-hop path,
-// which is `default-agent-workbench.ts`'s own call, not this one.
+// chat with it" — `openAgentConversation` find-or-reopens the agent's
+// one conversation (CL-6981). `CreateAgentPanel`'s Settings → Agents
+// entry point calls this on success so an explicitly-defined new agent
+// never ends nowhere, and `instant-agent-create.ts` — THE one creation
+// verb (CL-6138) — calls against the account's default setup template
+// through `createWorkbench` with template fields, not this hop.
 
-import { createWorkbench } from "@corbits/chat-ui";
+import { createWorkbench, openAgentConversation } from "@corbits/chat-ui";
 
 import { workbenchPath } from "./workbench-path";
 
@@ -17,10 +16,13 @@ export async function launchAgentChat(
   navigate: (to: string) => void,
   name?: string,
 ): Promise<void> {
-  const workbench = await createWorkbench(tenantId, {
-    kind: "chat",
-    definitionId,
-    ...(name !== undefined ? { name } : {}),
-  });
+  const workbench =
+    name === undefined
+      ? await openAgentConversation(tenantId, definitionId)
+      : await createWorkbench(tenantId, {
+          kind: "chat",
+          definitionId,
+          name,
+        });
   navigate(workbenchPath(workbench.id));
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.test.ts b/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.test.ts
index ccab573f0..0c2ccf359 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.test.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ describe("openAgentDmChat", () => {
       headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
     });
 
-  test("opens the agent's DM with reuseExisting and navigates to it", async () => {
+  test("opens the agent's conversation and navigates to it", async () => {
     const navigated: string[] = [];
     const calls = stubFetch((path) => {
       if (path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches")) {
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ describe("openAgentDmChat", () => {
     expect(JSON.parse(String(call?.init?.body))).toEqual({
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_outreach",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(navigated).toEqual(["/w/chan-dm-1"]);
   });
diff --git a/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.ts b/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.ts
index 7bc9fcec6..65656346c 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/agent-dm-launch.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 // The one path from an agent definition's id to "the person is in their
 // direct chat with it" (CL-6253) — the sidebar's agent rows are the one
-// caller. Mirrors `agent-chat-launch.ts`'s shape exactly, but through
-// `openAgentDm` (`kind: "chat"`, `reuseExisting: true`) rather than
-// `createWorkbench` directly: the first click mints the DM, every later
-// click finds the same workbench by `chat/definitionId`
+// caller. Mirrors `agent-chat-launch.ts`'s shape exactly, through
+// `openAgentConversation`: the first click mints the conversation, every
+// later click finds the same workbench by `chat/definitionId`
 // (`findExistingAgentChat` in `packages/chat/src/routes.ts`) instead of
 // spawning a new one each time.
 
-import { openAgentDm } from "@corbits/chat-ui";
+import { openAgentConversation } from "@corbits/chat-ui";
 
 import { workbenchPath } from "./workbench-path";
 
@@ -16,6 +15,6 @@ export async function openAgentDmChat(
   definitionId: string,
   navigate: (to: string) => void,
 ): Promise<void> {
-  const workbench = await openAgentDm(tenantId, definitionId);
+  const workbench = await openAgentConversation(tenantId, definitionId);
   navigate(workbenchPath(workbench.id));
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
index a6616da04..de63c984b 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.test.ts
@@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
   // The picker's "Create workbench" is clickable more than once per
   // session (a second visit, a second row) — each click must mint its
   // own, genuinely distinct workbench, never reopen or alias the last
-  // one it created.
+  // one it created. CL-6981: blank must POST kind=workbench without
+  // Myra's definitionId, or a second "+" would find-or-reopen her DM.
   test("picking the same row twice in a row mints two distinct workbenches, not one reused", async () => {
     let nextId = 0;
     const navigated: string[] = [];
@@ -69,11 +70,17 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
         return json({
           id: `chan-${nextId}`,
           title: NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE,
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
         });
       }
+      if (/\/chat\/workbenches\/chan-\d+\/invite$/.test(path)) {
+        return json({
+          address: "agent:myra@room",
+          definitionId: "def-assistant",
+        });
+      }
       throw new Error(`unexpected fetch: ${path}`);
     });
 
@@ -99,9 +106,23 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
 
     // Blank ("Just start talking") has no template to name the bench
     // after, so it keeps the generic title rather than something
-    // invented.
+    // invented. CL-6981: a room mint, never a Myra chat reopen.
     const body = JSON.parse(String(createCalls[0]?.init?.body));
-    expect(body.name).toBe(NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE);
+    expect(body).toEqual({
+      kind: "workbench",
+      name: NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE,
+    });
+    expect(body).not.toHaveProperty("definitionId");
+
+    const inviteBodies = calls.filter((call) =>
+      /\/chat\/workbenches\/chan-\d+\/invite$/.test(call.path),
+    );
+    expect(inviteBodies).toHaveLength(2);
+    for (const invite of inviteBodies) {
+      expect(JSON.parse(String(invite.init?.body))).toEqual({
+        definitionId: "def-assistant",
+      });
+    }
   });
 
   // CL-6387 follow-up: picking a named template threw its own name away
@@ -126,7 +147,7 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan-1",
           title: "Code review",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
         });
@@ -148,7 +169,7 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan-1",
           title: "Code review",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
           settings: {},
@@ -176,7 +197,11 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
       call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches"),
     );
     const createBody = JSON.parse(String(createCall?.init?.body));
-    expect(createBody.name).toBe(CODE_REVIEW_TEMPLATE.title);
+    expect(createBody).toEqual({
+      kind: "workbench",
+      name: CODE_REVIEW_TEMPLATE.title,
+    });
+    expect(createBody).not.toHaveProperty("definitionId");
 
     const createAgentCalls = calls.filter((call) =>
       call.path.endsWith("/agent-definitions"),
@@ -195,7 +220,7 @@ describe("createWorkbenchFromTemplate (CL-6387)", () => {
     const createdIds = createAgentCalls.map(
       (_, index) => `def-reviewer-${index + 1}`,
     );
-    expect(invitedIds.sort()).toEqual(createdIds.sort());
+    expect(invitedIds.sort()).toEqual(["def-assistant", ...createdIds].sort());
     expect(navigated).toEqual(["/w/chan-1"]);
 
     // CL-6594: a room this function navigates to must never carry a
diff --git a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
index 538880f8f..6dcf291a0 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/instant-agent-create.ts
@@ -3,13 +3,11 @@
 // (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
+// fresh `kind: "workbench"` room (never `kind: "chat"` + Myra's
+// definitionId — that always find-or-reopens the one agent conversation,
+// CL-6981), then invites Myra in as a participant. Named templates also
+// create their roster and invite each non-Myra agent after the mint.
+// Explicitly defining a brand-new agent template, with its own
 // name/purpose/model/skills chosen up front, stays `CreateAgentPanel`'s job
 // (Settings → Agents), unchanged.
 
@@ -99,22 +97,22 @@ export type PickGithubRepos = (args: {
 
 /**
  * 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
+ * fresh `kind: "workbench"` room, named after the picked template (or
+ * `NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE` for blank), then invites Myra in as a participant.
+ * Opening an agent via `kind: "chat"` + definitionId always find-or-reopens
+ * that agent's one conversation (CL-6981), so "+" must never mint that way —
+ * a second "+" would reopen Myra instead of creating another room.
+ *
+ * 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
- * `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
- * CL-6386's "select on new-workbench" step — see `PickGithubRepos`'s
- * own doc.
+ * "Just start talking") mints a plain room under the generic
+ * `NEW_WORKBENCH_TITLE`, then invites Myra — there is no better name to
+ * give it. When `pickGithubRepos` is supplied and GitHub is already
+ * connected for this tenant, this also drives CL-6386's "select on
+ * new-workbench" step — see `PickGithubRepos`'s own doc.
  *
  * `queryClient` invalidates the workbenches list once every template
  * participant has been invited (CL-6594) — `ChatWorkspace`'s own
@@ -170,10 +168,12 @@ export async function createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
     manifest?.requiredConnections.includes("github") ?? false;
 
   // GitHub already connected (established from the Plugins page, CL-6386)
-  // means this create flow can skip the in-room connect card entirely and
-  // go straight to repo selection once the workbench exists. Not yet
-  // connected keeps today's exact behaviour: the in-room card stays the
-  // just-in-time fallback.
+  // means this create flow can skip waiting on an in-room connect card
+  // and go straight to repo selection once the workbench exists. Not yet
+  // connected keeps the Plugins path as the just-in-time connect step;
+  // a room mint no longer auto-hosts Myra as `definitionId`, so the
+  // create-time `connectGithubRequiredFor` block (chat-mint only) is
+  // not posted here.
   const githubAlreadyConnected =
     requiresGithub && pickGithubRepos !== undefined
       ? (await listPluginsForTenant(tenantId)).some(
@@ -182,16 +182,16 @@ export async function createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
         )
       : false;
 
+  // A room, not a Myra DM reopen (CL-6981): `kind: "chat"` + definitionId
+  // always find-or-reopens that agent's one conversation.
   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 ?? "" }
-      : {}),
   });
 
+  // Myra joins as an invited participant — never as the mint identity.
+  await inviteAgent(tenantId, workbench.id, setupTemplate.id);
+
   if (githubAlreadyConnected && pickGithubRepos !== undefined) {
     const state = await getConnectGithubState(tenantId, workbench.id);
     if (state.kind === "connected" && state.repos.length > 0) {
@@ -239,11 +239,12 @@ export async function createWorkbenchFromTemplate(
     for (const todo of result.webhookTriggerTodos) {
       log.error(todo);
     }
-    await queryClient.invalidateQueries({
-      queryKey: workbenchesQueryKeyPrefix(tenantId),
-    });
   }
 
+  await queryClient.invalidateQueries({
+    queryKey: workbenchesQueryKeyPrefix(tenantId),
+  });
+
   if (firstMessage !== undefined && firstMessage.trim() !== "") {
     await sendMessage(tenantId, workbench.id, partsForSend(firstMessage, []));
   }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/myra-workbench.test.ts b/apps/web/src/myra-workbench.test.ts
index c42f4bdeb..e1edb60f7 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/myra-workbench.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/myra-workbench.test.ts
@@ -159,7 +159,6 @@ describe("ensureMyraWorkbench", () => {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "def-assistant",
       name: "Myra",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(isMyraWorkbenchId("chat-1")).toBe(true);
   });
diff --git a/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx b/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
index 7d9c00910..18265a37f 100644
--- a/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/test/new-workbench-picker.test.tsx
@@ -163,8 +163,8 @@ function prefabCards(): HTMLButtonElement[] {
 }
 
 /** The standard fixture for a create that mints against `blank` (no
- * manifest, no participants, no settings patch) — shared by every test
- * exercising the prompt box's blank-plus-first-message path. */
+ * manifest, no participants beyond Myra, no settings patch) — shared by
+ * every test exercising the prompt box's blank-plus-first-message path. */
 function stubBlankCreate(
   onSendMessage?: (body: { parts: readonly { kind: string }[] }) => void,
 ): RecordedCall[] {
@@ -189,11 +189,21 @@ function stubBlankCreate(
       return json({
         id: "chan_new",
         title: "New Workbench",
-        kind: "chat",
+        kind: "workbench",
         pinned: false,
         participants: [],
       });
     }
+    if (
+      path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches/chan_new/invite") &&
+      init?.method === "POST"
+    ) {
+      const body = JSON.parse(String(init.body)) as { definitionId: string };
+      return json({
+        address: `${body.definitionId}@chan_new`,
+        definitionId: body.definitionId,
+      });
+    }
     if (
       path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches/chan_new/messages") &&
       init?.method === "POST"
@@ -346,9 +356,12 @@ 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",
+      name: "New Workbench",
     });
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)),
+    ).not.toHaveProperty("definitionId");
 
     const sendMessageCall = calls.find((call) =>
       call.path.endsWith("/chat/workbenches/chan_new/messages"),
@@ -460,7 +473,7 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan_new",
           title: "New Workbench",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
         });
@@ -501,7 +514,7 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan_new",
           title: "New Workbench",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
           settings: {
@@ -543,11 +556,15 @@ 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",
+      name: "Code review",
     });
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)),
+    ).not.toHaveProperty("definitionId");
+    expect(
+      JSON.parse(String(createWorkbenchCall?.init?.body)),
+    ).not.toHaveProperty("templatePromise");
 
     expect(createdAgentHandles).toEqual([
       "correctness-reviewer",
@@ -595,7 +612,7 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan_new",
           title: "New Workbench",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
         });
@@ -635,7 +652,7 @@ describe("NewWorkbenchPickerRoute", () => {
         return json({
           id: "chan_new",
           title: "New Workbench",
-          kind: "chat",
+          kind: "workbench",
           pinned: false,
           participants: [],
           settings: {
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts b/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
index a037bf9ab..690055dea 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/src/api.ts
@@ -333,18 +333,15 @@ export function listAllWorkbenches(
 // counterpart attached at creation. See `packages/chat/src/routes.ts`
 // `POST /workbenches` for the server side of this union.
 //
-// An agent chat always mints a new workbench (CL-6089) — the agent is a
-// template, not a conversation being reopened — unless the caller opts
-// into `reuseExisting: true`, reserved for the one deliberate
-// find-or-create caller: the home-workbench land-hop
-// (`default-agent-workbench.ts`'s `ensure`).
+// An agent chat (`kind: "chat"` + `definitionId`) always find-or-reopens
+// the one conversation for that agent (CL-6981). Callers that just want
+// to open it use `openAgentConversation`.
 export type CreateWorkbenchInput =
   | { readonly kind: "workbench"; readonly name: string }
   | {
       readonly kind: "chat";
       readonly definitionId: string;
       readonly name?: string;
-      readonly reuseExisting?: boolean;
       /** The picked template's own promise line
        * (`WorkbenchTemplateManifest.promise`, see `@corbits/workflow-catalog`)
        * — replaces the room's random canned opener with one naming its
@@ -854,24 +851,29 @@ export function listVisibleAgentDefinitions(
 /**
  * Opens a direct chat with an agent, minting it on first open and
  * reusing the same workbench on every later open — `packages/chat/src/
- * routes.ts`'s `POST /workbenches` with `reuseExisting: true` already
- * finds-or-creates by `chat/definitionId` (`findExistingAgentChat`), the
- * same seam the home-workbench land-hop uses. `tenantId` must be the
+ * routes.ts`'s `POST /workbenches` always finds-or-creates by
+ * `chat/definitionId` (`findExistingAgentChat`). `tenantId` must be the
  * definition's OWNING tenant (see `VisibleAgentDefinition.tenantId`),
  * never the caller's own tenant when the agent was reached through
- * ancestor inheritance — the DM workbench lives where the agent lives.
+ * ancestor inheritance — the conversation lives where the agent lives.
  */
-export function openAgentDm(
+export function openAgentConversation(
   tenantId: string,
   definitionId: string,
 ): Promise<Workbench> {
   return createWorkbench(tenantId, {
     kind: "chat",
     definitionId,
-    reuseExisting: true,
   });
 }
 
+export function openAgentDm(
+  tenantId: string,
+  definitionId: string,
+): Promise<Workbench> {
+  return openAgentConversation(tenantId, definitionId);
+}
+
 export function getAgentInstructions(
   tenantId: string,
   definitionId: string,
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.test.ts b/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.test.ts
index a2ebd8d90..b470fedcd 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.test.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.test.ts
@@ -122,7 +122,6 @@ describe("createDefaultAgentWorkbench", () => {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "def-assistant",
       name: "Myra",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(agent.isCachedWorkbenchId("chat-1")).toBe(true);
   });
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.ts b/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.ts
index 72d478f07..aea86ccaa 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/src/default-agent-workbench.ts
@@ -13,18 +13,11 @@
 // participant is a husk that can't answer under either kind, so it is
 // left alone and the real chat is created.
 //
-// This is the one deliberate find-or-create path in the product (CL-6089):
-// the account's home-workbench land-hop (Myra), where landing twice must
-// mean the same conversation, never two. Every other agent-chat creation
-// — "+ New Workbench" picking an agent as a template, a freshly drafted
-// agent's own launch — always mints a new workbench instead. The dedup
-// here is `ensure`'s own title match above, not the server's
-// `reuseExisting` flag on `POST /workbenches` (see `packages/chat/src/routes.ts`
-// `findExistingAgentChat`): by the time `createWorkbench` below is reached,
-// `ensure` has already exhausted its own by-title lookup and found no
-// match, so a further server-side reuse pass here would only matter for
-// a chat renamed away from the agent's title — an edge case this ticket
-// leaves as-is rather than threading `reuseExisting` through here too.
+// The account's home-workbench land-hop (Myra) still uses this module's
+// title match for a fast local reopen. The create at the end does not
+// pass a reuse flag: `POST /workbenches` with kind=chat + definitionId
+// always find-or-reopens by the definition's asset (CL-6981), so a chat
+// renamed away from the agent's title is still the same conversation.
 
 import { isAgentAddress } from "@corbits/chat/mentions";
 
@@ -133,14 +126,13 @@ export function createDefaultAgentWorkbench(
           message: `No "${config.title}" agent found for this workbench.`,
         };
       }
-      // The home workbench is the one deliberate reopen: the server's
-      // definitionId dedup catches it even after a rename, where this
-      // module's own title lookup above would miss and mint a second.
+      // The home workbench still titles the mint; the server's
+      // definitionId/asset dedup catches a rename, where this module's
+      // own title lookup above would miss.
       const created = await createWorkbench(tenantId, {
         kind: "chat",
         definitionId: definition.id,
         name: config.title,
-        reuseExisting: true,
       });
       cachedWorkbenchId = created.id;
       return { kind: "ready", workbenchId: created.id };
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/src/index.ts b/packages/chat-ui/src/index.ts
index d103a7e04..ad0672765 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/src/index.ts
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ export {
   listInvitableDefinitions,
   listTenantInvitableDefinitions,
   listVisibleAgentDefinitions,
+  openAgentConversation,
   openAgentDm,
   inviteAgent,
   workbenchStreamUrl,
diff --git a/packages/chat-ui/test/api.test.ts b/packages/chat-ui/test/api.test.ts
index e8dd7408b..caddc8913 100644
--- a/packages/chat-ui/test/api.test.ts
+++ b/packages/chat-ui/test/api.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   listInvitableDefinitions,
   listTenantInvitableDefinitions,
   listVisibleAgentDefinitions,
-  openAgentDm,
+  openAgentConversation,
   listMessages,
   listPinnedMessages,
   quickCreateJimmy,
@@ -458,8 +458,8 @@ describe("listVisibleAgentDefinitions", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("openAgentDm", () => {
-  test("creates a chat workbench with reuseExisting so a second open finds the same workbench", async () => {
+describe("openAgentConversation", () => {
+  test("creates a chat workbench so a second open finds the same workbench", async () => {
     const calls = stubFetch(() =>
       json(
         {
@@ -472,12 +472,11 @@ describe("openAgentDm", () => {
         201,
       ),
     );
-    const workbench = await openAgentDm("tnt_root", "wfd_outreach");
+    const workbench = await openAgentConversation("tnt_root", "wfd_outreach");
     expect(calls[0]?.path).toBe("/api/tenants/tnt_root/chat/workbenches");
     expect(JSON.parse(String(calls[0]?.init?.body))).toEqual({
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_outreach",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(workbench.id).toBe("c_dm");
   });
diff --git a/packages/chat/src/routes.ts b/packages/chat/src/routes.ts
index 9e50681d1..6246b3673 100644
--- a/packages/chat/src/routes.ts
+++ b/packages/chat/src/routes.ts
@@ -322,7 +322,6 @@ const CreateWorkbenchBody = type({
   "participants?": "string[]",
   "definitionId?": "string",
   "principalId?": "string",
-  "reuseExisting?": "boolean",
   /**
    * The picked template's own promise line
    * (`WorkbenchTemplateManifest.promise`, see `@corbits/workflow-catalog`),
@@ -345,6 +344,7 @@ const CreateWorkbenchBody = type({
    * so the caller supplies the one line the card is allowed to show.
    */
   "connectGithubRequiredFor?": "string",
+  "+": "reject",
 });
 type CreateWorkbenchBodyT = typeof CreateWorkbenchBody.infer;
 
@@ -879,18 +879,10 @@ const MoveWorkbenchBody = type({
 });
 
 /**
- * Finds an existing chat with the given agent, for the one caller that
- * deliberately wants find-or-create semantics: the home-workbench
- * land-hop (`ensureMyraWorkbench`, via `default-agent-workbench.ts`), which
- * passes `reuseExisting: true` so returning to "Myra" always reopens the
- * same conversation rather than minting a fresh one on every visit.
- *
- * Every other caller — "+ New Workbench" picking an agent as a
- * template, or a freshly drafted agent's own launch — always creates
- * (CL-6089): the same agent picked twice from the picker is two
- * independent workbenches, each with its own workbench tenant and its own
- * launched agent instance, not the same conversation reopened. `POST
- * /workbenches` only calls this lookup when `reuseExisting` is set.
+ * Finds an existing chat with the given agent. `POST /workbenches` with
+ * `kind: "chat"` and a `definitionId` always find-or-reopens (CL-6981):
+ * identity is the definition's ASSET via `resolveDefinitionAssetId`, and
+ * the oldest workbench-tenancy `createdAt` wins. No title match.
  *
  * Matches forward, by the `chat/definitionId` every agent chat has
  * carried in its settings since this landed, and falls back to
@@ -1060,17 +1052,13 @@ export function createChatRoutes(deps: CreateChatRoutesDeps): Hono<TenantEnv> {
       const tenant = c.get("tenant");
       const principal = c.get("principal");
 
-      // "+ New Workbench" always creates (CL-6089): picking an agent in
-      // the picker uses it as a template, minting a fresh workbench
-      // every time, not reopening a prior conversation. The one
-      // exception is the deliberate land-hop to the account's home
-      // workbench (`ensureMyraWorkbench`), which opts in with
-      // `reuseExisting: true` so landing on "Myra" always finds the
-      // same conversation instead of forking a new one on every visit.
-      // Checked before anything is minted, and before the (cheaper,
+      // Opening an agent always find-or-reopens its one conversation
+      // (CL-6981): identity is the definition's asset, oldest createdAt
+      // wins. Checked before anything is minted, and before the (cheaper,
       // in-memory) principal-self-chat validation below, since a found
-      // match short-circuits the whole handler.
-      if (isChatWithDefinition(body) && body.reuseExisting === true) {
+      // match short-circuits the whole handler — a reopen must not launch
+      // again.
+      if (isChatWithDefinition(body)) {
         const existing = await findExistingAgentChat(
           deps,
           tenant.id,
diff --git a/packages/chat/test/routes.test.ts b/packages/chat/test/routes.test.ts
index 61a481037..b985f34fb 100644
--- a/packages/chat/test/routes.test.ts
+++ b/packages/chat/test/routes.test.ts
@@ -573,8 +573,8 @@ describe("POST /workbenches", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat, not create (CL-6089)", () => {
-  test("creating a chat with the same agent twice, reuseExisting: true both times, reuses the first chat instead of forking a duplicate", async () => {
+describe("POST /workbenches — opening an agent reopens its one conversation (CL-6981)", () => {
+  test("POST {kind:chat, definitionId} twice returns the same workbench id (201 then 200)", async () => {
     const deps = buildDeps({
       platform: fakePlatform({ invitable: [{ id: "wfd_echo", name: "Echo" }] }),
     });
@@ -583,14 +583,12 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     const first = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(first.response.status).toBe(201);
 
     const second = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
 
     expect(second.response.status).toBe(200);
@@ -601,6 +599,13 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     expect(platform.launchInviteCalls).toHaveLength(1);
     const chats = await deps.store.listWorkbenchSettings(TENANT.id, "chat");
     expect(chats).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    const firstTenancy = await deps.tenancy.getWorkbenchTenancy(first.body.id);
+    const secondTenancy = await deps.tenancy.getWorkbenchTenancy(
+      second.body.id,
+    );
+    expect(firstTenancy?.tenantId).toBeDefined();
+    expect(secondTenancy?.tenantId).toBe(firstTenancy?.tenantId);
   });
 
   test("reuses the chat when the agent's definition was re-projected under a new id over the same asset", async () => {
@@ -619,14 +624,12 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     const first = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo_v1",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(first.response.status).toBe(201);
 
     const second = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo_v2",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
 
     expect(second.response.status).toBe(200);
@@ -682,7 +685,6 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     const { response, body } = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
 
     expect(response.status).toBe(200);
@@ -746,7 +748,6 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     const { response, body } = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
 
     expect(response.status).toBe(200);
@@ -762,12 +763,10 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     const first = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     const second = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expect(second.response.status).toBe(200);
 
@@ -780,91 +779,23 @@ describe("POST /workbenches — reuseExisting: true reopens the land-hop's chat,
     expect(fanOut?.workbenchId).toBe("ins_invited1");
     expect(fanOut?.fromWorkbenchId).toBe(first.body.id);
   });
-});
-
-describe("POST /workbenches — agent chat always creates by default (CL-6089)", () => {
-  test("creating a chat with the same agent twice, reuseExisting omitted both times, mints two independent workbenches", async () => {
-    const deps = buildDeps({
-      platform: fakePlatform({ invitable: [{ id: "wfd_echo", name: "Echo" }] }),
-    });
-    const app = mountAs(createChatRoutes(deps), "prn_alice");
-
-    const first = await createWorkbench(app, {
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-    });
-    expect(first.response.status).toBe(201);
-
-    const second = await createWorkbench(app, {
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-    });
-
-    expect(second.response.status).toBe(201);
-    expect(second.body.id).not.toBe(first.body.id);
-    expect(second.body.kind).toBe("chat");
-
-    const platform = deps.platform as ReturnType<typeof fakePlatform>;
-    expect(platform.launchInviteCalls).toHaveLength(2);
-    const chats = await deps.store.listWorkbenchSettings(TENANT.id, "chat");
-    expect(chats).toHaveLength(2);
-
-    // CL-6387: "mints two independent workbenches" must mean two genuinely
-    // distinct child tenants — not two workbench rows sharing one tenant
-    // (which would alias participants/grants across both chats).
-    const firstTenancy = await deps.tenancy.getWorkbenchTenancy(first.body.id);
-    const secondTenancy = await deps.tenancy.getWorkbenchTenancy(
-      second.body.id,
-    );
-    expect(firstTenancy?.tenantId).toBeDefined();
-    expect(secondTenancy?.tenantId).toBeDefined();
-    expect(secondTenancy?.tenantId).not.toBe(firstTenancy?.tenantId);
-  });
 
-  test("creating a chat with the same agent twice, reuseExisting: false explicitly, still mints two workbenches", async () => {
+  test("sending reuseExisting is rejected", async () => {
     const deps = buildDeps({
       platform: fakePlatform({ invitable: [{ id: "wfd_echo", name: "Echo" }] }),
     });
     const app = mountAs(createChatRoutes(deps), "prn_alice");
 
-    const first = await createWorkbench(app, {
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: false,
-    });
-    const second = await createWorkbench(app, {
+    const { response, body } = await createWorkbench(app, {
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: "wfd_echo",
       reuseExisting: false,
     });
 
-    expect(first.response.status).toBe(201);
-    expect(second.response.status).toBe(201);
-    expect(second.body.id).not.toBe(first.body.id);
-  });
-
-  test("a pre-existing chat for the same agent (from an earlier find-or-create call) doesn't stop a later always-create call from minting its own", async () => {
-    const deps = buildDeps({
-      platform: fakePlatform({ invitable: [{ id: "wfd_echo", name: "Echo" }] }),
-    });
-    const app = mountAs(createChatRoutes(deps), "prn_alice");
-
-    const landHop = await createWorkbench(app, {
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_echo",
-      reuseExisting: true,
-    });
-    expect(landHop.response.status).toBe(201);
-
-    const picked = await createWorkbench(app, {
-      kind: "chat",
-      definitionId: "wfd_echo",
+    expect(response.status).toBe(400);
+    expect(body).toMatchObject({
+      error: { code: "bad_request" },
     });
-
-    expect(picked.response.status).toBe(201);
-    expect(picked.body.id).not.toBe(landHop.body.id);
-    const chats = await deps.store.listWorkbenchSettings(TENANT.id, "chat");
-    expect(chats).toHaveLength(2);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts b/packages/workflow-catalog/src/instantiate.ts
index 68d6d8ca1..5d102acf3 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: the host invites her separately after minting the room
+   * (CL-6981 — she must not be the mint `definitionId`, which would
+   * find-or-reopen her one agent conversation). */
   inviteParticipantAgent(id: string): Promise<void>;
   /** Persists the room's still-needed connections — the workbench
    * settings `template/pendingConnections` key today; see
diff --git a/scripts/e2e/chat.test.ts b/scripts/e2e/chat.test.ts
index d7802a9b4..7aa7de0dd 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/chat.test.ts
+++ b/scripts/e2e/chat.test.ts
@@ -846,16 +846,13 @@ describe.skipIf(databaseUrl === undefined)("chat e2e", () => {
   }, 90_000);
 
   // Runs after the echo chat above so its own create call — same
-  // tenant, same agent — proves the deliberate reuse path (CL-6089):
-  // "+ New Workbench" always creates, so reuse is opt-in via
-  // `reuseExisting: true` (the land-hop `ensureMyraWorkbench` uses),
-  // which reopens the existing chat with 200 and the same id back,
-  // never a fresh 201.
+  // tenant, same agent — proves find-or-reopen (CL-6981): a second
+  // POST with kind=chat + definitionId reopens the existing chat with
+  // 200 and the same id back, never a fresh 201.
   test("kind filter excludes and includes by kind, and re-creating an existing agent chat reuses it", async () => {
     const reopened = await createWorkbench({
       kind: "chat",
       definitionId: await echoDefinitionId(),
-      reuseExisting: true,
     });
     expectStatus("re-create existing agent chat", reopened, 200);
     expect(