diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
index 4d65c87bd47..5a1ad4258c3 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
@@ -1081,7 +1081,7 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
     }
   }, [rows])
 
-  // Why: source rows lag debouncedQuery, so keep Enter off a stale row.
+  // Why: live input leads debounced search; freeze highlight until the query catches up.
   const valueWithinSourceLimit = isSmartWorkspaceSourceQueryWithinLimit(value)
   const debouncedQueryWithinSourceLimit = isSmartWorkspaceSourceQueryWithinLimit(debouncedQuery)
   const trimmedValue = valueWithinSourceLimit ? value.trim() : ''
@@ -1151,10 +1151,8 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
 
   const handleSelect = useCallback(
     (row: RowEntry) => {
-      // Why: provider rows can lag the live input; typed-name / create-branch stay safe.
-      if (isQueryStale && row.kind !== 'use-name' && row.kind !== 'create-branch') {
-        return
-      }
+      // Why: select what is shown — held provider rows stay visible while the
+      // query is ahead of debounce, so blocking them made click/Enter no-ops.
       if (row.kind === 'use-name' || row.kind === 'create-branch') {
         // Why: "create new branch" has no ref to base from, so it uses the typed-name path (default base).
         onValueChange(row.name)
@@ -1170,14 +1168,7 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
       }
       setOpen(false)
     },
-    [
-      isQueryStale,
-      onBranchSelect,
-      onGitHubItemSelect,
-      onGitLabItemSelect,
-      onLinearIssueSelect,
-      onValueChange
-    ]
+    [onBranchSelect, onGitHubItemSelect, onGitLabItemSelect, onLinearIssueSelect, onValueChange]
   )
 
   const applyEmojiReplacement = useCallback(
@@ -1609,19 +1600,12 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
                         }
                         if (open && rows.length > 0) {
                           const row = rows.find((entry) => entry.value === resolvedCommandValue)
-                          if (
-                            row &&
-                            !(
-                              isQueryStale &&
-                              row.kind !== 'use-name' &&
-                              row.kind !== 'create-branch'
-                            )
-                          ) {
+                          if (row) {
                             event.preventDefault()
                             handleSelect(row)
                             return
                           }
-                          // No selectable row (stale provider arm); fall through to onPlainEnter.
+                          // No highlighted row; fall through to onPlainEnter so the keypress isn't inert.
                         }
                         onPlainEnter?.()
                       }
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.test.ts
index 8fd9744ded2..1a3709686f0 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.test.ts
@@ -128,6 +128,45 @@ describe('Branch source results', () => {
     ).toEqual([{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }])
   })
 
+  it('keeps the last branch results while the user trims a prefix of the settled query', () => {
+    expect(
+      getVisibleBranchResults({
+        mode: 'branches',
+        value: 'fe',
+        selectedRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultQuery: 'feat',
+        branches: [{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }]
+      })
+    ).toEqual([{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }])
+  })
+
+  it('hides held branch results when the live query diverges from the settled query', () => {
+    expect(
+      getVisibleBranchResults({
+        mode: 'branches',
+        value: 'bug',
+        selectedRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultQuery: 'feat',
+        branches: [{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }]
+      })
+    ).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('keeps held branch results across case-only edits of a prefix query', () => {
+    expect(
+      getVisibleBranchResults({
+        mode: 'branches',
+        value: 'Feat',
+        selectedRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultRepoId: 'repo-1',
+        resultQuery: 'feat',
+        branches: [{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }]
+      })
+    ).toEqual([{ refName: 'origin/feature', localBranchName: 'feature' }])
+  })
+
   it('uses stable cmdk values for typed-text actions', () => {
     expect(
       buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
diff --git a/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts b/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
index 127573ddd63..6e6d30c8859 100644
--- a/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
+++ b/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
@@ -99,9 +99,20 @@ export function getVisibleBranchResults({
   if (!selectedRepoId || resultRepoId !== selectedRepoId || resultQuery === null) {
     return []
   }
-  // Why: hold the last settled branch list while the user types ahead — blanking
-  // on query mismatch flashed the dropdown empty between keystrokes.
-  if (value.trim() === '' && resultQuery !== '') {
+  const currentQuery = value.trim()
+  // Why: hold the last settled list while the user extends/trims the query so the
+  // dropdown does not blank between debounced keystrokes. Drop the hold when the
+  // query diverges (e.g. "feat" → "bug") so unrelated rows do not linger.
+  if (currentQuery === '') {
+    return resultQuery === '' ? branches : []
+  }
+  const currentQueryKey = currentQuery.toLowerCase()
+  const resultQueryKey = resultQuery.toLowerCase()
+  if (
+    resultQueryKey !== currentQueryKey &&
+    !currentQueryKey.startsWith(resultQueryKey) &&
+    !resultQueryKey.startsWith(currentQueryKey)
+  ) {
     return []
   }
   return branches