diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
index 58e771477dd..4f92736af63 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/new-workspace/SmartWorkspaceNameField.tsx
@@ -639,6 +639,13 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
     () => (sourceQueryWithinLimit ? parseGitHubIssueOrPRLink(debouncedQuery) : null),
     [debouncedQuery, sourceQueryWithinLimit]
   )
+  const githubUrlIntent = useMemo(
+    () =>
+      isSmartWorkspaceSourceQueryWithinLimit(value) && (mode === 'smart' || mode === 'github')
+        ? parseGitHubIssueOrPRLink(value)
+        : null,
+    [mode, value]
+  )
   const linearUrlIntent = useMemo(
     () => parseBoundedSmartWorkspaceLinearIssueUrlIntent(value),
     [value]
@@ -1270,6 +1277,7 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
         value,
         debouncedQuery
       }),
+      githubUrlIntent,
       gitlabAvailable: gitlabSourceAvailable,
       gitlabItems: getVisibleHeldProviderResults({
         items: gitlabItems,
@@ -1302,6 +1310,7 @@ export default function SmartWorkspaceNameField({
     branchResultsSource,
     debouncedQuery,
     githubItems,
+    githubUrlIntent,
     gitlabSourceAvailable,
     gitlabItems,
     jiraSource.accountChoices,
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 780800bb9a4..2983b0f7680 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
@@ -230,6 +230,100 @@ describe('Branch source results', () => {
     ).toEqual([{ id: 'default-1' }])
   })
 
+  it('hides unrelated held results while a full GitHub URL resolves', () => {
+    const targetUrl = 'https://github.com/acme/widgets/issues/42'
+    const staleGitHubItem = {
+      id: 'issue-17',
+      type: 'issue' as const,
+      number: 17,
+      title: 'Wrong cached issue',
+      state: 'open' as const,
+      url: 'https://github.com/acme/widgets/issues/17',
+      labels: [],
+      updatedAt: '2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+      author: 'octocat',
+      repoId: 'repo-1'
+    }
+
+    expect(
+      buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
+        mode: 'smart',
+        value: targetUrl,
+        githubUrlIntent: {
+          slug: { owner: 'acme', repo: 'widgets', host: 'github.com' },
+          type: 'issue',
+          number: 42
+        },
+        branches: [{ refName: 'origin/issues/17', localBranchName: 'issues/17' }],
+        githubItems: [
+          staleGitHubItem,
+          {
+            ...staleGitHubItem,
+            id: 'same-number-other-repo',
+            number: 42,
+            url: 'https://github.com/acme/other-repo/issues/42'
+          },
+          {
+            ...staleGitHubItem,
+            id: 'same-number-pull-request',
+            type: 'pr',
+            number: 42,
+            url: 'https://github.com/acme/widgets/pull/42'
+          }
+        ],
+        gitlabItems: [],
+        linearIssues: [],
+        gitlabAvailable: false,
+        linearAvailable: false,
+        resultLimit: 12
+      })
+    ).toEqual([{ kind: 'use-name', value: 'use-name', name: targetUrl }])
+  })
+
+  it('shows only the exact GitHub URL result after lookup settles', () => {
+    const targetUrl = 'https://github.com/acme/widgets/issues/42'
+    const exactItem = {
+      id: 'issue-42',
+      type: 'issue' as const,
+      number: 42,
+      title: 'Exact pasted issue',
+      state: 'open' as const,
+      url: targetUrl,
+      labels: [],
+      updatedAt: '2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z',
+      author: 'octocat',
+      repoId: 'repo-1'
+    }
+    const staleItem = {
+      ...exactItem,
+      id: 'issue-17',
+      number: 17,
+      url: `${targetUrl.slice(0, -2)}17`
+    }
+
+    expect(
+      buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
+        mode: 'smart',
+        value: targetUrl,
+        githubUrlIntent: {
+          slug: { owner: 'ACME', repo: 'Widgets', host: 'GitHub.com' },
+          type: 'issue',
+          number: 42
+        },
+        branches: [],
+        githubItems: [staleItem, exactItem],
+        gitlabItems: [],
+        linearIssues: [],
+        gitlabAvailable: false,
+        linearAvailable: false,
+        resultLimit: 12
+      })
+    ).toEqual([
+      { kind: 'use-name', value: 'use-name', name: targetUrl },
+      { kind: 'github', value: 'github-repo-1-issue-42', item: exactItem }
+    ])
+  })
+
   it('uses stable cmdk values for typed-text actions', () => {
     expect(
       buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
diff --git a/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts b/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
index 40de888f150..662c8eaa3f5 100644
--- a/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
+++ b/src/shared/new-workspace/smart-workspace-source-results.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import type { LinearIssue } from '../linear/issue-types'
 import type { LinearCollectionResult } from '../linear/workspace-types'
 import type { BaseRefSearchResult } from '../repo-types'
 import { JIRA_ISSUE_KEY_PATTERN, parseJiraIssueUrl } from '../jira-issue-url'
+import { parseGitHubIssueOrPRLink, type GitHubIssueOrPRLink } from '../github/links'
+import { githubRepoIdentityKey } from '../github/repository-identity-key'
 import {
   isSmartWorkspaceLinearIssueIntentMatch,
   parseBoundedSmartWorkspaceLinearIssueUrlIntent
@@ -63,6 +65,16 @@ function toJiraSourceRow(issue: JiraIssue): SmartWorkspaceSourceRow {
   return { kind: 'jira', value: `jira-${issue.siteId ?? ''}-${issue.key}`, issue }
 }
 
+function isGitHubLinkIntentMatch(intent: GitHubIssueOrPRLink, item: GitHubWorkItem): boolean {
+  const itemLink = parseGitHubIssueOrPRLink(item.url)
+  return (
+    itemLink !== null &&
+    itemLink.type === intent.type &&
+    itemLink.number === intent.number &&
+    githubRepoIdentityKey(itemLink.slug) === githubRepoIdentityKey(intent.slug)
+  )
+}
+
 export function getBranchSearchRequest({
   branchesEnabled,
   disabled,
@@ -186,6 +198,7 @@ export function shouldHoldSourceResultsForQuery({
 export function buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
   branches,
   githubItems,
+  githubUrlIntent,
   gitlabAvailable,
   gitlabItems,
   jiraIntent = false,
@@ -200,6 +213,7 @@ export function buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
 }: {
   branches: BaseRefSearchResult[]
   githubItems: GitHubWorkItem[]
+  githubUrlIntent?: GitHubIssueOrPRLink | null
   gitlabAvailable: boolean
   gitlabItems: GitLabWorkItem[]
   jiraIntent?: boolean
@@ -220,6 +234,20 @@ export function buildSmartWorkspaceSourceRows({
     return []
   }
   const trimmed = value.trim()
+  if (githubUrlIntent && (mode === 'smart' || mode === 'github')) {
+    const githubRows = githubItems
+      .filter((item) => isGitHubLinkIntentMatch(githubUrlIntent, item))
+      .map((item) => ({
+        kind: 'github' as const,
+        value: `github-${item.repoId}-${item.type}-${item.number}`,
+        item
+      }))
+      .slice(0, resultLimit)
+    // Why: the full URL is unambiguous, so unrelated held provider rows must never become selectable.
+    return trimmed && mode === 'smart'
+      ? [{ kind: 'use-name' as const, value: 'use-name', name: trimmed }, ...githubRows]
+      : githubRows
+  }
   const nextRows: SmartWorkspaceSourceRow[] = []
   const resolvedLinearIssues = Array.isArray(linearIssues)
     ? linearIssues
diff --git a/tests/e2e/github-url-smart-input-transition.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/github-url-smart-input-transition.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..38cfebf53e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/github-url-smart-input-transition.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+import type { ElectronApplication, Page } from '@stablyai/playwright-test'
+import type { GitHubWorkItem } from '../../src/shared/github/work-item-types'
+import { test, expect } from './helpers/orca-app'
+import { waitForActiveWorktree, waitForSessionReady } from './helpers/store'
+
+const TARGET_URL = 'https://github.com/stablyai/orca/issues/4242'
+const WRONG_TITLE = 'Wrong cached issue'
+const TARGET_TITLE = 'Exact pasted issue'
+
+const WRONG_ITEM: GitHubWorkItem = {
+  id: 'issue-17',
+  type: 'issue',
+  number: 17,
+  title: WRONG_TITLE,
+  state: 'open',
+  url: 'https://github.com/stablyai/orca/issues/17',
+  labels: [],
+  updatedAt: '2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+  author: 'e2e',
+  repoId: 'e2e-repo'
+}
+
+const TARGET_ITEM: GitHubWorkItem = {
+  ...WRONG_ITEM,
+  id: 'issue-4242',
+  number: 4242,
+  title: TARGET_TITLE,
+  url: TARGET_URL,
+  updatedAt: '2026-08-02T00:00:00.000Z'
+}
+
+type TransitionFrame = {
+  value: string
+  wrongVisible: boolean
+  wrongSelected: boolean
+  targetVisible: boolean
+  targetSelected: boolean
+}
+
+function pasteChord(): string {
+  return process.platform === 'darwin' ? 'Meta+V' : 'Control+V'
+}
+
+async function installHeldGitHubLookup(
+  electronApp: ElectronApplication,
+  page: Page
+): Promise<void> {
+  await electronApp.evaluate(({ ipcMain }, targetItem) => {
+    const fixture = globalThis as unknown as {
+      __githubUrlLookupStarted?: boolean
+      __releaseGitHubUrlLookup?: () => void
+    }
+    fixture.__githubUrlLookupStarted = false
+    ipcMain.removeHandler('gh:workItemByOwnerRepo')
+    ipcMain.handle('gh:workItemByOwnerRepo', () => {
+      fixture.__githubUrlLookupStarted = true
+      return new Promise((resolve) => {
+        fixture.__releaseGitHubUrlLookup = () => resolve(targetItem)
+      })
+    })
+  }, TARGET_ITEM)
+  await page.evaluate((wrongItem) => {
+    const store = window.__store
+    if (!store) {
+      throw new Error('window.__store is not available')
+    }
+    store.setState({
+      getCachedWorkItems: () => [wrongItem],
+      fetchWorkItems: async () => [wrongItem],
+      fetchWorkItemsAcrossRepos: async () => ({
+        items: [wrongItem],
+        failedCount: 0,
+        githubUnavailable: false
+      })
+    })
+  }, WRONG_ITEM)
+}
+
+async function releaseGitHubLookup(electronApp: ElectronApplication): Promise<void> {
+  await electronApp.evaluate(() => {
+    const fixture = globalThis as unknown as { __releaseGitHubUrlLookup?: () => void }
+    if (!fixture.__releaseGitHubUrlLookup) {
+      throw new Error('GitHub lookup is not held')
+    }
+    fixture.__releaseGitHubUrlLookup()
+  })
+}
+
+test('a pasted GitHub URL never selects a stale cached issue', async ({
+  electronApp,
+  orcaPage
+}, testInfo) => {
+  await waitForSessionReady(orcaPage)
+  await waitForActiveWorktree(orcaPage)
+  await installHeldGitHubLookup(electronApp, orcaPage)
+
+  await orcaPage.getByRole('button', { name: 'New workspace', exact: true }).click()
+  const dialog = orcaPage.getByRole('dialog', { name: /Create (Workspace|Worktree)/i })
+  const input = dialog.locator('[data-workspace-name-input="true"]')
+  await expect(input).toBeVisible()
+  await input.click()
+
+  const wrongOption = orcaPage.getByRole('option', { name: `#17 ${WRONG_TITLE}`, exact: true })
+  const targetOption = orcaPage.getByRole('option', {
+    name: `#4242 ${TARGET_TITLE}`,
+    exact: true
+  })
+  await expect(wrongOption).toBeVisible()
+
+  await orcaPage.evaluate(
+    ({ wrongTitle, targetTitle }) => {
+      const frames: TransitionFrame[] = []
+      const capture = (): void => {
+        const input = document.querySelector<HTMLInputElement>('[data-workspace-name-input="true"]')
+        const options = [...document.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[role="option"]')]
+        const wrong = options.find((option) => option.textContent?.includes(wrongTitle))
+        const target = options.find((option) => option.textContent?.includes(targetTitle))
+        frames.push({
+          value: input?.value ?? '',
+          wrongVisible: Boolean(wrong && wrong.getClientRects().length > 0),
+          wrongSelected: wrong?.dataset.selected === 'true',
+          targetVisible: Boolean(target && target.getClientRects().length > 0),
+          targetSelected: target?.dataset.selected === 'true'
+        })
+        requestAnimationFrame(capture)
+      }
+      Reflect.set(window, '__githubUrlTransitionFrames', frames)
+      capture()
+    },
+    { wrongTitle: WRONG_TITLE, targetTitle: TARGET_TITLE }
+  )
+
+  await orcaPage.evaluate((text) => window.api.ui.writeClipboardText(text), TARGET_URL)
+  await input.focus()
+  await orcaPage.keyboard.press(pasteChord())
+  await expect
+    .poll(() =>
+      electronApp.evaluate(() => {
+        const fixture = globalThis as unknown as { __githubUrlLookupStarted?: boolean }
+        return fixture.__githubUrlLookupStarted === true
+      })
+    )
+    .toBe(true)
+  await expect
+    .poll(() =>
+      orcaPage.evaluate((url) => {
+        const frames = Reflect.get(window, '__githubUrlTransitionFrames') as TransitionFrame[]
+        return frames.filter((frame) => frame.value === url).length
+      }, TARGET_URL)
+    )
+    .toBeGreaterThan(10)
+  await expect(wrongOption).toHaveCount(0)
+  await expect(targetOption).toHaveCount(0)
+
+  await releaseGitHubLookup(electronApp)
+  await expect(targetOption).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(targetOption).toHaveAttribute('data-selected', 'true')
+  await expect
+    .poll(() =>
+      orcaPage.evaluate(() => {
+        const frames = Reflect.get(window, '__githubUrlTransitionFrames') as TransitionFrame[]
+        return frames.some((frame) => frame.targetVisible && frame.targetSelected)
+      })
+    )
+    .toBe(true)
+
+  const frames = await orcaPage.evaluate(() => {
+    return Reflect.get(window, '__githubUrlTransitionFrames') as TransitionFrame[]
+  })
+  const pastedFrames = frames.filter((frame) => frame.value === TARGET_URL)
+  expect(frames.some((frame) => frame.wrongVisible)).toBe(true)
+  expect(pastedFrames.length).toBeGreaterThan(10)
+  expect(pastedFrames.every((frame) => !frame.wrongVisible && !frame.wrongSelected)).toBe(true)
+  expect(pastedFrames.some((frame) => frame.targetVisible && frame.targetSelected)).toBe(true)
+
+  await testInfo.attach('github-url-smart-input-fixed.png', {
+    body: await orcaPage.screenshot(),
+    contentType: 'image/png'
+  })
+})