diff --git a/factory/CLAUDE.md b/factory/CLAUDE.md
index 7755510..0454f02 100644
--- a/factory/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/factory/CLAUDE.md
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ Use `pnpm` workspaces and Turborepo.
 - Stop the preview stack: `just factory-preview-down`
 - Tail preview logs: `just factory-preview-logs`
 
+## Local Env
+
+- For local The Foundry dev server setup, keep a personal env copy at `~/misc/the-foundry.env`.
+- To run the dev server from this workspace, copy that content into the repo root `.env`. Root `.env` is gitignored in this repo, so keep local secrets there and do not commit them.
+
 ## Frontend + Client Boundary
 
 - Keep a browser-friendly GUI implementation aligned with the TUI interaction model wherever possible.
@@ -163,6 +168,7 @@ For all Rivet/RivetKit implementation:
 - Integration tests use `setupTest()` from `rivetkit/test` and are gated behind `HF_ENABLE_ACTOR_INTEGRATION_TESTS=1`.
 - End-to-end testing must run against the dev backend started via `docker compose -f compose.dev.yaml up` (host -> container). Do not run E2E against an in-process test runtime.
   - E2E tests should talk to the backend over HTTP (default `http://127.0.0.1:7741/api/rivet`) and use real GitHub repos/PRs.
+  - Current org test repo: `rivet-dev/sandbox-agent-testing` (`https://github.com/rivet-dev/sandbox-agent-testing`).
   - Secrets (e.g. `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `GITHUB_TOKEN`/`GH_TOKEN`) must be provided via environment variables, never hardcoded in the repo.
 - Treat client E2E tests in `packages/client/test` as the primary end-to-end source of truth for product behavior.
 - Keep backend tests small and targeted. Only retain backend-only tests for invariants or persistence rules that are not well-covered through client E2E.
diff --git a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/index.ts b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/index.ts
index ccdbb60..c800533 100644
--- a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/index.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/index.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export interface HandoffInput {
   agentType: AgentType | null;
   explicitTitle: string | null;
   explicitBranchName: string | null;
+  initialPrompt: string | null;
 }
 
 interface InitializeCommand {
@@ -125,6 +126,7 @@ export const handoff = actor({
     agentType: input.agentType,
     explicitTitle: input.explicitTitle,
     explicitBranchName: input.explicitBranchName,
+    initialPrompt: input.initialPrompt,
     initialized: false,
     previousStatus: null as string | null,
   }),
diff --git a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/workflow/init.ts b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/workflow/init.ts
index c05ee86..c8c6d0c 100644
--- a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/workflow/init.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/handoff/workflow/init.ts
@@ -370,7 +370,10 @@ export async function initCreateSessionActivity(loopCtx: any, body: any, sandbox
   const cwd = sandbox.metadata && typeof (sandbox.metadata as any).cwd === "string" ? ((sandbox.metadata as any).cwd as string) : undefined;
 
   return await sandboxInstance.createSession({
-    prompt: buildAgentPrompt(loopCtx.state.task),
+    prompt:
+      typeof loopCtx.state.initialPrompt === "string"
+        ? loopCtx.state.initialPrompt
+        : buildAgentPrompt(loopCtx.state.task),
     cwd,
     agent: (loopCtx.state.agentType ?? config.default_agent) as any,
   });
diff --git a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/project/actions.ts b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/project/actions.ts
index 5ff4b47..440ed06 100644
--- a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/project/actions.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/project/actions.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ interface CreateHandoffCommand {
   agentType: AgentType | null;
   explicitTitle: string | null;
   explicitBranchName: string | null;
+  initialPrompt: string | null;
   onBranch: string | null;
 }
 
@@ -365,6 +366,7 @@ async function createHandoffMutation(c: any, cmd: CreateHandoffCommand): Promise
       agentType: cmd.agentType,
       explicitTitle: onBranch ? null : cmd.explicitTitle,
       explicitBranchName: onBranch ? null : cmd.explicitBranchName,
+      initialPrompt: cmd.initialPrompt,
     });
   } catch (error) {
     if (onBranch) {
diff --git a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/workspace/actions.ts b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/workspace/actions.ts
index e1785a6..9fe69eb 100644
--- a/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/workspace/actions.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/backend/src/actors/workspace/actions.ts
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@ async function createHandoffMutation(c: any, input: CreateHandoffInput): Promise
     agentType: input.agentType ?? null,
     explicitTitle: input.explicitTitle ?? null,
     explicitBranchName: input.explicitBranchName ?? null,
+    initialPrompt: input.initialPrompt ?? null,
     onBranch: input.onBranch ?? null,
   });
 
@@ -299,9 +300,10 @@ async function createHandoffMutation(c: any, input: CreateHandoffInput): Promise
 
   const handoff = getHandoff(c, c.state.workspaceId, repoId, created.handoffId);
   await handoff.provision({ providerId });
+  const provisioned = await handoff.get();
 
   await workspaceActions.notifyWorkbenchUpdated(c);
-  return created;
+  return provisioned;
 }
 
 async function refreshProviderProfilesMutation(c: any, command?: RefreshProviderProfilesCommand): Promise<void> {
@@ -437,16 +439,20 @@ export const workspaceActions = {
     c.broadcast("workbenchUpdated", { at: Date.now() });
   },
 
-  async createWorkbenchHandoff(c: any, input: HandoffWorkbenchCreateHandoffInput): Promise<{ handoffId: string }> {
+  async createWorkbenchHandoff(c: any, input: HandoffWorkbenchCreateHandoffInput): Promise<{ handoffId: string; tabId?: string }> {
     const created = await workspaceActions.createHandoff(c, {
       workspaceId: c.state.workspaceId,
       repoId: input.repoId,
       task: input.task,
       ...(input.title ? { explicitTitle: input.title } : {}),
       ...(input.branch ? { explicitBranchName: input.branch } : {}),
+      ...(input.initialPrompt !== undefined ? { initialPrompt: input.initialPrompt } : {}),
       ...(input.model ? { agentType: agentTypeForModel(input.model) } : {}),
     });
-    return { handoffId: created.handoffId };
+    return {
+      handoffId: created.handoffId,
+      ...(created.activeSessionId ? { tabId: created.activeSessionId } : {}),
+    };
   },
 
   async markWorkbenchUnread(c: any, input: HandoffWorkbenchSelectInput): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/factory/packages/frontend/src/components/mock-layout.tsx b/factory/packages/frontend/src/components/mock-layout.tsx
index e06683b..19768dd 100644
--- a/factory/packages/frontend/src/components/mock-layout.tsx
+++ b/factory/packages/frontend/src/components/mock-layout.tsx
@@ -949,19 +949,13 @@ export function MockLayout({ workspaceId, selectedHandoffId, selectedSessionId }
         throw new Error("Cannot create a task without an available repo");
       }
 
-      const task = window.prompt("Describe the task", "Investigate and implement the requested change");
-      if (!task) {
-        return;
-      }
-
-      const title = window.prompt("Optional task title", "")?.trim() || undefined;
-      const branch = window.prompt("Optional branch name", "")?.trim() || undefined;
+      const task = "New task";
       const { handoffId, tabId } = await handoffWorkbenchClient.createHandoff({
         repoId,
         task,
+        title: task,
         model: "gpt-4o",
-        ...(title ? { title } : {}),
-        ...(branch ? { branch } : {}),
+        initialPrompt: "",
       });
       await navigate({
         to: "/workspaces/$workspaceId/handoffs/$handoffId",
diff --git a/factory/packages/shared/src/contracts.ts b/factory/packages/shared/src/contracts.ts
index a020674..9722c3b 100644
--- a/factory/packages/shared/src/contracts.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/shared/src/contracts.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ export const CreateHandoffInputSchema = z.object({
   task: z.string().min(1),
   explicitTitle: z.string().trim().min(1).optional(),
   explicitBranchName: z.string().trim().min(1).optional(),
+  initialPrompt: z.string().optional(),
   providerId: ProviderIdSchema.optional(),
   agentType: AgentTypeSchema.optional(),
   onBranch: z.string().trim().min(1).optional(),
diff --git a/factory/packages/shared/src/workbench.ts b/factory/packages/shared/src/workbench.ts
index 8e26220..683c372 100644
--- a/factory/packages/shared/src/workbench.ts
+++ b/factory/packages/shared/src/workbench.ts
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ export interface HandoffWorkbenchCreateHandoffInput {
   title?: string;
   branch?: string;
   model?: WorkbenchModelId;
+  initialPrompt?: string;
 }
 
 export interface HandoffWorkbenchRenameInput {