diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/plugin.js b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/plugin.js
index 2aacbe5be9..eed110e190 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/plugin.js
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/plugin.js
@@ -4149,6 +4149,24 @@ function createCanonicalChat(name) {
     const sid = res?.stored_session_id
     const runtime = res?.session_id
 
+    // session.create is intentionally lazy: its stored row does not exist until
+    // the first prompt. Mounting `sid` immediately therefore emits a noisy REST
+    // 404 ("Session not found"), and the turn-start auto-titler can win the race
+    // against the deferred `title: 'Bot Chat'` — under name-identity that is an
+    // identity outage: until the row is titled, the registry has no "Bot Chat"
+    // entry, so a second click during the intro turn mints a duplicate.
+    // session.title materializes the row now and records a user-authority title
+    // before either the open or kickoff, closing both the 404 race and the
+    // untitled window. Older gateways may not support the eager write; retain
+    // the kickoff-and-retry fallback below.
+    if (runtime) {
+      try {
+        await host.request('session.title', { session_id: runtime, title: CANONICAL_CHAT_TITLE })
+      } catch {
+        /* compatibility fallback: prompt.submit will persist the lazy row */
+      }
+    }
+
     // Mount the session view FIRST, then send the kickoff — submitting into
     // an unmounted session left the intro reply invisible until reopen.
     let opened = false
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/canonical-chat-creation.test.mjs b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/canonical-chat-creation.test.mjs
index e5b069bdd5..4174413ce9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/canonical-chat-creation.test.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/tests/canonical-chat-creation.test.mjs
@@ -22,7 +22,31 @@ function loadCanonicalCreation({ openSession, request }) {
   return { ...context.__canonical }
 }
 
-test('regression: navigation retries after the kickoff persists a new canonical chat', async () => {
+test('regression: creation materializes and titles the lazy row before opening it', async () => {
+  const events = []
+  const runtime = loadCanonicalCreation({
+    openSession: async id => events.push(`open:${id}`),
+    request: async (method, params) => {
+      events.push(method)
+      if (method === 'session.create') return { stored_session_id: 'stored-1', session_id: 'runtime-1' }
+      if (method === 'session.title') {
+        assert.deepEqual(params, { session_id: 'runtime-1', title: 'Bot Chat' })
+      }
+      return {}
+    }
+  })
+
+  assert.equal(await runtime.createCanonicalChat('ops'), 'stored-1')
+  assert.deepEqual(events, [
+    'session.list',
+    'session.create',
+    'session.title',
+    'open:stored-1',
+    'prompt.submit'
+  ])
+})
+
+test('compatibility: navigation retries after kickoff when eager title persistence is unavailable', async () => {
   const events = []
   let attempts = 0
   const runtime = loadCanonicalCreation({
@@ -33,6 +57,7 @@ test('regression: navigation retries after the kickoff persists a new canonical
     },
     request: async method => {
       if (method === 'session.create') return { stored_session_id: 'stored-1', session_id: 'runtime-1' }
+      if (method === 'session.title') throw new Error('unknown method')
       if (method === 'prompt.submit') events.push('kickoff:persisted')
       return {}
     }
diff --git a/contributors/emails/switchstatement@gmail.com b/contributors/emails/switchstatement@gmail.com
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a8dbc4603c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contributors/emails/switchstatement@gmail.com
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+krunkosaurus