diff --git a/packages/desktop/src/main/ipc-transport.test.ts b/packages/desktop/src/main/ipc-transport.test.ts
index 66b62f15d57d..79cf25fa72ab 100644
--- a/packages/desktop/src/main/ipc-transport.test.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop/src/main/ipc-transport.test.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,51 @@ import type { MessagePortMain, WebContents } from "electron"
 import { Context, Effect, Layer, ManagedRuntime, Option, Queue, Schema, Stream } from "effect"
 import { Rpc, RpcClient, RpcClientError, RpcGroup, RpcMessage, RpcServer } from "effect/unstable/rpc"
 import { Transferable } from "effect/unstable/workers"
+import { omitUndefined } from "../shared/ipc-transport"
+import { FilesOpenFilePicker } from "../shared/ipc-rpc/files"
 import { IpcPortHandoff, IpcServerProtocolLive } from "./ipc-transport"
 
 describe("desktop RPC transport", () => {
+  test("decodes renderer payloads whose optional fields are undefined", async () => {
+    let received: unknown
+    const rpcs = RpcGroup.make(FilesOpenFilePicker)
+    const handlers = rpcs.toLayer({
+      FilesOpenFilePicker: ({ options }) =>
+        Effect.sync(() => {
+          received = options
+          return null
+        }),
+    })
+    const live = RpcServer.layer(rpcs).pipe(Layer.provide(handlers), Layer.provideMerge(IpcServerProtocolLive))
+    const runtime = ManagedRuntime.make(live)
+    const handoff = await runtime.runPromise(IpcPortHandoff)
+    const channel = new MessageChannel()
+    handoff.bind(sender(1), serverPort(channel.port1))
+    // What openAttachmentPickerDialog sends for the composer's attach button.
+    const payload = { options: { multiple: true, title: undefined, defaultPath: "C:\\project", extensions: undefined } }
+
+    // The renderer posts the wire format itself, so a present-but-undefined key reaches the JSON codec.
+    const rejected = await rawRequest(channel.port2, 0, payload)
+    expect(rejected).toMatchObject({
+      _tag: "Exit",
+      exit: { _tag: "Failure", cause: [{ _tag: "Die", defect: expect.stringContaining('["options"]["title"]') }] },
+    })
+
+    const accepted = await rawRequest(channel.port2, 1, omitUndefined(payload))
+    expect(accepted).toMatchObject({ _tag: "Exit", exit: { _tag: "Success", value: null } })
+    expect(received).toEqual({ multiple: true, defaultPath: "C:\\project" })
+
+    channel.port2.close()
+    await runtime.dispose()
+  })
+
+  test("omitting undefined fields leaves bytes and defined values alone", () => {
+    const data = new Uint8Array([0, 255, 2])
+    const result = omitUndefined({ data, nested: [{ keep: null, drop: undefined }], count: 0 }) as { data: Uint8Array }
+    expect(result).toEqual({ data, nested: [{ keep: null }], count: 0 })
+    expect(result.data).toBe(data)
+  })
+
   test("keeps multiple renderer ports independent", async () => {
     let received: unknown
     const handlers = TestRpcs.toLayer(
@@ -145,6 +187,12 @@ function clientProtocol(port: MessagePort) {
   )
 }
 
+function rawRequest(port: MessageChannel["port2"], id: number, payload: unknown) {
+  const response = new Promise<RpcMessage.FromServerEncoded>((resolve) => port.once("message", resolve))
+  port.postMessage({ _tag: "Request", id, tag: "FilesOpenFilePicker", payload, headers: [] })
+  return response
+}
+
 function sender(id: number) {
   const events = new EventEmitter()
   return {
diff --git a/packages/desktop/src/renderer/ipc-client.ts b/packages/desktop/src/renderer/ipc-client.ts
index 521c9b12068e..4fa32dc1ea75 100644
--- a/packages/desktop/src/renderer/ipc-client.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop/src/renderer/ipc-client.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import type { Effect } from "effect"
 import type { RpcMessage } from "effect/unstable/rpc"
 import type { DesktopRpcClient } from "../shared/ipc-rpc"
 import type { DesktopEvent } from "../shared/ipc-rpc/events"
-import { IpcTransportPort } from "../shared/ipc-transport"
+import { IpcTransportPort, omitUndefined } from "../shared/ipc-transport"
 
 // The main process serves Effect's RpcServer over a MessagePort; this side speaks its wire format
 // directly. Messages cross by structured clone (no serialization layer, binary stays binary), every
@@ -80,7 +80,13 @@ function request(tag: string, payload: unknown, chunk?: Pending["chunk"]) {
   const id = nextId++
   return new Promise<unknown>((resolve, reject) => {
     pending.set(id, { resolve, reject, chunk })
-    const message: RpcMessage.RequestEncoded = { _tag: "Request", id, tag, payload, headers: [] }
+    const message: RpcMessage.RequestEncoded = {
+      _tag: "Request",
+      id,
+      tag,
+      payload: omitUndefined(payload),
+      headers: [],
+    }
     void port.then((p) => p.postMessage(message))
   })
 }
diff --git a/packages/desktop/src/shared/ipc-transport.ts b/packages/desktop/src/shared/ipc-transport.ts
index 78d52309bb7c..fb60a7322168 100644
--- a/packages/desktop/src/shared/ipc-transport.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop/src/shared/ipc-transport.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,17 @@ export const IpcTransportPort = "desktop-rpc-port"
 export const DragCancelEvent = "opencode:drag-cancel"
 export const StorageSnapshotChannel = "desktop-storage-snapshot"
 
+// The main process decodes RPC payloads with the JSON codec, and JSON has no undefined: an
+// optional field the caller left as `undefined` decodes only when its key is absent. Structured
+// clone keeps the key, so drop such fields the way JSON.stringify would, leaving bytes untouched.
+export function omitUndefined(value: unknown): unknown {
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) return value.map(omitUndefined)
+  if (typeof value !== "object" || value === null || value instanceof Uint8Array) return value
+  return Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.entries(value).flatMap(([key, item]) => (item === undefined ? [] : [[key, omitUndefined(item)]])),
+  )
+}
+
 export type StorageSnapshot = Record<string, { items: Record<string, string>; revision: number }>
 
 // The namespaces a window reads while its shell mounts. The preload asks for them before the page