Create New Project ignores "Add project starts in" and always uses ~/.t3/projects #14960

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1. juliusmarminge commented on Oct 3, 2026

   

   juliusmarminge

   on Oct 3, 2026

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   Note

   Grok responding on behalf of Julius.

   Triage

   Thanks for the detailed write-up, @areidyOTH! You're right about how it works today, and this is the designed location for New project rather than a bug.

   Add project starts in only chooses the folder the Add Project browser opens in. Its settings row says to leave it empty to use ~/ when that browser opens, and the command palette uses addProjectBaseDirectory only as that starting path. Creating a project from a name doesn't read it.

   New project always creates <T3 home>/projects/<slug> (normally ~/.t3/projects/<slug>). On current main that's namedProjectsRoot in ManagedProjectFolders:

   // Projects started from just a name live beside Scratch and worktrees, away
   // from folders the user organizes by hand. A nested repository is fine here
   // (unlike Scratch) because each project gets its own `git init`.
   const namedProjectsRoot = path.resolve(config.baseDir, "projects");

   That location was specified in #14527, and #14569 moved the logic into this service without changing it. The name step already shows Goes in <root> or Creates <path> before anything is created, and web, desktop, and mobile all use the server's newProjectsRoot. #11756 is a separate (closed) report about where Add project starts in is scoped, and it never controlled where New project writes.

   Choosing a different directory would be a new capability. Pointing New project at addProjectBaseDirectory would mix "where the browser opens" with "where T3 keeps repositories it creates", which #14527 deliberately kept apart. A separate "New projects are created in" setting fits that split better, but it needs a product decision first, so a proposal in Ideas is the best next step. I'm tagging this as an enhancement for now.

   Until then, your workaround is the targeted one: move any projects already under ~/.t3/projects, then symlink that directory to the folder you want. T3CODE_HOME or --base-dir relocates the whole T3 data directory, including the database, not just these projects.

   Reviewed at 8ed276c246: ManagedProjectFolders.ts, SettingsPanels.tsx, CommandPalette.tsx.
2. juliusmarminge

   added

   enhancementRequested improvement or new capability.Requested improvement or new capability.

   via-triageFiled through npx t3 triageFiled through npx t3 triage

   on Oct 3, 2026
3. AugusDogus commented on Oct 8, 2026

   

   AugusDogus

   on Oct 8, 2026

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   Same behavior on the newest nightly, and one point that may be worth adding to the enhancement framing: for users who had set "Add project starts in", this reads as a behavior change, not only a missing option.

   Why it feels like a regression

   Before #14527 (merged 2026-10-01), the sidebar "+" and the draft heading's menu item were labeled "New project" but opened Add project. That browser starts in addProjectBaseDirectory, and typing a path that doesn't exist yet and pressing Enter ("Create & Add") creates the folder there and registers it. So "New project" used to land in the configured directory.

   Since #14527, those entry points say "Add project", and the thing now called New project always writes to <T3 home>/projects/<slug>. Same label as before, different destination. The "Create & Add" path still works, so nothing was removed, but the obvious button moved.

   Environment

   • T3 Code 0.0.46-nightly.20261008.2833 (a6ec88f), run as a background service, web client
   • Linux x64, Node v26.8.2
   • settings.json: "addProjectBaseDirectory": "~/<base-dir>"

   Evidence

   Projects added via Add project (including typed-in new folders) all sit under the configured base directory. Every project created with New project since the 2026-10-01 nightly sits under ~/.t3/projects:

   # projection_projects, newest first (workspace_root | created_at)
   ~/<base-dir>/project-g    | 2026-10-06   (Add project)
   ~/.t3/projects/project-f  | 2026-10-04   (New project)
   ~/.t3/projects/project-e  | 2026-10-03   (New project)
   ~/.t3/projects/project-d  | 2026-10-02   (New project)
   ~/<base-dir>/project-c    | 2026-09-28   (Add project, folder created from the browser)
   ~/<base-dir>/project-b    | 2026-09-25   (Add project, folder created from the browser)
   ~/<base-dir>/project-a    | 2026-09-24   (Add project, folder created from the browser)
   

   The ~/.t3/projects repos start with the scaffold's Initial commit (README + assets/icon.svg). The earlier base-directory repos have ordinary first commits, consistent with "Create & Add" plus the first turn's own commit.

   Source on this tag matches the diagnosis above: apps/server/src/project/ManagedProjectFolders.ts:376 resolves path.resolve(config.baseDir, "projects") and never reads addProjectBaseDirectory; apps/web/src/components/CommandPalette.tsx:1119 reads the setting only to seed the Add project browser.

   Either fix proposed in the issue would work for me. Defaulting New project to addProjectBaseDirectory when set would restore what the old "New project" label did.

   Filed via t3 triage (Claude Code, Claude Fable 5.1).
4. Lightning11wins commented on Oct 10, 2026

   

   Lightning11wins

   on Oct 10, 2026

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   For what it's worth, I second this. I asked Claude how to change the new project directory, and you can't, so I guess I'll have to create all my projects manually unless this gets updated.
5. areidyOTH commented on Oct 10, 2026

   

   areidyOTH

   on Oct 10, 2026

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   @Lightning11wins I raised it as an idea, see #14973 . Hopefully it gets enough up votes that it is implemented

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Lightning
6. pingdotgg

   locked and limited conversation to collaborators on Oct 11, 2026
7. maria-rcks

   converted this issue into a discussion #18021 on Oct 11, 2026