diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.browser.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.browser.tsx
index ec07053a..245c0d77 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.browser.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.browser.tsx
@@ -2456,7 +2456,7 @@ describe("ChatView timeline estimator parity (full app)", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("keeps source control closed by default on wide draft thread routes before first send", async () => {
+  it("defaults source control open on wide draft thread routes before first send", async () => {
     const draftId = DraftId.make("draft-source-control-before-start");
     useComposerDraftStore.setState({
       draftThreadsByThreadKey: {
@@ -2494,18 +2494,19 @@ describe("ChatView timeline estimator parity (full app)", () => {
         "Unable to find source control toggle.",
       );
       expect(sourceControlToggle.disabled).toBe(false);
-      expect(sourceControlToggle.hasAttribute("data-pressed")).toBe(false);
-      await expect
-        .element(page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Source Control" }))
-        .not.toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(sourceControlToggle.hasAttribute("data-pressed")).toBe(true);
+      expect(document.body.textContent).not.toContain("Explain this codebase");
+      expect(document.body.textContent).not.toContain("Review my uncommitted changes");
+      expect(document.body.textContent).not.toContain("Fix a bug");
+      await expect.element(page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Source Control" })).toBeVisible();
 
       sourceControlToggle.click();
 
       await vi.waitFor(
         () => {
-          expect(mounted.router.state.location.search).toMatchObject({ sourceControl: "1" });
-          expect(sourceControlToggle.hasAttribute("data-pressed")).toBe(true);
-          expect(document.querySelector('h2[aria-label="Source Control"]')).not.toBeNull();
+          expect(mounted.router.state.location.search).toMatchObject({ sourceControl: "0" });
+          expect(sourceControlToggle.hasAttribute("data-pressed")).toBe(false);
+          expect(document.querySelector('h2[aria-label="Source Control"]')).toBeNull();
         },
         { timeout: 8_000, interval: 16 },
       );
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
index e8f3dbe9..3e3c601e 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/ChatView.tsx
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ import { isElectron } from "../env";
 import { ensureLocalApi, readLocalApi } from "../localApi";
 import {
   closeRightPanelSearchParams,
-  isDraftSourceControlPanelOpen,
   isSourceControlPanelOpen,
   parseDiffRouteSearch,
   preserveRightPanelSearchParamsForDraftNavigation,
@@ -1263,12 +1262,9 @@ export default function ChatView(props: ChatViewProps) {
     composerInteractionMode ?? activeThread?.interactionMode ?? DEFAULT_INTERACTION_MODE;
   const isLocalDraftThread = !isServerThread && localDraftThread !== undefined;
   const canCheckoutPullRequestIntoThread = isLocalDraftThread;
-  // Mirror the owning route's panel default: server threads open on wide
-  // viewports, drafts stay closed until explicitly opened.
-  const sourceControlOpen =
-    routeKind === "server"
-      ? isSourceControlPanelOpen(rawSearch, { defaultOpen: !shouldUseRightPanelSheet })
-      : isDraftSourceControlPanelOpen(rawSearch);
+  const sourceControlOpen = isSourceControlPanelOpen(rawSearch, {
+    defaultOpen: !shouldUseRightPanelSheet,
+  });
   // The diff panel is a drill-in of source control, so the header toggle
   // treats the right panel as one unit: it stays pressed while a diff is
   // open and pressing it closes the whole panel.
@@ -1323,15 +1319,6 @@ export default function ChatView(props: ChatViewProps) {
   // General Chat threads run in a hidden scratch workspace: source-control,
   // scripts, and open-in affordances stay hidden even though a project exists.
   const isGeneralChatThread = activeProject?.kind === "general-chat";
-  const insertDraftStarterPrompt = useCallback(
-    (text: string) => {
-      setComposerDraftPrompt(composerDraftTarget, text);
-      window.requestAnimationFrame(() => {
-        composerRef.current?.focusAtEnd();
-      });
-    },
-    [composerDraftTarget, composerRef, setComposerDraftPrompt],
-  );
   const draftTimelineEmptyState = useMemo(
     () =>
       isLocalDraftThread && draftThread ? (
@@ -1339,14 +1326,12 @@ export default function ChatView(props: ChatViewProps) {
           currentProjectRef={scopeProjectRef(draftThread.environmentId, draftThread.projectId)}
           currentProjectName={activeProject?.name ?? null}
           isGeneralChat={isGeneralChatThread}
-          onInsertPrompt={insertDraftStarterPrompt}
         />
       ) : undefined,
     [
       activeProject?.name,
       draftThread?.environmentId,
       draftThread?.projectId,
-      insertDraftStarterPrompt,
       isGeneralChatThread,
       isLocalDraftThread,
     ],
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/chat/DraftEmptyState.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/chat/DraftEmptyState.tsx
index 5b3331c2..f6892b51 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/chat/DraftEmptyState.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/chat/DraftEmptyState.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,6 @@
 import { scopedProjectKey, scopeProjectRef } from "@threadlines/client-runtime";
 import type { ScopedProjectRef } from "@threadlines/contracts";
-import {
-  BugIcon,
-  CheckIcon,
-  CompassIcon,
-  GitCompareArrowsIcon,
-  MessagesSquareIcon,
-} from "lucide-react";
+import { CheckIcon, MessagesSquareIcon } from "lucide-react";
 import { useMemo } from "react";
 
 import { usePrimaryEnvironmentId } from "../../environments/primary";
@@ -16,7 +10,6 @@ import { resolveGeneralChatsProjectRef } from "../../lib/generalChats";
 import { selectGeneralChatsProjectAcrossEnvironments, useStore } from "../../store";
 import { ProjectFavicon } from "../ProjectFavicon";
 import { RecentThreadsList } from "../RecentThreadsList";
-import { Button } from "../ui/button";
 import { riseDelay, ThreadlinesFigure } from "../ThreadlinesFigure";
 import {
   Menu,
@@ -32,21 +25,12 @@ interface DraftEmptyStateProps {
   currentProjectRef: ScopedProjectRef | null;
   currentProjectName: string | null;
   isGeneralChat: boolean;
-  onInsertPrompt?: ((text: string) => void) | undefined;
 }
 
-/** Starter prompts inserted into the composer for editing, not sent. */
-const STARTER_PROMPTS = [
-  { icon: CompassIcon, prompt: "Explain this codebase" },
-  { icon: GitCompareArrowsIcon, prompt: "Review my uncommitted changes" },
-  { icon: BugIcon, prompt: "Fix a bug" },
-] as const;
-
 export function DraftEmptyState({
   currentProjectRef,
   currentProjectName,
   isGeneralChat,
-  onInsertPrompt,
 }: DraftEmptyStateProps) {
   const { handleNewThread, orderedProjects } = useHandleNewThread();
   const activeEnvironmentId = useStore((state) => state.activeEnvironmentId);
@@ -131,28 +115,8 @@ export function DraftEmptyState({
         ?
       </h2>
 
-      {!isGeneralChat && onInsertPrompt ? (
-        <div
-          className="no-thread-rise mt-5 flex flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-1"
-          style={riseDelay("0.26s")}
-        >
-          {STARTER_PROMPTS.map(({ icon: Icon, prompt }) => (
-            <Button
-              className="text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground"
-              key={prompt}
-              onClick={() => onInsertPrompt(prompt)}
-              size="sm"
-              variant="ghost"
-            >
-              <Icon />
-              {prompt}
-            </Button>
-          ))}
-        </div>
-      ) : null}
-
       <RecentThreadsList
-        className="no-thread-rise mt-10 w-full [--no-thread-delay:0.4s]"
+        className="no-thread-rise mt-10 w-full [--no-thread-delay:0.26s]"
         limit={5}
         testId="draft-empty-recent-thread"
       />
diff --git a/apps/web/src/diffRouteSearch.ts b/apps/web/src/diffRouteSearch.ts
index baf8f491..86ac7ef4 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/diffRouteSearch.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/diffRouteSearch.ts
@@ -133,16 +133,6 @@ export function isSourceControlPanelOpen(
   return options.defaultOpen ?? true;
 }
 
-/**
- * Drafts start with the source-control panel closed: a pristine thread has no
- * turn activity to review, and the home/new-thread surface should read as a
- * clean page. Only explicit `sourceControl=1` opens it; the wide-viewport
- * default that applies to server threads does not.
- */
-export function isDraftSourceControlPanelOpen(search: DiffRouteSearch): boolean {
-  return isSourceControlPanelOpen(search, { defaultOpen: false });
-}
-
 export function parseDiffRouteSearch(search: Record<string, unknown>): DiffRouteSearch {
   const diff = isDiffOpenValue(search.diff) ? "1" : undefined;
   const diffMode = diff && search.diffMode === "workingTree" ? "workingTree" : undefined;
diff --git a/apps/web/src/routes/_chat.draft.$draftId.tsx b/apps/web/src/routes/_chat.draft.$draftId.tsx
index 6e5f0def..0739f903 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/routes/_chat.draft.$draftId.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/routes/_chat.draft.$draftId.tsx
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { ChatRightPanelInlineSidebar } from "../components/ChatRightPanelInlineS
 import { useComposerDraftStore, DraftId } from "../composerDraftStore";
 import {
   closeRightPanelSearchParams,
-  isDraftSourceControlPanelOpen,
+  isSourceControlPanelOpen,
   parseDiffRouteSearch,
   stripRightPanelSearchParams,
 } from "../diffRouteSearch";
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ function DraftChatThreadRouteView() {
       }),
     [draftSession?.promotedTo, serverThread, serverThreadHasTurnActivity, serverThreadRef],
   );
-  const rawSourceControlOpen = isDraftSourceControlPanelOpen(search);
+  const rawSourceControlOpen = isSourceControlPanelOpen(search, {
+    defaultOpen: !shouldUseSourceControlSheet,
+  });
   const draftProjectRef = draftSession
     ? scopeProjectRef(draftSession.environmentId, draftSession.projectId)
     : null;