diff --git a/src/main/fs-service.ts b/src/main/fs-service.ts
index 6a37435..2ac60bf 100644
--- a/src/main/fs-service.ts
+++ b/src/main/fs-service.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { readdir, readFile, rm, stat, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
-import { join, relative, sep } from 'node:path'
+import { mkdir, readdir, readFile, rm, stat, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { dirname, join, relative, sep } from 'node:path'
 import { listFiles } from './search-service'
 
 export interface FileNode {
@@ -120,6 +120,20 @@ export async function writeProjectFile(root: string, rel: string, content: strin
   await writeFile(join(root, rel), content, 'utf8')
 }
 
+/**
+ * Create a new, empty text file (relative path). Creates parent folders as
+ * needed, refuses to escape the project root, and throws if the file already
+ * exists so an accidental name collision never clobbers existing content.
+ */
+export async function createProjectFile(root: string, rel: string): Promise<void> {
+  const target = join(root, rel)
+  if (relative(root, target).startsWith('..')) throw new Error('outside project root')
+  const existing = await stat(target).catch(() => null)
+  if (existing) throw new Error('file already exists')
+  await mkdir(dirname(target), { recursive: true })
+  await writeFile(target, '', { encoding: 'utf8', flag: 'wx' })
+}
+
 /** Delete a project file or folder (relative path). Stays inside the project root. */
 export async function deleteProjectFile(root: string, rel: string): Promise<void> {
   const target = join(root, rel)
diff --git a/src/main/index.ts b/src/main/index.ts
index c740e1c..bafcadb 100644
--- a/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/src/main/index.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { spawn } from 'node:child_process'
 import { app, dialog, shell, BrowserWindow, ipcMain, Menu } from 'electron'
 import { watch, type FSWatcher } from 'chokidar'
 import { addRecentProject, getName, getRecentProjects, getRoot, openDialog, setRoot } from './project'
-import { deleteProjectFile, readAll, readProjectFile, readTree, writeProjectFile } from './fs-service'
+import { createProjectFile, deleteProjectFile, readAll, readProjectFile, readTree, writeProjectFile } from './fs-service'
 import { commit, discard, load, stage, unstage } from './git-service'
 import { createPty, killAllPtys, killPty, ptyAvailable, resizePty, writePty } from './pty-service'
 import { getConfig, getRecent, getThemeCss, resolveConfig, setRecent } from './config'
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ function registerIpc(): void {
   ipcMain.handle('fs:read', (_e, rel: string) => { const r = getRoot(); return r ? readProjectFile(r, rel) : '' })
   ipcMain.handle('fs:write', (_e, rel: string, content: string) => { const r = getRoot(); if (r) return writeProjectFile(r, rel, content) })
   ipcMain.handle('fs:delete', (_e, rel: string) => { const r = getRoot(); if (r) return deleteProjectFile(r, rel) })
+  ipcMain.handle('fs:create', (_e, rel: string) => { const r = getRoot(); if (r) return createProjectFile(r, rel) })
   ipcMain.handle('shell:reveal', (_e, rel: string) => { const r = getRoot(); if (r) shell.showItemInFolder(join(r, rel)) })
 
   ipcMain.handle('git:load', () => { const r = getRoot(); return r ? load(r) : null })
diff --git a/src/preload/index.ts b/src/preload/index.ts
index 97833d4..f431048 100644
--- a/src/preload/index.ts
+++ b/src/preload/index.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ const api = {
     read: (path: string) => ipcRenderer.invoke('fs:read', path),
     write: (path: string, content: string): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('fs:write', path, content),
     delete: (path: string): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('fs:delete', path),
+    create: (path: string): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('fs:create', path),
   },
 
   shell: {
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/App.tsx b/src/renderer/src/App.tsx
index 4eff7f5..c38250a 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/App.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type { ContextTarget } from './components'
 import { Editor, SplitView } from './editor'
 import type { Cursor, Mode, Selection } from './editor'
 import { Terminal, lid } from './terminals'
-import { ConfirmModal, ContextMenu, HelpModal, HistoryModal, PassPopup, SearchModal, Toasts } from './overlays'
+import { ConfirmModal, ContextMenu, HelpModal, HistoryModal, NamePopup, PassPopup, SearchModal, Toasts } from './overlays'
 import { ProjectLauncher } from './launcher'
 import type { Menu, Toast } from './overlays'
 import type { FileNode, GitStatus } from './types'
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ export function App(): React.ReactElement {
   const [splitFor, setSplitFor] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [commitMsg, setCommitMsg] = useState('')
   const [passPopup, setPassPopup] = useState<{ x: number; y: number; ref: string } | null>(null)
+  const [newFilePopup, setNewFilePopup] = useState<{ x: number; y: number; dir: string } | null>(null)
   const [confirm, setConfirm] = useState<{ title: string; body?: string; confirmLabel: string; onConfirm: () => void } | null>(null)
   // Brief full-screen "branch - repository" flash whenever the window gains focus
   // (handy when juggling several project windows).
@@ -283,6 +284,20 @@ export function App(): React.ReactElement {
     actions.refresh()
     toast(isDir ? 'Deleted folder' : 'Deleted file', path)
   }
+  // Create a new empty file inside `dir` (project-relative folder, '' = root),
+  // then open it in a tab so the user can start typing right away.
+  async function createFile(dir: string, name: string): Promise<void> {
+    const rel = (dir ? dir + '/' : '') + name.replace(/^\/+/, '')
+    const bridge = window.helder
+    if (bridge) {
+      try { await bridge.fs.create(rel) } catch { toast('Create failed', rel); return }
+    }
+    if (dir) setOpenDirs((d) => { const n = new Set(d); n.add(dir); return n })
+    actions.refresh()
+    toast('Created file', rel)
+    openFile(rel)
+  }
+
   function askDelete(path: string, isDir: boolean): void {
     setConfirm({
       title: isDir ? 'Delete folder?' : 'Delete file?',
@@ -381,6 +396,11 @@ export function App(): React.ReactElement {
         sparkSend(ref),
         { icon: Icon.copy(), label: isDir ? 'Copy folder path' : 'Copy file name', onClick: () => copyText(isDir ? target.path : name, 'Copied') },
       ]
+      if (isDir) {
+        const mx = e.clientX, my = e.clientY
+        items.push({ sep: true })
+        items.push({ icon: Icon.file(), label: 'New file', onClick: () => setNewFilePopup({ x: mx, y: my, dir: target.path }) })
+      }
       if (!isDir) {
         items.push({ sep: true })
         if (target.kind === 'git') {
@@ -520,7 +540,7 @@ export function App(): React.ReactElement {
 
   // No project yet (launched via Spotlight / bare) → show the project launcher.
   if (proj.ready && !proj.root) {
-    return <ProjectLauncher onOpenNew={() => actions.openFolder()} onOpenPath={(p) => actions.openProjectPath(p)} />
+    return <ProjectLauncher recents={proj.recents} onOpenNew={() => actions.openFolder()} onOpenPath={(p) => actions.openProjectPath(p)} />
   }
 
   return (
@@ -613,6 +633,9 @@ export function App(): React.ReactElement {
           toast('Passed to agent', passPopup.ref)
         }}
         onCancel={() => setPassPopup(null)} />}
+      {newFilePopup && <NamePopup x={newFilePopup.x} y={newFilePopup.y} dir={newFilePopup.dir}
+        onConfirm={(name) => { createFile(newFilePopup.dir, name); setNewFilePopup(null) }}
+        onCancel={() => setNewFilePopup(null)} />}
       {overlay === 'search' && <SearchModal initialQuery={searchInit} onOpen={openFile} onOpenAt={(p, n) => openFile(p, { line: n })} onClose={() => setOverlay(null)} changeSet={changeSet} activePath={active} activeText={bufferText(active)} showHidden={showHidden} />}
       {overlay === 'history' && <HistoryModal history={history} initialSel={histInitSel} onOpen={openFile} onClose={() => setOverlay(null)} changeSet={changeSet} />}
       {overlay === 'help' && <HelpModal onClose={() => setOverlay(null)} />}
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/env.d.ts b/src/renderer/src/env.d.ts
index f4a96b3..d11eaee 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/env.d.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/env.d.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ interface HelderBridge {
     read: (path: string) => Promise<string>
     write: (path: string, content: string) => Promise<void>
     delete: (path: string) => Promise<void>
+    create: (path: string) => Promise<void>
   }
   shell: {
     reveal: (path: string) => void
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/launcher.tsx b/src/renderer/src/launcher.tsx
index 22a7d60..e727146 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/launcher.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/launcher.tsx
@@ -4,14 +4,13 @@
  * selection, ↵ opens it — same model as the recent-files navigator. */
 import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import { Icon } from './components'
+import type { RecentProject } from './project'
 
-interface RecentProject { path: string; name: string }
-
-export function ProjectLauncher({ onOpenNew, onOpenPath }: {
+export function ProjectLauncher({ recents, onOpenNew, onOpenPath }: {
+  recents: RecentProject[]
   onOpenNew: () => void
   onOpenPath: (path: string) => void
 }): React.ReactElement {
-  const [recents, setRecents] = useState<RecentProject[]>([])
   const [sel, setSel] = useState(0)
   const selRef = useRef(sel); selRef.current = sel
   const listRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
@@ -19,11 +18,6 @@ export function ProjectLauncher({ onOpenNew, onOpenPath }: {
   // rows = [new project, ...recents]; total selectable count
   const count = recents.length + 1
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const bridge = window.helder
-    if (bridge) bridge.project.recent().then(setRecents).catch(() => setRecents([]))
-  }, [])
-
   function activate(i: number): void {
     if (i <= 0) onOpenNew()
     else if (recents[i - 1]) onOpenPath(recents[i - 1].path)
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/overlays.tsx b/src/renderer/src/overlays.tsx
index 1396e53..eac9020 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/overlays.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/overlays.tsx
@@ -488,3 +488,41 @@ export function PassPopup({ x, y, refStr, onConfirm, onCancel }: {
     </div>
   )
 }
+
+export function NamePopup({ x, y, dir, onConfirm, onCancel }: {
+  x: number
+  y: number
+  dir: string
+  onConfirm: (name: string) => void
+  onCancel: () => void
+}): React.ReactElement {
+  const [name, setName] = useState('')
+  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null)
+  const boxRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
+  useEffect(() => { if (inputRef.current) inputRef.current.focus() }, [])
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const h = (e: MouseEvent): void => { if (boxRef.current && !boxRef.current.contains(e.target as Node)) onCancel() }
+    const k = (e: KeyboardEvent): void => { if (e.key === 'Escape') { e.preventDefault(); onCancel() } }
+    document.addEventListener('mousedown', h)
+    document.addEventListener('keydown', k, true)
+    return () => { document.removeEventListener('mousedown', h); document.removeEventListener('keydown', k, true) }
+  }, [])
+  const left = Math.min(x, window.innerWidth - 360)
+  const top = Math.min(y + 6, window.innerHeight - 150)
+  const trimmed = name.trim()
+  const target = (dir ? dir + '/' : '') + trimmed
+  return (
+    <div className="pass-pop" ref={boxRef} style={{ left, top }}>
+      <div className="pass-head">{Icon.file()}<span>New file</span><span className="pass-esc">esc</span></div>
+      <input ref={inputRef} className="pass-input" value={name} spellCheck={false}
+        placeholder="file name…"
+        onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)}
+        onKeyDown={(e) => {
+          if (e.key === 'Enter') { e.preventDefault(); if (trimmed) onConfirm(trimmed) }
+          else if (e.key === 'Escape') { e.preventDefault(); onCancel() }
+        }} />
+      <div className="pass-preview"><span className="pp-lbl">creates</span><code>{target || '…'}</code></div>
+      <div className="pass-foot"><kbd>↵</kbd> create file · <kbd>esc</kbd> cancel</div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/project.tsx b/src/renderer/src/project.tsx
index bbc8556..b2c206c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/project.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/project.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import { DEFAULT_CONFIG } from './types'
 import { makeDiff } from './diff'
 import { PROJECT as MOCK } from './data'
 
+export interface RecentProject { path: string; name: string }
+
 export interface ProjectData {
   name: string
   root: string | null
@@ -20,6 +22,9 @@ export interface ProjectData {
   config: HelderConfig
   isRepo: boolean
   ready: boolean
+  // Prefetched at startup (parallel to the project load) so the launcher paints
+  // its list with no extra round-trip when there's no project open.
+  recents: RecentProject[]
 }
 
 /** Inject the project's theme.css over the built-in dark theme. */
@@ -54,13 +59,13 @@ function mockData(): ProjectData {
     // non-null root so browser-preview shows the workbench, not the launcher
     name: MOCK.name, root: '/mock/' + MOCK.name, branch: MOCK.branch,
     tree: MOCK.tree, files: MOCK.files, changes: MOCK.changes, diffs: MOCK.diffs,
-    staged: new Set(MOCK_STAGED), config: DEFAULT_CONFIG, isRepo: true, ready: true,
+    staged: new Set(MOCK_STAGED), config: DEFAULT_CONFIG, isRepo: true, ready: true, recents: [],
   }
 }
 
 const emptyData: ProjectData = {
   name: 'Loading…', root: null, branch: '—', tree: null, files: {},
-  changes: [], diffs: {}, staged: new Set(), config: DEFAULT_CONFIG, isRepo: false, ready: false,
+  changes: [], diffs: {}, staged: new Set(), config: DEFAULT_CONFIG, isRepo: false, ready: false, recents: [],
 }
 
 const Ctx = createContext<{ data: ProjectData; actions: ProjectActions }>({
@@ -107,21 +112,35 @@ export function ProjectProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }): Re
     // apply its result — otherwise a slow/transient mid-checkout read can
     // resolve last and clobber the correct settled state.
     const seq = ++loadSeq.current
-    const [cur, tree, files, git, config, theme] = await Promise.all([
-      bridge.project.current(),
+    const cur = await bridge.project.current()
+    if (seq !== loadSeq.current) return
+    // Bare launch (Spotlight / no project): flip ready immediately so the
+    // launcher paints, skipping the tree/files/git/theme reads it doesn't need.
+    if (!cur.root) {
+      setData((d) => ({ ...emptyData, name: cur.name, root: null, ready: true, recents: d.recents }))
+      return
+    }
+    const [tree, git, config, theme] = await Promise.all([
       bridge.fs.tree(),
-      bridge.fs.files(),
       bridge.git.load(),
       bridge.config.get(),
       bridge.config.theme(),
     ])
     if (seq !== loadSeq.current) return
     applyTheme(theme)
-    setData({
+    setData((d) => ({
       name: cur.name, root: cur.root,
-      tree, files: files || {}, config, ready: true,
+      tree, files: d.root === cur.root ? d.files : {}, config, ready: true, recents: d.recents,
       ...deriveGit(git),
-    })
+    }))
+    // The whole-repo content index is only a fallback (real viewing/search go
+    // through fs.read + ripgrep), and reading every file serially costs seconds.
+    // Build it in the background and patch it in — never block the workbench on
+    // it. Lazily-loaded files (ensureFile) win over the bulk read.
+    bridge.fs.files().then((files) => {
+      if (seq !== loadSeq.current) return
+      setData((d) => ({ ...d, files: { ...(files || {}), ...d.files } }))
+    }).catch(() => {})
   }
 
   // Fast path for the three git mutations (stage / unstage / commit) + discard:
@@ -147,6 +166,11 @@ export function ProjectProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }): Re
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!bridge) { setData(mockData()); return }
+    // Fetch recents in parallel with the project load (not after it) so the list
+    // is already in state by the time the launcher mounts.
+    bridge.project.recent()
+      .then((list) => setData((d) => ({ ...d, recents: list })))
+      .catch(() => {})
     loadReal().catch(() => setData((d) => ({ ...d, ready: true })))
     const offProject = bridge.onProjectChanged(() => { loadReal().catch(() => {}) })
     const offConfig = bridge.onConfigChanged(() => { loadConfigTheme().catch(() => {}) })
diff --git a/test/fs.test.ts b/test/fs.test.ts
index ba5c425..080ba00 100644
--- a/test/fs.test.ts
+++ b/test/fs.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { simpleGit } from 'simple-git'
-import { buildTreeFromPaths, readAll, readProjectFile, readTree, writeProjectFile } from '../src/main/fs-service'
+import { buildTreeFromPaths, createProjectFile, readAll, readProjectFile, readTree, writeProjectFile } from '../src/main/fs-service'
 
 let dir = ''
 afterEach(async () => { if (dir) await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true }) })
@@ -76,3 +76,23 @@ describe('read/write round-trip', () => {
     expect(await readProjectFile(dir, 'note.txt')).toBe('hello world\n')
   })
 })
+
+describe('createProjectFile', () => {
+  it('creates an empty file and makes missing parent folders', async () => {
+    dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'helder-fs-'))
+    await createProjectFile(dir, 'src/new/fresh.ts')
+    expect(await readProjectFile(dir, 'src/new/fresh.ts')).toBe('')
+  })
+
+  it('refuses to overwrite an existing file', async () => {
+    dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'helder-fs-'))
+    await writeProjectFile(dir, 'keep.txt', 'precious\n')
+    await expect(createProjectFile(dir, 'keep.txt')).rejects.toThrow()
+    expect(await readProjectFile(dir, 'keep.txt')).toBe('precious\n')
+  })
+
+  it('refuses to escape the project root', async () => {
+    dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'helder-fs-'))
+    await expect(createProjectFile(dir, '../escape.txt')).rejects.toThrow()
+  })
+})