diff --git a/cli/tests/prompt_structured_test.rs b/cli/tests/prompt_structured_test.rs
index 7576003f..9cce2329 100644
--- a/cli/tests/prompt_structured_test.rs
+++ b/cli/tests/prompt_structured_test.rs
@@ -861,6 +861,91 @@ fn test_cli_push_prompt_update_with_auto_parent() {
     // CLEANUP: Automatic via Drop trait
 }
 
+/// Deletes a repo by name on drop without creating it first, for tests where the CLI creates the repo.
+struct NewRepoCleanup {
+    repo_name: String,
+    runtime: tokio::runtime::Runtime,
+    client: LangchainClient,
+}
+
+impl NewRepoCleanup {
+    fn new(repo_name: &str) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            repo_name: repo_name.to_string(),
+            runtime: create_runtime(),
+            client: create_sdk_client().expect("Failed to create SDK client"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for NewRepoCleanup {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        println!("[CLEANUP] Deleting repo: {}", self.repo_name);
+        let _ = self
+            .runtime
+            .block_on(async { self.client.prompts().delete(&self.repo_name).await });
+    }
+}
+
+/// Guards [Issue #820 prompt push --owner - fails when it creates a new repo](https://github.com/codekiln/langstar/issues/820): pushing with `--owner -` to a repo that does not exist creates the repo and its first commit.
+#[test]
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "integration-tests"), ignore)]
+#[serial]
+fn test_cli_push_creates_new_repo_with_owner_dash() {
+    check_env_vars_private_prompts();
+
+    let repo_name = generate_unique_repo_name("test-push-owner-dash");
+    // CLEANUP: declared before the push so the repo is deleted even if an assertion fails
+    let _cleanup = NewRepoCleanup::new(&repo_name);
+
+    let schema_file = create_temp_schema_file();
+    let schema_path = schema_file.path().to_str().unwrap();
+    let bin = get_langstar_bin();
+
+    // TEST: push to a repo that does not exist yet
+    let mut push_cmd = Command::new(&bin);
+    push_cmd.env("LANGSTAR_CONFIG_DIR", config_dir::empty_config_dir());
+    push_cmd.args([
+        "prompt",
+        "push",
+        "--owner",
+        "-",
+        "--repo",
+        &repo_name,
+        "--template",
+        "Owner dash push: {input}",
+        "--input-variables",
+        "input",
+        "--schema",
+        schema_path,
+    ]);
+    push_cmd.assert().success();
+
+    // VERIFY: the pulled manifest has the pushed template and schema
+    let mut pull_cmd = Command::new(&bin);
+    pull_cmd.env("LANGSTAR_CONFIG_DIR", config_dir::empty_config_dir());
+    pull_cmd.args([
+        "prompt",
+        "pull",
+        "--format",
+        "json",
+        "--",
+        &format!("-/{}", repo_name),
+    ]);
+    let output = pull_cmd.assert().success();
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.get_output().stdout);
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains("Owner dash push: {input}"),
+        "pulled manifest should contain the pushed template, got: {}",
+        stdout
+    );
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains("TestOutput"),
+        "pulled manifest should contain the pushed schema title, got: {}",
+        stdout
+    );
+}
+
 /// Pushes a plain prompt without `--schema` to an empty repo, pulls it back, and checks that the API stored a `ChatPromptTemplate` with an LC-JSON `id`.
 /// The API used to answer this push with 400 "Manifest must have an id field", reported in [prompt push without --schema to an empty repo fails with "Manifest must have an id field" · Issue #821](https://github.com/codekiln/langstar/issues/821).
 #[test]
diff --git a/sdk/src/prompts.rs b/sdk/src/prompts.rs
index a983f8e7..90f700f5 100644
--- a/sdk/src/prompts.rs
+++ b/sdk/src/prompts.rs
@@ -356,6 +356,12 @@ pub struct Prompt {
     pub is_public: bool,
 }
 
+/// The `repo_handle` to send when creating a repo: `-/name` (`-` is the current
+/// workspace) becomes `name`, and every other handle is sent as given.
+fn strip_dash_owner(repo_handle: &str) -> &str {
+    repo_handle.strip_prefix("-/").unwrap_or(repo_handle)
+}
+
 /// Client for interacting with LangSmith Prompts API
 pub struct PromptClient<'a> {
     client: &'a LangchainClient,
@@ -521,7 +527,12 @@ impl<'a> PromptClient<'a> {
     /// Create a new prompt repository
     ///
     /// # Arguments
-    /// * `repo_handle` - The handle for the repository (e.g., "owner/repo-name")
+    /// * `repo_handle` - The handle for the repository (e.g., "owner/repo-name"). A
+    ///   `-/repo-name` handle, where `-` means the current workspace, is sent as
+    ///   just `repo-name`, because the API accepts only lowercase letters, digits,
+    ///   hyphens and underscores in a new repo's handle.
+    ///   [`langsmith-sdk`](https://github.com/langchain-ai/langsmith-sdk/blob/9966fd69a631369398d7598d8d725868f9c74339/python/langsmith/client.py#L9904)
+    ///   also sends only the name.
     /// * `description` - Optional description
     /// * `readme` - Optional readme content
     /// * `is_public` - Whether the repository is public (default: false)
@@ -546,7 +557,7 @@ impl<'a> PromptClient<'a> {
         }
 
         let request_body = CreateRepoRequest {
-            repo_handle: repo_handle.to_string(),
+            repo_handle: strip_dash_owner(repo_handle).to_string(),
             description,
             readme,
             is_public,
@@ -1319,6 +1330,17 @@ mod tests {
     use crate::auth::AuthConfig;
     use serde_json::json;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_strip_dash_owner_drops_dash() {
+        assert_eq!(strip_dash_owner("-/my-prompt"), "my-prompt");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_strip_dash_owner_keeps_named_owner_and_bare_name() {
+        assert_eq!(strip_dash_owner("acme/my-prompt"), "acme/my-prompt");
+        assert_eq!(strip_dash_owner("my-prompt"), "my-prompt");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_prompt_client_creation() {
         let auth = AuthConfig::new(Some("test".to_string()), None, None);