diff --git a/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.test.ts b/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.test.ts
index f10f16efdd6e..be7614cb857d 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.test.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,32 @@ describe('floating workspace directory', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe(path.join(userDataDir, 'floating-workspace'))
   })
 
+  // A trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name (Google Drive exports them), so a
+  // picker-verified path must survive trust, settings sanitization and cwd resolution.
+  // On Windows this passes before and after the fix: NTFS strips trailing spaces at
+  // creation, and Win32 path APIs normalize the spellings back together.
+  it('keeps a directory whose name ends in a space through trust and resolution', async () => {
+    const store = createStore()
+    const selectedDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'gdrive notes ')
+    await mkdir(selectedDir)
+    const canonicalSelectedDir = await realpath(selectedDir)
+
+    await trustFloatingWorkspaceDirectory(store, selectedDir)
+
+    expect(store.settings.floatingTerminalTrustedCwds).toEqual([canonicalSelectedDir])
+
+    await expect(
+      resolveFloatingTerminalCwd(store as never, {
+        path: selectedDir,
+        requireTrusted: true
+      })
+    ).resolves.toBe(canonicalSelectedDir)
+    await expect(
+      // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: the sanitizer only reads the settings members createStore() stubs.
+      sanitizeFloatingWorkspaceDirectorySetting(store as never, selectedDir)
+    ).resolves.toBe(canonicalSelectedDir)
+  })
+
   it('still resolves accessible ad hoc terminal directories when trust is not required', async () => {
     const store = createStore()
     const arbitraryDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'terminal-only')
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.ts b/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.ts
index 021422481178..c9a471c7a09c 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/floating-workspace-directory.ts
@@ -41,10 +41,12 @@ async function canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(dirPath: string): Promise<string
   }
 }
 
+// Why no trim on read: entries are canonicalized real paths when stored, and a trailing
+// space is a legal POSIX directory name (Google Drive exports them) — trimming here would
+// break the trust match for those directories.
 function getTrustedFloatingWorkspaceDirectories(settings: GlobalSettings): Set<string> {
   return new Set(
     (settings.floatingTerminalTrustedCwds ?? [])
-      .map((trustedPath) => trustedPath.trim())
       .filter((trustedPath) => trustedPath.length > 0)
       .map(resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput)
   )
@@ -84,17 +86,23 @@ export async function resolveFloatingTerminalCwd(
   store: Store,
   args?: FloatingTerminalCwdRequest
 ): Promise<string> {
-  const configuredPath = typeof args?.path === 'string' ? args.path.trim() : ''
-  if (!configuredPath) {
+  const configuredPath = typeof args?.path === 'string' ? args.path : ''
+  if (!configuredPath.trim()) {
     return args?.requireTrusted === true
       ? ensureDefaultFloatingWorkspacePath()
       : resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput('~')
   }
 
-  const cwd = resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(configuredPath)
-  const canonicalCwd = await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(cwd)
+  // Why raw first: a trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name, so a stored
+  // picker-verified path must resolve as typed; the trim only cleans typed typos.
+  let cwd = resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(configuredPath)
+  let canonicalCwd = await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(cwd)
   if (!canonicalCwd) {
-    return ensureDefaultFloatingWorkspacePath()
+    cwd = resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(configuredPath.trim())
+    canonicalCwd = await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(cwd)
+    if (!canonicalCwd) {
+      return ensureDefaultFloatingWorkspacePath()
+    }
   }
 
   // Why: only picker-approved directories may become the cwd, so arbitrary settings text can't.
@@ -134,8 +142,11 @@ export async function sanitizeFloatingWorkspaceDirectorySetting(
   if (trimmed === '~') {
     return '~'
   }
-  const resolvedDir = resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(trimmed)
-  const canonicalDir = await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(resolvedDir)
+  // Why raw first: a trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name, so a picked
+  // directory must sanitize as typed; the trim only cleans typed typos.
+  const canonicalDir =
+    (await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(dirPath))) ??
+    (await canonicalizeAccessibleDirectory(resolveFloatingWorkspaceInput(trimmed)))
   if (!canonicalDir || !isTrustedFloatingWorkspaceDirectory(canonicalDir, store.getSettings())) {
     return ''
   }
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts b/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
index 6f465188b5dd..1bf3848a3289 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
@@ -279,6 +279,57 @@ describe('repos:create', () => {
     expect(mkdirMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, tmpPath('brand-new'), { recursive: false })
   })
 
+  // A trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name (Google Drive exports them), so a
+  // picked parent that exists exactly as typed must win over the typed-typo trim.
+  it('creates inside a picked parent whose name ends in a space', async () => {
+    const spacedParent = '/tmp/gdrive repo '
+    accessMock.mockImplementation(async (probed: string) => {
+      if (probed === spacedParent) {
+        return undefined
+      }
+      throw new Error('ENOENT')
+    })
+
+    const result = await callCreate({ parentPath: spacedParent, name: 'proj', kind: 'folder' })
+
+    expect(mkdirMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, spacedParent, { recursive: true })
+    expect(mkdirMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, join(spacedParent, 'proj'), { recursive: false })
+    expect(mockStore.addRepo).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ path: join(spacedParent, 'proj') })
+    )
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('repo.path', join(spacedParent, 'proj'))
+  })
+
+  // The flip side: a typed typo whose trimmed spelling exists keeps the old cleanup.
+  it('falls back to the trimmed spelling when the raw parent does not exist', async () => {
+    accessMock.mockImplementation(async (probed: string) => {
+      if (probed === '/tmp/typo') {
+        return undefined
+      }
+      throw new Error('ENOENT')
+    })
+
+    const result = await callCreate({ parentPath: '/tmp/typo ', name: 'proj', kind: 'folder' })
+
+    expect(mkdirMock).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, '/tmp/typo', { recursive: true })
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('repo.path', join('/tmp/typo', 'proj'))
+  })
+
+  // A probe failure that is not "absent" (EACCES, ELOOP...) must surface as an error,
+  // not silently fall back to the trimmed spelling and create in an unchosen directory.
+  it('returns an error when probing the raw parent fails with EACCES', async () => {
+    const lockedParent = '/tmp/locked repo '
+    accessMock.mockRejectedValue(
+      Object.assign(new Error('EACCES: permission denied, access'), { code: 'EACCES' })
+    )
+
+    const result = await callCreate({ parentPath: lockedParent, name: 'proj', kind: 'folder' })
+
+    expect(result).toMatchObject({ error: expect.stringContaining('EACCES') })
+    expect(mkdirMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(mockStore.addRepo).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
   it('creates a missing default parent before creating the project directory', async () => {
     const result = await callCreate({
       parentPath: defaultProjectParent,
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts b/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
index 9c98256697c3..be82f70d083f 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,39 @@ function getDefaultCreateProjectParent(store: Store): string {
   return join(home, 'orca', 'projects')
 }
 
+// Only ENOENT/ENOTDIR prove the probed path is absent (ENOTDIR: a parent component is a
+// file); EACCES/ELOOP etc. must not trigger the trim fallback. Tests reject plain Errors
+// without a code, so an ENOENT/ENOTDIR-looking message counts too.
+function isAbsentPathError(err: unknown): boolean {
+  const code =
+    err && typeof err === 'object' && 'code' in err
+      ? (err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code
+      : undefined
+  return (
+    code === 'ENOENT' ||
+    code === 'ENOTDIR' ||
+    (code === undefined && err instanceof Error && /ENOENT|ENOTDIR/.test(err.message))
+  )
+}
+
+// Why: a trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name (Google Drive exports them), so a
+// picker-returned parent that exists exactly as typed wins; the trim stays only for typed typos.
+async function resolveCreateParentPath(requestedPath: string): Promise<string> {
+  const trimmed = requestedPath.trim()
+  if (!trimmed || trimmed === requestedPath) {
+    return trimmed
+  }
+  try {
+    await access(requestedPath)
+    return requestedPath
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (!isAbsentPathError(err)) {
+      throw err
+    }
+    return trimmed
+  }
+}
+
 export function registerRepoCreationHandlers(mainWindow: BrowserWindow, store: Store): void {
   ipcMain.handle('repos:isGitAvailable', () => probeLocalGitAvailability())
   ipcMain.handle('repos:getDefaultCreateProjectParent', () => getDefaultCreateProjectParent(store))
@@ -89,7 +122,15 @@ export function registerRepoCreationHandlers(mainWindow: BrowserWindow, store: S
       args: { parentPath: string; name: string; kind: 'git' | 'folder' }
     ): Promise<{ repo: Repo } | { error: string }> => {
       const name = args.name?.trim() ?? ''
-      const parentPath = args.parentPath?.trim() ?? ''
+      let parentPath: string
+      try {
+        parentPath = await resolveCreateParentPath(args.parentPath ?? '')
+      } catch (err) {
+        // Why: an unexpected probe failure (EACCES...) must not fall back to the trimmed
+        // spelling and create the project in a directory the user did not pick.
+        const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+        return { error: `Cannot access parent directory: ${message}` }
+      }
       // Why: IPC input is untrusted — coerce to the narrow union so a bogus kind can't skip git init yet persist in the store.
       const repoKind: 'git' | 'folder' = args.kind === 'folder' ? 'folder' : 'git'
 
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-controller.ts b/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-controller.ts
index 01099f34b63d..b072b4963323 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-controller.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-controller.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,26 @@ type RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationDependencies = {
   notifyReposChanged: () => void
 }
 
+// Why: a trailing space is a legal directory name (Google Drive exports them), so a
+// picker-returned parent that exists exactly as requested wins; the trim stays only
+// for typed typos. Only a genuinely absent raw spelling may fall back to the trim —
+// other probe failures must surface instead of silently relocating the project.
+async function resolveCreateParentPathRawFirst(requestedPath: string): Promise<string> {
+  const trimmed = requestedPath.trim()
+  if (!trimmed || trimmed === requestedPath) {
+    return trimmed
+  }
+  try {
+    await stat(requestedPath)
+    return requestedPath
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (!isENOENT(error)) {
+      throw error
+    }
+    return trimmed
+  }
+}
+
 export class RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController {
   constructor(private readonly deps: RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationDependencies) {}
 
@@ -93,7 +113,15 @@ export class RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController {
   ): Promise<{ repo: Repo } | { error: string }> {
     const store = this.requireStore()
     const trimmedName = name.trim()
-    const trimmedParentPath = parentPath.trim()
+    let parentDir: string
+    try {
+      parentDir = await resolveCreateParentPathRawFirst(parentPath)
+    } catch (error) {
+      // Why: an unexpected probe failure (EACCES...) must not fall back to the trimmed
+      // spelling and create the project in a directory the user did not pick.
+      const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)
+      return { error: `Cannot access parent directory: ${message}` }
+    }
     const repoKind: 'git' | 'folder' = kind === 'folder' ? 'folder' : 'git'
     if (!trimmedName) {
       return { error: 'Name cannot be empty' }
@@ -101,13 +129,13 @@ export class RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController {
     if (/[\\/]/.test(trimmedName) || trimmedName === '.' || trimmedName === '..') {
       return { error: 'Name cannot contain slashes or be "." / ".."' }
     }
-    if (!trimmedParentPath) {
+    if (!parentDir) {
       return { error: 'Parent directory is required' }
     }
-    if (!isAbsolute(trimmedParentPath)) {
+    if (!isAbsolute(parentDir)) {
       return { error: 'Parent directory must be an absolute path' }
     }
-    const targetPath = join(trimmedParentPath, trimmedName)
+    const targetPath = join(parentDir, trimmedName)
     const existing = store.getRepos().find((repo) => runtimePathsEqual(repo.path, targetPath))
     if (existing) {
       return { repo: existing }
@@ -115,7 +143,7 @@ export class RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController {
 
     let createdDir = false
     try {
-      await mkdir(trimmedParentPath, { recursive: true })
+      await mkdir(parentDir, { recursive: true })
       const existingStat = await stat(targetPath).catch((error: unknown) => {
         if (isENOENT(error)) {
           return null
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-create.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-create.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..fe27bd624082
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/runtime-repository-registration-create.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Pins the raw-first parent resolution of RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController.create:
+ * a picker-returned parent with a trailing space (legal POSIX name) must be used as
+ * typed when it exists, with the trim kept only for typed typos (#25386).
+ */
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+
+const { prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepoMock, detectRepoIconAndUpstreamMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepoMock: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+  detectRepoIconAndUpstreamMock: vi.fn(async () => ({}))
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../repo-icon-autodetect', () => ({
+  detectRepoIconAndUpstream: detectRepoIconAndUpstreamMock
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../worktree-root-preparation', () => ({
+  prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepo: prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepoMock
+}))
+
+import { RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController } from './runtime-repository-registration-controller'
+
+function makeController(): RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController {
+  return new RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController({
+    getStore: () =>
+      // oxlint-disable-next-line typescript/consistent-type-assertions -- SAFETY: create() only reads the repo members stubbed here.
+      ({
+        getRepos: () => [],
+        addRepo: () => undefined,
+        getRepo: () => undefined,
+        updateRepo: () => undefined
+      }) as never,
+    invalidateResolvedWorktrees: () => undefined,
+    invalidateWorktreeScan: () => undefined,
+    notifyReposChanged: () => undefined
+  })
+}
+
+describe('RuntimeRepositoryRegistrationController.create parent resolution', () => {
+  let base: string
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    base = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-repo-create-'))
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    rmSync(base, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  })
+
+  it('creates inside a trailing-space parent that exists exactly as requested', async () => {
+    const parent = join(base, 'cloud dir ')
+    mkdirSync(parent)
+    const result = await makeController().create(parent, 'kid', 'folder')
+    expect('error' in result && result.error).toBeFalsy()
+    if (!('error' in result)) {
+      expect(result.repo.path).toBe(join(parent, 'kid'))
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to the trimmed spelling when the raw parent does not exist', async () => {
+    const requested = join(base, 'typo dir ')
+    const result = await makeController().create(requested, 'kid', 'folder')
+    expect('error' in result && result.error).toBeFalsy()
+    if (!('error' in result)) {
+      expect(result.repo.path).toBe(join(base, 'typo dir', 'kid'))
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('surfaces a non-absent probe failure instead of creating at the trimmed spelling', async () => {
+    const blocker = join(base, 'blocker')
+    writeFileSync(blocker, 'a file, not a directory')
+    const requested = join(blocker, 'cloud dir ')
+    const result = await makeController().create(requested, 'kid', 'folder')
+    expect('error' in result).toBe(true)
+    if ('error' in result) {
+      expect(result.error).toMatch(/Cannot access parent directory/)
+    }
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/worktree-selector-trailing-space-path.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/worktree-selector-trailing-space-path.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..2c8e68cff214
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/runtime/worktree-selector-trailing-space-path.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+// A trailing space is a legal POSIX directory name (Google Drive exports them), so the
+// worktree selector chain — scan parsing, id minting/parsing, selector matching — must
+// preserve it end to end. Characterization: these pass today; a red here means a
+// serialization layer started eating the space (#25386 cross-machine selector_not_found).
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { parseWorktreeList } from '../../shared/git-worktree-porcelain-parser'
+import {
+  splitWorktreeId,
+  worktreeIdComparisonKey,
+  worktreeIdsEqual
+} from '../../shared/worktree/id'
+import { runtimePathsEqual } from './runtime-worktree-path-identity'
+
+const REPO_ID = '01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef'
+const SPACED_REPO_PATH = '/Users/me/gdrive repo '
+const SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH = '/Users/me/orca/workspaces/gdrive repo /feature '
+
+describe('trailing-space paths survive the selector chain', () => {
+  it('parses a porcelain scan without trimming the path', () => {
+    const output =
+      `worktree ${SPACED_REPO_PATH}\nHEAD abc\nbranch refs/heads/main\n\n` +
+      `worktree ${SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH}\nHEAD def\nbranch refs/heads/feature\n`
+
+    const worktrees = parseWorktreeList(output)
+
+    expect(worktrees.map((worktree) => worktree.path)).toEqual([
+      SPACED_REPO_PATH,
+      SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('mints and re-splits worktree ids with the space intact', () => {
+    const worktreeId = `${REPO_ID}::${SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH}`
+
+    expect(splitWorktreeId(worktreeId)).toEqual({
+      repoId: REPO_ID,
+      worktreePath: SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH
+    })
+    expect(worktreeIdsEqual(worktreeId, `${REPO_ID}::${SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH}`)).toBe(true)
+    expect(worktreeIdComparisonKey(worktreeId)).toBe(
+      `${REPO_ID}::${SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH.normalize('NFC')}`
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('matches path selectors byte-exact on the trailing space', () => {
+    // Interior duplicate slashes fold; the trailing space must survive the fold.
+    expect(
+      runtimePathsEqual(SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH, SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH.replace('/Users/', '/Users//'))
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(runtimePathsEqual(SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH, SPACED_WORKTREE_PATH.replace(/ $/, ''))).toBe(
+      false
+    )
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/useCreateRepo.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/useCreateRepo.ts
index 2a870de153ee..a8a1227b2e98 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/useCreateRepo.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/useCreateRepo.ts
@@ -76,12 +76,14 @@ export function useCreateRepo(
 
   const handleCreate = useCallback(async () => {
     const name = createName.trim()
-    const parentPath = createParent.trim()
     // Why: null means the chosen host is unresolved (e.g. its server is coming up); without a
     // host id the request below would run on this computer.
-    if (!name || !parentPath || options.hostId === null) {
+    if (!name || !createParent.trim() || options.hostId === null) {
       return
     }
+    // Why untrimmed: the picker returns a verified path and a trailing space can be the
+    // real directory name; main resolves raw-first and only trims typed typos.
+    const parentPath = createParent
     const requestHostToken = hostTokenRef.current
     const gen = ++createGenRef.current
     const isCurrent = (): boolean =>