diff --git a/ceres/src/api_service/mono_api_service.rs b/ceres/src/api_service/mono_api_service.rs
index 64c026931..afdb551fc 100644
--- a/ceres/src/api_service/mono_api_service.rs
+++ b/ceres/src/api_service/mono_api_service.rs
@@ -309,9 +309,14 @@ impl MonoServiceLogic {
 
         loop {
             let clean_path = MonoServiceLogic::clean_path_str(&path_str);
+            let ref_path = if clean_path == "/" || clean_path.starts_with('/') {
+                clean_path
+            } else {
+                format!("/{clean_path}")
+            };
 
             ref_updates.push(RefUpdate {
-                path: clean_path,
+                path: ref_path,
                 tree_id: updated_tree_hash,
             });
 
@@ -4020,6 +4025,30 @@ mod test {
         assert!(paths.contains(&"/test"));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_result_by_chain_normalizes_relative_paths_for_ref_updates() {
+        let old_hash = ObjectHash::from_str("1111111111111111111111111111111111111111").unwrap();
+        let updated_child_hash =
+            ObjectHash::from_str("2222222222222222222222222222222222222222").unwrap();
+        let item = TreeItem::new(TreeItemMode::Tree, old_hash, "src".to_string());
+        let tree = Tree::from_tree_items(vec![item]).expect("tree should build");
+        let update_chain = vec![Arc::new(tree)];
+
+        let result = MonoServiceLogic::build_result_by_chain(
+            PathBuf::from("project/buck2_test/src"),
+            update_chain,
+            updated_child_hash,
+        )
+        .expect("build_result_by_chain should succeed");
+
+        let paths: Vec<&str> = result.ref_updates.iter().map(|r| r.path.as_str()).collect();
+        assert!(paths.contains(&"/project/buck2_test/src"));
+        assert!(paths.contains(&"/project/buck2_test"));
+
+        let selected = MonoApiService::ref_update_tree_id_for_path(&result, "/project/buck2_test");
+        assert!(selected.is_some());
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_process_ref_updates_logic() {
         let ref_update = RefUpdate {
diff --git a/ceres/src/build_trigger/changes_calculator.rs b/ceres/src/build_trigger/changes_calculator.rs
index 0f11b5457..4ca8a2446 100644
--- a/ceres/src/build_trigger/changes_calculator.rs
+++ b/ceres/src/build_trigger/changes_calculator.rs
@@ -353,6 +353,56 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_changes_keeps_added_paths_for_create_entry_variants() {
+        let changes = build_changes_for_repo(
+            "/project/buck2_test",
+            vec![
+                ClDiffFile::New(
+                    PathBuf::from("/project/buck2_test/src/new_file_abs.rs"),
+                    ObjectHash::from_str("7777777777777777777777777777777777777777").unwrap(),
+                ),
+                ClDiffFile::New(
+                    PathBuf::from("project/buck2_test/src/new_file_prefixed.rs"),
+                    ObjectHash::from_str("8888888888888888888888888888888888888888").unwrap(),
+                ),
+                ClDiffFile::New(
+                    PathBuf::from("src/new_file_relative.rs"),
+                    ObjectHash::from_str("9999999999999999999999999999999999999999").unwrap(),
+                ),
+            ],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            changes,
+            vec![
+                Status::Added(ProjectRelativePath::new("src/new_file_abs.rs")),
+                Status::Added(ProjectRelativePath::new("src/new_file_prefixed.rs")),
+                Status::Added(ProjectRelativePath::new("src/new_file_relative.rs")),
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_build_changes_keeps_added_gitkeep_for_new_directory() {
+        let changes = build_changes_for_repo(
+            "/project/buck2_test",
+            vec![ClDiffFile::New(
+                PathBuf::from("project/buck2_test/src/new_dir/.gitkeep"),
+                ObjectHash::from_str("aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa").unwrap(),
+            )],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            changes,
+            vec![Status::Added(ProjectRelativePath::new(
+                "src/new_dir/.gitkeep"
+            ))]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_detect_single_level_prefixed_candidate_returns_unique_match() {
         let tempdir = TempDir::new().expect("create tempdir");
diff --git a/moon/apps/web/components/CodeView/NewCodeView/NewCodeView.tsx b/moon/apps/web/components/CodeView/NewCodeView/NewCodeView.tsx
index a6819d132..f67623658 100644
--- a/moon/apps/web/components/CodeView/NewCodeView/NewCodeView.tsx
+++ b/moon/apps/web/components/CodeView/NewCodeView/NewCodeView.tsx
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ const NewCodeView = ({ currentPath = '', onClose, defaultType = 'file' }: NewCod
     const lastSlashIndex = fullPath.lastIndexOf('/')
 
     const parentPath = lastSlashIndex > 0 ? fullPath.substring(0, lastSlashIndex) : lastSlashIndex === 0 ? '/' : ''
+    const normalizedParentPath = parentPath === '' ? '/' : parentPath.startsWith('/') ? parentPath : `/${parentPath}`
 
     // Use explicit name if provided, otherwise extract from path
     const fileName = name || (lastSlashIndex >= 0 ? fullPath.substring(lastSlashIndex + 1) : fullPath)
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ const NewCodeView = ({ currentPath = '', onClose, defaultType = 'file' }: NewCod
     createEntryHook.mutate(
       {
         name: fileName,
-        path: parentPath,
+        path: normalizedParentPath,
         is_directory: fileType === 'folder',
         content: fileType === 'file' ? content : '',
         author_email: currentUser?.email,