diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/directive-label.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/directive-label.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f6efe18b42f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/directive-label.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+import type { Unstable_TriggerItem } from '@assistant-ui/core'
+import { act, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { hermesDirectiveFormatter } from '@/components/assistant-ui/directive-text'
+
+import { classify } from './hooks/use-at-completions'
+import { useComposerTrigger } from './hooks/use-composer-trigger'
+import { composerPlainText, RICH_INPUT_SLOT } from './rich-editor'
+
+/** A row exactly as tui_gateway's complete.path emits it, run through the
+ *  real classify() the popover uses. */
+function backendRow(text: string, display: string, meta: string): Unstable_TriggerItem {
+  const c = classify({ text, display, meta })
+
+  return {
+    id: `${text}|0`,
+    type: c.type,
+    label: c.display,
+    metadata: { icon: c.type, display: c.display, meta: c.meta, rawText: text, insertId: c.insertId }
+  }
+}
+
+function typed(text: string) {
+  const editor = document.createElement('div')
+
+  editor.contentEditable = 'true'
+  editor.dataset.slot = RICH_INPUT_SLOT
+  document.body.append(editor)
+  editor.append(document.createTextNode(text))
+
+  const range = document.createRange()
+
+  range.selectNodeContents(editor)
+  range.collapse(false)
+
+  const sel = window.getSelection()
+
+  sel?.removeAllRanges()
+  sel?.addRange(range)
+
+  const editorRef = { current: editor as HTMLDivElement | null }
+
+  const { result } = renderHook(() =>
+    useComposerTrigger({
+      at: { adapter: null, loading: false },
+      draftRef: { current: text },
+      editorRef,
+      requestMainFocus: vi.fn(),
+      setComposerText: vi.fn(),
+      slash: { adapter: null, loading: false }
+    })
+  )
+
+  act(() => result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+  return { editor, result }
+}
+
+/** The label the sent message renders for a committed draft. */
+function sentLabel(draft: string) {
+  return hermesDirectiveFormatter
+    .parse(draft)
+    .filter((s): s is Extract<typeof s, { kind: 'mention' }> => s.kind === 'mention')
+    .map(s => s.label)
+    .join(',')
+}
+
+describe('one label per reference, on every surface', () => {
+  it('the popover row, the committed chip, and the sent chip all read the same', () => {
+    const cases = [
+      { text: '@folder:apps/desktop/', display: 'desktop/', meta: 'dir' },
+      { text: '@file:apps/desktop/src/main.tsx', display: 'main.tsx', meta: 'apps/desktop/src' },
+      { text: '@folder:apps/desktop/src/', display: 'src/', meta: 'dir' }
+    ]
+
+    for (const entry of cases) {
+      const item = backendRow(entry.text, entry.display, entry.meta)
+      const { editor, result } = typed('@desk')
+
+      act(() => result.current.replaceTriggerWithChip(item))
+
+      const row = String((item.metadata as { display: string }).display)
+      const chip = editor.querySelector('[data-ref-text]')?.textContent ?? ''
+
+      expect(chip).toBe(row)
+      expect(sentLabel(composerPlainText(editor))).toBe(row)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('a folder pick reads as its path, not a bare basename', () => {
+    // `src` and `desktop` repeat all over a repo — the row you picked said
+    // where it was, and the chip has to keep saying it.
+    const item = backendRow('@folder:apps/desktop/', 'desktop/', 'dir')
+
+    expect(item.label).toBe('apps/desktop/')
+
+    const { editor, result } = typed('@desk')
+
+    act(() => result.current.replaceTriggerWithChip(item))
+
+    expect(editor.querySelector('[data-ref-text]')?.textContent).toBe('apps/desktop/')
+  })
+
+  it('Tab-descend leaves the live query, and the scope when there is one', () => {
+    const { editor, result } = typed('@folder:desk')
+
+    act(() =>
+      result.current.replaceTriggerWithChip(backendRow('@folder:apps/desktop/', 'desktop/', 'dir'), {
+        descend: true
+      })
+    )
+
+    // Mid-browse the editor holds the live query, scope included — that's the
+    // path being typed, not a label, and it's what the next completion reads.
+    expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('@folder:apps/desktop/')
+  })
+
+  it('a url still reads host + path on every surface', () => {
+    const item = backendRow('@url:https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/74533', '', '')
+    const { editor, result } = typed('@gith')
+
+    act(() => result.current.replaceTriggerWithChip(item))
+
+    const expected = 'github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/pull/74533'
+
+    expect(item.label).toBe(expected)
+    expect(editor.querySelector('[data-ref-text]')?.textContent).toBe(expected)
+    expect(sentLabel(composerPlainText(editor))).toBe(expected)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
index e2839c62d1f..51c57a7679e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
@@ -363,7 +363,12 @@ export function useComposerTrigger({
     const chip = slashKind
       ? slashChipElement(serialized, slashKind)
       : directive
-        ? refChipElement(directive[1], directive[2])
+        ? // Carry the picked row's own label into the chip rather than letting
+          // it re-derive one from the value. Upstream's DirectiveNode does the
+          // same (`__label = item.label`), and it's what makes the list and the
+          // chip agree: you get the string you just read, not a second guess at
+          // it. Falls back to the shared deriver for callers with no label.
+          refChipElement(directive[1], directive[2], (item.metadata as { display?: string })?.display || item.label)
         : null
 
     // The trailing space is a convenience for "keep typing after the chip", so
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
index c177e2f5066..0c065725b35 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
@@ -31,8 +31,10 @@ describe('hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse', () => {
   it('still parses unquoted paths', () => {
     const segments = hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse('@file:src/main.tsx the entry point')
 
+    // The label keeps its directory: it's the same string the `@` popover row
+    // showed, and a bare `main.tsx` can't tell two files apart.
     expect(segments).toEqual([
-      { kind: 'mention', type: 'file', label: 'main.tsx', id: 'src/main.tsx' },
+      { kind: 'mention', type: 'file', label: 'src/main.tsx', id: 'src/main.tsx' },
       { kind: 'text', text: ' the entry point' }
     ])
   })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
index 418f59eda71..5bb5d640fe4 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
@@ -332,10 +332,18 @@ function parseDirectiveText(text: string): Unstable_DirectiveSegment[] {
   return segments
 }
 
-/** Display text for a `@kind:value` chip. Shared with the composer's
- *  contenteditable chips so a link reads the same before and after send: the
- *  host leads (scheme and `www.` are noise) and the path rides along for the
- *  chip's `truncate` to cut — a bare hostname can't tell two links apart. */
+/** The single display label for a `@kind:value` reference — used by the `@`
+ *  popover row, the composer chip, and the sent-message chip alike, so a
+ *  reference reads the same everywhere. Upstream keeps one label on the
+ *  directive node and hands it to every consumer verbatim; our wire format
+ *  (`@kind:value`) can't carry a label, so this is the shared deriver that
+ *  holds the same invariant.
+ *
+ *  Paths keep their directory for the reason links keep theirs: a bare
+ *  basename can't tell two references apart (`src`, `index.ts`, `main.tsx`
+ *  repeat all over a repo), and browsing into `apps/desktop/` only to be
+ *  handed a chip reading `desktop` throws away the context you navigated for.
+ *  The chip's `truncate` cuts the overflow. */
 export function refChipLabel(type: string, id: string): string {
   if (type === 'terminal') {
     return id || 'terminal'
@@ -356,9 +364,9 @@ export function refChipLabel(type: string, id: string): string {
     }
   }
 
-  const tail = id.split(/[\\/]/).filter(Boolean).pop()
-
-  return tail || id
+  // `./` is noise the completer emits, not part of the reference. A trailing
+  // slash is kept — it's what distinguishes a folder from a file.
+  return id.replace(/^\.\//, '') || id
 }
 
 function safeEmbeddedImages(text: string) {