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#3441 swamp start / swamp workspace create: let me choose where a new workspace is created

Opened by mellens · 10/14/2026· Shipped 10/14/2026

Problem New workspaces from swamp start (a new name via --workspace, or "create" in the browser page) and from swamp workspace create <name> are always placed under <data dir>/workspaces/<name> (~/.swamp/workspaces by default). There is no per-invocation way to say where the folder should go, for example next to my other projects in ~/dev/.

Current workarounds

  • Set SWAMP_HOME / the data dir for the whole process. This moves every workspace and the registry, not one workspace.
  • Create the repo myself (swamp init <path>), then swamp workspace import <path>, then swamp start --workspace <name>. This works, but it skips the "create" step that swamp start is built around.

Proposed solution

  • swamp workspace create <name> --path <dir> registers and creates the workspace at <dir> (or at <dir>/<name>).
  • swamp start --workspace <new-name> --path <dir> does the same when it creates a new name.
  • The browser page's "create workspace" form gets an optional location field, defaulting to the data dir.
  • Optionally, a persisted setting for the default parent directory (e.g. a workspacesDir config key), so everyday use needs no flag.

The folder would be registered as it is today, so list, get, remove and start status keep working unchanged.

Alternatives considered

  • SWAMP_HOME: too coarse, as above.
  • Always init + import: works, but is two extra steps and bypasses the start flow.

Environment: swamp 20261014.121640.0-sha.c5d1db96, macOS (Darwin 25.6.0)

02Bog Flow
✓OPEN✓TRIAGED✓IN PROGRESS✓SHIPPED+ 1 MOREASSIGNED+ 5 MOREREVIEW+ 13 MOREPR_MERGED+ 2 MORESESSION_SUMMARIZED

Shipped

10/14/2026, 4:06:46 PM

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03Sludge Pulse
stack72 assigned stack7210/14/2026, 1:55:17 PM
Editable. Press Enter to edit.

stack72 commented 10/14/2026, 4:06:49 PM

Thanks @mellens for reporting this! We shipped: Let users choose where a new workspace folder goes: --path on swamp workspace create and swamp start --workspace, a Location field with Browse next to the editable Name on the start page with a live preview of the folder that will be created, and a workspaces.dir config default. The registry records whether a workspace was created or imported so a created workspace outside the data dir is not reported as imported. Creating at a chosen folder is separate from reopening, so a registered workspace whose folder is gone is still never recreated.. The fix has been merged and a release is on its way. We appreciate your contribution to swamp.

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