diff --git a/web/src/main.ts b/web/src/main.ts
index aa5fd48..7e81f41 100644
--- a/web/src/main.ts
+++ b/web/src/main.ts
@@ -236,6 +236,9 @@ mv = createMultiView({
   infoFor,
   onDisconnect: closePane,
   renderWelcome,
+  // A draft-pane submit (#57) fills its leaf in place; the shell route may flip
+  // from catalog (no sessions) to attach.
+  onOpenSessionsChange: updateShellRoute,
   onLayoutChange: scheduleSave,
 });
 let contentShowsMv = false;
diff --git a/web/src/multiview.ts b/web/src/multiview.ts
index 777865b..725fd53 100644
--- a/web/src/multiview.ts
+++ b/web/src/multiview.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 // The multi-view renderer/controller (issues #30 splits, #31 tabs, #33
 // highlights). Owns the tab bar + canvas inside the content pane, builds the
 // active tab's split tree into DOM, and mounts a live AttachConnection into each
-// session leaf via the pool. Empty leaves (freshly split, not yet filled) show a
-// placeholder. Drag-to-dock is a later issue (#32); mobile projection is #35.
+// session leaf via the pool. Empty leaves are draft panes (#57): they render
+// the spawn form inline, and submitting replaces the draft with that session's
+// terminal in place. Drag-to-dock is issue #32; mobile projection is #35.
 
 import type { SidebarHandle } from "./catalog.js";
 import type { ConnectionPool } from "./connections.js";
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ import {
 } from "./layout.js";
 import { sessionColor } from "./sessioncolor.js";
 import type { AttachInfo } from "./attach.js";
+import { createSpawnForm, type SpawnFormHandle } from "./spawnForm.js";
 
 export interface MultiViewOptions {
   pool: ConnectionPool;
@@ -33,6 +35,9 @@ export interface MultiViewOptions {
   onDisconnect: (sessionId: string) => void;
   /** Welcome content for an empty tab. */
   renderWelcome: () => HTMLElement;
+  /** Called when a draft-pane submit turns an empty pane into a session pane,
+   *  so the shell can re-evaluate its route (sidebar vs attach layout). */
+  onOpenSessionsChange?: () => void;
   /** Called after any layout change (structure, focus, or divider resize) so the
    *  shell can persist it (issue #34). */
   onLayoutChange?: () => void;
@@ -60,6 +65,10 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
   const { pool, layout, sidebar, infoFor, onDisconnect, renderWelcome } = opts;
   const persist = () => opts.onLayoutChange?.();
 
+  // Draft-pane forms (#57) carry global listeners (dir autocomplete), so each
+  // render tears down the previous generation before rebuilding the canvas.
+  const draftForms = new Set<SpawnFormHandle>();
+
   const el = document.createElement("div");
   el.className = "mv";
   const tabBar = document.createElement("div");
@@ -133,7 +142,26 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
     const host = document.createElement("div");
     host.className = "mv-pane-host";
     if (!leaf.sessionId) {
-      host.innerHTML = `<div class="mv-pane-empty">Empty pane — pick a session from the sidebar.</div>`;
+      // Draft pane (#57): an empty pane is a spawn form. Values hang off the
+      // leaf (never persisted) so each draft keeps its own half-filled state;
+      // submitting fills this leaf with the new session in place.
+      const form = createSpawnForm({
+        seed: leaf.draft ?? undefined,
+        class: "mv-draft",
+        onChange: (values) => {
+          leaf.draft = values;
+        },
+        onSuccess: (session) => {
+          leaf.sessionId = session.id;
+          leaf.draft = null;
+          const t = activeTab(layout);
+          if (leaves(t.root).includes(leaf)) t.focusedLeafId = leaf.id;
+          render();
+          opts.onOpenSessionsChange?.();
+        },
+      });
+      draftForms.add(form);
+      host.appendChild(form.el);
     }
 
     const tools = document.createElement("div");
@@ -326,6 +354,7 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
     // Fill the focused pane (VS Code style: open replaces the active group).
     const target = (tab.focusedLeafId && findLeaf(tab.root, tab.focusedLeafId)) || leaves(tab.root)[0];
     target.sessionId = sessionId;
+    target.draft = null;
     tab.focusedLeafId = target.id;
     render();
   }
@@ -333,6 +362,8 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
   // ---- top-level render ----
 
   function render(): void {
+    for (const f of draftForms) f.destroy();
+    draftForms.clear();
     renderTabs();
     canvas.replaceChildren();
     const tab = activeTab(layout);
@@ -569,6 +600,7 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
       if (source.kind === "pane" && self) {
         const dragged = findLeaf(tab.root, self)!;
         [dragged.sessionId, target.sessionId] = [target.sessionId, dragged.sessionId];
+        [dragged.draft, target.draft] = [target.draft, dragged.draft];
         tab.focusedLeafId = target.id;
       } else if (sessionId) {
         const loc = locateSession(layout, sessionId);
@@ -576,6 +608,7 @@ export function createMultiView(opts: MultiViewOptions): MultiView {
         const t2 = findLeaf(tab.root, targetLeafId);
         if (t2) {
           t2.sessionId = sessionId;
+          t2.draft = null;
           tab.focusedLeafId = t2.id;
         }
       }