diff --git a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.test.ts b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.test.ts
index b90ae3cd62..11ff15f0ea 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.test.ts
@@ -51,9 +51,11 @@ const mockLoadConfig = mock(() =>
 
 const mockLogger = createMockLogger();
 
+const mockEnsureArchonWorkspacesPath = mock(() => Promise.resolve('/home/test/.archon/workspaces'));
 mock.module('@archon/paths', () => ({
   createLogger: mock(() => mockLogger),
   getArchonWorkspacesPath: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon/workspaces'),
+  ensureArchonWorkspacesPath: mockEnsureArchonWorkspacesPath,
   getArchonHome: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon'),
 }));
 
@@ -906,6 +908,7 @@ describe('discoverAllWorkflows — remote sync', () => {
     mockSendQuery.mockClear();
     mockGetCodebaseEnvVars.mockReset();
     mockLoadConfig.mockReset();
+    mockEnsureArchonWorkspacesPath.mockClear();
     // Reset mocks between tests in this suite and restore safe defaults
     mockGetOrCreateConversation.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(null));
     mockGetCodebase.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(null));
@@ -931,6 +934,9 @@ describe('discoverAllWorkflows — remote sync', () => {
     expect(mockSyncWorkspace).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/repos/test-repo', undefined, {
       resetAfterFetch: false,
     });
+    // Regression guard: orchestrator must resolve cwd through the ensure variant
+    // so the workspaces dir is created before the AI provider spawn (issue #1528).
+    expect(mockEnsureArchonWorkspacesPath).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
   test('passes resetAfterFetch=true for managed clones', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.ts b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.ts
index 8521e83a82..943b0f0b58 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-agent.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import { formatToolCall } from '@archon/workflows/utils/tool-formatter';
 import { classifyAndFormatError } from '../utils/error-formatter';
 import { toError } from '../utils/error';
 import { getAgentProvider, getProviderCapabilities } from '@archon/providers';
-import { getArchonWorkspacesPath } from '@archon/paths';
+import { getArchonWorkspacesPath, ensureArchonWorkspacesPath } from '@archon/paths';
 import { syncArchonToWorktree } from '../utils/worktree-sync';
 import { syncWorkspace, toRepoPath } from '@archon/git';
 import type { WorkspaceSyncResult } from '@archon/git';
@@ -821,7 +821,7 @@ export async function handleMessage(
       attachedFiles,
       workflowContext
     );
-    const cwd = getArchonWorkspacesPath();
+    const cwd = await ensureArchonWorkspacesPath();
 
     // 4. Update activity and get/create session
     await db.touchConversation(conversation.id);
diff --git a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-isolation.test.ts b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-isolation.test.ts
index 6bcbedb697..9d86303a86 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-isolation.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator-isolation.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ const mockLogger = createMockLogger();
 mock.module('@archon/paths', () => ({
   createLogger: mock(() => mockLogger),
   getArchonWorkspacesPath: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon/workspaces'),
+  ensureArchonWorkspacesPath: mock(() => Promise.resolve('/home/test/.archon/workspaces')),
   getArchonHome: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon'),
 }));
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator.test.ts b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator.test.ts
index 58e5ac304e..570c466ac5 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/orchestrator/orchestrator.test.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ const mockLogger = createMockLogger();
 mock.module('@archon/paths', () => ({
   createLogger: mock(() => mockLogger),
   getArchonWorkspacesPath: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon/workspaces'),
+  ensureArchonWorkspacesPath: mock(() => Promise.resolve('/home/test/.archon/workspaces')),
   getArchonHome: mock(() => '/home/test/.archon'),
 }));
 
diff --git a/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.test.ts b/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.test.ts
index b6584810d4..a4303c7957 100644
--- a/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.test.ts
+++ b/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   isDocker,
   getArchonHome,
   getArchonWorkspacesPath,
+  ensureArchonWorkspacesPath,
   getArchonWorktreesPath,
   getArchonConfigPath,
   getHomeWorkflowsPath,
@@ -631,6 +632,43 @@ describe('ensureProjectStructure', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('ensureArchonWorkspacesPath', () => {
+  let tempArchonHome: string;
+  useEnvSnapshot();
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    delete process.env.WORKSPACE_PATH;
+    delete process.env.ARCHON_DOCKER;
+    tempArchonHome = join(
+      tmpdir(),
+      `archon-paths-test-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}`
+    );
+    process.env.ARCHON_HOME = tempArchonHome;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await rm(tempArchonHome, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test('creates the workspaces directory when missing', async () => {
+    const expected = getArchonWorkspacesPath();
+    expect(existsSync(expected)).toBe(false);
+
+    const returned = await ensureArchonWorkspacesPath();
+
+    expect(returned).toBe(expected);
+    expect((await lstat(expected)).isDirectory()).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('is idempotent - safe to call twice', async () => {
+    await ensureArchonWorkspacesPath();
+    await ensureArchonWorkspacesPath();
+
+    const expected = getArchonWorkspacesPath();
+    expect((await lstat(expected)).isDirectory()).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('createProjectSourceSymlink', () => {
   let tempArchonHome: string;
   let tempTarget: string;
diff --git a/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.ts b/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.ts
index d6db7cf69a..9a5d30aae4 100644
--- a/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.ts
+++ b/packages/paths/src/archon-paths.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,16 @@ export function getArchonWorkspacesPath(): string {
   return join(getArchonHome(), 'workspaces');
 }
 
+/**
+ * Ensure the workspaces directory exists and return its path.
+ * Safe to call on a fresh install before any workspace is registered.
+ */
+export async function ensureArchonWorkspacesPath(): Promise<string> {
+  const path = getArchonWorkspacesPath();
+  await mkdir(path, { recursive: true });
+  return path;
+}
+
 /**
  * Get the global worktrees directory (~/.archon/worktrees/).
  * Used as the legacy fallback for repos not registered under workspaces/.
diff --git a/packages/paths/src/index.ts b/packages/paths/src/index.ts
index 443d55ff90..a7121201f0 100644
--- a/packages/paths/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/paths/src/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ export {
   isDocker,
   getArchonHome,
   getArchonWorkspacesPath,
+  ensureArchonWorkspacesPath,
   getArchonWorktreesPath,
   getArchonConfigPath,
   getArchonEnvPath,