diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.test.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.test.ts
index e63e756ba6f1b..0149088ff8ecf 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.test.ts
@@ -321,3 +321,105 @@ test('addWorktree: base origin/main does not set up upstream tracking', async ()
     fs.rmSync(cloneDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
   }
 })
+
+// A pair of repos: a bare "remote" with `main` and the extra branches in
+// `branches`, plus a clone of it. Returns both paths. The caller must remove
+// them.
+function seedRemoteAndClone(label, branches) {
+  const remoteDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), `hermes-${label}-remote-`))
+  const cloneDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), `hermes-${label}-clone-`))
+  const remoteGit = (...args) => execFileSync('git', ['-C', remoteDir, ...args]).toString().trim()
+
+  execFileSync('git', ['init', '-b', 'main', remoteDir])
+  remoteGit('-c', 'user.email=hermes@localhost', '-c', 'user.name=Hermes', 'commit', '--allow-empty', '-m', 'root')
+
+  for (const branch of branches) {
+    remoteGit('branch', branch)
+  }
+
+  execFileSync('git', ['clone', remoteDir, cloneDir])
+
+  return { cloneDir, remoteDir }
+}
+
+test('listBranches: offers remote branches that have no local counterpart', async () => {
+  const { cloneDir, remoteDir } = seedRemoteAndClone('branches-remote', ['teammate-work'])
+
+  try {
+    const branches = await listBranches(cloneDir, 'git')
+    const byName = new Map(branches.map(b => [b.name, b]))
+
+    // The teammate's branch is only on the remote. The list therefore offers it
+    // by its remote-tracking name, with a flag that lets the UI say "track
+    // remote".
+    const remoteOnly = byName.get('origin/teammate-work')
+
+    assert.ok(remoteOnly)
+    assert.equal(remoteOnly.isRemote, true)
+    assert.equal(remoteOnly.checkedOut, false)
+    assert.equal(remoteOnly.isDefault, false)
+    assert.equal(remoteOnly.worktreePath, null)
+
+    // `main` is checked out locally, so it shows once as a local branch.
+    // "origin/main" is a duplicate of a branch that is already in the list.
+    assert.equal(byName.get('main').isRemote, false)
+    assert.equal(byName.has('origin/main'), false)
+
+    // "origin/HEAD" is an alias for the default branch of the remote. It is not
+    // a branch.
+    assert.equal(
+      branches.some(b => b.name.endsWith('/HEAD')),
+      false
+    )
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(remoteDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    fs.rmSync(cloneDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
+
+test('addWorktree: a remote branch becomes a local branch tracking it', async () => {
+  const { cloneDir, remoteDir } = seedRemoteAndClone('convert-remote', ['teammate-work'])
+
+  try {
+    const result = await addWorktree(cloneDir, { existingBranch: 'origin/teammate-work' }, 'git')
+    const inTree = (...args) => execFileSync('git', ['-C', result.path, ...args]).toString().trim()
+
+    // The worktree is on a local branch that has the name of the remote one. It
+    // is not on a detached HEAD, which is the result of a checkout of
+    // "origin/teammate-work".
+    assert.equal(result.branch, 'teammate-work')
+    assert.equal(inTree('branch', '--show-current'), 'teammate-work')
+    assert.match(result.path, /[/\\]\.worktrees[/\\]teammate-work/)
+
+    // The branch tracks the remote branch, so push and pull work with no more
+    // setup.
+    assert.equal(inTree('rev-parse', '--abbrev-ref', '--symbolic-full-name', '@{u}'), 'origin/teammate-work')
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(remoteDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    fs.rmSync(cloneDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
+
+test('addWorktree: a remote default branch gets its own worktree, not a home switch', async () => {
+  const { cloneDir, remoteDir } = seedRemoteAndClone('convert-remote-default', [])
+  const git = (...args) => execFileSync('git', ['-C', cloneDir, ...args]).toString().trim()
+
+  try {
+    // Move the main checkout off `main`, which makes "origin/main" convertible.
+    // The local `main` is then free, but the request names the remote-tracking
+    // ref.
+    git('switch', '-c', 'rawr')
+    git('branch', '-D', 'main')
+
+    const result = await addWorktree(cloneDir, { existingBranch: 'origin/main' }, 'git')
+
+    // "switch home" applies to a local default branch. A remote ref always gets
+    // a new worktree, so the main checkout stays where the user put it.
+    assert.equal(result.branch, 'main')
+    assert.notEqual(fs.realpathSync(result.path), fs.realpathSync(cloneDir))
+    assert.equal(git('branch', '--show-current'), 'rawr')
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(remoteDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    fs.rmSync(cloneDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.ts
index a2a875765d0be..2ff43862c32f7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/git-worktree-ops.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,35 @@ async function gitLine(gitBin, args, cwd) {
   }
 }
 
+// True when the command exits 0. Use this function and not `gitLine` for a
+// `--quiet` probe. A `--quiet` probe prints nothing when it finds the ref, and
+// that output is the same as the output of a failure.
+async function gitOk(gitBin, args, cwd) {
+  try {
+    await runGit(gitBin, args, cwd)
+
+    return true
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
+// The remote that a ref belongs to ("origin" for "origin/main"), or "" when the
+// name is not a remote-tracking ref in this repo. This function asks git. It
+// does not assume that the remote has the name "origin", because a repo can
+// give its remotes any name.
+async function remoteOfRef(gitBin, cwd, name) {
+  if (!name.includes('/')) {
+    return ''
+  }
+
+  if (!(await gitOk(gitBin, ['show-ref', '--verify', '--quiet', `refs/remotes/${name}`], cwd))) {
+    return ''
+  }
+
+  return name.slice(0, name.indexOf('/'))
+}
+
 async function defaultBranch(gitBin, cwd) {
   const remote = (
     await gitLine(gitBin, ['symbolic-ref', '--quiet', '--short', 'refs/remotes/origin/HEAD'], cwd)
@@ -214,19 +243,43 @@ function uniqueDir(base) {
 }
 
 async function addExistingBranchWorktree(gitBin, root, name) {
-  const branch = sanitizeBranch(name)
+  const requested = sanitizeBranch(name)
 
-  if (!branch) {
+  if (!requested) {
     throw new Error('Branch name is required.')
   }
 
-  if (branch === (await defaultBranch(gitBin, root))) {
+  // "origin/feature" is a remote-tracking ref and not a branch that git can
+  // check out. `git worktree add <dir> origin/feature` detaches HEAD. Make a
+  // local branch with the same short name that tracks the remote ref. This is
+  // what `git switch feature` does for a branch on exactly one remote.
+  const remote = await remoteOfRef(gitBin, root, requested)
+  const branch = remote ? requested.slice(remote.length + 1) : requested
+
+  if (!remote && branch === (await defaultBranch(gitBin, root))) {
     await runGit(gitBin, ['switch', branch], root)
 
     return { path: root, branch, repoRoot: root }
   }
 
   const dir = uniqueDir(path.join(root, '.worktrees', slugify(branch)))
+
+  if (remote) {
+    // The remote-tracking ref is stale if the user did not fetch recently. This
+    // fetch is best effort: after a failure, the last known ref is still there
+    // to branch from.
+    try {
+      await runGit(gitBin, ['fetch', remote, branch], root)
+    } catch {
+      // The user is offline, or the branch is gone from the remote. Use the ref
+      // that the repo already has.
+    }
+
+    await runGit(gitBin, ['worktree', 'add', '--track', '-b', branch, dir, requested], root)
+
+    return { path: dir, branch, repoRoot: root }
+  }
+
   await runGit(gitBin, ['worktree', 'add', dir, branch], root)
 
   return { path: dir, branch, repoRoot: root }
@@ -310,10 +363,14 @@ async function removeWorktree(repoPath, worktreePath, options, gitBin) {
   return { removed: resolvedTree }
 }
 
-// List local branches for the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker, most
-// recently committed first. Each carries whether it's already checked out in a
-// worktree and, when checked out, that worktree's path. Empty on a non-repo /
-// remote backend where the probe can't run.
+// List the branches for the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker, most
+// recently committed first. The local heads come first. Then come the
+// remote-tracking refs that have no local branch yet. This is the same set that
+// the base-branch picker offers, so "convert" can reach a teammate's branch
+// that the user did not check out.
+// Each branch carries a flag for a checkout in a worktree, and the path of that
+// worktree. Empty on a non-repo or a remote backend, where the probe cannot
+// run.
 async function listBranches(repoPath, gitBin) {
   let resolved
 
@@ -324,26 +381,55 @@ async function listBranches(repoPath, gitBin) {
   }
 
   try {
-    const out = await runGit(
-      gitBin,
-      ['for-each-ref', '--format=%(refname:short)', '--sort=-committerdate', 'refs/heads'],
-      resolved
-    )
+    const [localOut, remoteOut] = await Promise.all([
+      runGit(gitBin, ['for-each-ref', '--format=%(refname:short)', '--sort=-committerdate', 'refs/heads'], resolved),
+      runGit(gitBin, ['for-each-ref', '--format=%(refname:short)', '--sort=-committerdate', 'refs/remotes'], resolved)
+    ])
 
     const trees = await listWorktrees(resolved, gitBin)
     const pathByBranch = new Map(trees.filter(tree => tree.branch).map(tree => [tree.branch, tree.path]))
     const trunk = await defaultBranch(gitBin, resolved)
 
-    return out
-      .split('\n')
-      .map(line => line.trim())
-      .filter(Boolean)
-      .map(name => ({
+    const names = (out: string) =>
+      out
+        .split('\n')
+        .map(line => line.trim())
+        .filter(Boolean)
+
+    const locals = names(localOut)
+    const localSet = new Set(locals)
+
+    const remotes = names(remoteOut).filter(name => {
+      // "origin/HEAD" is a symbolic alias for the default branch of the remote.
+      // It is not a branch, and it shows in the list as a duplicate.
+      if (name.endsWith('/HEAD')) {
+        return false
+      }
+
+      // The user reaches a remote branch that they track locally through its
+      // local head. To list both is noise, and a checkout of the
+      // remote-tracking ref detaches HEAD.
+      return !localSet.has(name.slice(name.indexOf('/') + 1))
+    })
+
+    return [
+      ...locals.map(name => ({
         name,
         checkedOut: pathByBranch.has(name),
         isDefault: Boolean(trunk && name === trunk),
+        isRemote: false,
         worktreePath: pathByBranch.get(name) || null
+      })),
+      ...remotes.map(name => ({
+        // A remote branch has no local checkout, and it cannot be the local
+        // trunk. It is therefore never checked out and never the default.
+        name,
+        checkedOut: false,
+        isDefault: false,
+        isRemote: true,
+        worktreePath: null
       }))
+    ]
   } catch {
     return []
   }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/projects/worktree-dialog.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/projects/worktree-dialog.tsx
index 9b41847015672..d4491c5b5bb0b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/projects/worktree-dialog.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/sidebar/projects/worktree-dialog.tsx
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ interface BranchActionCopy {
   branchCreateWorktree: string
   branchOpenExisting: string
   branchSwitchHome: string
+  branchTrackRemote: string
 }
 
 const branchActionLabel = (branch: HermesGitBranch, copy: BranchActionCopy) => {
@@ -42,6 +43,10 @@ const branchActionLabel = (branch: HermesGitBranch, copy: BranchActionCopy) => {
     return copy.branchOpenExisting
   }
 
+  if (branch.isRemote) {
+    return copy.branchTrackRemote
+  }
+
   return branch.isDefault ? copy.branchSwitchHome : copy.branchCreateWorktree
 }
 
@@ -274,7 +279,11 @@ export function WorktreeDialog() {
                     onSelect={() => void convert(branch)}
                     value={branch.name}
                   >
-                    <Codicon className="shrink-0 text-(--ui-text-tertiary)" name="git-branch" size="0.8rem" />
+                    <Codicon
+                      className="shrink-0 text-(--ui-text-tertiary)"
+                      name={branch.isRemote ? 'repo' : 'git-branch'}
+                      size="0.8rem"
+                    />
                     <span className="truncate">{branch.name}</span>
                     <span className="ml-auto shrink-0 text-[0.625rem] text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
                       {branchActionLabel(branch, p)}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts b/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
index 471b5c0dc6a7e..6a80736bf0604 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/global.d.ts
@@ -199,7 +199,8 @@ declare global {
           options?: { force?: boolean }
         ) => Promise<{ removed: string }>
         branchSwitch: (repoPath: string, branch: string) => Promise<{ branch: string }>
-        // Local branches for the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker.
+        // The local branches, plus the remote-tracking refs that have no local
+        // branch, for the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker.
         branchList: (repoPath: string) => Promise<HermesGitBranch[]>
         // Local + remote-tracking branches for the "base branch" picker in the
         // new-worktree dialog. The remote default (origin/HEAD) is flagged so
@@ -820,13 +821,17 @@ export interface HermesGitWorktree {
   locked: boolean
 }
 
-// A local branch as offered by the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker.
-// `checkedOut` means selecting opens that checkout; `isDefault` means selecting
-// switches the main checkout instead of creating `.worktrees/main`.
+// A branch that the "convert a branch into a worktree" picker offers: the local
+// heads, plus the remote-tracking refs that have no local branch yet.
+// `checkedOut` means that a selection opens that checkout. `isDefault` means
+// that a selection switches the main checkout, and does not make
+// `.worktrees/main`. `isRemote` means that a selection first makes a local
+// branch that tracks the remote one.
 export interface HermesGitBranch {
   name: string
   checkedOut: boolean
   isDefault: boolean
+  isRemote: boolean
   worktreePath: null | string
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ar.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ar.ts
index 26f72e7f4d92e..cf7302e1da8db 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ar.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ar.ts
@@ -1607,6 +1607,7 @@ export const ar = defineLocale({
       branchOpenExisting: 'فتح',
       branchSwitchHome: 'تبديل الموطن',
       branchCreateWorktree: 'شجرة عمل جديدة',
+      branchTrackRemote: 'تتبع البعيد',
       branchesLoading: 'جار تحميل الفروع...',
       noBranches: 'لم يتم العثور على فروع',
       removeWorktree: 'إزالة شجرة العمل',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
index 0914021c0d248..47727de87e941 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
@@ -1913,6 +1913,7 @@ export const en: Translations = {
       branchOpenExisting: 'open',
       branchSwitchHome: 'switch home',
       branchCreateWorktree: 'new worktree',
+      branchTrackRemote: 'track remote',
       branchesLoading: 'Loading branches…',
       noBranches: 'No branches found',
       removeWorktree: 'Remove worktree',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
index a8ae05042b7e6..1409940479a28 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
@@ -1750,6 +1750,7 @@ export const ja = defineLocale({
       branchOpenExisting: '開く',
       branchSwitchHome: 'ホームを切替',
       branchCreateWorktree: '新しいワークツリー',
+      branchTrackRemote: 'リモートを追跡',
       branchesLoading: 'ブランチを読み込み中…',
       noBranches: 'ブランチが見つかりません',
       removeWorktree: 'ワークツリーを削除',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
index f3ef8501205ad..d73175787e106 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
@@ -1609,6 +1609,7 @@ export interface Translations {
       branchOpenExisting: string
       branchSwitchHome: string
       branchCreateWorktree: string
+      branchTrackRemote: string
       branchesLoading: string
       noBranches: string
       removeWorktree: string
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
index fc7feb8f39574..7996bd74fd93a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
@@ -1693,6 +1693,7 @@ export const zhHant = defineLocale({
       branchOpenExisting: '開啟',
       branchSwitchHome: '切回主簽出',
       branchCreateWorktree: '新增工作樹',
+      branchTrackRemote: '追蹤遠端',
       branchesLoading: '正在載入分支…',
       noBranches: '找不到分支',
       removeWorktree: '移除工作樹',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
index 927d5c1b25fef..6a7231aa0d592 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
@@ -2106,6 +2106,7 @@ export const zh: Translations = {
       branchOpenExisting: '打开',
       branchSwitchHome: '切回主检出',
       branchCreateWorktree: '新工作树',
+      branchTrackRemote: '跟踪远程',
       branchesLoading: '正在加载分支…',
       noBranches: '未找到分支',
       removeWorktree: '移除工作树',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts
index c44365a9cb4ed..5808abcad8050 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/projects.ts
@@ -1086,8 +1086,11 @@ export async function startWorkInRepo(
   return { branch: result.branch, path: result.path }
 }
 
-// Local branches for the composer's "convert a branch into a worktree" picker.
-// Empty on a remote backend / non-repo (the Electron probe can't run).
+// Branches for the composer's "convert a branch into a worktree" picker: the
+// local heads, plus the remote-tracking refs that have no local branch yet. A
+// teammate's branch is therefore reachable, and the user does not check it out
+// by hand first.
+// Empty on a remote backend or a non-repo, where the Electron probe cannot run.
 export async function listRepoBranches(repoPath: string): Promise<HermesGitBranch[]> {
   const git = desktopGit()