diff --git a/src/renderer/App.tsx b/src/renderer/App.tsx
index b11bbd9..1833f59 100644
--- a/src/renderer/App.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/App.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { DocumentPanel } from './features/document/DocumentPanel'
 import { NewProjectDialog } from './features/project/NewProjectDialog'
 import { SettingsDialog } from './features/settings/SettingsDialog'
 import { ADRPromptDialog } from './features/document/ADRPromptDialog'
+import { EmptyProjectView } from './components/EmptyProjectView'
 import { useUIStore } from './stores/uiStore'
 import { useProjectStore } from './stores/projectStore'
 import { useThreadStore } from './stores/threadStore'
@@ -34,17 +35,22 @@ export function App() {
   const updateDocuments = useProjectStore((s) => s.updateDocuments)
   const updateThreads = useProjectStore((s) => s.updateThreads)
 
+  const threads = useThreadStore((s) => s.threads)
   const setThreads = useThreadStore((s) => s.setThreads)
   const addThread = useThreadStore((s) => s.addThread)
   const addMessage = useThreadStore((s) => s.addMessage)
   const addStreamingMessage = useThreadStore((s) => s.addStreamingMessage)
   const setStreamingMessageId = useThreadStore((s) => s.setStreamingMessageId)
 
+  const documents = useDocumentStore((s) => s.documents)
   const setDocuments = useDocumentStore((s) => s.setDocuments)
   const addDocument = useDocumentStore((s) => s.addDocument)
 
   const loadSettings = useSettingsStore((s) => s.loadSettings)
 
+  // Check if the active project has any content
+  const hasContent = threads.length > 0 || documents.length > 0
+
   // Listen for AI streaming chunks and completion via Electron IPC
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!window.keystoneIPC) return
@@ -346,16 +352,24 @@ export function App() {
           {sidebarOpen && <Sidebar onSelectProject={handleSelectProject} />}
 
           {activeProject ? (
-            <ResizablePanel
-              left={
-                <ConversationPanel
-                  onSendMessage={handleSendMessage}
-                  onNewThread={handleNewThread}
-                  onBranch={handleBranchThread}
-                />
-              }
-              right={<DocumentPanel onInquire={handleInquire} onRefine={handleRefine} />}
-            />
+            hasContent ? (
+              <ResizablePanel
+                left={
+                  <ConversationPanel
+                    onSendMessage={handleSendMessage}
+                    onNewThread={handleNewThread}
+                    onBranch={handleBranchThread}
+                  />
+                }
+                right={<DocumentPanel onInquire={handleInquire} onRefine={handleRefine} />}
+              />
+            ) : (
+              <EmptyProjectView
+                projectName={activeProject.name}
+                onNewThread={handleNewThread}
+                onOpenSettings={() => setShowSettings(true)}
+              />
+            )
           ) : (
             <div className="flex flex-1 items-center justify-center">
               <div className="text-center">
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/EmptyProjectView.tsx b/src/renderer/components/EmptyProjectView.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c0c439
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/components/EmptyProjectView.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+interface EmptyProjectViewProps {
+  projectName: string
+  onNewThread: () => void
+  onOpenSettings: () => void
+}
+
+export function EmptyProjectView({ projectName, onNewThread, onOpenSettings }: EmptyProjectViewProps) {
+  return (
+    <div className="flex h-full w-full items-center justify-center bg-gray-50 dark:bg-gray-900">
+      <div className="max-w-3xl px-8 py-12 text-center">
+        <h1 className="text-3xl font-bold tracking-tight text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100">
+          Get started with {projectName}
+        </h1>
+        <p className="mt-3 text-base text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400">
+          Start by creating your first conversation thread, or configure an AI provider in settings.
+        </p>
+
+        <div className="mt-12 flex flex-col items-center gap-6 sm:flex-row sm:justify-center">
+          {/* Card 1 - Start a Conversation */}
+          <div className="group w-full max-w-xs cursor-pointer overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-sm transition-all hover:shadow-lg hover:shadow-indigo-100 dark:border-gray-700 dark:bg-gray-800 dark:shadow-gray-900/50 dark:hover:shadow-indigo-900/20">
+            <div className="p-8">
+              <div className="flex h-12 w-12 items-center justify-center rounded-lg bg-indigo-100 text-indigo-600 transition-colors group-hover:bg-indigo-600 group-hover:text-white dark:bg-indigo-900/30 dark:text-indigo-400 dark:group-hover:bg-indigo-600">
+                <svg
+                  className="h-6 w-6"
+                  fill="none"
+                  viewBox="0 0 24 24"
+                  stroke="currentColor"
+                  strokeWidth={2}
+                >
+                  <path
+                    strokeLinecap="round"
+                    strokeLinejoin="round"
+                    d="M8 10h.01M12 10h.01M16 10h.01M9 16H5a2 2 0 01-2-2V6a2 2 0 012-2h14a2 2 0 012 2v8a2 2 0 01-2 2h-5l-5 5v-5z"
+                  />
+                </svg>
+              </div>
+              <h3 className="mt-6 text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100">
+                Start a Conversation
+              </h3>
+              <p className="mt-2 text-sm leading-relaxed text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400">
+                Create a thread to discuss architecture, requirements, or design decisions with AI
+              </p>
+              <button
+                onClick={onNewThread}
+                className="mt-6 w-full rounded-lg bg-indigo-600 px-4 py-2.5 text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-indigo-700 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-indigo-500 focus-visible:ring-offset-2 dark:focus-visible:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              >
+                New Thread
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+
+          {/* Card 2 - Configure AI Provider */}
+          <div className="group w-full max-w-xs cursor-pointer overflow-hidden rounded-xl border border-gray-200 bg-white shadow-sm transition-all hover:shadow-lg hover:shadow-gray-100 dark:border-gray-700 dark:bg-gray-800 dark:shadow-gray-900/50 dark:hover:shadow-gray-900/30">
+            <div className="p-8">
+              <div className="flex h-12 w-12 items-center justify-center rounded-lg bg-gray-100 text-gray-600 transition-colors group-hover:bg-gray-200 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-gray-400 dark:group-hover:bg-gray-600">
+                <svg
+                  className="h-6 w-6"
+                  fill="none"
+                  viewBox="0 0 24 24"
+                  stroke="currentColor"
+                  strokeWidth={2}
+                >
+                  <path
+                    strokeLinecap="round"
+                    strokeLinejoin="round"
+                    d="M15 7a2 2 0 012 2m4 0a6 6 0 01-7.743 5.743L11 17H9v2H7v2H4a1 1 0 01-1-1v-2.586a1 1 0 01.293-.707l5.964-5.964A6 6 0 1121 9z"
+                  />
+                </svg>
+              </div>
+              <h3 className="mt-6 text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100">
+                Configure AI Provider
+              </h3>
+              <p className="mt-2 text-sm leading-relaxed text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400">
+                Connect an AI provider like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google to enable AI-assisted conversations
+              </p>
+              <button
+                onClick={onOpenSettings}
+                className="mt-6 w-full rounded-lg border border-gray-300 bg-white px-4 py-2.5 text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 transition-colors hover:bg-gray-50 focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-gray-400 focus-visible:ring-offset-2 dark:border-gray-600 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 dark:hover:bg-gray-600 dark:focus-visible:ring-offset-gray-800"
+              >
+                Open Settings
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}