diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index dd8412b6..1f02df43 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -8381,6 +8381,7 @@ app.post('/api/projects', (req,res) => {
       const id = 'proj-' + genId();
       projects.push({ id, name, workdir, isRemote:true, remoteHostId, remoteHost: rh.host, sshKeyPath: rh.sshKeyPath||'', password: rh.password||'', port: rh.port||Number(port)||22, createdAt:new Date().toISOString() });
       saveProjects(projects);
+      if (telegramBot) telegramBot.notifyProjectAdded(workdir, name).catch(() => {});
       return res.json({ ok:true, id, actions });
     }
     // Local project (existing behavior)
@@ -8399,6 +8400,7 @@ app.post('/api/projects', (req,res) => {
     const id = 'proj-' + genId();
     projects.push({ id, name, workdir, createdAt:new Date().toISOString() });
     saveProjects(projects);
+    if (telegramBot) telegramBot.notifyProjectAdded(workdir, name).catch(() => {});
     res.json({ ok:true, id, actions });
   } catch(e) { res.status(500).json({ error:e.message }); }
 });
diff --git a/telegram-bot-forum.js b/telegram-bot-forum.js
index 05e00e3e..a6ad8145 100644
--- a/telegram-bot-forum.js
+++ b/telegram-bot-forum.js
@@ -552,17 +552,33 @@ class TelegramBotForum {
         const workdir = typeof project === 'string' ? project : (project?.workdir || project?.path);
         if (!workdir) continue;
 
-        const existing = this._api.stmts.getForumTopicByWorkdir.get(chatId, 'project', workdir);
-        if (existing) continue;
-
         const name = (typeof project === 'object' && project?.name) || null;
-        await this.createProjectTopic(chatId, workdir, name);
+        await this.ensureProjectTopic(chatId, workdir, name);
       }
     } catch {
       // projects.json may not exist — that's fine
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Ensure a project topic exists in this forum chat for the given workdir,
+   * creating it if missing. No-op (returns the existing thread_id) if one
+   * already exists.
+   *
+   * Public — called both by `_syncProjectTopics` (initial /connect sweep over
+   * every project on disk) and by `TelegramBot#notifyProjectAdded` (server.js
+   * calls that right after `POST /api/projects` registers a new one). Without
+   * the second caller, a project created after the forum's initial /connect
+   * never got a topic until some session activity happened to reference it via
+   * `handleActivityCallback`'s auto-create — which for a brand-new project with
+   * no chat history yet may never happen, so its topic silently never appeared.
+   */
+  async ensureProjectTopic(chatId, workdir, name) {
+    const existing = this._api.stmts.getForumTopicByWorkdir.get(chatId, 'project', workdir);
+    if (existing) return existing.thread_id;
+    return this.createProjectTopic(chatId, workdir, name);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Handle commands in the General topic or unknown topics.
    */
diff --git a/telegram-bot.js b/telegram-bot.js
index dc4deb7a..8060b64a 100644
--- a/telegram-bot.js
+++ b/telegram-bot.js
@@ -1021,6 +1021,7 @@ class TelegramBot extends EventEmitter {
       case '/forum':   return this._forum.cmdForum(chatId, userId);
       case '/tunnel':  return this._cmdTunnel(chatId, userId);
       case '/url':     return this._cmdUrl(chatId);
+      case '/cancel':  return this._cmdCancel(chatId, userId);
       default:
         await this._sendMessage(chatId, this._t('error_unknown_cmd', { cmd }), {
           reply_markup: JSON.stringify({ inline_keyboard: [
@@ -1389,6 +1390,15 @@ class TelegramBot extends EventEmitter {
     return this._screenSettings(chatId, userId);
   }
 
+  // FSM state is already reset generically before the command switch (FSM-03) —
+  // this only needs to clear pending attachments and land the user somewhere sane.
+  async _cmdCancel(chatId, userId) {
+    const ctx = this._getContext(userId);
+    ctx.pendingAttachments = [];
+    if (ctx.sessionId) return this._screenDialog(chatId, userId, { mode: 'overview' });
+    return this._screenMainMenu(chatId, userId);
+  }
+
   // ─── Tunnel Commands ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
   async _cmdTunnel(chatId, userId, { editMsgId } = {}) {
@@ -1494,6 +1504,28 @@ class TelegramBot extends EventEmitter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Ensure every connected forum has a topic for a newly registered project.
+   * Called by server.js right after `POST /api/projects` adds one. Without this,
+   * a project's topic list only refreshed on the initial /connect sweep, or
+   * reactively when session activity happened to reference the workdir — a
+   * project added afterward with no chat yet never got a topic at all.
+   */
+  async notifyProjectAdded(workdir, name) {
+    if (!this.running || !workdir) return;
+    const devices = this._stmts.getAllDevices.all();
+    const seenChats = new Set();
+    for (const dev of devices) {
+      if (!dev.forum_chat_id || seenChats.has(dev.forum_chat_id)) continue;
+      seenChats.add(dev.forum_chat_id);
+      try {
+        await this._forum.ensureProjectTopic(dev.forum_chat_id, workdir, name);
+      } catch (err) {
+        this.log.warn(`[telegram] Failed to sync project topic for ${workdir}: ${err.message}`);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   // ─── Text Messages (Send to Chat) ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
   async _handleTextMessage(msg) {
diff --git a/test/telegram-behaviour.test.js b/test/telegram-behaviour.test.js
index fe511bb0..758180dd 100644
--- a/test/telegram-behaviour.test.js
+++ b/test/telegram-behaviour.test.js
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ const msg = (over = {}) => ({
     dctx.pendingAttachments = [];
     dctx.sessionId = 'a1';
     // Stub the file download so no network call happens.
+    const preMediaCallApi = bot._callApi;
     bot._callApi = async (method, params) => {
       calls.push({ method, ...params });
       if (method === 'getFile') return { file_path: 'photos/x.jpg' };
@@ -158,6 +159,7 @@ const msg = (over = {}) => ({
     global.fetch = async () => ({ ok: true, arrayBuffer: async () => new ArrayBuffer(8) });
     await bot._handleMediaMessage(msg({ text: undefined, photo: [{ file_id: 'F1' }], message_thread_id: 4 }));
     global.fetch = realFetch;
+    bot._callApi = preMediaCallApi;
     check('a photo sent in a topic is stored for THAT topic', fctx.pendingAttachments.length, 1);
     check('and does not leak into the private-chat context', dctx.pendingAttachments.length, 0);
   }
@@ -404,6 +406,48 @@ const msg = (over = {}) => ({
     bot._callApi = origCall;
   }
 
+  console.log('\n/cancel is advertised in the native menu and must actually be handled:');
+  {
+    const privMsg = (over = {}) => ({
+      message_id: 1, from: { id: USER }, chat: { id: PRIVATE_CHAT, type: 'private' }, text: '/cancel', ...over,
+    });
+
+    reset(); sent.length = 0;
+    const ctx = bot._getContext(USER);
+    ctx.sessionId = 'a1';
+    ctx.pendingAttachments = [{ name: 'x.png' }];
+    await bot._handleUpdate({ message: privMsg() });
+    check('never falls through to "unknown command"', sends().some(s => /Unknown command/i.test(s.text || '')), false);
+    check('clears pending attachments', ctx.pendingAttachments.length, 0);
+
+    reset(); sent.length = 0;
+    ctx.sessionId = null;
+    await bot._handleUpdate({ message: privMsg() });
+    check('with no active session, lands on the main menu, not an error', sends().some(s => /Unknown command/i.test(s.text || '')), false);
+  }
+
+  console.log('\na project added after /connect still gets a forum topic:');
+  {
+    reset();
+    // No topic exists yet for /w/gamma in any forum.
+    const before = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM forum_topics WHERE type='project' AND workdir='/w/gamma'").get();
+    check('no topic exists yet', before, undefined);
+
+    await bot.notifyProjectAdded('/w/gamma', 'Gamma');
+    const created = calls.filter(c => c.method === 'createForumTopic');
+    check('exactly one topic is created (one connected forum)', created.length, 1);
+    const row = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM forum_topics WHERE type='project' AND workdir='/w/gamma'").get();
+    check('and it is recorded against the workdir', row?.workdir, '/w/gamma');
+
+    reset();
+    await bot.notifyProjectAdded('/w/gamma', 'Gamma');
+    check('a second registration creates no duplicate', calls.some(c => c.method === 'createForumTopic'), false);
+
+    reset();
+    await bot.notifyProjectAdded('', 'No workdir');
+    check('an empty workdir is a no-op, not a crash', calls.some(c => c.method === 'createForumTopic'), false);
+  }
+
   console.log(`\n${pass} passed, ${fail} failed`);
   try { fs.rmSync(path.dirname(dbPath), { recursive: true, force: true }); } catch {}
   process.exit(fail ? 1 : 0);