diff --git a/src/mcp/mcp.c b/src/mcp/mcp.c
index a7585d7c9..a457e3a6b 100644
--- a/src/mcp/mcp.c
+++ b/src/mcp/mcp.c
@@ -1494,6 +1494,38 @@ static const char *parent_project_for_db(const char *project, char *buf, size_t
     return project; /* no .dep → use as-is */
 }
 
+static bool root_path_looks_usable(const char *root_path) {
+    if (!root_path || !root_path[0]) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (root_path[0] == '/' || root_path[0] == '\\') {
+        return true;
+    }
+    return ((root_path[0] >= 'A' && root_path[0] <= 'Z') ||
+            (root_path[0] >= 'a' && root_path[0] <= 'z')) &&
+           root_path[1] == ':';
+}
+
+static void sync_session_from_open_project(cbm_mcp_server_t *srv, cbm_store_t *store,
+                                           const char *db_project,
+                                           const cbm_project_t *opened_project) {
+    if (!srv || srv->session_project[0] || !store || !db_project || !db_project[0]) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    const char *root_path = opened_project ? opened_project->root_path : NULL;
+    cbm_project_t parent = {0};
+    if (cbm_store_get_project(store, db_project, &parent) == CBM_STORE_OK) {
+        root_path = parent.root_path;
+    }
+
+    snprintf(srv->session_project, sizeof(srv->session_project), "%s", db_project);
+    if (root_path_looks_usable(root_path)) {
+        snprintf(srv->session_root, sizeof(srv->session_root), "%s", root_path);
+    }
+    cbm_project_free_fields(&parent);
+}
+
 static bool mcp_join_suffix(char *out, size_t out_sz, const char *base, const char *suffix) {
     int n = snprintf(out, out_sz, "%s%s", base ? base : "", suffix ? suffix : "");
     return n > 0 && (size_t)n < out_sz;
@@ -1629,15 +1661,13 @@ static cbm_store_t *resolve_store(cbm_mcp_server_t *srv, const char *project) {
             return NULL;
         }
         /* Register newly-accessed project with watcher (root_path from DB).
-         * Validate the path looks like a real path (starts with '/' or a drive
-         * letter) before watching — a retained bad-path DB (#557) may store a
+         * Validate that it looks like an absolute POSIX, UNC, or Windows-drive
+         * path before watching — a retained bad-path DB (#557) may store a
          * numeric/empty root_path that would point the watcher at nothing. */
-        if (srv->watcher && proj_verify.root_path && proj_verify.root_path[0]) {
-            char c0 = proj_verify.root_path[0];
-            if (c0 == '/' || (c0 >= 'A' && c0 <= 'Z') || (c0 >= 'a' && c0 <= 'z')) {
-                cbm_watcher_watch(srv->watcher, project, proj_verify.root_path);
-            }
+        if (srv->watcher && root_path_looks_usable(proj_verify.root_path)) {
+            cbm_watcher_watch(srv->watcher, project, proj_verify.root_path);
         }
+        sync_session_from_open_project(srv, srv->store, db_project, &proj_verify);
         cbm_project_free_fields(&proj_verify);
         srv->owns_store = true;
         free(srv->current_project);
diff --git a/tests/test_tool_consolidation.c b/tests/test_tool_consolidation.c
index c4a2b6211..2bc0877e8 100644
--- a/tests/test_tool_consolidation.c
+++ b/tests/test_tool_consolidation.c
@@ -722,6 +722,41 @@ TEST(search_graph_has_session_project) {
     PASS();
 }
 
+TEST(search_graph_slug_project_sets_session_context) {
+    /* A fresh CLI/MCP server may be called with project=<slug> from
+     * list_projects. Results already came from that DB, but the first response
+     * context used to stay empty unless project was passed as a filesystem path. */
+    const char *proj = "_tc_ctx_slug_";
+    char db_path[1024];
+    snprintf(db_path, sizeof(db_path), "%s/%s.db", cbm_resolve_cache_dir(), proj);
+
+    cbm_store_t *s = cbm_store_open_path(db_path);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(s);
+    ASSERT_EQ(cbm_store_upsert_project(s, proj, "/tmp/tc_ctx_slug"), CBM_STORE_OK);
+    cbm_node_t n = {.project = proj,
+                    .label = "Function",
+                    .name = "tc_ctx_slug_fn",
+                    .qualified_name = "_tc_ctx_slug_.tc_ctx_slug_fn",
+                    .file_path = "src/tc_ctx_slug.c"};
+    ASSERT_GT(cbm_store_upsert_node(s, &n), 0);
+    cbm_store_close(s);
+
+    cbm_mcp_server_t *srv = cbm_mcp_server_new(NULL);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(srv);
+    char *result = cbm_mcp_handle_tool(
+        srv, "search_graph",
+        "{\"project\":\"_tc_ctx_slug_\",\"name_pattern\":\"tc_ctx_slug_fn\",\"limit\":1}");
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(result);
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(result, "session_project"));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(result, "_tc_ctx_slug_"));
+    ASSERT_NOT_NULL(strstr(result, "\\\"nodes\\\":1"));
+    free(result);
+
+    cbm_mcp_server_free(srv);
+    (void)unlink(db_path);
+    PASS();
+}
+
 TEST(index_status_has_session_project) {
     cbm_mcp_server_t *srv = cbm_mcp_server_new(NULL);
     ASSERT_NOT_NULL(srv);
@@ -2664,6 +2699,7 @@ SUITE(tool_consolidation) {
     RUN_TEST(hidden_tools_still_dispatch);
     /* Session context */
     RUN_TEST(search_graph_has_session_project);
+    RUN_TEST(search_graph_slug_project_sets_session_context);
     RUN_TEST(index_status_has_session_project);
     /* Context injection */
     RUN_TEST(first_response_has_context_header);