diff --git a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
index dc58fc2543c..71694e2bcc8 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.test.ts
@@ -209,6 +209,37 @@ it.layer(TestLayer)("GitVcsDriver core integration", (it) => {
       }),
     );
 
+    it.effect("includes untracked files before the repository has its first commit", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* driver.initRepo({ cwd });
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "first.txt", "first\n");
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({ cwd, ignoreWhitespace: false });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "working-tree")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "diff --git a/first.txt b/first.txt");
+        assert.include(diff, "+first");
+      }),
+    );
+
+    it.effect("includes staged files before the repository has its first commit", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* driver.initRepo({ cwd });
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "staged.txt", "staged\n");
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "staged.txt"]);
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({ cwd, ignoreWhitespace: false });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "working-tree")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "diff --git a/staged.txt b/staged.txt");
+        assert.include(diff, "+staged");
+      }),
+    );
+
     it.effect("honors whitespace filtering for worktree and branch previews", () =>
       Effect.gen(function* () {
         const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
@@ -243,6 +274,143 @@ it.layer(TestLayer)("GitVcsDriver core integration", (it) => {
         );
       }),
     );
+
+    it.effect("detects an unstaged rename with edits as one working-tree diff", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        yield* initRepoWithCommit(cwd);
+        const fileSystem = yield* FileSystem.FileSystem;
+        const pathService = yield* Path.Path;
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* writeTextFile(
+          cwd,
+          "before.ts",
+          [
+            "export const first = 1;",
+            "export const second = 2;",
+            "export const third = 3;",
+            "export const fourth = 4;",
+            "",
+          ].join("\n"),
+        );
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "before.ts"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["commit", "-m", "add source file"]);
+        yield* fileSystem.rename(
+          pathService.join(cwd, "before.ts"),
+          pathService.join(cwd, "after.ts"),
+        );
+        yield* writeTextFile(
+          cwd,
+          "after.ts",
+          [
+            "export const first = 1;",
+            "export const second = 2;",
+            "export const third = 30;",
+            "export const fourth = 4;",
+            "",
+          ].join("\n"),
+        );
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({ cwd, ignoreWhitespace: false });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "working-tree")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "rename from before.ts");
+        assert.include(diff, "rename to after.ts");
+        assert.include(diff, "-export const third = 3;");
+        assert.include(diff, "+export const third = 30;");
+        assert.notInclude(diff, "--- /dev/null");
+        assert.notInclude(diff, "+++ /dev/null");
+      }),
+    );
+
+    it.effect("preserves sparse-checkout entries in the working-tree diff", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        yield* initRepoWithCommit(cwd);
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "included/file.ts", "export const included = 1;\n");
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "excluded/file.ts", "export const excluded = 1;\n");
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "."]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["commit", "-m", "add sparse files"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["sparse-checkout", "set", "included"]);
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "included/file.ts", "export const included = 2;\n");
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({ cwd, ignoreWhitespace: false });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "working-tree")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "diff --git a/included/file.ts b/included/file.ts");
+        assert.include(diff, "+export const included = 2;");
+        assert.notInclude(diff, "excluded/file.ts");
+      }),
+    );
+
+    it.effect("includes staged index-only deletions in the working-tree diff", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        yield* initRepoWithCommit(cwd);
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, ".gitignore", "secret.env\n");
+        yield* writeTextFile(cwd, "secret.env", "SECRET=value\n");
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "-f", ".gitignore", "secret.env"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["commit", "-m", "add ignored tracked file"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["rm", "--cached", "secret.env"]);
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({ cwd, ignoreWhitespace: false });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "working-tree")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "diff --git a/secret.env b/secret.env");
+        assert.include(diff, "deleted file mode");
+        assert.include(diff, "-SECRET=value");
+      }),
+    );
+
+    it.effect("detects a committed rename with edits in the branch diff", () =>
+      Effect.gen(function* () {
+        const cwd = yield* makeTmpDir();
+        const { initialBranch } = yield* initRepoWithCommit(cwd);
+        const driver = yield* GitVcsDriver.GitVcsDriver;
+        yield* writeTextFile(
+          cwd,
+          "before.ts",
+          [
+            "export const first = 1;",
+            "export const second = 2;",
+            "export const third = 3;",
+            "export const fourth = 4;",
+            "",
+          ].join("\n"),
+        );
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "before.ts"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["commit", "-m", "add source file"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["checkout", "-b", "feature/rename"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["mv", "before.ts", "after.ts"]);
+        yield* writeTextFile(
+          cwd,
+          "after.ts",
+          [
+            "export const first = 1;",
+            "export const second = 2;",
+            "export const third = 30;",
+            "export const fourth = 4;",
+            "",
+          ].join("\n"),
+        );
+        yield* git(cwd, ["add", "after.ts"]);
+        yield* git(cwd, ["commit", "-m", "rename source file"]);
+
+        const preview = yield* driver.getReviewDiffPreview({
+          cwd,
+          baseRef: initialBranch,
+          ignoreWhitespace: false,
+        });
+        const diff = preview.sources.find((source) => source.kind === "branch-range")?.diff ?? "";
+
+        assert.include(diff, "rename from before.ts");
+        assert.include(diff, "rename to after.ts");
+        assert.include(diff, "-export const third = 3;");
+        assert.include(diff, "+export const third = 30;");
+      }),
+    );
   });
 
   describe("repository status", () => {
diff --git a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
index a406cbce549..50cfa391872 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
@@ -45,8 +45,6 @@ const RANGE_COMMIT_SUMMARY_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 19_000;
 const RANGE_DIFF_SUMMARY_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 19_000;
 const RANGE_DIFF_PATCH_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 59_000;
 const REVIEW_DIFF_PATCH_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 120_000;
-const REVIEW_UNTRACKED_DIFF_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 80_000;
-const WORKSPACE_FILES_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 120_000;
 const STATUS_UPSTREAM_REFRESH_INTERVAL = Duration.seconds(15);
 const STATUS_UPSTREAM_REFRESH_TIMEOUT = Duration.seconds(5);
 
@@ -1807,43 +1805,103 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
     };
   });
 
-  const readUntrackedReviewDiffs = Effect.fn("readUntrackedReviewDiffs")(function* (cwd: string) {
-    const untrackedResult = yield* executeGit(
-      "GitVcsDriver.readUntrackedReviewDiffs.list",
-      cwd,
-      ["ls-files", "--others", "--exclude-standard", "-z"],
-      {
-        maxOutputBytes: WORKSPACE_FILES_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES,
-        appendTruncationMarker: true,
-      },
-    );
-    const untrackedPaths = splitNullSeparatedGitStdoutPaths(untrackedResult);
-    if (untrackedPaths.length === 0) {
-      return { diff: "", truncated: untrackedResult.stdoutTruncated };
-    }
+  const readWorkingTreeReviewDiff = Effect.fn("readWorkingTreeReviewDiff")(function* (
+    cwd: string,
+    ignoreWhitespace: boolean | undefined,
+  ) {
+    const tempDirectory = yield* fileSystem
+      .makeTempDirectory({ prefix: "t3code-review-index-" })
+      .pipe(
+        Effect.mapError(
+          (cause) =>
+            new GitCommandError({
+              operation: "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.createTempIndex",
+              command: "git diff",
+              cwd,
+              detail: "Failed to create a temporary Git index for the review diff.",
+              cause,
+            }),
+        ),
+      );
+    const indexPath = path.join(tempDirectory, "index");
+    const env = { GIT_INDEX_FILE: indexPath } satisfies NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
+
+    return yield* Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const headResult = yield* executeGit(
+        "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.resolveHead",
+        cwd,
+        ["rev-parse", "--verify", "--quiet", "HEAD"],
+        { allowNonZeroExit: true },
+      );
+      const hasHead = headResult.exitCode === 0;
+      const baseline = hasHead
+        ? "HEAD"
+        : (yield* executeGit(
+            "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.resolveEmptyTree",
+            cwd,
+            ["hash-object", "-t", "tree", "--stdin"],
+            { stdin: "" },
+          )).stdout.trim();
+      const gitIndexResult = yield* executeGit(
+        "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.resolveIndex",
+        cwd,
+        ["rev-parse", "--git-path", "index"],
+      );
+      const gitIndexPath = path.isAbsolute(gitIndexResult.stdout.trim())
+        ? gitIndexResult.stdout.trim()
+        : path.resolve(cwd, gitIndexResult.stdout.trim());
 
-    const diffs = yield* Effect.forEach(
-      untrackedPaths,
-      (relativePath) =>
-        executeGit(
-          "GitVcsDriver.readUntrackedReviewDiffs.diff",
+      if (yield* fileSystem.exists(gitIndexPath)) {
+        yield* fileSystem.copyFile(gitIndexPath, indexPath).pipe(
+          Effect.mapError(
+            (cause) =>
+              new GitCommandError({
+                operation: "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.copyIndex",
+                command: "git diff",
+                cwd,
+                detail: "Failed to copy the Git index for the review diff.",
+                cause,
+              }),
+          ),
+        );
+      } else {
+        yield* executeGit(
+          "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.readEmptyTree",
           cwd,
-          ["diff", "--no-index", "--patch", "--minimal", "--", "/dev/null", relativePath],
-          {
-            allowNonZeroExit: true,
-            maxOutputBytes: REVIEW_UNTRACKED_DIFF_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES,
-            appendTruncationMarker: true,
-          },
-        ),
-      { concurrency: 4 },
-    );
+          ["read-tree", "--empty"],
+          { env },
+        );
+      }
+      yield* executeGit(
+        "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.add",
+        cwd,
+        ["add", "--intent-to-add", "-A", "--", "."],
+        { env },
+      );
 
-    return {
-      diff: Arr.filterMap(diffs, (result) =>
-        result.stdout.trim().length > 0 ? Result.succeed(result.stdout) : Result.failVoid,
-      ).join("\n"),
-      truncated: untrackedResult.stdoutTruncated || diffs.some((result) => result.stdoutTruncated),
-    };
+      return yield* executeGit(
+        "GitVcsDriver.readWorkingTreeReviewDiff.diff",
+        cwd,
+        [
+          "diff",
+          "--patch",
+          "--minimal",
+          "--find-renames",
+          ...(ignoreWhitespace ? ["--ignore-all-space"] : []),
+          baseline,
+          "--",
+        ],
+        {
+          env,
+          maxOutputBytes: REVIEW_DIFF_PATCH_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES,
+          appendTruncationMarker: true,
+        },
+      );
+    }).pipe(
+      Effect.ensuring(
+        fileSystem.remove(tempDirectory, { recursive: true, force: true }).pipe(Effect.ignore),
+      ),
+    );
   });
 
   const getReviewDiffPreview = Effect.fn("getReviewDiffPreview")(function* (
@@ -1867,22 +1925,7 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
           )
         : null);
 
-    const dirtyTrackedResult = yield* executeGit(
-      "GitVcsDriver.getReviewDiffPreview.dirtyTracked",
-      input.cwd,
-      [
-        "diff",
-        "--patch",
-        "--minimal",
-        ...(input.ignoreWhitespace ? ["--ignore-all-space"] : []),
-        "HEAD",
-        "--",
-      ],
-      {
-        maxOutputBytes: REVIEW_DIFF_PATCH_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES,
-        appendTruncationMarker: true,
-      },
-    ).pipe(
+    const dirtyResult = yield* readWorkingTreeReviewDiff(input.cwd, input.ignoreWhitespace).pipe(
       Effect.orElseSucceed(() => ({
         exitCode: 0,
         stdout: "",
@@ -1891,12 +1934,7 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
         stderrTruncated: false,
       })),
     );
-    const dirtyUntracked = yield* readUntrackedReviewDiffs(input.cwd).pipe(
-      Effect.orElseSucceed(() => ({ diff: "", truncated: false })),
-    );
-    const dirtyDiff = [dirtyTrackedResult.stdout.trimEnd(), dirtyUntracked.diff.trimEnd()]
-      .filter((diff) => diff.length > 0)
-      .join("\n");
+    const dirtyDiff = dirtyResult.stdout;
 
     const baseResult =
       baseRef && branch
@@ -1907,6 +1945,7 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
               "diff",
               "--patch",
               "--minimal",
+              "--find-renames",
               ...(input.ignoreWhitespace ? ["--ignore-all-space"] : []),
               `${baseRef}...HEAD`,
             ],
@@ -1953,7 +1992,7 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
         headRef: null,
         diff: dirtyDiff,
         diffHash: dirtyDiffHash,
-        truncated: dirtyTrackedResult.stdoutTruncated || dirtyUntracked.truncated,
+        truncated: dirtyResult.stdoutTruncated,
       },
       {
         id: "branch-range",