diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/users.py b/surfsense_backend/app/users.py
index d51b30bd7..dd284307f 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/users.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/users.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import logging
 import uuid
 
 from fastapi import Depends, Request, Response
@@ -12,7 +13,17 @@ from fastapi_users.db import SQLAlchemyUserDatabase
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from app.config import config
-from app.db import User, get_user_db
+from app.db import (
+    SearchSpace,
+    SearchSpaceMembership,
+    SearchSpaceRole,
+    User,
+    async_session_maker,
+    get_default_roles_config,
+    get_user_db,
+)
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class BearerResponse(BaseModel):
@@ -36,7 +47,59 @@ class UserManager(UUIDIDMixin, BaseUserManager[User, uuid.UUID]):
     verification_token_secret = SECRET
 
     async def on_after_register(self, user: User, request: Request | None = None):
-        print(f"User {user.id} has registered.")
+        """
+        Called after a user registers. Creates a default search space for the user
+        so they can start chatting immediately without manual setup.
+        """
+        logger.info(f"User {user.id} has registered. Creating default search space...")
+
+        try:
+            async with async_session_maker() as session:
+                # Create default search space
+                default_search_space = SearchSpace(
+                    name="My Search Space",
+                    description="Your personal search space",
+                    user_id=user.id,
+                )
+                session.add(default_search_space)
+                await session.flush()  # Get the search space ID
+
+                # Create default roles
+                default_roles = get_default_roles_config()
+                owner_role_id = None
+
+                for role_config in default_roles:
+                    db_role = SearchSpaceRole(
+                        name=role_config["name"],
+                        description=role_config["description"],
+                        permissions=role_config["permissions"],
+                        is_default=role_config["is_default"],
+                        is_system_role=role_config["is_system_role"],
+                        search_space_id=default_search_space.id,
+                    )
+                    session.add(db_role)
+                    await session.flush()
+
+                    if role_config["name"] == "Owner":
+                        owner_role_id = db_role.id
+
+                # Create owner membership
+                owner_membership = SearchSpaceMembership(
+                    user_id=user.id,
+                    search_space_id=default_search_space.id,
+                    role_id=owner_role_id,
+                    is_owner=True,
+                )
+                session.add(owner_membership)
+
+                await session.commit()
+                logger.info(
+                    f"Created default search space (ID: {default_search_space.id}) for user {user.id}"
+                )
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(
+                f"Failed to create default search space for user {user.id}: {e}"
+            )
 
     async def on_after_forgot_password(
         self, user: User, token: str, request: Request | None = None
diff --git a/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/page.tsx b/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/page.tsx
index fa611aabf..ad1c6ad9d 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/page.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/app/dashboard/page.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import Image from "next/image";
 import Link from "next/link";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import { useTranslations } from "next-intl";
+import { useEffect } from "react";
 import { deleteSearchSpaceMutationAtom } from "@/atoms/search-spaces/search-space-mutation.atoms";
 import { searchSpacesAtom } from "@/atoms/search-spaces/search-space-query.atoms";
 import { currentUserAtom } from "@/atoms/user/user-query.atoms";
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ const ErrorScreen = ({ message }: { message: string }) => {
 const DashboardPage = () => {
 	const t = useTranslations("dashboard");
 	const tCommon = useTranslations("common");
+	const router = useRouter();
 
 	// Animation variants
 	const containerVariants: Variants = {
@@ -164,6 +166,15 @@ const DashboardPage = () => {
 
 	const { data: user, isPending: isLoadingUser, error: userError } = useAtomValue(currentUserAtom);
 
+	// Auto-redirect to chat for users with exactly 1 search space
+	useEffect(() => {
+		if (loading) return;
+
+		if (searchSpaces.length === 1) {
+			router.replace(`/dashboard/${searchSpaces[0].id}/new-chat`);
+		}
+	}, [loading, searchSpaces, router]);
+
 	// Create user object for UserDropdown
 	const customUser = {
 		name: user?.email ? user.email.split("@")[0] : "User",
@@ -173,7 +184,8 @@ const DashboardPage = () => {
 		avatar: "/icon-128.svg", // Default avatar
 	};
 
-	if (loading) return <LoadingScreen />;
+	// Show loading while loading or auto-redirecting (single search space)
+	if (loading || (searchSpaces.length === 1 && !error)) return <LoadingScreen />;
 	if (error) return <ErrorScreen message={error?.message || "Failed to load search spaces"} />;
 
 	const handleDeleteSearchSpace = async (id: number) => {
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/Logo.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/Logo.tsx
index 79799942b..58f8d1c9f 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/Logo.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/Logo.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,13 @@ import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 export const Logo = ({ className }: { className?: string }) => {
 	return (
 		<Link href="/">
-			<Image src="/icon-128.svg" className={cn("dark:invert", className)} alt="logo" width={128} height={128} />
+			<Image
+				src="/icon-128.svg"
+				className={cn("dark:invert", className)}
+				alt="logo"
+				width={128}
+				height={128}
+			/>
 		</Link>
 	);
 };
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/TokenHandler.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/TokenHandler.tsx
index 42905ac0d..b4ca36298 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/TokenHandler.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/TokenHandler.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 "use client";
 
-import { useRouter, useSearchParams } from "next/navigation";
+import { useSearchParams } from "next/navigation";
 import { useEffect } from "react";
 import { getAndClearRedirectPath, setBearerToken } from "@/lib/auth-utils";
 import { trackLoginSuccess } from "@/lib/posthog/events";
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ const TokenHandler = ({
 	tokenParamName = "token",
 	storageKey = "surfsense_bearer_token",
 }: TokenHandlerProps) => {
-	const router = useRouter();
 	const searchParams = useSearchParams();
 
 	useEffect(() => {
@@ -58,14 +57,14 @@ const TokenHandler = ({
 				const finalRedirectPath = savedRedirectPath || redirectPath;
 
 				// Redirect to the appropriate path
-				router.push(finalRedirectPath);
+				window.location.href = finalRedirectPath;
 			} catch (error) {
 				console.error("Error storing token in localStorage:", error);
 				// Even if there's an error, try to redirect to the default path
-				router.push(redirectPath);
+				window.location.href = redirectPath;
 			}
 		}
-	}, [searchParams, tokenParamName, storageKey, redirectPath, router]);
+	}, [searchParams, tokenParamName, storageKey, redirectPath]);
 
 	return (
 		<div className="flex items-center justify-center min-h-[200px]">
diff --git a/surfsense_web/components/UserDropdown.tsx b/surfsense_web/components/UserDropdown.tsx
index 966193c7f..a7f9c89ac 100644
--- a/surfsense_web/components/UserDropdown.tsx
+++ b/surfsense_web/components/UserDropdown.tsx
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ export function UserDropdown({
 
 			if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
 				localStorage.removeItem("surfsense_bearer_token");
-				router.push("/");
+				window.location.href = "/";
 			}
 		} catch (error) {
 			console.error("Error during logout:", error);
 			// Optionally, provide user feedback
 			if (typeof window !== "undefined") {
 				alert("Logout failed. Please try again.");
-				router.push("/");
+				window.location.href = "/";
 			}
 		}
 	};