Problem

On a fresh install, Settings > Connections opens onto a list with a single "No connections yet" row. Nothing on that screen explains what a connection is, which providers are supported, or that the small "Add connection" row at the top is the way in. The one state where the page has to teach the most is the state where it shows the least.

Change

When the first sync returns no connections, the page opens the "New connection" form instead of the empty list. The provider dropdown, the models panel, and the explanation of which Studio tools run locally are all right there.

Three things keep it from getting in the way:

• The decision reads the synced backend response, not the local snapshot, so a stale empty list cannot flash the form at someone who already has connections.
• It waits for a loaded provider registry, so the form never opens with an empty dropdown when only that request failed. Hidden registry entries are excluded, since those are never offered in the dropdown.
• It fires once per visit. The back arrow, saving a connection, and deleting the last connection all leave the user where they navigated to, and the empty list is still there for anyone who backs out.

Testing

• studio/frontend/tests/connections-empty-opens-form.test.ts covers the three points above: the check reads syncedProviders and the selectable registry, the latch is a ref that is never reset, and closeForm still returns to the list.
• Full frontend suite passes, 3681 tests.
• tsc -b clean, eslint unchanged from baseline on the touched file, and vite build succeeds.