diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/repo-identity.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/repo-identity.ts
index 272da7de6..39204ab91 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/repo-identity.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/repo-identity.ts
@@ -378,6 +378,34 @@ export function ensureGsdSymlink(projectPath: string): string {
     return localGsd;
   }
 
+  // Guard: If projectPath is a plain subdirectory (not a worktree) of a git
+  // repo that already has a .gsd at the git root, do not create a duplicate
+  // symlink in the subdirectory — that causes `.gsd 2` collision variants on
+  // macOS (#2380). Worktrees are excluded because they legitimately need their
+  // own .gsd symlink pointing at the shared external state dir.
+  if (!inWorktree) {
+    try {
+      const gitRoot = resolveGitRoot(projectPath);
+      const normalizedProject = canonicalizeExistingPath(projectPath);
+      const normalizedRoot = canonicalizeExistingPath(gitRoot);
+      if (normalizedProject !== normalizedRoot) {
+        const rootGsd = join(gitRoot, ".gsd");
+        if (existsSync(rootGsd)) {
+          try {
+            const rootStat = lstatSync(rootGsd);
+            if (rootStat.isSymbolicLink() || rootStat.isDirectory()) {
+              return rootStat.isSymbolicLink() ? realpathSync(rootGsd) : rootGsd;
+            }
+          } catch {
+            // Fall through to normal logic if we can't stat root .gsd
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    } catch {
+      // If git root detection fails, fall through to normal logic
+    }
+  }
+
   // Clean up macOS numbered collision variants (.gsd 2, .gsd 3, etc.) before
   // any existence checks — otherwise they accumulate and confuse state (#2205).
   cleanNumberedGsdVariants(projectPath);
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/repo-identity-worktree.test.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/repo-identity-worktree.test.ts
index b6e231cf5..e576188db 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/repo-identity-worktree.test.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/repo-identity-worktree.test.ts
@@ -184,6 +184,38 @@ test('subdirectory of parent repo gets unique identity after git init (#1639)',
       rmSync(parentRepo, { recursive: true, force: true });
 });
 
+test('ensureGsdSymlink from subdirectory does not create .gsd in subdir when git-root .gsd exists (#2380)', () => {
+    const repo = realpathSync(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "gsd-subdir-symlink-")));
+    run("git init -b main", repo);
+    run('git config user.name "Pi Test"', repo);
+    run('git config user.email "pi@example.com"', repo);
+    run('git remote add origin git@github.com:example/subdir-test.git', repo);
+    writeFileSync(join(repo, "README.md"), "# Subdir Test\n", "utf-8");
+    run("git add README.md", repo);
+    run('git commit -m "init"', repo);
+
+    // Set up .gsd symlink at the git root (normal project initialisation)
+    ensureGsdSymlink(repo);
+    assert.ok(existsSync(join(repo, ".gsd")), "root .gsd exists after ensureGsdSymlink");
+    assert.ok(lstatSync(join(repo, ".gsd")).isSymbolicLink(), "root .gsd is a symlink");
+
+    // Create a subdirectory and call ensureGsdSymlink from there
+    const subdir = join(repo, "src", "lib");
+    mkdirSync(subdir, { recursive: true });
+    ensureGsdSymlink(subdir);
+
+    // ensureGsdSymlink should NOT create a .gsd in the subdirectory
+    // because the git root already has a valid .gsd symlink.
+    assert.ok(!existsSync(join(subdir, ".gsd")), "no .gsd created in subdirectory when git-root .gsd exists (#2380)");
+    assert.ok(!existsSync(join(repo, "src", ".gsd")), "no .gsd created in intermediate directory");
+
+    // The root .gsd should still be intact
+    assert.ok(existsSync(join(repo, ".gsd")), "root .gsd still exists");
+    assert.ok(lstatSync(join(repo, ".gsd")).isSymbolicLink(), "root .gsd is still a symlink");
+
+    rmSync(repo, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
 test('validateProjectId rejects invalid values', () => {
     for (const invalid of ["has spaces", "path/traversal", "dot..dot", "back\\slash"]) {
       assert.ok(!validateProjectId(invalid), `validateProjectId rejects invalid value: "${invalid}"`);