diff --git a/client/src/lib/hooks/__tests__/useConnection.test.tsx b/client/src/lib/hooks/__tests__/useConnection.test.tsx
index 5c47767f..4f382740 100644
--- a/client/src/lib/hooks/__tests__/useConnection.test.tsx
+++ b/client/src/lib/hooks/__tests__/useConnection.test.tsx
@@ -510,12 +510,13 @@ describe("useConnection", () => {
           requestedSchema: {
             type: "object",
             properties: {
-              name: {
-                $ref: "#/properties/nameDef",
-              },
-              nameDef: {
+              source: {
                 type: "string",
-                title: "Name",
+                minLength: 1,
+                title: "A Connectable Node",
+              },
+              target: {
+                $ref: "#/properties/source",
               },
             },
           },
@@ -529,9 +530,10 @@ describe("useConnection", () => {
       expect(mockProtocolOnMessage).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
 
       const message = mockProtocolOnMessage.mock.calls[0][0];
-      expect(message.params.requestedSchema.properties.name).toEqual({
+      expect(message.params.requestedSchema.properties.target).toEqual({
         type: "string",
-        title: "Name",
+        minLength: 1,
+        title: "A Connectable Node",
       });
     });
   });
diff --git a/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts b/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
index e7fe2c8f..42d77d43 100644
--- a/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
+++ b/client/src/utils/schemaUtils.ts
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ export function formatFieldLabel(key: string): string {
 }
 
 /**
- * Resolves $ref references in a JSON-RPC message's requestedSchema
+ * Resolves `$ref` references in a JSON-RPC "elicitation/create" message's `requestedSchema` field
  * @param message The JSON-RPC message that may contain $ref references
  * @returns A new message with resolved $ref references, or the original message if no resolution is needed
  */
@@ -325,10 +325,11 @@ export function resolveRefsInMessage(message: JSONRPCMessage): JSONRPCMessage {
         ...requestedSchema,
         properties: Object.fromEntries(
           Object.entries(requestedSchema.properties).map(
-            ([key, propSchema]) => [
-              key,
-              resolveRef(propSchema, requestedSchema),
-            ],
+            ([key, propSchema]) => {
+              const resolved = resolveRef(propSchema, requestedSchema);
+              const normalized = normalizeUnionType(resolved);
+              return [key, normalized];
+            },
           ),
         ),
       },